BUSING: AN EDUCATIONAL ISSUE

The primary purpose of this study was to determine, within the limits of a questionnaire, which attitudes are most common among primary and secondary teachers in a school district that has had some success with desegregation/busing. The attitudes were analyzed as reflections of answers given by a defined population.;The results of this study in terms of the hypotheses tested were as follows: (1) A statistically significant relationship existed between attitudes of teachers toward busing and their attitudes toward race and the way they interpreted cultual backgrounds and racial traits. (2) No statistically significant differenes existed in attitude between elementary and secondary teachers toward children and the way they interpreted cultural backgrounds and racial traits. (3) There was no significant difference between teachers who reported greater contact with individuals of groups other than their own and those teachers who reported less contact with individuals in groups other than their own in relation to favorable attitudes toward busing for desegregation.;While conclusions derived from analysis of the data can be applied only to the population involved in this study, implications exist for all those directly concerned with busing and desegregation.;A review of the literature revealed that (a) the major causes of racial isolation in urban public schools appeared to be residential segregation; (b) the academic performance of black youths is on the whole lower than that of whites; (c) alternative programs to desegregation are in general ineffective; (d) busing to achieve desegregation is not as widespread as many of its critics imply; (e) attitudes toward forced busing have for the most part been negative; and (f) the attitudes of local school officials and community leaders help to shape the attitude of the community as a whole toward busing and desegregation.