Making Sense of Social Networks in Schools

Terrence E. Deal - University of Southern California, Rossier School
Ted Purinton - National Louis University, USA
Making Sense of Social Networks in Schools
December 2008 | 176 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452294940
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ISBN: 9781412954440
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Description

"It is refreshing to see a volume dedicated first and foremost to understanding and building human relationships in schools. By developing strong networks, schools can foster open systems committed to distributive leadership and exemplary academic outcomes."
—Sharon Conley, Professor
University of California, Santa Barbara

Discover how to navigate your school's social networks to maximize communication and collaboration!

Social networks reflect the usually invisible relationships that control the flow of information and power within a school. This compelling guide provides school leaders with an understanding of the real relationships within their schools and how to use their social savvy to promote school goals.

This resource examines the types of social networks typically found in schools and provides samples of social network maps, steps for developing your own maps, and practical advice for managing social networks effectively. Learn how to leverage the power of:

  • Task networks determined by work roles and organizational structure
  • Friendship networks based on relationships between staff members
  • Power networks that can influence opinions and resources
  • Culture networks that can help unite staff

By understanding the many relationships that contribute to a school's culture, leaders can cultivate innovative ideas, enhance teacher capacity, manage conflict, and get things done.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Foreword by Guilbert Hentschke

Foreword by Guilbert Hentschke

Preface: What's in a Song?

Preface: What's in a Song?

Lyrics to Green Door

Lyrics to Green Door

Introduction: The New Principal Encounters a Locked Door: Through a Smoky Cloud

  • Outside Looking In
  • Overview of the Book
  • 1. A Glimmer of Networks: Saw an Eyeball Peepin'
  • Business Research
  • Predominance of Networks
  • Impact on Schools
  • Misreading Clues
  • The Context of Leadership
  • Managing Networks
  • Finding Direction
  • 2. Network Basics: Green Door, What’s That Secret You’re Keepin’
  • Nuts and Bolts
  • Network Players
  • Whole Networks
  • The Key to the Green Door
  • 3. Limitations of Task Networks: Door Slammed, Hospitality's Thin There
  • Searching for the Boss
  • Turned Down by the Boss
  • No Access
  • Finding Access
  • Awareness
  • Resources
  • Stephanie Relaxes the Rule Book
  • 4. Friendship Networks: The Happy Crowd
  • Finding Friends
  • Someone Who Understands Me
  • Someone Convenient
  • The Impact of Comfortable Connections
  • Emotional Contagion
  • Informal Induction
  • Jasmine’s Cost-Benefit Decision
  • Friendship and Productivity
  • Antipathy and Its Problems
  • The Blessings and Curses of Friendship Networks
  • 5. Power Networks: Wish They’d Let Me In
  • Politics as Usual
  • Power Stars
  • Power as Perception
  • Power Players
  • Baskets and Eggs
  • Working the Power Networks
  • Principals as Politicians
  • 6. Culture Networks: They Laugh a Lot Behind the Green Door
  • Stories and Traditions
  • Ties That Bind
  • The Way Things Are Done Around Here
  • Tribal Leaders, Mavericks, Mavens, Gossips, and Spies
  • The Door Ajar
  • Cultural Players
  • Trust Thy Neighbor
  • The Spirit Moves Her: A Principal Assumes the Dais
  • The Ghost of Garvey
  • A Bonding Moment
  • Reflecting on Garvey’s Green Door
  • 7. Scoping and Working the Networks: Midnight, One More Night Without Sleepin’
  • Promises and Caveats of Network Study
  • Beyond Individual Players
  • Learning Communities, Culture, and Communication
  • Making Sense of School Networks
  • Opening a Can of Worms: Big Brother or the Future of Leadership
  • Inside the Green Door

Appendix: Research on Networks in Sociology, Business, and Education

  • Network Literature
  • Network and Related Literature in Education
  • Our Endeavors in Social Network Analysis

References

References

Index

Index

Description

"It is refreshing to see a volume dedicated first and foremost to understanding and building human relationships in schools. By developing strong networks, schools can foster open systems committed to distributive leadership and exemplary academic outcomes."
—Sharon Conley, Professor
University of California, Santa Barbara

Discover how to navigate your school's social networks to maximize communication and collaboration!

