Dr. Larry Dlugosh

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the relationship between and among the Annual Gallup Poll of Attitudes Toward Education, educational news articles from a selected metropolitan newspaper and actions taken by a selected suburban school board as recorded in the minutes of the official board meetings, all for the ten years from 1969 through 1978. Data from ten years of Gallup Poll results, ten years of newspaper articles found in the education news files of a selected metropolitan newspaper and ten years of school board minutes were studied and categorized according to the ten biggest problems facing education from 1969 through 1978 as determined by the results of the Gallup Polls. The ten categories were: (1) discipline, (2) integration, (3) budget and finance, (4) teachers, (5) dope and drugs, (6) school size and class size, (7) facilities, (8) curriculum, (9) parents and (10) school boards. The results of this study were compared to the results from a companion study which investigated another school board.* The findings of this study indicated that there was no causal or predictive link between and among the data sources surveyed. No evidence existed to indicate that newspaper articles or annual Gallup Poll results affected the actions of the local board of education or vice versa. Other conclusions were: (1) the financing of public schools was the biggest problem facing education; (2) local school boards respond to local needs; (3) newspapers report the news; they do not create it; (4) public opinion vacillates and is in continuous transition; (5) combinations of educational problems are more difficult to resolve than single issue problems; and (6) the style used by a school board will determine the type of superintendent it employs. *This dissertation is part of a companion study conducted by the author and Marlin D. Nelson.