How do theories explain what goes on
in schools? This article uses three
perspectives — bureaucratic, political
and subjective — to analyse the
management structure of a West
Midlands comprehensive school. Partly
on the basis of this analysis, the new
headteacher modifed the school's
structure. The article assesses the changes
and the uses of the theoretical models. The
author is in the School of Education at the
Open University.
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