A STUDY WAS MADE OF A REPRESENTATIVE MIDWESTERN SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DETERMINE SCHOOL LEADERS' AWARENESS OF (1) INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE INFLUENTIAL IN THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT REORGANIZATION AND (2) ACTIONS PERFORMED BY EACH INFLUENTIAL INDIVIDUAL IN THE DECISIONAL PROCESS. THE RESEARCH PROCEDURE INCLUDES IDENTIFICATION AND RANK…

Discusses four elements involved in the formation of social policy. (MP)

POWER STRUCTURES IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES VARY, AND THE MAKEUP OF SCHOOL BOARDS AND STYLE OF SUPERINTENDENTS IN ANY COMMUNITY CAN BE VIEWED AS A REFLECTION OF THESE DIFFERENT POWER RELATIONSHIPS. A COMMUNITY MAY BE CHARACTERIZED BY (1) A DOMINATED POWER STRUCTURE, DOMINATED SCHOOL BOARD MAKEUP, AND SERVANT SUPERINTENDENT STYLE, (2) A FACTIONAL…

This handbook for parents defines and describes the process of citizen participation in educational decision making. After describing the history of citizen involvement, the booklet answers questions regarding why and how community members can become involved in policy formation. Problems in participatory decision making and strategies for…

To discover possible correlates of decisions in desegregation cases, the social background of the judges, variables from their environments, community linkages, and school district variables are examined in Southern school-desegregation cases. Order from Manning J. Dauer, Managing Editor, Journal of Politics, Department of Political Science,…

Suggests that the relationship between policy outputs and community power may be more fruitfully conceived as variable, depending on the type and characteristics of the policy in question. (Author/AM)

This paper discusses the planning processes and plans of school principals in Israel. It describes how educational planning processes often expose educators to a dilemma: public expectations pressure principals to create quick solutions for complicated educational issues, whereas their professional obligation is to produce plans that will address…

Discusses aspects of literacy education: why it is needed; how it affects the individual, the family, the community, and society; ill effects and abuses of literacy; why literacy education is needed now; and the need for mass literacy campaigns. (CT)

The author argues that direct citizen participation cannot influence educational policy or restore the power of lay boards in public education. Asserting that more can be accomplished by a technically trained organization working within the bureaucracy, he cites the accomplishments of the Education Clearinghouse, a nonprofit group of…

If participation does not include an openness to the issues that are of real concern to the community and an opportunity to influence policy relating to those issues, it becomes an empty public relations gesture fostering apathy, disinterest, resistance, or counter-organization. (MB)

The purposes of this study were, first, to identify the ways Navajos have historically met their needs, pointing out ways in which American society has dealt with their social welfare problems, and second, to determine to what extent present day social welfare services have met these needs. The study population consisted of 112 Navajo workers from…

Stresses the role of the local authority in environmental education policy formation and educational programing. Presents guidelines for a 10-year, in-service training program for primary and secondary level educators. Advocates and explains the advantages of a council policy for environmental education that emphasizes community involvement. (ML)

Factors that influence the perceptions held by school site council members and others about the quality of site-based management (SBM) are examined in this study. Specifically, the relationships among a group's assessment of SBM, perceived level of influence on council decision making, perceived level of support from other groups, and perceived…

The development, implementation, and modification of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools' Quality Education/Racial Balance Policy of 1975 provides the case example of how experts and the specialized knowledge they employ are part of the educational politics of a postindustrial community. In the existing literature, there are competing…

This report describes the first Public Policy Seminar, sponsored by the Black Child Development Institute in the summer of 1972. The seminar was designed to provide the opportunity for information-sharing, awareness of federal policy making, and a channel for minorities involved in child development at the community level to exert pressure and…