Schools as Team-Based Organizations: A Structure-Process-Outcomes Approach

The present study addressed the issue of teams in schools and the ways in which they contribute to school effectiveness. Specifically, the present research suggested an input (frequency of meetings and functional heterogeneity)-process (interaction processes of exchanging information, learning, motivating, and negotiating)-outcome (team performance and innovation) model for predicting school effectiveness. Two hundred twenty-four school teams (including team coordinators, team members, and school principals) were surveyed. The results indicated that, regarding team innovation, frequency of meetings and functional heterogeneity were positively associated with the 4 interaction processes, which in turn fostered team innovation. However, regarding team performance, the results indicated that only frequency of meetings was positively associated with the interaction process of exchanging information, which in turn enhanced team performance. The findings serve to draw important theoretical and practical conclusions as to the best ways to structure schools and to improve their interaction processes for the enhancement of team performance and team innovation.