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STEPHENSON, Alan Roger, 1930- SCHOOL BROADCASTING ORGANIZATION: AN ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1968 Education, general

University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan SCHOOL BROADCASTING ORGANIZATION:

AN ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES

AND FUNCTIONS

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By

Alan Roger Stephenson, B.A., M.A.

******

The Ohio State University 1968

Approved by

Adviser College of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer, like most authors, is indebted to many people for their support and encouragement during the preparation of this paper. Deep appreciation is expressed to: Dr. I. Keith Tyler, professor and adviser, for continued stim­ ulation, guidance and direction. A host of school administrators, teachers and broadcasters for their cooperation, interest and advice throughout the research and pre­ paration of the report. The staff of WVIZ-TV, Cleveland for their cooperation in testing the proposed guidelines. Margaret Rochford Stephenson, the writer's wife, for her patience, belief and effort which made possible this paper and the graduate study which preceded it. VITA

December 12, 1930 ...... Bom - Ballston Spa, New York

1948 ...... Graduated, Saratoga Springs, New York High School

1948-1950 ...... '...... Student, University of State of New York, Albany

1951-1954 ...... United States Air Force, Honorable Discharge

1955 ...... B.A., University of State of New York, Albany

1955-1956 ...... Teaching Fellow, University of State of New York, Albany

1956-1958 ...... Television Project Coordinator, New York State Department of Education

1958 ...... M .A., University of State of New York, Albany

1958-1960 ...... Photographer and Producer- Director, Station WOSU-TV, Columbus, Ohio

1960-1961 ...... Research Assistant, Bureau of Educational Research, The Ohio State University

1 9 6 1 ...... Associate Producer, Project for Utilization Programming, The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction

1961-1964 ...... Executive Director, The 21 Inch Classroom, Boston and Television Consultant, The Massachusetts Department of Education

iii 1964 Successively Director of Educa­ tional services and Manager of Operations, The Educational Television Association of Metro politan Cleveland, Ohio

PUBLICATIONS

"School Television and In-Service Teacher Training," NAEB Tournal, Vol. 21 No. 1 (January-February, 1962), pp. 10-14.

"The 21 Inch Classroom," The Massachusetts Parent-Teacher, April, 1962, pp. 8-11. Vol. 33, No. 8.

"School Television In M assachusetts,11 Massachusetts Association of School Committees Tournal, Vol. 11, No. 10 (June, 1962), pp. 49-50.

"School Television: A Status Report, " New England Association of Col­ leges and Secondary Schools Review, Fall, 1963.

"Report of The Programming Task Group," Report of the Northeast Regional Instructional Television Library Project to the U.S. Office of Education, February, 1963, pp. 23-30.

"Developments In School Television Program Preparation," SMPTE Tournal, Vol. 74, No. 9 (September, 1964), pp. 767-769.

"Translator Tribulations, ” NAEB Tournal, Vol. 24, No. 4 (July-August, 1965), p p . 45-47.

"Let's Involve The Student," NAEB Tournal, Vol. 25, No. 3 (May-June, 1966), pp. 14-18.

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: Education

Radio and Television Education Professor I. Keith Tyler

Audio Visual Education Professor Edgar Dale

Higher Education The late Professor Earl C. Anderson

Sociology and Anthropology Professor Erika Bourguignon CONTENTS Page ACKNOWIEDGMENTS...... ii VITA...... iii

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION...... 1

I THE EARLY ROOTS...... 5 Organization Begins The Institute for Education by Radio The Federal Communications Act Attempts at Cooperation The First Reservations Television Starts The Effort Begins Organization Takes Form Summary

II RESERVATION, ACTIVATION AND EXPANSION...... 31 The Ford Foundation National Citizens Committee for Educational Television National Educational Television and Radio C en ter Growth Pattern National Program for the Use of Television in the Public Schools Closed Circuit Television Instructional Television Fixed Service The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction Television Tape Recording Networks The Role of the Federal Government Instructional Television libraries National Association of Educational Broadcasters Summary

III TELEVISION IN INSTRUCTION...... 69 The Stations The Types of Instructional Telecasting The Extent of Instructional Telecasting Television in Higher Education Summary v CONTENTS (Cont’d) CHAPTER

IV RESEARCH...... The Effectiveness of Televised Instruction Intelligence The Intangibles Attitudes Toward Television Feedback Production Devices Summary

V THE PLAN FOR THE STUDY...... Dimensions of the Problem Organizing the Study Proposed Guidelines Terms to be Used The Interview Schedule The Sample Gathering the Data Summary

VI THE FINDINGS...... Patterns of Organization Characteristics of Organizational Structure Problem Areas Reported Non-Reported Problems An Observation: Project Leadership Efforts At Reorganization Summary

VII ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS...... Structures Relationships Between Station and Project The Telecasting Project's Relationship to Its Schools Interdepartmental Relationships Summary

VIII AN ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONS...... Interpretation Service Program Preparation Sales Evaluation Administration Summary CONTENTS (Cont'd) Page CHAPTER

IX SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DATA...... 169 Data Comparison The Indeterminants A Further Comparison Summary X EVALUATION AND MODIFICATION OF PROPOSED GUIDELINES...... 176 Original Proposals Proposed Guidelines Summary

XI APPLYING THE GUIDE LINES IN A NEW LOCATION--A TEST CASE...... 197 The Community The School Community Initial Station-Schools Contact Initial Organization The Curriculum Council Developing New Productions Television Teachers Building School-Station Relations Results of The First Semester The First Full Year Proposed Guidelines Reexamined Summary

XII SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS...... 218 Summary The Guidelines Implications of The Study Recommendations for Further Study Concluding Statement

APPENDIXES...... 224

A Interview Schedules B Letter to Area School Administrators C Replies for Area School Administrators

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 249

vii INTRODUCTION

Although experimentation in the use ot television as a tool in instruction can be traced back virtually to the inception of the medium as a laboratory curiosity in t923, the most accurate date ot origin for educational television is April n , i952. On that date the Federal Communications Commission/ as one part of its 6th Report and Order, reserved 242 television channels in communities across the nation exclusively for educational, non-commercial programming. This action was derided by cynics who contended that education would make little or no use ot these channels and would be both unwilling and unable to provide the funds necessary to operate broadcasting stations. The FCC action in reserving these channels was not a simple, far-sighted decision or one based on great faith in the ability ot the field of education to fund and operate these channels. The reservations followed extensive testimony and years of preparation. The Commis­ sioners were under considerable pressure from commercial interests to make no such reservations, or at the very most, to move all reserva­ tions to the least desirable parts of the new Ultra High Frequency band which the Commission established as part of the 6th Report and Order. The Commissioners' doubts are illustrated by the fact that the initial reservations were made for one year only. The history of the actions that led to the reservation of educa­ tional channels is a fascinating one. It was written by a small group of educators who possessed the imagination, vision and stamina to mobilize the key elements.of education. These men led education into the unfamiliar arena of political intrigue where ultimately the reserva­ tions for educational television were made and defended.

These leaders and their goals had been developed over a period ot nearly thirty years. The reservations were only half of the objective,

l for there followed ten years more of effort and trial before reservations on paper were transformed into a substantial number of stations on the air. In large measure it was the concern that the reservations might be lost that provided the sense of urgency which helped educational television reach the position it holds today. The doubts that education would never make use of its hard-won reservations seemed justified when at the first anniversary of the sixth Report and Order no educational station was on the air. At the end of two years only one, KUHT, operated by the University ot Houston and the Houston Board of Education, was in existence. There were many signs ot activity, however, so that the one year deadline on the reser­ vations was extended on May 11, 1953 on an indefinite basis: because educationaLinstitutions require more time than commercial interests to prepare for TV opera­ tion, a reservation of channels is necessary, and,’ while such reservation should not be for an exces­ sively long period and should be surveyed from time to time, it places no limit whatever on the duration of the assignment of channels reserved for noncom­ mercial educational operation.

By the end of i954, Houston had been joined by stations in San Fran­ cisco, Seattle, Lincoln, St. Louis, Madison, Iansing, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Three years later, this number had more than tripled as 28 stations were in operation. That figure was doubled by l96i, and the one hundredth American educational television station was on the air late in 1964. Much of the initial development of educational television stressed its potential for adult education. However, by the late i950's public education, driven by burgeoning enrollments, faced with demands for higher quality instruction and stymied by rising costs, was turning increasingly to television as a means of improving education. In some situations, economies were experienced as well.

Hj.S. Federal Communications Commission, Nineteenth Annual Report, Fiscal 1953, p. 94. In a few places, such as Denver and Milwaukee, single school systems activated educational stations. These instances, however, have been rare. More frequently, particularly in metropolitan areas, telecasting for classroom instruction developed under the auspices of a group of school systems which jointly bore the expense and reaped the benefits of the broadcasts. Local autonomy in the control of public education is a cherished tradition in many parts of the United States. Cooperative efforts among school systems in the development of instruction are uncommon. large scale endeavors or those involving many school systems are rare. On the other hand, the cost ot telecasting is such that few school systems have been willing to undertake it alone. As a result, cooperative projects for television have become common. Because no traditional pattern for such inter-system cooperation existed, a variety of arrange­ ments have developed. The author first became involved in inter-system cooperation for television in 1959 in Columbus, Ohio. Four area school systems pre­ pared and broadcast a single, thrice-weekly series over the local educational station, WOSU-TV. The writer was the producer and coor­ dinator for the endeavor. From i96i - i964 the author was director of a large cooperative school broadcasting project serving i70 school systems in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The experiences gained during this period were instrumental in the derivation of a group of propositions concerning desirable elements of organization in co­ operative school telecasting projects. In the summer of 1964, a year of evaluation of these guidelines was undertaken. This concluded with the application of these in a two year trial in a new area—Metropolitan Cleveland, Ohio. Here the writer was responsible for organizing a cooperative project for WVIZ-TV, an educational station activated on February 7, 1965. This study will report on these principles and the results of the evaluation. It will identify and clarify techniques for organizing and carrying forward a school telecasting project involving cooperative support of several school systems. It is hoped that these may be used by othetfin the establishment or reorganization of such a telecasting project. CHAPTER I

THE EARLY ROOTS

The genealogy of educational television can be traced back at least to i9i7 when the University of Wisconsin began operating an ex­ perimental station 9XM, the nation's first educational radio station. The station operates today as WHA. There are several claimants to the title of America's first broad­ cast station. However, KDKA in Pittsburgh, which went on the air on November 2, 1920 is frequently cited as the first regularly operating commercial station. Its opening was timed to coincide with the Harding- Cox presidential election. Thus the broadcasts of the returns attracted considerable attention. Station KDKA was not long alone, however,for twenty radio licenses had been issued by the end of 1920. In only two years the figure was approaching 600.* Contained in that figure were 74 licenses 2 issued to educational institutions. By the mid i920's the growth of broadcasting in the United States made it evident that the Radio Act of 1912 fell far short of what was needed to keep order in the use of the medium. Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, under whose authority broadcasting fell, had attempted to establish some regulations to control the chaos which was develop­ ing. His authority to make such rules was challenged in the courts, and in 1926 a decision involving Zenith Corporation's Chicago station, WJAZ, completely undermined Hoover's efforts. The courts held, in

*Sydriey'W. Head, Broadcasting in America (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1956), p. 109. 2 S.E. Frost, Jr., Education's Own Stations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937), p. 4.

5 6 effect, that the Secretary's only discretionary power was the selection of a frequency to be assigned the recipient of a broadcasting license.* Radio interference by this time was so severe that a marked drop 2 in receiver sales resulted from audience disenchantment. In his message to Congress that year, President Coolidge called upon Con­ gress to enact legislation to remedy the situation. It is one of the few occasions where the broadcasting industry actively sought government regulation. The result was the Federal Radio Act of J.927 which created the Federal Radio Commission. It is noteworthy that several basic princi­ ples established at that time were later embodied in the Federal Commun­ ications Act of 1934 and are still in effect today. The Act was summar­ ized by Head who detailed seven principles in Broadcasting in America: 1. The radio waves or channels belong to the people. 2. Broadcasting is an innovation requiring separate regulation and treatment. 3. Services to the public must be equitably distributed. 4. Not everyone is eligible even to use a channel, and must prove their fitness. 5. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and of the press includes broadcasting although certain limitations exist. 6. The government has discretionary regulatory powers. 7. The government's powers are not absolute and may be 3 appealed to a court of law. Each of these principles has been tested in the courts and found 4 to be consistent with the Constitution. The Commission began the tas'k of unsnarling the state into which broadcasting had worked itself. The business of setting standards,

*Head. op. c it.. p. 128. ^I b id ., p. 129 Ibid., p. i3 l. 4Ibid. 7 assigning frequencies, power and operating hours was a difficult one. It was complicated further by the well-intentioned Davis Amendment to the Radio Act of 1927 and by the vast number of stations already on the air. The former required the Commission to allocate broadcasting services in proportion to the population of the five zones into which the amendment divided the United States. The latter problem obtained because in the populous areas more stations were trying to broadcast than there were frequencies to allocate to them. This necessitated a paring down of operating stations. Each action to change an assignment or eliminate a broadcaster started another furore. The weeding-out process struck hard at the nearly two hundred educationally-owned radio stations. Many of these had been activated by individuals, hobby clubs, or departments on the campus for experiments or training laboratories, particularly for engin­ eers . Not infrequently part of the equipment was home-made and pro­ gramming sporadic. When the FRC began to specify equipment that operated within narrow tolerances and to require longer hours of opera­ tion, many of these marginal stations found it difficult to raise the funds to conform to the regulations. Further, the Commission was strictly interpreting the section of the law which forbade special con­ sideration for any group or vested interest.* The Commissioners, faced with the problem of establishing order and with a great demand for fre­ quency assignments, actually may have discriminated against educa­ tion by following a line of least resistance. The Commissioners also established the policy of holding hear­ ings on applications for licenses. In their efforts for fairness and to further public service, they permitted any individual to apply for a frequency currently held by another. The hearings meant trips to Washington and high legal costs. Many educational institutions were unaccustomed to such requirements and were unprepared to finance them. After several defenses of a license to operate a service which was not part of the usual academic community, resources and/or will

*Frost, op. c it. , p. 4. power were exhausted and the license lost or surrendered. By the end of 1930, 197 broadcasting licenses had been issued to educational institutions. Attrition over the same period removed 147 of these.* During 1928, 1929 and 1930, the only years of this period when the Federal Radio Commission was functioning, forty-five educational stations lost their licenses. Thus the FRC's role in eliminating stations was not as large as it may have appeared. However, the supporters of educational radio were deeply upset by what they considered to be a hostile attitude.

Organization Begins In 1926 at the National Radio Conference convened by Mr. Hoover, a group of educational broadcasters formed the Association of College and U niversity Broadcasters (ACUB). This group's first official action was to issue a call for reservations of radio frequencies for education. While this proposal yielded no results, it did begin a debate which led ultimately to the reservation of FM radio channels for educational pur­ poses in 1938. This action in turn provided a precedent for the alloca­ tion of television channels to education 14 years later. The ACUB had an additional role in the creation of educational telecasting. It served as the precursor of the National Association of Educational Broadcasters which provided important leadership during the 1948-52 gestation period of educational telecasting. During the period 1925-1930, however, despite the ACUB, educa­ tion was not organized or even in agreement over its relationship to broadcasting. Levering Tyson of the National Advisory Council on Radio in Education in recalling his memories of the period wrote "I do not remember today of any reasonable and logical presentation of the o case of education in any of those (Congressional) hearings." Those hearings led to the Federal Radio Act of 1927 which made no provision

I Ibid. 2 Levering Tyson, "Looking Ahead,11 Education on The Air, 1936, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1936), p. 62. for education other than to call for broadcasting in the public interest, convenience and necessity. In October of 1930 at the call of U.S. Commissioner of Education, William J. Cooper, representatives of college and university broad­ casting stations met with delegates from national educational groups such as the National Education Association, Land Grant Colleges As-, sociation and the American Council on Education for a Conference on Radio and Education.* They met to consider "the failure of the Federal Radio Commission to protect and conserve education's rights in radio 2 under the radio act of i927." They were particularly distressed by what they considered to be the poor treatment received by existing educationally-owned stations. The conference committed itself to two major propositions. It called upon the Congress permanently and exclusively to assign a minimum of fifteen percent of all radio broadcasting channels in the United States to educational institutions and agencies. The Conference also created the National Committee on Education by Radio (NCER) to carry on the work of "formulating definite plans and recommendations for protecting and promoting broadcasting originating in educational in- 3 stitutions." The work of the NCER was made possible by a five-year grant of $200,000 from the Payne Fund. Through the efforts of the NCER, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate in 193i by Senator Fess of Ohio proposing that "Not less than 15 percentum (of the radio frequencies) .... shall be reserved 4 for educational broadcasting exclusively." This action brought the smoldering battle out in the open. J.E. Morgan wrote that failure to

*HaroldE. Hill, The National Association of Educational Broad­ casters; A History (Urbana, Illinois: The National Association of Educational Broadcasters, i 954), p. 9. 2 Joy Elmer Morgan, "National Committee on Education By Radio," Education On The Air, 1931, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, i93i), p. 4. 3 Hill, op. cit., p. 8. 4Morgan, op. cit. , p. 6. 10 provide these reservations "would force educational institutions to become dependent upon commercial despotism and to take for the use of education the left-over hours which cannot be used for commercial purposes. This battle was to rage for many years. The Fess bill failed and for the next four years the debate cen­ tered around the questions of whether frequencies should be reserved exclusively for education, or whether all commercial stations should be required to set aside some prescribed percentage of their broad­ casting day exclusively for education. The drive for reservations was retarded during this period by the economic depression. Many schools were experiencing financial difficulties and were unwilling to push for reservations they could not afford to use. The depression also reduced the number of advertisers and sent stations casting about for inexpensive programming. At a round table discussion held in the spring of 1932 at the Institute for Education by Radio, several participants reported that in the previous six months their institutions had found it much easier to obtain desirable time for programs. However, some felt that as soon as an economic recovery was underway this advantage would be lost. By 1934 a number of side issues were evident. H.V. Kaltenbom commented that "this cooperation (between commercial stations and educational organizations) had been distinguished largely by its 2 absence." Among the issues he raised was the propriety of commer­ cial sponsorships of educational programs, whether commercial stations might be persuaded to pay for programs organized for them by educa­ tional institutions or if stations might subsidize department of Radio 3 at universities in exchange for a set amount of programming.

*Ibid., pp. 7-8. 2 H.V. Kaltenbom, "Cooperation of Commercial Stations and Educa­ tional Organizations'" Education On The Air: 1934, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1934), p. 44. ^Ibid., p. 45. 11

The Institute for Education by Radio An Important force which contributed to the creation of educa­ tional television was the Institute for Education by Radio. The IER was convened in 1930 by Dr. W. W. Charters of The Ohio State University and has continued to this day under the sponsorship of that university. In the more than thirty-five years of its existence, the Institute has provided a forum and sounding board for the important ideas and issues with regard to educational broadcasting which appeared during the period. From its platform many of the visionary ideas were first aired for the use of television as a cultural force. The records of the very first of the annual IER conferences show an early awareness of television as a potential force in education. Ray S. Erlandson, Executive Director of the American School of the Air stated "they (educators) will recognize the opportunity this (television) will offer education. It will take only a short time for a group of child­ ren to become accustomed to the technique of having their school work captured by television. The daily technique of classroom teaching can be reproduced in all teacher-training institutions . Television is going to be one of the biggest boons to good teaching that has ever been developed." * At the second meeting of the Institute, in the spring of 1931, William N. Parker of the Western Television Corporation presented a paper, The Contributions of Television to Education. In this very per­ ceptive effort, Mr. Parker noted advantages that television in educa­ tion offered. "It is now possible for us to present a carefully planned educational program and to learn from it by sitting at home . . . instead 2 of on a hard chair in a lecture room." He described a lesson in the making of paper flowers his Chicago station W9XAP had broadcast and

*Ray S. Erlandson in published discussion following the paper, Annette Bushman, "Educational Techniques in Broadcasting" Education On The Air: 1930, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1930), p. 356. 2 William N. Parker, "The Contributions of Television to Educa- tion," Education On the Air: 1931. ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, i93i), p. 224. noted that, "By proper changing of fields to secure ultra-closeups, the ifinest detail of the work could be seen'. Mr. Parker offered his requirements for the adequate television receiver. He asked that receivers be self-contained pieces of furni­ ture that could be operated by anyone. "It should be unnecessary to put a screen on the wall, rearrange furniture and completely darken a room to see television. . . We do not want to have to huddle the children off into a dark room, but instead want a device which is in the comer of the classroom ready to bring in the picture at the turn of a button. " 3 He concluded by stating "we feel that television is ready for the public and that radio's educational interests could make a worth-while use of it in its present stage of development by working out combined 3 sight and sound programs." Statements such as these at a time when the potential of radio as an educational tool was still debated, were indeed farsighted. The discussion which followed Mr. Parker's paper included a question about the possibility of television distribution by wire which may be one of the earliest recorded questions concerning closed-circuit television-. 4 In 1934 at the IER E.B. Kurtz of the State University of Iowa sum­ marized the experiences of that University's experimental television station W9XK which had been in operation since 1932. In reviewing the variety of programs attempted he stated that "Our policy has been not to undertake programs that could not be satisfactorily handled"3

1Ibid., p. 225. 3Ibid.

3Ibid., p. 226.

4Ibid., pp. 227-228

3E. B. Kurtz, "Teaching By Television" Education On The Air: 1934, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State Univer- city, 1934), p. 260. 13 and added "the surprising thing is the ease with which one becomes absorbed in the program. "I could not but feel that he (the television teacher) was talking to me. I know of no other medium which can dup- 2 licate that seeming close relationship." These statements are still being repeated today. Mr. Kurtz concluded by calling his audience's attention to a change that was taking place. "The implications are apparent; just as sound has become essential to the movie, so in due time will the television picture become inseparably linked to the sound radio. And by the same token, television's place as an effective in- 3 strumentality in the educational system of the future is already assured." For many years the Institute for Education by Radio was the only forum available to educational broadcasting. It provided a common meet­ ing place for the commercial and educational broadcasters where mutual and conflicting problems could be debated. "Ohio State Awards," the annual awards of the IER are America's oldest recognition of excellence in educational programming. While a proliferation of other annual conferences has reduced the import of the Institute's spring meetings, educational broadcasting has benefited greatly from the works of the IER.

The Federal Communications Act The question of reservation of frequencies for education reached a critical point when President Franklin Roosevelt requested the Congress to enact legislation consolidating the regulation of all forms of wire and wireless communication under a single administrative body to be called the Federal Communications Commission. While several amendments were offered that would have reserved frequencies for educational use, all that was passed finally was a directive: "The Commission shall study the proposal that Congress by statute allocate fixed percentages of radio broadcasting facilities to particular types or kinds of non-profit radio programs, or to persons identified with particular types or kinds of non-

*Ibid., p. 261.

^Ibid. , p. 264 .

^Ibid., p. 262. 14 profit activities, and shall report to Congress, not later than February 1, 1935, its recommendations together with the reasons for the same. The reservation of frequencies for education was vigorously op­ posed by the commercial interests. Their position was clearly stated in an editorial in the September 15, 1934 issue of Radio Guide. In the mass, Americans are more interested in educa­ tion than are the people of any other nation. But they do not want education thrust down their throats — or into their ears .... You can't force education on a nation. No one has found a way of making the three R's attraction enough to overcome the lure of a good radio drama, or the broadcast of a symphony orchestra, or of good popular music. But there are types of educ­ ational programs to which the public does despond— and these programs are available today. . . The National Broadcasting Company devotes more than twenty per cent of its time to highly educational features. The Columbia Broadcasting System runs a little higher. The country's foremost educators are all agreed upon the usefulness of radio as an educational medium, but many of them are equally certain that a method of broadcasting academic subjects effectively has not been discovered. . . (Educ­ ators) failed in their stewardship of the frequencies allotted them in years gone by. In 1922 there were seven colleges broadcasting, in 1923 there were twenty-seven colleges on the air, and today there are only twenty- seven. What reason have they for asking for the assign­ ment of one hundred and fifty broadcast wave lengths, when so little has been accomplished with those they h a v e ."2

During October and November, 1934, hearings on the reservation proposal were held by the FCC, but the Commission report did not call for the reservation of frequencies for education. The Commission evid­ ently was convinced that cooperation between the commercial station operator and the educator was the best avenue of serving the public interest. There were doubts that educators could and would make pro­ grams that would appeal to a sufficiently large audience to justify the exclusive use of a radio channel.

U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The Communications Act of 1934 With Amendments and Index Thereto (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961), p. 39. 2 Hill, op. cit. , p. 8. 15

The Commission did, however, say that the commercial broad­ casters had testified to their willingness to give ample time to educa­ tional broadcasting and the Commission pledge itself to oversee the situation to ensure that the broadcasters came through on these promises. The fact that the Commission failed to live up to its own pledge was pointed out in the television hearings of 1950-51, and became a compelling reason for the setting aside of channels for education in the television allocations. In lieu of frequency reservations, the Commission proposed a conference "to the end of combining the educational experience of the educators and the programming experience of the broadcasters, thereby better to serve the public interest. The attitude of the Commission and commercial broadcasters was not wholly unjustified. New York University Chancellor Harry W. Chase commented on the educator's view of program production. "In our naive innocence we assumed that all that was necessary was to get a so-called 'educ­ ator' at the microphone and an audience would automatically create itself forthwith at the receiving sets. We had underestimated the resistance of the human mind to education brought over the radio; we had overestimated greatly the ability of the average classroom man to 2 adapt himself to the techniques of an entirely new medium." In May of 1935, The Communications Commission convened a conference of educators and broadcasters to work out plans for im­ proving cooperation between the two groups. Out of the Conference came a high-level, forty-member committee, the Federal Radio Educa­ tion Committee (FREC), chaired by the U.S. Commissioner of Educa­ tion, Dr. John Studebaker. This committee, viewed as an arm of the

*FCC Report to Congress, January 22, 1935, quoted by L. Tyson, Education on the Air-Radio and Education, 1935 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935, p. 226. 2 Harry W. Chase, "Opening Comments, Fourth General Session," Educational Broadcasting: 1936, ed. C.S. Marsh (Chicago: The Univ­ ersity of Chicago Press, 1937), p. 89. 16 federal government, undertook a broad study of the relationships be­ tween the educator and the broadcaster for the purpose "of submitting to the proper parties, at a later date, a definite and all-embracing plan to cope with it." * This plan was not met with whole hearted approval. "... the educational broadcasters felt that one barrier to progress was the provision that the committee was limited to the work of eliminating controversy and promoting cooperation within the present broadcasting 2 structure." In his address to the First Annual Conference on Educational Broadcasting, held in Washington in 1936, under FCC auspices, Com­ mission Chairman Anning S. Prall underscored the continued Commission position that channels for education were not justified. From time to time various educational groups have proposed that additional facilities be allocated for educational broadcasting. I think it only fair that I impress upon you ladies and gentlemen the fact that the broadcast band is rigidly limited .... Therefore, in the consideration of the technical phases of the problems of education by radio, tech­ nicians should remember the need of other note­ worthy services and endeavor to provide a practic­ able procedure which will permit the fullest use of radio by all . . . .it is impossible to gratify the demand of all groups for facilities. The Commission, pursuant to the. law, has adopted the definite policy of licensing stations for general service in the public interest. It does not license farm stations as such, or religious stations as such, or educational stations because they are in that category. . '

Attempts at Cooperation The period between 1935 and the entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941, may best be characterized as a time

*A.S. Prall, "American Radio," Educational Broadcasting, 1936, ed. C.S. March (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1937), p. 17. ^Hill, op. cit. , p. 24. ^A. S. Prall, op. cit., pp. 17-18. 17 when considerable effort and funds were expended in an effort to bring about the cooperation between educator and broadcaster that the FCC envisioned as ideal. Although the idea of reserved channels for educa­ tion was not dropped, the efforts were not as evident as they had been e a rlie r. The Federal Radio Education Committee took a variety of actions intended to promote cooperation and improve programming. It sought to identify examples of successful cooperation and determine the reasons for them, to determine the kinds of training teachers were receiving in the use of radio and to develop an experiment and idea exchange. It also authorized a series of studies to evaluate school programs which was carried out by The Ohio State University. Much of the money for these projects was obtained from foundations and gifts. During this period cooperation between broadcaster and educator was comparatively extensive. Further, it saw the development of educa­ tion departments in the commercial networks and presentation of regular­ ly scheduled education programs on a national basis. These were not the first of the national broadcasts, however. Walter Damrosch, for example, had been presenting his "Music Appreciation Hour" over NBC since 1928. Two basic conflicts continued to develop. The first was disagree­ ment between broadcaster and educator concerning program quality and time allocation. The second was between the network and the individual affiliated stations over the broadcasting of national educational programs. "Cooperation has been splendid in many cases, but opposed to - this there have been numerous expressions of dissatisfaction because of point-blank refusals of time, less blunt procrastination in the form of unfulfilled promises, changes of program hour assigned to accommodate commercial commitments, and kindred annoying circumstances."'*' When "programs are commercial. . . . they have assured outlets which provide a certain and predetermined coverage. In noncommercial educational broadcasting, however, there is no parallel. Noncommer­

■*Carroll Atkinson, American Universities and Colleges That Have Held Broadcast licenses (Boston: Meador Publishing Company, 1941), p . 69. 18 cial programs are merely offered by the chains, there is no assured coverage. "One cannot help but wonder how long any of the major three (networks) would maintain expensive educational departments were the Federal Communications Commission officials to indicate definitely that they were no longer interested in purely educational broadcasting in the fulfillment of the 'public interest' clause that is part of broad­ casting regulations. Although the network officials have done a fairly decent job of furnishing an educational service, commercial broad­ casters from the first have fought any definite allotment of time to educational services and any interference by the governmental control­ ling agencies in determining how these educational services shall be offered." ^

The First Reservations Another important activity also was in progress during this period. The FCC continued hearings on the future of broadcasting, partly with reference to a higher band of frequencies called the Ultra High Frequen­ cies or "short waves." These were not as high as the UHF of the 1960's, but were above the frequencies used for most broadcasting during the p erio d . At the second National Conference on Educational Broadcasting held in Chicago late in 1937, U.S. Commissioner of Education, John W. Studebaker, reported that he had testified at these UHF hearings and had requested that not less than three megacycles be reserved for education. He said "I am confident that within a few weeks a decision will be rendered by the Communications Commission which will open the 3 way to the realization of this goal."

■*7. W. Studebaker, "The Government's Responsibility For Educa­ tional Broadcasting" Education On The Air: 1937, ed. Josephine H. Mac- Latchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1937), p. 24. 2 Atkinson, op. cit. , p. 67. o ■ J.W . Studebaker, "Report of Progress of Federal Radio Educa­ tion Committee" Educational Broadcasting, 1937, ed. C.S. March (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1938), p. 94. The Commissioner's optimism was justified, for on January 27, 1938, the Federal Communications Commission announced a table of allocations for frequencies near 30 megacycles. Included in this plan was the reservation of twenty frequencies in the 41 and 42 megacycles band for educational use. This was an important milestone. FCC rules 1057 and 1058 which detailed this educational reser­ vation established several precedents which contributed to the reserva­ tion of television channels fourteen years later. First it established that the FCC should encourage the use of broadcasting in education through the allocation of frequencies in the radio spectrum for that pur­ pose. Second it established the concept of the noncommercial station, specifically stating that no commercial announcements would be per­ mitted. Third, it gave these stations regular operating licenses, waiving an initial experimental period. Fourth, the ruling specifically authorized both programming to classrooms and a home cultural service as well as broadcasts of an administrative nature. In reserving fre­ quencies the FCC effectively protected those stations from the danger of loss of license to competing commercial interests by prohibiting any commercial messages. The reservations were not perfect in every respect, however. First, they were in a high, relatively unknown portion of the spectrum. Receivers were virtually nonexistent, so initially these would be sta­ tions without audiences. Second, a power limitation of one thousand watts was established, thereby restricting the area served by a station. Essentially this made them an urban service and provided nothing for the large, scattered rural audience. The Cleveland Board of Education was the first agency to take advantage of the reservations by activating station WBOE as an ampli­ tude modulation station in 1938. The audience problem was met in a limited way by placing 150 specially constructed receivers in the schools. In 1941, the station was changed to frequency modulation when the FCC reserved 42 to 50 megacycles for FM broadcasting. This necessitated the modification of all receivers. WBOE was forced to make a second modification in 1946 when FM broadcasting was moved to higher frequencies. 20

However, educational broadcasters did not utilize these channels at the pace that might have been expected. At the IER conference in 1938, H.A. Jager of the U.S. Office of Education estimated that on the basis of the projected coverage area of a station and the repeated use of the twenty-five frequencies across the country, 1500 educational stations would be technically possible in the United States.* By the end of 1943 only five educational radio stations were on the air and two more were under construction. These were located in Cleveland, San Francisco, New York, University of Kentucky, Univer­ sity of Illinois, Chicago and Buffalo. The last two were under construc­ tion . At least three factors may have contributed to this apparent lack of enthusiasm. First, the effects of the economic depression were still evident in 1938, 1939 and 1940 so that funds for new projects were not readily available; second, the lack of proper receivers in the homes and schools was discouraging; and finally, the United States entered World War II in 1941 which caused material and personnel shortages. The direct involvement of the United States in the war brought broadcasting growth to a halt. Early in 1941, at the recommendation of the Defense Communications Board, the Federal Communications Com­ mission announced that no further construction of new stations or mod­ ifications of existing facilities would be authorized for the duration 2 except in cases of clear public need. As spare parts, particularly tubes, became scarce, the FCC auth­ orized reduced power and shorter hours of operation to prolong equip­ ment life. For educational broadcasting the period until 1945 consisted of making whatever contribution was possible to the war effort and waiting for peace to return.

Harry A. Jager, "Technical Developments in Broadcasting, "•* Education On The Air; 1938, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1938), p. 202. O Broadcasting Yearbook, 1943, (Washington D .C .: Broadcast Publications Inc., 1944), p. 282. 21 Television Starts Late in the 1930's television was receiving increasing considera­ tion as a broadcasting medium. The period was characterized by high hopes, warnings of high costs, and struggles over technical standards. Telecasting on an experimental basis had been going on since 1931. In Great Britain, under the auspices of the British Broadcasting Corporation, a regular television service was provided from 1936 until late in 1939. In the U.S. there were widespread rumors that television was ready to go, but its development was being supressed. looking back on this period, Richard Hubbell of Crosley Broadcasting Corpor­ ation state "The main reason (for the delay) was the inability of the American companies to agree among themselves on the technical stan­ dards to be used—coupled, of course, with the earlier fiasco (financial losses on mechanical scanning in 1930-32) plus the fact.that, finally radio broadcasting was beginning to make money. In the Spring of 1941, an important roadblock to television growth was broken and at the same time a mold cast which will long influence developments in American television. The industry finally agreed on technical st^idards for television including a scanning base of 5 25 lines per frame. While this agreement opened the door for the rapid growth that was to come, it also locked all equipment to a standard which today limits picture tube size and definition. In 1941, after a false start in 1940, the FCC authorized regular commercial broadcasting over eighteen television channels . The medium had little opportunity to develop, as the United States' entry into World War II was only a few weeks away. Early in 1942 construction of new stations was halted. By the end of 1942, when the war restrictions had reached their peak, six stations were in operation and seventeen more 2 had provisional authorization. In the latter group three licenses were held by educational institutions—Purdue University, Kansas State College and Iowa State College.

■^Richard W. Hubbell, "What Is The Status of Television Today?" Education On The Air: 1946, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1946), p. 261. 2 Broadcasting Yearbook, 1943, op. c it., p. 302. 22 As Allied victories indicated that the War was entering its final phases, talk of the growth of post-war broadcasting was plentiful. Electronic discoveries promised a much large usable spectrum. On January 16, 1945, the FCC announced a new table of frequency allocations which dealt with frequencies from 30 to 1000 megacycles. In this action the Commission revised the television channel assign­ ments , reducing the number to thirteen and moved FM broadcasting to the 84-109 megacycle band. In the latter case it reserved 84-88 megacycles for educational broadcasting. Twenty different frequencies were set aside. This band was later narrowed to 88 to 108 megacycles with education's reservations at 88 to 92 megacycles. In late 1946 the earlier educational radio stations which had continued to operate in the 41 megacycle region were required to cease operation by January 1 , 1947 and reactivate on new frequency assign­ ments above 90 megacycles. One further action in the Commission's allocations of 1945 was the assignment of the 480 to 920 megacycles band to television broadcasting. While this region was used initially for air navigation communication, the allocation was the first occasion where future television needs were protected. Seven years later these frequencies became television channels 14 through 83. - - A second occurrence in 1945 had a long range implication for educational broadcasting. In August of that year, Westinghouse Cor­ poration first described the idea of getting expanded coverage by telecasting from an airplane flying at 30,000 feet.'*' In 1961 education­ al television utilized the technique through the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction. This development will be examined later. Late in 1945 another FCC ruling removed channel one from tele­ vision use, reducing to twelve the channels available for telecasting. Education had made some pleas for the assignment of channels for education, but no action was forthcoming.

* Broadcasting, August 6, 1945, p. 398. 23 The Effort Begins Serious consideration of television as a medium for education was developing. At the 1944 Institute for Education for Education, Kenneth Bartlett urged the delegates to realize that "Television, prop­ erly coordinated with the extension program, can vitalize instruction, vary classroom procedures and permit classroom and home demonstra­ tions that would otherwise be impossible."* New York City, where one of the few educational FM stations, WNYE, had been in operation since 1938, was a fertile area for educa­ tional television. By 1946 the school system already had a television committee working with commercial broadcasters to develop classroom 2 te le c a s ts . Educational radio was also benefiting from its channel reserva­ tions and the post-war impetus. By June of 1946 20 construction permits for educational FM stations had been granted and 50 applications were pending. Four years later, thirty-eight of these were in opera­ tion. In 1948, the FCC took another step in strengthening education's claim to a part of the broadcast spectrum when it authorized low power FM educational stations. The low power operation, usually ten watts, served as a training ground and as an inexpensive first step to the operation of an educational station. Within two years, thirty-four applications were received and twenty- one low power stations were in o p eratio n . But, by 1949, the impact of television was beginning to be felt in radio broadcasting. Some prophets were predicting the demise of radio as a broadcasting medium. In an article in Look Magazine, the former president of the National Broadcasting Company, Merlin H. Ayles worth, predicted flatly, "I predict that within three years the

Kenneth G. Bartlett in published discussion following panel discussion "Television and Education," Education On The Air: 1944, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1944), p. 252. 2 Edward Stasheff, "What Does Television Mean to Education," Education On the Air: 1944, ed. Josephine H. MacLatchy (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1944), pp. 276-277. broadcast of sound or ear radio, over giant networks, will be wiped out. Powerful network television will take its place completely overshadow­ ing the few weather reports and recorded programs left to the remaining single ear radio stations."* While he overstated the events to come, he was more accurate when he predicted "Television will be a boon to 2 the educators." However, education still was not organized for a push to get channels for educational telecasting. It was fortunate that additional time to prepare a case developed. By 1948 it had become apparent that the earlier projections of station coverage and channel requirements had been insufficient. Overlap and interference were growing. To prevent greater chaos, the FCC instituted its famous "freeze" on applications for television channels while its engineers restudied the problem. The freeze lasted four years although the original thought was that it would be much shorter. In the spring of 1949, Commission Chairman Wayne 3 Coy estimated the freeze might last a total of ten to twelve months. One of the important activities carried on by the Commission during the early part of the freeze was an examination of the frequencies between 400 and 900 megacycles which had been reserved in 1945 for future television development. These frequencies picked up the name, the Ultra High Frequencies or UHF. This underscores the rapid development of electronics between 1938 and 1948. Only ten years earlier "UHF" applied to the frequencies around 50 megacycles, a range then consid­ ered to be the upper reaches of the usable electronic spectrum. The lethargic state of education's efforts toward channel reser­ vations was underscored by an editorial in Billboard Magazine. Last chance for educational institutions to get into television broadcasting is seen now resting with the Federal Communications Commission's September 20

*Merlin H. Aylesworth, "Radio is Doomed," Look, April 26, 1949, p . 66. 2Ibid.

2Wayne Coy, "The Future of Broadcasting: AM, FM, TV and Fax'" Broadcasting On The Air: 1949, ed. O. Joe Olson (Columbus, The Ohio State University, 1949), p. 9. 25

hearing on upstairs video. All but crowded out of the television field, educational institutions are expected then to push vigorously for reservation of channels in the upper band. With present chan­ nels approaching the saturation point, it appears certain that saturation of spectrum space in the low band will find universities holding no more than six stations. Both FCC and National Association of Educational Broadcasters are worried over failure of educa­ tional institutions to get aboard the TV bandwagon. NAEB has cited the high cost of initiating and operating a TV station as the chief reason for the lag of educators in this important new field. Chair­ man Wayne Coy, of FCC has issued two separate invitations for educators to appear at next month's hearing and request the Commission to set aside channels for educational outfits as has been done in F M .1

In 1949 the first woman was appointed to the Federal Communica­ tions Commission. Commissioner Frieda M. Hennock can rightfully be called the mother of educational telecasting „ Only a few months after her appointment she called for the establishment of educational tele- 9 vision stations. From her important position she urged educators to push for channel reservations during the freeze. "This is a crucial period, for once these frequencies have been allotted, it is unlikely 3 there will be any further room made for television." "But where are the titians of our educational system now that the time has come for you to demand your rightful place in the television picture? We at the FCC cannot and will not impose from above our own individual ideas of what American broadcasting should be like. If you

^Billboard. August 21, 1948, p. 1.

2 Frieda M. Hennock, published discussion following panel dis­ cussion "What Will Television Do To American Life" James L. Fly presiding. Education On The Air: 1949, ed. O. Joe Olson (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1949), p. 70. 3 Frieda M. Hennock, "Do We Need A New National Policy For Radio and Television" Education On The Air: 1950, ed. O. Joe Olson (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1950), p. 11. 26

want it to improve you must come out swinging and make your impression felt. If you get into television now you may prevent its assuming the same character as our aural broadcasting. You must do it, for nothing is so important to you as educators and to our nation. . . the FCC as you know, realizes that a channel is a very valuable property and it belongs to the public. With the scarcity of and demand for channels, we cannot sit tight in Washington and reserve them for you unless you show some interest. I have asked you educa­ tors to evince your interest, to indicate your willingness to use them in the future. I want the channels set aside, and I want you people to come in and back-up the United States Office of Education, the N.E.A. and the 2 other educational institutions who filed notice of appearance." A year later Commissioner Hennock was back at the IERT to warn, "One thing is clear—this warning I must make—the fight for educational 3 television is by no means over. It has just begun." Education also found a champion in FCC Commissioner Paul Walker: "I am personally anxious to see some provision for non-commer­ cial educational stations . . . under our traditional American plan, education has always been considered a rightful heir of part of the public 4 dom ain." The. attitude of the Commission toward education had undergone considerable evolution from the mid-thirties when the Commission took the position that it could not show favoritism for any segment of society.

