The illumination of situational analysis by frame factor theory

Abstract

This paper has as its starting point that schools are embedded in society. It follows that any analysis of schooling requires also an analysis of the societal context in which it is situated and a consequent relationship developed between the two. Such an analysis requires a theory which adequately relates schooling to society. Frame factor theory, developed by Kallos and Lundgren (1979), in their work in Scandinavia, does relate schooling to a view of society. The School Based Curriculum Development (SBCD) literature provides the notion of situational analysis which is a process undertaken to determine the context of SBCD at the school site. The purpose of this paper is to explore the utility of frame factor theory from the perspective of teachers who need to know more about their school context. This will be done by first describing and discussing frame factor theory and some developments of it. Then the concept of situational analysis will be addressed and related to frame factor theory. Finally, an example of a situational analysis conducted by a school will serve to illustrate how considerably greater understanding of the context of the school in society would have been possible had the explanatory frame factor theory been used as the underlying theory for the situational analysis.