School Bureaucracies that Work: Enabling, Not Coercive

Abstract

Two conflicting views of the consequences of bureaucracy emerge from the literature. Some studies demonstrate that bureaucracy alienates and frustrates, while other research finds that bureaucracy increases satisfaction and innovation. This analysis is an attempt to reconcile these two theoretically opposing perspectives by creating and testing a new construct, which we call “enabling bureaucracy.” The empirical results are encouraging and suggest that schools can be designed with formalized procedures and hierarchical structures that help rather than hinder. Indeed, teachers report that some rules help rather than constrain and some hierarchies facilitate teaching and learning. In such schools teacher alienation is reduced and trust among colleagues is fostered.

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