O rganization Takes Form The Joint Committee on Educational Television in some respects was the culmination of more than twenty years of frustration. At the

*Ibid. , pp. 11-12.

^I b id ., p . 24 . 3 Frieda M. Hennock "Educational Television - An Opportunity and a Responsibility," Education on the Air: 1951, ed. O. Joe Olson (Col­ umbus: The Ohio State University, 1951), p. 141. ^Paul A. Walker, "Educational Television - A Progress Report" Education On The Air: 1950, ed. O. Joe Olson (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1950), p. 114. 27 peak of its power the JCET presented a united active front for many educational agencies and provided the energy and coordination lacking in previous attempts to reserve frequencies for education. To it must go much of the credit for the creation of educational television as a separate entity in our nation. The united effort education put forth to obtain the reservations is still uncommon. It was accomplished through the leadership of men who had gained experience and organization through the years of educational radio and the various related professional organizations and committees. Several more thorough reports on the JCET are available. Here we will note only some of the skeletal facts. The JCET came into existence on October 16, 1950 as the result of a meeting called by Franklin Dunham of the U.S. Office of Education and Richard Hull of the NAEB. Those attending represented most of the major focus in American education: the National Education Association, the American Council on Education, the National Council of Chief State School Officers, the Association of Land Grant Colleges, the National Association of State Universities, the National Association of Educational Broadcasters and the Association for Education by Radio. From the meeting came the decision to develop a coordinated effort to secure the reservation of television channels for education. In undertaking this goal, they set out "to do it right. The Ohio State University released Dr. I. Keith Tyler to serve as the first JCET coor­ dinator. Commissioner Hennock suggested General Telford Taylor as a legal counsel. General Taylor, former chief prosecutor at the Nurem­ berg Trials and FCC Chief Counsel, had prestige and knew the workings of the FCC. His services were initially donated by the Wall Street firm then employing him. General Taylor selected a veteran radio attorney Seymour Krieger as his aide. Initial funds came from $3500 grants each from the National Education Association and the American

^Interview with Dr. I. Keith Tyler, December 21, 1967. 28 Council on Education. A mail campaign raised $42,000 more.1 Initially the JCET had three tasks to perform. First it had to reach agreement over whether "non-profit" or "non-commercial" educational television would be sought. A less than unanimous con­ sensus was reached for the latter, for this had been a key factor in 2 securing the FM reservations thirteen years earlier. Second was a policy on the number and kind of channels to be sought. A compromise resulted in a request for a HF channel in every major metropolitan area and important educational center, if available, if not, a UHF channel. The third task was the greatest. FCC hearings were about to begin on an existing Rule Making proposal issued in the Spring of 1949. This reserved no channels Tor education. Keith Tyler and the JCET undertook to find high ranking educators who would come to Washington to testify on education's need for television channels. Less than two months after that first organizational meeting, U.S. Commissioner of Education Earl McGrath led off a parade of more than seventy JCET witnesses. Included were senators and representatives, university presidents, scholars, state and city school superintendents and spokes­ men of other interested groups. The testimony, originally expected to last only a few weeks, went on until the end of February. On March 21, 1951 the FCC issued the Third Notice of Proposed Rule Making which now tentatively reserved 209 channels for education. Both VHF and UHF channels were included. With its first three goals accomplished, the JCET took on the defense of the proposed reservations against the attacks of the commer­ cial broadcasters. The VHF channels were under particular pressure as "V" assignments were already scarce in the major cities. Also in March 1951 the JCET was transformed into a permanent body with Ralph Steetle as its Executive Secretary. Additional funding came from the Ford Foundation.

1Ibid. 2 John Walker Powell, Channels of Learning (Washington: Public Affairs Press, 1962), p. 48. The FCC wanted evidence of local support for the reservations on a channel-by-channel basis before the assignments would be made final. Letters urging support were sent to every educational organiza­ tion in cities with a proposed reservation. The JCET set up consultant teams to work at the local level. A National Citizens Committee for Educational Television was created to provide impetus in each commun­ ity through its business, social and political leaders. To establish education's readiness to develop the assignments, the JCET staff traveled to each of the 209 communities where reserva­ tions had been proposed. They provided legal, technical, financial and organizational advice. "By the end of 1951 . . . (the) JCET had made an incredible 1500 contacts in over 300 cities, had explored the 209 communities named in the tentative allocations of the Third Notice and had induced and helped 552 institutions, organizations and agen­ cies to file sworn statements with the FCC . . . . It is, in fact, hard to conceive how so few rendered so much service to so many. Walter Emery's log covers more than 100,000 miles of travel to more than 100 towns in some 35 states."*

Summary

This chapter traces the evolution of educational broadcasting from its inception at the University of Wisconsin in 1917 to the reserva­ tion of television channels for non-commercial broadcasting in 1952. Reviewed are a number of significant events and periods includ­ ing the Federal Radio Act of 1927, the Communications Act of 1934 and the efforts leading to the channel reservations in the period between 1945 and 1952. . Attention is given to the change in attitude of the igovernmental officials concerning the concept of reserved channels for education. Several periods are noted:

* Powell, op. cit., p. 67. 30

1. FRC efforts to reorganize the use of the radio spectrum led to the demise of many stations owned by educational institutions (1928-30). 2. First efforts to obtain frequency reservations through the Fess Bill (1931). 3. The Communications Act of 1934 calls upon the FCC to study the need for educational reservations. The Commis­ sion reports to the negative (1934-35). 4. A period of strict refusal to consider reservations as showing favoritism (1928-37). 5. The efforts of the Federal Radio Education Commission to promote cooperation between commercial broadcaster and educator (1935-41). 6. The first FM reservations in an undeveloped part of the spectrum (1938). 7. The early years of television broadcasting. Early ex­ periments using television in education can be traced back to 1932 at Iowa State University. 8. The first organized, concerted efforts by the educa­ tional community, spearheaded by the Joint Council on Educational Television, to obtain television channel res­ ervations (1950-52).

In the next chapter we will follow the efforts to change the idea of educational television into operating stations and the growth of the use of the medium in classroom instruction. CHAPTER II

RESERVATION, ACTIVATION AND EXPANSION

Victor Hugo said that nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come. In retrospect this might be applied to educational tele­ vision. Compared to radio, television's development as an educational tool was stimulated by several advantages not related to the medium its e lf. The efforts to develop radio in education were thwarted by sev­ eral circumstances. First, its development largely was disorganized. Many stations were founded during a period when virtually anyone could get a license just by requesting it. Many of the early operations were amateurish and with little financial base. When the Federal Radio Com­ mission was established, there was no precedent and little public pressure for special treatment of education. As the Commission demanded longer hours of operation and more sophisticated equipment, many educa­ tional radio stations were unable to comply and so lost their licenses. Radio next encountered a period of severe economic depression which limited sharply the funds for station operation and new ventures. Finally, there was a relatively stable population with a reduced birth rate which resulted in unused classroom capacity. Television's development, by contrast, has ridden a rapidly expanding economy boosted by greatly increased governmental Spending. Television developed during a period of high birth rates which filled classrooms and stimulated educators to seek new approaches to instruc­ tion. Its growth was spearheaded by leading laymen and school admin­ istrators in a position to initiate new activities. Educational radio, by contrast, was primarily the interest of broadcasting specialists. Television began during a period when education was viewed as a magic carpet to success, thereby stimulating public interest in and support

31 32 for the schools. Finally the appearance of Sputnik I and subsequent Russian satelites caused extensive overhaul and experimentation in American education. Television may well have been in the right place at the right time. However, to the founders of educational television, the situa­ tion as it appeared in 1952 was not nearly so encouraging. Having mounted a great campaign to convince the Federal Communications Com­ mission that channels should be reserved, these leaders faced the even greater challenge of activating stations on those channels. This would require sums far greater than any previously raised. Although it was not evident then, the source of the needed "seed money" was already in existence, it was called the Ford Foundation.

The Ford Foundation Perhaps the preeminent force in the establishment of educa­ tional television was the Ford Foundation and its two semi-autonomous subsidiaries, The Fund for Adult Education and the Fund for the Advance­ ment of Education. These three agencies brought into the initial effort to develop television the one element which had been lacking—money, and in large amounts. In the period between 1952 and 1965, approx­ imately 94 million dollars were given for various projects connected with television in education.* Though substantially reduced today, some Ford grants continue to stimulate development. While it will never be known, it is doubtful that educational television would have reached the position it holds today without the extensive assistance of the Ford Foundation. It is surprising that no complete study has been made of the role of the Ford Foundation in educational television. However, it is difficult to read ETV history without encountering the Foundation's name regularly. While other foundations have been generous in supporting ETV, none has approached the magnitude of Ford. When the Ford family turned over their stock in the Ford Motor Company to their family charitable foundation, this foundation suddenly

*Wall Street Toumal, January 4, 1966, p. 1 33 became the nation's largest with funds in excess of one billion dollars and a continuing income from the stock. Early in 1951, the foundation directors established two sub­ organizations , The Fund for the Advancement of Education and the Fund for Adult Education (FAE) to carry on separate programs . Each was backed by substantial grants from the parent organization. It was the latter Fund that first became interested in the possibilities of television as a means of up-grading public education and culture. By April, 1951, the newly created FAE was supporting the drive for the reservation of chan­ nels through a series of grants.* $90,000 went to sustain and expand the JCET activities, $180,000 was granted to WOI-TV for a series of experimental films and $25,000 was voted for the NAEB television monitoring studies which proved so effective in the battle for channels.2 Other early grants included $750,000 to get the National Citi- 3 zens Committee for Educational Television under way, and funds for 4 a series of regional conferences on television. These culminated in a national conference in Washington, in May, 1953. A grant of $1,350,000 was made to establish the National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a programming source for the new stations. The driving force behind the FAE's support of educational broad­ casting was its first president, C. Scott Fletcher. His persuasiveness and firm hand obtained extra Ford money, established the rules and shaped the pattern of educational telecasting today. Realizing the Fund could not support the whole system, Flet­ cher stressed a pattern of strategic intervension, placing his funds with those stations most likely to endure. To develop local support

*Powell, op. c it., p. 60. ^Ibid., p. 69. 3Ibid., p. 73. 4-Ibid., p. 97. 34 he required local matching on a two to one basis to get Fund dollars. A maximum grant of $150,000 was set. When the local funds were tax dollars, the maximum grant was $100,000. In all, 35 stations received some assistance under this program.'*' The Fund set several other stipulations for the recipients of grants which tended to mold the pat­ tern of station development. All were required to purchase new equip­ ment, to have a kinescope recorder, to affiliate with NETRC and to keep an accurate inventory of all equipment. The Fund retained title to the 2 equipment for eight years . The Fund for Adult Education actually expended more money than the Foundation had originally allotted it. FAE officers, particularly Scott Fletcher, supported their belief in the future of television by sev­ eral requests for additional funds. "Strategically, it was the Fund for Adult Education that saw the need, demanded and got the money, fos­ tered the movement and sustained it until the Fund for the Advancement of Education, in 1954, and the Foundation itself, in 1955-56 became 3 convinced that this was their business too. " The FAE's interest in television was based largely on its poten­ tial in the Funds's field of special interest. By 1954, the medium's possibilities for improving all education, particularly in the elementary and secondary schools began to become evident. The other Ford group, the Fund for the Advancement of Education, (Fletcher was on its Board of Directors too), took an active interest and supported a series of ex­ periments to promote and evaluate the usefulness of television in formal instruction. Where the Fund for Adult Education's support was for development and equipment, the Fund for Advancement of Education pro­ vided what essentially were operating funds. One such early grant went to WQED, Pittsburgh for a demonstration of the teaching by television of arithmetic, English and French to 5th graders. It came during the critical early months of that station's operation when cash was short.

~4bid. , p. 105.

3Ibid, pp. 88-89.

3Jb i d ., p . 5 8. 35 Similar early experiments were supported in St. Louis and Miami, F lorida. * In 1955 the parent Ford Foundation, recognizing the fact that television had grown beyond the scope of the Fund for Adult Education, embarked on a program of direct support beyond the activities of the Fund for the Advancement of Education. In particular the Foundation undertook the financial support of the National Educational Television and Radio Center and maintained it at a substantial level. Ultimately many of the grants to various organizations were made jointly by the Foundation and the Fund for the Advancement of Education. In addition to the activities mentioned above, Ford money was invested in several other major experiments to publicize and evaluate various uses of television in education. These include the National Program for the Use of Television in the Public Schools, Chicago City Junior College's "TV College, " the Washington County, Maryland (Hagers­ town) closed-circuit project and the Midwest Program on Airborne Tele­ vision Instruction. Because of their scope and impact, these will be examined separately. But these do not complete the list. literally dozens of experiments in various applications of television were assis­ ted by a share of the Ford Foundation's investment in educational tele­ vision. Because.matching of the Ford dollars with funds from other sources was often required, many additional millions were generated to speed television's growth.

National Citizens Committee for Educational Television As enumerated above, one of the larger grants of the Fund for Adult Education was $750,000 for the support of the National Citizens Committee for Educational Television (NCCET). Essentially this organ­ ization was created at the. instigation of Scott Fletcher to provide the local enthusiasm and financial support which it was hoped would lead to the establishment of educational stations in the individual communi­ ties . It provided the vehicle for involving the local community leaders

~4b id ., p. 95 . 36 and in some cities, mobilized enough support to accomplish its pur­ pose. Heading the NCCET was an experienced publicist and organizer, Robert Mullen. During the two and one half years of its existence, the NCCET was very active in disseminating information on educational television to the many local, regional and national clubs and associations of this country. At one point, more than one hundred national groups were associated with the NCCET. A periodical, Educational Television News was published and an extensive news campaign instituted.'1' The NCCET concentrated on developing local leadership from sources other than education. Numerous meetings were called by governors and mayors at the instigation of the NCCET. Working with the JCET, the National Citizens Committee for Educational Television made a substantial contribution to television's development by involving and informing hundreds of local leaders during the critical 1952-54 period. It was during this period that educational broadcasters were trying feverishly to convince the Federal Communications Commission that the one year limit on channel reservations should be extended.

National Educational Television and Radio Center One of the major concerns of the pioneers in educational tele­ vision was the need for sources of programming. They recognized that a station's limited resources would not permit sufficient local produc­ tion to fill many broadcasting hours. To provide such a program source, the Fund for Adult Education » took two actions in 1953. First, it required that all educational stations, receiving FAE assistance, must utilize part of the money to purchase a kinescope recorder. This filming device enabled the station to preserve its productions for later rebroadcast by other stations. Thus each new station became a program source for all the others. Second, FAE made a grant for the establishment of the National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC). The Center initially

*Ibid., p. 75. 37 served as the coordination and distribution point for the recorded pro­ ductions of its affiliated stations. Later its activities were expanded to include commissioning specific productions at selected stations. These productions were financed by the Center and provided some vital income for the station. The NETRC had its distribution and administration offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Several years later, in 1959, its administrative offices were shifted to New York City where it operates its program ser­ vice under the name, the National Educational Television (NET network. By 1961, NET was providing its affiliate stations with ten hours of programming per week, consisting of eight hours of new mater­ ial and two hours of reruns of popular series shown earlier. In addition stations could draw on the growing library of previous productions held at the Center in Ann Arbor. In 1960 an International Division of NET was established to develop program exchanges with other countries. This resulted in a block of programming beyond the means of any single American station. NET and the Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation joined with the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to form a television consor­ tium. This union produced the Intertel series, outstanding documen­ taries and other programs of significance to be shared with all members of the group. The major source of income for NETRC was an annual grant from the Ford Foundation, supplemented by sums from other foundations and industry. Ford indicated on several occasions that it expected to ter­ minate its support of NETRC. Considerable support did come from Amer­ ican industry, but sufficient funds were never found, so that Ford's support continued. In 1963, Ford changed its attitude toward the Center. The foundation's officers indicated dissatisfaction with the quality of NET programs. A new agreement was reached with the Center under which NETRC and NET withdrew from several activities such as educational radio, instructional television and an extensive research and develop­ ment operation. The Foundation raised its support to six million dollars 38 annually and NET was to devote all its efforts to preparing and distri­ buting improved evening cultural programming. A subsequent change in NET policy may cause long-term prob-^ lems for some stations. The Center dropped its policy of commissioning productions at individual stations . In order to exercise greater control over production so as to attain the quality demanded by Ford, the Center employed its own producers who lease production facilities as needed. This tends to concentrate the production in a few stations where super­ ior facilities are available. The National Educational Television Center has been of great importance to the development of educational television. It provided a steady source of good quality programming which continues as the back bone of the evening programming of most stations. Further it provided a source of revenue for some stations while other sources were being developed. Ultimately it may serve as the basis for a true network of inter-connected stations.

Growth Pattern If either its supporters or detractors expected explosive growth in the number of educational stations in operation, they were to be disappointed. With additional reservations raising the available chan­ nels to nearly three hundred, it still took over twelve years to activate the first one hundred stations. A charting of the growth pattern reveals a circumstance of continuous, though unspectacular, growth.'*' This growth pattern contrasts in two ways with the development of educational radio some thirty years earlier. Radio stations were activated at a far more rapid pace. However many of these stations were established as experiments or hobby club projects, so severe attrition followed. The broader base and higher initial financing re­ quired to activate a television station resulted in a better survival record. By the end of 1964, one educational television station had 2 ceased operation and surrendered its license.

* Letter from Dr. Robert Hilliard, Research and Education Div­ ision, Federal Communications Commission, dated January 13, 1966. ^Telephone conversation with Dr. Robert Hilliard of FCC, January 29, 1965. 39

Year New Stations Total Active

1953 2* 2 1954 9 10 1955 7 17 1956 4 21 1957 6 27 1958 8 35 1959 9 44 1960 7 51 1961 11 62 1962 13 75 1963 9 84 1964 16 100 1965 15 115 1966 12 127 1967 23 150

#Does not include commercial stations owned by educational institutions. *KTHE, Los Angeles ceased operation in September, 1954

While a variety of factors contributed to this stability, one in particular has become of major importance. This was the adoption of television as a tool in public education. The advent of school telecast­ ing was vital for many stations because this service provided one reliable source of operating income. In some instances, school service became the single or sole reason for the station's existence. Although educational television initially was viewed as a great boon to adult education, it is the school child in the classroom that has become the largest consumer of telecasts . Although several efforts to use television pre-date it, Siepman dates the start of regular school broadcasting as March, 1948 in Phila­ delphia, where the city schools,using commercial station WCAU-TV, began broadcasting programs intended for classroom viewing.* A month earlier the Philadelphia schools had begun an instructional series over WPTZ, but this was scheduled during out-of-school hours (4:45 - 5:00 pm ).

* Siepman, Charles W ., TV & Our School Crisis (New York: Dodd, Mead &Co., 1958), p. 87. 40

In many places, the schools' financial support of educational stations takes the form of an annual per-child payment to the station itself or to some intermediate agency. These funds are then used for the production and broadcast of instructional programs. In the fall of 1954, WQED, Pittsburgh began such an arrangement with the city schools and several suburban systems in surrounding Allegheny County. The station agreed to present five programs each week for the classrooms of the participating schools and the school districts agreed to pay twenty- five cents per child for the service. A few weeks later school programming began over WCET with the support of the Cincinnati Public Schools."*' In December of 1954, school telecasts began over KCTS-TV in Seattle. These broadcasts had been started earlier in the fall on a commercial station and were trans­ ferred when the educational station went on the air. Although early examples can be found, the move to television was neither general nor whole-hearted. Calls for research and caution were frequent. Educational leaders in many places were hesitant to expend tax funds for educational telecasts. In Illinois and New Jersey, state laws were passed which specifically forbade such expenditures.

National Program for the Use of Television in the Public Schools . At this critical time Ford Foundation funds again came into play. As noted earlier, the Fund for the Advancement of Education established the National Program for the Use of Television in the Public Schools. The total impact of the five year "National Program" may never be ac­ curately measured, but evidence suggests that is was considerable. In January, 1957, the Fund for the Advancement of Education published a sixty page booklet, Schools for Tomorrow: An Educator's Blueprint. This pamphlet by Dr. A. J. Stoddard proposed several major - - educational innovations to meet the increasing school enrollments and shortages of classrooms, teachers and quality education.

* Robert S. Curry, "Cincinnati's Adventure Into ETV," American School Board Journal, February 1959, pp. 32-34. 41

One of Dr. Stoddard's key proposals called for the use of television to instruct very large groups of students simultaneously, thereby making better use of the school plant and freeing teachers for more specialized help. He also viewed this use of television as a means of saving money, reducing the need for additional teachers and raising educational standards. Actually, two simple plans were involved, one for elementary schools and one for high schools. In the elementary school the educa­ tional day would be divided between conventional classroom groups of about 25 children and large groups instruction. While half the total group spent the morning in the small classes the other half would alter­ nate between a resource room, and auditorium and the playground. Each of these would be staffed by one teacher and one aide. One hundred- fifty children would be accommodated in the resources room where television and other aids to instruction would be available. Seventy- five children would be in the auditorium and seventy-five on the play­ ground. In forty-five minute blocks these children would visit the resources room twice and the auditorium and playground once each. The students working in large groups would change places with those in the small classes for the afternoon. Stoddard projected that such a plan would serve 600 children with fifteen teachers and three aides rather than the twenty-four teachers required in traditional classrooms. In the Stoddard plan a major share of the teaching would be by television in a total teaching situation. A similar plan was proposed for high schools (large groups taught by television, followed by small classes). Stoddard projected viewing groups as large as three hundred students supervised by two teachers. Allowing for two large classes and two traditional classes, two teachers could be in contact with 720 children per day. In a tradi­ tional situation, two teachers each teaching five, thirty-pupil sections would reach 300 pupils each day. Moving with considerable swiftness, the National Program for the Use of Television In the Public Schools was initiated during the spring and summer of 1957, and a telecasting project started in Septem­ ber. The Program consisted primarily of experimental telecasts to large 42 classes in various grades in a number of cities in the United States. Stoddard and staff members visited various cities to interest the school systems in exploring televised instruction. They followed this with grants for specific experimental activities . Cities participat­ ing the first year were Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dade County (Fla.), Detroit, Louisville, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and rural schools in North Carolina and Nebraska. During the first year, nearly 4000 children were involved. The telecasting projects and assoc­ iated research were funded initial ly by grants from the Fund to the schools on a dollar matching basis with the understanding that the grants would be reduced over several years. In every case except Philadelphia, this was the first experience with systematic televised instruction in each of the participating systems. During the second year, experiments were added in Kansas City, Missouri; Evansville, Indiana; and a cluster of schools in Kentucky and Indiana which called themselves the "Kentuckiana Project." The earlier partici­ pants expanded their use of the medium. In the third year of operation, six more participants were added; Anaheim (Cal), Saginaw (Mich), Central Michigan,Des Moines, Florida West Coast, and Columbus, Ohio. In some of the cases the project represented a cooperative effort between a central city school system and one or more of its suburban areas. By the end of this third year nearly 200,000 children.were involved in regular instruction by tele­ vision . The National Program was originally set up on a three-year basis, but the addition of participants in the second and third year extended the Program for an overall length of five years. The National Program is noteworthy for a number of reasons. In 195 7 television as an instructional tool was largely an unknown quality. Five years later, a great deal of experience had been gained, techniques developed, strengths and weaknesses identified, roles defined and personnel

Elmer F. Pflieger, The National Program for the Use of Tele­ vision In the Public Schools: A Report of the Third Year (New York: The Ford Foundation, 1961), p. 12. 43 trained. A considerable body of data had been gathered on the effective­ ness of the medium and on teacher and student reactions to it. The full impact of the National Program is difficult to assess. With the exception of Dade County, Florida, large class instruction was phased out of use. Yet, results showed that television could be used to teach large classes and that a saving in teacher time and class­ room space resulted."1 Serious resistance was encountered, as many teachers, particularly at the secondary level, were unwilling to share the instructional reponsibility with the studio teacher. While some dollar savings were found, this did not prove to be a major factor in most situations. All of the cities who participated in the project have continued to use television as an instructional tool, supported largely by local or state tax funds. The National Program in the Use of Television in the Public Schools must be viewed as an important force in the rapid development of educational television in the period 195 8-62. The infusion of non-tax dollars to stimulate experiments, the additional funds invested in work­ shops and visiting consultants and the rapid training of educators in the uses of television advanced the development of the medium by several years. It may have been the factor which helped ETV "turn the comer" leaving its experimental status behind to become a permanent tool in education. The five years between 195 7 and 1962 saw a number of impor­ tant developments as television began to find a place in education. Thus far our attention has been devoted to the standard telecasting station as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. At this point we shall examine some other methods for the application of television to instruction.

Closed Circuit Television Closed circuit differs from broadcast television largely in the means by which the program gets from the point of origination to the receiver. The former distributes the picture and sound by a cable

*J. Murphy and R. Gross, Learning by Television, (New York: The Fund for the Advancement of Education, 1966), p. 3 7. 44 system or point-to-point microwave relay. This, as the name implies, enables the program originators to determine the receiving audience. Cosed circuit by wire has application for education in several situations. It is particularly suited to low budget, small areas where a limited number of receivers are to be served. Since most closed circuit systems are outside FCC regulation, broadcast standards do not have to be met. Low-cost equipment has been developed which permits ex­ tensive experimentation and a phased expansion. The smallest closed circuit system would be one camera and one receiver, connected by wire. This could represent an investment of a little as one thousand dollars, and yet would be operational. In comparison, the activation of a broadcast station usually represents an investment of one half million dollars. A 1967 study by the Department of Audiovisual Instruction (DAVI) of the National Education Association placed the number of closed cir­ cuits systems in operation at 812.^ The largest of these is in South Carolina where the Educational Television Network employs a cable system which reaches most of the schools of the state. This network involves hundreds of miles of a special coaxial cable which is leased from the Bell Telephone Company at an annual sum in excess of one million dollars. Also included in the total DAVI Survey however are many minimal installations with limited capabilities. No completely ac­ curate count is possible. Closed circuit television offers several advantages. First is the previously mentioned determination of receiving audience. In medical, psychiatric and military application this control may be ess'en- tia l. Second, most distribution cables are capable of carrying several different signals simultaneously, so that different programs can be carried to separate groups at the same time. This extra capacity requires a very small additional capital investment. A similar service by broadcast would require the construction of additional transmitters,

*A Survey of Instructional Television: 1967, Department of Audiovisual Instruction, National Education Association, Washington, D.C., 1967. 45 a substantial expense. This, of course, presumes channels are avail­ able . The third asset is the potential of high resolution transmission. The engineering characteristics of broadcast operations limit picture definition to a relatively low level. However, transmission and receiving equipment capable of resolving extreme detail is available and can be utilized in a closed-circuit system since other than the broadcast engin­ eering standards can be used. Where fine detail is needed, closed circuit is unsurpassed. Finally closed circuit permits a phased development not possible in the broadcast method. By careful planning a single camera and re­ ceiver could be built into a statewide network without making an equip­ ment obsolete. At each step only those capabilities needed and those points to be served would be involved. This makes small area coverage less costly than distributing by broadcast television. The latter method would require amuch larger initial capital investment. The primary disadvantage of closed circuit is its cost when reaching a large, widely scattered audience. Each new location means additional special cables, amplifiers and related equipment. The cost per location does not drop substantially when large numbers are served, so that extensive systems are expensive. Cable systems for school systems are either owned by school systems or are leased from common carriers. The former instance requires a substantial capital investment, the latter an installation charge and a monthly service fee. Since either approach is costly, few large closed circuit systems exist today in public education. Large systems become economical only when exten­ sive use can be made of them. At present most large systems are found in the major universities where they are used in undergraduate instruc­ tion and on military installations for troop training. One of the largest and oldest closed circuit systems is located in Washington County, Maryland. The principal city in this area is Hagerstown, so that the project commonly is known by that name. The project began in the fall of 1956 as a large scale effort 46 "to explore and evaluate the potential of television for instruction. The undertaking was a mutual effort of the Washington County Board of Education, The Fund for the Advancement of Education, the Electronic Industry Association and the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. The Fund contributed $200,000 per year for five years while the Elec- tronic Association donated equipment estimated at $300,000. The system began with 6000 children and expanded each year until by 1963 all 20,000 children in the Washington County System were included. By the end of the fifth year, elementary children were spending between 7.3% and 13% of their classroom time in televised 3 instruction. "Junior high school pupils spend almost one-third of their 4 time in television classes." Both figures for the secondary schools represent classes using television and not actual viewing time alone. An extensive evaluation of pupil achievement was carried on by James O. Morgan for a doctoral dissertation at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Morgan reports "Many studies have shown that pupils learn as well with television as without it. But in Washington County pupils often achieved better—sometimes much better—in tele­ vision classes than in conventional classrooms. The final report of the project shows ten significant findings: 1. Pupil achievement can improve significantly when television is consistently used as a teach­ ing aid . 2. Television accelerates the teachers' profes­ sional growth. 3. Television makes it possible to upgrade the curriculum and enrich the educational program more easily and economically than before. 4. Television is especially useful as an instruc­ tional aid to add new learning experiences to the school program. It does not "replace" the teacher or "substitute" techniques and procedures which

1 Board of Education, Washington County, Maryland, Washington County Closed Circuit Television Report, 1964, p. 1. 2Ibid. 2Ibid., p. 16. 4Ibid, ^Ibid., p. 47. 47 would eliminate regular classroom learning activi­ ties and personal teacher-pupil relationships. 5. The operational costs of television can be met without increasing the normal school budget. 6. The problem of finding and retaining top quality teachers is eased. 7. Television changes the role of the classroom teacher and makes him—along with the studio teacher—part of a teaching team. 8. Television brings greater equality of opportun­ ity, for all pupils. 9. Lessons with direct vocational application can be presented on television—in many cases with greater ease and effectiveness than in the classroom. 10. School television facilities can serve the public in a variety of ways—for adult education, community projects and dissemination of many kinds of informa­ tio n . Whether Hagerstown closed circuit television system is the forerunner of hundreds of similar systems or, because of the extensive outside funding during its formative years, will remain a unique situa­ tion is, as yet, an unanswered question.

Instructional Television Fixed Service Until the fall of 1963, the only variation on wired closed cir­ cuit was the microwave system which substituted an electronic beam for the cable. This was useful only when points some distance apart were to be linked and was not economical over short distances or suitable within a building. A study by the National Association of Educational Broadcasters 2 revealed that education would need 1179 channels by 1975. The major share of the projected channel needs were to serve expanded demands from the public schools. This was far beyond the frequencies available, and caused the Federal Communications Commission to seek solutions which would provide for these added channels. In late 1963 the FCC authorized a new type of telecasting which it called the Instructional Television Fixed Service. This service

1Ifeid., pp. 2-3. 2 National Association of Educational Broadcasters, The Needs of Education for Television Channel Allocations (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1962), p. 5. 48 was to operate in the 2500 megacycle frequency band located well above the UHF channels. This constituted low power short range telecasting on frequencies which were reserved particularly for instructional'•broad­ casting. A single school system could apply for as many as six (later reduced to four) of these channels. Although certain broadcast stan­ dards had to be met, the system was expected to be more economical than either standard broadcast or wired television in serving a school sy stem . At this writing, 2500mc telecasting is still in its formative period. The allocations in the 2500mc band were made before the elec­ tronic equipment and techniques had been developed. No equipment existed when the operation was authorized, since the experiments and demonstrations were conducted with equipment operating at a lower frequency. However, substantial interest is evident. A survey conducted by the author in January of 1965 showed 32 of 35 systems contacted making plans to use 2500mc. Twenty-eight expected to seek authoriza­ tion within five years for a total of 48 channels. In ten years, the thirty-two foresaw a need for 75 channels. Even if the projections are reduced by fifty percent to allow for over optimism, a substantial potential exists. Four advantages can be noted. First many scattered schools can be reached cheaper than by cable or standard broadcast. Second, a school system may have multiple channels if needed. Third, because of the separate frequency band, the system is essentially "closed" except to the intended audience. Fourth, studio equipment which is more rugged, simpler and cheaper than standard broadcast, can be used. The Instructional Television Fixed Service is not without weak­ nesses, however. A low power standard, 10 watts, was set. While the FCC has indicated that greater power would be authorized where needed, special outside antennas and distribution systems within the school are required. Further, the frequency band is so high that its characteristics are similar to light so that clear line of sight from the transmitting tower to each reaching point is required. In hilly terrain or in cities with high buildings, tall receiving towers would be needed. Finally, additional 49 channels are not added as cheaply as on a cable. A complete trans­ mitter unit is needed for each new channel. However, equipment manufacturers have been making major strides in solving the technical problems of the 2500mc band. Improved equipment is becoming available. The potential for 2500mc may yet be . realized .

The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction Another major project initially supported by the Ford Foundation in televised instruction is the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction. Known more frequently by its in itia ls, MPATI, u tilizes the Stratovision concept first announced by Westinghouse in 1945. One of the major limiting factors of any television station is its coverage area. The airborne television transmitter effectively has an antenna tower equal to the height of the airplane aloft. At 23,000 feet this results in a coverage area of approximately 400 miles diameter. In October of 1959, Ford made a grant of eight million dollars to initiate an instructional telecasting operation using the airborne con­ cept. Based at Purdue University in Indiana, MPATI was conceived as a means of bringing America's finest teachers and outstanding lessons into thousands of classrooms. Approximately five million children were in the schools of the anticipated coverage area which included parts of six states—Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Wis­ co n sin . MPATI officials undertook the tasks of establishing a repres­ entative organization and^lines of communication, identifying needs', planning courses to serve these needs, seeking television teachers, training these teachers, producing telecasts and outfitting two airplanes. This extensive undertaking had been accomplished sufficiently by June of 1961 for series of regular experimental telecasts from the airplane to be commenced. During the summer of 1961, two-week workshop programs were held in many centers in the six-state area to acquaint teachers with the medium and with ways to use it in the classroom. It began regular service in the fall of 1961 using Channels 72 and 76 with an offering of sixteen series for elementary and secondary schools. 50

The emphasis was upon basic instruction, with ten series consisting of four programs per week. Two others were three programs weekly and the remainder were two per week. Broadcasts were either twenty or thirty minutes long. In reality four of these were college courses already in existence. These were listed for "College and Advanced High School." Ford later assisted MPATI with a second grant of seven million dollars with the understanding that the area schools should take over the project and support it. MPATI was incorporated in January 1962 as a non-profit educational organisation with a Board of Trustees made up of 70 educational leaders from the six-state area.* While the aircraft and transmitter equipment have proven to be highly reliable, reception proved to be a problem in the more distant regions. Because operating the air­ craft was expensive, much of the school support after 1963 was used to maintain the broadcasting service. The Production of new material was suspended. In the fall of 1965, MPATI, for the first time, began making use of materials prepared elsewhere. While the final role of MPATI in educational television h§s not been determined, several contributions can be identified. First, it has introduced educational television to a large segment of the country where it had not been seen before. It led to six-state cooperation in public education which had not previously existed. It provided a significant service to the rural schools of the region, schools which were too distant from the metropolitan areas to receive the service of the ground-based stations in those cities. Finally it set standards in the preparation of instructional programs. Involved were the use of consultant teams in the development of content; a system of review for content accuracy, technical and pro­ duction standards; and the allocation of larger-than-average sums for the production of each program. Further, the MPATI teachers guides illustrated the kind of support the classroom teachers could get through extensive well-planned manuals.

* Articles of Incorporation of MPATI, Inc. , January 12, 1962, pp. 10-15. 51

Television Tape Recording One of the key technical developments during the first ten years of educational broadcasting was the development of the television tape recorder. This was first announced in 1956 and was placed on the market in 1958. While the tape recorder has had a major effect on the entire television industry, educational broadcasting, in particular, has been greatly benefited. The need for a means of recording and re-using educational programming was apparent from the beginning of educational broadcast­ ing. A major criterion for obtaining one of the original,Ford Foundation grants for equipping stations was that a portion of the funds had to be used for the purchase of a kinescope recorder, a process of recording television programs on film. Kinescope recorders proved to be difficult to use, for the large number of technical variables in the'process fre­ quently resulted in recordings of low quality. The nature of film limited its recording capability to a single exposure. Once exposed there was no way to correct an error on the film, it has to be discarded. Record­ ings that had served their purpose could not be erased so the film could be used again. Waste therefore was considerable. Finally, the film required processing before it could be viewed. A producer did not know if he had a satisfactory recording until several days after the production was finished. The advent of the tape recorder gave ETV a simple means of making a high quality recording on reusable tape. No processing was required so that the results of the recording could be immediately eval­ uated. Later an editing process was developed which increased flex­ ibility and permitted correction of minor errors. Recently an electronic editing process has been devised which permits editing without any alteration or cutting of the tape. Educational broadcasting's move to make use of television tape received major impetus from the Ford Foundation which in 1959 provided funds to equip each active ETV station with a recorder. This continued until 1962. In all 90 recorders were provided. The grants were further supplemented by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing 52 Company which made a gift of television tape to each station receiving a recorder. Tape recording has eased greatly the problems of program preservation and exchange. By 1964 only five ETV stations engaged in regular school broadcasting were working with local productions exclus­ ively.1 Increasingly, stations record and stockpile school programs for use the next year, thereby reducing the production burden in any year. Tape has also stimulated repeat broadcasts, easing the problem of scheduling student viewing in the schools. One Week of Educational Television: 1964 reported that 51% of school telecasts were on tape 2 while only 19% were live. The remainder was either film or kinescope. This same publication reported that instructional broadcasts were re­ peated as many as ten times . Pre-recording school programs is now common. This provides a greater element of control, for the content can be viewed before it is broadcast. Further, it permits those responsible for the production to be in a viewing classroom during the broadcast to observe the effect of the lesson. In at least one instance, KETC, St. Louis, nearly all 3 school productions are done during the summer months. A further, not insignificant value, is the easing of the pressure on the television teacher. He can begin the recording secure in the knowledge that should he falter or the experiment disintegrate, it is only necessary to erase the tape and begin again. This is a substantial relief for the inexperienced. Tape recording has had three basic effects on school telecast­ ing: (1) It facilitated a rapid expansion in the amount of program­ ming available to the schools. Programs were planned to have a life­ span of several years. Because of the longer use, more resources could be. expended on each production. By the early 1960's a typical school schedule would show the current year's efforts, most of the previous

1 Morse Communications Research Center, One Week of Educa - tional Television, April 19-25, 1964 (Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University, 1964), p. 40. 2I b id .. p . 78. 3Ibid., p. 77. 53 year's, the best series from the year before that and perhaps one unus­ ual series, in its fourth year of use. This total of telecast offerings was substantially larger than it was when only live productions were p o ssib le . (2) Tape provided a more flexible schedule of broadcasts. Some hearty teachers presented the same program live several times in a week so that more children could be reached. In most cases, however, the live lesson was limited to a single broadcast. Tape made it pos­ sible to repeat lessons easily when time was available giving the class­ room teacher a choice of viewing tim es, thus increasing the likelihood of u se . (3) Tape enabled local stations to enrich their schedules by borrowing recorded series from other cities. An exchange between two stations meant that each had more programs to present for the schools. Possible economies appeared as school broadcasters checked for satis­ factory existing series before undertaking the expense of local produc­ tions . The secondary effects resulted. First a gradual improvement in program quality developed as one station had the opportunity to com­ pare its work with another's. Second more schools elected to use tele­ vision because more programs were available per dollar of cost and there was easier access because of repeat broadcasts. All these factors led to the adoption of television recordings as fast as funds for recorders and tape could be found. Tape is certain to play an even larger role in the future. When first marketed in 1958, the television tape recorder represented an in­ vestment of approximately $50,000. This was the machine used by commercial and educational broadcasting stations. Later generations of the same machine still serve broadcasting and remain in the same cost range. In 1961, technological developments resulted in a group of machines which were priced in the $12,000 to $15,000 class—these, however, did not meet broadcast specifications. They were called "closed-circuit recorders" and were offered for use in school systems and in other situations where federal broadcasting standards did not 54 apply. While some later models of these machines did meet the stan­ dards, the uses have been primarily non-broadcast. Although eligible for 50% reimbursement under Title III of the National Defense Educa­ tion Act, school systems have not made extensive use of these re­ corders. Cost has remained a primary factor. In September of 1963 an article in TV Guide magazine announ­ ced the development in Great Britain, of a television recorder which the manufacturers claimed could be marketed for $200.* While this machine, Telcan, never lived up to the promise it held, it did herald a whole new group of recorders priced at less than 10% of the broadcast machine. In the fall of 1964 Electronic Design magazine listed the 2 specifications of eight machines priced from $300 to $4000. Six months later one manufacturer was demonstrating a $400 machine and a second company, one for $300. While the technical quality is below that of the broadcast model, improvements have developed rapidly. A basic weakness of the machines concerns exchange of tapes between machines. In the early models a recording could be played back only on the machine that made it. Later, compatibility between mach­ ines of the same manufacturer became common. There was, however, no evidence of a common standard within the industry. Each manufac­ turer developed his own electronics and tape transport mechanism with the result that no two types were alike. This eliminated playing back a recording from one machine on that of a different manufacturer. Despite some technical drawbacks which this writer believes will be resolved, several applications of the low-priced machines are e v id e n t. One of the foremost uses in educational television may be in the area of secondary school programming. The wide variation in class schedules from high school to high school and the multiplicity of class sections has made extensive use of telecasts very difficult in the secondary schools. The advent of the third group of machines, which qualify for subsidy under the National Defense Education Act, makes it

*"Home Video Recording," TV Guide, September 7, 1963, p. 6. 2 "Video Recorder Parameters,11 Electronic Design, October, 1964, p. 9. 3Ibid. 55 feasible to equip each secondary school with one or more recorders. These can record broadcast programs off-the-air and play them back at times fitting the local need. This ready access to the viewing’ group should stimulate an increase in secondary school programs. If these machines become common, the early morning hours might be used to distribute programs through broadcast to unattended machines activ­ ated by time-clocks. Other applications are evident. Easy recording and immediate playback will have use in all areas of performance teaching. Be it typewriting, public speaking, dramatics or athletics the teachers will welcome a means of showing the student his mistakes rather than trying to describe them to him. Student teachers will be able to review their complete lesson with their supervisors to improve teaching tech­ niques . Experienced teachers may wish to do some seRevaluation by privately reviewing a recording of their presentation. Television tape recording has played a major role in bringing educational television to its current level of development. It may have an even greater impact in the future.

