ABSTRACT
Schools and colleges have various linkages with society, by which they are circumscribed and constrained. They exist in power environments. There are various strategies of adaptation to the pressures of the power environment, varying from capitulation through coalition, co-optation and bargaining, to outright revolt; but in varying degrees all schools are constrained by their power environments and limited in their ability to choose and to attain their goals. The power environment of a school or college may include some or all of the following: central government departments, the local education authority, examining bodies, employers, professional associations, teachers' associations and subject associations. A remote power environment was exchanged for a more immediate and possibly constricting one. Education which caters for a stable market and produces an unvarying, standardized product will be well served by 'locals' in 'mechanistic' organizations.
