Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
12-1986
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Major
Educational Administration and Supervision
Major Professor
Robert K. Roney
Abstract
The steady erosion of local school board control over local school systems coupled with the sparsity of research on the role of the school board in developing effective school systems has created an urgent need for answers to basic questions. School board members need to know what actions they can take to improve the effectiveness of their districts. In addressing the role of the state in school reform, state officials need to know if there are any actions of local school boards associated with system effectiveness?
After adjusting the spring 1984 Stanford Achievement Test scores of 97 Tennessee school systems for the effect of home socioeconomic status, as reflected in the percentage of students in each system participating in the free and reduced priced lunch program, the seven highest achieving or more effective systems and the seven lowest achieving or less effective systems were selected for further investigation. Upon surveying these systems using criteria suggested by the literature on effective schools, several findings produced statistically significant differences between the two groups.
The results suggest that the effectiveness of the school districts studied was related to the quality of school system leadership. School board member background, election method, superintendent selection processes, and superintendent pay were related to system effectiveness. Effective systems were evaluated by the school board. School boards actions indicative of a high value for education were associated with system effectiveness. The financial status of the school system was robustly associated with system effectiveness. High instructional expenditures, low transportation expenditures, and high levels of local government revenue receipt were associated with the effective districts. Areas of future research were suggested.
Recommended Citation
Dycus, William Joseph, "The impact of local school board actions on achievement in selected Tennessee elementary school districts : implications for educational planners. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1986.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12240