Networks A predictable development in educational television was the organization of networks. These have been organized as the potential for the sharing and exchange of programs increased. Simply put, if two stations can each broadcast one of the other's programs, each station has doubled its programming with very little increase in cost. Both evening and school programs are handled on this basis. Four network patterns are evident. One, the central-source type, has all or most of the programming originating in a single center which is then distributed to other members either by cable or microwave interconnection or by mailing television tape. The State of Maine has three state-owned stations and a fourth under the joint ownership of Colby, Bates and Bowdoin Colleges. All are joined by microwave inter­ connection. Only WMEB at the University of Maine in Orono has studios. A second type is found in Alcbama, where all five stations have production capability. Most programming needs are determined on a state-wide basis and are shared back and forth on the network. Alabama's 56 network is the nation's oldest interconnected operation. It was initiated in 1955 when the Legislature appropriated $500,000 to activate 3 VHF stations. Among the states with at least two active stations sharing . programming under a single coordinating body include Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington. Both Alabama and Maine have a network office with a full-time staff. The third type of network is found in states which may or may not have active stations. In Ohio there is a permanent state network office, but no centralized coordination of the operation or broadcasting of the eight active stations. A state-owned interconnection is planned, but at this time the network functions as an information source for the stations and the state. Similar bodies exist in Kentucky which has only one active station but plans for several others, and in Florida, which has six stations with varying ownership, only two of which have an interconnection. The fourth type of network is the regional organization of independent stations. The largest of these is the Eastern Educational Network based in Boston. Its membership includes the educational stations in the New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl­ vania, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Only the municipally-owned WNYC-TV does not participate. The entire Maine State Network is an EEN member. The EEN network combines both live interconnection and tape distribution of cultural and instructional pro­ grams . The majority of the program service consists of the productions of its members although the network staff does acquire outside programs for distribution to members. EEN was founded in 1959 with the aid of a small Ford Foundation grant. At that time four stations, Boston, Durham, N .H ., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were on the air. Since 1963 the network has been self-supporting. It presently distributes members' productions, obtains outside series, does cooperative production, dis­ tributes outside the region on a limited basis and is considering petitions to extend the region's boundaries to include West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. The Midwest Educational Television Network is made up of eight stations in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and 57 North and South Dakota. It is a mutual network, based in Minneapolis and exchanges programs by mailed tape recordings. A regional network for the southern states has been under study by the Southern Regional Education Board and may well be the next functioning network to develop. A variant type of network is the Texas Educational Microwave Project (TEMP) which links eleven colleges and universities. This is not an interconnection of educational television stations. However, an exchange and sharing of instructional telecasts of college level mater­ ial is going on over a combination of commercial broadcast stations and closed circuit facilities. A total distance of approximately 100 miles is involved. A dream of educational broadcasters has long been a true nat­ ional network of interconnected stations. Many plans for a fourth net­ work have been prepared, but none has been achieved because of the substantial sum necessary to interconnect and operate such a network. While a limited interconnection of stations in large cities began in January 1967 under National Educational Television (NET) a total inter­ connection is more likely to result from a linking of regional and state networks which are locally supported. Several states beyond those mentioned are giving consideration to state networks. These include New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and California. While local produc­ tion will continue to be an important function at most educational sta­ tions, it is probable that networks will play a growing role in future y e a rs . The primary function of networking has been to strengthen each member by providing an additional source of programming for the local station through the coordination of the distribution of productions of other members. By 1964, state and regional networks were providing 14% of all the programming on educational stations.*

*Morse Communications Research Center, op. cit., p .4. The Role of the Federal Government Since the reservation of channels for education in 1952, the Federal Government has taken several actions which have stimulated ETV's growth. All of these actions have taken place since the end of 1957. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 provided considerable help in an indirect way to the growth of television use in the schools. Under Title III of the Act, schools purchasing television receivers and related reception equipment could receive reimbursement for fifty per­ cent of the purchase price when the receivers were to be used for view­ ing science and foreign language telecasts. This cost reduction stim­ ulated many schools to purchase additional receivers. Under Title VII of NDEA, grants for research and dem onstra­ tion in the uses of new educational media resulted in many research projects which provided additional information on the uses of television. These grants also encouraged more people to investigate television and thereby become more familiar with its potentials. In 1962, the passage of the Educational Television Facilities Act provided federal funds up to fifty percent of the purchase price for the acquisition of equipment for new educational television stations and expansion and improvement of existing facilities. Thirty-two million dollars was authorized over a five-year period, with any state entitled to up to one million dollars. While the resulting number of new stations and requests for funds were not all that proponents of the bill had claimed they would be, by the end of 1964, $8,350,264 in grants had been announced, $4,564, 781 for new stations and $3,785,264 to improve existing facilities. An Office of Education survey conducted late in 1965 showed plans for 66 new stations being made in the various states.* Several of these were also to utilize appropriated state funds contingent on the federal assistance. A third federal action, passed at the request of the FCC is likely to have important long-range effects on educational television. Called

* Letter from Chalmers H. Marquis, Executive Director, Educa­ tional Television Stations Division, National Association of Educational Broadcasters, January 13, 1966. 59 the "All Channel Receivers Act," this legislation requires that receiver manufacturers equip their products to receive all 82 broadcast channels. This act, which took effect on May 1, 1964, may prove a final solu­ tion to the problem that goes back to the FCC 6th Report and Order of April 11, 1952. In many communities the educational reservation was a UHF channel. Frequently the commercial service was VHF. Most homes were equipped with receivers capable of VHF reception only. The operating UHF educational station was cut-off from most of its home audience and was forced to concentrate on a school service while ex­ plaining UHF and promoting converter sales to the homes. In some com­ munities, ETV enthusiasts were unable to muster sufficient support to get a station on the air because of the UHF problem. The All-Channel Bill provided a direct attack on the UHF prob­ lem. Through normal replacement and the purchase of additional sets most American homes will be able to receive UHF broadcasts. This same situation has awakened commercial interest also, for there are numerous unused commercial UHF channels available. It seems probable that during the next several years we will see numerous commercial UHF stations activated which will give viewers added reason to become familiar with UHF reception. The All-Channel Bill may ultimately prove to have been as great a stimulus to ETV as either NDEA or the Facilities Act. Early in 1965, only ten months after the act went into effect, a new ETV station, WVIZ-TV, Cleveland, Ohio, a previously VHF area, received over a thousand pieces of mail from home viewers during the first four weeks of its operation. Many mentioned viewing on recently purchased receivers. In June of 1965 this same station received a report from the area electronics association that 100,000 all-channel receivers had been sold in the Cleveland area in the previous eleven months. On April 11, 1965 , the thirteenth anniversay of the reservation of channels for ETV, the Congress enacted a law which may have a major impact on the future of television in education. On that date, the Elemen­ tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, PL 89-10, authorized the expen­ diture of federal funds for educational television and radio services. Although several references were included, the strongest may be under Title III, Part B, Item 6, which states that "Grants under this title may 60 be used for . . . developing, producing and transmitting radio and television programs for classroom and other education use. " An equally important provision with respect to educational television is Item 2 in Section 205. "A local educational agency may receive a basic grant or special incentive grant . . . upon its determin­ ation (consistent with such basic criteria as the Commissioner may establish) . . . that, to the extent consistent with the number of educa­ tionally deprived children in the school district of the local educational authority who are enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools, such agency has made provision for including special educational ser­ vices and arrangements (such as dual enrollments, educational radio and television and mobile educational services and equipment) in which such children can participate." The struggle over the legality and desirability of Federal financial assistance to non-public schools had long stymied enactment of • any general bill. The requirement for sharing of public school facilities supported with Federal funds provided the avenue for circumventing much of the resistance. Radio and television were specifically listed as one of the means by which a school system can conform to the "sharing" requirement. The Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 provides both the funds and the incentive for school systems to use television in instruc­ tion. The potential for greater development in educational television is considerable.

Instructional Television Libraries In 1960, under a U.S. Office of Education research grant, McBride and Meierhenry conducted a broad study to determine the extent of existing recorded instructional television series and the potential for exchange and distribution of these series among the educational tele­ vision stations . Their findings, suggested that exchange would be both desirable and feasible. They recommended the establishment of television libraries which would coordinate the distribution process.*

* Wesley Meierhenry and Jack McBride, "Exchange of Instruc­ tional Television M aterials," Educational Television The Next Ten Years ed. Wilbur L. Schramm, (Stanford: The Institute for Communications Research, 1962), p. 282. 61 In February of 1962 with $240,000 from NDEA, Title VII the Office of Education signed contracts with three educational organiza­ tions to conduct demonstration projects in the accumulation and distri­ bution of instructional television series. Two of these were regional in scope. Under the auspices of the Eastern Educational Network, the Northeastern Regional Instructional Television Library Project (NRITLP) was established to serve the six New England states, the five North Atlantic states and the District of Columbia. Michael Ambrosino, EEN Executive Director and later Dr. M. Virginia Beggy, a public school administrator, directed the project. At the University of Nebraska, the Great Plains Regional Instructional Library Project (GPRITLP) was to become a center for the twelve states of the plains region including New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, M iss­ ouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Jack McBride, general manager of the educational station KUON and Paul Schrysbach led the Great Plains effort. The National Educational Television and Radio Center, based in New York, became the parent for the National Instructional Television Library (NITL) which was to serve the remaining twenty-seven states and cooperate with the regional libraries as well. The NITL head was Edwin Cohen, an NET program executive and former college professor. Each library undertook certain common actions and developed different approaches to other problems. An early step was the establish­ ment of sampler libraries consisting of kinescope copies of programs from filmed and taped series that were, in theory at least, available for use by others. These kinescopes were available to any interested individual or group. A listing of these recordings was published as the Guide to Videotapes and Kinescopes. It received wide distribution. For the first time it was possible to determine if a recorded series might be available from another station before a local production was under­ taken . Two additional editions of the Guide were prepared. These later issues were improved through more accurate resumes of the series' content and a greater accuracy regarding availability for exchange. The earlier issue had listed numerous series, which for various reasons, were not available when sought. The three projects approached the question of program service to their regions differently. The NRITLP, because of the small area and the number of active stations involved experimented with coopera­ tive planning and production of programs, coordinated through the project office. Through a series of conferences, regional needs were identified and one series, an in-service course in modem mathematics, was produced for all regional stations to use. The project also acquired other series from outside the region for all to use and took over the distribution of popular instructional series from within the region. Simultaneous broadcast through interconnection was common. The Great Plains Library was faced with a far larger territory and fewer active stations, so devoted its efforts to acquiring a wide selection of instructional series which could be borrowed by interested stations. Borrowers could send their own tape to the library where the desired programs were duplicated on the tape. Or, the library would furnish the tape, delivering the recording a week before broadcast. In either case, it was possible to conduct the broadcasts with a minimum of investment in tape by keeping three or four reels in a continuous shuttle. The library provided extensive help to communities interested in activating educational stations and became a primary source of pro­ gramming once a new station was established. In communities unable to establish a station, the library pro­ vided a complete program service for broadcast by commercial stations cooperating with local school authorities. This service might consist of an hour of school programming daily or weekly which was shipped to the commercial station on a single role of television tape, complete with programs and station breaks in the appropriate places. The library also handled the acquisition and distribution of related teacher mater­ ials. Because of the considerable educational responsibility the library carried, an extensive review and evaluation system was set up. Respected regional educators examined a potential library addittion thoroughly before it was acquired for the library. The Great Plains Library became the most active distributor of the three projects and acquired a substantial number of series. It 63 kept all ETV stations nationally abreast of its availabilities and ser­ vices. As a result potential users developed all over the country. Because Great Plains was frequently the only library handling a given series, any borrower was serviced and the regional concept became blurred. The National Instructional Television Library approached dis­ tribution from a third point of view. When the Great Plains acquired the distribution rights to a series, it asked the producer to share in the resulting income from the rentals, but paid no acquisition fee. NITL, reflecting the commercial tradition, sought to buy distribution rights from producers. This resulted in greater overhead and required greater caution in making an addition to its library. NITL further raised its operating costs by following the distribution practices of its parent, NET. Several complete duplicate copies were prepared of each series, thereby necessitating a substantial investment in recording tape^ This higher overhead forced up the costs to the borrower. By the end of the school year in June, 1964, NITL had four series available to borrowers,* but 2 3 GPRITLhad eleven. NITL had made a total of seventeen loans while 4 GPRITL had placed thirty of its series. A year later the difference was more apparent as NITL had loaned six series a total of twenty-three 5 6 times while Great Plains had used 30 series 140 times. On April 30, 1965, government funds, which had provided much of the libraries' support, were to be exhausted. At this point the North­ eastern Project was absorbed by its parent, Eastern Educational Network, and continued as a network service. Great Plains was approaching self-

* Letter from Edwin Cohen, Director, National Instructional Television Library, January 18, 196.6.

2Lietter from Paul Schupbach, Director, Great Plains Instruc­ tional Television Library, January 17, 1966. 3Letter from Cohen, op. cit. 4 Letter from Schupback, op. cit. Letter from Cohen, op. cit. 6 ■Letter from Schupbach, op. cit. 64 sufficiency with a minimum of help from the University of Nebraska. The National Library, which never approached self-support, was forced to find a new parent. This was one of the results of the Ford Founda­ tion action requiring NET to concentrate on cultural programming. The University of Indiana which maintained a large audio-visual library service, agreed to adopt NITL. After a period of negotiation, a new federal grant was made which eased the transition and expanded the service of the three libraries. The libraries made several important contributions to the growth of instructional television. At least five can be identified: 1. Promoted an awareness of and interest in neighboring ETV stations. 2. Encouraged consideration of recorded series in lieu of local productions, thereby conserving local resources. 3. Stimulated establishment of new stations. 4. Raised standards of planning and production through (a) their evaluation and selection processes and (b) making producers aware of the potential of some dollar return through distribution. 5. Enlarged the schedules of existing stations by providing low cost sources of additional programs. As a result of the library activities, more school telecasting project managers are seeking to supplement local productions with suitable recorded material, thereby improving their service to the schools. It is probable that the library concept will continue in school telecasting for a considerable period.

National Association of Educational Broadcasters The National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) after a long evolution, has become the professional home of educational broadcasters. Its history began in 1925 as the Association of College and University Broadcast Stations. For many years it was an association of institutions. 65 During the early years of existence, it shared the severe finan­ cial handicaps of all educational broadcasters. Without a permanent headquarters or paid staff, it offered what assistance it could during a period when many educationally-owned stations went out of existence. In 1934, the members of the ACUBS adopted a new constitution and then became the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. However, lack of funds continued to limit its activities. A periodic Newsletter provided a vehicle for information and idea exchange. In the period from 1934 to 1948, the NAEB experienced a gradual growth as more institutions became involved in broadcasting. However, it con­ tinued without a permanent staff or.offices’. In the post-war era a new group of men began joining the organ­ ization. The new group sought a more aggressive role for the associa­ tion in the development of educational broadcasting, particularly as it related to television. The clash which followed was sufficient to be noted in the October 23, 1948 issue of Billboard. Battle lines were clearly drawn at the meeting (annual convention) with opposition from commercial broad­ casters expected on the one flank. On the other is a fight within the NAEB, with one element, the progres­ sive force now.in power, favoring the establishment of a network, hiring an Executive Secretary, doubling of dues and other aggressive action. Another group is satisfied to remain status quo.

First skirmish was won by the progressive element when Dick Hull, head of radio for Iowa State College and its station WOI at Ames, was reelected president, with the board of directors and membership okaying ■ his expansion plans.

Lack of funds continued to limit NAEB activities. However, early in 1949 the Rockefeller Foundation provided support for an "International Seminar on Educational Radio" held in July, 1949 at Allerton Park, University of Illinois. This was followed by a second conference in 1950. These meetings gave educational broadcasting some new momen­ tum .

* Billboard, October 23, 1948, p. 3. 66 In 1951 j for the first time, substantial funds became available. A grant of $245,350 from the Kellogg Foundation permitted the establish­ ment of a permanent NAEB headquarters, annual seminars to train educators in broadcasting and conduct research, and to establish and operate a NAEB tape network in support of educational radio. * Also in 1951, NAEB received $300,000 from the Fund for Adult Education "for the development of outstanding educational radio programs 2 to be released over the tape network." A smaller grant which had great impact was the $25,000 for the monitoring studies of the programming of the commercial television stations in several cities. These were par­ ticularly effective during the FCC's hearings on educational reservations. During the next two years an additional $261,000 was received in grants from several sources, particularly the Fund for Adult Education, to conduct numerous activities, largely in educational television. By January 1, 1954, NAEB institutional membership had reached 218 with 107 operating their own stations and 89 using commercial o u tle ts . 3 v The most recent ten years of NAEB have been marked by numerous changes and expansions. In 1958 the organization authorized individual memberships and experienced a substantial increase in size. It became a contractor for such international agencies as AID and sent specialists to Nigeria, Sudan and Tanganyika. In 1963 the NAEB took over the primary responsibility for the development of an extensive instructional television operation to serve the educational system of the Samoan Islands. As a need for additional educational channels became evident the NAEB received a contract to make a study of long-range channel requirements and then another to apply computer analysis to the problem of frequency allotments. The latter study revealed that existing tabLes of allocation, worked out by what were essentially paper and pencil

*Hill, op. cit. , p. 43. 3Ibid., p . 44 . 3Ibid. 67 methods, had not placed channels efficiently. As a result, the FCC began a re-study of all channel assignments. In 1963 NAEB received a further U.S. Office of Education contract to study the supply of trained educational television personnel, their competencies and training and the sources of additional personnel. Because of the growing special interest areas within its member­ ship, in 1963, the creation of several semi-autonomous divisions within the NAEB structure was approved by the membership. These groups began holding periodic conferences of their own and elected their own o ffic e rs. In 1964, the Washington staff was expanded to provide an office to keep the stations advised of development in the capitol that affected educational broadcasting and to assist in obtaining a share of federal funds that were being made available. Numerous publications were issued including a bi-monthly Tournal, a monthly News letter, a bi­ monthly Washington Report and other bulletins as required. NAEB officials now were called regularly to testify on proposed legislation. A considerable growth of stature has been experienced in 40 y e ars.

Summary

The activities noted in these pages are but a fraction of the developments in educational television which have occurred since April 11, 1952. They are some of the milestones of the transformation of an idea into a new kind of television. This chapter reviews the initial efforts to protect and activate the channel reservations. As a primary problem was money, the estab­ lishment of the giant Ford Foundation, the Fund for Adult Education, and the Fund for the Advancement of Education, came at a most opportune time. Millions of Ford dollars provided the thrust and the incentive for many early efforts at experimentation and station' activities. Three major efforts in television were among the many supported by Ford. These included: (1) The National Educational Television and Radio Center which became the source of evening programs for the educational stations, (2) The National Program for the Use of Television 68 in the Public Schools, a far-reaching experiment involving large numbers of children and (3) the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruc­ tion. This unique venture provided instructional television coverage to a major midwest area with a student population of five million. Other aspects of instructional television's growth noted herein include closed circuit television, particularly the Washington County, Maryland, project, the advent of state and regional television networks, the establishment of instructional television lending libraries and the rising role of the federal government in financing television's growth. Two technical advances examined are the Instructional Tele­ vision Fixed Service, a low power, multiple channel system and low priced, portable television tape recorders. Of all the developments in television's growth the most signifi­ cant may well be its role as an instructional tool. We shall now exam­ ine the extent and results of television's entry into the classroom. CHAPTER III

TELEVISION IN INSTRUCTION

The Stations When the channel reservations for educational television were made, the Federal Communications Commission required that these sta­ tions be licensed to non-profit educational organizations, recognized by the department of education of the state. With allowance for varia­ tions, study reveals that educational television stations of four types have been established, distinguished in terms of the agency which operates them. 1. The first type is the university-based station. In the majority of cases, such a station has been established by a large university which has a tradi­ tion and frequently a mandate to serve the public beyond the bounds of the campus. On December 31, 1965 there were thirty-nine educational television stations licensed to institutions of higher educa­ tion . * 2. State governments also have been active in estab­ lishing educational stations. Operating through their departments of education or semi-autonomous tele­ vision authorities, the states had activated seven- teen stations by the end of 1965. 2 Added to this group is the unique station which is owned by the City of New York and operated as a municipal ser­ vice department.

^National Association of Educational Broadcasters, ETS Bulletin, January, 1966, p. 4. ^Ibid. 69 3. A third variety is the school-system-owned station. By December 31, 1965, nineteen school districts had become licensed for television stations.'*' 4. The fourth type of educational station varies from the previous three in that it is not established by another, on-going agency. The community-based station most frequently is licensed to a non-profit corporation which was created for the purpose of activating an educational television station. The community station commonly is encountered in the large metropolitan areas where broad resources are available. Such stations are located in New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In all, there were thirty-nine community stations in opera­ tion by the end of 1965.2 Of the four types cited, the first three have one important common characteristic in common. The university, state and school district station all have access to tax support through their parent organization. The connection to public funds gives these stations a basic financial stability. The single exception is station WCBB, Lewiston, Maine, which is the joint endeavor of three private colleges, Colby, Bates and Bowdoin. The tax supported station can be limited by the rules and by the extent of appropriations of the parent body. The community station has no such financial base and has had to develop its support from other sources. Predictable income is essen­ tial to the management of any organization. As one result, community stations have encouraged the development of televised instruction. Through service charges to the participating school systems, a measure of reliable annual income has been established. In Chicago, higher

*Ibid. 2Ib id . 71 education by television developed before television for the public schools, but in most places it was the latter which first made commit­ ments to television. Several community stations owed their early sur­ vival to school support. In a few cases, such as Cincinnati, Ohio, community stations are, in fact, school stations, as a major share of their annual budget comes from that source. The community station does seek funds from other sources through public appeals, contract productions and special activities. The Boston station each year raises more than three hundred thousand dollars through direct solicitation. The San Francisco station receives a substantial return, plus extensive publicity, from on-the-air auctions of donated items. In the future, it would appear that the state-owned stations would experience the greatest growth in numbers. With stations now in most larger cities, many new channel activations will be in smaller communi­ ties. To accomplish this, financial assistance from outside the immed­ iate community frequently will be needed. The stage government is the most probable source. Further, growing interest in television at the state level is causing many departments of education to plan for state­ wide television coverage. In less populous areas such broadcasting will have to come from state-supported stations.

The Types of Instructional Telecasting Within any developing field of endeavor, terminology and defini­ tions can be a problem. Thus, even the term "educational television" has a variety of interpretations. For the layman it may mean "non­ commercial television" or "education by television. " For many of those involved, "educational telecasting" has come to refer to evening broad­ casts of cultural programs such as discussions, drama, documentaries and music. "Instructional television" has been adopted by many to identify the more formally organized series of programs intended to in­ struct a particular group. However, sufficient overlap exists to obscure any distinct demarcation. Most educational stations are engaged in both instructional and cultural broadcasting. 72 Because of the variety of applications, sub-types have been identified within instructional telecasting. While not universally ac­ cepted, these categories frequently are delineated along two lines: (1) the degree to which the broadcasts are responsible for the instruc­ tion of a student in a particular course, and (2) the frequency of the broadcasts. These sub-types do not lend themselves to clear separation, so that a continuum is a better representation than distinct categories. Figure 1 3-5 1 program programs or less per week per week f ------F------T ------f ------* ------* -----> Total Major Team Television Resource Teaching Major Broad General Instruction Television Television Supplement Supplement Enrichment

At one end of the continuum is total television instruction wherein the telecasts provide all the formal instruction a student receives in a sub­ ject. This usually requires three to five televised lessons per week. The students may never meet as an organized class and actually may be widely dispersed geographically. Further along the continuum is major resource television in which a classroom teacher or discussion leader meets with the students to clarify, reinforce and extend the television lessons. However, the television teacher is still responsible for the major part of the students1 instruction. The program frequency is nearer three per week. At the mid-point of the continuum is the team-teaching situation where classroom teacher and television teacher share approximately equal responsibility for the instruction—each undertaking that portion of the teaching he does best. Here the common pattern is two or three programs per w eek . Next on the continuum is television used as a major supplement. In this case the broadcasts correlate closely with a specific course of study or text in a subject and grade but do not present a major part of the content. Rather the one or two weekly programs provide expert 73 teaching, special motivation, unusual resources and other educational experiences normally not available in the classroom. The "broad supplement" is a more generalized form of the major supplement. In this case programs may be suggested for two grades and deal with topics common to several neighboring school systems. No single text is used, but correlations are sought to various books in use. Again the intent is to provide motivating experiences and scarce resources. One program per week is typical. Finally, the enrichment broadcasts are devoted to educational experiences which do not correlate with a course of study for a particular grade. These programs may deal with music, news or drama and are similar to the non-instructional, cultural service of educational tele­ vision. Broadcast frequency may range from a regular, weekly program to single incidents of a unique nature. But these broad categories cannot be considered absolute, for the same programs may be used as a major resource in one school system and be viewed as supplemental in another. However, the continuum does illustrate the variety of purposes and approaches in the use of television in instruction.

The E xtent of Instructional Television Instructional telecasting is a function of nearly every educational station. For some it is the reason for their existence, for most it is a major part of their community service. The scope and extent of this instructional telecasting may be measured in several ways. One major study of school telecasting has been made. In March of 1964, a paper by Cohen and Hettinger revealed that of 81 stations studied, 72 were engaged in broadcasting for the elementary and secon­ dary schools .* In establishing the extent of this service, Cohen totaled the course offerings of the stations, then added the efforts of closed- circuit systems and broadcasts by school agencies over commercial • 2 stations. He found that 1887 series were in use. This figure does not

* Edwin Cohen and Charles Hettinger, The Status of ITV:1964 (New York: National Instructional Television Library, 1964), p. 1. 2Ibid. 74 represent different television series since stations may exchange pro­ grams. A series was counted again for each location using it. A sub­ stantial concentration in the elementary grades was revealed, as 1355 or 72% of the total were series intended for children in grades six or below . * By subject, the study revealed that science was the most common area for instructional television as 23% of the 1887 series was devoted 9 to that field. Foreign languages were second with 16% followed by history and social studies - 13%, English and language arts - 10%, music - 9.5%, mathematics - 8% and art - 7.5%. The remaining 12% 3 were scattered. The emphasis on programs for the elementary years was most evident in art and foreign languages, where 130 of 142 and 273 of 297 series respectively were intended for grades 1-6. Only in history and social studies did the total of secondary programming exceed that for elementary. Here Cohen found 135 series listed for grades 7-12 and 119 for grades 1 - 6. ^ Of the 1887 series reported, 1312 were carried by educational stations. These respondents were asked to categorize the program as (1) a major reso u rce , (2) supplem ental or (3) enrichm ent. The report showed that nearly 69% (902) were either a supplement or enrichment. Of these, more than 72% (65 2) were for elementary school children.'* The Morse Communications Center at Brandeis University has conducted several studies of the programming of educational television stations. They found an increase in the number of hours devoted in the week to instructional television over four years.

. *Ibid., p. 2.

3Ibid., p. 4.

3 Ibid. 4 JMsL 3Ibid., p. 5. 1961 - 754.12 hours 1962 - 839.55 hours 1964 - 1188.00 hours1 These figures are the total of the hours devoted to instructional pro­ grams by all educational stations and in part reflect the increase in the number of stations on the air. Another means for determining the magnitude of instructional television in the United States is the number of students viewing pro­ grams on a regular basis. Most viewership tabulations are compiled on the basis of series viewed, rather than individual students using tele­ vision. As a result, figures on series viewed in a given school may in­ clude the same child counted two or more times if his class views more than one series. Therefore, the term "enrollments" is more accurate. Cohen found 9,640,000 enrollments in courses using televised instruc­ tion in the fall of 1963. Seventy-seven per cent of these were elemen- 2 tary school children. A year later McKune counted more than 10,700,000 3 children viewing instructional programs in grades one through twelve. Other useful findings in Cohen's study showed that 77% of the 4 series consisted of either one or two broadcasts per week. Further, 71% of the programs for elementary school were either fifteen or twenty minutes long while .60% of the programs for secondary grades were thirty minutes long.^ The foregoing data demonstrates both the form and extent of the use of television at the elementary and secondary school level. It illus­ trates the substantial development which took place during educational television's first decade. Clearly the emphasis is on a supplemental service for the elementary schools. A typical situation might be pic-

1Morse Communications Research Center, op. cit. , p. 50.

2Cohen and Hettinger, op. cit. , p. 11.

3Lawrence E. McKune, Compendium of Educational Television, Vol. 11 (East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University, 1964), p. i. 4 Cohen and Hettinger, op. cit., p. 12. 5Ibid., p. 13. 76 tured as an elementary school child viewing once per week a fifteen minute supplementary telecast in science. This pattern reflects the changes going on in public school curriculum during the same period. Two major innovations included broad commitments to science and for­ eign language instruction in the elementary schools. These changes found the classroom teachers inadequately trained and schools ill- equipped to handle the new instruction. Education turned to television as a means of supporting the teachers. One area of education has not been included to this point. High­ er education is just beginning to feel the impact of the jump in the birth rate which came following World War II. Television's role in our col­ leges and universities should be explored.

Television in Higher Education At the college and university levels, television has developed primarily as a means of teaching large numbers of students. Under­ graduate subjects, frequently the required, high enrollment courses of the first two college years, have been the most common. In many in­ stances a closed-circuit distribution system is utilized. However, when an educational station is available, it too may be used. In addition to on-campus classes, broadcast courses may result in home audiences. Some schools welcome off-campus enrollments while others do not encourage or facilitate such participation. Some institu­ tions offer telecourses primarily for off-campus enrollments and do not organize campus viewing. Finally, some non-credit courses are telecast for those interested in self-improvement. The first contact with televised credit courses for many colleges, was Continental Classroom broadcast country-wide by the National Broad­ casting Company. For four years, beginning in 1958, NBC, in coopera­ tion with the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, presented outstanding scholar - with courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics and economics. More than two hundred colleges took part by enrolling students for credit. Many also required on-campus dis­ cussions and examinations as a part of the requirements for successful completion. 77 Beyond the presentation of regular course work on television, numerous specialized applications have been adopted. The medical and dental schools were among the first to use the medium's magnifying capabili­ ties to give students a better view of operations and dental preparations. Education, psychology and psychiatry use television as an unobtrusive way for students to observe classrooms, clinical and therapy practices. Speech, drama, education and athletics are using television tape record­ ing so that the instructor and student can observe and analyze the student's performance while criticizing it. One of the first institutions to employ television extensively was Pennsylvania State University. Commencing in 1954, instruction by closed-circuit television has played a growing role in undergraduate education. In 1958 the experimental phase was completed and television became a regular instructional tool. By 1964 a four-channel system was serving 19,008 students in 30 courses.'*' Other institutions of higher education making use of television include The Ohio State University where in 1963-64, 23,928 students 2 were enrolled in seven televised courses. In one, Health Education, 6841 undergraduates were served. At Michigan State University during the same year, 15,378 participated in 15 courses on closed-circuit 3 television. At Purdue 15,045 students were enrolled in 13 courses. At the University of Maryland 6608 students were taking six courses by 4 television. On the Berkley campus, 5695 University of California stud­ ents participated in televised courses in 1963-64.3 , The 1964 Compendium of Televised Education reported 15,928 sec­ tions or classes taking televised college instruction. This represented 0 "nearly one million" enrollments.

■*McKune, op. cit., pp. 271-272 ^Ibid., p. 241. 3Ibid. , pp. 148-150. 4Ib id . , p. 125

3Ibid., pp. 11-12.

^Ibid., p. 1. 78 The vast majority of the foregoing is televised instruction for on-campus students. In one case, a major effort is being made to reach the at-home audience by broadcast television. Chicago City Junior College, an agency of the Chicago Board of Education, initiated TV College in 1956 with the aid of a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foun­ dation. By 1964, 34,000 students had enrolled in ope or more televised courses, with completions averaging 75%.* Ninety-five students, several with severe physical handicaps, had won two-year degrees using televised courses exclusively. In nearly every case the telecast of credit courses has been con­ ducted by a single institution. Cooperative projects, as are found at the public school level, are rare. One early effort at inter-institutional use of broadcast college courses was undertaken in 195 7 in Oregon. Four institutions located near Corvallis, took part. Project Director, Glenn Starlin, underscored what may be a basic reason why inter-institutional television is not more common. He wrote If experience gained from the Oregon Project is typical, the biggest administrative problem in inter-institutional televised instruction is the negotiation necessary with representatives from each institution to determine which courses are acceptable and which professor from which institution will be responsible for teaching each televised course. There seem to be strong factors of status and prestige which are associated with the origination versus the reception of an inter-institutional television course . . . The faculties at each institution generally show more interest and willingness in originating a televised course from their own institution than in receiving a course from another institution. 2 Despite the problems cited by Starlin, program exchange on a limited basis, is a probable future development. Although the total number of college students receiving televised instruction is only a portion of the numbers in elementary and secondary education, a substantial base for future growth has been built. During

Clifford G. Erickson, Hymann M. Chausow and James J. Zigerall, Eight Years of TV College: A Fourth Report (Chicago: Chicago Public Schools, 1964), p. 34. 2 Starlin and Lallas, op. cit. , p. 67. 79 the 1963-64 academic year, 119 colleges and universities located in forty states taught one or more credit courses by television. No com­ plete list of the various subjects is available-, but the following shows a cross-section.* Anthropology Accounting Mathematics Business Law Sociology Health Speech Statistics Physics Music Home Econ. Conservation Theology ROTC Art History Zoology Education Philosophy Psychology Engineering G raphics

As the enrollments grow in higher education, television may be the only means of serving all qualified students who apply. Wider use in special applications is probable. Information retrieval systems, libraries and individualized study facilities are being planned around television's capabilities. Television, which initially was supported as a tool in adult education but made its first breakthrough in public education, may ultimately make its greatest contribution in higher education. As the magnitude of television's role grows, the research on its capabilities as an educational tool also enlarges. An examination of those findings would be in order.

Summary

This chapter identified four types of educational television sta­ tions using the license-holding agency as the basis for categorization. It was noted that three types have access to a tax base through the parent agency, while the fourth must rely on other sources of funds. The types of instructional broadcasting were reviewed and broad categories defined. It was noted that a continuum is a better means for representing the variations of television's applications in the classroom. Data was offered which showed school telecasting to be a major activity of many educational television stations. Figures showing the distribution by subject area and grade level were included.

*McKune, op. cit. Television in higher education was examined separately. It was noted that the majority of televised instruction is devoted to the on-campus student. Closed circuit distribution rather than standard broadcast was the rule. The next chapter will examine the status of television as an educational tool in terms of the research which has been conducted on CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH

' 1 The Effectiveness of ' Televised Instruction

The introduction of instructional television in the United States followed a pattern dissimilar from most educational innovations. The development has been quite rapid and wide-spread. This was carried forward by large sums of public and foundation money plus pressure from many sources for educational innovation and improvement. The proponents of television turned to research as means of iden­ tifying the full capabilities of the new medium. The detractors also sought study of television's potential in expectation that evaluations would reveal television ineffectual and perhaps hazardous in education. As a result of this interest in research, Dr. C. R. Carpenter was able to observe in 1963 that "The summary judgment seems to be justified that more research and development work on the applied level has been . done on educational television that on any other single innovation or " 1 development in American education. In reviewing the first decade of research in television instruction, Carpenter points out, "Researchers have been held responsible not only for collecting evidence on the effectiveness of this educational instrumentation but also for introducing it into conservative educational agencies and institutions and for gain- 2 ing acceptance for this technological innovation.

*C.R. Carpenter, "Research on Instructional Television," Paper read before the Conference on The Economics of Educational Television, Brandeis University, W altham,Massachusetts, May 23, 1963. 2Ibid.

81 82 As a result, most instructional television research has been car­ ried on at the local level as a part of an overall experiment with tele­ vision. Many studies consisted of tests which sought to answer some form of the question, "Can (subject) be taught as well by television as by conventional classroom methods?" Most frequently the findings indicated that students learned as well by television as they did by traditional means. Though most of this type of research in television is now conclud­ ed, a certain amount of what Kumata called "demonstration research" continues as "a means of satisfying skeptical educators that regardless of findings elsewhere, television will teach their children in their sc h o o ls."* Dr. Wilbur Schramm, who has been involved in communications studies for many years, summarizes the status thusly: There can no longer be any doubt that students learn efficiently from instructional television. The fact has been demonstrated now in hundreds of schools, by thousands of students, in every part of the United States and in several other countries . . . the con­ clusion of testers, school administrators , teachers and students alike has been that the average student is likely to learn about as much from a television class as from ordinary classroom methods. . . . employing the usual tests that schools use to measure the progress of their students, we can say with considerable confidence that in 65% of a very large number of comparisons (393) between televised and classroom teaching, there is no significant dif­ ference. In 21 percent, students learned significantly more, in 14 percent they learned significantly less from television.

Hideya Kumata, "A Decade of Teaching by Television," The Impact of Educational Television, ed. Wilbur L. Schramm (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1960),p. 185. 2 Wilbur L. Schramm, "What we Know About Learning From Educa­ tional Television, " Educational Television The Next Ten Years, ed. Wilbur L. Schramm (Stanford: The Institute for Communications Research, 1962), pp. 52-53. 83 While most people seem to have accepted the findings as stated by Dr. Schramm, reservations do exist. These stem primarily from the nature of some of the studies. It has been suggested that proper re­ search standards have not been maintained in all cases. D. W. Stickell in his paper, "A Critical Review of Methodology and Results Comparing Television and Face-to-Face Instruction" set out to apply accepted rules of experimental design and controls to 31 selected research reports. Of 250 comparisons considered, he classified 217 as "uninterpretable," 16 others were "partly interpretable" and the remaining 10 were found to be "interpretable." Of these 10, all showed no significant difference between the results of televised and face-to-face instruction. Further, of the 26 which violated the research criteria in some degree, 22 showed no statistically significant differences and the remaining four favored television. None favored conventional instruction.* Thus, Schramm's statement receives further support. Much early research on television instruction took place in the military. With less restraint from conservative elements and greater emphasis on speed and efficiency, the three major services began exper­ imenting with television in the early '50's. Kanner and his associates reported that trainees taught by television learned as much as the con­ ventionally taught when lecture-information teaching was used. When the subject material dealt with manipulation instruction, the interrela­ tionship of small moving parts or rote memory such as recognition train- 2 ing, the troops learned significantly more through television. Seeking economics of time, Kanner reported "It was possible to obtain as much as a 50 percent reduction in the time normally required to present some of these hours (of instruction) in the regular classroom 3 and still achieve a significant enhancement in learning." However,

* Carpenter, op. cit., p. 10. 2 Richard P. Runyon, Otello L. Desiderato and Joseph H. Kanner, "Factors Leading to Effective Television Instruction, " Audio Visual Communications Review III (Fall, 1955), p. 267. 3 Otello L. Desiderato, Joseph H. Kanner and Richard P. Runyon, "Procedures for Improving Television Instruction, " Audio Visual Com­ munications Review IV (Winter, 1956), p. 60. 84 they found that a 30 percent time reduction from the conventional class­ room was more consistent in retaining the teaching effectiveness of the television presentation. * Another early center for research on televised instruction was Pennsylvania State University. Beginning in 1954, major studies of comparative effectiveness were undertaken at the college level in such diverse courses as psychology, chemistry and music appreciation. In 1958 Carpenter reported "controlled experiments which compare direct and televised instruction with the same teachers teaching the compar­ ison groups are unlikely to yield statistically significant differences in students' achievement scores when the courses, teachers and students 2 are similar to those in the Penn State experiments." Similar findings were reported at Miami (Ohio) University by Macomber and Siegel who wrote "The most consistent feature about the comparative studies of scores on subject-matter tests earned by stud­ ents in the experimental and control sections is the dearth of obtained 3 differences which are statistically significant." Similar reports were made by Dreher and Beatty at San Francisco State College, "There was no significant differences in the amount of 4 knowledge gained, relevant to the course. " Myers at Syracuse con­ cluded "Television and classroom instruction are generally equally effective when the educational goal is to disseminate information . . . to teach the student to apply principles, interpret data and integrate knowledge."'* Starlin found in Oregon that "Studies conducted in

*Ibid. 2 C.R. Carpenter and L. P. Greenhill, An Investigation of Closed Circuit Television for Teaching University Courses, Instructional Television Project Report Number 2 (University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University, 1958), p. 18. 3 F. Glenn Macomber and Lawrence Siegel, Final Report of the Experiment in Instructional Procedures (Oxford, Ohio: Miami University, 1960), p. 19. 4 R.E. Dreher and W .H. Beatty, An Experimental Study of College Instruction Using Broadcast Television (San Francisco: San Francisco State C ollege, 195 8), p. 40. '’Lawrence J. Myers, An Experimental Study of the Influence of the Experienced Teacher on Television (Syracuse: Television and Radio Department, Syracuse University, 1961), pp. 37-38. 85

General Chemistry, Human Development, and Educational Psychology and Learning showed no significant difference in achievement between students who took the course by television as compared to those who took them in conventional classrooms . . . An analysis of the students in the televised chemistry course also showed that they compared fav­ orably with national norms in achievement on a standard chemistry examination."* Numerous studies of the effectiveness of televised instruction have also been conducted by the public schools. These range from mas­ sive undertakings involving thousands of children and several years of study to brief investigations using only a few classrooms and a limited number of telecasts. The Philadelphia school system was one which undertook a sub­ stantial evaluation of the effectiveness of televised education in large group instruction. In 1961 they reported the results of 19,000 tests taken by 7353 pupils in ten courses. These findings showed students in six of the courses learned significantly more than the control groups. In two courses conventional methods scored significantly higher. In the 2 remaining two no differences were found. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 10,266 students in both elementary and secondary schools were tested as a part of that school system's study of television in both traditional classroom and large group instruc­ tion. Statistically significant gains were found in children taking 5th and 6th grade science by television. Similar gains were found in stud­ ents of American history. However, junior high science no significant 3 difference between experimental and control classes were found. The St. Louis schools studied the gains of 1,000 children study­ ing general science and English composition in large groups. Of five

*Starlin and La lias , op .c it. , p. 67. 2 Report of the National Experiment in TV Teaching of Large Classes (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Public Schools, 1961), Appendix A. 3 Robert R. Suchy and Paul C, Baumann, "The Milwaukee Experi­ ment in Instructional Television: The Evaluation of the 1958-59 School Year," NAEB Fact Sheets. Serial No. 79 (December, 1959), p. 2. 86 standardized tests administered, four showed no significant difference in the learning between the children receiving televised instruction and the controls in regular classrooms. The one remaining test showed a significant gain for the television class. In Columbus, Ohio, Frazier and Evans tested 4814 children taking. third and fourth grade science by television. They found no significant 2 gains over the control groups. Eleven hundred and seventy-nine 12th grade American literature students in Detroit showed significantly more learning than did the 960 control students in traditional classrooms. 3 Overall, there appears to be evidence that television has been used with greater effectiveness in the grades than in high school or college. In exploring the results of televised instruction, Schramm com­ bined the data from 393 studies which involved students from grade 3 4 to college. He presented the findings in this simplified chart.

TV More No Significant TV Less Effective Difference Effective (Percent) (Percent) (Percent) n Grades 3-9 33 56 11 203 Grades 10-12 . 13 63 24 90 C ollege 3 84 13 100 393

*Earl J. Herminghaus, "Large Instruction by Television," School Review. LXV (Summer, 195 7), pp. 125-126. 2 Alexander Frazier and Lewis Evans. Testing the Effectiveness of Two-Purpose Television in Contributing to Both Teacher and Pupil Learn­ ing (Elementary Science) (Columbus: The Ohio State University, 1960), p . 63. 3 Clifford E. White, A Case StudyrAmerican Literature as Taught on Television in Detroit Public Schools from 1957 to 1963 (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, June 1964), reported in NAED Research Fact Sheets, Series 1, n. 128, p. 2 4 Schramm, Educational Television The Next Ten Years, p. 54. 87

It might be observed that combining grade 3 through 9 into a single class could skew the results. Using Schramm's tables, the author re-calculated the chart, adding a fourth category.

