Study of community power structure and school board membership

University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1962 Study of community power structure and school board membership Keith Lee Allred The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits you Recommended Citation Allred, Keith Lee, "Study of community power structure and school board membership" (1962) Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers 7926 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/7926 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu A STUDY OF COMMUNITY POWER STRUCTURE AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERSHIP by KEITH LEE ALLRED B.A Montana State University- 1959 Presented in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Aits in Education MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1962 Approved By: Chairman^ Board of Examiners D e a n Graduate School AUG 1962 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission UMI Number: EP38727 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion UMT Ois«Mtation Publishing UMI EP38727 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013) Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC All rights reserved This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest '«c: ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I page INTRODUCTION Significance of the Problem Purpose of This Study ã ã ã ô ô • o e e o o h • • • • • • Assumptions Delimitations Limitations ^ • • • • • Definition of terms • • • « • • • • • • • * • • • « Power structure or group Power structure member Community School board II* Interview Power 7 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE * Pioneer * • * o o * * o * o o o o o * * Other Notable Contributions * An Inference « o o * * * * * * III APPROACH TO THE RESEARCH * * * * * Collection of Data o * * * * * * * * Survey of Community X ã ã ô ã ô o * * * Identification of the power structure 8 i4 15 16 16 * * » 17 characteristics of the Power Structure * « 19 Behavior habits and interactional ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission ill CHAPTER PAGE Survey of board members o « » o o o o o o « IV RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH 20 « o o 22 C onunLUil"by Ana lysis * * 0 0 * 0 22 Population trend Nature of population change * * * * * o o * * * 2^ 2h Organization of the community o * * » 26 Educational values and issues o * * * * 28 o o o 29 Relationships of education to other governmental services » « Identification of Power Structure Selected informants School parents o o * * * * * * 31 o * * * * * * * * 3I * * * * * 32 Correlation of responses * 0 0 * 33 Interpersonal relationship of the top ranking seven o o * * * * Common characteristics and interactions School board member’s reaction o * * * » * V SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS o o c o o * * * Summary * 0 0 0 * * * 0 Implications o » o « * o » o o o e o o o o o 35 38 4^^48 48 50 What should a school administrator know about a community? o o o o o o o 50 Guidelines for identifying the power structure in a small community * * * * Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission 5l iv CHAPTER PAGE Implications of a sociological study of a small community o * » * 53 School board membership and the power structure Inferences 5^ 55 B IB L IO G R A P H Y 57 A P P E N D IX « « « • • • • • o o o s A O o o a o o o o e o 60 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission LIST OF TABLES TABLE I PAGE Ranking of Influential Persons In CTommunlty X by Selected Informants » « < , « II Ranking of Influential Persons In Community X by Parents » » » o » » o o o « o III 33 Comparison of Like and Unlike Characteristics 39 A Comparison of Replies of Present and Past Board Members 71 » o « » o o e o ^0 Comparison of Power Structure Members and School Board Members 711 32 Comparison of Ranks and Correlation of Rank—Difference 17 31 ^3 A Comparison of Replies of Present and Past Board Members » a o o o » « « Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE Choices Made Within the Group of Ten Persons Designated as Most Influential by Comiminity X*s Selected Informants » Vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission 37 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Montana public schools as well as the public schools of this nation^ are influenced to a great degree by the power structure or the decision makers in the communityo This relationship exists to a greater extent than most people realize o r at l e a s t ỗ will admitằ The school adminư istrator is in a position which allows him to see the pressures of special interest groups take form and action® Every time the administrator or the school board makes a decision^ role® the pressure of this power structure plays a These pressures are felt by the school administrator whether they are actively exerted or only potentially present® As a school administrator one should be cognizant of the fact that power has always existed and probably always will® Power and pressure are some of the inevitable facts of life* The crux of the problem lies in the "taming" of this power* It cannot be tamed unless we know what it is g and how to handle it so t h a t on the one hand it delivers maximum efficiency, but, on the other hand, does the leas damage® H® B* Dunkelg "Power and the jhoolsg" The Elemen­ tary School J o u r n a l * February, 1958g p Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission —2 — The responsibilities of the school administrator in conmiunity relations are not met entirely by joining the Lions Club and "slapping backs »" They are not even met entirely by a well-conceived plan of reporting school news and policy for the local papers, or even by involving citizens in formulating school policy and program® They can be met only by the administrator *s realizing that no important trend in his community is unimportant to education, to his institutionf by his knowing the community better than the politician does and knowing how to use this knowledge* The naive administrator of schools either is over­ whelmed by these pressures or is blissfully ignorant of their existence* The alert school administrator not only will recognize the existency of pressures, but will analyze them and devise plans to block pressure detrimental to the best interests of the school and the pupils* A wise school administrator will be prepared and qualified to study his community, or he may find himself an unwitting victim of circumstances* Although the school administrator may possess the potential skill in human or community relations, he will have difficulties if he is Edmund deS* Brunner, "The Administrator and Society," Teachers College Record, 53=299“30^? March, 1952, p* 306 * Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission *=>5^