THE INFORMAL SYSTEM OF A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR SUBCULTURE IN AN URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT: AN EMIC AND ETIC ANALYSIS

The objectives of this study focused on comparing and contrasting the results from an exploration of the informal system of urban school administrators with previous findings noted from a suburban setting. Interview and sociometric techniques applied in both studies produced observable grouping and socialization patterns based primarily on verified one- and two-way communication links. When examining the suburban system in terms of its social consequences, it seems they are best described utilizing the concepts of informal boundary spanning and the occupational socialization of school administrators in that district.; The urban study was a modified replication of the Licata and Hack (1980) methodology, using the informal system of school administrators in an urban school district in the Southwest. The investigators utilized an anthropological interview technique called emics and etics, which duplicated key questions from the suburban inquiry with all 16 school administrators in the urban school district. Responses formed data fields which were inductively subjected to intra- and inter-question analysis to identify common themes or generalizations.; The urban interaction patterns (grapevine) seemed to mirror the suburban interaction patterns in terms of latency and its association to informal boundary spanning and occupational socialization, interacting in diads and triads of trusting peers through verbal means (telephone or district meetings), and the need of principals to be consistent with their peers concerning administrative decisions. Also, elementary principals associated with elementary principals and secondary principals associated with secondary principals. In the urban school district, based on sponsorship patterns, both elementary and secondary principals seemed to cluster into groups which shared a common professional mentor or ancestor, indicating possible clan-like structures. This was in contrast to the suburban study, where clan-like structures appeared only at the elementary level and secondary principals appeared to have shared similar professional skills which are considered guild-like. Finally, it was noted that sponsoring principals seldom initiated interaction with the principals they sponsored. Rather, communication was most often initiated by the principal sponsored. This research is concerned with school district organization and managerial life in schools often overlooked in normative and theoretical explanations.