Designing Better Schools: The Meaning and Measure of Enabling School Structures

Common usage of the term bureaucracy is pejorative. To most people, bureaucracy is synonymous with red tape, rigid rules, autocratic superiors, and alienated and apathetic employees. But organizations of any size, including schools, have bureaucratic structures because they need appropriately designed formal procedures and hierarchical structures to prevent chaos and promote efficiency. Two conflicting views of the consequences of bureaucracy emerge from the literature. Some studies demonstrate that structure alienates and frustrates, whereas other research finds structure increases satisfaction and innovation. This study is consistent with an earlier attempt to reconcile these two theoretically opposing perspectives by creating and testing a new construct termed enabling structure . Evidence is mounting that schools can be designed with formalized procedures and hierarchical structures that help rather than hinder.