Michele Acker-Hocevar’s research interests are centered on broad areas of organizational behavior (leadership, decision making, and power, i.e., social justice) and theory (how organizations learn and adapt to change (e.g., school development and improvement). She has been particularly interested in how schools (and universities) as organizations address such issues as poverty, partnership power, and organizational learning, through their response to external mandates such as standards-based reform. Dr. Acker-Hocevar used action research to study the college through survey research, archival data, and reflective journaling while she was the president of the college faculty assembly. Her research is mainly collaborative as she believes research should not only contribute to the body of knowledge in her field, but engage her in socially constructing new knowledge with other colleagues in her field. She is leading a national study, co-sponsored through the University Council of Educational Administration, of how principals across the U.S. are addressing three areas: social justice, school improvement, and building democratic community