TV More No Significant TV Less Effective Difference Effective (Percent) (Percent) (Percent) n Grades 3-6 33 56 11 152 Grades 7-9 35 55 10 51 Grades 10-12 13 63 24 90 College 3 84 13 100 393

It is interesting to note that a substantial difference exists in the percentage categories between junior and senior high school One uncontrolled variable may be influencing the results. There was no evidence in Schramm's paper to suggest that a differentiation had been made between school systems operating on the basis of eight years of elementary school and those using the pattern of six years of elemen­ tary school and three of junior high school. In the former case, grades seven and eight are frequently in self-contained classrooms and there­ fore would vary little from grades three through six. Of the factors that may be influencing the outcome of the various studies, one is the subject area involved. Schramm comments that "... some subject-matter areas have apparently been taught by tele­ vision more effectively than others. Mathematics and science, for example, have been outstandingly successful, and so have social studies. History, humanities and literature have been less successful. Language skills, health and safety have been in the middle."'*'

Intelligence The relationship between the intelligence level of the viewer and his success with the television lesson has intrigued several researchers. Macomber and Siegal in some of their early work.at Miami (O.) Univer­ sity suggested that television seemed particularly acceptable in low

~*Ibid. 88 1 2 ability groups. Hardaway and associates reported similar findings . Dietmier found gains at both extremes of abilities in his work with 3 science telecasts. Westley and Barrow's work suggested, "the advan­ tages of television appear to lie at both the high and low levels of intelligence with less difference appearing in the middle intelligence „4 ran g e ." In Cincinnati, biology students with above average abilities did significantly better in television instruction while the average and below average students showed no difference from the students in traditional situations. In sixth grade science above average and average ability students gained more through television while the lower ability students did significantly better with classroom instruction. ^ Kumata reviewed the existing research on the intelligence factor in television instruction and reported that results vary to the point that no conclusive statement g can be made. He proposed that the key element was not so much the

Macomber and Siegel, op. cit., p. 6. 2 Charles W. Hardaway, C. Lawrence Beymer and William E. Engbretson, A Study of Attitudinal Changes in Teachers and Pupils Toward Educational Television (Terra Haute: Indiana State University, 1963), p . 17. 3 Homer Dietmeier, A. Cornelia Sheehan and Martin Decker, An • Investigation of Concept Development in Elementary School Science Teaching by Television (Boston: Boston University, 1963), p. 38. 4 Bruce H. Westley and Lionel C. Barrow, Jr., Exploring the News: A Comparative Study of the Teaching Effectiveness of Radio and Tele­ vision (Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1959), p. 35.

^J.N. Jacobs and J.K. Bollenbacker, "An Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of TV versus Classroom Instruction in 6th Grade Science in the Cincinnati Public Schools," Tournal of Educational Research, LII (1959), p. 184. g Hideya Kumata, "History and Progress of Instructional Television Research in the United States." Report of the International Seminar on Instructional Television, ed. W.F. Seibert and J.S. Miles, (Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1961), p. 143. 89 intelligence of the student as the television teacher's assessment of that intelligence which influenced the success of the viewer.*

The Intangibles A frequent criticism of research in educational television is that ' the measurement has dealt only with factual recall, without examining the intangibles of the educational process such as attitude change, problem solving and critical thinking. Kumata points out that this charge has been leveled at educational research in general for many years. He 2 contends that such is not the case in educational television research. Macomber and Siegal write that, "A major instructional objective of four of the courses included in the Study was to overcome certain stereotypes 3 and misconceptions initially held by students." They found that "Stereo­ types and misconceptions were overcome to about the same extent by students in both the experimental and control sections of the courses wherein this objective was a major one." 4 Myers supports this at Syracuse, "Television instruction is also as effective as classroom in­ struction when the educational goal is to modify attitudes or to inculcate new concepts and values. Dreher and Beatty got similar results in g tests of self-insight. Carpenter and Greenhill, however,found that a group of students taught by the discussion method scored higher on a test of problem- 7 solving than did a comparable group taught by television. On intangibles, Kumata concludes that "although there is a change in the desired direction, there is no difference between this change

*Ib id . 2 Kumata, The Impact of Educational Television, p. 183. 3 Macomber and Siegel, op. c it., p. 23. 4 Ibid. Myers, op. cit. ,p. 38. 0 Dreher and Beatty, op. c it., p. 41. 7 Carpenter and Greenhill, op. c it., pp. 26-28. 90 (resulting from televised instruction) and that found with conventional classroom groups. Only in the case of sociometric choices is there a significant difference. As one might expect, the conventional class­ room produces more interaction and liking."1 Writing about intangibles, Schramm notes that some consider one of education's functions to be to help a child solve some of his own problems. These may be solved by consultation with teachers and school administrators or by skills and insights derived from the classroom. He suggests that "the question is whether, in a well- planned learning experience, of which television is a part, there need 2 be any less opportunity for a student to solve his personal problems." Schramm concludes that "the research has so far been unable to locate any other intangible losses resulting from instruction by tele­ vision .... In general television students have held their own in tests of critical thinking, problem-solving and non-rote aspects of 3 le a rn in g ."

Attitudes Toward Television A different aspect of the question of attitude concerns the accept­ ance or rejection of televised instruction by students and faculty. Re­ ports of student dissatisfaction are to be found. Macomber and Siegel compared student attitude toward televised instruction, traditional classes and large classes at the college level. They found students had a distinct preference for the traditional situation. Between the televised lesson and the large class presentation, the preference depended on the content of the course. Television was preferred when a substancial amount of visual material was involved, while the large class was 4 chosen when the presentation was primarily a lecture.

■^Kumata, The Impact of Educational Television, p. 183. ^Schramm, Educational Television The Next Ten Years, p. 65.

^Ibid. 4 Macomber and Siegel, op. cit. , p. 39. 91 Negative response in some degree was also reported by Carpenter 1 2 3 at Penn State, by Starlin in Oregon and Hardaway in Indiana. One of the key variables in student attitudes seems to be the length of their experience with televised instruction. Carpenter found that as the students became more familiar with television, there is "a gradual, 4 average change to a somewhat higher level of acceptance." "Students appear to be discriminating more clearly than formerly between tele­ vised presentation and other more central factors in their instruction. For example, the quality and characteristics of the instructor, the quality of the presentation and the significance of the course material are becoming more meaningful .... If this continues to be true and TV courses gain the reputation among the students that they are indeed the best that can be offered at Penn State, acceptance of TV instruction 5 is assured." Starlin got similar results in Oregon. The passage of time led to a student opinion that the televised instruction was, on average, better than the classroom equivalent. With the course improvements, "student attitudes toward television instruction seemed to be based on the same factors of like and dislike which determine their attitudes toward con- g ventionally taught courses." Myers found similar circumstances in his study at Syracuse. He reported that the more effective the television teaching, the better the 7 student attitude. Robert Janes reported a semester-long, continuous, free choice experiment in which students could attend traditional classroom lectures

^Carpenter and Greenhill, op. cit., p. 83. 2 Starlin and La lias, op. cit. , p. 60. 3 Hardaway, Beyrner and Engbretson, op. cit., pp. 17-18. 4 Carpenter and Greenhill, op. cit., p. 83. ^Ibid. , p. 83. 6 Starlin and Lallas, op. cit., p. 61. 7 Myers, op. cit., p .38. 92 or take the same course by broadcast television. Initially 47% chose television and the remainder registered in the classroom sections. At the end of fourteen weeks, eleven percent of the classroom section had switched to telecast viewing. Less than two per cent had elected to move to the classroom group.1 James later studied the flexibility of student attitudes toward tele­ vision and reported "None of the pre-existing student attitudes and capacities examined in this study provide pre-disposition which limit most students from developing positive reactions to lectures by tele­ vision. The use of televised lectures, also does not apparently inhibit satisfaction of certain other student aspirations or expectations in such a course."'* Acceptance of television is highest among the elementary school 3 children. For many of the younger children, there has never been a time when there was not television. For some, televised instruction was a part of their first experiences in school. Further, commercial programs of the "TV Kindergarten" type send pre-schoolers to their first classes with a positive attitude toward television. The college age student has grown up in the pattern of traditional classroom instruction and therefore may be disturbed by experiences with televised instruction. Kumata suggests that college students may 4 not consider televised instruction to be "good" education. Presley Holmes, however, points out that television provides a scapegoat for many of the students' academic problems. "It's almost an irrational thing. It's something they don't like, something they can identify, pin­ point and say 'There it is — there's that box in the comer, and that's

1Robert W. Janes, "An Educational Experiment With On-Campus Open-Circuit Television, " Toumal of Educational Sociology XXXIV (March 1961), p. 301. 2 Robert W. Janes, "Preexisting Attitudes of College Students to Instructional Television'" Audiovisual Communications Review, XII (Fall, 1964), p. 335. 3 Schramm, Educational Television The Next Ten Years, p . 56. 4 Kumata, The Impact of Educational Television, p. 182. 93 why I'm having trouble. ,m1 One group of college students using televised instruction vary substantially from the majority. These are the home viewers of tele­ vised college courses. For some adults, television has provided the only opportunity to participate in higher education. Chicago City Junior College found that home viewers did much better than their campus classmates who viewed the same programs in classrooms. The College found it necessary to provide extra help to keep the campus students 2 at a par with the home-viewing students. The primary variable in this case was motivation. The student at home was stimulated to learn and grateful for the opportunity. For the campus student this course was only one of several to be pursued. Further, the home-viewing student frequently was older and therefore beyond many of the social problems which complicate college study for younger students. The attitude of the teachers to television instruction is a critical one. As a result several studies have been conducted to trace changes. Evans found that when the faculty was thoroughly involved in the tele­ vision planning and adequately familiar with the instructional capabili­ ties of the medium, their attitude improved substantially . . . "one department actually elected to present a telecourse and the other decided 3 to use its taped efforts as a standard portion of regular courses." Faculty involvement does not guarantee support for television however. Coupled with faculty democracy, the reverse can result. Dr. G. H. Smith, President of Willamette University, Salem, Oregon writes "Willamette University offers no work by television nor do we give credit for subjects offered by television at this time. Several years ago we participated in an experiment. While many of us thought this was 4 very satisfactory, our faculty voted-not to Continue it."

*Lee S. Dreyfus and Wallace M. Bradley, Televised Instruction (Detroit: Wayne State University, 1962), p. 55. 2 Erickson, Chausow and Zigerell, op. cit. , p. 23. 3 Richard I. Evans, Ronald G. Smith and William K. Colville, Hostility, Resistence and Change (Houston: University of Houston, 1962), p. 100. 4 Letter of G. H. Smith to L. E. Mckune, op. c it., p. 264. 94

Dr. H. M. Livingston of Oregon State University's TV Committee offers their solution. "By having our professors in control of the use of their own tapes, we have had no problems or fears about academic freedom. This solves the program problem for our institution as long as we do not participate in library interchange with other states.1,1 From the State University of New York at Oswego, Acting Presi­ dent C. S. Turner reports, "All of our course offerings to date have been a combination of closed-circuit television and classroom instruction. In no case have we attempted total television teaching. Faculty reac- 2 tion has been outstandingly positive to this approach." At the public school level television has more frequently been used as a supplement than it has in the colleges. Therefore, teachers have not felt that academic freedom was threatened and acceptance has been more general. In Hagerstown, Maryland, a secret ballot by teachers after five years of using television in their classrooms showed 3 more than 90 percent in favor of continuing the use of the medium. Westley and Jacobson reported "the results show conclusively that the 33 teachers who took part in a televised mathematics course had more favorable attitudes toward TV than the 17 teachers who di not take part. Westley and Jacobson also found that 4th grade teachers were more favorable toward television than ninth grade teachers. They felt this resulted because the ninth grade teacher, working in one subject felt more threatened by television than the lower grade teacher who handled many subjects.^ Hardaway et_al. found that teachers who had participated in work­ shops concerning television were more favorably disposed toward the

■^Letter of H. M. Livingston to L. E. McKune, op.cit., p. 263. 2 Letter of C. S. Turner to L. E. McKune, op. cit., p. 218. 3 Board of Education, Washington County, Maryland, op. cit. ,p.61. ^Bruce FI. Westley and Harvey K. Jacobson, "Teacher Participa­ tion and Altitudes Toward Instructional Television, " Audio Visual Com­ munications Review X (November-December, 1962), p. 331. ^Ibid. 95 medium than those who had not. These researchers also found that the receiving teachers' reactions to the television teacher contributed sub­ stantially to their total attitude toward television.* The problem of faculty attitudes toward television is well sum­ marized by Charles Nearing, ETV Coordinator at the University of Cal­ ifornia, Davis Campus. "It amazes me to discover how fast the faculty finds uses for our portable video-tape recorder, and it discourages me to see how slowly college faculty members in some areas accept the 2 idea of instruction by any means other than the small class lecture."

Feedback One of the factors in television instruction which first concerned educators was what they considered to be the medium's one-way nature. The student was unable to question the instructor or seek the repetition of a missed point. Several means for providing the student with a return contact with the instructor were devised. These included microphones which carried a voice back to the studio, post-program telephone con­ ferences and a signaling system which directed the instructor to provide examples or repeat statements. In 1958 the author participated in the development of a complex "feedback" arrangement fora closed-circuit system. The specifications in this instance called for a circumstance in which any student in any viewing class room,without leaving his seat, could signal and then, speak to the television instructor. Further all other participating classrooms in an eleven-mile area would also hear his voice and the instructor's reply. The microphone in the classroom which picked up his voice was to be activated by a button on the in-' structor's desk in the studio. The specifications were met by engineers of the Bell Telephone Company and the system was placed in operation in September, 1958. The feedback did not prove the boon that some had expected because certain factors reduced the value of the arrangement. These would be a

*Hardaway, Beymer and Engbretson, op. cit. , pp. 18-19. 2 Letter of C. Nearing to L. E. McKune, op. cit. , p. 15. 96 factor in other similar situations. First, the numbers of students that could take advantage of the feedback system during a telecast proved to be quite small. Second, the use of recorded programs removed the possibility of influencing the sequence of the lesson. Several researchers have studied the value of feedback systems. Kumata found no evidence that greater learning resulted from the avail­ ability of feedback. * Greenhill at Penn State found no significant dif- 2 ference in learning when "talk -back" was available. At the Univer­ sity of Wisconsin, Westley and Barrow stated that "under the conditions of this experiment there seems to be no basis for deciding that providing ing for student-to-teacher feedback had any significant effect on learn- ing." They also reported that the availability of the talk-back system had no measurable effect on student attitude toward televised instruc- 4 txon. As another means to return student reactions to the television instructor, Wolgamuth devised a complex signaling system consisting of a panel of four buttons at each student's desk and four display lights on the television teacher's table. The buttons and related lights were labeled "Slow Down, " "Give an Example, " "Restate Last Point" and "Go Faster." The students were instructed to hold down the button that expressed information they wished to convey to the instructor. When the same button was being depressed by a pre-determined number of students, a tabulating mechanism activated the appropriate light on the instructor's panel. After testing this system, Wolgamuth concluded, "under the conditions of this experiment, there seems to be no basis for deciding that the providing for student to teacher feedback had any significant effect on learning or on retention of learning. He too found

* Kumata, International Seminar on Instructional Television, p. 143. 2 Carpenter and Greenhill, op. cit., p. 44. 3 Westley and Barrow, op. cit., p. 19. 4Ibid. 5 Dale Wolgamuth, A Comparative Study of Three Techniques of Student Feedback in Television Teaching (Washington: American Univer­ sity, 1961)) p. 19. that the presence of a feedback facility had no effect on student attitude toward television instruction. Woodward described another variation in feedback through a sig­ naling system. In this case each student desk was equipped with five push buttons. The television instructor used this system for such activ­ ities as multiple-answer questions. Each student pressed the approp- rate button to register his answer and a read-out device showed the instructor the cumulative results from all the students. A variety of ap­ plications was found for the system. In this case the feedback was more specific than those described above and was more of an instructor- controlled testing device. Woodward reported that students in classes utilizing the system did significantly better than control groups who had no. access to the system.'*' A variation on the feedback mechanism is the proxy-system whereby a small number of students are present in the studio during the telecast to provide the television teacher with a source of reactions and questions. Carpenter conducted several tests of this arrangement and found that it 2 yielded no significant changes in student learning. Craig Johnson got 3 similar results with school age children in Wisconsin.

Production Devices A common area for debate is the effectiveness of various production devices as a means of improving television instruction. One popular belief is the merit of eye-contact. This circumstance requires the television teacher to look directly into the camera lens during a substantial portion of the televised lesson. At the receiver, the picture on the screen shows a teacher who appears to be looking directly at each student individually. Westley and Mobius tested this proposition and found that "None of the tests resulted in significant differences attributable to eye-contact manip­

■^John C. Woodward, Attitudes and Achievement Comparisons for Direct and TV Classes in Biological Sciences (Coral Gables: University of Miami, 1964), pp. 2-5. 2 Carpenter and Greenhill, op. c it., p. 44. 3 F. Craig Johnson, "Feedback In Instructional Television" Journal of Communications X (Summer, 1960), p. 140. 98 ulation. While this may not be taken as conclusive evidence against the eye-contact principle, it is argued that the failure of the manipula­ tion to have any effect in the experiment might well cast doubt upon the validity of the eye-contact hypothesis.1,1 Also favored by many school telecasters is the "well-produced" instructional program. "Well produced" may be defined as a program in which all valid opportunities for visualization have been fully utilized. Cobin and McIntyre developed a system for testing this production hypothesis and reported "Students seem to prefer simplicity in production: they selected a constant closeup over a variety of shots, a fixed camera position over switched pictures, an on-air rack-over versus the more common switch and visuals developed in process over those prepared in advance. At the University of California, however, Brown found that lessons involving production, particularly visuals, did yield more learning than 3 the telecast of a traditional lecture. The black and white rendition of television has been viewed as a detrimental factor in instruction. Kanner presented a series of eleven lessons simultaneously to two groups. One group viewed a color tele­ cast, the other saw only monochrome. The color telecasts yielded no measurable gains in learning. Kanner felt that there was some evidence 4 that the above average student did better with a black and white lesson.

*B.H. Westley and J.B. Mobius, The Effects of Eve Contact in Televised Instruction (Madison: TV Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, 1960), p. 20 2 Martin T. Cobin and Charles J. McIntyre, The Development and Application of A New Method to Test the Relative Effectiveness of Spec­ ific Visual Production Techniques for Instructional Television (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1961), p. 43. 3 Phillip K. Brown, A Study of Two Methods of Teaching Over Television (Los Angeles: University of California, 1961), reported in NAEB Research Fact Sheets, Series 2, n. 21, p. 2. 4 Joseph H. Kanner and Alvin J. Rosenstein, "Television in Army Training: Color vs . Black and White, " Audio Visual Communications Review VIII (November-December, 1960), p. 249. 99 One production device that has found support in research is student participation. The viewing students are encouraged to take an active role during the lesson. The television teacher may pose ques­ tions , request actions or call for group replies to make the student part of the lesson rather than just a viewer of it. Lumsdaine and Gropper tested the student participation hypothesis and concluded that, "Taking the two lessons together they jointly tend to lend some support to the value of active response for learning and retention and would suggest that active student response elicited by a TV lesson that is sequential or programmed (pauses, responses) appears to contribute to better student learning and retention than a conventional TV lesson (lecture, demonstration) can produce."* The deductive approach to teaching is viewed as a vehicle for student participation. This technique required the student to make decisions as part of each learning step. Dietmeier and associates tested this hypothesis and were unable to find significant differences from students taught by an "information giving" non-deductive tele- vision... lesson. 2 Note-taking provides another avenue for including active student participation during broadcasts. Dietmeier et. al. reported that significant learning improvement took place on materials dealing with concepts on which notes were taken. However, a gain attributable to note-taking was not evident when the program dealt primarily with the 3 presentation of facts. Gropper and Lumsdaine also found that television instruction was measurably improved through the trial-run technique similar to that used in programmed instruction development. Sample groups thought to be representative of the audience viewed recorded lessons prior to their broadcasts. The results of testing of this, group was fed back

1 George L. Gropper and Arthur A. Lumsdaine, "An Experimental Comparison of a Conventional TV Lesson with a Programmed TV Lesson Requiring Active Student Response," (USOE Project No. 336) Title VII Research Abstracts, Installment 2 ed. William H. Allen. Audiovisual Communications Review IX (September-October, 1961), p. A-51. 2 Dietmeier, Sheehan and Decker, o p .cit.. p. 37. 3 Ibid. 100 to the instructor who re-made the program before general broadcast. This is by no means a complete review of all the types of research in educational broadcasting nor has it touched on all the aspects being studied. It does reflect the extensive study that has been going on and the desire to establish whether or not television is a proper vehicle for • ed u catio n . Compared to previous educational innovations, the acceptance of television as an instructional medium has been swift. In ten years it progressed from the first embryonic stages to a system serving a sig­ nificant number of students in all parts of the country. It has been tested, evaluated and perused by a host of researchers including some who at the least were sharply skeptical. The weight of evidence sup­ ports television to be a valid instructional tool. SUMMARY

This chapter reviewed some of the major concerns in television's effect as an educational tool. A wide range of studies yielded results which showed televised instruction to be as good as or better than class­ room instruction in 83% of the cases. There was some evidence to sug­ gest that instructional improvements attributable to television appeared more frequently in the public school years than at the college level. There also was evidence to suggest that some subjects such as mathematics and science could be more effectively handled by tele­ vision than certain other subjects such as the humanities and history. The "intangibles" of classroom instruction such as attitude change, critical thinking and appreciations were dealt with as well by television as in the classroom. The students' attitude toward’televised instruction tended to vary according to three variables. The younger students accepted the medium more readily than the older student. A student who had a successful experience with television accepted this form of instruction to a greater degree than did the new or unsuccessful student.

* George L. Gropper and Arthur A. Lumsdaine "The Use of Student Response to Improve Televised Instruction: An Overview." NAEB Research Fact Sheets. Series 5, n. 10, pp. 1-2. 101 The presence or lack of student-teacher communication during the televised lesson did not materially affect the learning that took place. Neither did such production techniques as eye contact and high quality production versus the simple effort. The research is by no means concluded, but the conception that television in education was tentative and experimental has passed for the most part. A period of maturation has set in during which tele­ vision's capabilities are utilized better, its drawbacks avoided and new applications developed. A pool of experienced leaders have been trained so that the same mistakes are repeated less frequently. The fears that television would displace teachers have abated. The help the medium can provide is being recognized. The first decade of experiment and experience has provided a substantial base for a transition from talk about "the potential of television" to descriptions of "the contributions of television." However, this development has brought with it other problems which also must be analyzed and resolved. CHAPTER V

THE PLAN FOR THE STUDY

"The act of organization should precede embarkation on endeavor . . . It is miserably and pitifully the fact that organization is usually bom of necessity, long after its due time, that then it is a poor, mis­ shapen creature, more tolerated than embraced."*

Dimensions of the Problem An orderly, functional organizational pattern is an essential part of any endeavor involving a number of people or agencies. Inefficient or mis-directed activity is a frequent by-product when confusion over roles and responsibilities exists within an organization or in its re­ lationships with other agencies . When an organization or activity is thought to be temporary or of uncertain future, it is more frequently shaped by the pressures on it as it develops, than by conscious pre­ planning. Historically, school telecasting projects in many cities in the United States developed as the result of the energy, enthusiasm and leadership of a small group or even a single individual. Initially, the roles television might play in education were uncertain. At times the continued use of the medium in classroom instruction seemed doubtful. Support, both financial and administrative, often was marginal. Much was unknown. As a result, the leaders worked on a day-to-day basis with little or no concrete plan. By the time school telecasting was established in education, each broadcasting center had a set of or­ ganizational policies and procedures which had evolved in violation of Brown's advice that organization should precede endeavor.

/ * Alvin Brown, Organization, A Formulation of Principles, Hibbert Printing Co. , New York, 1945, p. 9.

102 103

Initially, because educational television was a new field, there were few trained administrators to provide leadership. A limited number of school telecasters came from educational radio. However, teachers, school administrators, students and commercial broadcasters provided the major sources of personnel during the formative years. Each indivi­ dual was too busy trying to learn his job to give much thought to the proper way to organize. This circumstance is illustrated by the recol­ lections of Edward Stasheff, commercial broadcaster turned college professor. He described to the writer a workshop for producer-directors he conducted in 1955. Many of those present were working with tele­ vision for the first time. Yet two weeks later some of them were to be producing and directing television broadcasts. The author, originally a science teacher, entered broadcasting as did many others, primarily because an interesting opportunity was offered. The basic requisite seemed to be a willingness to plunge into an unknown and rather fragile undertaking. Most metropolitan areas of the United States are clusters of inde­ pendent communities, each with a concern for its own interests. Local control of education is, in most states, viewed as a right and responsi­ bility to be cherished and defended. Cooperation between school systems in the development of curriculum materials is uncommon. Often there is no accepted organization or pattern for such inter-institutional activity. However, closer cooperation between school systems is developing. For some school leaders the meetings held to discuss con­ tent for instructional telecasts for joint use are their first opportunities to meet and work with their counterparts in other systems. It is un­ avoidable that their experiences in these television meetings will in­ fluence their attitude toward other such cooperative endeavors. School telecasting in the United States has grown faster than the development of reliable mechanisms to guide it. This growth is by no means complete. A study in late 1963 projected more than two hundred additional stations on the air by 1975.* An FCC report shows that in

* Letter from Chalmers Marquis, Executive Director, Educational Television Stations Division, National Association of Educational Broadcasters, January 13, 1966. 104 the two years following that study, forty-four applications for construc­ tion permits were received by the Commission.1 Most of the resulting stations will be involved in broadcasting to their area schools. This activity frequently will be conducted by people, inexperienced in school television who will be forced to work only from judgment and fragmentary information. They may well repeat common errors if guidance is not available. Further there is evidence of a need for the development of a set of principles for school broadcasting organization for use as a basis for the 2 3 restructuring of existing operations. Several writers, Stone, Gibson, Cox^ and Starlin,^ have described circumstances in a single city or area where revision was under consideration. To varying degrees, these writers proposed changes to resolve specific problems at the local level. However, there is no evidence of an attempt to examine the field broad­ ly on the basis of a substantial number of different projects. The author therefore proposes to undertake a study to analyze the structures and functions of school broadcasting organizations, to iden­ tify the various organizational patterns and to propose, test and refine guidelines for the organization and operation of school telecasting s e rv ic e s . The analysis can be carried forward along two lines. First, the individual school broadcasting organization and its operation, successes and problems can be examined. Second comparisons between agencies may reveal consistant patterns between the presence or absence of certain organizational elements and the existence of a particular problem. Third, the analysis may yield a hierarchy in which the elements might be ranked by importance. Finally, the relative impact on the goals of

1 Letter from R. Hilliard, op. cit. 2 C. Walter Stone, Instructional Television In Western Pennsyl­ vania (Pittsburgh: Centerfor Library and Educational Media Studies, 1963). 3 R. Oliver Gibson, Television In the Classrooms of Western New York (Buffalo: Western New York School Study Council, 1962) 4 E. Dana Cox, "The Central Michigan Educational Television Council - An Analytical Study" (Unpublished M aster's Thesis, College of Education, The Ohio State University, 1963). ^Starlin and Lallas, op.cit. 105 the organization might be suggested. When a number of school systems, each with separate needs and goals, attempts to work together, difficulties are probable. A compila­ tion and analysis of some of these experiences should be of assistance to anyone undertaking to organize or guide a school telecasting project.

Organizing the Study Television has numerous applications in education including in- service training, administrative communication, classroom magnifica­ tion, and the provision of audio-visual experiences to learning. How­ ever, during the past decade, the primary application for television has been sequential lessons broadcast to children in classrooms. This has been a major activity of most educational television stations. It is important then, to consider the roles played by structures and the influence of functions in school program projects engaged in this activ­ ity . With improved school broadcasting organization and operation as the basic objectives of this study, we can hypothesize several elem­ ents that could contribute to that end. We are seeking the best struc­ tures and processes through which the school systems can (1) identify common needs which can be served by television; (2) develop approp­ riate lessons to meet those needs; (3) select qualified individuals to prepare and broadcast the lessons; (4) evaluate the results of the lessons and (5) conduct an informational service which will insure that all mem­ bers will be informed about the organization, its services and their part in it. In dealing with the interrelated factors influencing the course of a school telecasting activity, a basis for an attack on the problem is needed. In the case of this study, it was decided to incorporate into the analysis of structures and functions, a set of proposed guidelines for effective school broadcasting organization. These, of course, would need to be carefully evaluated. Following the analysis, these proposals could be revised as indicated by the findings in the study. As we will see, it later became possible to apply the revised guidelines in a met­ ropolitan area where a new educational station was to be established. This facilitated a further test and revision of the guidelines. 106 Initially the proposed guidelines were hypothesized on the basis of the author's experience and observations during the eight years prior to undertaking this study. Twenty-one tentative guidelines for school broadcasting organization were prepared. These fall into three cate­ gories, although overlap exists. Further, the proposals are not all of the same magnitude. The categories used for classifying the guidelines were: A. Guidelines dealing with the structure of school broad­ casting organizations as defined in charters, by-laws and tables of organization. B. Guidelines relating to the operational organization as defined by policies, procedures and practices. C. Guidelines involved in the relationships between the organization and other agencies with which it has regular dealing.

Proposed Principles The following statements, growing out of the writer's experience and observations, were proposed for testing and revision as guidelines for the organization and operation of school telecasting projects. They may be looked upon as key policy statements. Group A: The Structure of School Broadcasting 1. School telecasting should be conducted under the sponsorship of a formal organization of school systems which contracts with the educational television station for production and broadcast services as needed. 2. .The independent school organization should be res­ ponsible for the leadership of school broadcasting development. The educational station should serve as a lessor of telecasting skills and facilities. 3. The schools must have direct and obvious control over the subject areas, grade levels and content of all school television series. The statement should be concerned with smooth production, good visuali­ zation and technical quality. 4. There should be a mechanism for electing school representatives to key committees, if the number of participating systems is too large to permit operation as a "committee-of-the-whole. " 5. The school telecasting organization should have an executive secretary or person of similar status to carry out the schools' wishes. 6. There should be a mechanism for identifying and assigning priorities to the common needs of the school systems as a guide in programming decisions. 7. Each participating system should have an individual designated as the television coordinator for the system. This representative should have sufficient authority to carry out the required responsibilities . Group B: The Operational Pattern 1. There should be adequate staff provided to accomp­ lish the goals of the organization. 2. There should be a mechanism for keeping all parties abreast of development. 3. There should be a high level of involvement on the part of member school systems throughout program development. 4. There should be a mechanism for apprising new par­ ticipants in the organization of the history, policies, procedures and services of the organization. 5. There should be provision for a record of organiza­ tion policies and procedures. 6. There should be adequate-discretionery power for the organizational leadership. 7. Good business practices such as cost accounting price comparisons should be instituted. 8. There should be long-range planning to provide time for adequate preparation. Group C: The Relationships With Other Organizations 1. There should be periodic meetings of those concerned with the school telecasting organization. 108 2. There should be regular reports to the schools concerning organizational activities including the expenditures of funds. 3. The educational station should have representation on the various committees of the school broadcasting organization. 4. The educational station should have available an established table of costs for various station services. 5. Station policy should require the assignment of fully qualified production staff to all school programs. 6. The lines, levels and areas of responsibility should be clearly defined and be understood and accepted by all concerned with school telecasting.

Terms to be Used Because of the variety of organizational patterns encountered, certain terminology should be defined for the purposes of this section, 1. School Telecasting Center shall refer to the whole metro­ politan complex where the school systems are being served by an educational television station. 2. School Telecasting Project or School Telecasting Office shall refer to that organization or the division of a larger organization primarily responsible for the relations with the schools in the development and broadcast of tele­ vised lessons. 3. School Telecasting Agency will be used only in those instances where the organization in question is essen­ tially independent and not part of an educational station school system or other institution. 4. School Telecasting Department will be used only in cases where the school television activities are an integral part of a larger organization. 5. The term "broadcasting" may be substituted for "tele­ casting" without changing the meaning. 109 The Interview Schedule To collect data for the evaluation of the proposed principles, it was decided to undertake a series of field visits to active school broadcasting centers. Here in-depth interviews would be conducted with key personnel. Further data would be gathered by observation and by examination of available printed materials, such as tables of organization, policy, books, publicity materials and statements of goals and philosophy. Through an analysis of these data it was hoped that significant information would be revealed. To facilitate the interviews, a group of interview schedules were developed. The questions were planned to elicit information which would tend to support or reject the proposed principles. Each interview consisted of four blocks of questions . Part 1 was administered to all respondents and dealt with the history of the organization, its size, operation and programming phil­ osophy. This supplied basic data, yet the questions were not in sensitive areas, thus providing a means of initiating the interview comfortably. Part 2 was related to the person's role in the organization and delved further into the operation. One of four variations, depending upon the interviewee's position, was used. These were: (1) Station Management and Staff, (2) School Broadcasting Project Management and Staff, (3) School Administrators and (4) Individuals outside cate­ gories 1-3 including.university personnel and state government of­ ficials. In each case, the form explored the individual's work and his understanding of the policies, procedures, priorities and inter­ agency relationships of the organization. Part 3 of the interview schedule was devoted to those problems recognized as currently disturbing the operation, the magnitude of the problems and to proposed solutions for them. Previous difficulties and their solutions also were considered. Part 4 was a group of opinion and attitude questions prepared to probe for clues concerning the relationships between individuals and agencies. In using these questions reticence, inflection and expres­ sion occasionally was interpreted as conveying information. 110 Experience quickly showed that in each of the four blocks it would be necessary to formulate additional questions on the spot to pursue unexpected facets or clarify situations. To facilitate a smoother flow in the interview, the questions were not read from the form. Rather, the interviewer worked from a list of cue-words, each keyed to a particular question. The basic intent was, first, to gather as much information as possible about the organization and its operation; second, to identify areas of agreement and disagreement over policies, procedures and operations; third, to reveal the problems confronting the organization; and fourth, to seek the causes and solutions, if any, that were under consideration.

The Sample In selecting the stations to be studied, it was decided to consider only locations with some operating experience. January 1, 1964 was selected arbitrarily as the cut-off date. The eighty-four stations in operation on that date became the population for the study. As these stations were located in all parts of the nation, a totally random sample would demand travel beyond the resources available. Therefore the area was limited to the northeast quadrant of the United States, an area bounded by a line from Madison, Wisconsin, to St. Louis, Missouri, to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Within that area were twenty-six stations, representing more than thirty percent of the national total. Initially a random sample of these twenty-six was considered. This was discarded when early data re­ vealed that certain station types provided data more pertinent to the study than did other types. Therefore this type was sought out. We shall examine this aspect in more detail shortly. Ultimately, it was possible to visit thirteen of the stations in the delimited area. Four categories of individuals were identified as candidates for interviews. All would have substantial involvement with school broad­ casting and would represent the different organizations involved. They were: I ll 1. Station personnel - This included such titles as general manger, assistant manager, program mana­ ger and producer-director. 2. School broadcasting personnel - Project coordina­ tor, assistant project coordinator, and executive producer of school programs. 3. School system personnel - Superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of instruction, principal and television coordinator. 4. Other involved personnel such as state officials, university faculty and members of related profes­ sional organizations. A base of four interviews at each location was sought. A typical pattern was the station manager, the school broadcasting, head, a rep­ resentative of the major school system involved and the superintendent of one other participating school system. However, organizational variations had to be accommodated.

Gathering the Data The data for this study was gathered during the summer and fall of 1964 when the author and his wife spent considerable time visiting stations throughout the selected area. The interviews were arranged in two ways. Many of the station managers and school broadcasters were known to the writer. Direct contact was made with them and arrangements were set up. However, no school system personnel were known in many cities, so appoint-' ments were made through the station and project staffs. This may have produced individuals favorable to the existing telecasting arrangements. However, no particular bias was evident during the interviews. Ultimately, fifty-five interviews in thirteen cities were conducted. These break down thusly: Station Managers 8 Program & Production Managers 6 School Program Managers 9 Assistant School Program Managers 6 112 School Superintendents 6 Assistant Superintendents 4 Directors of Instruction 5 Building Principals 3 School System Radio-TV Heads 2 State Officials 2 College Officials 2 Other 2 Using the four categories mentioned earlier, the respondents con­ sisted of fourteen station-oriented people, fifteen school telecasters, twenty school representatives and six from other involved agencies. Those in school broadcasting were the most diverse, some were on sta­ tions payrolls while others were employed by outside agencies. Some of those designated as station staff members had some involvement in school programming, but this was not their primary responsibility. The individual interviews ranged in length from thirty minutes in two cases to more than three hours. The average length exceeded two hours. Since nearly all were involved deeply in other work, this amount of time was a generous contribution. The vast majority were most coop­ erative and quite candid about the problems they faced. Because the interviews were permitted to flow freely, the questions were not asked in a precise order. Rather the most appropriate one was used when a pause developed. In some instances it was not necessary to pose a particular question as an expansive reply to one might cover others as well. The more sensitive questions were woven into the flow. When a hesitancy developed, the discussion was led away and the point approached from a different direction. Before the interview terminated the cue-word check list was reviewed and additional questions phrased to cover omissions or to clarify vague points. After each day's interviews, the data were reduced to more manage­ able proportions on summary sheets. Printed matter was reviewed, im­ portant elements marked and a statement of impressions, observations and problems was prepared while they were still fresh. A continuous comparison with other project was carried on as data accumulated. 113 An adjustment in plans was adopted early in the field study. It soon became evident that the most complex type of telecasting situa­ tion was the one in which several school systems work together. When only one school system was involved, television was made a part of the structure of that system. As a result, the plan to draw a random sample was discarded and the majority of visits were made to the co­ operative situations, since this tupe was the focus of the study. Of the thirteen locations studied, nine were of this type. One of the remaining four centers was planned as a cooperative one, but only one system was actively involved at the time of the visit. It was noted earlier in this paper that there are four types of educational television stations: University-owned, state-owned, school system owned and community-owned. Of the thirteen visited, three were university-based, one school system owned and nine were community stations. However, ownership does not reflect necessarily the school broadcasting approach. Examples of variations encountered were: a community station serving one school system, a university station serving many systems, a university station serving one system, and a community station operated largely with state funds. One further variable became apparent early in the study. This was the variety of personalities among the individuals involved. A person who is oriented toward harmony and tolerance will tend to overcome existing organizational problems, while the difficult person may jeop­ ardize an organization regardless of how well it is conceived.

SUMMARY

The chapter notes that organizational problems are engendered by the rapid growth of educational television and the concurrent shortages of trained personnel. It considers the need for guidelines to both the restructuring of existing telecasting projects and for the establishment of new ones. The author proposed to undertake a study of the structures and functions of school broadcasting organizations and to propose and test guidelines for the organization and operation of these telecasting se rv ic e . 114 The chapter discussed the development of criteria to be tested; the process by which the population for the study was selected; the preparation of interview schedules to accommodate employment dif­ ferences; the number, type and length of interviews conducted; and the decision to concentrate on the cooperative school broadcasting organizations. Thirteen centers were visited where fifty-five interviews totaling more than one hundred and ten hours were conducted. CHAPTER VI

THE FINDINGS

The data from thirteen complex organizations do not readily lend themselves to orderly quantification and reporting. The findings range from simple facts to the most subjective impressions. Therefore, several approaches will be needed to report the information gathered. This section will comprise five parts: A. The patterns of organization encountered B. Characteristics of organizational structures C. Problems reported by respondents D. Problems noted by the author E. Efforts at reorganization encountered Recognizing that diversity exists among the school broadcasting organizations, the author will seek to stress those elements which are common to most of the organizations so that comparisons may be made.

Patterns of Organization On the surface it might be reported with some honesty that the thirteen school telecasting centers revealed thirteen organizational patterns. However, if some flexibility in definition is permitted, three basic arrangements for the conduct of school broadcasting could be > identified: Type 1. The Independent Association - In this circumstance, school broadcasting is carried on under the auspices of an independent association established for that purpose. The membership consists of those school systems desiring to receive the benefits of educational television. The association is established as a means of coordinating the efforts of the various school systems. It raises and disperses funds,

115 116 Identifies program needs, selects television teachers, prepares and distributes related printed materials, plans programs and oversees their preparation and broadcast. These agencies do not operate stations. Program production and broadcast is accomplished under an agreement with the area educational television station. The station is responsible for the facilities and crew for production and broadcast of the programs and charges the association for these services. The association may be incorporated, and has a governing board and various committees representing the participating school systems. It establishes a headquarters and selects and employs staff members, sometimes in consultation with the educational station. In some in­ stances station representatives hold seats on the boards and committees of the association. Of the thirteen centers visited, four were categorized as being Independent Associations. Type 2. The Integrated Endeavor - In this case, school tele­ casting is carried on as a function of the educational television station. The individual school system deals directly with the station rather than through an intermediary. The school broadcasting staff is considered a part of the station organization and may have responsibilities beyond school programming. Lesser staff is hired without consulting the schools although they may review the choice of the senior person before he is em ployed. School funds for the broadcasting service are paid directly to the station and deposited to its account. Salaries, purchasing and disperse- ments are handled by the station. Committees of school representatives usually exist to guide school broadcasting. Most programming decisions are based on consultation with these representatives. All station services are available to the school broadcasting office. No distinction between it and other station activities could be noted. Of the thirteen centers visited, five were considered to be Inte­ grated Endeavors. One of the five did present some Type 1 character- r- i s t i c s . 117 Type 3. The Single System - In this situation, only one school system is involved in conducting the school broadcasting operation. This system pays all the costs and makes all the decisions concern­ ing school television programs. The school broadcasting office is a department of the school system and is responsible to one of the senior school administrators. Decisions concerning subjects, grades, content and television teachers are made in consultation with the subject area supervisors. The funds for operating the telecasting activity are a part of the general school system budget. The system may cooperate with interested neighboring schools by giving or selling them program guides or by making the service available for a fee. However, the neighbors have little or no opportunity to par­ ticipate in program decisions. In some instances the controlling system makes air time avail­ able to other systems to present programs of their selection. This is accomplished by a tee for the time used. Where more than one school system is interested in presenting extensive telecast lessons to their children, the television station may be forced to allocate time to each a p p lic a n t. As noted earlier in this paper, there are several stations owned by school systems. These would be included in this category. How­ ever, many "single system" operations are based on a contract for time and facilities with the area educational station. Four of the thirteen systems visited were of the Single System ty p e .

Characteristics of Organizational Structures Certain organizational characteristics common to many school broadcasting systems can be tabulated as being present or lacking.

