The research described in this proposal is aimed at understanding the dynamics of an alternative social institution, the nature of the behavior of various role-groups involved in it, and the effects of this involvement on these participants. The alternative institution being studied is an experimental "high school without walls" operating within the Chicago Public School System (Metro High School). The major role groups being studied are students, full-time teachers, administrators, and consultants to the program. This research program (called the Metro research program in this proposal) has as its two broad concerns (1) to document the beliefs, attitudes, and skills of program participants and the realities of social process that they confronted in developing the alternative public school program and (2) to examine the relationship between social background and the processes and outcomes of education in this alternative educational institution. This document provides specific examples of the types of data collected, empirical generalizations based on this data, and possible policy implications of the research findings. It also illustrates how the two general concerns--functional analysis of the institution and the effect of social background on student behavior--were integrated into the analysis of this particular topic. (Author/EA)