ABSTRACT
In an unsurpassed study of the American urban school, Willard Waller highlighted in 1932 the influence of individuals in the school community who had negligible status but considerable power as influentials or ‘gate keepers’, among them the school janitor or caretaker. 1 Waller argued that these officially unimportant people played a crucial role in deciding success in the classroom or the relationship of the school with its local community.
