The curriculum developer has an obligation to attend to the needs, goals, and expectations of special interest groups as they relate to the decisions he makes." (Author)

Curriculum change has rarely been examined as a political process of interaction, influence, and the use of social power for realigning community values. (Author)

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…

This review paper on the current issue of school decentralization points out that it has been consistently demonstrated that participation in the decision making process results in positive changes in both the affective and instrumental behavior of participants. Studies show that parent involvement in the schools enhances children's development…

To assist project members in understanding the concepts and philosophy of community-based education in Teacher Corps programs, this document presents eight learning guides. The first two guides relate community-based education to regulations and to emerging community-based policy in the Teacher Corps program. They offer background material for the…

Methods for encouraging community involvement and training community volunteers for decision making positions in community schools are described. The functions of community schools are to provide a broad diversity of learning opportunities and to involve citizens in assessing community needs, evaluating services, and advocating…

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR STUDYING THE OPERATION OF SOCIAL POWER IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS WAS DEVELOPED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT A SCHOOL SYSTEM MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF ITS SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENT. TWELVE DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED TO DETERMINE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN FOUR TYPES OF COMMUNITY POWER STRUCTURES (DOMINATED, FACTIONAL, PLURALISTIC, AND…

A questionnaire survey of 180 Texas school district superintendents sought to determine both their perceptions of how community power structures influenced school board decisions and their techniques for communicating with their local power structure. The study analyzed four power structure types--monopolistic, multigroup noncompetitive,…

This paper, the third based on a 4-year sociological field study of school-community relations in a factional suburb, analyzes conflict generated by the discrepancy between the perceived and actual norms governing the school board-community relationship. A 3-year effort to develop board responsiveness followed a 7-year period of professional…

The Institute for Responsive Education (IRE) is a private, nonprofit organization involved in research, policy analysis, assistance to local sites, and development of a national information clearinghouse and network for citizen groups. IRE recommends an approach to community based education that encourages citizen participation in decision-making…