Generative Consensus-building as a Basic Social Process: A Classic Grounded Theory of Leading Positive Change in Japanese Schools

Quincy Kameda

This study uses classic grounded theory to explain how stakeholders in Japanese schools pursue meaningful organizational change while maintaining harmony within a collectivist culture. Constant comparative analysis and theoretical sampling generated the core category of generative consensus-building, a collective decision-making process characterized by open dialogue, inclusive participation and a substantive sharing of autonomy. The process unfolds through three recursive phases: preliminary deliberation, structured negotiation and collective endorsement. Consensus-building operates along a continuum from ritualized forms constrained by hierarchical gatekeeping and conformity pressures to generative forms that support lasting reform under enabling structural and cultural conditions. Consistent with classic grounded theory, engagement with substantive literature followed the emergence of the core category. The study offers a conceptual explanation of consensus-building and practical implications for culturally consonant school change.

Grounded Theory Review

Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies (RTM)

26

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https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php/gtr/article/view/520