This is the fascinating story of the birth, growth, and development of the London Association for the Teaching of English from its earliest years through to the formation of the National Association for the Teaching of English and thereafter. The work of founder members of LATE, such as James Britton, Harold Rosen, and Nancy Martin, was critical…

In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socio economics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a…

School districts are both big businesses and a form of local governance that is part of American democracy. When a crisis makes a district's democratic face relevant, the organization will experience a dilemma that does not occur in business-only organizations. This study examines the public meetings of a school board in the western United States…

Because research on job characteristics as predictors of turnover is of debatable relevance to the study of school board turnover, the research reported here examines the impact of variables capable of capturing the political context. In a survey including data from 263 board members from 83 school districts in New York State, the dependent…

A study was conducted to assess the expectations and sources of conflict and frustration for school board members in Washington, Missouri, and New Jersey. It tested the widely held belief that school board members are experiencing increased conflict and frustration and explored how these pressures are related to the conflicting expectations on…

This report presents findings of a 1985 national study of the local school board. Information was gathered from case studies in nine major metropolitan areas, questionnaires administered to over 200 school board chairpersons, and literature on board governance. Chapter 1 offers an overview and questionnaire results. Chapter 2 summarizes major…

Reports findings from a questionnaire, mailed to school board leaders in all 50 states, that focused on factors inhibiting school board members' effectiveness and that identified training needs of board members. Internal board politics were identified as the biggest problem, along with state interference. (TE)

Purpose: The overall purpose of this exploratory research was to better understand rural educators' feelings about school-based sex education in order to foster better communication and collaboration between prevention researchers and rural teachers and administrators. In order to accomplish this purpose, the research question asked "How does…

This study examines the socialization and enculturation process by which one becomes a school board member, using adult socialization and small group theory to construct a model of the role personalization process. Thirteen new school board members in seven Arizona school districts were interviewed indepth, from the announcement of their candidacy…

Uses transcripts and subsequent reflections of school board members on a meeting of a primary school council in order to indicate administrator influence and leader-follower dynamics. (JW)

This study examines local, ongoing inservice practices and programs for school board members in Pennsylvania in order to devise a program that local districts can adapt or adopt in response to their own needs. Following a brief introduction, a summary describes how data for the study were gathered by means of a series of interviews and…

Describes a case study of a rural school district in which conflicting superintendent, school board, and community values led to the superintendent's dismissal, which led to the defeat of the board members. Analyzes the course of events in terms of the dissatisfaction theory of democracy. (FMW)

A questionnaire completed by 251 school board members from across Texas revealed wide disagreement over the role of the school superintendent. Respondents identified the sizes of their districts, their educational attainment levels, and their lengths of tenure, then indicated whether responsibility for each of 29 tasks in 4 broad areas should rest…

Under the superintendent's guidance, the Riverside (California) Unified School District underwent decentralization between 1960 and 1978. The process involved seven stages: (1) conceptualizing and actualizing a "cooperative community" committed to educating every child, (2) communicating these concepts to key individuals, (3)…

Using data collected in 95 Ohio school districts by Brock Hunt, this study reanalyzed those data, examined the reasons for Hunt's inability to predict a school board member incumbent's defeat, and developed a model that would have predicted those Ohio school board elections. Hunt attempted to develop a statistical model of socioeconomic-political…