1. The School Telecasting Operation: n = 13 Not Yes No Applicable a. Has a full time head 9 4 0 b. Is incorporated or has other separate legal basis 4 6 3 c. Has a board of trustees 6 4 3 118 d. Has a process for electing representatives from partici­ pating agencies 4 6 3. e. Has a process for selecting programs 10 3 0 f. Has a system for determining each school system's share of telecasting costs 7 3 3

In some cases the decision to rate a characteristic as present was a difficult one. There were instances where a characteristic was claimed, but clearly was not functioning and had not done so for some time. The "Not Applicables" in the above chart tended to be date from "Single Systems" which operated within the structure of the parent school system . 2. Basis of Organization A variety of bases for the organization of the school telecasting project were encountered, ranging from formal incorporation to a simple ad hoc arrangement, (n = 13) State Charter 1 State Law 1 Non-profit Corporation 2 Department within ETV Station 3 Ad hoc A ssociation 2 School System Depart­ ment 3 No formal Organiza­ tion 1

3. Form of School Control of Project

Even where school telecasting projects were station departments, arrangements for providing for guidance from the schools were encoun­ tere d . a. . Boards of Trustees (or other bodies making policy for school programming). To be counted this group must be separate from station trustees and boards of education. This implies authority—they make policy. This distinguishes "a" from "b" below which is"advisory. " Has Board 6 No Board 4 Single System 3 119

b. Advisory Committees. Program advisory committees, as distinguished from boards of trustees were encoun­ tered. These tended to be comprised of curriculum spec­ ialists from participating schools and were concerned . primarily with program planning. Advisory Committee Present 5 Advisory Comipittee lacking 3 Advisory Committee defined but not functioning 2 Nor applicable 3

The three "Single System" centers were listed as "Not Applicable." Occasional gatherings of department heads provided program guidance, but no organization as such e x is te d . 4. Financial Status Several aspects of the financial basis for school broadcasting can be reported. a. Annual Budge - 1963-64 (donated services excluded)

Under$125,000 2 $125,001 - 150,000 3 $150,001 - 175,000 2 $175,001 - 200,000 1 $200,001 - 225,000 3 $225,001 - 250,000 1 Over 250,001 1

b. Project Self Support

Participating schools cover 100% of co st of operation , 6 Project receives some form of subsidy 5 One school system provides full of budget 2

c. Source of Subsidy (n = 5)

State appropriation 3 Donated production services 2

d. Basis of Fund Raising

Per Pupil charge 8 Assessed valuation 1 120

Full Subsidy, no cost to schhols 1 Budgeted by one school system 2 One School System plus subsidy 1

e. Forms of Per Pupil Charges (n=8)

Full enrollment of system 4 Full enrollment of grades K-6 1 Average Daily Attendance 1 Full enrollment up to maximum fee 1 Enrollment in building with receivers 1

5. Size of School Telecasting Project In addition to budget size the magnitude of the school telecasting projectcan be measured in at least two other ways, a. Children enrolled in Broadcasting Project (Potential of area not considered; figures used represent numbers for which a fee was paid, using local basis for counting enrollments.) Less than 100,000 4 100.001 -250,000 6 250.001 - 500,000 2 More than 500,000 1

b. *Staff Size of School Broadcasting Project 1. Professional Staff (Exclusive of Tele­ vision Teachers)

Less than 1 -2 1 - 4 lk - 3 3 - 4

2. Non-professional Staff

Less than 1-2 1-8

2 - 1 6 - 1 8k - 1 121 3. Television Teachers (**Full time equi­ valent)

Less than 1 -2 1 - 1 1% - 3 2 - 3 3 - 2 4 - 1 5 - 1 * To make comparisons meaningful, it was neces­ sary in some cases to exclude staff members, such as producer - directors and cameramen from the tally. These are more typically part of a station staff. All three cases where this was done were single system operations. **Based on portion of time per week devoted to tele­ vision. Does not reflect amount of programming pre­ pared. Two individuals carried as half time television teachers would constitute one full-time equivalent.

6. Formal Evidence of Organization An organization usually formalizes its existence and activities through a variety of documents. These provide some evidence of the extent to which the details of organization have been carried out.

No. of Centers Nature of Document P o ssessin g By-laws 2 centers Tables of Organization 5 centers Statement of Duties 1 center Policy Books 2 centers Procedural Guides 1 center Job Descriptions 1 center

In the case of the Table of Organization, several other telecasting projects in addition to the five had charts which indicated where the department fitted into the television station,, but had no chart of its own structure or its relationship to the schools.

7. Use of Contracts Considerable variation in the use of formal agreements was en­ countered . a. The relationship between the school broadcasting project and the educational television station may be 122 formalized with a contract detailing authority, respon­ sibilities and services. Contract Present 2 Contract Lacking 6 Not Applicable 5

The centers listed above as "Not Applicable" were those classified as Integrated Endeavors, i.e ., where school broadcasting was a department within the tele­ vision station. b. Contracts may exist between the telecasting project and the schools it serves. Contract Present 7 Contract Lacking 3 Not Applicable (Single Systems) 3

These data provide the basis for an examination of other aspects of the school broadcasting organizations.

Summary

We have seen that three types of school telecasting organizations were encountered in this study. These differed in their relationship with the television stations and in the number of school systems par­ ticipating. Four such projects operated as agencies independent of the television station and served several school systems. These were desig­ nated as Type 1 Independent Associations. In five telecasting centers school programming was conducted as one of several activities by the educational station and several school systems participated. These were called Type Two, Integrated Endeavors. The Type Three group was iden­ tified as "Single Systems'1 to underscore that only one school system was involved. These systems exercised extensive control over the school program service. Other characteristics vary considerably. The basis for organiza­ tional existence ranged from the strength of a state charter or incorpora­ tion to an informal ad hoc association. School control was exercised through elected boards and committees in some cases but this fell off 123 to instances of no direct school influence over program or series co n ten t. Although many costs in television are fixed, funds available ranged from under $125,000 to over twice that amount. Approximately half the projects visited required some form of assistance to supple­ ment funds from the schools. Where several systems participated, fees based on student enrollment were common. Size of the project in terms of enrollments varied considerably, the largest being more than fi'.ve times the size of the smallest. The most consistent characteristic was staff size, where small staffs of two or three were the pattern. Television teachers were more numerous as eleven of the thirteen centers visited reported three or more individuals presenting programs. All the foregoing were aspects which could be quantified to some degree. In the next chapter we should consider another group of char­ acteristics which do not lend themselves so readily to measurement. These are the problems confronting those involved with school telecast­ ing.

Problem Areas Reported In the identification and exploration of the problems faced at the thirteen centers, three groups of respondents were involved: station management, school broadcasting management and school administrators. Each of these groups viewed the problems from a different vantage point. The investigator found it necessary, also, to distinguish between legitimate problems, day-to-day concerns and simple complaints, if this part of the study was to have any significance. On occasion a situation was discussed at some length to establish its dimensions. To be sure, a subjective judgment entered into the classification in some cases but this is unavoidable. Further, a few respondents were un­ willing to admit that any major problems existed. The concerns described, though verbalized in many ways, can be reduced to ten problem areas. 124 School School Station Broad - R epresen- Problem Areas ______Management casters ta tiv e s

1. Insufficient funds to ac- * complish the goals of the organization 11 9 5

2. Insufficient staff to ac­ complish goals set for the organization 9 10 4

3. Inter-agency friction and mis­ trust which reduced coopera­ tion and divided effort 7 6 8

4. Lack of information concern­ ing costs of telecasting and the dispersal of school funds 4 4 7

5. Inadequate, incomplete or inefficient organization of broadcasting project 5 8 7

6 . Lack of long-range planning resulting in hasty decisions and changes in direction 6 8 9

7. Poor communications with teachers and school adminis­ trators 7 9 9

8. Poorly qualified or disinterested school representation on school broadcasting boards and com­ mittees 7 5 6

9. Poor or inadequate production standards or services resulting in unsatisfactory programs 3 4 4

10. Inability of schools to coordin­ ate activities to arrive at common goals and needs 6 8 7

,The foregoing chart does not yield all the information represented by data. • By distributing the data in another way other significant points are revealed. 125 1. Insufficient Funds - Twenty-five respondents listed funds as a problem. These responses came from eleven of the thirteen cen­ ters studied. When we eliminate the cases where only one individual at a location cited the problem, the number of such centers drops to eight. Of these, four were organized as independent associations (Type 1), three were single systems (Type 3) and one had been classified as an integrated operation (Type 2) with some type 1 characteristics. There was little or no relationship to budget size, as the eight had budgets ranging from under $125,000 to over $250,000. Respondents were asked to consider the severity of the situation in terms of jeopardy to the organization's existence. In six locations it was the opinion of the majority of the respondents that if changes were not made in the financial operation, the future of the organization was in danger. It must be acknowledged that these opinions were in­ fluenced by personal outlook. These six locations consisted of four Type One organizations (Independent Association), one Type Two (Integrated Endeavor) and one Type Three (Single System). It is worthy of note that in the interim between the gathering of the data and the completion of this report, four of the six reached a point where a financial crisis actually did occur or was narrowly averted. 2. Personnel Shortages - A parallel between a shortage of funds and lack of personnel could be anticipated. This was not totally the case as some respondents felt they had adequate staff but insufficient funds to go forward. However, the majority tied the two problems to­ gether, with eighteen individuals citing both. Seven centers showed agreement on personnel shortages. These comprised four independent agencies, one integrated endeavor and two single systems. 3. Friction and Mistrust - The problem of friction and mistrust among agencies and individuals was reported at eight locations. Eliminating the centers where this was cited by only one person, the total drops to five. This suggests substantial agreement on the exist­ ence of the problem, since eighteen of the twenty-one acknowledgments were in that group. By type, three were independent associations, one was an integrated endeavor and one was a single system. 126 4. Financial Reporting - it could be hypothesized that concern over lack of information on costs and dispersal of fimds, would have a strong correlation with the problem of inter-agency frictibn. This was borne out. Seven locations reported that lack of information on expenditures was a problem. Eliminating the single references, the total is reduced to four locations, where twelve of sixteen interviews listed the problem. The four locations were two independent associa­ tions, one integrated endeavor and one single system. All had reported problems with jealousy as well. 5. Poor Organization - Twenty individuals in nine cities felt that poor organization was one of their pressing problems. Eliminating the single references as before, the number is reduced to six. In these locations, eighteen of twenty-nine respondents listed organization as a problem. The six centers comprised two independent associations, three integrated endeavors and one single system. 6. Lack of Planning - Both a lack of long-range planning and a problem of poor communications, could be outgrowths of poor organiza­ tion just described. The lack of planning was reported as a problem by twenty-three individuals in eleven locations. Lack of planning, how­ ever, is an easy problem to suggest, one that can be applied to nearly every situation. Deleting the singular reports, the number is reduced to eight centers. Organizationally these represent three independent agen­ cies , two integrated endeavors and two single systems. 7. Inadequate Communications - Poor communications is another problem-type which can be applied in almost any situation. However, in some situations it is a severe condition rather than an annoyance. Twenty-five respondents considered communications between the tele­ casters and the schools to be a problem of some magnitude. Ten cities were represented. Since communications problems could be a function of size, a simple comparison was made which showed that of the three places having no reported communications problems one was among the smallest in terms of children served, one was slightly below the average size and one was among the largest projects. This suggests that size is not the sole factor. 127 Reducing the total by deleting single references we have eight cities remaining which reported such a problem. These were four Type One organizations (In dependent Association) two Type Two (Integrated Endeavors) and two Type Three (Single Systems). 8. Weak Representation - An agency can be hampered by poorly qualified or disinterested representation from those it is attempting to serve. Eighteen individuals reported that problems existed concern­ ing the representation. Six of these were school leaders who were in­ volved in guiding the telecasting project and expressed dissatisfaction with their colleagues. The remainder were station or project officials. The eighteen were drawn from seven centers. An unusual note is that in all seven locations more than one individual listed this problem. The seven consisted of three Type One organizations, three Type Two and one single system center. 9. Low Production Standards - Poor to inadequate production standards was cited by only eleven of the respondents with no prepon­ derance among any of the three groups. The eleven affirmative replies came from seven sources. In only one case were the replies concen­ trated, four of the eleven coming from one center. Eliminating the single references indicated that three centers were experiencing some problems with production quality in the opinion of the respondents. Lack of funds could be considered a source of this problem. However, this was not totally confirmed as one of the three had one of the largest budgets while the other two were in the lower third of the budget range. Organizationally the three represented two Independent Agencies and one Single System. 10. Lack of Agreement - The questioning concerning the success of the school systems in reaching agreement on goals and needs presen­ ted confusing results . It was difficult to assess whether true conflict of serious proportions was present or whether the individuals were res­ ponding negatively to the debate and difference of opinion which often is a part of the negotiation of any agreement. Twenty-one individuals in eleven locations listed divergence of school goals as a problem. Eliminating single references, six organizations showed agreement to be a problem. These included two independent agencies, three integra- 128 ted endeavors and one single system operation. In the last instance lack of agreement may have been the reasons that a single system operation existed. While the number of problems felt in any agency is a function of both the structure of the organization and the nature of its members, an interesting pattern is revealed in the foregoing. If we chart the number of centers reporting each problem versus the organizational structure, we find that the Type One agencies studied tended to be more burdened with difficulties than the other organizations.

Centers Reporting Problems

Problem Number 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Totals Type One - Indepen dent 4 4 3 2 2 3 4 3 2 2 29 Type Two - Integ. 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 O' 3 16 Type Three -Single 32111 2 2 1 1 1 .1 5

In this study the number of cases was too limited for the compar­ ison to be definitive. The problems undoubtedly stem in part from other causes. However, the substantial difference between the totals for Types One and Two suggest that a problem-organization relationship may exist. The fewer problems for Type Three might be anticipated, since with only one system involved opportunities for disagreement are reduced. The above data represents problems of which the members of the organizations were able to discuss. A second group of problems appeared to exist which were not as readily described.

Non-Reported Problems In the course of the data-gathering the author encountered three general problems which did not seem to be recognized at the local level. In each case these were more of the latent and erosive type which, if left unresolved, could ultimately cause a major disruption. 1. Lack of Written Agreement - The lack of contracts and other written instruments was common. Working arrangements based upon traditions; understandings and/or berbal agreements were the practice • in nine of the locations studied. Letters of agreement were offered in 128 ted endeavors and one single system operation. In the last instance lack of agreement may have been the reasons that a single system operation existed. While the number of problems felt in any agency is a function of both the structure of the organization and the nature of its members, an interesting pattern is revealed in the foregoing. If we chart the number of centers reporting each problem versus the organizational structure, we find that .the Type One agencies studied tended to be more burdened with difficulties than the other organizations.

Centers Reporting Problems

Problem Number 12 34 5 6 7 8 9 10 Totals Type One - Indepen dent 4432234322 29 Type Two - Integ. 11 1 1 3 2 2 2 O' 3 16 Type Three -Single 32111 2 2 1 1 1.15

In this study the number of cases was too limited for the compar­ ison to be definitive. The problems undoubtedly stem in part from other \ causes. However, the substantial difference between the totals for Types One and Two suggest that a problem-organization relationship may exist. The fewer problems for Type Three might be anticipated, since with only one system involved opportunities for disagreement are reduced. The above data represents problems of which the members of the organizations were able to discuss. A second group of problems appeared to exist which were not as readily described.

Non-Reported Problems In the course of the data-gathering the author encountered three .v general problems which did not seem to be recognized at the local level. In each case these were more of the latent and erosive type which, if left unresolved, could ultimately cause a major disruption. 1. Lack of Written Agreement - The lack of contracts and other written instruments was common. Working arrangements based upon traditions; understandings and/or berbal agreements were the practice • in nine of the locations studied. Letters of agreement were offered in 129 two cases as evidence that agreements were in writing. These letters were brief, broad statements which made no attempt to detail the func­ tions or relationships of the parties. This circumstance carried over into the telecasting project's relationship with its television teachers. Verbal arrangements were the practice in five cities. These are in ad­ dition to the three locations where television teaching was an assign­ ment within the school system under a Type 3 arrangement. The matter was complicated by "understandings" or special arrangements which existed in some cities. In these situations verbal pledges had been made-as a part of the participation of some individual, agency or system. These were not known to all participants. Most commonly this took the form of a reduced membership fee. In other cases there appeared to be a guarantee of a particular type or amount of programming or a seat on a governing board. These conditions were not readily'admitted to, so that the data gathered may well be incomplete. On the basis of what was revealed, unannounced arrangements limiting membership fees existed in five cities. Guaranteed membership on governing boards was found in three lo c a tio n s. 2. lack of School System Involvement - While respondents noted the degree and form of school participation in programming decisions, there was little concern over some weaknesses which was evident. Two potentially serious conditions were noted. First was the small number of people involved in many of the decisions affecting all the members. In five cases the committee which made all programming decisions consisted of less than six people although from twenty-five to one hundred-sixty systems were involved. In all but one case the listed committee membership was large but actual participation small. No other avenue for involvement was provided so that the majority of systems played no part in guiding the activity. In four cities some of the individuals voting on major committees did not hold ranks within their systems commensurate with their role on the television committees. In one case a third grade teacher was rep­ resenting a.system of four thousand children. In several cases audio­ visual coordinators without curriculum development experience were the sole representatives for major school systems. 130 In two other instances the guiding committees were appointed through the state department of education. In both cases the resulting committees included individuals not connected with the participating school systems including some who lived beyond the range of the tele­ vision station and thus rarely saw the school broadcasts of the project they were guiding. Few attempts were evident either to increase attendance or to seek higher level representation from the schools. The circumstances simply were accepted with regret. 3. Lack of Proper Tudgment - This term is chosen to cover a mul­ titude of circumstances all of which tended to contribute to unstable situations. Within this category are placed such activities as insufficient allocation of time to each production, overloading of staff and facilities, inappropriate use of staff, lack of means for determining teachers' reactions to programs, penny-wise pound-foolish decisions, lack of sufficient accounting procedures to reveal the organizations's financial position and inadequate budgeting practices. A substantially longer list could be assembled of factors which were detrimental to the development of the organization. Some existed because of lack of staff to accomplish necessary tasks; others were the result of enthusiasm or eagerness to please; still others could be at- tributedto inexperience or ignorance. As could be predicted, no center was completely free of such factors.

An Observation; Project Leadership

No review of school telecasting organizations could be complete without devoting appropriate space to the executives of these agencies. To a substantial degree these people are the organizations, for one-man offices are common. Even where the project has grown to include several individuals, the original pattern tends to remain, blurring areas of responsibility and lines of control and reporting. Because of the small or non-existent staff to aid him and the broad responsibilities required of him, the school broadcasting head can be characterized by all the attributes usually ascribed to one-armed 131 paper hangers and one-man bands. That they are as successful as they are is a credit to them. If devotion to duty can be measured in hours on the job, these individuals are among the most dedicated. They tend to surmount problems through endless effort and disregard for their own health or prestige. All indicated that running mimeograph machines and packing broadcast manuals were familiar activities. By their diligence however, these leaders tended to compound their problems. They seemed drivenby two forces; one to render an im­ portant service to the schools through undertaking every request, and, two, to operate on the fewest dollars possible. If a service cost ratio were developed many school broadcasting projects would rank high on services provided per dollar. These twin forces, however, result in a continuing state of being over-extended and understaffed. By agreeing to take on new areas while . failing to add staff to provide the servicies, these leaders encouraged the schools to expect more and more at no additional cost. Their sub­ conscious attitude could be described as believing that if just a little more could be undertaken for the schools, school telecasting would reach a Utopian state where their services would be fully appreciated and all the needed funds would flow forth. A further characteristic noted was a common tendency to accept or tolerate a problem and to work around it. Direct attack on problems was less common. As a result a project was forced to survive with a gradually accumulating complex of problems which were more frequent-. ly circumvented than resolved. Aside from a compelling desire to do more an a tolerance for. problems, the school broadcasting head often did himself another dis­ service. He neglected to involve others as fully as necessary. In the main these executives were competent, surviving on their ability to get things done. As a result everyone tended to count on them to do things themselves, thus limiting participation by others. This was also ture in decision-making. Because of the loads they carried, the leader often felt the need of prompt decisions on many matters. Consciously or unconsciously they were unwilling or unable to wait while the decis­ ions evolved from the schools. The decision-making process of the schools was bypassed or rushed. This caused the school people to feel unneeded or antagonized so that they withdrew even further, thus compounding the problem. Problems and overzealousness notwithstanding, the remarkable growth of school telecasting during its first decade can be credited to the devotion of a small number of individuals. Some of them were teachers who got into television by accident rather than design. Others were educational administrators or supervisors, many came from the ranksof educational radio. All have worked strenuously to bring in­ structional television to fruition.

Efforts at Reorganization Evidence that changes of organization in several cities were being considered or attempted was encountered. At seven of the thirteen cities some form of re-structuring of the organization was under study, in progress or recently completed. In two other cases the need for reorganization was expressed, but no effort to accomplish it was under way. In summary, then, at nine out of thirteen cities dissatisfaction with the pattern of organization was noted. Of the seven where change had advanced beyond exprexsions of need, three forms of revision were found. First, the most common was a restructuring seeking to change or clarify the school system's rela= tionship to the organization. In one case a study had been made to identify ills and recommend changes, but no further action had been taken. In a second a study was being made by a consultant employed as the result of a foundation grant.* In a third city a new committee had recently been established providing for representation from each par­ ticipating system. Finally in the fourth case, what had been an ad hoc committee for school telecasting was re-established as a state com­ mission attached to the state department of education with its power to act legalized by state statute. In the second type of reorganization, two cities were involved. In each there was an effort to reorganize and broaden the base of school 133 membership and expand the organization. In one case the organiza­ tion had recently incorporated under a new name and had received all the assets of its predecessor. The new structure broadened the base of representation on the governing committees, authorized activities in new areas and provided for the establishment of a staff. In the second case a revision was being studied, under th guidance of a senior school official. In this case the effort was to broaden the participation of school systems and to establish a more formal arrange­ ment under which to conduct school broadcasting. In the final type-, consisting of only one city, conversations on. the feasibility of a reorganization had been initiated, but no action beyond this was under way. At a later time, after the writer's visit, a study looking toward a reorganization was to begin. As mentioned above, leaders in two other cities expressed the need for a change in organization to resolve problems facing them. No action was then under way or specifically planned. In both instan­ ces the underlying problem could be descriged as repressentation and influence being disproportionate to the financial support provided by thoseexercising the influence. This appeared to generate a condition of latent uneasiness. In neither city had this led.to an eruption, but several leaders felt the circumstance hampered organizational growth and remained a source of continuing friction. It should be noted that very little of the difficulty which has been described was the result of a failure of television as a teachingtool or even with the caliber of the lessons provided. Rather it was the process by which the telecasting was conducted that seemed to be the source of most of the problems.

• Summary

This chapter has dealt with three classes of findings: numerical data on school broadcasting organizations, the problems identified and described by respondents and additional problems percieved by the w riter. Described are three types of school broadcasting organizations: independent associations, projects integrated into educational stations 134 and situations involving only one school system. Ten types of problems are cited as being a concern to those involved in school broadcasting. These are: 1. Insufficient funds 2. Insufficient staff 3. Inter-agency friction and mistrust 4. Inadequate financial reporting • 5. Weak organization 6. Lack of planning 7. Poor communication 8. Weak representation for schools' 9. Low production standards 10. Lack of agreement on goals and needs

Additionally the author cites these latent problems which were observed but not described by the respondents: 1. lack of school involvement 2. Lack of written agreements 3. Poor judgment In the next chapter we will weight the significance of these find­ ings and conduct an analysis of structures and functions. CHAPTER VII

ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS

Structures An analysis of the structures of school broadcasting organizations can be carried on along several lines. For this paper we shall consider the form of total project including the schools and the station, and then the internal arrangement of the project itself. From this we will pro­ pose a theoretical model to represent the general form of school tele­ casting organizations. The organizational structures of the school broadcasting projects studied showed a basic similarity despite numerous variations. The major structural differences parallel the three organizational types described earlier. Let us examine the organizations through the following three charts. First the Independent Association. Fig. 2—Organizational Chart Typical of the Independent Agency Approach to School Broadcasting Organization

I Member School System si V V " > . iCommittee of Representatives!* Television . jcontent Advisers ;| 0 iProject Administrator!——■ Station * ^ «• ~ Staff «■**** —-f'prof.^ S ta ffr~ TV Teachers

135 136 In Figure 2 we can see five levels of organization represented. The solid lines indicate paths of authority or formal relationship. The broken lines signify informal contacts and service. The positions of the boxes designate rankings of the participants. The participating schools operate largely through a representative committee empowered to make most decisions. The group employs the project administrator and supervises the operation of the project. The committee functions as the governing body of the organization. It raises funds through the establishment of membership fees, approves budgets, authorizes expenditures and enters into contracts. Committee authority therefore, is relatively broad. The administrator is responsible for conducting the activities of the organization and for the work of those under him. This generally includes the work of the television teachers who often retain a tie with their school systems. The content advisors work as an arm of the advisory committee and as professional consultants to the television teachers and the director. Some are designated by the committee, some are chosen by the administrator and some are recommended by the teach ers. Project staffs are small, usually consisting of one professional person and one or more secretaries. The staff assists the television teachers with mailings, field arrangements and similar services, but the bulk of the production service comes from the television station. The project staff has regular though largely informal contacts with the participating schools through information exchange, field visits and the distribution of manuals and other materials. All formal contacts between the schools and the television sta­ tion pass through the project administrator.. He acts as the schools' spokesman, in consultation with the representative committee. Addi­ tional contacts pass through the representatives directly to the station. These latter are informal, dealing with program and schedule informa­ tion . The television teachers naturally have a considerable involvement with the station which on occasion approaches a point of dual super­ vision. The station determines production times and staff assignments 137 and influences budget decisions through rate-setting. Particularly in a small organization, contacts lead in all directions and link every combination of participants. The chart therefore seeks to emphasize the more significant.

Integrated Endeavor Fig. 3—Organizational Chart Typical of the Integrated Endeavor Form of School Broadcast Organization

I Member School Systems L

v / V ' ------, (Representative CommitteeH Station Managementl / " X V7~ ’ I Content Advisors| ' ‘ ^ [Project Coordinator Station Production TV Teachers i r Project r — I Dept. Staff

In Figure 3 we again find five levels of authority. However, in the Integrated Endeavor several relationships have changed. Most significant is the enlarged role of station management. The project coordinator, his staff and to some degree the television teachers come under the manager's supervision. The project coordinator carries a dual responsibility, to the sta­ tion and to the participating schools with whom he remains the primary link. His relationship to the station staff is strengthened as he can deal with them directly, perhaps to the benefit of school programming. His relationship to the station manager has shifted from client to employee The significant factor here, therefore, is the placement of the coordinator within the station's organizational structure. If the office is ranked high, the coordinator is in a position to influence station policy for the benefit of the schools. If he is down-graded, his voice is lost in several layers of supervision. The schools and their representative committee are essentially un­ changed from Figure 3. The most significant area of change is the amount of authority exercised by the committee. Where in the Independent Assoc­ iation the committee administers a budgd: and is the final word on policies 138 and programs, in the Integrated Association its role is substantially more advisory. If the school funds are important to the station and if the coordinator is a strong individual the representative committee retains considerable influence. Many matters, however, are now subject to review and approval by station management. Membership funds from the schools go into the station's account and are budgeted and expended by the station with the advice of the schools' committee. School member­ ship contracts are made with the station. The representative committee does not have the same level of authority as in the Independent Associa­ tion. The television teachers also move more into the fabric of the television station. Although they retain a tie with the schools, they frequently are released to the television station. While they continue to be paid by the schools, this salary is reimbursed by the station. The teachers have office space at the station and spend their working day there. This brings them into a closer relationship with their producer- director, the art and photography departments and other support services. This closer contact facilitates better school programs through closer planning and more appropriate visualization. They are, essentially, a part of the station . In the Integrated Endeavor, therefore, the organizational structure of the school broadcasting project is linked to the station's structure, lines of communication are shortened but part of the project supervision shifts from the schools to the station.

Single System Organization Fig. 4-- Organizational Chart Typical of the Single System Pattern of School Broadcasting Organization

Board of Education ■aHHnM M Bvananau«i

______[supe rinte ndentj

Television Supt, Instructio’rT) \ Station Manage TV D ep trH ^ d ^ -^ '’"-X ^*'1'1" f Academic Dept. Heads j ment & ^ ^TV Teachers 1 Staff H TV Prod Staff:

I 139

In the Single System organizations (Figure 4) the addition of television results in the creation of a new department which is grafted on to existing structure of the school system. In all cases studied, the television department head reports to the assistant superintendent for instruction and is considered to be on a par with the academic department heads. However the depart­ ment's newness and its function as a service agency to other depart­ ments tends to affect a slightly lower ranking. Decisions on policy come from the assistant superintendent often in consultation with his superior. Programming decisions are made by the academic depart­ ments and the assistant superintendent. The superintendent, his assistant and the academic heads as a group fulfill the function of the representative committee in figures 2 and 3. The television teachers have a dual obligation, to .the television office and to the department in which they are teaching. The relative significance of these responsibilities varies considerably. In some instances the connection with academic departments is substantial, so program plans and content are thoroughly reviewed. In other cases the link barely exists. The Single System's relationship to the television station differs significantly from the patterns described earlier. The Single Systems tend to maintain larger school programs support staffs. This could in­ clude producer-directors, artists and photographers . The station leases its facilities and certain crew to the schools and the project is respon­ sible for all activities. The television department head remains the primary contact with the station although communication with the school administration was common. In the Single System arrangement the station's involvement in the direction and shaping of school broadcasting is the least of the three organizational patterns studied.

Internal Project Structures Within the school broadcasting projects the primary variable is staff size; We shall reproduce three organizational patterns which encompass the thirteen organizations studied. 140 Fig. 6—Internal Structure of least complex School Broadcasting Organization

| School Programs Administrator! | “ t R ec^ lariS ] ------

Clearly this project was a one-man operation, lacking even the services of a full time secretary. The project head was responsible for a ll activities from program development to membership solicitation to guide shipment . The office was closed if the administrator had field appointments during the periods when the secretary was absent. The television teachers had other responsibilities and relied on the sta­ tion staff for all production support services. A small organization such as this may be a transitional phase through which new projects pass. One might question the comparative rate of growth were a larger organization created initially to make more contacts and offer a broader service. In figure 7 we will see a more complex structure which is rep­ resentative of the middle range of the organizations studied. Fig. 7—Internal Organizational Structure of Average School Tele­ casting Project

j School Programs Administ rator |

(Field Coordinator^- — —> — — Tsecretaryf I------

j Secretary] r lutility man, 1/2 j

In figure 7 the organization consisted of four and one half people exclusive of the television teachers. With this level of complexity a full time office was maintained, a continuing program of field visits was possible, and part-time secretarial service was available to the television teachers. The utility man handled guide shipping, mimeo­ graphing and errand running. 141 The project administrator still had a wide range of responsibil­ ities, but was able to assign some duties to others. Most production services were obtained from the television station. This particular structure, encountered in both Independent Associations and Integrated Endeavors, was large enough to provide a variety of services to the schools without developing a high overhead. The largest internal organization in terms of variety and number of positions is represented in Figure 8. Fig. 8--Internal Structure of Largest School Broadcasting Organ­ ization Studied

School Programs Administrator Field oordinato Chief Engineer

ineer(6

Part time help LCrew Manager] ontent I Producer Special for Guide Prepar­ I DireDirectors (5 NMKSXKBn^gaMMMec ists(2) ation and Ship­ Studio Crew ment (Equivalent of 3 people) (Equivalent Photographer-1 Secretar^J Artist - 1 Carjoenter^

It is evident that this complex organization is engaged in a wider range of activities than the other projects pictured. In this instance all phases of the school broadcasting operation except transmission were incorporated under the school programs head. The project maintained its own studio and relayed the live and recorded programs by microwave to i the transmitter of the community educational television foundation. One unique aspect was the presence of two full-time content specialists who worked with the television teachers in program develop­ ment. As this was a Single System organization, other content advice was available from the various departments. 142 This large organization was able to undertake a considerable volume of program production and materials distribution, but at the price of a substantial budget for salaries. It is interesting to note that this structure is essentially an expansion along the lines established by the two simpler projects examined earlier. If we delete those posi­ tions directly associated with program production, the result is an enlarged version of Figure 7.

Theoretical Model Within the three types of organizations there are numerous paral­ lels . It is possible to devise a theoretical model of school broadcasting organizations by disregarding certain variations. Fig. 5—Theoretical Model of School Broadcasting Organizations Studied j Source of Authority |

>|" Representatives of Authority

Content Specialists^ Television Station School Programs Adminis­ Authorit trator

Professional Staffs* j Teijavision Teachers | 3 ■a# ^Non-Professtona^tam

In figure 5 the actual location of a particular office is not signifi­ cant. Emphasis has been placed on the relative rank and the lines of authority. Essentially there are four major levels within the school broadcasting structure. The uppermost, the source of authority may be one or more school systems acting through their boards of education or some other agency such as a state department of education. It is probable that this authority will be vested in one or more representatives depending on the nature of the source. 143 The representatives of the authority will be responsible for the general direction of the school broadcasting operation. The primary emphasis will be on programming decisions. This would include a role in selection of teachers, decisions on supplemental materials and in some cases the apportionment of funds to the various activities. The school programs administrators are given considerable latitude in the operation of their departments. Except in cases where the department is located within the television station the school program administrator is the senior full-time person in the telecasting project. The television teachers and the professional and non-professional staff make up the fourth level of the structure. While there is a sub- sidary ranking within the level, this is significant largely to those in the group. The school broadcasting administrator is the primary super­ visor for the television teachers and the support staff. The teachers' responsibility to the content advisors varies from rudimentary contacts to a substantial circumstance where a ll program content is carefully reviewed by them.

Relationships Between Station and Project Considering first those situations where the school programs pro­ ject operates outside the educational station, we can examine the form and nature of the relationship. 1. The Contractual Relationship - As noted earlier the station- project relationship was a tenuous one. The author was impressed by the extent to which the two agencies had failed to establish in written form, such matters as lines of authority, areas of control, services to be rendered and charges to be made. The frequency with which this was encountered suggests that more than chance was involved. The writer was left with the impression that some parties to the arrangement did not want a contract drawn. In searching for reasons for this, four answers were identified. a. In some cases, key individuals who participated in the initiation of school telecasting, or who were long- associated with it were still active. They had built up a strong personal relationship with their station counterparts. 144 Based on trust, each tended to proceed on good faith, presuming that all others would act in the best interest of the operation. b. For some the work involved in identifying and detailing all aspects of a complex relationship was more than the busy individuals cared to undertake. One admin­ istrator acknowledged that he had started to work on a contract, but had never finished it. c. Some individuals showed a reluctance to enter into a binding contract. They seemed to find satisfaction in broad, general arrangements that could be easily adjusted and which limited their commitments. d. A fourth reason can be hypothesized based on several bits of data. In some relationships there seemed to be latent disagreements which had never been resolved. These problems were skirted, or dealt with only as spec­ ific cases arose. Drawing a full contract would require that these troublesome issues be faced and settled. Rather than deal with the problesm the choice was to forego a contract. An extreme example of this problem was encountered on one of the field visits. In this instance there was complete disagreement as to the employer of the person in charge of the school telecasting activities. The chairman of the superintendent's committee of the participating school systems vigorously claimed the individual as the committee's representative to the station. The station manager flatly denied this, stating the man was a station staff member and answered to the manage­ ment. The individual had been selected by the school committee and was paid by the station with funds contributed by the schools to support instructional broadcasting. The above case appeared to be the focal point of a broader disa­ greement stemming from the lack of a written agreement. There was no agreement on the kind or amount of service to be rendered to the schools or how the schools would convey their wishes to the station. 145 2. The Production Relationship - The goal of the relationship between the educational television station and the school telecasting organization is the preparation and broadcast of functional instruc­ tional lessons. Broadcasting is essentially an electronic process coordinated by a previously determined schedule. The planning and production of the program is a different matter, one saturated with human elem ents. Two distinct patterns for the production relationship were noted. In the first, the school organization was responsible for all aspects of program preparation except for the studio activities connected with the presentation of the lesson for broadcast or recording. In this situa­ tion, the station serves as a lessor of facilities and crew. It has very limited involvement in the planning and preparation of a program before it reaches the studio. In two cases the school;projects provided the studio director, thereby relieving the station of all creative respon­ sibilities. This extensive control was the case in all four of the Single System (Type 3) operations. In the second case, the Independent Endeavor situations had a higher degree of station involvement in the program planning process. This usually took the form of a station-em ployed program producer who began working with the television teacher while a program was in pre­ liminary form. As development proceeded, other station staff such as artists, photographers and carpenters were utilized. In this arrange­ ment the producer frequently exercised considerable influence over the ultimate form of the televised lesson. Program production is one area which readily lends itself to strained relations. Under the Independent Endeavor organizational approach, program production is the point where the school agency and the station make their closest contact. Each considers itself expert in a particular field and each has certain responsibilities and loyal­ ties. Yet, they must blend their knowledge and experience in a joint effort. The station operator is obligated by the Federal Communications Commission to be responsible for everything he broadcasts. He wants programs seen on his channel to bea good effort in television. Feeling that his employees are qualified to do good television, he resents "amateur productions" which he feels degrade the station image. Therefore he seeks to influence the development of the school produc­ tion . The school representatives have a legal obligation concerning the instruction reaching the children in their charge, regardless of the manner in which it is conveyed. They feel that the individuals selected to teach by television are outstanding instructors, well qualified to determine how the lesson should be presented. They resent the intrusion of non-educatorsinto an instructional area. These two groups, each with its own set of goals, principles and prejudices must work together in a situation which is complicated by the stress of on-camera efforts. As one program manager put it, "This question of who is responsible for what in a production is a tough one and I can't give you any solutions." The opportunity for conflict is initially masked. The division of responsibility has been described as "the teacher is responsible for the 'what' of the lesson and the producer is responsible for the 'how.'" The educator contends that the "how" is in fact a question of teaching method, an area fully as important as the content. Not infrequently the elements of the lesson do not lend themselves to simple categoriza­ tion . One producer-director complained "Every time I want to change something to make it better television, she (the television teacher) claims it changes the concept she is trying to teach." In science educa­ tion where process frequently is considered more important than fact, this problem can arise. The situation is not one resulting solely from an intrusion by the producer into content. There is a body of techniques which applies in television teaching. Onl}Ta television teacher of considerable experience is likely to be aware of these and be able to make full use of them. Further, a teacher, conditioned to think in terms of what is possible in the classroom, may overlook opportunities to enrich a lesson through special materials, models and effects. The producer, 147 being more accustomed to thinking in terms of television's capabilities and being aware of the support services available to him, desires to propose ideas which could strengthen the lesson. The area of program production which is basic to nearly every school broadcasting operation is one where the relationships are vague and changing . The need for maturity and judgment in carrying out this function is considerable. 3. The Financial Relationship - The circumstances of the payment by school systems for school television varied substantially. They ranged from the instance where payments were with no understanding on services to be rendered, to two cases where a specific charge was affixed to each element of the broadcasting operation. In several places, where an agreement was reached on charges and services, an arrange­ ment was broadly described and a single price affixed. Occasionally, this consisted of the amount the schools were prepared to provide for television. In eight locations visited, the funds for school programs were deposited with the station. It was common practice to make no account­ ing to the schools concerning the expenditure of the funds. This circum­ stance showed evidence of being both a current and a potential problem. The. writer encountered concern and open suspicion among school of­ ficials over the disposition of the school programming funds. In one center the largest school system involved had sent its auditors to examine station records. Ultimately they reported the charges were proper. In another, the station had recently established a separate account so that they would be able to make periodic accountings to the sc h o o ls. Diversion of funds to other station activities was a primary ques­ tion. One superintendent announced to the writer that he was consider­ ing sending auditors to examine the station's records and would with­ draw his system’s support "if a single dollar has been misused. " He held an influential position so that any such withdrawal could trigger other terminations. Station representatives admitted that more extensive financial 148 reporting would be needed in the future. They were reluctant to begin because of inadequate cost accounting practices and the intermingling of dollars from various sources. Where no list of costs existed, school representatives were uncertain the detailed costs of operating a television station . One superintendent said "I wish the station would do a better job of explaining costs to our board of education. It's very difficult for me to do it. " In a Single System operation the schools' television supervisor reported that he made periodic checks of the charges of all area commercial stations. His board of education regularly called upon him to account for payments to the local educational station. Although that station maintained a chart ofcosts, the supervisor found he needed further evidence of his stewardship of the tax.money. One variable in the financial relationship between the station and the broadcasting project is the magnitude of the funds contributed for instructional telecasting. The importance to the station of these funds ranges from near total dependence to one of negligible importance. It was interesting to note that the station attitude toward the schools did not parallel completely the importance of the school funds in the station operation. In at least two cases where this income provided a major share of the station's total budge, efforts to build a strong bond with the schools was lacking. In two other cases the stations made substantial efforts in school programming even though the finan­ cial return was not a critical factor in their operations. Because of the lack of awareness of the cost of non-commercial telecasting, the educational station needs to consider how it can best get this information to school officials who must explain the many rising costs to their communities. Further the turnover in administra­ tive positions makes this informational problem a continuing one. 4. Attitudinal Relationships - In some instances, the strength of televisionin education was demonstrated by its ability to survive in an atmosphere that was less than cordial. A sense of distrust was 149 encountered In several cities. In at least four places the writer en­ countered what he came to call a "them and us" attitude. It described a circumstance where the educational station was isolated by a wall of suspicion from the schools it was serving. The circumstance seemed to stem from two causes. The first was secrecy, intended and accidental. School officials, even those ‘directly involved, were unfamiliar with many aspects of station opera­ tion which affected the schools. Open discussions and "good-of-the- order" meetings wre infrequent. Reasonably, it can be presumed that school leaders not involved in project guidance had little understanding of the operation they were supporting. The second source of hostility is the irritation resulting from the intrusion of one party into an area another considers its domain. When relationships are not cordial, there is a tendency to be alert to interferences, real or imagined. To some degree this sensitivity is a symptom of the confusion resulting from lack of written agreements. The matter of respect also enters into the. problem. If remarks made privately to the writer are indicative, station people in particular were sometimes guilty of a disparaging attitude toward the schools' leadership. This may have resulted from annoyance with the schools' caution in adopting television and in reaching decisions concerning it. By contrast, in circumstances where relations between station and schools were good, the tendency was to do more than each was ob­ ligated to do. There were instances of a school system providing tele­ vision teachers to the project without charge in addition to contributing a full membership fee. Some stations provided free engineering help for the schools on all matters concerning television. In one case the station collected old television sets, repaired them and gave or sold them at cost, to participating schools. Trust, a vital commodity in a continuing relationship, was lacking or weak in several centers visited. Once trust is lost, the door is open to a steady flow of recrimination and intrigue. 150

The Telecasting Project's Relationships to Its Schools In large measure the school telecasting project exists at the pleasure of the participating schools. Only two of the centers visited had sufficient subsidy to survive without the financial support of the school systems using the television service. This financial relation­ ship will be considered first. 1. Financial Relationships a. Fee Basis - The funds available for conducting school tele­ casting varied from less than $125,000 to more than $250,000. The fund­ ing in both Type 1 and Type 2 centers was based commonly on some varia­ tion of the per-child charges. This relates the greatest cost to the largest potential user of broadcasts, normally the central city of the metropolitan area. Only in one case was there an attempt to consider ability-to-pay in the funding process. In this case the membership fee was based upon the assessed valuation of each of the school districts, on accepted procedure in that area. Per pupil charges took several forms. The variable was the basis on which the number of children to be enrolled was determined. One practice utilized the total enrollment of the school system. Another was calculated on average daily attendance. A third was based on the en­ rollment of kindergarten through grade six. Other approaches considered only the children in buildings equipped with television or counted only the children actually viewing programs. The most common point of contention was the question of counting secondary students in establishing the enrollment for fee purposes. The comparatively low use of television in the secondary schools was the basis of the problem. Most frequently, however, the total enrollment of elementary and secondary was used. Where the fund raising method was a per capita charge, the fees ranged from twenty-five cents to two dollars per child. The lesser figure was used in a very populous area where the low cost invited high par­ ticipation by the schools. This was successful in terms of resulting student enrollments as this center had the highest student membership of the thirteen visited. The enrollment of all children, kindergarten 151 through grade twelve was required. The low rate, however, yielded only enough income to rank the center eighth in terms of total broad­ casting budget. The center charging two dollars per child was an area of less concentrated population. Further,only the enrollment of grades one through six was counted. Thus, despite the higher fee, it ranked thirteenth in budget for school broadcasting. b. The Limits - In two cases a celing on the membership fee was encountered. In one instance a large system contributed one dollar per child until growing enrollments brought it to a pre-determined figure. Thereafter, the system remained at that figure despite further growth. In the other case a standard maximum was s e t. This limit was low in comparison to the size of the systems benefiting. As a result there was a disparity in the per-child fee paid by different systems. Small system s paid eighty cents per pupil, while system s at the maximum paid from twenty-five to forty cents per child. Hardest hit were the systems just below the ceiling. These paid essentially the same amount as systems which were considerably larger. The project where this arrangement existed was experiencing finan­ cial problems. These stemmed in part from the fact that several large communities, which made up a majority of the membership, were sheltered by the low fee limits. No limits, however, were placed on the amount of service due the large systems, so that services rendered and fees received were out of balance. c. Partial Memberships - Partial memberships presented a contin­ uing problem for the school broadcaster. Systems desiring to avoid the membership charge based on the total enrollment, sought to have only certain grades or groups counted. They thereby received memberships at a discount since only negligible control can be exercised over the materials provided the partial member. No school broadcaster inter­ viewed was content with such an arrangement. All viewed it as an expedient to bring in additional funds and perhaps lead to greater par­ ticipation by the partial member. 15 2 The partial membership creates several problems. If the school system involved is completely hones, it must either prevent use of the telecasts by non-registered classes or appropriate additional funds after the partial membership has been initiated. More probably, program use by non-enrolled classes will simply be ignored or even tacitly encouraged as a means of "getting more for the money. " The school system, therefore, is being subsidized by the other participants. No standard pattern for partial memberships was encountered. Rather it seemed to be a negotiable matter where the hardest bargainer got the best arrangement. Since such matters are difficult to keep secret, the displeasure of a superintendent of a system with a poor bargain could be expected. Such arrangements become ready proof for those charging favoritism in school-project relations. d. Trial Memberships - A variation of the partial membership is the trial membership. In this case a system desiring to experiment With television is permitted to enroll a limited number of children, thereby obtaining a reduced fee. The trial is for a limited period only, and must lead to full membership or termination of the trial after the period has expired. Trial memberships, while carrying some of the complications of partial memberships, offered a benefit in that they provided a process by which a skeptical system could explore the medium and the program ser­ vice without a substantial investment. The time limit forced a decision after an appropriate period so that the trial had significance. The financing of school telecasting is fraught with problems since the medium is not fully accepted as an instructional method. Further, school systems themselves are under continued financial pressure. The membership arrangements need to be. as equitable as possible and able to withstand scrutiny by an investigator seeking evidence of favoritism.

