University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

School board decision-making: Factors and influences

Klebs, Kathleen J.

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/18998

Description

Title
School board decision-making: Factors and influences
Author(s)
Klebs, Kathleen J.
Issue Date
1994
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
McGreal, Thomas L.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Administration
Language
eng
Abstract
  • Local boards of education are given the responsibility of making policy decisions that affect the future of the children in their communities. Various forces move in and out of the policy-making process seeking to influence the work of the board. These policies are made against a backdrop of individual and shared ideologies and are impacted by local, state, and national issues and economic conditions. What part does each of these factors play in the formation of school board policy in a large, suburban school district?
  • The school board under study is Unit School District 203 in Naperville, Illinois. In April 1993 the Naperville Board of Education voted unanimously to support a health curriculum that teaches sex education including but not limited to an abstinence perspective, though there were forces that would have the board vote otherwise. This issue provided the basis for the study.
  • The research presents an interpretive case study. The design for inquiry included a cultural framework to discern board members' assumptive worlds and value preferences, along with Pitkin's theory for determining representation orientation. The design for analysis is Weiss's (1983) Ideology, Interests, and Information theory.
  • The board voted for a health curriculum that teaches abstinence along with other approaches to prevent sexually-transmitted diseases and pregnancy because the members' collective ideology included the belief that students should be presented with all of the facts in every curriculum area, including health. All of the information the board received was compatible with the group's ideology, except for that which came from a conservative Christian group and a few individuals. The board members' interest centered around what they believed to be the best job they could do for the students in the district. This idea of school board policy making for its own sake is key to understanding this board and its actions.
  • One implication that can be made from this study is that the quality of the board members' commitment has an impact upon the quality of decision making at the school board level.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/18998
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1994 Klebs, Kathleen J.

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Education
Dissertations and Theses from the College of Education