In this paper the authors extend an earlier study that developed images of what schools are like as social entities. That study found that elementary schools correspond to the rational bureaucratic image, whereas secondary schools are more loosely coupled systems. The study was limited by a small sample. In this paper the research was extended to…

Using Durkheim's distinction between mechanical and organic social systems, examines the antecedents of conflict in 111 public schools. Division of labor is indirectly but ultimately related to disputes through direct correlations with goal disagreement and enhanced control. Disputes increase when rules dominate the control structure. (Author/BJV)

Despite the tendency of researchers to assume all schools share a common organizational form, analysis of thirteen elementary and secondary schools provides evidence that elementary schools exhibit characteristics of the rational bureaucracy, while high schools tend to be more loosely coupled. Over 600 classroom teachers and nonadministrative…

Two competing images present schools as either rational bureaucracies or loosely coupled systems. Teachers in 13 Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) schools were surveyed on two dimensions distinguishing these images: goal consensus and influence centralization. The results suggest that high schools fit the loosely coupled image and elementary schools the…

This paper sets forth a model of the school as a social organization within an institutional framework and relates its organizational characteristics to its age- grade structure." (Author)

The finding reported previously in this journal (EJ 265 763), that elementary schools conform more to the image of the rational bureaucracy while secondary schools fit that of the anarchy or loosely coupled system, is reinforced and extended using a large sample, more reliable measures, and more elaborate techniques. (Author)

According to organizational theory, the administrative structure of schools has an effect on the feasibility and ease of improving their operation. To determine whether schools are better characterized as rational bureaucracies or as loosely coupled systems or whether some schools belong to each model, four dimensions were operationalized (goal…

Most previous research on the social organization of schools neglects to consider that such organization may vary depending on several factors, including size, staff composition, and environment. This study utilized two images of school identified by Corwin: the rational bureaucracy (formally organized social structure in which activities have…