2. Program Planning Relationship The presentation of functional instructional broadcasts is the primary reason for the existence of most school telecasting projects. Therefore, the process by which the major thrusts of the program series 153 is identified should be important to the whole endeavor. Excepting the Single System operations, the common approach was to set up a curriculum committee, advisory councilor similarly-named body to make the decisions concerning programming for the schools. In most instances the group was drawn from the participating school sys­ tems. In some cases the makeup of the committee was clearly defined, in others no rules existed. Usually most of the members were elemen­ tary supervisors and directors of instruction, with some superintendents assistant superintendents, principals, teachers and audiovidual coor­ dinators . Three cities visited had full-time radio-television coordin­ ators . In the Single System situations the decisions on series and con­ tent were reached within the school system. This usually was accomp­ lished through meetings of subject supervisors or directors and other similar school personnel. ' A representative group of curriculum planners from the participat­ ing schools would seem to be in the best position to identify common needs, accommodate inter-system differences and set programming direction. Yet, paradoxically, of the eight centers using this technique, only two reported reasonably satisfactory results . Several symptoms pointing toward this unsatisfactory committee com­ position were noted. Attendance at committee meetings was poor. It was reported at two centers that the majority of work was done by only two or three dedicated individuals. In another location, an unsuccessful general committee had been replaced by a group of subject area committees. However, these too had ceased to function at any significant level. At still another center a member of the advisory committee stated that they were without a clear picture as to their responsibilities or the scope of their authority. Even in the Single System operation where differences between schools were not a factor, the program selection process did not function well. One director of television estimated that he initiated 70% of his system's television efforts. In another city, the director 154 met with the subject supervisors to determine series to be prepared. Thereafter, the development of the programs was largely his concern. Several factors can be suggested as contributing to a circum­ stance wherein an approach to program selection which appears to be appropriate is not working satisfactorily. a . A review of the titles of the participants of five such advisory committees suggests that some members are not involved in curriculum development at a significant level in their own systems. These in­ cluded classroom teachers, building audiovisual coordinators, assistant principal and one business manager. The justification of their participa­ tion in system-wide content decisions for television could be questioned. The project directors reported that such individuals tended to: 1. fail to attend meetings 2. attend but not participate 3. participate vigorously and at length from insufficient data Any of these conditions would have a depressing effect on the committee and create a circumstance where two or three people seemed to be doing all the work. b. A probable factor in lack of committee participation is the amount of time required. Capable individuals already have a full burden of responsibilities. The television responsibilities require time for travel and meeting as well as followup work in the system. Respondents reported that release time or a lightening of other responsibilities was uncommon. Frequently this meant meetings after school, a period already occupied with other activities . Therefore, the representative must deem the television meetings very important or be a dedicated individual to attend regularly. Once one meeting is missed, the individual knows less about what is in progress and perhaps does not know the date of the next meeting. Hence absence becomes easier. c. Third is the lack of reward for service on the committee in comparison to the responsibilities and extra burdens. There was little evidence that any prestige was associated with serving on the committee. The most frequent recognition was the listing of the name of each com- ' mittee member in the teacher's manuals whether he was active or not. , 155 In only one case was an honorarium provided. There was little evidence of efforts to make generally known the work, plans and actions.of the advisory committee. If minutes were kept, they were distributed only within the group. Despite the fact that the advisory committee was making decisions affecting the education of large numbers of children, their actions went largely unnoticed. In one case where the advisory committee had been functioning better than the average, recognition may have been a factor. One full page of an annual widely-distributed promotional brochure was devoted to the committee's activities and included pictures of the group at work. d. A fourth factor is frequent pre-emption of committee decisions by project administrators. Often there was a' considerable work load on the part of those responsible for the television projects. These individ­ uals were pressed for time in many cases and therefore sought prompt decisions on programming. However, some committees did not meet regularly and were not ready to reach decisions on content after one or two meetings. This led to the preemptive decisions by the directors. These antagonized the committees and diminished their sense of impor­ tance. In other cases such decisions reflected the biases of the director without consideration for the needs of the schools. In one case the writer encountered a situation where it appeared that a kindergarten series had been undertaken solely because the idea appealed to the director. Several directors turned part of the problem back on the committee, complaining that the group preferred to argue small elements of self- interest and philosophize at length without getting to the basic questions. This could stem in part from the director's lack of understanding of group processes and how to direct them. e . The lack of a regular pattern for advisory committee meetings was also noted. Some groups were on an on-call basis. This tended to result in a flurry of meetings when new programming was to be chosen, followed by a long period of inactivity. While meetings without a pur­ pose are not desirable, opportunities were missed to conduct evaluations, develop improved utilization, make long term plans and carry on activi­ ties which could contribute to the betterment of telecast instruction. 156 Such irregularly scheduled meetings also result in attendance problems. When a consistent pattern is present, that time period tends to be reserved on calendars of the participants. Habit, if nothing more, is a factor in maintaining attendance. f. The elements of organization for the advisory committees were lacking in the majority of cases. In only one case was there a complete plan for committee operations, responsibilities, election of members and terms of service. It is probable that some committee members were uncertain of their role. ' In three cases the existing plan did not reflect realistically the makeup of the participating systems. Instead undue weight was given certain communities and there were included non­ members with full voting powers. Both circumstances weaken morale. If the advisory committee plan, or any similar means for enabling the schools to express their needs, can be accepted as having merit, this importance was rarely noted by the telecasting leadership. These individuals readily criticized the committees and complained of their inaction but had taken few steps to identify or correct the problem. The breakdown in this primary path for communication with the schools was being accepted with a rather resigned attitude. Numerous avenues for improvement of this relationship appeared to exist.

3. Communications Communication between the telecasting project and the schools was noted as a problem by many of the respondents interviewed. Analysis of their comments and of other information gathered supports this concern. Little was encountered which constituted an organized attack on the problem of getting information to and from the schools. As noted earlier, expressions of concern were not supported by corrective efforts. a. Letters, Memoranda and Announcements. Occasional mimeo­ graphed memoranda to the school superintendents was assumed to convey the information to all teachers. In one case, the major annual commun­ ication was a brief covering letter to all principals which accompanied the program listing for the coming year. The school telecasters seemed to place.great faith in the willingness of the involved school systems to 157 spread the word on television matters after it was received from the broadcasting office. On-air announcements were used although there was no evidence that the target audience was reached. b. Newsletters - Beyond informational announcements, usually in memorandum form, there w aslittle attempt to keep everyone abreast of developments. The area of "news " was sacrificed because of personnel shortages at the telecastingproject. Not one center had a regular news­ letter although several directors acknowledged that they wished to have such a publication. One intended to initiate something the following year. Opportunities to spread information inexpensively were overlooked. Reports of meetings tended to go exclusively to participants, when little more than the cost of postage would distribute copies to all systems in the membership—if only as evidence that something was transpiring. c. General Meetings - General membership meetings were rare. There was no opportunity for open discussion of the operation or for the enthusiasm of one superintendent to be transferred to another. In met­ ropolitan areas where large numbers of systems are involved, general meetings become less intimate. However, regional meetings for smaller groups offered a reasonable substitute. This failure to keep in close touch with the schools appeared to stem from frustration over the lack of time and personnel to conduct the information activities and lack of careful thought as to the benefits that might derive from such efforts. d. Speaking Engagements -One informational activity that was common was the speaking engagement. School telecasters seemed determined to talk their way to success. Project staff members claimed speaking engagements rates as high as three per week. While such activities have many benefits, they present several drawbacks. First, the number of people reached per hour often is sm all. Considerable time is consumed in travel and waiting in addition to the talk. Second, talks tend to reach the wrong people. The most common source of speaking engagements is the parent-teacher groups. Sub- 158 stantial numbers of the members are parents who, though interested in television in education, do not play a major role in its development. Finally, the speaking engagements are usually in the evening, thereby prolonging the school broadcaster's day and increasing his fati­ gue. Since school broadcasting operates with small staffs, efficiency in expending energy and reaching the right people must be considered. e. Coordination - A further aspect of communications which was not developed fully was the coordination of television within the school systems. An extreme example was found in one center, where after four years of operation, the telecast head had just arranged for each of the participating systems to designate someone to serve within the system as the television coordinator. For the first time there would be someone to serve as a contact person for teachers with questions concerning tele­ vision, to coordinate maintenance of equipment and to be responsible for the distribution of guides, schedules and announcements. A common practice was to send materials and announcements to the superintendent's office for re-distribution. Cases where such mailings never reached the teachers were common. While the school broadcaster cannot directly involve himself in the practices of the school system, he can call the need for good coordination to the superint endents' attention and made recommendations concerning the responsibilities of a coordinator. Once such individuals are appointed the broadcaster can utilize these coordinators and recognize them for the contribution they make to the success of the telecasting effort. The appointment of coordinators does not reduce the telecaster's responsibility to keep everyone informed about developments . Rather it provides him with another avenue to accomplish that goal.

Interdepartmental Relationships When the school telecasting project was a department of the educa­ tional station rather than a separate agency, some differences in relation­ ships were noted. 1. As an employee of the station, the project director was respon­ sible to station management and had to deal with it from a subordinate position. The station therefore had greater influence over the budget for * 159 school programs and the expenditure of funds. Since funds from various sources were intermingled, the school program budgets were for actual expenditures only, with the station holding the difference as the charge for the facilities provided. 2. Various station services were more readily available to the school programs project when it was a part of the station. Bookkeeping, labor and equipment were provided to that department as to any other department. Indeed, the general attitude toward school programming seemed somewhat different since other areas within the station took a proprietary interest in its success, a condition less evident when a separate agency was involved. 3. The relationships with the schools did not seem to be altered substantially. The project director was in a somewhat better position to interpret station problems to the schools. Confusion in the minds of school people over responsibilities were somewhat diminished since they saw only one television organization to deal with, rather than two. 4. There was no evident diminuation of services to the schools. While no tabulation was made, examination of typical schedules sug­ gests that a level of broadcasting at least equal to that of the independent association was maintained by the integrated endeavors.

Summary

We have seen that analysis suggests several salient principles for the conduct of the school telecasting project. These would include clari­ fication of lines and areas of responsibility, equal relationships with all schools and continued efforts to involve and inform the schools concerning activities. Before going further it would seem appropriate to consider the scope of the various functions of a school telecasting organization. CHAPTER VIII

AN ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONS

Whereas the structures of the school telecasting organizations proved to be limited and occasionally vague, a much clearer pattern appears when the functions of the organizations are examined. On the basis of this study it can be proposed that a typical school broadcasting operation, regardless of its organizational type has six major areas within which it functions. These are: 1. Interpretation 2. Services 3. Program Preparation 4 . Sales 5. Evaluation 6. Administration These titles were chosen because they suggest the true nature of .the functions. A substantial portion of the problems encountered during this study appeared to result from the failure of members of the school tele­ casting organization to recognize the existence of one or more of these functions and to provide for it fully.

Interpretation Of the functions listed above, one of the most critical is inter­ pretation. This may be defined as the process of explaining to all in­ volved the problems, needs and processes of the participants in school broadcasting. Primarily what is involved is communication between the telecaster and the educator. Because of the relative newness of the relationship many broadcasters and school officials seem unaware that language and procedural barriers exist. The purpose of the interpretive function is problem amelioration and prevention. It involves consulta-

160 161 tlon with school officials and station management prior to the implimen- tation of policy or procedural changes so that the implications may be fully analyzed. Such consultation can keep problems from arising by pinpointing potential conflicts. A properly functioning school broadcast­ ing office will anticipate questions or misunderstandings which may arise and provide the appropriate interpretation to pre-date or Coincide with the occurrence. A further interpretive element consists of the school telecasting head defining for station and schools the role of his office in facilitat-, ing communication and rapport among the participants. Clarifying this role will promote the success of the interpretative functions. To facilitate the interpretive function, several elements are needed. First the school broadcasting head must himself have a clear understand­ ing of the problems and operations of both education and television. He should be an individual to whom both the school administrator and station management can tum for an explanation of the actions and con­ cerns of the other. Just as a translator must have a dual fluency to con­ vert the nuances of one language into equivalent meaning in the other, the school telecaster must convey meaning and rationale between the station and the schools. Second, a mechanism must exist which provides the school broad­ caster with a means to get the correct translations to the appropriate party. This includes a willingness by all parties to use the mechanism. Both the station manager who takes actions affecting the schools without consulting the school broadcasting head and the schooi superintendent who reacts to events without an inquiry into related circumstances con­ tribute to the blocking of this interpretive mechanism. Third the school broadcast head must take this responsibility ser­ iously, giving careful consideration to each recommendation and explana­ tion. A major factor in a successful interpretive function is the trust that grows in all parties when the interpretations and solutions that are offered prove to be correct, honest and appropriate. If respect is gen­ eral, it will sustain the school broadcasting office through an occasional mistake or difficult situation. 162

Services The primary function of the school telecasting agency is to con­ tribute to the improvement of the education of the children in the schools it serves. Broadly, this consists of telecasting programs conceived as the vehicles for conveying improved instruction to the viewing students. A secondary service function is the preparation, acquisition and distribution of (1) printed materials which will provide the classroom teacher with appropriate information concerning the time, content and ways of using future telecast, and (2) other related materials as tapes, records and filmstrip pertinent to the broadcast. Subsidiary to this is a shipping function to deliver the materials to the user. This would in­ clude steps to insure that the materials actually reach the teacher rather than being consigned to a storeroom elsewhere in the building. Because the majority of teachers and administrators are not well informed on the technical aspects of television, some school broad­ casting agencies have enlarged the service function to include aid in equipment selection, reception improvement and bid review. In some instances this extends to the maintenance and repair of receiving equip­ ment in the schools. When involved in day-to-day operations, it is easy for members of an agency to lose sight of the reasons for their existence. An organ­ ization premised on the service function must measure its success large­ ly on the manner in which it provides for the needs of those it was created to serve.

Program Preparation The program preparation function has at least eight parts. It encom passes the development of the television program from the point where the broadcast is initially conceived until it is ready to be tele­ cast by the service function. The initial stpe is the decision to use television in a particular situation. This may be the result of the analysis of a problem which shows it may be best handled by television. Or, the decision may be television-originated wherie it is proposed that the medium can make a contribution in a given situation. 163

Out of the decision to use television evolves a set of goals and objectives for the programs to be broadcast. Interrelated to the estab­ lishment of goals is the selection of the grade or group to be served and the subject area which will form the basis of the series. The appropriate school officials should be responsible for both of these steps. The television station and other authorities may serve as consultants during the consideration. Here the school telecasting . agency has a responsibility to insure that all with an interest in the proposal have an opportunity to participate. The third step in the program preparation function is the develop­ ment of the course scheme. This involves the selection of appropriate content, the identification of the approach to be used and the context into which the programs are to be placed. The limits of the situation are evaluated such as audience availability, broadcast times, and suitable program length. These steps are usually taken by a committee of teachers and subject specialists in consultation with school broadcasters. The fourth step may lead in one of two directions. This is a review of available television recordings. With the advent of television lib­ raries, an. increasing number of series are available on television tape. The planning committee may review recordings from such sources to ascertain whether they meet the stated needs and adhere to the course scheme sufficiently to justify their use. This offers such advantages as the opportunity to see the finished product before a decision is made, lower costs per program and potentially a higher quality program than can be prepared locally. Acceptance of an available series cancels the remaining steps. In the event all programs are rejected a local production becomes necessary. Therefore, the fifth step is the selection of a teacher who will present the content of the program. The selection process may in­ volve nominations, interviews and auditions. Consideration is given to the nature of the potential audience, the course scheme and talents of each candidate. The sub-function is usually a joint undertaking between a committee representing the educational interest and representatives to the educational station. 164

When local production is chosen, the sixth part of the function is the development of the detailed plan for each broadcast. Ideally, this will include an analysis of the audience's present knowledge, identify the appropriate method and sequence and suggest materials to be included. It may involve a pre-test by teaching the lesson in a classroom prior to the recording or broadcast for general use. ' Also a part of this development phase may be the preparation of teacher or student guides and other materials which will be available to the viewing audience during or after the broadcast. The seventh part of program preparation is the preparation, con­ struction, or acquisition of the materials which will be a part of the television presentation. This may include art work, still and motion picture photography, models, scenery and various visual and sound ef­ fects . The final step in the program preparation function is the rehearsal and presentation of the television lesson, either for recording or live broadcast. Occasionally a preliminary evaluation may be instituted in which a small selected group representing the general audience views the lesson and provides evaluation which re-cycles the process back to step six. Here the lesson is re-designed, new materials gathered and the new lesson presented. As the agency responsible for school television, the school broad­ casting office has a role in each of the sub-functions from the develop­ ment of the television rationale through subject selection to studio pres­ entation. Initially it must establish a means for the identification of the appropriate emphasis, subject area, content objectives and teacher. I Part of the function is to determine that the means chosen is appropriate to the situation and will not result in poor decisions or violations of accepted school prerogatives. The agency then guides the planning and preparation of each lesson and oversees the studio work which results in the final broadcast. In its unique position as both educator and broadcaster, the school programs office is in the best position to insure that what begins as a curriculum idea reaches the classroom as a telecast utilizing the best elements of both education and television. 165

Sales The choice of the term "Sales" for the fourth function of the school telecasting organization may seem improper/ but examination suggests that it is appropriate. School television, regardless of its means of support, exists large­ ly at the pleasure of those served. Even in the case of full support through state appropriation, the attitude of the school systems will influence the course of future budgets. School television is in continuous competition for funds and atten­ tion with textbooks, films and other educational media and materials as well as with a multitude of other school activities. It faces a contin­ uously changing clientele of school administrators, teachers and school board members who must regularly evaluate the various activities and determine which are to receive continued support. The sales function involves keeping the activities and accomplish­ ments of school telecasting before the school administrators. In the vigorous competition for attention, a successful, valuable service can suffer when its activities, and in some cases, its very existence, are not proclaimed. The term "sales" was chosen over the more traditional "public relations" because the former suggest a more direct contact with the user of the service. The latter too often is equated to the issuance of numerous news releases which can be lost in the volumes of paper any administrator receives. Further, the regular changes in school leaderhip necessitate a pattern of contact to insure that television's role in each system is rec­ ognized and the organization and procedures understood. In nearly every school telecasting organization where school funds provide part of the support, the school system's legal commitment is for one year only. In a real sense the school broadcasting organization must demon­ strate that continued support is justified. To presume that the television lessons, even those of great merit, can insure continued support by effective performance without concurrent sales effort, is to court future disaster. It is dangerous at best not to be aware of the effective sales efforts as well as the merits of some of the other products and services 166

competing for limited school funds. The sales function goes further, however. In an economy char­ acterized by a long-term inflationary trend, the school broadcasting agency may well need to seek additional funds to meet higher costs. This may be accomplished through the addition of other school systems membership or by increasing the income from existing memberships. Both sources require a form of selling either to interest the non-member in the value of television or to justify higher costs for the current participants. Funds may also be available from other sources such as govern­ ment, industry and foundations. Sales involves the preparations and presentations necessary to obtain those funds. Sales and interpretation are inter-related but different functions. Sales is a promotional, informational function involving news releases, speaking engagements, newsletters and personal visits. Interpretation is a trouble-shooting function operating at a policy and procedural level. Sales' goal is to promote a continual awareness and understanding of the school broadcasting service and its contributions to education.

Evaluation An effective school telecasting project also has the important function of evaluating its progress toward the improvement of the educa­ tion of the viewing children. This includes evaluating its attainments in related areas of activity. In terms of program evaluation, this involves a process for obtain­ ing teacher reactions to each new broadcast, a procedure for improving lesson quality by implementing useful suggestions and for remaking programs which w ill be used again. It a lso includes a more extensive measurement of the success of each series in terms of its effects upon the viewers as well as ascertaining the number of children viewing it. The evaluative function also includes a pattern for the regular review of existing series to determine if they continue to meet the objec­ tives set up for them. A process for retirement or remaking of each series would be a part of this function. 167

The evaluation process also covers decision-making with regard to programming from other sources. This can be an appraisal of new series for possible addition to the schedule or an examination of such series in comparison with local efforts for possible substitution. Pro­ duction quality as well as educational values can be examined. A review of local series by educational broadcasters in other cities can also provide a form of evaluation. Such comparisons provide new perspectives which may be the source of innovative ideas. Evaluation is an occasionally painful but necessary function of any organization. To ignore it invites the disenchantment of the viewing audience. It is a function which does not always seem as pressing as others and therefore invites downgrading or omission. The impressions gained from this study, however, support its vital importance.

Administration The administrative function of a school broadcasting organization includes a whole range of activities necessary to the orderly conduct of business. Examples would include record keeping on income and expen­ ditures, budgeting, the making of contracts, employment of staff, pro­ vision of housing, equipment and supplies, reporting to supervisors, informing staff and the development of policies, practices and procedures * Outside the organization it can include maintenance of relations with other agencies and participation in organization and committees contrib­ uting to the welfare of school broadcasting or related facets of public well being. The administrative function in school telecasting provides the basis for the success of the other functions. Further, an organization is often judged on the success of its administration without reference to the progress of its other functions. Therefore, the attitude of the school systems toward the telecasting project may be as much influenced by the promptness and neatness of its correpondence, the accuracy of its reports and courtesy of its employees as by the value of its programming. In a complex organization a variety of functions and sub-functions is likely to exist. Categorizing and ranking them is a difficult task, 168

subject to different points of view. The foregoing six functions cover a high percentage of the activities and responsibilities of a school broadcasting organization. There are few cases where the agency can correctly say that it does not and hould not include a particular function. Indeed, these six functions can form the basis for a local study by a school broadcaster wishing to appraise his organization and its priorities.

Summary

This chapter details six major areas in which the school broadcast­ ing project functions. These are; . 1. Interpretation—the explanation of the needs, policies and con­ cerns of one school broadcasting participant to the others. 2. Services—the provision of programming, teacher guides and other correlated materials to the teachers using the broadcasts. 3. Program Preparation—the process of guiding the evolution of a school program from the initial point of need determination or goal iden­ tification until the lesson reaches the screen. 4. Sales — the active process by which the goals and accomplish­ ments of the school television project are regularly brought to the atten­ tion of the school systems' decision-makers. 5. Evaluation—the arrangements by which the success of the pro­ grams is measured as a guide to the production of future programs and the revision or retirement of others. 6. Administration—the management function of the school broad­ casting project which provides the basis for successful accomplishment of the other functions. The next chapter will examine the data gathered in this study and consider its significance. CHAPTER IX

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DATA

One of the primary purposes of this study was to identify factors of organization and operation which are important in an instructional television project. The goal was to derive principles for the conduct of such an endeavor. The variety of factors involved in establishing and operating such a service can result in each center having numerous unique character­ istics. These may be in the organization, operation or relationship to the schools or television station. However, since all centers were involved essentially in the same activity, many differences were matters of degree or emphasis rather than truly distinctive. In considering the presence or absence of the factors and the magnitude and direction of their impact, it became necessary to estab­ lish some means of rating or ranking the telecasting projects to provide a basis for comparison. Preparing a rank order of the projects presented the delicate problem of how to identify one complex organization as being superior to another. The problem was one of defining and evaluat­ ing success in school broadcasting. Turning to accepted definitions of success, several guideposts were obtained. "To succeed is to attain a goal, . . . to flourish to prosper, to achieve, . . . to experience vigor­ ous growth and development." —American College Dictionary, p. 1208 Random House, N.Y. 1966 "To attain one's desired ends, . . . to have the desired e ffe ct." —Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

169 170 Several of these descriptions are useful. If we apply the defini­ tion "to grow" to school telecasting projects, it suggests a pattern of increase in number of programs broadcast, in the number of systems participating and/or the number of children viewing programs. These are measureable items. "To attain a goal, " "to attain one's desired ends," and "to have the desired effect," suggest that participants in the endeavor have established desired goals, ends or effects and are in a position to pass on the attainment of or progress toward those goals and ends. Further, an outside observer, also, can make a limited comparison of the stated goals and desired accomplishments with the observed results he sees. It was decided that the ratings of persons in substantial contact with the organization could serve as a guide in ranking school telecast­ ing projects. Such ratings were secured either directly, through a question, or indirectly through inquiries concerning growth, attainment of goals, prospects, acceptance by the schools and kinds and numbers of problems. Use of the three methods provided a consistency check. Comparison of reactions from respondents at each center provided a further check. To avoid seeking too fine discriminations, only three categories were established: "Successful," "Indeterminate" and "Not Successful." Since influencing characteristics may be more evident in the extremes the writer decided to concentrate on the comparisons between "Success­ ful" and the "Not Successful." The "Indeterminates" were examined separately. Of the thirteen centers studied, four were deemed to be "success­ ful" on the basis of replies from those interviewed. Four other locations evidenced a feeling that the current situation was "not successful." The remaining five did not show a clear-cut position and were categor­ ized as "indeterminant."

Data Comparison The data from the successful and unsuccessful centers were analyzed in search of characteristics which tended to differ. Seventeen items on the interview schedule seemed to hold particular significance. These dealt with factors which could influence the success of the organization. More undoubtably were present. The items were re­ phrased so that a cumulative total could be made.

Characteristics possessed by: —- Successful Indeter- Success- Centers minate ful n=4 n=5 n=4

1. Project has a full time head 4 4 2 2. Project head is certi­ fied teacher .4 5 2 3. Staff size is greater than 2 4 2 1 4. Budget is in excess of $150,000 4 3 2 5. Station’s school programs head is highly ranked 4 2 2 6. School programs project is integrated into educa­ tional station 3 2 3 7. Project has an active ad­ visory committee 2 2 1 8. Television project makes fin­ ancial report to schools 4 1 1 9. Station has school officials on its board of trustees 3 2 2 10. School programs project is self supporting 4 3 2 11. There are coordinators within schools 4 3 1 12. School control is direct and strong 4 3 2 13. Organizational lines are clear 4 2 0 14. Station considers school programming important 4 1 2 15. School-station communica­ tion is good 4 4 1 16. Schools and station hold each other in mutual respect 4 3 3 17. High production standards demanded by all 3 3 1 In examining the foregoing table, a high degree of consistency is found. The four successful centers showed a much higher presence of the seventeen factors than did those rated not successful. The former four had an average of 15.75 (median 15.5) of the characteristics while those rated not successful had an average of 7.0 (median 7.0) of the same factors. In the case of the five centers listed as "Indeterminate, " the average was 9.0 (median 10.0) characteristics present. One center had all seventeen factors while two shared the lowest rating with six of the seventeen. In analyzing the characteristics, it was noted that the first eleven were items which permitted a high degree of objective evaluation. The remaining six required a measure of subjective judgment. To assess the relative impact of these two groups, they were separated and rescored. The successful centers average 10.0 (median 10.0) of the eleven objective factors while those rated not successful had 4.5 (median 4.0) of these same elements. Of the six characteristics requiring some sub­ jective judgment, the successful centers had an average of 5. 75 (median 6.0). The unsuccessful operations had an average of 2.25 (median 2.5) of these factors. In the five centers rated ad "Indeterminate," the average was 5.8 (median 6.) of the six subjectively rated character­ istic s . - Approaching the results in another way the items presen in each group can be shown as a percentage of the maximum potential group score.

Characteristics Present

Objective Subjective Composite Items______Items______Score Successful Centers • 90.9% 95.8% 92.6% Not Successful Centers 43.1% 37.5% 41.1% Indeterminate Centers 52.7% 53.3% 52.9% (The above figures were obtained by comining all centers into a group.) Therefore in the successful group of four centers, the eleven objective characteristics could be present a maximum of 44 tim es. The actual score was 40. Hence 40f44=90.9%. This method com­ pensates to some degree for the variation in the number of centers and items.) 1 While the subjective ratings tended to be more extreme than did the objective items, the small difference in results and the smaller number of subjective items suggest that personal reactions of the writer did not affect significantly the overall rating.

The Indeterminates Further analysis of the data yields some suggestions concerning those characteristics which make the indeterminate centers differ from the successful ones. In seven of the seventeen items there was a marked difference in the scores of the two groups.

Successful Indeterminate (n = 4 )...... (nf_5j_ Staff size greater than 2 4 2 Station's school programs head highly ranked 4 2 School programs project integrated into station 3 2 Television project makes financial report to schools 4 1 Station has school officials on Board of Trustees 3 2 Organizational lines clear 4 2 Station considers school programming important 4 1

In these seven, the successful groups were never below 3 of 4 centers possessing the characteristic, while the indeterminates were never above 2 out of 5. Using percentages of the total potential, within the successful group 92.8% (26 of 28) of the characteristics were present. By contrast only 34.3% (12 of 35) items were found in the latter group. Of the remaining ten items, a higher ratio, 66% (33 of 50) were present at the indeterminate centers. Therefore it can be suggested that the above seven items may be responsible in some substantial way for the reduced success factor of the indeterminate group.

A Further Comparison Pursuing the data further, it can be noted that six of the items refer to the form of the relationships between projects, station and schools. Only staff size is not a direct factor. Therefore it can be sug- ■■■■■.174 gested that the accomplishments noted by respondents in the successful centers were in part the result of the closer ties the various agencies had with each other. Because of the small numbers in each of the foregoing categories, it is unwise to draw too heavily on the comparisons. However, two statements can be proposed which reflect the tendencies of the data without exaggerating them. 1. The centers that were successful tended to have: more money more people on staff clearer lines of control more involvement with schools closer integration with the educational station more mutual trust and respect than did centers rated not successful.

2. The centers rated not successful tended to have: le ss money fewer people less involvement with schools lower station interest less mutual trust lower rank for school broadcasters than centers rated successful.

It could also be suggested that if, in a given community, a school broadcasting project was headed by a full time person with a teaching background who was provided with over $150,000 to permit adequate staff, and if this person held a high rank within the educational station and extensively involved the schools in decision-making through committees and kept them informed through regular reports, there is a higher probab­ ility that those involved would feel the telecasting project was success­ ful than would there be if these same characteristics were lacking.

Summary

In this chapter we saw that there are at least seventeen character- . istics which may contribute to the success of a school telecasting project. By establishing a broad ranking of the success of each center studied, it was revealed that a measure of relationship exists between 175 the factors and the success of each center. Of the seventeen items, six appear to be of particular significance in the differences between centers. Using these findings and the other data reported, we shall now re­ examine the original proposals for organizing and.conducting school television. CHAPTER X

EVALUATION AND MODIFICATION OF PROPOSED GUIDELINES

At the start of this study, twenty-one statements were offered as pro­ posed guidelines for school broadcasting organization. These were to be tested and modified on the basis of the findings. As these proposals were prepared by the author on the basis of eight years of educational telecasting experience, it was expected that they would be bome out by the study. In terms of the number of proposals ac­ cepted this was the case. However, in terms of importance, three key proposals were rejected and the author's point-of-view on school tele­ casting organization underwent a major change. Following a compilation of the disposition of each proposal, the suggestions will be revised, the reasons for changes discussed and ad­ ditional elements added to yield a set of tested guidelines for school broadcasting organization.

Original Proposals Group A: The Structure of School Broadcasting 1. School telecasting should be conducted under the sponsorship of a formal organization of school systems which contracts with the educational television station for production and broadcast services as needed. REJECTED 2. The independent school organization should be responsible for providing the leadership for the school broadcasting organization. The educa- . tional station should serve as a lessor of tele­ casting skills and facilities. REJECTED

176 The schools must have direct and obvious control over the subject areas, grade levels and content of all school television series. The station should, be concerned with smooth production, good visualization and high tech­ nical quality. ACCEPTED There should be a mechanism for electing school representatives to key committees, if the number of participating systems is toolarge to permit operation as a "committee-of-the whole . " ACCEPTED The school telecasting organization should have an executive secretary or person of similar status to carry out the schools' wishes. REJECTED in terms of a separate organization; ACCEPTED in terms of a station staff position. There should be a mechanism for identifying and assigning priorities to the common needs of the school systems as a guide in programming decisions. ACCEPTED Each participating system should have an individual designated as the television coordinator for the system. This representative should have sufficient authority to carry out the required responsibilities. ACCEPTED

The Operational Pattern There should be adequate staff provided to accomplish the goals of the organization. ACCEPTED There should be a mechanism for keeping all parties abreast of developments. ACCEPTED There should be a high level of involvement on the part of member school system s throughout program develop­ ment. ACCEPTED There should be a mechanism for appraising new par­ ticipants in the organization of the history, policies, procedures and services of the organization. ACCEPTED 178 5. There should be provision for a record of organ­ ization policies and procedures. ACCEPTED 6. There should be adequate discretionary power for the organizational leadership. ACCEPTED 7. Good business practices such as cost accounting and price comparisons should be instituted. ACCEPTED 8. There should be long-range planning to provide time for adequate preparation. ACCEPTED . Group C: The Relationships with Other Organizations 1. There should be periodic meetings of those con­ cerned with the school telecasting organization. ACCEPTED 2. There should be regular reports to the schools con­ cerning organizational activities including the expenditures of funds. ACCEPTED 3. The educational station should have representation on the various committees of the school broadcast­ ing organization. REJECTED 4. The educational station should have available an established table of costs for various station ser­ v ic e s. ACCEPTED 5. Station policy should require the assignment of fully qualified production staff to all school pro­ grams . ACCEPTED 6. The lines, levels and areas of responsibility should be clearly defined and be understood and accepted by all concerned with school telecasting. ACCEPTED

Proposed Guidelines The following guidelines of school broadcasting organization are offered as the result of the study of thirteen operating school telecasting centers. While a single study cannot confirm each guideline completely, the testing suggests that considerable accuracy exists.

