Noting that because of the diversity of groups found within the Canadian Indian, Metis and Inuit, most discussions concerning the Native Peoples of Canada are too broad and general to be useful, this article proposes to deal with one group, within one province, and focus attention on one specific aspect of education. (Author/JM)

Examines some evidence about public understanding of education policy, compares it to similar understandings of other public policy fields, and discusses some of the steps that may be taken to deal with the prevailing levels of understanding. (Author)

A brief discussion of the growing conflict between teachers, administrators, school board members, legislators, and citizen groups over who should have how much control over various aspects of education. (JG)

According to popular analysis, parental objections to busing are generated by a perceived "loss of control" over the education of their children. It is the thesis of this essay that this loss of control began well before the current dispute over busing. It is helpful to view the process of parental political disenfranchisement as one that has…

The papers in this report fall into three focus areas: (1) new goals and objectives for educational institutions, with a stress on normative analysis of public policy alternatives and a reexamination of prior assumptions on which research is based; (2) the political education of youth, with a particular examination of directions in research on…

This report describes a British local government's role in the provision of schooling. It identifies the benefits and limitations of that involvement, and draws out the implications for South Africa. The document focuses on the Birmingham City Council, its committees, departments, and services, and their current role in the city's schools. It is…

This book offers a comprehensive analysis and description of the political aspects of American education, utilizing both empirical data and case studies on the politics of education. Included are two case studies of recent school policies, which focus on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and the school desegregation…

This study examined a school district before and after its school board changed from appointed status to elected status to determine if there were significant differences in the board's handling of constituent demands. School board minutes were examined and demands were analyzed for a six-month period under the appointed school board, then…

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…

In this interview, Albert Shanker, president of the United Federation of Teachers of New York City, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, and vice president of the AFL/CIO, discussed such topics as the following: his participation in a meeting of labor leaders with President Ford on September 11; the potential influence…

This paper examines whether suburban communities can provide any useful conceptual tools for the examination of the prospects for community control in cities. Several propositions are advanced: First it is argued that the relevance of suburban community control to the poor in the cities is not diminished by the finding that those of high social…

This paper examines the determinants of systemic education reform in the American states. Socioeconomic, political, and cultural variables are all found to affect the level of systemic education policy in each state. Unlike many studies of policy determinants, urbanization is negatively associated with this particular policy. The political factors…

This discussion is organized into four sections. In an introductory section, it is pointed out that the word "decentralization" appears to have many meanings. There is a need to clarify definitions, and to examine decentralization in a practical, working context. In Part 1, "Background and Issues", some of the major issues…

Demands for urban decentralization and community control are indexes of the inaccessibility, irresponsibility, and unresponsiveness of the institutions of urban government in the 1970's. How and why these institutions have become the focus of such widespread dissatisfaction can be understood only in the total context of urban politics in America,…

Local control is emphasized in this examination of the roles of state, federal, and local governments in education policy and change. Federal and state role priorities should be to provide resources and stimulation for the major decisions and changes at the school site. The role of the state in school district governance, which has steadily been…