ABSTRACT
The relative importance of the influence on the child of family and school have been much debated by professionals, with opinions being influenced by the results of researches exploring the subject from one angle or another. There are three factors in particular which must be understood and borne in mind when working with schools. First, schools are inherently socio-technical systems, that is they are open systems in which the technical or educational subsystem is in close and constant interaction with the psychosocial subsystem. Second, as with all systems, schools consist of subsystems arranged in a hierarchical order and in interrelation with each other for the purpose of achieving specific objectives. Third, schools, unlike most organizations, have to make allowance for the immaturity of pupils and their gradual growth towards maturity, which calls for constant readjustment on the part of adults of the socio-technical balance.
