This dissertation examined the differences in school board activities between high-achieving and low-achieving districts across urban, suburban, and rural settings in Pennsylvania. The focus was on understanding the disparities in official behaviors contributing to academic outcomes. This study addressed a critical gap in educational governance…

Public school board elections have become cultural battlegrounds as groups with opposing views on education, politics, religion, and social and cultural issues vie to shape public education, their communities, and the nation. To date, little research has examined White Christian nationalism as a political force shaping these elections. This paper…

Social capital refers to the nature of ties within a social unit, as well as the unit's external relationships. We draw from organizational sociology and political science, and also build upon existing insights in school board research, to offer an approach that address the effects of "bonding" (internal ties) and "bridging"…

Educators nationwide confront a troubling phenomenon: Increasingly, students leave high school unready for college, as evidenced by high rates of placement into remedial courses and low rates of college completion. Many students also lack either the attitudes or skills essential to succeed in a postsecondary setting, or knowledge of how to apply…

This qualitative study was designed to examine how homeschooling parents in Pennsylvania make the determination to engage with public school districts to accommodate the special education needs (SEN) of their children. This phenomenological study used direct interviews with 30 Pennsylvania families who are homeschooling children with SEN. Data…

Cyber schools, also known as virtual schools, are noteworthy charter school developments that provide viable options for education. Charter schools in general and cyber charter schools in particular are not "revenue neutral" to local school districts. Nationwide, hundreds of millions of dollars allocated for education are being routed…

A composite guidebook covers the collective wisdom and teachings of local school governance. From goal-setting to policy making to board-superintendent relations, this publication places in one complete resource information available to the new and the veteran school board member. Although specifically directed to Pennsylvania board members, the…

Reports on a survey of Pennsylvania school districts to determine whether citizens want to be involved in educational governance, at what level of the educational structure citizens believe decision making should rest, and how citizens desire to be represented in the governing process. (Author/IRT)

Conference efforts were directed toward developing new insights into the trustee's role as it relates to major program areas of an institution. The following areas were discussed and the importance of trustees being informed about them stressed: continuing education, career programs, transfer programs, accreditation, and professional negotiations.…

This booklet contains six short papers prepared for a symposium on collective negotiation in education. The opening paper presents a national overview of the subject, while the subsequent articles mainly discuss experiences under the Pennsylvania Public Employee Relations Act of 1970, which granted state and local employees full collective…

This book is a general guide to Pennsylvania school law designed for use by school board members, school administrators, school attorneys, and interested laymen. It is organized in 17 chapters that focus in turn on different areas of school law, including school board members and school district officers, superintendents, teachers, pupils,…