Two basic questions are examined: (1) why is parental involvement in schools valuable? and (2) if it is, how may it be achieved? (FF)

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…

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…

Drawing largely on data from Los Angeles, but with reference to other cities where appropriate, this paper attempts to clarify the distinctive positions taken by advocates of community control as opposed to proponents of administrative decentralization. While community control is essentially a political demand, oriented toward citizens influencing…

This document reviews the consequences of urban community involvement in school decision making. Areas concerning educational decisions, shared as goals by lay communities and school people, are considered to be: institutional responsiveness, affective and material community support to schools, educational achievement, and the democratic principle…

Current and incipient problems in educational administration in England can be grouped into two areas: those resulting from reorganization and those arising from social and political factors. Many problems faced by educational administrators result from school reorganization that is a result of an increase in the number of comprehensive schools.…