The purpose of the study was to determine how former Indiana public school board of education members perceived the effects of school board service on their families, friendships and finances. The primary research problem was that there were no systematically acquired descriptions of the prevalence of consequences of service on an Indiana public school board of education. Twelve research questions were presented.The study was descriptive in nature and used descriptive survey methodology. A survey containing 40 closed-ended and four open-ended questions was mailed to 433 former Indiana public school board members who served in 1995 and whose terms of service expired on or before June 30, 1996. Of the 390 deliverable surveys, 207 (53.1 %) were completed and returned. The statistical analyses of the aggregate data included the establishment of frequency counts, corresponding percentages, analysis of variances (ANOVA), and Tukey's HSD post hoc analyses. Responses from the open-ended questions were reviewed by the researcher to determine common categories based upon the content of the responses. The categories were ranked and reported based upon the frequency and corresponding percentage of the responses.Data from the study indicated that most former members of Indiana public school boards perceived that their membership on Indiana public school board had no effect on both their familial and non-familial relationships. If there was a perceived effect, it was more likely to be positive in nature than negative. In addition, most former Indiana public school board members perceived that membership on Indiana public school boards of education had no effect on the friendships/non-family relationships of their children, spouses, or significant others. If there was an effect, it was more likely positive than negative.Former Indiana school board members generally perceived that service on Indiana public school boards of education had no effect on their businesses and/or economic status. If there was an effect, it was more often negative than positive.There were essentially no differences in the perceived effects of service on a local Indiana public school board of education based upon board members' method of assuming office (election, appointment, etc.), method of leaving office (defeated in election, choosing not to seek re-election, etc.) length of school board service, gender, political experience or service as board president.A difference in the perceived effects of service on local Indiana public school boards of education was found based up the former members' occupations and the urbanization of the former members' districts.More than half of the respondents indicated that because of school board membership they occasionally or often experienced increased periods of stress, received cold or unresponsive reactions from acquaintances, and experienced interactions that they would describe as harassment. However, more than 85% of the respondents indicated feeling pride in their leadership and accomplishments, as well as the development of greater personal growth because of their service on public school boards. In addition, approximately 95% of the respondents indicated they were thanked or shown appreciation for their service on a school board. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to identify the priorities that Texas school board presidents perceive to be most important in their role as a school board member; (b) to describe the specific activities, behaviors, and actions that Texas school board presidents say they take to support the priorities they identify; and (c) to compare with and contrast board members' reported priorities, activities, behaviors, and actions with the eight characteristics of effective school board practices. A mixed-methods research design was used to explore school board presidents' perceptions of their role and its relationship to effective board practices. Quantitative data were gathered using an online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were obtained from one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were manually coded using a three-step, hybrid-coding process, as well as from an observation protocol. Evidence from this study identified four top priorities: accountability driven actions, a untied team with the superintendent, aligned and sustained resources, and a vision of high expectations. Eleven subthemes emerged that describe the activities, behaviors, and beliefs that support these priorities including: clear goals, community partnerships, data-driven informed, governance, human capital, policy adoption, professional development, strong communication, student outcomes, training, and trust.

This research study was a qualitative study involving eight current or former school board members of a recently annexed, rural, impoverished, Latino school district in South Texas. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to highlight the plight of rural education, specifically the plight of a poor school district by examining the perceptions of the school board members. This study was organized around the following sensitizing concerns (Blumer, 1969; Patton, 2002; Schwandt, 2001): What were the school board members’ perceptions about the school district prior to the annexation? What were the school board members’ perceptions of the factors that contributed to the annexation? What were the school board members’ perceptions of the effect of the annexation on the community? The method of inquiry was conversational information interviews (Patton, 2002), two unstructured interviews with each school board member, going where the interviews took me (Fontana & Frey, 2005). The themes revealed in the research included (1) power dynamics, with three sub-themes, (a) trusting those in power, (b) deferring to those in power, and (c) becoming those in power; (2) denial of the obvious, and (3) unspoken paternalism—the Anglo patron system. This study offers implications for policy, practice, and additional research in the areas of rural communities and rural school districts, but most importantly, it provides evidence that rural colonias located along the U.S.-Mexico border have unique educational needs. Rural school districts located along this border need strong school leaders with “a critical leadership of place that support community as a context for learning, understand that schools and their local communities are inextricably linked and that the ability of each to thrive is dependent upon the other” (Budge, 2006, p.8).

This research study was a qualitative study involving eight current or former school board members of a recently annexed, rural, impoverished, Latino school district in South Texas. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to highlight the plight of rural education, specifically the plight of a poor school district by examining the perceptions of the school board members. This study was organized around the following sensitizing concerns (Blumer, 1969; Patton, 2002; Schwandt, 2001): What were the school board members' perceptions about the school district prior to the annexation? What were the school board members' perceptions of the factors that contributed to the annexation? What were the school board members' perceptions of the effect of the annexation on the community? The method of inquiry was conversational information interviews (Patton, 2002), two unstructured interviews with each school board member, going where the interviews took me (Fontana & Frey, 2005). The themes revealed in the research included (1) power dynamics, with three sub-themes, (a) trusting those in power, (b) deferring to those in power, and (c) becoming those in power; (2) denial of the obvious, and (3) unspoken paternalism-the Anglo patron system. This study offers implications for policy, practice, and additional research in the areas of rural communities and rural school districts, but most importantly, it provides evidence that rural colonias located along the U.S.-Mexico border have unique educational needs. Rural school districts located along this border need strong school leaders with "a critical leadership of place that support community as a context for learning, understand that schools and their local communities are inextricably linked and that the ability of each to thrive is dependent upon the other" (Budge, 2006, p.8).

Not available / text

Thesis (Ed. D.)--UCLA, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-194).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1987. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Natale Cipollina. Dissertation Committee: Robert McClintock. Bibliography: leaves 239-243.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.