The politics of education is a very new field of research specialization, both in education and political science. The main developments to date have been in the United States, but there is a growing interest in the field in a number of countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. As with any new field, the politics of education faces a variety of problems. But on the other hand it promises not only to increase our understanding of educational and political systems but to provide substantial help in tackling current pressing problems in education, particularly in the areas of educational management and decision-making processes.
References
1.
KirstMichael W.MosherEdith K.Politics of education. Review of Educational Research, 1969, 39. 623–624.
2.
Quoted fromBaileyStephen K.MosherEdith K.ESEA: The Office of Education Administers a Law. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1968, 1.
3.
For example, seeMerriamCharles E.The Making of Citizens: A Comparative Study of Methods of Civic Training. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931, Civic Education in the United States. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934, and (with Parratt, Spencer D., and Lepawsky, Albert), The Government of the Metropolitan Region of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933. Merriam also encouraged others to work in these areas. One example of a book inspired by Merriam is Vieg, John Albert. The Government of Education in Metropolitan Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939.
4.
WebbLeicesterThe Control of Education in New Zealand. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 1937.
5.
ColeP. R.GollanK.The Organisation and Administration of Education in New South Wales. Sydney: Sydney Teachers' College Press, 1924.
6.
MackenzieT. FinlayNationalism and Education in Australia. London: King, 1935.
7.
Some reasons for this neglect are suggested in Harman, G. S. Education, political science and the Australian political system. The Australian Journal of Politics and History, in press.
8.
Two most influential early journal articles by political scientists were Easton, David. The function of formal education in a political system. The School Review, 1957, LXV, 304–16; and Eliot, Thomas H. Toward an understanding of public school politics. The American Political Science Review, 1959, LIII, 1032–51.
9.
BurkheadJessePublic School Finance: Economics and Politics. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1964.
10.
KimbroughRalph B.Political Power and Educational Decision-Making. Chicago: Rand, McNally and Company, 1964.
11.
GreensteinFred I.Children and Politics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965.
12.
MastersNicholas A.SalisburyRobert H.EliotThomas H.State Politics and the Public Schools: An Exploratory Analysis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.
13.
ColemanJames S. (Ed.) Education and Political Development. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964; and Piper, Don C., and Cole, Taylor (Eds.) Post-primary Education and Political Development. Durham: Duke University Press, 1964.
14.
BaileyMosherop. cit.; Meranto, Philip. The Politics of Federal Aid to Education in 1965: A Study in Political Innovation. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1967; and Eidenberg, Eugene, and Morey, Roy D. An Act of Congress: The Legislative Process in the Making of Educational Policy. New York: W. W. Norton, 1967.
15.
EastonDavidDennisJackChildren in the Political System: Origins of Political Legitimacy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969; Hess, Robert D., and Torney, Judith V. The Development of Political Attitudes in Children. Chicago: Aldine, 1967; Zeigler, Harmon. The Political Life of American Teachers. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1967; Merelman, Richard A. Political Socialization and Educational Climates: A Study of Two School Districts. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971; and Hirsch, Herbert. Poverty and Politicization: Political Socialization in an American Sub-Culture. New York: The Free Press, 1971.
16.
EulauHeinzQuinleyHaroldState Officials and Higher Education: A Survey of the Opinions and Expectations of Policy-Makers in Nine States. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970; Baldridge, J. Victor. Power and Conflict in the University: Research in the Sociology of Complex Organisations. New York: John Wiley, 1971; Berdahl, Robert O. Statewide Coordination of Higher Education. Washington: American Council on Education, 1971; and Otten, C. Michael. University Authority and the Student: The Berkeley Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970.
17.
ColeStephenThe Unionization of Teachers: A Case Study of the UFT. New York: Praeger, 1969; and Rosenthal, Alan. Pedagogues and Power: Teacher Groups in School Politics. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1969.
18.
For example,IannacconeLaurencePolitics in Education. New York: Center for Applied Research in Education, 1967; and Usdan, Michael D., Minar, David W., and Hurwitz, Emanuel, Jr. Education and State Politics: The Developing Relationship Between Elementary-Secondary and Higher Education. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1969.
19.
