66 The current study builds a theory for school transformation by examining creativity, collaboration, and character education in the early childhood through 12th-grade school setting (EC–12). Traditional schools tend to limit the scope of creativity, collaboration, and character education due to tight focuses on learning standards, standardized classroom environments, subjects, and educational credits (Berger, 2014). Robinson and Robinson (2022) teach that schools do not prepare students to learn from mistakes. Rather, they assert that schools teach students to focus on learning skills that enable students to be correct. This is tragic because children have extraordinary capacities for innovation, and innovation comes through experiences of effort including both success and failure (Robinson & Robinson, 2022). Creativity, collaboration, and character education each have the capacity to impact child development and define traits in young people as they mature. The current study pursued grounded theory methodology to interact with each of these crucial categories—creativity, collaboration, and character education—with the intent of developing a new theory for education that has the potential to propel school transformation. Research Design The research design used in the current study is a grounded theory approach. Interviews and school tours were the primary methods used to gather data. A grounded theory study includes theoretical sampling, theoretical saturation of categories, and constant comparison of data (Hood, 2007). Grounded theory “comprises a systematic, inductive, and comparative approach for conducting inquiry for the purpose of constructing theory” (Bryant & Charmaz, 2007, p. 1). Grounded theory allows the researcher to discover a theory that is grounded in data collection from the experiences of participants in the study (Creswell, 2013). The grounded theory study builds a theory for school transformation in Texas EC–12 programs that explains a social process experienced by the participants (Creswell, 2013). The strengths of this approach are that the nature of the study was inductive, provided research flexibility, and allowed for the creation of a new theory in education. Grounded theory is designed to challenge people’s hidden assumptions and discover masked values behind shared experiences. It also encourages future researchers to continue studying the research problem. Results of the Study Challenging educational bureaucracy involves committing to seismic change that takes considerable time to achieve (Kotter, 1995). These unique school models included in the current study are embracing these fundamental principles to create and sustain school transformation. School leaders who embrace transformation regularly communicate their vision with urgency. They wield influence through effective leadership and drive change through persistence and united support. They overcome barriers to change by creating environments that encourage and celebrate risk-taking. They leverage wins to motivate others and they integrate success into the culture to sustain success. The perceptions of school leaders, curriculum experts, and school administrators were used to provide evidence to answer the five research questions and to identify critical themes among these schools. The results section presents the data collected from these unique Texas schools along with analysis of the codes, parent categories, themes, and theory derived from this grounded theory study. Through this data analysis, a theory of transformation for learning was developed. Recruitment A selective, purposive sampling of school districts and schools in Texas was collected for recruitment. Ultimately, six schools were selected for the current study: three private schools (Vandermont, Veritas Academy, and The WIDE School); two public charter schools (Gateway College Preparatory and Life School Mountain Creek), and one ISD (Greenville ISD). The ISD provided two unique campus sites to include in the current study. This selective, purposive sampling appears to have yielded a mixture that supports the data discovered in the process. Private schools were the most readily accessible; public charter schools were slightly less accessible; ISDs were the most restrictive and required the most time and effort to establish a research site. Research Questions Research questions were created to explore an existing Jeremy K. Williams, Ed.D.
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