Organizational Deviance in Schools: Analysis of Theories and Curricula

This homework assignment explores the concept of organizational deviance within the context of educational institutions. The student analyzes the perspectives of Fox and Harding on the sources of deviance in schools, comparing their analysis to relevant sociological theories discussed in the course. The assignment further examines how Astor et al.'s concept of 'theoretically atypical' schools aligns with the recommendations of Fox and Harding. The analysis then shifts to Labaree's argument regarding the 'educationalizing' of social problems, evaluating his organizational reasoning and contrasting it with Astor et al.'s viewpoints. Finally, the student assesses the impact of a K-12 social problems curriculum, determining whether it encourages mere ceremonial compliance or effectively alters school practices. The assignment incorporates references to key articles and course materials, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Organizational Deviance questions:
1) Fox and Harding identify several sources of org deviance in schools (e.g., coupling, structural
secrecies, institutional memory loss, etc.). A) Does their org analysis appear to reflect any/some
theories in our course thus far? Explain. B) Do Astor et al’s ‘theoretically atypical’ appear to
embody any of the traits recommended by Fox and Harding? Discuss.
a) According to Fox and Harding (2005), the causes of deviance in the organization include
coupling, structural secrecies as well as institutional memory loss. The researcher’s concepts
regarding coupling and structural secrecies clearly resonate with a large part of the unit learning.
Both the article and the lecture on week 8 presented by Prof Scott Davies agreed on the idea that,
schools exhibit a loosely coupled systems while some organizations are tightly coupled. Loose
coupling systems in the universities and colleges work as a contributing factor to the current rise
of deviances in the institutions. The article gives an example of the NASA explosion accident
that happened due to structural secrecy. The article example together with the video given in the
lecture justifies the fact that structural secrecy hinders the free flow of information in the
organization which may lead to accidents.
b) Fox and Harding recommend the changes in policies in schools such as the zero tolerance
rules so that the school teachers will pay more attention behaviors of all individuals’ students and
not only the seemingly misbehaved students. This recommendation goes in line with the
concepts in the article by (Ron et al, 2009) which highlighted that a school reform approach
adopted by institutions in Israel made them safer those in the U.S which have adopted the
violence evidence-based programs. The safety of the schools in the hostile country of Israel was
attributed to the holistic reform approaches practiced by the school's heads. The approach
enables the principles to detect and counter negative external forces as opposed to the evidence-
based or box programs and reforms do.
2) Labaree contends that “educationalizing” of social problems persist despite being fairly
ineffective. A) Whether or not you agree with him, discuss his organizational reasoning
underlying his analysis. B) Do Astor et al point to key organizational attributes that Labaree
ignores? C) Finally, thinking of 1 Social Problems Curriculum with which you are familiar
(domestic, international, K-12, PSE), is it encouraging schools to merely ‘ceremonially comply’
with external pressures, or it is effectively altering school practices?
a) In his paper, Labaree carries an assessment of the American paradox of education. His is of
the view that majority of the modern Western societies like the U.S have educationalized social
problems. This has been carried out for many years in the country even after the schools have
been shown to be inadequate in solving most social problems. American society has always had
the habit of educationalizing social problems as a long-term solution which can be attributed to
their culture and society. Labaree argues that the genesis of the trend is the structural
possibilities, organization tension, social processes, and people’s beliefs. Specifically, the
tendency is based on political interests, formalism, structural limits, individualism, and political
opportunities that are exploited by the citizens in power.

b) The essay by David Labaree just like any other paper does not, however, address some
organizational attributes. Labaree paper stresses the fact that the educationalizing culture in the
country has rendered the reformers to cling on the hope that schools have the capacity to
eliminate social problems such as poverty, drug abuse, violence among others. But according to
Astor et al the reason why the school system has not been effective is grounded on prolonged
loose coupling nature of the institutions.
c) One of the most famous social problem curriculums in the U.S is the K-12. The K-12
education system stands for the kindergarten to 12th grade in American education. The system is
generally divided into three stages including the elementary school, the middle school, and the
high school. The emphasis of this education system is mostly the grades which students need to
score to advance to the next level. I believe that K-12 education has maintained a culture that
hinders the free flow of information in the institutions. The parties involved in the schools
ceremoniously do their best to comply with the laid out standards that were set by the previous
generation. By doing so, information that could be useful in helping students with social or
emotional issues that lead to deviance is lost. The current American education should be revised
to adopt a more open and safer education system to prevent most of the issues being experienced.

References
Astor, Ron et al, 2009. “School Violence and Theoretically Atypical Schools.” American
Educational Research Journal 46(2):423-462.
Fox, Cybelle and David J. Harding. 2005. “School Shootings as Organizational Deviance.”
Sociology of Education,78(1):69-97.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13GDqG7wZRtVURaXJMp3jcrxjdoAPrtKq/view
Labaree, David. 2008. “The Winning Ways of a Losing Strategy: Educationalizing Social
Problems in the United States.” Educational Theory 58(4):447-460.