Perhaps the best study isCrainRobert L.The Politics of School Desegregation: Comparative Case Studies of Community Structure and Policy-Making. New York: Doubleday, 1969. See also Gittell, Marilyn. Participants and Participation: A Study of School Policy in New York City. New York: Praeger, 1967; Gittell, Marilyn, and Hollander, T. Edward. Six Urban School Districts: A Comparative Study of Institutional Response. New York: Praeger, 1968; Rogers, D. 110 Livingston Street: Politics and Bureaucracy in New York City Schools. New York: Random House, 1966; GittellMarilynHevesiAlan G. (Eds.) The Politics of Urban Education: A Reader. New York: Praeger, 1969; Minar, David. Educational Decision-Making in Suburban Communities. Evanston: Northwestern University, 1966; Masotti, Louis. Education and Politics in Suburbia: The New Trier Experience. Cleveland: The Press of the Western Reserve University, 1967; and LaNoue, George R., and Smith, Bruce R. Politics of School Decentralization. Lexington: Heath, 1972.
20.
For example, on developing countries seeKazamiasAndreas M.Education and the Quest for Modernity in Turkey. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1966; Abernethy, David B. The Political Dilemma of Popular Education: An African Case. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1969; Suchlicki, James. University Students and Revolution in Cuba, 1920–1968. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1969; and Walter, Richard J. Student Politics in Argentina: The University Reform and Its Effects. New York: Basic Books, 1968. A good study by an American on an advanced society is Clark, James M. Teachers and Politics in France. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1967.
21.
KirstMichael W. (Ed.) State, School and Politics: Research Directions. Lexington: Heath, 1972.
22.
PartridgeP. H.Society, Schools and Progress in Australia. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968.
23.
For example,BarcanA.The government of Australian education in The Challenge to Australian Education. Melbourne: Cheshire for the Australian College of Education, 1961, 31–50; Bassett, G. W. Trends and issues in education in Australia in Baron, George, Cooper, Dan H., and Walker, WilliamG. (Eds.) Educational Administration: International Perspectives. Chicago: Rand, McNally, 1969, 8–27; Encel, S. Education and politics. Outlook, 1965, 9, 8–10; Harman, G. S. The politics of education in Australia. The Journal of Educational Administration, 1970, VIII, 1970, 3–16; Walker, W. G. The Governance of education in Australia: centralization and politics. The Journal of Educational Administration, 1970, VIII, 1970, 17–40; Spann, R. N. Administrative theory and educational structure in French, E. L. (Ed.) Melbourne Studies in Education 1964. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1965, 3–30; and Johnston, G. L. Politics and policy in Australian education. The Forum of Education, 1968, XXVII, 37–42.
24.
GillP. N.The Federal Science Grants Scheme: an episode in church-state relations in Australia 1963–64 In FrenchE. L. (Ed.) Melbourne Studies in Education 1964. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1965, 271–351.
25.
AlbinskiHenry S.The Australian Labor Party and the Aid to Parochial Schools Controversy. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University, 1966.
26.
BessantB.SpaullA. D.Teachers in Conflict. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1972.
27.
Some of the most important contributions are: Tannock, Peter. The development of the Commonwealth's role in Australian education. The Forum of Education, 1971, XXX, 152–5; Tannock, P. D., and Birch, I. K. Constitutional responsibility for education in Australia: the federal government's latent power. The Australian Journal of Education, 1972, 16, 118–24; Auchmuty, J. J. Commonwealth and state relations in higher education in Harman, G. S., and Selby Smith, C. (Eds.) Australian Higher Education: Problems in a Developing System. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1972, 43–54; Cowen, Zelman. The growth of federal participation in education in WalkerW. G. (Ed.) School, College and University: The Adminis tration of Education in Australia. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1972 Prest, Wilfred. Federalism and education in Preston, Richard (Ed.) Contemporary Australia: Studies in History, Politics and Economics. Durham: Duke University Press, 1969; Moore, A. L. The history, machinery and scope of direct grants by the Commonwealth government to Australian universities 1935–1964. The Australian University, 1965, 3, 225–33; Johnston, G. L. Central governments and secondary education: United States and Australia. The Australian Journal of Education, 1968, XII, 303–10; Bowker, Eric. The Commomwealth and education 1901–69 in Cleverley, J., and Lawry, J. (Eds.) Australian Education in the Twentieth Century: Studies in the Development of State Education. Melbourne: Longman, 1972; and McCulloch, R. W. The educational roles of the Commonwealth in Maclaine, A. G., and Selby Smith, R. (Eds.) Fundamental Issues in Australian Education: A Book o Essays and Readings. Sydney: Ian Novak, 1971, 385–414.