Social networks reflect the usually invisible relationships that control the flow of information and power within a school. This compelling guide provides school leaders with an understanding of the real relationships within their schools and how to use their social savvy to promote school goals.

This resource examines the types of social networks typically found in schools and provides samples of social network maps, steps for developing your own maps, and practical advice for managing social networks effectively. Learn how to leverage the power of:

  • Task networks determined by work roles and organizational structure
  • Friendship networks based on relationships between staff members
  • Power networks that can influence opinions and resources
  • Culture networks that can help unite staff

By understanding the many relationships that contribute to a school's culture, leaders can cultivate innovative ideas, enhance teacher capacity, manage conflict, and get things done.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Foreword by Guilbert Hentschke

Foreword by Guilbert Hentschke

Preface: What's in a Song?

Preface: What's in a Song?

Lyrics to Green Door

Lyrics to Green Door

Introduction: The New Principal Encounters a Locked Door: Through a Smoky Cloud

  • Outside Looking In
  • Overview of the Book
  • 1. A Glimmer of Networks: Saw an Eyeball Peepin'
  • Business Research
  • Predominance of Networks
  • Impact on Schools
  • Misreading Clues
  • The Context of Leadership
  • Managing Networks
  • Finding Direction
  • 2. Network Basics: Green Door, What’s That Secret You’re Keepin’
  • Nuts and Bolts
  • Network Players
  • Whole Networks
  • The Key to the Green Door
  • 3. Limitations of Task Networks: Door Slammed, Hospitality's Thin There
  • Searching for the Boss
  • Turned Down by the Boss
  • No Access
  • Finding Access
  • Awareness
  • Resources
  • Stephanie Relaxes the Rule Book
  • 4. Friendship Networks: The Happy Crowd
  • Finding Friends
  • Someone Who Understands Me
  • Someone Convenient
  • The Impact of Comfortable Connections
  • Emotional Contagion
  • Informal Induction
  • Jasmine’s Cost-Benefit Decision
  • Friendship and Productivity
  • Antipathy and Its Problems
  • The Blessings and Curses of Friendship Networks
  • 5. Power Networks: Wish They’d Let Me In
  • Politics as Usual
  • Power Stars
  • Power as Perception
  • Power Players
  • Baskets and Eggs
  • Working the Power Networks
  • Principals as Politicians
  • 6. Culture Networks: They Laugh a Lot Behind the Green Door
  • Stories and Traditions
  • Ties That Bind
  • The Way Things Are Done Around Here
  • Tribal Leaders, Mavericks, Mavens, Gossips, and Spies
  • The Door Ajar
  • Cultural Players
  • Trust Thy Neighbor
  • The Spirit Moves Her: A Principal Assumes the Dais
  • The Ghost of Garvey
  • A Bonding Moment
  • Reflecting on Garvey’s Green Door
  • 7. Scoping and Working the Networks: Midnight, One More Night Without Sleepin’
  • Promises and Caveats of Network Study
  • Beyond Individual Players
  • Learning Communities, Culture, and Communication
  • Making Sense of School Networks
  • Opening a Can of Worms: Big Brother or the Future of Leadership
  • Inside the Green Door

Appendix: Research on Networks in Sociology, Business, and Education

  • Network Literature
  • Network and Related Literature in Education
  • Our Endeavors in Social Network Analysis

References

References

Index

Index

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Making Sense of Social Networks in Schools


December 2008 | 176 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781412954440 $37.95
Hardcover 27/02/2023 9781412954433 $73.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781452294940 $35.00

"It is refreshing to see a volume dedicated first and foremost to understanding and building human relationships in schools. By developing strong networks, schools can foster open systems committed to distributive leadership and exemplary academic outcomes."
—Sharon Conley, Professor
University of California, Santa Barbara

Discover how to navigate your school's social networks to maximize communication and collaboration!

Social networks reflect the usually invisible relationships that control the flow of information and power within a school. This compelling guide provides school leaders with an understanding of the real relationships within their schools and how to use their social savvy to promote school goals.

