The steady drift toward state control of community college education is a growing issue of concern. This movement has not come from significant changes in the authority or responsibilities of the state community college boards or agencies so much as from a variety of other national and state precursors. This document attempts to establish the…

This paper examines the functioning of the Public School Safety Commission that was established in a large west coast city to study the problem of violence in the city's public schools. The commission was established by the board of education in the spring of 1974 and issued its final report in July 1974. Over 60 community organizations,…

A set of processes, occurring throughout the urban Southwest, is fragmenting and dislocating the barrios that exist in and around metropolitan areas, displacing the Chicano population and acting as a source of disruption and instability in the community. This pamphlet presents three interviews describing projects undertaken by Chicanos in three…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to ascertain the extent to which urban school systems have decentralized the administration of their schools, (2) to obtain opinions on its workability in terms of curriculum development, (3) to begin development of an instrument for clarifying role and function issues at various echelons of decision-making,…

To obtain a clearer understanding of the problems of urban education in Illinois, a committee of seven State legislators and 14 lay citizens engaged in a three-part study: (1) A series of statewide public hearings was held, resulting in 27 proposed solutions, and five universities submitted plans for their increased participation in the…

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…

The emphasis of this paper is that American Indian tribal history and literature should be in context with major developments that are taking place nationally. Such movements as urbanism, self-determination, cultural pluralism, tribalism and institutional relationships each have special meaning in the affairs of the Indian communities. It is…

This handbook is organized by action areas that a school principal needs to consider in creating, maintaining, and utilizing successful involvement with the neighboring communities. Each area discusses the range of options available to the principal. Building principals are thus able to select features to fit their particular communities. The…

This pamphlet is designed to inform the parents of disadvantaged elementary and secondary school students of the provisions of ESEA Title I, and of the possible abuses of Title I funds which might otherwise be allocated to the direct improvement of their children's education. Its contents include: parents' guide to ESEA Title I: what it is and…

An urban Telecommunications Center could offer much to the city of the future. First, it would be a media facilities center, offering materials, classes, and studios for the production of programs. Because it would have a professional staff, the Center would also be a source of expertise to the community. Another function of the Center would be to…

This paper presents the idea of formal neighborhood government as a beginning to discussion and debate. Only by clearing away the confusion over what changes are being asked for by the proponents of decentralization can the neighborhood government movement be placed in historical perspective. The justification for neighborhood government,…

This chapter traces the migration from farms to cities and the later movement from cities to suburbs and discusses the impact of the resulting big city environment on the governance of big city education. The author (1) suggests how local, State, and Federal governments can improve big city education; (2) discusses ways of planning for the future…

This essay seeks to emphasize the relationship in Kenya between primary education and politics, in the context of local control through elected County Councils over primary education. It looks at the costs of primary education, including political and social costs, in terms of their effects on local government and on the relationship between local…

This article explores the benefits and drawbacks of centralized versus local control of schools. It concludes that our traditional conflict between Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian perspectives makes it possible for us to avoid a permanent imbalance between centrist imperatives and the need to maintain rural strength. (PB)

Historically, participation in school affairs gave rural people a working knowledge of how democracy functioned. In the late 19th century, power shifted from the voice of the many to the voice of a few, as "expert" opinion increasingly influenced state legislators, governors, and national political leaders. The push to consolidate…