The purpose of this study was to examine demographic characteristics, management concerns and opinions on critical issues in education of public school board members throughout the nation. An historical review of social composition, concerns and issues was conducted from studies of school board members and school boards. Recommendations as to suggested future directions in school board research were made based upon the review of studies over a 65-year period and findings from the 1977 National Survey of Local School Boards. Participants in the 1977 survey were all subscribers to the American School Board Journal, and distribution of a questionnaire to these participants was sponsored by the National School Boards Association. Respondents numbered 1,268, and the survey response rate was 39.5%. All states were represented in the survey as were all types and all sizes of school districts. Demographic profiles were determined; the rank priority of school board member management concerns was established; and level of agreement or disagreement to 3 statements in each of 5 critical education issue areas; discipline, curriculum, Federal involvement, quality of instruction and financial support of public education; was analyzed. Study findings suggested that region, district type and district size were the most influential board characteristics in relation to other characteristics, management concerns and opinions on educational issues. The personal characteristics of educational attainment, occupation and age were the most influential with respect to other characteristics, concerns and issues. With a critical eye toward supplementing the foundation for the further study of school boards, recommendations included: the suggested study of boards as collectives; the initiation of a focal center for the study of school boards on a concentrated and comparative basis; the need to assure representativeness, generalizability and utility in school board research; and several criticisms and suggestions posed to help focus future research more clearly, and aid the researcher and practitioner in making the study of school boards more utilitarian. / Ed. D.

Forty-seven of the fifty states had some form of state-level board for higher education in 1981. Critics have expressed concern that the level of those boards' involvement in institutional affairs has steadily increased, while others have observed that administrative costs at the institutional level have gradually risen. It is not known if there is a relationship between the cost of operation of state-level boards and their level of involvement in the affairs of the institutions under their purview; nor, is it known if there is a relationship between the cost of operation of state-level boards and the cost of administration at the institutional level. The purpose of this study was to investigate these relationships. The population for the study consisted of twenty state-level boards for higher education, eleven governing boards and nine coordinating boards. The population further consisted of 216 public, four-year bachelor degree and higher degree granting institutions located in twenty-three states, including Delaware, Vermont, and Wyoming which had no state-level board for higher education in 1980-1981. Seven variables were hypothesized as factors either influencing the cost of administration in public, four-year institutions, the cost of operation of state-level boards for higher education, or the relationship between the two. These variables were formulated with data obtained from a survey of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) member agencies and from Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) financial and enrollment tapes. Pearson product-moment correlation and one-way analysis of variance were used to test for significance of relationships between pairs of variables. An analysis of each of the research questions was presented in textural and tabular form. / Ed. D.

This study compares present policies and procedures for selection of school board members in districts of The Council of Great City Schools with those advocated by board members, professional educators, and representatives of lay organizations. To determine present selection policies for school board members, a questionnaire was sent to the business manager of each participating district. Replies were received from twenty-one of the districts and presented in tables including number and percentage of respondents for each item. To determine opinions of board members, professional educators, and members of lay organizations, a thirty-five-item questionnaire was mailed to 190 board members, 22 school superintendents, 19 college professors, 19 PTA representatives, 22 NAACP representatives, and 11 chamber of commerce representatives. After a return of 200 usable questionnaires, data were presented in separate tables including number of respondents and percentage of respondents. Using the contingency coefficient technique for statistical analysis, null hypotheses were formulated to test relationships between the opinion of respondent groups and selection policies and procedures actually in use. The chi square test was applied to test the relationships, with the .05 level of significance as the criterion. Results were tabulated collectively. Tabulated results indicate that board members should be elected at general elections on a non-partisan basis representing at-large districts, should serve four-year, overlapping, unrestricted terms, should meet local legal requirements, should receive some type of compensation, and should not represent occupational and other special interest groups. Based on this survey, it is recommended that a similar study be made in districts with less population than those districts studied to determine if policies and'procedures for selection of school board members in the districts are comparable.

The major purpose of this study was to ascertain the views of school board members concerning the impact of reform and restructuring initiatives on their school districts and on their power and authority to govern. Data were gathered regarding the frequency of reform programs and cross tabulated with selected demographic variables to include region, size of district, and school community type. These data provided an overview of how board members perceived where and to what extent reform programs were impacting on districts. Additionally, members were asked about the quality of reforms in their districts to determine if reforms were having a positive impact, negative impact, or no impact on the quality of education. Lastly, board members were asked to share their perceptions of power and authority to govern their school districts. Did they perceive a shift in power? If changes in power and authority were taking place, who or what was gaining or losing power? Were these shifts related to reform initiatives from the national, state, and local level? Descriptive research methods were employed in this study. A stratified, random sample of school board members was identified from the list of subscribers to The American School Board Journal. Of the 23,958 board members in the population, 6,000 or 23% were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire. The response rate was 22.4%. The study was sponsored by The American School Board Journal, published by the National School Boards Association, the national professional organization for school board members in the United States. The study revealed that reform programs are widespread across regions, district size, and urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Northeastern region appeared less involved in reform than other regions. Additionally, school board members expressed positive attitudes about reform and appeared to associate implementation with improved quality of education. School board members associated reform impetus with local initiative and felt more powerful when involved in the reform process. Despite the positive attitudes about reform and restructuring, many board members did not believe much reform was occurring in their districts and did not believe their power and authority was changing. However, many board members believed that if they had more money and fewer budget concerns more reform would occur. / Ed. D.

The role and function of school counselors remains a consistent source of concern in the school counseling profession. Aligning school counseling activities with comprehensive school counseling practice is a way to standardize the profession. Creating a school board policy for counseling is a strategy to gain support for and institutionalize school counseling practices. The purpose of this dissertation study was to produce two manuscripts related to the role and function of school counselors and school board policies for counseling. The researcher investigated school board members' (N = 169) and school counselors' (N = 341) perceptions of school board knowledge of comprehensive school counseling program activities, school board prioritization of those activities, and school board adoption of policies and actions related to school counseling. The school board perception survey and school counselor perception survey were modified versions of the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale. This research suggested that school counselors were more likely to rate school board members' knowledge of and level of priority for school counseling activities lower than school board members rated themselves. This research also suggested that there was a direct relationship between school board members' knowledge of and level of priority they assign to school counseling activities. / Graduation date: 2013