The photographs of William Henry Jackson taken during the 1871 survey of the Yellowstone region of Wyoming and Montana have often been cited as the first specific group of photographs used for successful persuasion. Many historians credit Jackson's photographs as being the most influential factor in persuading Congress to designate the Yellowstone…

If the educational community has been less influential than desired or needed in the past, it is now time for us to reappraise our behavior and take steps to become more influential in the state legislatures and the Congress of the United States. Today, in order to be heard, one must be a part of a more formal lobby effort. Lobbying can be…

Five approaches, designed by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), help educational administrators gain access to the educational policy-making process. They include a year-long fellowship program, the Educational Policy Fellowship Program, for midcareer administrators to learn about policy-making at the federal, state, and local levels;…

Discusses educational needs and accomplishments of the Hispanic community. Urges Hispanics to enter into national educational organizations, establish working coalitions with other groups, and engage in lobbying to influence educational policy. (ST)

This document includes five reports originally presented at two meetings of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) held respecively in 1985 and 1987. In "Public Policy on LIbraries," Hector Wynter, a member of the Jamaican Parliament, describes the role of the legislator in the development of libraries in Jamaica.…

The modern-day lobbyist is uniquely qualified to provide lawmakers with information that would take an overworked staff countless hours to obtain; hence, the relationship of lobbyist and lawmaker has evolved into a network of accommodation and mutual assistance. Consistent with persuasion theory that recognizes the limitations of discourse,…

Efforts of educational interest groups to defeat merit pay for Pennsylvania teachers during 1983-1986 are explored in this case study. Political systems theory and allocative theory provide the conceptual framework. Deutsch's (1973) outline of variables that affect the course of conflict was used to organize indepth personal interviews and a…

Survey and observational research on educational lobbying organizations in the Pennsylvania state legislature yielded both data on influence processes and a set of seven guidelines for educational lobbyists. A survey of Pennsylvania legislators at the 1973-74 session examined their attitudes about education bills, educational lobbies and their…

A study investigated the political socialization patterns of politically active vocational educators. Six groups of vocational educators were examined: agriculture education teacher educators, agriculture administrators, home economics teacher educators, home economics administrators, trade and industrial education teacher educators, and trade and…

While much has been written about state-level textbook selection and adoption, little careful, systematic data gathering has taken place. One result of this absence of formal study is that few people understand the scope and complexity of interacting persons and processes taking place whenever states make textbook decisions. This paper presents…

During the last 30 years, direct mail campaigning has become an integral part of the political process, and more recently has also become an influential fund raising tool for other political and religious groups. Analysis of over 70 examples of direct mail campaigns reveals at least 4 major content norms featured in most direct mail. First, the…

A study examined the attitudes of legislators toward issues facing the Commonwealth of Kentucky, to determine (1) if there were differences in legislators' perception of the usefulness of mass media and interpersonal sources for information, (2) if there was a greater evidence of mass media usage among legislators who can be considered opinion…

The politics of education is a study in the exercise of power. There are two forms of power--position power and persuasive power. Position power changes with conditions and legal mandates, while persuasive power rests in the communicative ability and knowledge of the individual, regardless of position. The exercise of power occurs within the moral…

People United for Rural Education (PURE), organized in Iowa in 1977, now has about 3,000 members in 23 states and 3 foreign countries. PURE's purpose is to ensure the survival of rural schools and to promote rural life as a viable and credible way of life. One of the organization's most difficult tasks is to counteract urban attitudes towards…

This study used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to examine the similarities and differences among different types of institutions of higher education in regard to federal relations. A 1994 mail survey of college presidents resulted in 1,554 respondents. Responses were analyzed based on the Carnegie classification system and control…