This resource examines the types of social networks typically found in schools and provides samples of social network maps, steps for developing your own maps, and practical advice for managing social networks effectively. Learn how to leverage the power of:

  • Task networks determined by work roles and organizational structure
  • Friendship networks based on relationships between staff members
  • Power networks that can influence opinions and resources
  • Culture networks that can help unite staff

By understanding the many relationships that contribute to a school's culture, leaders can cultivate innovative ideas, enhance teacher capacity, manage conflict, and get things done.


Table Of Contents:

  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors
  • Foreword by Guilbert Hentschke
  • Preface: What's in a Song?
  • Lyrics to Green Door
  • Introduction: The New Principal Encounters a Locked Door: Through a Smoky Cloud
  • Outside Looking In
  • Overview of the Book
  • 1. A Glimmer of Networks: Saw an Eyeball Peepin'
  • Business Research
  • Predominance of Networks
  • Impact on Schools
  • Misreading Clues
  • The Context of Leadership
  • Managing Networks
  • Finding Direction
  • 2. Network Basics: Green Door, What’s That Secret You’re Keepin’
  • Nuts and Bolts
  • Network Players
  • Whole Networks
  • The Key to the Green Door
  • 3. Limitations of Task Networks: Door Slammed, Hospitality's Thin There
  • Searching for the Boss
  • Turned Down by the Boss
  • No Access
  • Finding Access
  • Awareness
  • Resources
  • Stephanie Relaxes the Rule Book
  • 4. Friendship Networks: The Happy Crowd
  • Finding Friends
  • Someone Who Understands Me
  • Someone Convenient
  • The Impact of Comfortable Connections
  • Emotional Contagion
  • Informal Induction
  • Jasmine’s Cost-Benefit Decision
  • Friendship and Productivity
  • Antipathy and Its Problems
  • The Blessings and Curses of Friendship Networks
  • 5. Power Networks: Wish They’d Let Me In
  • Politics as Usual
  • Power Stars
  • Power as Perception
  • Power Players
  • Baskets and Eggs
  • Working the Power Networks
  • Principals as Politicians
  • 6. Culture Networks: They Laugh a Lot Behind the Green Door
  • Stories and Traditions
  • Ties That Bind
  • The Way Things Are Done Around Here
  • Tribal Leaders, Mavericks, Mavens, Gossips, and Spies
  • The Door Ajar
  • Cultural Players
  • Trust Thy Neighbor
  • The Spirit Moves Her: A Principal Assumes the Dais
  • The Ghost of Garvey
  • A Bonding Moment
  • Reflecting on Garvey’s Green Door
  • 7. Scoping and Working the Networks: Midnight, One More Night Without Sleepin’
  • Promises and Caveats of Network Study
  • Beyond Individual Players
  • Learning Communities, Culture, and Communication
  • Making Sense of School Networks
  • Opening a Can of Worms: Big Brother or the Future of Leadership
  • Inside the Green Door
  • Appendix: Research on Networks in Sociology, Business, and Education
  • Network Literature
  • Network and Related Literature in Education
  • Our Endeavors in Social Network Analysis
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

This book is easy to read for BA students. Who reads this, might get interested in studying social networks or sociological problems of education more deeply.
Dr Karoly Takacs, Institute of Sociol, Corvinus University of Budapest
"A unique book in that it makes the invisible but powerful human dynamics among staff members within a school more transparent and user-friendly."
Joy St. Pierre, School Social Work Journal, September 2010 (Vol. 35, No. 1)
May use this text for a more advanced research course.
Dr Tirupalavanam Ganesh, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University - Tempe
"Provides an intriguing insight into the reality and power of the human relationships that exist in our schools. This work offers alternative strategies for getting things done just as it proposes a new paradigm for thinking about the fundamental organization of the school. Readers will think about how they can lead most effectively with a new and challenging perspective."
Joanne Rooney, Codirector, Midwest Principals' Center
"The authors have created a useful, practical, and compelling guide for school and district leaders as they navigate the complexities of school environments. They skillfully guide the reader to manage the school culture in ways to support student achievement and overall school improvement. The authors provide tools, strategies, and resources for site and district administrators to collect and analyze data about one of the most important and often-ignored resources: social capital."
Delores B. Lindsey, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, California State University, San Marcos

Recommendations