28.
For example,GardnerGodfreySheillB. A.TaylorValerie A.Passive politics a survey of Melbourne university students. Politics, 1970, V, 30–37; Staley, T. Student activists: rebels and alfs. Politics, 1967, II, 157–66; O'Neill, Dan. Student movement strategy. Australian Left Review, 1969, No. 2, 50–59; Morgan, Patrick K., and Osmond, Warren. The state of student protest. Current Affairs Bulletin 1970, 46; and Student activism. Current Affairs Bulletin, 1968, 42.
29.
Some examples are: AtkinsRuth (Ed.) University Government: Proceedings of a Seminar held in Canberra, June 1965, under the auspices of the Federation of Australian University Staff Associations. Sydney: F.A.U.S.A., 1967; Batt, Kevin J. The universities and cooperation in higher education. The Australian University, 1969, 7, 92–109; Crawford, Sir John. The University and Government. Canberra: Royal Institute of Public Administration, 1969; Crowley, D. W. The significance of the 1966–67 crisis in adult education in Whitelock, Derek (Ed.) Adult Education in Australia. Sydney: Pergamon Press of Australia, 1970, 153–62; McCaig, R. Role perception by members of university governing bodies. The Journal of Educational Administration, 1965, III, 96–107; Parker, R. S. Departments and god-professors. Vestes, 1965, 8, 17–24; Partridge, P. H. The university-government relationship and university government in Australia in A Report of the Conference on the Role and Responsibilities of Governing Bodies. Canberra: Australian National University, 1969, 20–42 and 71–88; and Up the Right Channels. St. Lucia: Prentice, 1970.
30.
ConnellR. W.The Child's Construction of Politics. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1971, Propaganda and education: political training in the schools. The Australian Journal of Education, 1970, 14, 155–67, and The origins of political attitudes. Politics, 1967, 2, 141–50; and Davies, A. F. The child's discovery of nationality. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 1968, 4, 107–25.
31.
For example,TurnerI. S.A plea for decentralization in Australian education in FrenchE. L. (Ed.) Melbourne Studies in Education 1958–1959. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1960, and The Illawarra region as a local education authority. New Horizons in Education, 1967, 37, 22–29; Ebert, C. M. The area system in New South Wales: its implications for educational administration in French, E. L. (Ed.) Melbourne Studies in Education 1961–1962. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1964, 131–150; and Borchardt, F. T. The Regional System of Educational Administration in the Wide Bay Region in Queensland. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research, 1955.
32.
SimpkinsW. S.The powers of Australian teachers in the political system of school government. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 1971, 6, 194–201, and Australian teachers and their participation in school decision-making. The Forum of Education, 1972, XXXI, 9–16.
33.
The number of works within the history of education that touch on the political aspects of education is numerous. Two examples are Crane, A. R., and Walker, W. G. Peter Board: His Contribution to the Development of Education in New South Wales. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research, 1957; and Cleverley and Lawry, op. cit..
34.
