The shifting political milieu which surrounded and conditioned all of Illinois' educational endeavors in the half century after 1870 is discussed. Studies of those elements of society which have influenced the development of schools have often neglected the political milieu that affects educational policy-making at the state level. The political…

Power, or influence, in educational governance is increasingly becoming diffused. Everyone in education now feels relatively powerless. A political model of decision-making, emphasizing consultation with representatives of interest groups is now appropriate. In this model, the school board functions as "meta-mediator." This modifies the…

This study examines the relative impact of classroom and nonclassroom sources of political information on the political awareness of students in grades 4, 5, and 6. To this end, (1) the sociopolitical content of a classroom source of political information, the "Weekly Reader," is analyzed and compared to the content of evening network news; (2)…

This first of three units of "Comparing Political Experiences", a first-semester course, provides 18 activities which introduce 12th-grade students to political system concepts that they will work with in-depth in succeeding units. The activities and readings, divided into seven sections, stress the development of political knowledge,…

This is the third unit to the second-semester "Comparing Political Experiences" course which focuses on a specific, controversial, political issue. The unit analyzes the concept of political maintenance by studying the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) between 1918 and 1975 and its fight to secure mine safety standards. A documentary…

The model attempts to map all relevant factors onto a single integrated structure and to suggest some of the interaction lines. Based on a hexagonal figure, each side represents a set of factors which may have a bearing on, or be affected by, the bilingual program's operation in a particular situation--psychological, sociological, economic,…

Three separate teacher and student books for the Project 18 course are included in this packet. The objective is to help students develop a positive attitude and to motivate them toward political participation. Teaching strategies for six sections, which run the gamut from simulation to lecture, focus on practical politics. The six sections are as…

This volume is a collection of papers presented at a 1962 symposium on school dropouts. Participants represented the disciplines of both education and the social sciences. It was hoped that the multidisciplinary contributions might crystallize a contextual statement about the nature of the dropout problem as well as indications for effective…

This research was conducted to determine whether 6 weeks devoted to the study of communism would develop greater commitments to democratic values among secondary school students. Also studied were the effects of teacher background, fathers' education levels, students' political preferences, and the time, extent and pattern of instruction on the…

By focusing on the question of whether it was right or wrong to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, this social studies unit seeks to illuminate the political, military, scientific, and moral complexities involved in making far-reaching decisions today. Sections of the unit use primary materials from American, Japanese, and English sources to…

Focusing on Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation of the Negro, this social studies unit explores the relationships among men and events, the qualities of leadership, and the nature of historical change. Lincoln's evolving views of the Negro are examined through (1) the historical context in which Lincoln's beliefs about Negroes took shape, (2) the…

The desegregation decision by a local school system sometimes is perceived as the result of pressure, and at other times as unrelated to overt pressure for desegregation. Contrary to both of these views, this exploratory study suggests that a positive desegregation decision may stem from the personal values of school board members. These values…

Mass literacy, largely the product of the nineteenth century European industrial revolution, may be considered in three facets. First, its sociology: human relationships are different when individuals can refer to permanent, written records than when they rely on a person-to-person transferral of information. Literacy also makes possible more…

Drastic change is taking place in America today. If drastic change does indeed foster revolution then our challenge is to help bring about peaceful revolution by making those changes that give power to the powerless. Both the majority and the minority groups are presented with the challenge of developing strategies and techniques for implementing…

An evaluation is made of the technological, analytical, social, and political forces which operate on the public schools and influence their disposition toward the utilization of technology. Three chapters are devoted to delineating the manner and extent to which technology, accountability, and behaviorist learning theory interact. The potential…