| Transaction Cost Economics: The Economizing School Governance Model addresses urban educational reform and focuses on why small high schools are better able to economize on transaction costs than large high schools. This study examines transaction cost economics (TCE) as a function of school size by looking at the administration of the master schedule; student discipline; curriculum and instruction; and adaptation and innovation. The study utilizes the transaction as the basic unit of analysis to study contracting differences in the two schools.; More than ninety percent of the district's students are members of racial and ethnic minorities: Latino, seventy-six percent; African American, nine percent; and White, eight percent. The small school offers a high-school major/college preparation program in five areas: health; teaching; media and technology; hospitality; and transportation professions. The school provides standards based curriculum and instruction, and it is currently in its third year enrolling 325 freshman, sophomores, and juniors. By the 2004--2005 school year, the school will be at full capacity at 450 students.; The large comprehensive high school serves over 2,500 students. District attendance boundaries prescribe enrollment at the school, and it is one of four comprehensive high schools in the district. The large high school offers a traditional comprehensive college preparation program tied to the district's standards based curriculum and instruction.; Since interviews are the heart of the information gathering, the researcher worked with each high school principal to select faculty from each site. Using a predetermined set of questions, the interview protocol included the interviews of two administrators, four teachers, the office manager, and the lead custodian. Sixteen, fifty minute, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the faculty. Archival records, interviews, direct observation, and physical artifacts were utilized to triangulate the data.; This study found the small school is a flatter organizational structure able to economize on transactions in the administration of the master schedule, student discipline, curriculum/instruction, and adaptation and innovation. The large school is a tall organizational structure and is defined by specialization. It was found that specialization and departmentalization adds cost to the operation of a high school. |
