This document focuses on the ideas, forces, and events that move the National School Boards Association (NSBA) forward through the years since its founding in 1940 (with its long roots extending back into the middle of the 19th century). The first chapter of this history of the NSBA, "The Antecedent Years," focuses on the years…

Focuses on school boards as sociocultural systems. Asserts that boards' decision-making processes operate within a cultural context and have, over the centuries of their existence, developed a culture of their own. Proposes that culture dictates a decision-making output that is not as responsive or immediate as would be expected. (Author/MK)

Describes the activities of the National Council of State Directors of Community/Junior Colleges and the roles of state directors and governing boards. Traces the concerns of the state directors from their first meetings in the 1960s through the 1970s, noting changes in meeting themes and in council recommendations. (DMM)

This is the first time within recent years that a chapter on school administration and school finance has appeared in a biennial report of the Office of Education. In 1914, there was a published a chapter on Progress in Educational Administration and in 1923 a chapter on School Finance. Both the subjects of administration and finance have,…

The development of control over and coordination of higher education at the state level in Illinois during the first half of the twentieth century is discussed, and events leading up to the creation of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education in 1961 are outlined. The development of the board's authority and power in the areas of new program…

This case study traces the evolution of race and schooling issues in Oakland, California and assesses why that school district did not opt to desegregate as seemed likely in the 1960s. (Author/MP)

Traces the changing responsibilities of boards of education in response to public attitudes and social change. Examines the impact of research reports on public school reform since the publication of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983. Emphasizes the findings of the effective schools research. (FMW)

Examines educational preferences of workers in England's North-East coal mining districts in the late 19th-century. Contrasts views of worker preferences represented in the memoirs of socialist labor organizers with the preferences recorded in votes of working-class members of local school boards. Finds a strong conservatism in many areas of…

Uses New York City schools as a case study in the translation of national policy into local action during World War I. Examines how the Board of Education initiated the intertwined tasks of stimulating patriotism and promoting Americanization. Discusses how schools were used as channels of communication to all Americans. (JS)

A historical overview of Ohio's county boards of education is provided in this document. State legislation passed in 1914 provided statewide school standards, established the county boards of education, and outlined the county superintendent's qualifications. The new boards' major responsibilities included teacher supervision and the…

The article reviews the National Governors Association recommendation to allow parents to choose the public schools their children attend. Included are U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett's comments on the recommendations and comments by other concurring educators. The role of school boards as elected representatives of the community is…

For a number of years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of the school board's role in improving educational programs and services. Evidences of this recognition may be found in the increased citizen interest in school boards, the amount of school administration literature devoted to them, the rapidly growing body of school…

Developments in American higher education from 1905-1945 to increase efficiency and coordination are discussed. Data were collected on the costs of instruction, utilization of facilities, and the distribution of faculty time in order to find ways to reduce wastage and increase efficiency. A certain amount of this wastage resulted from competition…

Assesses the effect of the changing social and political environment of education on the nature and patterns of school board elections. Infers that board elections are becoming increasingly politicized in spite of the historic ideology that education is and ought to be an autonomous and nonpolitical function of government. (Author/MK)

Because of the individual authority of each State for its own educational program, practices and policies differ widely among them in many respects. Yet in the midst of differences there are also common elements of development. The U. S. Office of Education, in presenting this series of monographs, has attempted to point out those common elements,…