We published two articles: “Student Subculture and School Organization in Japanese High Schools” in 1981, and “Academic Organization and Students' Career Formation” in 1982. The purposes of them were to clarify the organizational process and structure in high schools, and to identify the effect of school organization on the polarization process of student subculture and of students' career formation.
In the present paper, I reviewed the above two studies in the light of the development of sociological studies of the school, with a special reference to high schools in Japan.
Our studies showed that socialization and selection functions of the school are realized through a complex process within schools, and that school organization has various effects on students through this process.
In order to make progress in the study of the school as an organization, we must seek ‘the context-grounding effect’ of school organization. Furthe rmore, we need the empirical study of teachers as an organizer of various school activities.
