Abstract: Economic efficiency of public school districts was explored by utilization of the concept of economies and dis‐economies of scale. An optimum size relative to costs was discovered by analyzing the data with curvilinear least squares regression and also with the differential calculus. The sample was taken from elementary, high school, and K–12 (unit) districts in the state of Illinois, U.S.A. Suggestions for further research on the general notion of optimum size of school districts are presented.

Abstract: The major purpose of this study is to test the applicability of an eight‐variable axiomatic theory of organizations to the secondary school. Three corollaries, derived from the seven major propositions of the theory, were tested with data from 36 secondary schools in Illinois. The methodological processes employed to obtain measures of complexity, adaptability, and job satisfaction are presented following explication of the larger theoretical framework. An extended discussion of the findings and their implications for the theory applied to schools concludes with suggestions for methodological changes and an expanded research approach.

Abstract: In his article “The Management of Schools in Ncw South Wales (1848–1886): Local Initiative Suppressed”, E. J. Payne has argued that “The distinctly centralised pattern of educational administration did not evolve but was deliberately imposed, acceded to, and perpetuated, by reasonable people with varied motives, but their compromise was such that it has restricted the exercise of local initiative and the development of local institutions”. The purpose of the present article is to understand Wilkins and his employers' administrative problems and decisions rather than to judge them. The complexity of the historical situation in which they found themselves, the range of their possible decisions, and their day to day dealings with teachers and Local Boards as contained in archival records form the basis of the story told. This is mainly a story of the failure of many of the Local Boards to fulfil their responsibilities and the assessment by the Central administrators of the circumstances of their educational enterprise in country areas. To illustrate the financial, administrative, and geographical problems facing both the central and the local Boards a case study which is both typical and a‐typical of Local Patron performance is presented.

Abstract: The “Contingency Model” of leadership effectiveness postulates that effectiveness of a group is contingent upon the relationship between leadership style and the degree to which the situation enables the leader to exert his influence. This investigation was an attempt to explore the usefulness of the theory as a guide to the study of leadership in public elementary schools. As predicted by the model, the favorableness of principal‐staff relations was a significant situational mediator of leadership effectiveness. In elementary schools where principals were well supported by teachers, a task oriented leadership style was associated with effectiveness; however, in schools where principals were less well supported by teachers, a relationship oriented leadership style was associated with effectiveness.

Abstract: A morale questionnaire developed in Australia was subjected in the U.S.A. to a test of its validity by using a small sample of schools judged by experts to be of either high or low morale. Following item analysis, a shorter questionnaire was developed which discriminated significantly between a sample of schools of high and low staff morale both in Australia and in the U.S.A.

Abstract: The second International Intervisitation Program held in Australia in August, 1970, must now be considered a milestone in the development of the study and practice of educational administration. From the second Program emerged the establishment of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration. Membership of the Council, which is determined on an individual rather than an institutional basis, is open to all interested in the administration of education. The Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration has a seven point programme of objectives: 1. To foster close links between those concerned with the improvement of educational administration in Commonwealth countries. 2. To foster a high standard in the practice and study of educational administration at all levels. 3. To hold Commonwealth‐wide and regional conferences on various aspects of educational administration. 4. To facilitate the dissemination of knowledge about research and practice in educational administration. 5. To foster high standards in the preparation of administrators. 6. To facilitate the exchange between member countries of teachers, students and practitioners of educational administration. 7. To encourage the establishment in Commonwealth countries of national associations of those concerned with the improvement of educational administration. Financial support for the Council was provided initially by the second International Intervisitation Program and “The Journal of Educational Administration”. Further generous and significant assistance has been given by the University of New England and the Commonwealth Foundation.

Abstract: Among the recommendations of the first International Intervisitation Program held in North America in 1966 was the organization of a second program at a later date. The 1970 International Intervisitation Program, held in Australia, was jointly sponsored by the University Council for Educational Administration and the University of New England. The themes of the Program were Centralization and Bureaucracy, Planning and Systems Analysis, Accountability and Assessment and Teacher Negotiation and Participation in Policy Making. These themes were the subject of papers at the orientation phase, of observation in a two week visitation phase and of group discussion at a conference held in Armidale. Perhaps the most important outcome of the Program was the decision to establish a Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration, a professional association for those interested in educational administration, which seems likely to hold its first plenary meeting at the third International Intervisitation Program to be held in England in 1974.

