Socioeconomic Determinants of the Demand for Inputs to the Educational Process

Interrelationships between socioeconomic characteristics of communities and the availability of inputs to public education were examined for Indiana schools during 1970-71. The analysis revealed that family income levels were highly related to salaries of teachers while assessed valuation was of importance in determining pupil/teacher ratios. The enrollment of the school was the primary determinant of the availability of course offerings at the secondary level. Teachers holding graduate degrees tend to be found in communities where a high proportion of the population graduated from college. Teachers at high mean experience levels resided in low income communities and in communities where a high proportion of the population was over 65.