Public schools have been under great scrutiny. National and international tests have exposed deficiencies of students' knowledge prompting federal and state legislation to focus on improving schools' effectiveness. The pressure induced by recent legislation have school districts scrambling to increase student achievement. One area of reform…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine parents' perceptions of the differences in parental involvement variables that are in place in schools with and without significant disproportionality in special-education programs in Texas. Data collection involved a parent-involvement survey distributed in the two school…

To obtain a realistic understanding of the supervisory role perception of the elementary principal, a 10-item questionnaire was sent to 400 elementary principals and teachers throughout Texas. They rank ordered both real and ideal role dimensions and agreed that the role is not what it should be. Principals now serve as disciplinarians but do not…

A survey examined the perceived roles and competencies of school personnel and parents involved in the transition planning process for special education students, and compared these perceptions in rural and nonrural areas. The study took place in two parts: first, a field study validated the questions in the survey instrument; second, the survey…

This study seeks an answer to one broad question, "Do black children who attend racially desegregated schools, have educational aspirations and expectations which are significantly different (either higher or lower) from black children who attend racially segregated schools?" To facilitate this, the study not only examines the…