Abstract: Three concepts central to a philosophy of administration, viz., power, authority and leadership are examined in the light of theory propounded by Professor Donald Rogers. This theory is in the history of ideas and traces over the long term, for Western culture, the successive emergence of hierarchial, atomic‐mechanical and organic patterns. The last is closely related to the field theory approach in physics. It is argued that a conventional set persists in contemporary administrative thought which lags the emergence of field‐type constructs. An alternative mode of conceiving organizational structure is postulated taking educational administration as an illustration. The implications for the major concepts of power, authority and leadership are examined as well as those for administrative status. Conclusions reached tend to support the pattern of preparation for administration developed by the British Civil Service. Persistence of atomic‐mechanical thinking would tend to aggravate Thompson's organizational theory which points to conflict between professional experts and line administrators.

Abstract: Although colleges and universities claim to be involved in formal planning there is much obvious evidence to suggest otherwise. Planning is a complex procedure, the problems of which are compounded by a changing environment. All planning decisions should be based on research but again deficiencies are obvious in actual practice. Planning involves four phases: setting objectives, developing plans, integrating these plans into the decision process and adjusting the plans to environmental changes. A fundamental problem in university planning is the selection of the best organizational structure to expedite this activity. Such a model would make provision for a five stage process: localized planning, planning by committee, planning by an outside agency, institutional research and the establishment of a specific planning department.

Abstract: The paper is devoted to the question of how to allocate a given educational budget. Alternative avenues of expenditure on post‐secondary education are treated as investment projects and their benefit‐cost ratios are compared. The analysis is essentially static and is based on two investigations carried out by the author, one in Canada, the other in the United Kingdom. The paper is organised into three sections. The first discusses the methodology underlying the two detailed studies. The second presents conclusions on particular aspects of the general problem of allocating resources within formal education, and is divided into four parts: the balance between private and social costs and benefits, between academic levels of education, between types of education and between male and female education. The final section of the paper contains four more general points and emphasises our ignorance in much of this area.

Abstract: This research study was started at the University of Oregon, School of Education, in the Spring of 1967. A group of advanced graduate students in school finance under the supervision of the senior author, undertook the study to examine systematically the relationships between and among measures of human resource development, education, manpower utilization and economic growth in the states of the United States. The model for the research was the Harbison and Myers classic study of this important issue among the nations of the world entitled, “Education, Manpower and Economic Growth”. (McGraw‐Hill, 1964.) The research reported touches upon several important fields—economics of education, political science, human resource management and governmental planning. The relationships studied hold important implications for the allocation of scarce human and economic resources to attain state and national social and economic goals.

Abstract: The Commonwealth Foundation, now five years old, administers a fund designed to increase interchanges between Commonwealth organizations in professional fields. Twenty‐six Commonwealth Governments subscribe to the Foundation's annual income and nominate trustees to serve on its board. A non‐political organization, its activities have included: encouraging the growth of Commonwealth‐wide professional associations, creating national professional centres, helping to create national professional societies, promoting regional professional activity, increasing the personal interchange of skills and experience and broadening professional knowledge through the printed word. It adheres to the view that the Commonwealth remains an association of peoples who, at professional and other levels, still have much in common; much to build on, much to conserve.

Abstract: After an analysis of Weberian theory the author describes recent “augmentations” to the bureaucratic model. Although accepted as a residual feature of organizations, bureaucracy is shown to be amenable to personalization and democratization. In particular this appears true of the Catholic church as the repercussions of Vatican II are felt. The resultant decentralization of authority and the amelioration of strict bureaucratic procedures in an Australian Archdiocesan school system are described. Data presented lend support to the initial hypothesis that greater organizational effectiveness and increased administrative efficiency have resulted.

Abstract: The author critically examines “The Evaluation of Teaching Performance” (Journal of Educational Administration. VII 2. October, 1969) by T. J. Moore and W. D. Neale. An examination of the assumptions underlying the selection of certain criteria is made. The author challenges the interpretation of the data alleging a bias within the framework of the Victorian Education Department's inspectorial survey. Moore and Neale's conclusion that their survey showed that little stress is placed by inspectors upon product criteria in teacher assessment is also examined.