The art of the possible: organizing and managing high and low socioeconomic schools

The extent to which school mix ‐‐ the social class composition of schools ‐‐ influences school processes and student achievement has long been a matter of dispute. Drawing on a comparative ethnography of four New Zealand secondary schools, this article suggests that school mix probably does impact on school organizational and management processes so as to drag down the academic effectiveness of schools in low socioeconomic settings and boost effectiveness in middle‐class settings. Evidence of daily routines, curriculum management and guidance and discipline matters being influenced by school mix is discussed. The article provides a framework for explaining why school mix might influence school organization and management and suggests implications for decentralization, educational markets and school evaluation.