TAKING THE NEXT STEP WITH INVITATIONAL EDUCATION:
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

William Watson Purkey
Professor Emeritus
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Paula Helen Stanley
Radford University

This paper suggests twelve practical follow-up activities that you can use to put Invitational Theory into real-life practice. Challenges, problems, obstacles, even impossibilities are often invitations in disguise.

  1. Follow the HELIX. Chapter Eight of the 1996 3rd Edition of Inviting School Success is entitled "Creating Inviting Schools." This chapter provides a step-by-step procedure for creating and maintaining an inviting school. The chapter is organized around a cumulative plan of action called HELIX. (See pp. 136-14 1).
  2. Join the International Alliance For Invitational Education. Membership in the Alliance insures that you receive the FORUM (Alliance Newsletter), The Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, and related material, including announcements of conferences and workshops on Invitational Education.
  3. Obtain books on Invitational Education. A list of publications, including Inviting School Success (Purkey & Novak, 1996) and The Inviting School Treasury (Purkey & Stanley, 1997) follows.
  4. Write for free materials on Invitational Education. The Alliance will be happy to respond to requests for papers, research reports, and related materials. These may be duplicated and distributed to faculties, staffs, and workshop participants.
  5. Apply for the Inviting School Award. Each year the Alliance recognizes schools and school systems throughout the world which exemplify Invitational Education in action. If you believe that your school or school system qualifies for this distinguished award.
  6. Attend Alliance Leadership Workshops and World Conferences. Each year the Alliance presents workshops and conferences on Invitational Education.  For details, contact IAIE
  7. Present a program. Faculty meetings, board meetings, PTA meetings, state conferences, and conventions are all excellent places to present a program on Invitational Education. With a little research and effort you can become a voice for creating inviting schools.
  8. Obtain videotapes on Invitational Education. There are professionally-prepared videotapes that show Invitational Education in action throughout the United States. These excellent programs are great for introducing Invitational Education to faculties. Each is about 24 minutes in length, and may be ordered from The Video Journal of Education 8686 South, 1300 East, Sandy, UT 84019. FAX: (888) 566-6888. Toll-free telephone number: 1-800-572-1153.
  9. Get people involved. If Invitational Education is going to take root in your organization, it requires that everyone gets involved. Organize subcommittees based on the five powerful "P’s" of Invitational Education: People, Places, Policies, Programs, and Processes. An exciting activity that gets everyone involved is entitled "The ‘5-P’ Relay" and is described in Chapter Five of Invitational Counseling: A Self-Concept Approach to Professional Counseling, pp. 105-108 (Purkey & Schmidt, 1996, Brooks/Cole).
  10. Apply for Grants. Parent-teacher groups, professional organizations, civic groups, and local, state, and federal agencies are willing to provide funds to initiate fresh and innovative programs that promise to enrich the educative process. These grants can be used to obtain training materials, attend conferences, and bring in consultants on Invitational Education.
  11. Create an inviting theme. Automobiles will not run without gasoline, fires will not burn without oxygen, hearts will not beat without adrenalin, stomachs will not digest without hydrochloric acid, and your organization will not run without hoopla. Successful themes have included "Blue Leader One," "Our School: The Most Inviting Place in Town," and "Inviting School Success for Everyone." An exciting theme can help to tie everything together.

 

These ideas may be simple, but they are not easy. Change goes through four steps: (1) awareness, (2) understanding, (3) application, and (4) adoption. To move from awareness all the way to adoption of Invitational Education requires patience and tenacity. The world was not created in a day, and neither are inviting schools. Please keep us informed of your progress by writing the International Alliance for Invitational Education,

IAIE - Bldg. 55
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road
Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591

 

A Sampling of IAIE Books

 

Purkey, W. W., & Novak, J. (1988). Education: By Invitation Only. Bloomington, IN: PDK.

Purkey, W. W., & Novak, J. (1996). Inviting School Success: A self-concept approach to teaching. learning. and democratic practice. 3rd Edition. Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth.

Purkey, W. W., & Schmidt, J. J. (1996). Invitational counseling: A self-concept approach to professional practice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Purkey, W. W., & Stanley, P. H. (1994). The inviting school treasury: 1001 ways to invite student success. New York: Scholastic Press.