Another example of an ‘interpretive’ approach to the study of education is the pioneer investigation of Cicourel and Kitsuse into the organizational practices of schools.5 In more traditional educational research ‘school organization’ is usually seen as a formal structure with rules regulating the activities of members and goals towards which these activities are directed. Cicourel and Kitsuse, however, do not regard an organization as a ‘real thing’ and instead pose the question of why organizations are so experienced. Once a belief in the ‘objective reality’ of formal organizations is abandoned, they argue, the organizational rules operative in schools can be seen to be the result of their continual affirmation through the everyday decision-making practices of teachers and administrators.