Critical Variables in the Formation and Maintenance of Consensus in School Districts

A comparative case study methodology was employed to investigate the formation and maintenance of consensus in school district governance and administration in six central New York school districts. Based on these case studies, eight critical variables were identified as affecting consensus. These variables include: the environmental constraints which the district operates under; the degree of mobilization of community interest groups; the unity of the school board; the degree and breadth of administrative expertise; the unity of the administrative realm; the leadership ability of the superinten dent, specifically the strategies and tactics employed; the coalition behavior of teachers; and the stability of the profile of critical variable values. The implications of these variables for research, practice, and theory are discussed.