Closing the Gaps with Leadership and Vision: A Case Study of Continuous Improvement
Type:
Article
Topics:
Board Relations,
Community & Family Engagement,
Journal of Scholarship and Practice
April 10, 2025

The importance of continuous improvement is well-established for the educational sector (Schmucker, 2001; Fullan, 2001; Sparks, 2018; Flumerfelt & Soma, 2012; Flumerfelt, 2012; Balzer, 2010). However, the need for continuous improvement can lead some administrators to misinterpret this strategy into the practice of “reinventing or realigning the wheel” and thinking that simplistic replication is the only pathway to creating change. In reality, a proven way to impact change is to create a learning organization (Senge, 1990; Argyris & Schon, 1996), which includes respect for people first, supported by demonstrations of the use of continuous improvement second. These priorities are significant in school improvement and are sometimes unknown or forgotten.
Through the dual lenses of Respect for People and Continuous Improvement, stakeholders can feel safe and valued and that change that produces better results matters. Therefore, they are more willing to collaboratively re-evaluate practices and actively participate in and own the improvement needed to close the gap.
Shannon Flumerfelt and Amy Ellis
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