The purpose of the study was to describe how educational specifications are utilized by architects in the design process for conventional, systems, and design-build methods of construction for educational facilities. Both a review of the related literature and interviews with architects experienced in utilizing educational specifications for designing educational facilities served as data for the study.

The purpose of the study was to analyze career patterns of public school superintendents in Michigan serving school districts with a student population of 5,000 or more. Evidence indicated commonalities exist in the career path administrators follow to become the superintendent of a large Michigan school district.The population consisted of 77 superintendents in school districts of 5,000 plus enrollment. Sixty-three (81 percent) superintendents returned the questionnaire and ten of the responding superintendents were interviewed.Major findings from the questionnaire and interview instrument were:1. The superintendents in Michigan's large school districts are male between the ages of 4.6 and 55 and began their career in a public high school around age 24.2. The superintendents first administrative position had been either as an elementary principal, central office administrator, or a high school principal.3. Generally the superintendent accepted his first superintendency in a district of more than 5,000 students between the ages of 36 and 45.4. Most of the superintendents had a master's degree when first employed as a school administrator. A majority of the superintendents currently hold a doctorate.5. Human relations skills, a good background in school finance, and experience were necessary attributes in getting the appointment to the superintendency. The individual desiring to be the superintendent of one of Michigan's large school districts should be aware of factors which may enhance that goal. The individual must consider:1. The age at which career goals are determined and begun.2. The age of entry into the field of education.3. The size of the school district where first educational employment is accepted and where all subsequent administrative positions are accepted.4. Involvement in extra-curricular activities does not guarantee administrative promotion.5. The doctorate is of maximum importance in the career pattern of the large school district superintendent.6. Human relation skills, financial expertise, and experience are important criteria in seeking employment as a school superintendent.

The study was designed to determine the extent to which selected Indiana superintendents of schools tie work as central life interest and to compare leadership behaviors of superintendents identified as having high interest in work and superintendents with low work interest, as perceived by subordinate administrators. Ninety-five of the 116 superintendents invited to participate in the study completed the Central Life Interest Inventory developed by Dubin. Analyses of responses resulted in identification of the intensity to which superintendents viewed work as a central life interest. Subordinate administrators identified by the twenty-five superintendents identified as having high commitment to work and subordinate administrators identified by the twenty-five superintendents identified as having low interest in work were invited to evaluate respective superintendents by means of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire- - Form XII.Twelve null hypotheses were developed to facilitate determination of statistically significant differences between subordinate administrator evaluative response of superintendents having high interest in work and superintendents having low interest in work. Statistical treatment of the twelve hypotheses was accomplished by means of the chi-square test of significance. The .05 level of confidence was established as the critical probability level for the non-acceptance of hypotheses.Findings relative to the first study purpose, which was to measure the extent to which selected Indiana superintendents view work as central life interest, were:1. Thirty-two, or 33.6 percent, of the ninety-five participating superintendents had a high interest in work as a central life interest.2. Eighteen earlier studies had measured the extent to which persons in various occupations viewed work as a central life interest. When superintendents were compared and contrasted, nine occupational groups reflected higher interest in work as a central life interest and nine groups reflected lower interest in work as a central life interest. Superintendents had a higher interest in work as a central life interest than lumber workers, truck drivers, American factory workers, secondary teachers, elementary teachers, principals, industrial arts teachers, clerical workers, and British factory workers. Superintendents had a lower interest in work as a central life interest than management personnel in Japanese industry, cooperative extension agents, nurses, Amana Colony workers, management personnel in American industry, middle managers in Oregon, middle managers in seven states, industrial supervisors, and German industrial workers.Findings relative to the second study purpose, a comparison of the leadership behaviors of the high and low superintendent groups as measured by perceptions of subordinate administrators using the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire--Form XII instrument, were no statistically significant differences were found to exist for the three specific leadership behaviors factors of Representation, Demand Reconciliation, and Initiation of Structures. Statistically significant differences were found to exist for each of the nine specific leadership factors of Tolerance of Uncertainty, Persuasiveness, Tolerance of Freedom, Role Assumption, Consideration, Production Emphasis, Predictive Accuracy, Integration, and Superior Orientation.The major conclusion relative to the first study purpose was that even though relatively small percentages of superintendents might score as having high commitment to work as a central life interest, superintendents as a group do have high professional standards and are committed to performing job responsibilities effectively and efficiently. The major conclusion relative to the second study purpose as that superintendents with a high commitment to work as a central lire interest, are perceived by subordinates as being more effective leaders.

