We are, for the second time in a hundred years, experiencing a revolution in the politics of education. In the 1890s municipal reform wrested control of urban school systems from city political machines and their neighborhood subunits. Since then the structure of school government has rested on two types of legitimacy. These are a belief in…

A major component of the decentralization concept has been the focus on the participation of community, staff, and students in the process of educational decision making. On June 28, 1971, the Los Angeles City Board of Education mandated that a school-community advisory council be established in every regular elementary and secondary school in the…

Argues that ways exist to include parents and communities in educational decision making without sacrificing the gains which teachers' unions have won. Describes and assesses several strategies for opening up the bargaining process. (Editor/RK)

Six school board members discuss the most crucial community relations problems facing their school system and what their school boards can and should do about them. (MF)

Examines superintendents' attitudes toward community participation at the advisory and control levels in four areas of educational policy-making. (Author)

Four goals of increasing community involvement which may be shared by communities and administrators are given. Four paths through which involvement may affect achievement are identified. Focus is on consequences of involving persons in decision-making. (Author/AM)

Previous and present relationships between colleges and their communities are examined to determine the various forms of intervention, both social and economic, that will shape this relationship in the future. Four forms of community intervention are identified. (1) By its participation in college programs and services, the community is the…

The concept of educational leadership in the black community has undergone some change since the advent of community control and decentralization. Educational administration must now encompass the social process of the local social system. In the Woodlawn locality of Chicago, (one of the ten poorest Chicago communities), the Woodlawn Experimental…

This paper reviews and discusses political models that bear on policy-making processes. The first part of the report deals with the merits of the "elitist" versus the "pluralistic" frameworks used to analyze the exercise of power in local communities. This review of the theories serves as a basis for a subsequent discussion of…

If schools are to be professionally responsive to and accountable to their clients, each school must have some control over decisions affecting its particular student body. These include decisions in the areas of policy, curriculum, staffing, facilities, resources (and related finances), evaluation processes, and participation in system-level…

Superintendents' attitudes toward community participation in and control of curriculum issues in relation to the current demands for a broad base in school decision-making are examined. It is hypothesized that superintendents will differ in their attitudes on participation and control in four areas of school decision-making. Certain…

Sheds light on a growing conflict that has surfaced between urban communities and teachers' unions: the conflict over the sharing of power in school decision making. Discusses the actions of the Philadelphia Parents Union. (Author/IRT)

This handbook is organized by action areas that a school principal needs to consider in creating, maintaining, and utilizing successful involvement with the neighboring communities. Each area discusses the range of options available to the principal. Building principals are thus able to select features to fit their particular communities. The…

A vast number of different types of citizens' groups participate in the educational process with differing degrees of involvement. Besides school-oriented groups, there are child advocacy and neighborhood associations, other citizens groups that have broad concerns but are in part interested in schools, and the advisory committees created by legal…

School community relations in big cities are marked by apathy and distrust and, often, by hostility. Yet, many Federal programs and many pressing urban problems require that administrators and communities work together more closely than ever before. This project analyzes evidence from recent empirical research and from field evaluations to…