STRUCTURE

Re-Conceptualizing Schools Structure

School leadership and its function have been a focus of my attention over the past few years. The conceptual model above has three layers that describe a school. The first is a structural configuration, the second the human aspect, and the third a process-oriented view of a school. Each practice provides resources that are available to the entire school.

Each triangle represents a specified boundary that provides order within a singular school to protect educational practices. Classes and grade levels offer a structural path through the school. Principals and teachers give a particular focus on students represented in the middle triangle. Instruction and outcomes as processes are refined in communities of practice (CoP).

Communication practices provide informational channels that incorporate ideas, values, culture, and climate within a school. The double arrows represent a reciprocal relationship mediated by communication practices within the school. Leadership and instructional practices are under continual development as part of communication loops within the school. All practices filter through each of the boundaries and are school-wide resources used to diminish uncertainly created by each boundary unit.