Bidwell, Charles

Charles Bidwell is an American sociologist, noted for his contributions to sociology of education through his analyses of the formal and informal organizations of schools, social networks within the school system, and the intersection of each with social psychological processes and student outcomes. Bidwell began his career theoretically and empirically exploring the organizational nature of schools. Building off of Willard Waller's work, he looked at how schools serve students, the roles of students and faculty within the school, and the bureaucratic nature of the school system. Until this point, there was fragmented research in areas of school organization, but no one theory or call for research tying it together to look at schools and classrooms as social systems. Though there may be rules, policies, or ...