Schools are social systems in which two or more persons work together in a
coordinated manner to attain common goals (Norlin, 2009). This definition is useful, for
it specifies several important features of schools: (1) they consist, ultimately, of people;
(2) they are goal-directed in nature; (3) they attain their goals through some form of
coordinated effort; and (4) they interact with their external environment. The definition,
however, does not elaborate on one important feature of schools deserving special
attention: All schools are open systems, although the degree of interaction with their
environment may vary.