The School

As a Social Political System

The School

The school is an open social political system. It has parts, and the parts interact within the internal and external environment.

A Social System

A set of interrelated elements functioning as a unit to achieve a specific purpose

Hanson (1996)

There is interaction between the elements and forces in the internal and external environments of the system.
Hanson (1996)

A Political System

A complete set of institutions, interest groups, the relationships between those institutions and the political norms and rules that govern their functions. Composed of the members of a social organization who are in power
(www.Wordwebonline.com)

An interactions in any society through which a binding authoritative allocation of values are made (Easton 1965)

a socio-political system

Socio-political System
* pertains to or signifies the combination or interaction of social and political factors

 There are several issues that have manifested in the social political arena in regards to our schools and the education being provided.

 These issues range from who controls and makes the decisions for our schools, to educational reform to teacher certifications, to the trend of free choice of school and funding and how are students are fairing in the modern age of school reform.

Informal Groups and

Politics

Social Political Actions affect.

Politics, in theory and practice, affects education: its organization, policies, funding, operations, and outcomes.

Thats why educators need to be in positions of governing and decision-making.

Governance and Decision-Making

Governance-

the way that issues affecting the entire institution are decided.

Governance and Decision-Making

Governance-

- it includes the structure and processes, both formal and informal, of decision-making groups and the relationships between and among these groups and individuals.

Governance and Decision-Making

The word decision is defined as:

A choice between two or more alternatives.

Thus decision-making can be defined as:

the selection of a course of action

from among alternatives .

Consensus Oriented

Participatory

Responsive

Equitable and inclusive

Governance

Good

Effective and efficient

Follows the rule of law

Transparent

Accountable

Not all decisions fall into the domain of one of the different groups/ committees.

Each

individual must be acknowledged and utilized for the school to be effective in governance and decision-making.

The Total School

The

school functioning as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.