The study is a history and development of the role of the Indiana township trustee in managing the educational affairs of the public schools in rural Indiana from 1859 through 1959. The century time span started in 1859 when the state legislature enacted a law that reduced the number of trustees per township from three to one. The concluding year, 1959, the School Reorganization Act set in motion the machinery by which school consolidation was encouraged and hastened. The Act phased out trustees as administrators of school corporations.The origin of the word township came from the Germanic clans where it was called a mark and dates to about 100-44 B.C. The mark was a hedge that surrounded the clan and was used for protection as well as identification. The Anglo-Saxons carried the mark concept to England and called it tunscipe. In England, tunscipe developed into a geographic and political unit. Tunscipe literally means "the people living within the hedge."Implanted in New England by the first English settlers, the tunscipe idea evolved into the town meeting that became the unit of local government for the new colonies. The town meeting concept of local government appeared in modified form in the 1785 Northwest Ordinance. The pattern of local government for the states carved from the Northwest Territory was the township unit. Management of all township political affairs, including common schools, became the sole responsibility of an elected township trustee.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the differences that exist between school board members and superintendents in perceiving the role of the superintendent.The following null hypothesis was tested:No statistically significant difference exists in the perceptions held by superintendents and school board members of the functional tasks of Indiana superintendents in school systems of similar size.ProcedureOf the 306 school districts in existence in the State of Indiana in 1973-74, 150 were randomly selected to be included in the study. The 150 school districts were divided into two groups, with the division based upon average daily membership of all students attending school in the district during 1973-74. A questionnaire was developed to secure responses from school board members and superintendents pertaining to perceptions of functional tasks performed by school superintendents in Indiana. Superintendents participating in the study were also asked to provide demographic data. A chi-square test was used for each of the 107 responses on the questionnaire to determine differences in perceptions of superintendents and school board members.FindingsSelected findings were summarized from the questionnaire sent to school board members and superintendents:1. Superintendents from large school districts delegate more responsibility than superintendents from small school districts.2. Superintendents and school board members from small school districts and large school districts differ greatest in perception of functional tasks pertaining to finance and business management.3. The highest level of agreement existed between superintendents and school board members from small and large school districts in the perception of functional tasks in the areas of pupil personnel and school plant operation.4. The majority of salaries of superintendents from both large and small school districts fell in the range from $20-25,000 in 1973-74.5. Over twenty-five per cent of responding large school districts paid the superintendent more than $30,000 in 1973-74, while no small school district superintendent received as much as $30,000 during the same period.Conclusions1. No significant differences exist in the perceptions held by superintendents and school board members of the functional tasks ofthe superintendent within the school district.2. Superintendents and school board members from school districts of similar size generally agree on the types of functions to be performed by the superintendents in the district.3. Superintendents from large districts have assistants to whom responsibility is delegated, while superintendents from small school districts function in practically all administrative categories.4. Large school districts tend to seek the employment of a superintendent with more educational background than those sought in small school districts.5. Both large and small school districts seek to employ a superintendent whose major area of training at the graduate level is in administration and supervision.Recommendations1. The superintendent and school board members should agree upon a set of functional tasks to be performed by the superintendent in the district.2. Forums and workshops should be conducted to assist both school board members and superintendents in knowing respective responsibilities.3. The superintendent and school board members should analyze the need for assistants at the central office level.4. A study of the salaries of superintendents should be conducted every five years.5. A study pertaining to the functional tasks of superintendents of Indiana should be conducted every five years.3. Superintendents from large districts have assistants to whom responsibility is delegated, while superintendents from small school districts function in practically all administrative categories.4. Large school districts tend to seek the employment of a superintendent with more educational background than those sought in small school districts.5. Both large and small school districts seek to employ a superintendent whose major area of training at the graduate level is in administration and supervision.Recommendations1. The superintendent and school board members should agree upon a set of functional tasks to be performed by the superintendent in the district.2. Forums and workshops should be conducted to assist both school board members and superintendents in knowing respective responsibilities.3. The superintendent and school board members should analyze the need for assistants at the central office level.4. A study of the salaries of superintendents should be conducted every five years.5. A study pertaining to the functional tasks of superintendents of Indiana should be conducted every five years.

The thesis is an exploration of Summerhill, the school founded by A.S. Neill in 1921. It is an ethnographic study, focusing on the culture of Summerhill, and attempting to find out what being a Summerhillian means. It also looks at how Summerhill has been depicted by those on the `outside'. Five chapters are specifically about the school - giving a descriptive account of the workings of the culture. The remaining chapters explore how others have looked at the institutions and how the practice of research itself affects the possibilities for discovery and explanation. A major concern of the thesis is the methodological significance of being an `insider' - as the researcher is an ex-Summerhillian. Chapter one is a brief introduction to the thesis. Chapter Two describes the genesis of the study and looks at issues of `cultural translation' and `insider research'. The following chapter on `School Life' is the first of the substantive chapters, offering a descriptive account of the life and culture of those in the school. Chapter Four, entitled `Big Kids' considers the notion that Summerhill has community `elders', while Chapter Five looks at the role of staff. The Meeting is the focus of Chapter Six, where the policy of self-government is examined. Chapter Seven explores the system of voluntary lessons. Chapter Eight looks at views of Summerhill as represented in written material. The final chapter offers an overview of the main points of the thesis, and concludes with some of the writer's own `insider' reflections.(DX174307)

