Horatio Alger and its schools : the operation of sociostructural conditioning phenomena in development and maintenance of a positive model of schooling

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to explore the development of the Horatio Alger School District, a school system identified as a positive model of schooling. In a search for greater school effectiveness, an attempt was made to discover "the good politick" which mav be related to maintenance and development of a positive model of schooling. The Research Question. The research Question was: How did lav and professional leaders of the Horatio Alger School District manage local and extralocal political changes, local and extralocal changes in environmental conditions and local changes in the formal organization and student outcomes over the years in a positive model of schooling? Methadology. A 63-year case study was conducted in the Horatio Alqer School District. Historical data collection methods and ethnographic interviewing techniques were utilized. A conceptual framework was developed for use as a heuristic device from concepts of several theorists in political science, sociology, education and general systems theory. [...]