Decision-making as a Struggle and a Play: On Alternative Rationalities in Schools as Organizations

In this article an alternative interpretation of the functions of decision-making and the inherent activities at teachers’ meetings at schools are presented. The metaphor of ‘play’ is introduced in order to make the teachers’ actions during decision-making comprehensible, not only for outsiders, but more importantly for ‘involved insiders’, such as school leaders. The metaphor of decision-making as a play relies on different theoretical perspectives, mainly on the micropolitical perspective on and dramaturgical approach to schools as organizations. The idea of alternative rationalities is chiefly brought forward in order to understand the behaviour of the teachers involved in decision-making in staff meetings in a more comprehensive manner.