(■ In the following the author sought to draw together related points to yield somewhat broader concepts and reduce the resulting number of guidelines. 1. School broadcasting activities operated as an integral part of the educational television station offer a greater potential for success than do those operated as an independent agency separate from the educational station. This proposition is opposed to the opinions of some leaders in educational broadcasting. It also represents a reversal of the author's view on the matter. The recommendation is the most basic in this study and is derived from several elements. In a comparison between the Integrated Endeavor and the Independent Agency organizations, one factor appears repeatedly. The latter offers numerous opportunities for prob lems and disharmony while showing few distinct advantages. The former diminishes many of these problems and presents few new ones in their place. The various elements to be examined in comparing the two organiza­ tional approaches may be divided into three categories: economic, opera­ tional and educational. Economic Considerations - In operating a separate school tele­ casting agency, a number of expenses are incurred which are either re­ duced or eliminated in an integrated arrangement. First, office space must be acquired and provided with desks, furniture and business equip­ ment such as typewriters, duplicating machines and photocopiers. Shelv­ ing, cabinets and files for storage will be needed. Other initial costs can be cited. This illustrates that establishing a base for operations can be expensive. When undertaken by a separate telecasting agency, these costs must be borne by the participating schools, either through their payments or loans of space and equipment. If the project becomes the quest of one school system, changes of preferential treatment of the host system may arise. Making the broadcasting project a part of the station does not eliminate these needs, but it does open a new source of funds. The educational stations receives capital funds from gifts from its community 180 and foundations and in some cases appropriations from parent bodies. If school broadcasting is a department within the station it will receive its share of these funds, thereby releasing school payments for pro­ gramming. A second economic problem the independent agency must solve is the need for services. To function, the office must make provision for bookkeeping and accounting,public relations, and janitorial care. Periodically there is a need for extra help to assist in large mailings and in the packing and shipping of teacher's manuals. Specialized talent is needed at intervals including artists for guide illustrations, covers and posters, and photographers for publicity pictures, guide illustrations and historical records. Each of these services must be purchased using school funds contributed for programming. Many of these services are not required on a full-time basis. All the services are a part of a typical station's operation. They would be available to the school broadcasting office as needed, relieving the project of the problems of finding, train­ ing and holding part-time employees. While the project would undoubtedly be charged for the services, the costs would be more proportionate to the use made of them. A third economic element arises from the independent agency organiza­ tion. Despite the existence of the separate school programs association, an educational station with an active school broadcasting operation may find it necessary to appoint a coordinator to work with the schools' repres­ entative and to facilitate production and programming within the station. This can lead to the addition of an office and staff within the station. The costs of this department and its personnel will be passed on to the schools through the charges for programming. In a very real sense there­ fore, the schools will be maintaining two school broadcasting offices, an expensive duplication A fourth economic aspect is difficult to assess. It consists of services provided incidentally to a department by the educational station which might be chargeable if provided to an outside school broadcasting agency. This might include limited videotape viewing, extra broadcasts during free time, engineering consultation for the schools, substitute ' 181 help during vacations and illnesses, and telephone answering service. These and a wide variety of lesser items become available when school programming is a station department. Taking all factors into consideration there is a greater potential for higher operating costs for the independent agency. Good employees are difficult to find on a part-time basis. Considerable executive time can be lost in substituting for or supervising them. Staff duplica­ tion between station and agency is probable. Avenues to non-school funds are not as readily available. In terms of the economic elements, there appears to be real disadvantages to independent operation. Operational Considerations - Although their purposes are similar, the independent agency has a relationship with the educational station different from that of the integrated department. When the arrangement is characterized by two distinct organizations conducting business, a desire by each to sustain identity, enhance stature and avoid domination by the other can evolve as a natural human tendency. Evidence of competitive situations were common. As an example, in two cities a debate was encountered over which was to be identified as "producing agency" in program credits, the station which made the program or the schools which planned and paid for it. In a separation, a business relationship exists wherein the parties may be unwilling to communicate freely with each other, for fear of loss of independence. One school official told the writer that the project tried to keep its income secret since it seemed as if the station checked the funds the project had and billed for that amount . Communications may be forced to travel through channels which alter or delay them. Costs and operational procedures are less easily understood and an aloofness may evolve. The station may feel less of a proprietary interest in the programming, seeking only aslittle disruption as possible. Production control was repeatedly cited as a problem when school broadcasting was outside the station. In production, some areas of influence and responsibility are difficult to define. Television teachers faced the problem of conflicting instructions and felt they were forced to serve two masters. When conflicts arose it was more difficult for 182 the administrator to act, for this often necessitated negotiations with the other agency and resulted in disagreement over the appropriate solu tion. The separation creates a confusion that is difficult to dispel. The community and many teachers do not distinguish between the two agen­ cies despite efforts to explain the difference. The average teacher views the station as the source of programs in more than a mechanical sense. When he has a question or a problem he calls the station which must re-direct him to another telephone number. Community philanth­ ropic agencies occasionally receive requests for grants from both project and station. This may appear to be either duplication or needless com­ petition. The resulting confusion jeopardizes the potential for founda­ tion grants. The operational problems resulting from the pattern of independent agencies appear to be distinctly greater than in the integrated arrange­ ment. Communications problems, lack of agreement concerning areas of responsibility, and competitive jealousies all tend to make the scheme of an independent agency the more difficult approach to school broad­ casting. Educational Concerns - The independent school broadcasting agency holds one primary advantage in the eyes of its advocates. Where there is concern that the station staff will exert undue influence on either content or teaching method, separation is viewed as the best solution. The evidence encountered in this study suggests that a desire for inde­ pendence is more likely to be a symptom of a problem than a means of resolving it. First, school control is not a function of independence from the television station. It is dependent on the form and degree of organiza­ tion the schools establish to guide the programming. In an integrated organization, active, interested school program committees can be clo sely involved with content and program development. The station's coordinator of school programs may be on the station's payroll, but his welfare is up to the schools. The integrated arrangement enables him to work directly with the school representatives, rather than through an intermediary as the existence of a separate agency would require. Under the latter plan a station attempt to consult directly with the schools 183 could be viewed as an effort to circumvent the agency head, a sure det­ riment to relations. In the integrated pattern the station management may be more concerned for school broadcasting since it is a station function. A suggestion that the need for separation to insure educational control may not be completely valid stems from the fact that some of the proponents of the independent association were station personnel. They apparently had grown weary of the debate and slow pace involved in school programming decisions. They seemed to long for a Utopian situa­ tion where the school officials would come forward with the program plans completely worked out and then would stand aside while the station carried them out. Some school administrators were much less certain of the value of independence. They took the position that with adequate control, integra­ tion into the station appeared to offer advantages. Only where jealousy and mistrust were high was the desire for independence strong. In this case, however, the real desire appeared to be for complete dissociation from the station and the establishment of a new station which the schools could influence. In so doing they actually would be establishing an integrated operation. Their wish, therefore, was not so much for an independent agency, but for an improvement in the relationship with the station, so they would have confidence in it. This could be accomplished through a change in management or a more clearly defined integrated re­ lationship. Nothing in the independent agency pattern of organization guaran­ tees greater educational control. Station personnel are likely to be involved in some phases of the development. Therefore,the true need is for clo se school involvement in program preparation to insure that the appropriate lesson results. The integrated endeavor pattern offers no less of an opportunity than the independent agency. 184

Summary

When given detailed consideration, the primary value of the integrated endeavor appears to be that it eliminates or reduces the problem-producing factors of the independent agency. It can be suggested that such,an approach is more economical, promotes smoother operation and deprives the schools of no significant amount of control. Its success however will be influenced by the degree to which the other principles of this study are put into effect. The application of some of these should allay school fears of station con­ trol of instructional programming or of excessive charges for services. From the station's point of view the conduct of school broadcasting through one of its departments offers the potential of increased financil support from the schools and the community, a reduction of conflicts and misunderstandings with the schools, and a greater sense of participation in one of its activities. If the station considers its school programming to be an important part of its operation, either for financial or prestige reasons, it has little to gain from promoting an independent association for ' school broadcasting. 2. The School Telecasting Project should have a clearly defined organizational structure. Regardless of the form the telecasting project takes, its organization should be carefully detailed to avoid confusion. Because school program projects often evolve without thorough planning, there are few adequate statements of relationships, policies, areas of responsibility and procedures. Undefined, they may be understood by those who have prolonged involvement with the operation, but they are not in a form readily available to the new participant. Neither are they available for study when misunderstandings arise. While a preference for "live and let live" was noted in some cases, the results tended to be distrust, confusion and open animosity. This sapped the strength of the organization and left it in constant jeopardy of an outbreak of open conflict. The existence of unannounced, private arrangements, of course, can further complicate the matter. Indeed, such-circumstances cannot last forever, and will certainly come to light eventually. Efforts should 185 be made to attain a state where any aspect of the organization can be scrutinized by an unfriendly investigator and be found fair and appropriate. To do less leaves the project staff and the participants in private arrange­ ments in constant danger of a slip which could precipitate a crisis. Nothing permanent is to be gained by failing to define an equitable/ complete organizational pattern which can be reviewed in detail by any interested involved party. 3. The director of school programming should: a. Be jointly selected by the station and the school officials b. Be highly ranked in the station hierarchy, reporting only to the general manager c. Be an individual with teaching and television experience. d. Have sufficient academic background to have prestige in the educational community. The director of school programming is in a unique position. He is both educator and broadcaster. From the viewpoint of the school adminis­ trators , this individual plays an active role in the education of the child­ ren for which they are responsible. They, therefore, feel entitled to participate in his selection. As a broadcaster, the school programs direc­ tor is coordinating a large share of the station telecasts. Management too must be satisfied with his competence. Since the two parties are both justifiably interested in the choice of a school broadcasting head, both should be involved. A station making a selection without adequate participation from the schools is providing evidence that it is not truly interested in the schools it proposes to serve. The station loses nothing by inviting this involve­ ment and may well grow in stature by so doing. Further, if a joint choice proves to be a failure, the fact of the schools' assent may be a welcome shelter. Conversely a coordinator approved and trusted by the schools can be a major asset during stress over mistakes, misunderstandings or rising costs. On the matter of rank it was noted that some stations tended to bury the school broadcasting head under several administrative layers. Yet 186 in a commercial sense, this individual may be responsible for the station's largest "account." He is in the best position to evaluate school reactions to station plans and to interpret these plans to the schools. This coordinator must have sufficient rank within the station to give his word weight commensurate with his responsibility . He should be one of the station manager's key advisors. To place him in a position of little influence will degrade him in the eyes of the school administra­ tors with whom he must deal. This action too can be interpreted1 as a sign of low station interest in school programming. Having a teaching background can be a valuable asset for the school programs director. Such experience provides a deeper appreciation of the goals of education. It facilitates a better understanding of the parlance and taboos of the profession so that misinterpretations and errors are less likely. It can strengthen the director's relationship with the school com­ munity. Teachers and administrators tend to presume a greater interest and understanding of their problems when the individual was once in the classroom. Graduate work and administrative experience will enhance his position with school officials. He will be able to deal with them as an equal in their eyes. The value of television experience for the school programs manager is not debatable. If the individual is to have maximum respect and influ­ ence within the station, such experience is essential. The coordinator must be able to discuss production and direction problems with the staff as well as on-camera techniques with the teachers. He must understand costs, time requiements and television's technical limitations, to be able to explain them to school administrators. An interested educator becoming a project' coordinator will exper­ ience a substantial period of confusion and uncertainty which will not contribute to the best programs or the smoothest working relationships. A sufficient number of trained people are available today to suggest that bothT teaching and television experience are legitimate requirements for the head of school Broadcasting. A number of other qualifications are important. These would include maturity, judgment, patience and stability. The director of school pro­ grams is the focus of the whole activity in the region served. He must be able to fulfill the expectations. 187 The position of school programs manager could be summarized by suggesting that he is at once the stations's director of daytime broad­ casting, the supervisor of production for a specialized type of program­ ming, the coordinator of a public relations effort directed to an important segment of the community and one of the station's leading fund raisers. This level of responsibility suggests first, that a salary sufficient to attract and hold a capable person is essential and second, the individual selected should be accorded the freedom to carry out the duties without numerous supervisors. A significant part of the success of the school telecasting project will depend on the talents of the individual selected to coordinate it. Progress will not hinge solely on the quality of the broadcast materials. It is essential therefore that great care be exercised in making the choice of the project manager. 4. School control over programming must be clearly established. Situations and statements encountered during this study suggest that clear supervision over programming is ve ry important to the schools. In a nation with a broad tradition of local control of education, this could be expected. However, several factors work counter to this desired circumstance. First, of course, a viable mechanism must exist by which this con­ trol can be exercised. The mechanism must be recognized by all concerned as the focal point for school programming and be utilized rather than cir­ cumvented. Second, the committees guiding the operation should be truly represen­ tative of the groups involved. In four of the nine centers visited where' several school systems were involved, the administrative councils were not representative of their clientele. In two cases, committees to serve an area were appointed by the state boards of education and included individuals who were outside the coverage area of the station or were not directly in­ volved in public education. In both cases a confusion over roles seemed to exist. The state saw these groups as policy boards with a state-wide perspective. The schools sought to use them as their means of communicat­ ing their wishes on specific programming over the local station. As a result dissatisfaction was general. 188 In another situation committee positions were reserved for non-, participating school systems. These voted without financially supporting the endeavor. In a fourth case, a substantial portion of the paying member­ ship had no representation because it was located in another state, even though included in the coverage area. A third factor in school control over programming stems from the slow decision-making process of an organization representing many schools. The pressure of deadlines or simple impatience can lead a project coordin­ ator to make preemptive decisions. This reduces the committee's sense of importance and opens an avenue for the complaint of station dominance. The effects of the problem can be reduced by striving for adequate lead time and establishing a plan for making quick decisions. A small executive committee could fulfill this need. The critical factor is that the whole committee must approve the plan and select those members who will speak for them when prompt action is e sse n tia l. Restraint on the part of the project director is also essential. The committee will tolerate a limited number of independent actions, partic­ ularly when this individual is respected. Such action,however, does not contribute to a strong relationship between the station and the schools. . One circumstance in a multiple system organization can present a difficult situation for the representative committee. This occurs in metropolitan areas where one community is as large or larger than the combination of the other members. If representation is on a one-system, one-vote basis, the smaller communities can out-vote the larger one. Weighting the votes by school population or funds contributed would enable the large community to control every decision, making the representative committee meaningless. Yet each system benefits from the funds, experience and skilled teachers contributed by the others. The most appropriate solution seems to be an agreement which calls for a consensus higher than a simple majority. Retaining the one-system, one-vote plan, the group might elect to take major actions on the basis of a two-thirds or three-fourths majority, thereby insuraing broader support. Further, a certain number of productions and/or amount of air time could be reserved for the use of the preeminent system. This would provide a means for meeting special needs peculiar to the large system. Finally, clearly defined school control over programming involves an aspect beyond the establishment of representative committees. It seems important to keep the fact of this control before the school admin­ istrators and supervisors. The changing and pre-occupied school com­ munity can quickly lose sight of even a carefully conceived arrangement. The fact and processes of the control must be regularly reviewed and explained if the acceptance and support inherent in the system is to be obtained. Since televised lessons are a part of classroom instruction, the schools are entitled to control it. However, because of the number of people involved, this control must be called to the attention of all. Without so doing, the benefits of a carefully conceived, just system can b elo st. 5. Guidance for the school telecasting project should involve several levels of school representatives. In several centers it was noted that the schools' total representation for television was a single rela­ tively small committee. This overlooks the various levels of control that exist within the school system. In most cases at least three levels are evident: the superintendent, representing the board of education, is the maker and enforcer of policy; the director of instruction establishes curriculum and allocates time and resources; and the subject-area supervisors concentrate on the development of content and instructional materials within their specializa­ tion . These three levels can be transposed to the television project to coordinate the interests of several school systems. A superintendent's committee can become the policy-making body; a council of instructional supervisors can be established to identify areas of common need and to allocate programming resources by grade and subject. Content special­ ists from the participating schools can be assigned the responsibility of preparing the plans for each lesson and for recommending additional series to the council. Participation can be broadened still further by adding teachers of the grades to be served to the program planning committees. 190 Two means of facilitating the acceptance of television in the schools is understanding the involvement. The three level plan provides for the participation of many school leaders through which they should become better informed concerning the working of the organization and the medium. Further these individuals are in a position to influence the schools' use of and attitude toward instructional television. Their experience and knowledge of school problems should result in series which are of real value in the classroom. 6. Representation should be by school officials in positions of authority. This proposition is a corollary to the two previous. It is included because low-ranked representation was encountered frequently. Such individuals, though interested in television, are unable to speak for their systems on matters of importance or to implement committee deci­ sions once they are reached. Further, the school community evalustes the importance of any undertaking by the rank of those associated with it. If persons in auth­ ority are not involved, little stature is assigned to the committee and con­ currently to the television endeavor. While the station cannot enter directly into the designation of school representatives, it can bring this problem to the attention of the superintendents. A superintendent's committee might recommend the ap­ propriate qualifications for the individuals to fill the various positions. These recommendations could be distributed to any administrator who has a vacancy to fill on some television committee. Broad involvement of key school administrators-and supervisors will not only promote a broader understanding of television's role, but should facilitate a greater contribution to education. 7. There should be a plan for regular financial reports to the schools. No other aspect of school broadcasting organization encountered was more sensitive than the disposition of school funds contributed for the support of school telecasting. The primary concern is that a portion of these funds might be diverted to other station activities, particularly to evening programming. The degree of concern varies with the overall station-schools relationship. If a harmonious atmosphere prevails, few ' 191 questions are likely to arise. If the situation degenerates, inquiries concerning expenditures can be expected. A second aspect of the problem is the lack of understanding con­ cerning the costs of television. Comments encountered suggested some school officials^ have the impression that the station arbitrarily sets limits on production and broadcasting. With no concept of costs, the layman may feel that full value is not being returned. This circumstance may become criticial when a board of education calls upon its superin­ tendent for an explanation of the charges for the television service. His inability to do so may trigger an overly vigorous effort to get details. Educational television is much nearer to being a public utility than a free enterprise business. It must be prepared to explain its rates to representatives of its customers. Failure to do so can easily be inter­ preted as an unwillingness to reveal information lest some chicanery be exposed. A financial statement freely proffered will be received in a much different'atmosphere than one issued as the result of school pressure. The form and degree of detail are much less likely to be challenged. An added value, to the station, may evolve from the application of this principle of financial reporting. To carry it out, a system of cost accounting and analysis will be needed. Most stations visited had a very limited knowledge of their operating costs. Some of the "rate cards " encountered were pure estimations. A better understanding of costs should provide a stronger basis for decision making. In situations where funds for evening programming are critical, a forthright discussion of the problem with the participating superintendents may result in their support for the application of school funds to evening c o s t s . An annual report, written in non-technical terms, showing a break­ down of charges and the disposition of school funds, can make a sub­ stantial contribution in establishing an atmosphere of trust between station and sch o o ls. It can prevent rumors and innuendos concerning misapprop­ riation of funds. It offers proof of the station's stewardship and integrity. 8. There should be accurate and complete records kept as a normal • function of the school broadcasting project. The interviews conducted •' ' r, V 192 during this study indicated that far too much of what transpires is recorded only in the minds of the participants. This was particularly true in the case of agreements between the educational station and the schools and between the project and its television teachers. Too much money and too many people are involved in the operation to base actions totally upon verbal understandings. This weakness is particularly evident during periods of transition when new trustees and committee members are becoming involved, or a new project administrator is employed. Both for the smoothness of changeover and the legal protection resulting, adequate records are essen tia l. 9. Budgets for the organization and its activities should be pre­ pared; approved and followed. Some of the financial practices encoun­ tered during the study could not be considered good money management. In one case there was no budget at all. In another the record of expen­ ditures was so far behind that it was useless as a financial guide. At still another location, the project director had prepared a budget but it had never been reviewed by anyone and was not being utilized. School system support for television usually takes the form of one or two payments per year. The majority of schools will pay at the same approximate time. The organization theref ore has the burden of planning its expenditures up to a year in advance to avoid insolvency near the end of the period. Budgeting should reflect the disposition of the full amount of in­ come from the schools. Even an integrated situations where the station normally retains a portion of the funds as a production charge, this amount should appear in the project budget. A debit to the school broad­ casting account and a credit to the station's general account would identify the transfer of the production funds. Budgeting for the full amount is not a recommendation to spend every cent. Good business practice suggests that a contingency line should be included to accommodate an unexpected withdrawal of a member system or some underestimation. Budgeting should be carried downward into the various activities. Each series should have a detailed financial plan showing the funds avail­ able for each aspect. In this way the television teacher, producer and others involved can determine what production materials are possible and where the funds can be spent most profitably. Without such guid­ ance, the rash producer may expend all that can be allotted to him early in the series, leaving the later programs quite barren. The con­ servative producer may be so cautious that he passes over production opportunities that could have been utilized. Budgeting is an excellent form of long-range planning, an activity that many respondents felt was lacking. Considering the substantial m amounts involved, thorough budgeting would seem essential. 10. A strong system of communication between the telecasting project and the schools should be developed. One of the most frequently cited concerns was the lack of adequate communication between the tele­ casting project and the teachers and school administrators. It was the writer's impression however, that communications was one of the first areas sacrificed when demands on the project staff increased. Occasion­ ally mailings to school administrators was the pattern. Many teachers experienced no contact with the telecasting project throughout the year. Communications should exist at several levels with superintendents, supervisors, principals and teachers, each receiving appropriate mater­ ials . Short bulletins and newsletters with pictures are more likely to be read than lengthy statements. Periodic summaries of activities also seem appropriate. One group that rarely receives special attention consists of the new staff members. Because of turnover and expansion, introducing and ex­ plaining television is a continuing duty. Each September an important segment of the teacher population is unfamiliar with the project's goals and services. Communication is a listening and interpreting as well as a telling process. An active system is needed to obtain reactions and comments from the schools. These are vital to the health of the organization and should be sought. Field visits, open houses, general meetings, surveys and speaking engagements provide opportunities to gather information on teachers' concerns and attitudes. More specific feedback can be drawn from groups of teachers organized to evaluate a series. Comments should be sought whereever possible, for even when the teacher has no 194 point to make, the fact that opinions were sought contributes to a more positive attitude toward the project. No ideal means for information exchange is likely to exist. The teacher's time and attention are sought by many agencies and individuals. Further, good communications is a time-consuming undertaking. However, if it is as important as the broadcasters and educators contended, a higher priority must be given to it. 11. The position of producer-director of school programs should be a specialized assignment. There is a difference of opinion whether the producer-director of school programs should be a special position or be filled by assignment from the station's pool of pro.ducer-directors. The proponents of the latter approach feel that school programs are not sufficiently different to justify a special position. They fear stagnation if the man is not given the challenge of evening programs reg­ ularly. They also contend that a producer-director can be assigned on the basis of special interests and knowledge, thereby bringing a higher level of understanding to the series. 9 m The opposing position suggests that soJhe producer-directors view school productions as a low level assignment, one to be endured rather than enjoyed. The supporters of the permanent assignment feel that a specialized body of skills and understandings exists which take some time to acquire. Finally, they point out that this individual has a special res­ ponsibility since he too serves the station's largest client. The quality of his work affects the station's welfare. The author, after studying the data of the visits and working under both arrangements, feels the specialized assignment is more promising. Some producer-directors are not interested in school programs. This alone suggests the wisdom of working with those who are interested. The res­ ponsibility of working with a committee of school people in preparing instructional programs for children differs to some degree from the non- instructional assignment. The producer-director has an added responsibility in terms of decorum, appearance, patience, flexibility and inter-personal relations. Further, possession of certain specialized training can be of extra significance for the school producer-director. These could include teacher-training, psychology and group dynamics courses and classroom experience. While these might not warrant extra consideration for the cultural producer, they have particular merit for the man working on school programs. . It is true that certain school productions might be enhanced by the assignment of a particular individual to it. However, the general level of program quality and school attitude toward the station is likely to be strengthened if the producer-director is selected for his interest in and appreciation of school programs. If we accept the premise that an instructional producer-director has a more difficult and responsible task than his non-instructional coun­ terpart, this more demanding role should be recognized by a salary dif­ ferential. Such action would help to alleviate internal questions con­ cerning producer-director assignments and rank. Producer-directors chosen for their background and interest and paid a higher salary should provide additional fiber for a strong school broadcasting service. 12. Adequate personnel must be provided to accomplish the goals established for the organization. Lack of staff may well have been the cause of many of the difficulties noted during this study. Over extension of staff was general. The project administrators must work with the schools to establish priorities and to explain what can be accomplished at each level of financing. A balance between available funds and expected ser­ vices must be sought. The extended efforts of a dedicated person cannot become the basis fora permanent organization. The self-sacrifice noted during the visits does not seem justified as a continuing circumstance. It only raises the level of expectation of those served. A realistic work­ load within normal working hours must be a goal for the organization. It is the responsibility of all concerned to seek to have this attained.

Summary

Other organizational and operational recommendations could be made. However, the data suggests that these twelve form the major portion of the framework of a successful school broadcasting endeavor. It must be recognized that special circumstances will exist in a given location which 196 will require that a proposition be modified or discarded. However, the action of considering the validity of each principle in a particular sit­ uation may underscore a problem that needs resolution. This result alone will make the preparation of this report worthwhile. After the work of this study was far advanced, the author was presented with a unique opportunity. He was asked to become the head of school broadcasting in Cleveland, Ohio. This large metropolitan area was one of the last to activate an educational television station. As part of the terms of his employment he was given considerable latitude in organizing and conducting school programming for the station. This circumstance provided a laboratory situation to apply and further test the proposed principles for school broadcasting organization. CHAPTER XI

APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES IN A NEW LOCATION - A TEST CASE

The Community Although WVIZ-TV was not activated in Cleveland, Ohio, until February 7, 1965, an interest in educational television has long been evident. Western Reserve University, using the facilities of Station WEWS,a local commercial station, was the first institution in the United States to present college credit courses by television. The Cleveland Board of Education, which had operated educational radio sta­ tion WBOE since 1938, included a television studio and related control and engineering space in a large high school built in 1955. The board also supported lessons telecast over a local commercial station begin­ ning in 1962. Western Reserve University included studio space in one of its buildings constructed in the late 1950's. In 1957 the Greater Cleveland Television Education Association was founded under the sponsorship of the Adult Education Council of Greater Cleveland. Extensive efforts over several years failed to activate the reserved channel. During the same period, the Educational Research Council of Greater Cleveland made a study of the feasibility of a multiple channel closed-circuit system to serve the schools of the area. In 1961, Anthony J. Celebrezze, Mayor of Cleveland, appointed a new committee which became the Educational Television Association of Metropolitan Cleveland. The ETAMC, with a board of twenty-three trustees, represented the previously active groups and a number of new segments of the educational,business and governmental community. With the broader base of community leadership, a new effort was begun. Local charitable foundations provided a major share of the initial funds which in turn stimulated industrial and private gifts which totaled $883,000 by October of 1964, A construction permit had been

197 198 sought in the spring of 1964 and later a federal grant was requested under the Educational Television Facilities Act. In October the permit and a federal grant of $250,000 were received and the ETAMC voted to proceed with the activation. In rapid succession bids were called for, a contract let, and equipment delivery begun. Renovation of the inactive space in the Max S. Hayes Trade School of the Cleveland Board of Education provided a studio and offices. At 3:00 pm on February 7, 1965, an effort begun ten years earlier was climaxed with the first broadcast of WVIZ-TV, Channel 25. The metropolitan Cleveland Area is one of America's largest pop­ ulation areas. Commercial television broadcasters consider it America's eighth market. The 1960 census showed 2,640,552 people in the six- county region. * The major center is the City of Cleveland and its suburbs in Cuyahoga County showing a population of more than 1,647,000. Also within the immediate area is the City of Akron with an additional 290,351 people.2 The area has been undergoing a period of extensive change, with a large population movement to the suburbs and an in-migration of Negroes and southern whites. Several major urban renewal projects are under way. The Cleveland schools have experienced sporadic demonstrations by civil rights groups and two changes of superintendents. The region is one of heavy industry, particularly steel and automo­ tive, supported by extensive medium and light industry. Cleveland serves as the home office for many corporations and is a major banking center. Several institutions of higher education are located in the area. In addition to Western Reserve University, the best known are Case Institute of Technology, John Carroll University, and Baldwin-Wallace College. In the spring of 1965, the Ohio Legislature established Cleve­ land State University with a projected enrollment of 20,000 students.

*U .S . Bureau of the C ensus, U .S . Census of Population: 1960. Vol. 1, Characteristics of Population, Part A, Number of Inhabitants, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D .C ., 1961, p .37-15. 2Ibid. p. 37-10. 199 A strong cultural base exists, reflected in a world-famous sym­ phony orchestra, an outstanding Museum of Art, a museum of science, and a large library system. All are well supported by the community.

The School Community The area generally supports its public education well. Levy defeats are few in relation to the number proposed. While certain jeal­ ousies exist between the school staffs of the city schools and the ad­ jacent suburbs, these seem substantially less than some encountered by the writer in other metropolitan areas. The Cuyahoga County Super­ intendents Association includes all the systems within the county and provides an opportunity for discussion. The city system has had a tradition of research and experimentation which has kept it from falling far behind the*suburbs in educational innovation. The ETAMC, although successful in raising funds from the com­ munity for the construction of WVIZ-TV, looked to the area schools for much of the operating support for the station. Classroom television was not totally new to the area. In addition to the Cleveland Board of Education telecasts, several systems had been making limited use of the broadcasts of the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI). The City of Parma, second largest community Cuyahoga County, had been among the first in the country to begin its own television ser­ vice, utilizing the new 2500 megahertz frequencies. The Parma Board of Education commenced this broadcasting on September 28, 1964 and was serving all its schools by January, 1965. Prior to the activation of Channel 25, eighteen area school systems had pledged support of the station at the rate of one dollar per child per year based on total enrollment. Included in the eighteen was the City of Cleveland whose 145,000 children represented the major portion of the 244,000 charter enrollees. The membership increased gradually through the first semester of operation, reaching 26 member systems with 260,000 children as the school year ended in June, 1965. 200

Initial Station-Schools Contact School support was built into the ETAMC through a close working relationship with the Cuyahoga County Superintendents' Association. This group extends beyond its boundaries to include the executive heads of some of the larger systems in adjacent counties. The Association on May 12, 1964 took official action, urging the trustees of ETAMC to proceed with the activation of Channel 25. Six months before broad­ casting began, a Superintendent's Advisory Committee was appointed to serve as a policy board for the school telecasting portion of WVIZ-TV. This committee consisted of eight superintendents chosen by the Super­ intendents Association. The committee chairman was designated by the association president. This arrangement continued for over a year until it was modified to include members from other counties. Three school heads held chairs on ETAMC's Board of Trustees at its creation. Two of these are unofficially reserved for the Superinten­ dent of the Cleveland City Schools and the Superintendent of Schools of the Diocese of Cleveland. The third position was held by the head of the Shaker Heights schools, one of the more progressive suburbs. Three other trustees had a school-oriented background—a former superinten­ dent of Cleveland schools, the head of the Educational Research Council and a suburban school board member.

Initial Organization Shortly after the Trustees of ETAMC voted to activate Channel 25, the writer was employed to be Director of Educational Services for WVTZ-TV, responsible for all levels of instructional programming. He was given an opportunity to apply and test the principles of school tele­ casting organization developed during this study. Very few organiza­ tional patterns existed at this point so that a relatively clear path was open for the application. The superintendents and the management consultant had been con­ sidering an integrated endeavor, Type 2 arrangement. The author, there­ fore, encountered no difficulty in nuturing this idea and developed school broadcasting as a department integrated into WVIZ-TV. Thus the first principle was met. 201

, The second principle was fulfilled in the process of the writer's employment by ETAMC. First/ the Superintendents' Advisory Committee prepared guidelines for the position which were accepted by ETAMC's managing consultant. Second, the writer was interviewed by the Chair­ man of the Committee prior to his employment. This effort toward sel- * ection of a mutually acceptable individual contributed to pleasant circumstance for the writer's arrival. While the author was to be a station employee, the schools could point to a part in his selection. As a part of the employment, several key elements were estab­ lished. First, the Director of Educational Services was responsible directly to the General Manager and held a position on a par with the Program Manager. Second, the Director was to have a free hand in selecting his staff, including Producer-Directors. These latter indivi­ duals would be employed primarily for work on school programs. As­ signments and loads would be determined by the Director. Third, the Director would submit an annual budget for the operation of his depart­ ment. When the budget was approved he would have the responsibility for the administration of the department within the limits of the budget. Fourth, the Director was to be the station's representative to the schools and as such was to be consulted on all matters related to the schools and not just on matters of programming. All inquiries from school people were to be referred to his office. All of the foregoing were instituted to clarify lines of responsibility regarding school programs, to establish the office of Director of Educa­ tional Services as an important one in the station and to underscore the sp ecialized nature of school program production. During a preliminary visit a survey form to be completed by Super­ intendents was prepared by the writer. It was distributed in the name of the Advisory Committee and sought an indication of subject area and grade level preferences for telecasts during the first semester of broad­ casting. Other questions dealing with class schedules, receiver avail­ ability, use of MPATI and related items were included. A meeting with the Superintendents' Committee was held three weeks after the author's arrival in Cleveland. This had been preceded by a planning session with the committee chairman. After a report on 202 program preferences indicated by the survey, a procedure for examining and accepting recorded series obtained from other educational stations was outlined and approved. A policy was established that no local production would be undertaken during the first six months of operation. In the three week period following, a series of viewings was held at cooperating commercial stations. Available recorded series were grouped by subject area. Participating school systems received a written notice concerning each showing. They were asked to send those individuals they felt were qualified to judge the material on their system's behalf. The Superintendents Committee had instructed the writer to show only those series which had had some measure of success in other c it ie s . Curriculum specialists and other representatives viewed the sam­ ples and completed comment sheets on each. On the basis of their reactions, ten series were selected to form the first schedule. Later, repeats of the Cleveland Schools broadcasts, which continued on a local station, were added as an extra service. The writer had two basic goals during these early weeks. First, to demonstrate that the station staff had a sincere desire to serve and cooperate with the schools and second, to establish that the schools were expected to control and guide the instructional programming. The main effort toward both goals was a series of meetings with a variety of school groups to introduce a plan for school control, explain its working and answer questions about it. The plan was built on the guide­ lines for school broadcasting organization as derived earlier in this paper. A preliminary vehicle for applying guideline three, that the means for school control of programming must be clearly established, was a three-page paper distributed to all school officials contacted. The first page was a statement of school programming philosophy drawn up and signed by the superintendents of the Advisory Committee. This not only designated the desired approach to school television, but also established the committee as the policy-making body. The second page displayed a table of organization showing the relationship of the station, the trustees, and the schools. The third was a step-by-step 203 sequence which traced the development of a typical series, with alter­ natives, from the initial idea to the completion of broadcast.

The Curriculum Council Once the first broadcast schedule had been determined, another guideline was utilized. It was proposed to the Superintendents’ Advisory Committee that a Council providing representation for all members be created. Further, to establish this Council as one of importance and to secure representatives with stature in the system, the proposal also suggested that qualifications for representatives be recommended. The primary requisites were that the representative should be someone with curriculum development experience and hold an administrative rank. Both proposals were approved. At its first meeting, this representative group was named the Curriculum Council and was presented with its responsibilities. These included: 1. Identify the needs common to the area which could be served by television. 2. Establish the priorities for such service. 3. Select the television teacher and course planners for each series. 4 . Establish p olicies relating to program content, phil­ osophy, length and frequency. 5. Conduct evaluations of the success of the various programs. 6. Serve as the primary link between the television sta­ tion and the schools. 7. Be a forum through which each participating system could be heard. The recommendations regarding qualifications was observed, for the twenty-one representatives (three additional systems had joined) consisted largely of Assistant Superintendents for Instruction, Directors of Instruction, Curriculum Directors and Elementary Supervisors. A few small systems called to explain that they had no such position and to ask if they might be permitted to send their best school principal. 204

- Despite the fact that the Council consisted of people with many responsibilities, attendance was high throughout the first six months of operation. The only unexpected element was the Committee's request that the author serve as committee chairman for an indefinite period while the members were getting acquainted. They reflected the city- suburb consciousness by indicating they wanted a non-partisan chairman. The first Council meeting was devoted largely to exploring the committee's role in the telecasting operation. For any new group formed/ this exploration proved vital. The representatives seemed to find it difficult to recognize or perhaps believe what their role was to be. The writer was frequently faced with such questions as, "Well/ what do you want? 11 when discussing program ideas. It took time to establish the fact that no pre-conceived plans had been worked out/ to be pres­ ented for their approval.

Broadcasting Begins In order to give evidence that the first schedule of classroom tele­ casts had full administrative sanction, to answer some of the most frequently raised questions and to introduce the Director of Educational Services to the teaching staffs of the participating systems, an intro­ ductory of "kick-off" program for teachers was prepared prior to the first day of broadcasting. It was broadcast on the first Monday WVIZ was on the air and seven additional times over the next two weeks. Participants included the Superintendent of the Cleveland schools, the Superintendent of Shaker Heights schools, the Superintendent of the Diocese of Cleveland, the Director of Educational Services of WVIZ and a school principal, an elementary teacher and a junior high teacher. The superintendents stated their support for and faith in the telecasting service which was beginning and urged all teachers to become familiar with the broadcasts and make use of them, "The guest teachers raised questions they felt might be important to their colleagues. Viewing of the program was coordinated through the Curriculum Council. While no actual evaluation of the impact of the program was made, the Council felt the effort had been useful. It was decided that a similar program, introducing local television teachers, should be planned for the fall. 205

To facilitate the teachers' use of the television lessons, three steps were taken. The first was to prepare and distribute a teacher's broadcast schedule which listed the title as well as the times and dates for all telecasts during the semester. Only the current events programs did not have the topics listed. The teachers also received, without charge, the manuals for the series they planned to use. The current events and a story-telling series for primary grades had no guides. Finally an extensive system of teacher previews was instituted. This consisted of a broadcast of the programs during out-of-school hours one week in advance of the broadcasts for student viewing. These were publicized as offering the teacher an opportunity to preview the broad­ casts to decide if he wished to use them with his class. The week was to provide time to plan how best to make use of them. While the spring survey suggested that only about 45% of the teachers used the previews regularly, the Curriculum Council felt it was very useful. It gave them a ready answer to a teacher's complaint that he knew nothing about the program. Further, the previews were further evidence of the station's desire to do all it could to help teachers.

Developing New Productions The timing of the Director's employment arid the rush to activation resulted in a development schedule which was not optimum. The Cur­ riculum Council had been created in December and held its first meet­ ing in early January. By early March the Council had been able to discuss goals and needs and determine priorities for series for the first year. While this was commendable haste, particularly for a new group, the fact remained that the decision-making was later in the year than was desirable. With priorities established, an invitation was issued to all par­ ticipating system s to be represented in the program planning. This provided the opportunity to involve the subject-area supervisors and specialists. The invitation was to all systems participating. However, dis­ cussions in the Council meeting had indicated that most systems did not expect to be represented on every group. Average committee size was approximately twelve. Only the Cleveland system participated in every committee. To strengthen the liaison and give evidence of the Curriculum Council's interest, one member was elected to represent the Council on each subject-area committee. The participating councilor reported on the progress of the program planning at each Council meeting. Of all groups encountered, the subject matter specialists reflec­ ted the greatest concern for their role in relation to the new station. The meetings tended to follow a three phase pattern. Phase one con­ sisted of pointed questions which seemed intended to reveal any hypocri­ sy in the Director's statements regarding school control. The second phase involved the establishment of the individual's importance in rela­ tion to other committee members. These included prolonged statements of the importance and inviolability of the curriculum in their system, fear of outside domination and anticipation that no meaningful coopera­ tive programming could be accomplished. Phase three seemed to develop abruptly when acceptable ideas began to appear. In each instance the most fruitful approach seemed to be a period of brainstorming, followed by the selection of a sub-committee to examine the proposals. This sub-committee tended to provide leadership for the larger group. It was continued as the committee refined the accepted ideas and sequenced them to accommodate the various syllabi. At the suggestion of the Director, each committee agreed to include the representative of the Cleveland city schools on these sub-committees.

Television Teachers As soon as the content committees had reached the fruitful plan- , ning phase,they were urged to begin the search for television teachers. To assure school acceptance of the selections, a regular procedure was established. Candidates would be submitted to the Director of Educa­ tional Services only through the Curriculum Council representatives. Nominations could be made by any school person. Before the name was submitted, however, the Council member was to ascertain the candi­ date's competance. It was agreed that nomination constituted the system's recommendation. Former teachers or persons in allied activi­ 207 ties could be nominated by the same procedures. Candidates applying directly to WVIZ-TV were referred to their Council member. Whole no applications from non-school people were received, the plan was to refer their credentials to the Council for review. Before the call for candidates was issued, part of a Council ses­ sion was devoted to exploring the qualifications that should be sought. Three basic ones were agreed on; 1. The teacher should have not less than two years' classroom experience. 2. The teacher should have classroom experience with the grades to which the series was to be directed. 3. The teacher should have some extra training in the subject involved. The Director stressed the importance of nominating the best people as the surest means of protecting the schools' investment in television. Each candidate was interviewed by the Director, given some sug­ gestions on television teaching and offered an audition. A station dec­ ision had been that no candidates, however lacking in talent, would be refused an audition. Thirty individuals accepted the invitation. The audition consisted of an hour of.coaching and rehearsal with cameras., followed by the tape recording of a six to eight minute lesson. The topic was to be of their own choosing. The only requirements were that the lesson be in the subject and at the grade level of the proposed tele­ vision series. The television teacher was selected jointly by the content com- mittee involved and interested members of the Curriculum Council. Two procedures developed. In two cases the number of candidates was re­ duced and finalists asked to do a second audition on a topic selected by the committee. The choice was made on this basis. In three cases the number was reduced to a preferred choice and alternate. A sub­ committee was appointed to interview the two individuals and make a d ecision . 208

Throughout the selection process the Director attempted to remain in the background. Committee members were told that selecting a teacher was the schools' responsibility; that the station would comment on the television potential of each candidate, but no choice would be recommended. The selections, laboriously reached, clearly were made by the school representatives and were acceptable to the station. Release time for these teachers was negotiated byWVIZ. A mini­ mum of fifty per cent of their time was requested. In each case the individual remained on the system's payroll and received his full salary. WVIZ reimbursed the system for the time devoted to television. One of the final actions of each content committee prior to adjourn­ ing for the summer was to elect two of their number to serve as consult­ ants to the television teacher. These two were to carry the sense of the committee's thinking and to provide a source of ideas and reaction to plans developed by the television teacher. Again by mutual consent, one consultant was to represent the suburbs and one the city schools.

Building School-Station Relations During this period, several other activities to strengthen the schools-station bond were carried forward. A summary of each Council meeting, including all committee reports, went to all Superintendents, Council members and other key people. All summaries were detailed to provide a clear picture of what was developing. The Director undertook to make more contacts with the participating schools. First was a series of visits to the various systems for meetings with principals and subject matter specialists. These provided the oppor­ tunity to answer many of the questions related to television and to discuss future plans. A complete "Addressograph" file of every school in the membership was built. This made direct mailing possible without relying on the busy Council members to redistribute information. Occasional newsletters were thus distributed. Also, a 4 x 6 card was printed with the WVIZ mailing permit number and return address. It was found that notices could be duplicated on these cards, addressed, sorted and mailed by a secretary in less than an afternoon. This proved to be an effective communications tool.

\ . 209

To further establish the station as a ready source of information and help in matters concerning television, services other than program­ ming were instituted. A station engineer, who had extensive knowledge of television reception techniques, was offered as a consultant to any interested school system. Members could call on his services as needed. Non-members were permitted one free visit. The engineer con­ ducted signal strength measurements, advised on antenna types and placement, distribution systems and receivers. Superintendents found him to be particularly helpful in evaluating competing proposals and reviewing installation plans submitted by vendors. Several of the .smaller member schools systems became interested in the possibility of a joint purchase of television receivers to obtain a better price. In Ohio a superintendent may expend up to $6000 with­ out calling for bids. The Director of Educational Services was asked to contract major distributors for quotations on bulk purchases. This was done and a report of negotiations with five companies was submitted several weeks later. With this information the interested systems sel­ ected their preference and ordered approximately two hundred receivers. Several late-comers contacted the Director and were able to join the group purchase. The station also undertook to,provide information in other areas of television when desired by the'schools. At various times help was provided on closed-circuit television, 2500 megahertz distribution, and contract productions. Demonstrations of low-cost video recorders were also arranged in conjunction with Curriculum Council meetings. School representatives were regularly encouraged to seek information from the station and it was provided as quickly as possible. It was encouraging to note that the invitation to inquire was accepted regul­ arly.

Results of the First Semester In May a program evaluation survey was conducted through the Curriculum Council. Tabulation showed several encouraging factors. 210

Questionnaires distributed ...... 1,500 Usable questionnaires returned ...... 872 Total children represented...... 27,801

Replies to Four of the Questions: Did class benefit from the programs? How was the TV teaching? Yes ...... 760 Excellent 309 No ...... 29 G o o d ...... 448 Somewhat.. 44 Fair ...... 86 No reply 39 . Poor ...... 29 Were the programs difficult to use? Would you use the same programs again next year? No 757 Yes ...... 731 Yes 100 No ...... 56 No reply ...... 15 No r e p ly ...... 85

The final meeting of the Curriculum Council was devoted to a dis­ cussion of proposed efforts to improve program utilization in the class­ room. Each system agreed to conduct sessions at the local level in conjunction with special WVIZ broadcasts in the fall. Several prepared small handbooks which were later distributed to other Council members. In early July the first "Annual Report" was published. This pamph­ let reviewed again the organization and operation of the school broad­ casting project, reported the results of the survey and described plans for the coming year. This publication proved valuable all through the following year as a means of explaining the project to interested school administrators.

The First Full Year In August a sp ecial program schedule bulletin was mailed to all school principals. This proved to be very popular as it arrived at the time the final plans for the coming year were being made. An enlarged schedule of twenty-five series had.been approved by the Curriculum Council in May, but this was the first distribution to each school. During the summer four programs on the utilization of television were prepared. The week before the resumption of regular broadcast­ ing, the first of these programs was presented as well as a new "kickoff" program. On this latter program the Director again reviewed the organ­ 211 izational structure and the services of the station, introduced the new television teachers and discussed their series with them. He also stressed the classroom teacher's importance in television. The other three utilization programs were presented at weekly intervals. All pro­ grams were broadcast several tim es. A very busy year followed. Several points may be noted in the continuing efforts to establish and develop the schools' control over the programming and their awareness of it. Early in the fall a new chairman for the Superintendents' Advisory Committee was elected and the committee took action to include repre­ sentation from other counties as a result of expanding membership. Other counties received one committee position when membership from that county reached 5000 children. A second position was added when the enrollment exceeded 25,000 children. In December the author's term as Curriculum Council interim chairman ended with the election of a regular chairman. Consideration of new productions for 1966-67 got under way in October of 1965. After four months of discussion, a preferential ballot was prepared and distributed to all members. A Priorities Sub-Committee was appointed to consider the results of the vote and make recommenda­ tions to the Council. A full afternoon was devoted to tabulating the votes in several ways to develop a clearer picture of the preferences. Comparisons made included the wishes of the urban communities versus the suburban and the very large members versus the small members. The divergence of preference was not great and the resulting recommen­ dations were approved by the full Council. To this point only one basis for school system membership had been accepted. This was one dollar per year for all children in grades 1 through 12 and fifty cents for kindergarten. This had been strictly adhered to, despite the usual requests for special arrangements. In February of 1966 the Superintendents' Committee approved the creation of trial memberships not to exceed one year. The applicant could designate one or more buildings for the trial and would pay only for the children in those buildings. By the end of the school year, three new systems had elected to conduct trials. 212

The Curriculum Council undertook two studies in the Spring of 1966. One was a complete count of program view ership. The other was a broader evaluation of programs. In both cases the station provided support services, but the field work was done by the Council.

