Abstract
The paper discusses the complex layers that make up a school culture and their effect on a rather routine organizational decision, namely, handling truancy, a problem that if left unchecked increases the likelihood of a student's dropping out. The researcher probes the multiple meanings of truancy in policy and practice by applying three lenses of organizational culture: the school as a whole, as subcultures, and as fragmented and ambiguous. The findings suggest that institutional realities at the organizational level unify members, but there are inconsistencies which can be detected at the subcultural and individual levels. Meanings are multiple and individually interpreted. Thus, members are able to exercise greater flexibility within the organization while, at the same time, demonstrating the greater autonomous action necessary in multiethnic urban settings. Further, the multiplicity of cultures suggests cultures other than race or ethnicity. The researcher proposes the utility of multiple lenses to facilitate understanding school culture.
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Enomoto, E.K. The meaning of truancy: Organizational culture as multicultures. Urban Rev 26, 187–207 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354958
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354958