with the paradigm; (b) incongruent, in which innovation and prototype represent a
paradigm-shift; and (c) mutually optimal, in which innovation and prototype are
perpetually emergent.
The model and theory are applied to educational reform, specifically, a
metropolitan-wide School-To-Career initiative that developed out of the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act o f1994. The initiative seeks to instill a pedagogy and curriculum that
fosters critical-thinking by collaboratively engaging community partners, educators, and
students in genuinely experiential and continuous learning in stark contrast to the
traditional grammar of schooling.
The conceptual model was empirically tested within the educational reform
context using survey data from high school educators and members of the business
community (N=621). A number of multivariate techniques: (a) differentiated AIC and
diflusion constructs, (b) validated the predicted structure of the AIM model, and (c)
tested the predictive validity of the AIM model with respect to survey participant
endorsement o f a proposed education reform scenario. Findings validated theoretical
expectations and identified innovation conducive organizational variables for effecting a
culture of infinite order change, in which the context of change itself may be irrelevant.
Discussion focuses on the findings’ theoretical, applied, and future research implications.