Showing 1 – 9 of 9 results.
Self-published
High Turnover with Low Accountability: Local School Board Elections in 16 States (ICPSR 229162)
Released/updated on: 2025-05-10
Geographic coverage: United States
We analyze the most comprehensive dataset on U.S. school board elections. We find that nearly half of races go uncontested and that incumbents are reelected more than 80 percent of the time when they run. Because many incumbents retire instead of running for another term, however, turnover is high (with 53 percent of incumbents replaced in a typical election cycle). School board turnover is also only weakly related to student learning rates. These dynamics--high turnover disconnected from school performance challenges--occur across both urban and non-urban districts, regardless of student demographics and local media environments. Together, these results suggest that local democracy produces high leadership churn and minimal incentives to improve student learning, two findings that can inform debates regarding the benefits and costs of local democratic governance.
Self-published
Swimming In The Deep End: School Board Members Making Sense Of Their Roles And Responsibilities (ICPSR 211042)
Released/updated on: 2024-11-14
Little has been dedicated to the experience and potential support for local educational policy actors, school board members, that were at the heart of unprecedented decision and sensemaking during the Covid-19 pandemic. Employing sensemaking theory and an interpretivist case study design, this study conducts interviews with four school board members in a Missouri school district. The study explores their motivations for candidacy and perceptions of the role's responsibilities, especially as individuals elected during the pandemic. The findings highlight that candidates' decisions to run are influenced by personal and professional experiences, shaping their initial understanding of the position. However, post-election, a transformative process unfolds in the actual enactment of the role, signifying an evolution in their sensemaking journey. This study contributes to the limited but growing literature on school board members who play critical roles in education and whose roles and responsibilities have often been overlooked in the scholarship.
Self-published
Tennessee School Board Member and Superintendent Perspectives on Prohibited Concepts Laws (ICPSR 209663)
Released/updated on: 2024-10-15
Geographic coverage: Tennessee, United States
This is a selection of data taken from a statewide survey of Tennessee school board members and superintendents in Spring 2023. This data addresses respondent perspectives on the Prohibited Concepts Law and Curriculum Control. It also includes their location by Congressional District and their political party (for school board members only).
Self-published
Public Opinion on School Board Trustees in Canada (ICPSR 120553)
Released/updated on: 2020-08-05
Geographic coverage: Canada
Time period: 1993-01-01--1997-12-31
The data in this study is being collected to catalogue previously asked questions about Trustees in Canada in preparation for a study examining attitudes towards the role of Trustees in Ontario. The data referenced in this study is from the period 1993 to 1997.
Curated
ANES 1968 Time Series Study (ICPSR 7281)
Released/updated on: 2015-11-10
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1968-09-01--1969-02-28
This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The election studies are designed to present data on Americans' social backgrounds, enduring political predispositions, social and political values, perceptions and evaluations of groups and candidates, opinions on questions of public policy, and participation in political life. A Black supplement of 116 respondents is included with the national cross-section of 1,557 respondents. Additional content areas included in this study were assessment of the respondent's faith in local, state, and national governments, voting on propositions on the ballot, the respondent's attempts to influence others to vote, participation in local school board activities and opinions on local education problems, and placement of political figures on a "feeling thermometer".
Curated
ANES 1968 Time Series Study (ICPSR 35111)
Released/updated on: 2014-06-25
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1968-09-01--1969-02-28
This study is part of a time-series collection of national surveys fielded continuously since 1952. The election studies are designed to present data on Americans' social backgrounds, enduring political predispositions, social and political values, perceptions and evaluations of groups and candidates, opinions on questions of public policy, and participation in political life. A Black supplement of 116 respondents is included with the national cross-section of 1,557 respondents. Additional content areas included in this study were assessment of the respondent's faith in local, state, and national governments, voting on propositions on the ballot, the respondent's attempts to influence others to vote, participation in local school board activities and opinions on local education problems, and placement of political figures on a "feeling thermometer".
Curated
Washington Post District of Columbia Poll, January 2008 (ICPSR 24602)
Released/updated on: 2009-10-12
Geographic coverage: District of Columbia, United States
Time period: 2008-01-01--2008-01-31
This special topic poll, fielded January 3-8, 2008, is a part of continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on various political and social issues. The District of Columbia was the focus of this poll. Residents were asked for their feelings about the future of the District of Columbia, whether they thought the District was moving in the right direction, and the biggest problems facing the District at that time. Respondents were asked for their opinions of Mayor Adrian Fenty and whether they approved of the way he was handling his job and other issues such as improving city services, reducing crime, creating more jobs for District residents, the number of African Americans serving in city government, as well as their opinions of Mayor Fenty's relations with the District Council. Opinions were also solicited on the District of Columbia Council, respondents' own ward council members, the District police, Ward Eight Representative Marion Barry, head coach of the Washington Redskins Joe Gibbs, Police Chief Cathy Lanier, District Council Chairman Vincent Gray, Chancellor of the District of Columbia public schools Michelle Rhee, and District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Natwar Ghandi. Several questions asked about issues in the respondents' own neighborhood, including safety from crime, how the process of redevelopment would affect the rich and poor, the neighborhood, and the city overall, whether respondents thought they would be forced from their homes due to the redevelopment, and whether respondents thought they could find a home they could afford within the District if they had to move that day. A series of questions focused on District public schools, including the school system's budget, violence and crime in the schools, lack of parental involvement, what was the biggest problem facing District public schools, and whether the transfer of control of District public schools to the mayor had made a difference. Additional topics included the theft of millions of dollars from the city by employees in the District's Tax and Revenue Department, respondents' financial situation, the Washington Nationals major league baseball team and new publicly funded baseball stadium, opinions on financing a soccer stadium for the team D.C. United, terrorist attacks in the Washington area, and gun control. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, whether anyone in the household worked for the federal or city government, frequency of religious attendance, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), whether respondents rented or owned their home, voter registration status and participation history, political party affiliation, political philosophy, the presence of children under 18 in the household, and whether respondents had children in the District of Columbia public school system.
Curated
School Board and School Superintendent Study, 1968 (ICPSR 7353)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-18
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1968-01-01--1968-12-31
This study surveyed board members of the public schools included in the STUDENT-PARENT SOCIALIZATION STUDY, 1965 (ICPSR 7286) (Part 1) and superintendents of the same school districts (Part 3). These original samples were supplemented with members of 13 big city boards of education and the superintendents of those districts in order to provide complementarity with AMERICAN NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY, 1968 (ICPSR 7281). Shorter versions of the questionnaire were administered to the supplementary samples, and responses of both the regular and the supplementary samples to these common questions are presented in Parts 2 and 4. Variables probed respondents' attitudes toward their jobs, personnel policies, and the relationships between the school district and the community. Demographic data include sex, race, level of education, college attended, family income, home ownership, and political preference. Information is also included on the characteristics of the school districts covered by the survey.
Curated
WLS-TV/ABC News Chicago Mayoral Election Exit Poll, April 1987 (ICPSR 8851)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States, Chicago, Illinois
Time period: 1987-04-07--1987-04-07
WLS-TV and ABC News cooperated in surveying Chicago voters as they left the polls on election day, April 7, 1987. Voters were asked for whom they had voted for mayor and why and to rate the candidates and their performance during the campaign. Other questions focused on issues important to Chicago's future, race relations, street crime, and the Chicago school board. Demographic characteristics and political orientation also are included.