Bureaucracy in Schools

Bureaucracy in Schools

According to Max Weber’s school of thought, a bureaucracy is a big, formal, secondary organization typified by a pyramid of power, explicit rules, division of responsibilities, and objective interaction among the members. In Weber’s theory, the basis of the present education system began in the Industrial Revolution in Europe. The school setting was structured around a pyramid of authority, specialization, as well as standardization in society. Bureaucracy is a rational structure playing an increasing role in modern society. Bureaucracy has been enduring in schools due to the presence of rationality, order, stability, and the consistent accountability that it gives to the public (Weber, 2015). It is essential to note that the school is a system that has objectives to be achieved concerning what society demand. Today, the requirement for collection administration makes it entirely necessary.

Schools are formal organizations that tend to be hierarchical, from the ancient development community, headteacher, seniors staff, schools prefects of officials, and the students. Within these structures, the positions are occupied with individuals who consciously relate with one another to realize the set objectives. Under the bureaucratic approach, schools have a pyramid of power with a formal ladder of authority between various levels in the organization. Schools chase the goals as established by those at the top of the hierarchy, such as the headteachers. In school, decision making is a rational process that mostly originates from the senior staff in the organization. It is based on careful evaluation of the existing alternatives and the most appropriate option chosen over the less appealing options. As a result, the presence of different administrative offices decreases the workload and the likely congestion in schools. Various issues are resolved at the classroom level by teachers, but cases of grave indiscipline like breaking school properties are often solved by the headteacher or the disciplinary team in the organization (Houghton, 2010). This is an indication that school administration is a strictly controlled process, and discipline cases are handled hierarchically.

A major debate in American education is centered on the role of bureaucracy in shaping education performance. Functionalist theorists believe that bureaucracy serves the need of the society. They view bureaucratic education from its primary function of providing basic knowledge and skills to the subsequent generation and improving the society (Houghton, 2010). According to the functionalists, bureaucracy imparts vital skills that can be used to solve various challenges arising in society (Weber, 2015). Functionalist identifies the role of education as one that socializes people into the mainstream of society. They believe that bureaucracy in education helps form a more organized social structure by transmitting core values and social control among the people.

On the other hand, conflict theorists contend that bureaucracy in education is a way of upholding social inequality and preserving the power of those dominating society. According to the theorists, bureaucracy is a tool that perpetuates the status quo, and can significantly be used to suppress the lower class in the society (Weber, 2015). They think that bureaucratic education has resulted in dramatic performance shortfalls in American public schools. They argue that the structural protocols and rules of bureaucratic schools can marginalize groups with no cultural immersion or adequate socialization into the value system of the society.

References

Houghton, J. D. (2010). Does Max Weber’s notion of authority still hold in the twenty-first century?. Journal of Management History, 16(4), 449-453.

Weber, M. (2015). Bureaucracy. In Working in America (pp. 29-34). Routledge.