Program Viewed Number of Viewers

1. ALL ABOUT YOU Science, 1-2 17,793

2. AMERICANS ALL Biography, 5-8 3,132

3 . DOORWAYS TO ART Art, 4-5 5,898

4 . EN FRANCE Conversational French, Enrichment 859

5. IT'S YOUR COMMUNITY Social Studies, 3-4 8,900

6. LAND AND SEA Science, 3 7,319

7. LET' s TALK ABOUT ART Art, 1-2 13,864

8. MAGIC OF WORDS Language Arts, 3-4 11,234

9. PLACES IN THE NEWS Current Events, 5-7 9,537

10. QUEST FOR THE BEST Literature, 4-5 9,924

11. SONGS, SOUNDS AND SYMBOLS Music, 4-6 6,480

12. SCIENCE 'ROUNDABOUT Science, 3 11,035

13. STEPPING INTO RHYTHM Music, K-l 22,164

14. THE SCIENCE ROOM Science, 5-6 6 10,491 213

15. WORLD OF CHANGE u j u. ____ Total 142,152* * Represents reports from approximately 85% of membership

QUESTIONS I C D E. TOTAL 1. How useful were the programs? 887 641 294 44 7 1873

2. How would you rate the teaching? 1057 614 181 32 16 1900

3. How satisfactory was the content? 891 673 260 52 8 1884

4 . Overall lesson value. 783 690 340 56 5 1838

5. Was children's interest sustained? 840 632 292 84 22 1870

YES No TOTAL

6. Did you have a guide? . 1410 323 1733

7. Was the guide helpful? 1434 88 1522

8. Will you use these programs again next year? 1585 116 1701

ALL MOST SOME FEW

9. Number of programs viewed 834 744 240 62 1880

GOOD FAIR POOR

10. Picture quality 1308 487 62 1857 REGU- SOME- RARELY ULARLY TIMES 11. Do you use the previews if they are available? 140 495 933 1568

The average number of replies made is 1784 ** A through E rating scale used wherein teachers were asked to "grade" each item, with "A" being the highest. 214

One disappointing note was the limited use of preview broadcasts. Only one teacher in ten indicated that he used them regularly. The Council agteed that as air time became more scarce because of the ex­ panding schedule, the policy on previews might have to be revised. Evaluating the progress of the organization is not a simple process. However, some indicators are available. By the summer of 1966 member­ ship had increased by 75%, growing to thirty-one systems and 280,000 children. No system had terminated its membership. Attendence at the meetings of the Curriculum Council consistently exceeded 75%. A year- end member superintendents' luncheon had all but one superintendent present. In attempting to evaluate the matter further, the author wrote to several Curriculum Council members, seeking their frank comments on several questions concerning the organization and progress of the school telecasting project. The inquiry and their replies follow in Appendix B. The replies suggest a satisfaction with progress and an opinion that the organiza­ tion is appropriate. They also indicate that continued work will be needed.

Proposed Guidelines Reexamined The guidelines tested in this study proved valuable on application. None is in need of major revision as a result of twenty months of trial application. One factor became increasingly apparent, however. As trust in the station develops there is an increasing tendency to look to the station for guidance and advice. Statements and recommendations are accepted with less scrutiny. While this results in a pleasant, less trying atmosphere, it also can promote a complacency concerning full school control. The author found that application of the guidelines requires con­ tinuous effort. The more successful the application the easier it be­ comes to bypass them. Of the twelve guidelines, nine have continued without modifica­ tion. Number eleven, concerning the role of the producer-director has been adjusted somewhat. School programs producers are permitted to 215 carry the equivalent of one evening program per week in addition to their school program productions. This has provided sufficient outlet for their creative desires without masking their basic responsibilities. - No specific salary differential has been established, but the plan has not been discarded. A bonus plan has been instituted to recognize the producer-directors of series accepted for distribution or winning other recognition. Financial reporting is not at the desired level, but this principle still holds. The trust which has developed as a result of the other guidelines has made financial reporting less pressing. The failure to issue detailed reports is in part based on the accounting system which does not permit simple separation of data and partly on a policy which the author has had to accept. Data is kept on hand and can be com­ pleted quickly if a call for such a report is made. Further it is the author's intent to continue working toward a modification of the policy which presently incorporates all station activities into a single report. Further experience with the problem of equitable representation for systems of different sizes has yielded an approach not included in the principles. The major questions for decision each year are the new series to be undertaken. Finances and production capacity have made it possible to undertake five new series each year. Discussion of desired series begins at the September meeting and continues through the January meeting. During this period the Council members are able to explore in depth the needs of the members and consider the merits of the various proposals. Following the January meeting the Committee Chairman and the Director of Educational Services prepare a ballot list­ ing all proposals. These are distributed to all Council members with the instructions to vote preferentially for all their choices, ranking the most desired series as "I," the second as "2," etc. At the January meeting a Priorities Committee is appointed to examine the results of the voting. The resulting ballots are scored in several ways. First, is a standard preferential tabulation, all systems being treated as equals, second the choices of the largest member are noted, third the preferences of the five largest systems are scored separately, fourth, the choices of the ten largest systems are identified, 216 fifth the ballots of the ten smallest members are tabulated and finally the wishes of the five wealthiest systems are examined. This multiple tabulation gives a remarkably clear picture of the needs of the membership. Each contributes a part of this overview. The wealthy systems suggest the directions education is taking while the large and rural systems underscore immediate problems. The Priorities Committee then prepares a composite list of recom­ mended series for action by the full Council. The needs of the cosmo­ politan Cleveland area are sufficiently similar that a bit of legerdemain seems to occur. Although the rank-order may be different there is con­ siderable agreement on series. The first preference of the ten small systems may have been the fifth choice of the five largest and the first choice of the five wealthiest may have been the third choice of the ten largest . The composite list of recommendations does not show the results of the tabulations, only the six most desired series. As a result many systems feel that they are getting their choices. In February, 1967, thirty-three of thirty-six systems got their first preference and thirty of the thirty-six got their second choice as well. The majority received over two-thirds of their choices. While such a system will work only when there are many common elements in an area, it has been an effective tool. In considering the problem of fair representation, the weighted vote has been considered but as yet never utilized. Present thinking suggests that if the need arises, a system based on one vote per thous­ and dollars contributed will be proposed.

SUMMARY

This chapter involves the application of the guidelines for school broadcasting organization to a new situation in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces the development of the school program service of WVIZ-TV from a point prior to the station's activation through the first seventeen months of operation. Described is the manner in which the guidelines were applied to develop a system of representation and program control for the partici­ pating schools. These principles guided the evolution of the activity 217 as it grew from ten weekly series to a full-time service. Viewership tripled as common needs were identified and local teachers were audi­ tioned and selected for new productions . Also included are reports of program use at the end of the first and third semester and tabulations of teacher reactions to the broad­ c a s ts . Finally the guidelines which had been derived and tested during this study were reexamined in light of this practical application. It was found that only minor revisions were necessary. The next chapter is a summary of the study, followed by a con­ sideration of its implications, recommendations for further investigation and research and a concluding statement. CHAPTER XII

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary This study undertook to examine the nature of school telecasting organizations and their operating structures and functions as the basis for refining a set of guidelines for the conduct of such organizations. Based on the author's eight years of experience in instructional television, twenty-one policies for the conduct of school broadcasting were hypothesized. These proposals were divided into three categories: school broadcasting structures, operational patterns and inter-agency relationships. Data for the study were gathered through on-site visits to each of thirteen cities where a school broadcasting service of some maturity was in operation. Detailed interviews were conducted with station and school officials and other individuals in a position to discuss and evaluate the telecasting service. Further, books, articles and papers were gathered from the stations, progjects and other sources for perusal for related information. While considerable variety was encountered in the workings of the various projects, substantial agreement on problem areas was evident. Analysis of the data suggested a relationship between certain organiza­ tional structures and operating procedures and the problems reported. An examination of organizational structures revealed both variety and common elements. In most cases the total structure of the organ­ izations were limited. Levels of authority were few and areas of res­ ponsibility broad. Six major functional areas for the School broadcasting organiza­ tion were described. It was suggested that these six were applicable in the majority of school broadcasting situations. They could form the

218 basis for an assessment of project strengths and weaknesses. Finally the initial proposals were reexamined in light of the findings and modifications made where necessary. These were combined and re-phrased into twelve guidelines for school broadcasting organiza-r tion. These guidelines form the primary recommendations of this study. The findings were then applied in a test situation in Cleveland, Ohio where the author was able to organize school broadcasting from the beginning. Results suggest that the guidelines, when judicously applied, can facilitate a successful school broadcasting project.

The Guidelines <» The guidelines were further revised on the basis of the practical field test in Cleveland. These guidelines, while general, have very specific implications for school broadcasting organization. Many of them were spelled out in detail in the course of this report. In their final form the guidelines are: ♦School broadcasting activities operated as an integral part in an educational station offer a greater potential for suc­ cess than do those operated as an independent agency separate from that station. ♦The school broadcasting project should have a clearly de­ fined organizational structure. ♦The director of school programming should; . . .b e jointly selected by the station and the school officials. . . . be highly ranked in the station, reporting only to the general manager. . . . be an individual with both teaching and television experience. . . . have sufficient academic background to have prestige in the educational community. ♦School control over programming must be clearly established. ♦Guidance for the school telecasting project should involve several levels of school representation. ♦Representation should be by school officials in positions of authority. 220

*There should be a plan for periodic financial reports to the schools. ♦Accurate and complete records should be kept as a normal function of the school broadcasting project. ♦Budgets for the organization and its activities should be prepared, approved and followed. ♦A strong system of communication between the telecasting project and the schools should be developed to keep everyone abreast of activities and developments. ♦The position of producer-director of school programs should . be a specialized assignment. ♦A sufficient number of qualified personnel must be provided to accomplish the goals of the organization.

Implications of the Study This paper has sought to offer practical solutions to problems of significance in school broadcasting. The guidelines proposed in the study were derived from the analysis of thirteen broadcasting centers and further tested in a new developing location. These policies have application in numerous situations. During the course of carrying out this study several points became evident. First, fruitful cooperation among school systems for school telecasting is possible. Second, an appropriate form of organization will not evolve automatically, it must be planned. Third, partly because of television's newness and partly because of a tradition of local con­ trol of education, the instructional telecasting activity must maintain a high degree of integrity and establish a reputation of scrupulous fairness. Its policies and operations will be scrutinized regularly by skeptics in search of evidence of collusion or discrimination. It is probable that school broadcasting's rapid growth will con­ tinue for some time. It is equally probable that the shortage of trained school broadcasting personnel will not abate. Therefore, the guide­ lines derived in this study have especial usefulness for new personnel connected with the new organizations. The principles offer a rationale for action with supporting evidence and explanation. The study can 221 alert the planners to common problem areas and point out means of avoiding or minimizing them. Utilization of the proposed organizational system offers promise of a relatively trouble-free start which will permit concentration on the needs of the participating schools. For older projects, the guidelines offer a basis for a thorough ^ self-evaluation. In situations where an extensive re-structuring is needed, the study can be used to determine if existing problems can be resolved through substitution of a new operational pattern. The process of weighing each guideline and evaluating the rationale behind it can clarify the sources of difficulties and show alternatives. Even where a unique circumstance is found or where existing structures cannot be completely modified, the consideration of the guidelines and their im­ plications has value as a pattern for the evaluation. Finally in projects where there is no apparent need for a re- st’ructuring, the study has an application. The analysis of functions can be used for a periodic self-evaluation to determine if some aspect of organization or service has not received its share of attention and effort. This preventative application of the guidelines can serve to maintain a high standard and a strong relationship with the schools.

Rp-finmmftnrfations for Further Investigation It is the nature of any study to yield many areas for further ex­ ploration. Several of these became evident during the course of the present investigation. 1. Diversity and Size— Further study is needed concerning the problems of meeting instructional needs when the participating systems are very diverse in size, in type of population and in nature of educational def­ iciencies . The test city did not show the extremes that might be en­ countered in other areas. Would these principles operate satisfactorily in a more heterogeneous locality? It is therefore recommended that further study be undertaken on the problem of diversity and size of school systems as it relates to school broadcasting. 2. Multiple Channels— Several cities are now operating two educational channels. Others are exploring the feasibility of an extensive, multiple channel system utilizing the frequencies of the Instructional Television Fixed Service. An analysis is in order to identify the implications of the 222 trend with reference to the guidelines for school broadcasting organiza­ tion. It might be hypothesized that while certain problems will be alleviated, others may result. It is therefore recommended that a study be conducted to determine the implications of multiple channel broad­ casting for school telecasting organization. 3. Producer-Directors— One of the most common concerns .encountered during this study was the need for more school program producer- directors. These must be individuals with a sincere interest in, know­ ledge of and appreciation for education and school programming. Too frequently the individuals assigned to school productions are either virtual trainees or are, in fact, interested in other types of program­ ming. A plan should be devised for identifying and training individuals who will put their full energies into school programming. These may be o > teachers who can bring classroom insight into their new work. It is therefore recommended that an investigation be undertaken on the means of identifying and training individuals who will have a particular interest and talent in school program preparation. 4. Maintenance of Involvement— Several references were made in the study to the problem of maintaining a high level of school involvement during periods when no significant difficulties are to be faced. Contin­ ued participation in decision-making by high ranking school adminis­ trators is essential. Thejtendency is to have" lower level representatives take the place of senior officials once the project is well established. This poses the problem of keeping these leaders adequately informed and having the benefit of their greater experience and broader view when important decisions are to be made. A study leading to guidelines for dealing with this matter would be helpful. It is therefore recommended that study be conducted on means of maintaining a high level of involve­ ment of qualified school personnel in school programs planning. 3. Television Teachers— A latent problem area deals with the matter of obtaining the best television teachers. A number of respondents commented on the dangers of allowing television teaching to develop as a profession within education. They expressed concern that such a teacher's focus might shift from education to performance. They further noted a danger in mis-assignments when an individual is a staff 223

television teacher and no series for which he is qualified is available. Contrarily, a regular turnover of television teachers means that many individuals will be returned to the classroom just as their skills reach a maximum. Further, some respondents reported a reluctance by school administrators to propose their best teachers for fear of losing them. -The difficulty of replacing an outstanding classroom teacher, even for one year, is evident. An analysis of this situation with appropriate recommendations would have wide application. It is therefore recom­ mended that a study be undertaken on the problem of finding and util­ izing the best television teachers while avoiding the problems of exces- sive on-camera appearances. Several other studies could be recommended. There is need for greater knowledge in coordinating and administering the very large school broadcasting project. Further data are needed concerning the best ways to finance school broadcasting. Such a complex field offers many op­ portunities for investigation.

Concluding Statement The ultimate role television will play in education is unknown. Recent growth has been faster than that in the years immediately fol­ lowing the reservation of channels. Numerous clues suggest television's involvement in education may be a substantial one. Because television is basically a mass medium and an expensive one, it seems probable that a portion of its role in education during future years will involve cooperation among school systems in the pre­ paration and use of television lessons. Such cooperation will flourish best in an appropriately organized circumstance. It is hoped that the guidelines herein proposed, if applied to the organization and operation of a school television project both during its initiation and in subsequent years, will contribute to a stronger bond between station and schools. An even greater desire is that these guidelines will assist in the improvement of the education of large numbers of children. This is the basic goal. APPENDIXES

9

224 225

SCHOOL BROADCASTING SURVEY

ALL RESPONDENTS PART I

Name ______■ C i t y _. ■ . ____

* Date ______Station or Project ______

Title of Respondent ______Time______

1. How long have you been with this organization?

2. How did you first become involved in broadcasting?

3. How did the school broadcasting project first get started?

4. How long has school broadcasting been going on in this area?

5. Was there any relationship between the activation of the station and an interest in school broadcasting?

6. How many hours per day of school programs are provided?

7. How many hours per week does the station operate?

8. What is the population in the station's coverage area?

9. How many school age children are in the coverage area?

10. How many school systems make use of the school broadcasts?

11. How many children are there in the participating systems?

12. Do you have any count of program use in the participating systems?

13. What is the typical program length?

14. How many new lessons per week do you offer in a given series?

15. Are programs repeated during the same week?

16. To whom is the station licensed?

17. How many stations are there in this area?

18. Do any of the commercial stations engage in school programming?

19. How many groups independently utilize the station for school pro­ gramming? What are the groups?

20. Is the signal from any other educational station available in the area? 226 FORM A STATION PERSONNEL, PART I I

1. What part did the station play in getting school telecasting started in this area?

2 . Are the schools really interested in television education?

3. How are the schools* representatives on the various committees selected?

4. Is the use of programming by non-member systems a problem?

5. Are the producer-directors station or project staff?

6 . How much studio time is provided for each production?

7. Do you assign the same staff to the school programs as the evening productions?

8 . Does the station participate in the selection of television teachers? Does it hold the final word on acceptance or re­ jection of an individual?

9. Are the teachers under contract to the station?

1 0 . May the schools or their representatives reject a particular re­ cording? Does this occur often? Hoxv do you handle this problem?

11. Is the quality of school programming adequate?

12 . How would you like to see it improved?

13. What credits do you list at the end of school programs?

14. Do you include school broadcasting in your publicity releases?

15. Does the school programs project make any guarantees concerning the number of productions or amount of broadcasting to be under­ taken during any period?

16. Do you make any guarantees to the school project?

17. Do you maintain a chart of costs to aid the process of budgeting the school broadcasting project?

18. Do the payments from the schools or project cover the costs of the school broadcasting operation?

19. Do you make any reports to the schools on the expenditure of funds appropriated for school programs? Do you plan any change in this policy?

2 0 . Do you pre-empt school broadcasting time for other broadcasts? 227 FORM A STATION PERSONNEL PART II

21. What kind of notice do you give the school project when this is to occur?

22. Do you feel that the school broadcasting project jLs growing stronger?

23. Does the current school broadcasting organizational pattern have any troublesome characteristics?

24. What school roles in the broadcasting operation should be strengthened?

25. What roles should be reduced or eliminated?

26. What is your concept of the ideal school broadcasting organization?

PART III

1. Is the school broadcasting project in good financial health at the present time?

2. Are community pressure groups a problem in school broadcasting?

3. How do you determine who is responsible for various phases of program development?

4. Do you want school project officials present during a recording session?

5. Do you have a contract or agreement with the school project that describes the areas of authority? The services to be provided? Do you plan or seek any changes in this matter?

6. Do you ever meet with the participating superintendents?

7. Are the schools well informed about the programs and services of the project?

8. Are the school programs properly used in the classrooms?

9. How could the level of utilization be improved?

10. What are the major problems of the moment?

11. What problems do you see arising in the next three years?

12. Do you feel that the schools would accept an increase in the cost of their television service?

13. What changes do you feel would improve the overall school broad­ casting operation? 228 FORM A STATION PERSONNEL PART IV

1. Do you agree with the focus and direction of the school programs in terms of subject areas and concepts?

2. Do the schools make their best people available for school pro- • grams development?

3. How was the present school broadcasting head selected? Is this the typical approach?

4. Have the schools provided adequate leadership in developing the philosophy of school broadcasting and in interesting other systems in it?

5. In general do you find that the advice given by the school repre­ sentatives is valid?

6. Are the school programming committees primarily advisory, or do you view their decisions as binding?

7. Do you want the station represented at all school project meetings?

8. Are school or state politics much of a problem in the total school broadcasting operation?

9. Do you find that the goals of the station and those of the school broadcasting project tend to agree? What has been the major dis­ agreement?

10. Are the schools adequately concerned with the need for quality programming?

11. Do you participate in the planning of the annual budget for the school broadcasting project?

12. Do the schools appreciate the costs of operating a television station?

13. Should school funds be utilized to assist in the support of the station’s evening programming?

14. Have you ever had to step in and guide the school broadcasting pro­ ject at any point? What was the problem?

15. Is school broadcasting likely to occupy your daytime hours for as far into the future as you can predict? 229 FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART II

1. Would you please describe how this project is organized?

2. To whom do you report? By whom are you paid?

3. How many people are involved in school broadcasting here?

4. What are their positions and responsibilities?

5. Do you have a board of trustees or other policy board?

6. How are these members selected and how long do they serve?

7. How often do these trustees meet?

8. What is the percentage of attendance?

9. Do the same people always attend or does it vary?

10. Is any position reserved for the representative of any parti­ cular organization?

11. How are the funds for school broadcasting obtained?

12. How does a school system associate with the project? Is there a contract involved? _ .

13. What membership options do you have?

14. Are non-public schools associated with your project? On the same basis as the public schools?

15. Are any services or facilities donated to school broadcasting?

16. How do you obtain capital funds to equip or expand your offices?

17. Do you have any difficulty with non-member schools making use of your programs?

18. Do you have a contract or operating agreement with the educational station?

19. Do you utilize a contract with the individual member school system?

20. Do you maintain a policies and procedures book?

21. Do you have any system for familiarizing new employees with your operation?

22. Has a philosophy of school broadcasting been worked out? FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART II

23. What process do you use for identifying a new series of programs?

24. What committees do you work with in developing school programs? •

25. How large are these committees?

. 26. How are their members determined?

27. How often does the program-determining committee meet?

28. What is the percentage of attendance?

29. Do the same people always attend or does it vary?

30. Do you maintain any special advisors or consultants?

31. Who has the final word on the decision to make a given series of programs?

32. Is the station represented on any governing or content development committees?

33. How many programs per week are there in a typical series?

34. Do you pre-tape your programs?

35. Are any tapes held for re-use another year?

36. How much studio time do you allot per program?

37. How do you obtain television teachers and how many do you presently have?

38. What is the television teacher selection process? Who makes the , final decision? Is the station involved in the decision?

39. What is the basis on which you employ television teachers?

40. How many programs per week does a full time television teacher prepare?

41. What other responsibilities does the television teacher have?

42. For how long do you employ the television teacher?

43. What supportative help do you normally provide the television teacher?

44. How do you compensate the teachers?

45. Do you have any policies concerning re-use of recordings or the rental of the recording by other stations? Z31 FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART II

46. By whom are the guides prepared?

47. On what basis do you provide program guides to your participating schools?

48. Are these guides available to non-member systems? On what basis?

49. Do you copyright the materials? In whose name?

50. What other program materials or learning aids to you provide?

51. Is a budget prepared for your annual operation? By whom?

52. Is the budget reviewed and approved by anyone?

53. How closely are you able to follow the budget?

54. How is your banking and accounting accomplished?

55. Does your accounting source provide reports that are sufficiently up to date to be of value in decision-making?

56. Does the station maintain a table of charges as a guide to your budgeting?

57. What is the procedure for paying the station for its services?

58. Do you make any guarantees to the station concerning the amount of production or broadcasting you will do each year?

59. Does the station make any guarantees to you?

60. Does your budget normally include discretionary or contingency funds?

61. What part of the station’s annual budget is represented by school project payments?

62. What kind of publicity materials do you distribute?

63. Do you prepare periodic reports to the schools?

64. Do you hold general meetings for all the member systems?

65. What do you feel is your most successful informational or promo­ tional approach?

66. Are you and your staff involved in many speaking engagements?

67. What data do you gather concerning program use?

68 . Is program use at a satisfactory level? 232 FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART I I

69. What kinds of assistence are you able to give the schools in improving the use of the programs?

70. Are the school officials interested in proper use of television in their classrooms?

71. What changes would you like to make in your operation if it were possible?

PART III

1. What pattern of membership growth have you had over the past three years?

2. Do you have many'systems dropping their membership each year? What would you say was their primary reason?

3. Are the schools generally satisfied with program quality? Are you?

4. What means do you have to obtain school reactions to the programs?

5. Do you permit use of your programs by other stations? On what basis? Do you have any of these outside uses at this time?

6. Do you make use of programs from other sources? What are the most common sources?

7. If you had importaint information to get to a large group of teachers in the schools, what process would you use?

8. What changes or improvements would you like to make in your com­ munication process with the schools?

9. Do the schools propose their best teachers for television work?

10. Is the community interested in school programming?

11. Has any segment of the community attempted to influence school programming decisions?

12. Is there general agreement between the project and the station over areas of responsibilities and lines of authority?

13. Are the school representatives qualified to speak for their systems?

14. In determining what new programs to undertake, are the schools able to reach an agreement within a reasonable length of time?

15. What is your assessment of the project’s financial health?

16. Are you able to carry a reserve fund to provide for unexpected financial problems or opportunities? 233 FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART I I I

17. Has the project contemplated or undertaken any revision or re­ organization in the past three years? With what outcome?

18. What organizational changes would you like to make?

19. What are your biggest concerns at the present time?

20. What new or enlarged problems do you anticipate in the future?

PART IV

1. Does the station assist you in interesting more school systems in membership in the project?

2. Are the station’s productions usually of high engineering quality?

3. Do you think the station would give up school programming if there were no financial or public relations considerations?

4. Does the station make the same people available for school programs that it uses on evening productions?

5. Do you have the right to reject a recording for either content or technical reasons?

6. Does the station pre-empt school broadcasting time for other pro­ gramming? How often has this occurred?

7. Can you refuse to permit a pre-emption?

8. Do you feel the charges made by the station are fair in terms of its costs and services rendered?

9. Have you ever checked the comparative charges of educational sta­ tions in other cities?

10. Does that station communicate with the schools in any way or are all inquires referred to your office.

11. At what point do you involve the assigned producer-director in the process of developing a new series?

12. Do you ever meet informally with the station management to discuss plans or problems?

13. Do you discuss program ideas with station staff or management before undertaking them?

14. Do the school representatives or the superintendents ever meet with station officials? For what purposes? 234 FORM B SCHOOL BROADCASTERS PART IV

15. Has the station ever refused to undertake a production or carry a broadcast that the schools wanted. Do you feel this is likely to occur?

16. Does the station publicize its school broadcasting efforts?

17. Do the project and the schools get full credit for their part in school programming?

18. In what ways do station personnel influence the final form of a given production?

19. What part does the state department of education play in determining school programming?

20. Is the department involved in any other phase of school television?

21. Is the state interested in promoting the use of television in the schools?

22. What do you see as the future role of the state in school television?

23. If it were possible for you to add one staff person right now with no concern for the required funds, what would that position be? 235 FORM C SCHOOL PERSONNEL PART I I

1. How did the use of television in the classroom get started in this area?

2. When did the schools in this system begin to use it?

3. Have the programs, in general, been useful in your classes?

4. Do your schools make use of all the series that are available?

5. What series or subject has been of greatest significance in your schools?

6. Do you require that any given series be used by everyone in a particular group?

7. When you started using television, did the project provide any special assistance?

8. Are there enough programs on the air to justify the investment in equipment and memberships?

9. Have you or any of your staff participated in guiding the project or developing programs as yet? Do you encourage this? Could you describe your experiences?

10. Do you get enough advance information on the plans of the tele­ vision project?

11. In what ways could the project serve you better?

12. What arrangements do you have concerning the acquisition and dis­ tribution of guide materials?

13. Do you conduct any introductory work about television for the new teachers each year.

14. Is training teachers to use television a school function or the job of the television project?

15. What is your school board's attitude toward television?

16. Have the parents demonstrated any unusual interest in the television lessons?

17. Do you have any rules concerning the use of television in your schools? 236 FORM C SCHOOL PERSONNEL PART I I I

1. Have you encountered any reception problems in any of your buildings?

2. Has the quality of the programs been up to the expectations you had? Do they meet a standard you feel is essential?

3. How often do you hear from the television project?

4. Do the broadcasters seem to have an understanding of the problems of a school administrator?

5. Are the printed materials useful and received in plenty of time to be distributed and applied?

6. Do you get information on program changes in sufficient time to make appropriate arrangements?

7. Are the right programs broadcast at the right times?

8. What, problems do you see confronting the project?

9. Should the state department of education take a larger hand in the field of school broadcasting?

PART IV

1. Are the school broadcasters and station personnel responsive to the needs of the schools?

2. In what ways could the school television project be revised to provide better service?

3. What service improvements would you like to see?

4. Have you been satisfied with the results you have been getting from the broadcasts?

5. Have you ever considered installation of a closed circuit system?

6. If the telecasting project found it necessary to increase the charges for the service, do you personally feel that your system would support the move?

7. Is the station truly interested in school television?

8. Would you support a move to make some funds available to assist in underwriting the general cost of evening programming?

9. Do you feel that the school programs project should be a part of the station or independent of it?

10. What do you see as the future of school television in this area? 237

July 29, 1966

Dear

I am writing to ask if I could impose, on your time to assist me in an evaluation of the development of WVIZ’s relationship with the area school systems.

While working at WVIZ I have also been working on a doctoral dissertation at Ohio State University. I have been attempting to apply a number of organizational concepts which my studies suggest are essential to the establishment and conduct of a cooperative school telecasting organization.

Could I trouble you to react to the questions below and append any other comments you wish. I propose to include your reply as received as well as this letter in the final paper. Please do not hesitate to make any criticism you feel is justified.

I would appreciate comments to these questions.

1. Do you feel that a sense of "ownership and control" of the

station is developing in your staff as contrasted with

identifying the station as an outside agency not controlled

by the schools?

2. Do you feel that the schools have adequate opportunity and

join representation in the decision making related to school

programs and the determination and planning of such programs?

3. Do you feel that adequate information about the station and 238

Page 2

its activities is reaching the school people who should have

it? What additional reporting is needed?

4. Do you feel that the general organisational concept by which

we are undertaking school telecasting is clearly understood

and is a sound one?

Thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

Alan R. Stephenson 239 CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1380 East Sixth Street • Cleveland, Ohio 44114 • Telephone 241-3660

P A U L W, B R I G G S August 2, 1966 Superintendent

Mr. Alan R. Stephenson, Director Educational Services Station WVIZ--Channel 25 Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Dear Mr. Stephenson:

The opportunity to comment, in response to your letter of July 29, 1966, on the increasing awareness of the contribution of Station WVIZ in the field of educational television is appreciated. The responses below are numbered to correspond with the questions in your letter.

1. The growing sense of participation in the determination of program policy and content is particularly strong among members of the staff who have taken an active part in curriculum committees and in program production. The wide use of programs, especially in the elementary schools, indicates widespread acceptance of the Station as an additional educational resource.

2. The Curriculum Council and the representative curriculum committees for various program series have given the staffs of the receiving school systems a direct means of stating needs and recommending program patterns.

3. Information regarding program schedules and content has been available to classroom teachers from the beginning. Personal contacts between receiving teachers and teachers "on camera" have been planned. The measure of success attained by these activities points to the desirability of increasing and broadening these person-to-person relationships.

4. The general organization of the Station's educational activities gives ample opportunity for expanded partici­ pation in the future on the part of the receiving school ** systems.

In the relatively short time that Station WVIZ has been on the air, the utilization of programs by the elementary schools has been indeed gratifying. Time, attention, and additional school equipment will be required to overcome the obstacles to equally full use of the available programs in the secondary schools. Organizationally, the Station is well prepared to serve both the present member systems and the school systems to be added in the future.

Yours very truly,

Harry E^rRitchie Assistant Superintendent CLEVELAND HEIGHTS-UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 240 Office of the Assistant Superintendent - Curriculum and Instruction

August 18, 1966

Mr. Alan Stephenson Director of Educational Services T elevision Station WVIZ 4600 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Reactions to questionnaire:

Question //I I have been associated with many cooperative efforts in education which joined the resources of different school systems. None have measured up to the feel­ ing many members of our school system and I have that WVIZ-TV is really ours. This feeling is not caused by our financial contribution. In fact, most staff members are not even aware of this. It is rather caused by the system of involvement organized by the staff at our station. This has been done through:' 1. Advisory and planning committees 2. Production committees 3. Use of teachers from our school system 4. Special programs for or about our school system There has never been a refusal from our station for any special request made by members of our staff.

Question #2 The decision-making process took place at different levels for different func­ tions. Our superintendent made decisions (with others) on final matters. I made decisions concerning recommendations of priorities for program devel­ opment. Chairmen of our departments made decisions concerning program content and sequence. Teachers working at our station made decisions con­ cerning the manner in which the programs were to be presented. My answer to this question is an unqualified "yes"!

Question #3 Information about the programs is excellent and reflects the needs of the classroom teachers to use them. Some information about projected plans in terms of needs, expansion, etc. for the total operation of the station was, no doubt, presented on the Board of Directors level, but most staff members were not aware of the organization chart, staff needs, equipment, etc. This is a touchy subject particularly if plans are in the confidential stage. Most information in this area was publicized in the newspaper "after the fact" as it were. Perhaps a public relations office or even a "Staff Notes" publica­ tion could involve all schools with the growing pains to which I'm sure mean­ ingful support would have been given. Information about planning and develop­ ment of educational programs was also excellent. 241

Alan Stephenson - 2 - August 18, 1966

tit ion if-I - - - I believe the concept is understood by the school personnel and that it is not only sound, but is essential to any organization serving many school systems on a cooperative basis.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Gerhardt Assistant Superintendent Board of Education

Mayfield City School District 242 HHlcreat 2-2200 1123 S. O. M. Center Rd. Mayfield Heights CLEVELAND, OHIO 44121 September 23, 1966

Mr. Alan R. Stephenson, Director Educational Services VVIZ-TV I;600 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio Mi102

Dear Mr. Stephenson:

These are the comments which I would like to make in answer to your questions:

1. "Our staff" as a whole has not had or taken the opportunity to use WVIZ as effectively as it might. There is a need for a stronger selling job on the part of the administration toihe classroom teacher, ihe teachers who use programs regularly and keep informed by WVTZ releases or by contact with members of the administrative staff working with WVIZ do identify with the station. This is especially true when they are aware that the program is locally produced and presented by an area teacher. Imported programs do not seem to have the same impact as do the locally produced programs. The question seems to be in the mind of the teacher "who selected it" . If it is locally produced the teachers are carefully critical and make suggestions for change because they believe these changes are possible.

2. The member schools do have adequate opportunity and fair repre­ sentation in decision making. I worked with one committee closely enough to realize that any school could have one or more members on that committee or any committee, that each committee member had a voice and that suggestion, production and evaluation were participated in by a ll.

3. Yes, the information from the station is adequate. The emphasis on its value and use to the teacher is the burden of the school district, however, there is great need for more in-service training for teachers on how the programs on WVIZ can be used. By design the programs from WVIZ are supplementary and for enrichment.

Teachers have adequate notices of programs and probably enough opportunity for previewing but many teachers do not know and may not know how to conduct these programs effectively in their own classes. 243 Alan R. Stephenson Page two

1) . x believe I have grapsed the organizational concept WVIZ is attempting to develop. I believe most of the lay participants from the schools and superintendents'committee realizes the procedures which WVIZ is attempting to use in developing school TV in the Cleveland area.

Many s till pursue the idea that courses per se (language, math, etc.) can be taught by TV with the teacher as the supervisory bystander. This concept as far as WVIZ is concerned must be eliminated. The Cleveland area is too large in its number of individual school systems, too cosmo­ politan in its ideas and too individualistic in its expression of ideas to accept specifically outlined courses. Sometime with more channels avail­ able this may he a possibility.

CONCLUSION: WVIZ after more than a year of broadcasting has made a definite constructive contribution to our system. Students and teachers have gained much--but we have gained most from those program areas where we contributed most. The.programs which were taught by the local (Cleveland area) teacher were usually received in the classroom with more enthusiasm because of the personal interest in the teacher and the opportunity for visitation of that teacher to the schools personal contact increased interest in the program.

The participating members of our staff have been pleased to work with the staff at WVIZ in developing programs with the Cleveland area.

S in c e re ly ,

.■L L-<- "'-t j £ ( L z ~ L - L - - Kenneth Faulhaber Acting Superintendent of Schools

KF:gl SOUTH EUCLID-LYNDHUR5T CITY SCHOOLS 4777 FARNHURST ROAD 244 CLEVEUND 24, OHIO

FRED W . RIEGIER, JR. aaXNXGX SttKNKlAND Oirattor of Elcmonlory Educollon Superintendent o f S chooli October l*f, 1966

Mr.* Alan R. Stephenson Director of Educational Services WVIZ-TV ^600 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, Ohio ^102

Dear Alan:

Forgive me for being terribly late with the response to your questionnaire and I hope that it has not caused you any inconvenience.

1 - Ownership and Control I do not honestly feel that the staff has a deep sense of ownership and control. On the other hand, however, I do not feel that the staff feels that WVIZ is an outside agency. My reasoning is that I know the sincere desire on the part of WVIZ to be an integral part of the school systems but realizing also that we must serve many masters, it is im­ possible to become completely identified with any school system. Until such time as a school would have at its own control and disposal all television facilities, I doubt that any school system would feel a true sense of ownership and control.

2 - Opportunity and Decision Making

Having been involved with the council I feel that we have had ample opportunity to affect decision making relative to planning of programs. I feel that we must continue to offer broad coverage and provide schools the opportunity of utilizing those programs most applicable to the cur­ riculum being taught.

3 - Information relative to WVIZ

I feel that adequate information is being conveyed to the school personnel and that additional attempts to identify more completely would be somewhat fruitless. Teachers must identify with many different situations daily and a more intimate identification with ETV might alienate the affections.

^ - Organizational concept

The general organization concept is probably better understood by those of us directly related than it is by the vast majority of teachers or principals involved. Again I must indicate that until such time as schools control their own television, we will not have the intimacy that perhaps you desire. Again I must indicate that I’m not too sure that we need have a true sense of intimacy but can look at ETV providing a fantastic teaching facility to augment and enrich our current teaching. 245

Mr. Alan R. Stephenson -2- October 1^, 1966

I hope that this information is useful and again I apologize for the tardiness.

Most cordially,

Fred W. Riegler,Jr. FWR:ak Director of Elementary Education 246 BOARD OP EDUCATION Painesville City Schools ADMINISTRATION 68 JEFFERSON ST. RUSSELL r. HOBART . r a n * A b l a x i n a . . r e ». SUPERINTENDENT M M . JOHN w. DAVIS, v ies ARE.. PainesviJLlc, Oliio 4407 7 H. D. RAIN9BERGER ASST. SUPERINTENDENT MM. ANDREW IVART JOHN J. BRITT. PRINCIPAL ROBERT R. JENKS TELEPHONE 397-6121 HARVKV HIOH SCHOOL OONALD L. HISEV JOHN H. MOORE, ASST. PRINCIPAL HARVKV HIGH SCHOOL MARIE A. DEMARCO. CLERK August 16, 1966

Mr. Alan Stephenson, Director Educational Services, WVIZ-TV 4600 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Dear Mr. Stephenson:

I am in receipt of your correspondence dated July 29, 1966. In answer to your questions, I would like to reply as follows:

1. "Do you feel that a sense of 'ownership and control1 of the station is developing in your staff as contrasted with identifying the station as an outside agency not controlled by the schools?" -- At no time has our staff looked upon WVIZ as an outside agency. In our initial study to participate in the WVIZ program, staff members conducted tentative studies to deter­ mine the relative value of TV in our current school program. Staff mem­ bers were made aware of the Board of Education's financial obligation to the station. At the same time, station representatives made it very clear that what was "on the air" would be largely determined by those school districts who elected to participate. Many questions and surveys were conducted to determine school district TV needs. The TV staff has been most cooperative in working with groups to determine needs and, more important, to evaluate results.

2. "Do you feel that the schools have adequate opportunity and fair repre­ sentation in the decision making related to school programs and the deter­ mination and planning of such programs?" -- The Painesville City Schools have had a number of teachers serving on respective groups of the station. Mr. William. Hall, our science coordinator, has served as our district's coordinator with the station. Mrs. Ann West, our school art supervisor, has worked very closely with those developing curriculum, for the station. I personally have had the privilege of serving on the Superintendent's Ad­ visory Committee since the inception of the station. I have also had the privilege of being on the air for one program, which involved the role of the superintendent as it relates to the schools. Several of our teachers have been screened for the role of a TV teacher. Representatives have visited our schools from, the station to discuss curriculum, and other phases of programing with our staff. In our particular situation, we have had Mr. Alan Stephenson -- 2 August 16, 1966 247 had more than an adequate opportunity to be involved in the decision­ making concerning school programs . Once again, I must emphasize that through questionnaires and other surveys, the TV station repre­ sentatives have kept in almost constant touch with our professional staff.

3. "Do you feel that adequate information about the station and its activities is reaching the school people who should have it? What addi­ tional reporting is needed?" - - I feel that adequate information is reach­ ing our staff through curriculum, guides, periodic bulletins, and station meetings. The Board of Education was first informed concerning the station's operation at a special banquet held prior to the first viewing days. Since then, Board members have been informed by station bro­ chures. Members of the staff of the station have made themselves a- vailable to appear at Board of Education meetings if so requested. The rapport to date has been excellent, and I cannot recommend at this time „ any additional reporting procedures.

4. "Do you feel that the general organizational concept by which we are undertaking school telecasting is clearly understood and is a sound one?" -- The general organizational concept is clearly understood, and is a sound one. Lines of communication are open, and many opportunities are pre­ sented for those who wish to express their views on station programing or operation. Members of the station have made themselves available at general superintendents' meetings as well as at Superintendent's Advisory Committee meetings. The superintendents that I have talked with concern­ ing general organization seem, most pleased. An annual report meeting was held just recently at which all participating school district superintend­ ents were invited to attend. I did not "take the roll"; however, from the number of superintendents present, I can only assume that we were almost 100% in attendance. This in itself should give the observer some knowledge of the interest that the participating school districts have in the station, as well as an indication of their pleasure concerning the way things are going. I feel that WVIZ because of the organization, is well on the way to becoming one of the most outstanding television stations in the United States.

Sincerely your

yRussell F. Hobart, Supt. Painesville City Schools

RFH:ls 248

BAY VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BAY VILLAGE. OHIO

orncE o f the principal Glenview School 28727 Wolf Road August 23, 1966

Mr. Alan R. Stephenson WVIZ - TV 4600 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, Ohio

Dear Mr. Stephenson:

My response to the questions stated in your letter dated July 29, 1966 is as follows:

1. The comments of teachers I have worked with leads me to believe they definitely feel WVIZ Is "their" station. This is especially brought out in conversations with teachers who have used educational TV in other cities.

2. Without question I believe the schools have adequate opportunity and representation to share in the planning of school programs. As our school system’s representative, I witness this at all of our Curriculum Council meetings. Also, it is shown by the feeling of pride teachers display when they see one of their suggestions implemented in^the locally produced programs. This also tends to strengthen the teachers* ifeelings expressed toward Question 1.

3. Yes, adequate information about the station is distributed. This information is especially appreciated by the members of our Board of Education. At the present time, I believe no additional reporting is necessary.

4. Yes, I feel the organizational concept is clearly understood and sound

In general, I feel the degree to which a positive re­ sponse is made to all of the questions depends on the in­ formation which is passed on to the teachers by the ETV coordinators, the receptiveness of principals, and the amount of enthusiasm and participation by individual teachers.

Sincerely,

Paul K. Spencer Principal

PKStrr BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Carpenter, C.R. "Research on Instructional Television," Paper read before the Conference on the Economicsof Educational Television, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, May 23, 1963.

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Guba, Egon. "The Theory-Practice Dichotomy in Instructional Television, " Paper read before the Region III Seminar, National Association of Educa­ tional Broadcasters, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, March 22, 1965.

Hill, Harold. "The National Association of Educational Broadcasters? A History. " Urbana,Illinois: National Association of Educational Broad­ casters, 1963 (Mimeographed).

Peterson, Roger E. "An Appraisal of Current Developments in ETV Equip­ ment," Paper read before the Region III Seminar, National Association of Educational Broadcasters, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, March 23, 1965. ______"Educational Television, " Paper read before the Institute for Education by Radio-Television, Columbus, Ohio, June 2, 1965.

Robertson, James. "A National ETV Network of the Future, " Paper read before the Conference on the Economics of Educational Television, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, April 1, 1963.

______. "A Report on Recent Activities of the National Educational Television and Radio Center," Paper read before the meeting of the Eastern Educational Network, Lexington, Massachusetts, November 1 5 / 1961.