The evolution of the Hawke's Bay Community College : a structure-functional analysis : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University

Abstract

This thesis has two main aims: first, to demonstrate how a particular social theory, Structure-Functionalism, can be adapted for the purpose of investigating the problems and processes of organisational evolution; and second, to document and to analyse the creation and evolution of New Zealand's first Community College. The work of Talcott Parsons is taken as the theoretical foundation for this documentation and analysis. The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first deals with theory and method while the second part presents the findings of a case study focussing on the Hawke's Bay Community College. The findings from the case study suggest that the Hawke's Bay Community College, rather than becoming a radically new-type of educational organisation, was evolving as a variant of an existing organisational form, namely, the small technical institute. The thesis concludes with an explanation of this evolutionary pattern and discussion of theoretical and methodological conclusions.