Some of the theses completed in Australian universities since the late 1960s include Birch, I. K. F. Constitutional responsibility for education in Australia: the Federal government's latent power. M.Ed. thesis, University of Western Australia, 1972; Badcock, A. M. Federalism and education in Australia. M.A. thesis, Monash University, 1968; Davies, Arthur. Two Australian public bureaucracies: origins and organization change. Ph.D. thesis, University of New England, 1971; Horner, Vincent. An analysis of policy-making in the Education Department of Western Australia. Ph.D. thesis, University of Western Australia, 1970; McAuley, Helen R. Activists in student government—a study of the voting members of the -th Council of the University of Queensland Union. B.A. Honours thesis, University of Queensland, 1968; Rootes, Christopher A. Australian student radicals—the nature and origins of dissent. B.A. Honours thesis, University of Queensland, 1969; Bain, Andrew. The Martin Report and its implementation. B.A. Honours thesis, Australian National University, 1971; Mitchell, Bruce. A history of the public school Teachers' organisations in New South Wales, 1855 to 1945. Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1969; Hudson, D. M. Post-primary Teachers' organisations in Victoria, 1905–1950. M.A. thesis, University of Melbourne, 1971; Spaull, Andrew. Teachers and politics: a comparative study of state Teachers' organisations in Victoria and New South Wales since 1940. Ph.D. thesis, Monash University, 1972; Bessant, B. Education and politics in the development of the education systems of New South Wales and Victoria, 1900–1940, with particular reference to post-primary education. Ph.D. thesis, Monash University, 1971; Nicholson, C. The N.S.W. Liberal Party's state aid policy. B.A. Honours thesis, University of Sydney, 1967; Good, I. W. Church-state relations in education in Canberra Goulburn 1956–66. Litt. B. thesis, University of New England, 1967; Nicholls, Margery. The state aid controversy. B.A. Honours thesis, Monash University, 1966; Cox, L. A. A political framework of adolescent students. M.A. thesis, University of Queensland, 1972; Morton, Judith M. A survey of political orientations. B.A. Honours thesis, University of Melbourne, 1965; and Vicary, Adrian R. Education and politics: an examination of political socialization in administration in Australia. B.A. Honours thesis, University of Adelaide, 1970. There are also three important doctoral dissertations completed at North American institutions: Tannock, P. D. The role of the government of the Commonwealth of Australia in education since federation, 1901–1968. Ph.D. dissertation, The Johns Hopkins University, 1969; Semple, Stuart. The role of the Federal Government in certain educational activities in the Commonwealth of Australia 1901–1942. Ed.D. dissertation, University of Toronto, 1972; and O'Collins, Ellen Maev. Policy formation in Australian education: the establishment of the Advisory Committee on the Teaching of Asian Languages and Cultures. D.S.W. dissertation, Columbia University, 1972.
35.
Examples of substantial recent literature on aspects of the politics of education in the U.K. are as follows: Kogan, Maurice. The Government of Education. London: Macmillan, 1971; Musgrove, Frank. Patterns of Power and Authority in English Education. London: Methuen, 1971; Manzer, Ronald A. Teachers and Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1970; Martin, David. Anarchy and Culture: The Problem of the Contemporary University. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969; AvornJerry L.. Universities in Revolt. London: Macdonald, 1969; BlackstoneT.. Students in Conflict. L.S.E. in 1967. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1970; KiddHarry. The Trouble at L.S.E. 1966–1967. London: Oxford University Press, 1969; ParkinsonMichael. The Labour Party and the Organization of Secondary Education 1918–1965. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970.
36.
In Canada, although there are few substantial publications yet in the field, a large number of theses have been produced. The best known substantial publications are probably MacKinnon, Frank. The Politics of Education: A Study of the Political Administration of the Public Schools. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1960; Enns, Frederick. The Legal Status of the Canadian Public School Board. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1963; Corry, J. A. Universities and Governments. Toronto: Gage, 1969; Eber, Dorothy. The Computer Centre Party: Canada meets Black Power. Montreal: Tundra Books, 1969; and Hodgetts, A. B. What Culture? What Heritage? A Study of Civic Education in Canada. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1968.
37.
Important New Zealand work to date includes: Ingle, S. J. A comparative study of two education pressure groups. Political Science, 1971, 23, May 1971, 29–43; Party, parliament and the decline of ideology in New Zealand: the example of education. Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, 1970, VIII, 147–64; and The politics of education. Ph.D. thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 1967; Heath, Robert William. Labour politics and education in New Zealand 1904–1935: a study of the origins of the Labour Party education policy. M.A. thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 1965; and Butterworth, Ruth. Education and politics in BatesRichard J. (Ed.) Prospects in New Zealand Education. Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton, 1970.
38.
WirtFrederick M.Theory and research needs in the study of American educational politics. The Journal of Educational Administration, 1970, VIII, 53–87.
39.
KirstMosherop. cit., 624.
40.
41.
BerkeJoel S.BaileyStephen K.CampbellAlan K.SacksSeymourFederal Aid to Education: Who Benefits?Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971. Another important study is BerkeJoel S.KirstMichael W. (Eds.). Federal Aid to Education: Decision Making and Allocation. Lexington: Heath, 1972.
