Authority in Educational Structures

Each sector of society has different configurations of the exercise of authority, the delimitations on authority, the style of exercise of authority, the basis on which authority is exercised.  In your ethnographic research, study the nature of authority in the delivery of education.

From governmental policy, to the policies of the Ministry of Education, down to the persona of the principal, to the teachers to the institutional handbook, teacher job descriptions, unspoken school cultural values.

• Add to your ethnographic research an analysis of the nature and exercise and limits to authority
• and the role of the principal of the school
• the use or abuse of regulations to define authority
• the failure of verbal communication versus written policies
• these give a basis for complaint and discussion vs personal authority based on verbal communication
• authority on paper comes from the collective decisionmaking process.
• Covenants, policies, regulations give a bigger picture
• Try to discern each of these issues