The case study of an Ohio school superintendent's experiences during the depression illustrates how political, social, and economic events can affect an educational system. Dr. Thomas Warrington Gosling was named superintendent of Akron schools in 1928, following resignation of the previous superintendent as a consequence of turmoil on the Board…

The study and analysis of Soviet political, social, and economic systems is as old as the Soviet Union itself, but an intensive study of its educational system is a recent development. Many scholars have turned their attention to the Soviet Union's educational system and have studied the curriculums, teaching methods, textbooks, and other…

Part 1 of the 1957-58 Education Directory covers federal and state education agencies. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Office of Education officials, principal school officers of state and territorial education departments, library extension agencies' executive officers, and U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs…

This article discusses the value of professional portfolios, describes how they are used in a five-year Canadian teacher preparation program, and includes criteria for assessing student teacher portfolios. Findings from two surveys of superintendents indicate that, overall, including a portfolio among an applicant's credentials can enhance the…

This research inquiry explored the factors influencing successful science program delivery among early- and middle-years schools within a rural school division in central Canada. The study is framed by the author's personal inquiry into how psycho-social factors at the classroom, school and school division level influence science program delivery.…

This book examines the educational history of the Midwest during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, the book overviews the development of rural education in Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. Data sources include the reports of state superintendents; Annual Reports of the…

This study of the school board agenda-setting role among 30 Minnesota superintendents interprets their perceptions in relation to environmental contexts, group demands, issues control, and district enrollment size. A microperspective of David Easton's political systems model provided the guiding conceptual framework. Respondents were interviewed…

A 1982-83 study conducted at Brigham Young University compared K-12 rural schools with fewer than 300 students to those with enrollments of 301-900, using information from districts in 45 states. Of the 15,601 American K-12/1-12 public school systems, 1,414 (9.1%) were identified as enrolling 300 students or fewer, and 2,711 (17.4%) enrolled…

Of the 105 small K-12 rural public school districts (enrollments under 900) identified in the Colorado study, 19 were randomly chosen for use in gathering information to assist educators in understanding and improving the education of rural residents. A 100% response rate to the 123-item questionnaire mailed to superintendents provided information…

This study identified patterns among small schools in rural communities across a seven-state area. Perceptions of high school seniors, counselors, and graduates were gathered about their rural schools in districts with grade 7 to 12 enrollments of less than 500. Factual information about programs and local schools was obtained from school…

A composite guidebook covers the collective wisdom and teachings of local school governance. From goal-setting to policy making to board-superintendent relations, this publication places in one complete resource information available to the new and the veteran school board member. Although specifically directed to Pennsylvania board members, the…

This paper reports on a study of the 1980 Maryland State Department of Education school improvement project utilizing Mastery Learning. It examines the instructional process implementation, the impact of one pilot school, and the statewide program through observation, surveys, interviews, document analysis, and participant self-reports. Data were…

This report identifies the strategies that multiproblem urban school districts have used to make major improvements in recent years. A panel of experts familiar with urban school systems nominated over 30 candidate urban districts for study. The following districts were chosen for analysis: (1) Atlanta (Georgia); (2) Cincinnati (Ohio); (3) Memphis…

Proceedings of the University/Urban Schools Task Force conference on what works in urban schools are summarized in this report. The future direction of the Task Force, articulated by conference participants, is described as a move toward the conceptualization and design of programs to teach thinking skills versus programs that mainly teach subject…

Five types of counties (College-Professional, Urban, Recreational-Retirement, Extractive, and Most Rural) were identified among 83 counties in the Ozark-Ouchita Uplands in order to determine educational and health impacts resulting from the "population turnaround" of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Variables were computed from…