ABSTRACT
During the 1970’s through 1990’s, the work of many educational researchers and theorists established the conclusion that schools are far from unified organizations. For instance, sociologists documented the mediating effects on students’ educational experiences and outcomes associated with various withinschool differentiating processes, such as tracking and ability grouping (Barr & Dreeben, 1983; Gamoran & Berends, 1987; Oakes, 1985; Stern & Shavelson, 1981). In these cases, the curricular and instructional experiences of students in one track or ability group may be substantively different from those of their peers in another track or ability group. In addition, the “loose coupling” of school systems and the typical isolation of teachers within the “cellular structure” of schools were noted by various scholars who advanced theoretical understandings of education organizations (Bidwell, 1965; Lortie, 1975; Meyer & Rowan, 1978; Weick, 1973). Often, these organizational characteristics contribute to a lack of coherence in educational decision making, and to both within-and between-school differences in implementing the actual processes of students’ schooling. Nevertheless, these concepts concerning the social organization of schools and school systems did not fully consider the supplemental system of categorical programs and the implications that the operation of these programs across the nation’s schools has for the work of teachers and the learning of students.
