1.) What are common themes of issues and decisions at public school board meetings in Virginia?
2.) What can be learned about the level of collaboration from school board members inferred from their voting decisions at school board meetings?
3.) What is the distribution of time spent on various agenda items at school board meetings?
An educated population is the foundation to a competitive and strong economy as well as a democratic society. If one is asked whether education is important, the answer is undeniable in the affirmative. The U.S. being one of the strongest industrialized nation falls behind in science and mathematics education when compared to many countries around the world. There is no question that a good teacher can make a difference in a child’s education but whenever the topic of how education can be improved, more often than not teachers is a topic of discussion. The decision makers of education at the local level, school board members, are not often discussed or thought of when people consider how public education can be …show more content…
This research can contribute to the literature on what is known about school board meetings and how can parents have more impact on creating a positive education for their children. In this study, I defined school board meetings as regular meetings held in public. There are certain school board meetings that are closed meetings, special action meetings and retreat meetings. Due to the limited time available for my study, I only examine meeting minutes from regular school board meetings. School board member in this context refers to a local citizen who has been elected to serve on the local school district. A school district in this study refers to the headquarters that oversee and manages the public schools under it.