“Our Organization Deals with People, not with Products” - Perceptions of School Organizational Patterns

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

The article examines teachers’ perceptions of how school organizational patterns shape structure and everyday functioning. Participants evaluated nine parameters describing school organizational structure across three staff groups: administrative staff, homeroom teachers, and subject-matter teachers. A loglinear analysis tested whether the groups differed in how they related to these parameters. Findings highlight central structural criteria—curriculum content and teaching methods, along with innovation and organizational change—framed as education cornerstones. Differences in perceptions are linked to internal cohesion, communication quality, and motivation for long-term change-related tasks.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Criteria for Assessing a School’s Organizational Profile

“Our Organization Deals with People, not with Products”: Perceptions of School Organizational Patterns By Tamar Chen-Levi * & Yaffa Buskila+ This article is part of a wide-scope research examining teachers’ perceptions regarding the organizational profile of their school. Research participants were asked about nine parameters that outline the school’s organizational structure (Chen-Levi, 2019). Main research questions were: How do the three different groups of position-holders in the school- administrative staff, homeroom teachers, and subject-matter teachers – perceive the organizational profile of their school? What is the importance of each parameter that comprises a school's organizational profile? A loglinear analysis was performed to test whether the three groups differed in the way they related to these parameters. Differences or similarities in the faculty's perception of the school will have implications on the staff’s internal cohesion, quality of its communication and staff members'motivation to contribute to change-related tasks that require a long-term view. Analysis of teachers’ responses produced a picture according to which the criteria they regard as central to the school’s organizational structure are: curriculum content and teaching methods, as well as innovation and changes in the organization. These areas are cornerstones in education. They stressed the need to expose students to a rich and varied education, challenging and encouraging curiosity in many disciplines by means of creative tools and constant innovation. Keywords: organizational profile, school structure, teachers’ perceptions, bureaucratic-hierarchical approach, systemic approach. Introduction Literature on organizational structures presents several theories for understanding them, beginning with the structural theory that regards the organization as a complex and sophisticated social machine, through newer approaches which perceive it as an open system, constantly learning and developing through interaction with its environment, feeding from it and contributing to it (Chen-Levi, 2016; Goldspink & Kay, 2003; Levin & Schrum, 2013; Shaked & Schechter, 2013; Senge, 2006). Theoretical approaches employed to understand organizations appear to prove that they usually possess several common traits: constant production of desired products in order to procure the essential resources to perpetuate the organization’s existence and functioning; systematic work distribution, where every individual in the organization is delegated a set of actions that combine into one well-defined role; activation of coordination processes and control mechanisms in order to achieve maximal efficacy under the existing conditions, and institutionalization of * Lecturer, Department of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.+Lecturer, Orot Israel College of Education, Rehovot, Israel. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.9-1-9](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.9-1-9) doi=10.30958/aje.9-1-9 organizational processes; behaviors and interactions between components within the organization as well as between it and its outside environment, and more. The differing extents to which these traits exist in each organization enable us to describe and characterize each organization’s unique profile and distinguish it from other social frameworks (Chen-Levi, 2019). Despite their common characteristics, organizations can differ from eachother dramatically in their conduct as well as in the manner in which they attempt to achieve their goals. A school is an organization characterized by pedagogical work and by the unique interrelation between its components (Chen-Levi, 2019). In order to understand its functioning, it is essential to understand its various subcomponents, and the interaction between them. Whether a school’s structure is bureaucratic-hierarchical or systemic is of utmost significance, thus this may even be deemed its central characteristic. This article

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study on school organizational patterns?

The study investigates teachers’ perceptions of their school’s organizational profile and how it relates to organizational processes within schools.

Which three staff groups participated, and what did they assess?

Administrative staff, homeroom teachers, and subject-matter teachers assessed nine parameters outlining the school’s organizational structure.

How do teachers’ responses describe the criteria most central to school structure?

Teachers emphasize curriculum content and teaching methods, as well as innovation and organizational change, as key cornerstones of education.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran