Female researchers conducting field research in educational politics encounter special problems of access, entry, reciprocity, and ethics. Accordingly, this study focuses first on field research methods in policy settings as a general topic, then on problems specific to women in this area. A researcher must be aware of informal coalitions or…

Numerous studies indicate that an individual's perception of internal or external control over life events ("perceived locus of control") is a personality variable that influences the perception of a situation as threatening or stress-inducing. Whether for reasons of personality or because of "situational powerlessness," the…

This paper highlights the findings of Gougeon's 1989 study of high school principals of schools with grade configurations 9 through 12 in the state of Washington, a study based on the Principal Leadership as Social Control (PLASC) theory. Accordingly, the first section describes the PLASC theory as social control of teachers through power- and…

Recent attention to literacy, rather than focusing on literacy for social mobility as in the 1960s, promotes literacy for basic, entry-level employment, a position that supports the existing power structure rather than redistributing power in our society. Therefore true universal literacy--which involves the potential redistribution of power--is…

To fulfill the requirements of the hierarchically stratified workplace, schools socialize students in terms of the socioeconomic status of their parents. Forty-five students in two first grade public schools--one in an upper-middle class neighborhood, the other in a lower-middle class neighborhood--were observed. Both classrooms and teachers were…

It would be easy to believe now that the student activism of the 1960's was an unpleasant aberration, quick to develop and almost equally quick to subside. However, recent events indicate that the student movement never quite ended. Today's student see greater gains from recourse to the courts and to the legislature. Success in gaining…

The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between professional and bureaucratic decisional environments in schools and discover the impact of this interaction on the processes of educational governance. A case study methodology was used to gather data; the analysis was conducted within a conceptual framework of organization…

The evolving patterns of authority in the higher education systems of countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are reviewed. Attention is directed to the major characteristics of the traditional patterns of authority, pressures for changed experiences during the transformation from elite to…

Using the latest research instruments, including questionnaires, interviews, factor analysis, and matrix construction, the present restraints on professorial effectiveness and the contributions of departmental and university structures to professorial malaise is examined for the purpose of improving ways that administrators can increase faculty…

The primary focus of organization in Turkish society has been the extended family, with an emphasis on family loyalty and an extremely centralized authority. To study the relationships among levels of supervision in relation to personality and cultural influence, 69 subjects (foremen and department heads) were drawn from three small Turkish…

A three-part study of why disproportionate numbers of black and male high school students are expelled or suspended examines student and school characteristics and teacher attitudes. This part of the report looks at school characteristics. In eleven high schools in two large, urban, midwestern school districts, researchers used interviews, student…

The educational institution's resistance to change may be attributed to its non-profit motive, domesticated service role, bureaucratic structure, and the fact that its existence is ensured by law. The characteristics likely to contribute to the success of change agent in school settings are: (1) a high social status within the faculty of the…

This report describes a study of two small-to-middle-sized midwestern school districts, each observed for about one year. The aim was to clarify the nature of the organizational form of school systems and to examine the organizational processes, using qualitative rather than quantitative methods. Two central concerns of the study were to explore…

Six approaches to community development are presented by several authors in this booklet. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the community development concept. In chapter 2, L. J. Cary emphasizes three distinctive features of the community approach: (1) popular or broad-based participation, (2) community as an important concept, and (3) the…

Graduate education in the United States is viewed as a narrowing and intellectually confining experience, and its effects on the student and society are discussed. The experience of the graduate student includes learning how to deal with departmental requirements, course expectations, and demands from professors. The ability to "hustle" to meet…