地方社會的秩序，與地方事務的運作是緊密聯繫在一起的，它實質上意味著不同的人在其中扮演各種各樣的角色。因此，如果在特定的場合中討論地方事務的運作，由此呈現出來的不同角色之間的相對位置，便能對地方社會的秩序這一抽象的問題有具體的把握。由於縣學寄托著地方社會多方面的期待，有地方官、理學家、地方士人、地方民眾等在其中活動。因此本文以縣學為切入點，將其視作人物活動的舞臺，透過它觀察宋末元初嘉定地方社會秩序的轉變。從宋寧宗嘉定十一年（1218）嘉定創縣，到元至順元年（1330）嘉定州廟學重建，這一百多年中，縣學從官民合作的象徵性場所，成為人際關係、制度與理念的「統會之地」，又轉而成為文化的孤島，折射出嘉定地方社會的秩序經歷的多次轉變。

How should the social order be defined, especially in terms of local society? In my opinion, the roots of the social order lay in the operation of local affairs. Different people played different roles in local affairs. Accordingly, the social order can be examined through the study of the operation of local affairs. In particular, various groups of people in local society were concerned with the County School (縣學), including magistrates, philosophers, local literati, and commoners. In this sense, the school can be regarded as a stage on which such people played their different roles. The variety and the comparative positions of these roles reflected the transformation of the local social order over time. From 1218, when Jiading County was created, to 1330, when the Jiading Prefecture School was rebuilt, the meaning of the county or prefecture school was transformed several times, which reflected transformations of the local social order.