This study set out to examine the relative influence of personal and school-based characteristics and parental involvement on mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of public school performance. A national and representative sample of parents of school-aged children (N= 2008) were asked to award a grade (A, B, C, D or F) to their community school. There is a significant lack of empirical study of the factors influencing parents’ perceptions of school performance. The present study controlled for the socioeconomic status of parents and the community school being graded. Parental involvement in schools and assisting with homework are elements of parents’ relations with schools and were controlled for in the multivariate analysis. It was found that mothers and fathers are differentially influenced by personal and school-based characteristics; and, of import, there is a negative and significant association between participation in school-based activities and a father’s perception of school performance. The opposite association with participation in school-based activities was observed for mothers. Further, perceptions of “Failing” schools are influenced to a greater extent by the socioeconomic status of the parent and of the school. The results are interpreted by gendering the relations between parents and schools, and drawing from feminist standpoint theory. Particular focus is brought to the discordant association of parental involvement and the grades awarded to schools by mothers and fathers.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / School-Based Management (SBM) with devolution has become the most prominent feature of public school management systems in most countries around the world. In Indonesia, the Central Government established a Commission of National Education (Komisi Nasional Pendidikan) in February 2001 on the basis of Law 22/1999 by which education was decentralized. The Commission recommended the formation of school councils at the school level to improve quality of national education. The Government then embarked on the formation of school councils in Western Sumatera, Eastern Java, and Bali. On the basis of these trials, the councils were considered strategic in promoting democratic principles in schools, creating higher levels of parental participation in school governance, and improving the quality of national education. For these reasons, in 2002 and 2004, the Government provided a set of guidelines to establish mandatory corporate governing body type school councils in accordance with the Law 22/1999, the Commission and Education Act 20/2003. With the turn of the 21st Century, all Indonesian public schools have implemented SBM. This study was aimed at examining whether improvements in student achievements have been achieved resulting from the implementation of SBM. The research was conducted in 2007 using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies comprising of an empirical survey with the active participation of 504 respondents who were school council members and semi-structured interviews with 42 participants belonging to all categories of representatives of school councils as well as documentary analyses. The research was conducted at 42 primary schools of Ngada District in the island of Flores. Data generated from the two phases of the research demonstrate that there have been school improvements and student achievements resulting from the implementation of SBM. SBM policies and programs have created better teaching/learning environments and student achievements. Further, the research suggests that continuous developments and capacity building such as training on school leadership and management, workshops on SBM, and increased funding from governments are needed to affect further improvements in school effectiveness with the implementation of SBM.

[Abstract]: What is at the heart of whole school change? The focus of this research is how a whole school revitalisation process impacted on the professional community, professional learnings and professional practices in a secondary Catholic College in regional southeast Queensland. It identifies the factors within the school context that impacted on the progress of the project.A review of literature provides support for each of the dimensions of the focus of the research, the research-based framework of the revitalisation project and the factors relevant to a whole school change process. The research paradigm involves interpretivist inquiry, the methodology is case study and a narrative method is used to interpret and present the study. Multiple sources of data are employed: three sets of semi-structured interviews conducted over a three year period from 2004 to 2006; the researcher’s journal; and school documents.Some evidence indicates that the revitalisation project had some impact upon the development of a shared vision and improved whole school collaboration and professional dialogue. The implementation of the change process led to an increase in whole school professional development which impacted on teachers’ shared understandings of pedagogical principles and further there is some evidence of perceived change in teachers’ professional practices as a result of engagement in the project.The study identifies cultural and other factors existing in the school which hindered the progress of the change process. These include teachers’ resistance to change, a culture of ‘blame’, and a lack of teacher leadership and of collaborative decision making on the part of the school leadership team. One outcome of the study was the construction of a set of recommendations to assist a school in overcoming the impact of these identified hindrances to the change process.A model of effective change is developed as a second key outcome of the study. The model is consistent with the key “school change” literature, but its significance lies in the unique context from which it was drawn.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / School-Based Management (SBM) with devolution has become the most prominent feature of public school management systems in most countries around the world. In Indonesia, the Central Government established a Commission of National Education (Komisi Nasional Pendidikan) in February 2001 on the basis of Law 22/1999 by which education was decentralized. The Commission recommended the formation of school councils at the school level to improve quality of national education. The Government then embarked on the formation of school councils in Western Sumatera, Eastern Java, and Bali. On the basis of these trials, the councils were considered strategic in promoting democratic principles in schools, creating higher levels of parental participation in school governance, and improving the quality of national education. For these reasons, in 2002 and 2004, the Government provided a set of guidelines to establish mandatory corporate governing body type school councils in accordance with the Law 22/1999, the Commission and Education Act 20/2003. With the turn of the 21st Century, all Indonesian public schools have implemented SBM. This study was aimed at examining whether improvements in student achievements have been achieved resulting from the implementation of SBM. The research was conducted in 2007 using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies comprising of an empirical survey with the active participation of 504 respondents who were school council members and semi-structured interviews with 42 participants belonging to all categories of representatives of school councils as well as documentary analyses. The research was conducted at 42 primary schools of Ngada District in the island of Flores. Data generated from the two phases of the research demonstrate that there have been school improvements and student achievements resulting from the implementation of SBM. SBM policies and programs have created better teaching/learning environments and student achievements. Further, the research suggests that continuous developments and capacity building such as training on school leadership and management, workshops on SBM, and increased funding from governments are needed to affect further improvements in school effectiveness with the implementation of SBM.