The purpose of this study is to examine and describe organizational factors which limit change work in upper-secondary schools. To achieve this purpose four semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with teachers of the social sciences in which a recent curricular reform was discussed. This reform acted as a ‘case’ which would allow the study of said organizational factors. The two schools, ‘Guitar school’ and ‘Trumpet school’, had not yet implemented the changes which the reform brought about.

The analysis of the empiric material was aided by ‘frirumsmodellen’, which is a model concerning the management of schools as organizations and institutions, as well as the ‘garbage-can model of organizational choice’, which focuses on decision making within organizations.

The results show that three factors could be described as hindering the change work of the organizations. The factors are called ‘priorities’, ‘lack of time’ and ‘autonomy’. Priorities is about the fact that the reform has not been implemented due to it not being prioritized within the organization, there were simply other matters prioritized instead of it. Lack of time is about the fact that, within social sciences, there is already a plethora of content which the teachers need to concern themselves with, and therefore there are difficulties with integrating another subject matter. Lastly, autonomy concerns that the school as an organization is difficult to manage and control due to, in part, the teachers’ autonomy. Furthermore, the analysis aided by the theoretical perspectives suggest there is some conflict between the internal and external boundaries which regulate and manage the schools, the teachers’ autonomy is also a force inside of this conflict. Some decisions made in the organizations also show signs of “garbage-can”-processes, which also adds to the understanding of the difficulties with implementation.