For this assignment you should use the readings and works you did for summer 1 – summer 6 it
is the same course work and no new readings are required. You can also use the reading memo
template you helped me with.
The issue we will focus on is teacher retention, teacher burnout, hiring issues/certification
issues in the Philadelphia School District the below link is to hiring events they have coming
up. With covid and the ongoing issue in America of not having enough teachers to teach
particularly in urban school districts philadelphia public school district is experiencing even
larger hiring issues than before
https://www.philasd.org/blog/2022/07/22/district-to-host-hiring-events-now-through-august
/
https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2022/2/25/22951454/staff-teacher-shortage-philadelphiadistrict-pandemic
The culminating assignment for the course is a paper applying concepts from organizational theory to a
practical setting or experience.
● The goal of the paper is to provide you with the opportunity to synthesize your learning across
the various ideas that we have been studying
● Process
o Choose a particular problem/conundrum/dilemma/issue currently being encountered
by your organization or another organization with which you are very familiar
▪ You may focus on the organization that you studied for the Civic Leadership
course
▪ The chosen problem must be complex enough and interesting enough to engage
the readers’ attention throughout
▪ This problem may not have a resolution, it may just be the way things are
currently
▪ If there is an interest in addressing the problem, the strategy should not be
readily apparent, and of course any approach will have trade-offs
● You can describe potential means of addressing the problem, though
you need not actually enact them
o Select a range of resources to assist you in understanding the problem from an
organizational perspective
▪ Review the literature that we have studied, as well as our notes and your Reading
Guides
▪ You can draw on other resources and your experience as well, but there is no
requirement to seek out additional resources
▪ You should not use every article that we read, but be judicious, based on what
helps you best explain the problem
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o Provide an understanding of the problem and its context from a range of theoretical
perspectives, across the various traditions we have studied
▪ If the problem lends itself to resolution, again use multiple perspectives to
interpret the potential consequences (intended and unintended)
o Organization
▪ The problem that you describe should provide a thread throughout the paper
▪ Include, inasmuch as possible, unbiased observations and quotes
● Avoid inferences and comments not connected to the problem, except
where necessary to provide context
▪ Vignettes are useful, but not too many
▪ Charts and diagrams—always a plus ☺
▪ Format
● Length: 25 pages maximum, exclusive of the references and any figures
● Double-spaced, 1” margins
● References as per APA 7
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