plant for our children. Perhaps as a result of the critical shortage in school-plant facilities, public concern about the problem has increased appreciably during the period under consideration in this review. Lay committees, educators and educational groups, legislative bodies and governmental agencies, as well as radio, television, and press facilities, have constantly emphasized the importance of the school-plant problem and ways by which it may be overcome.

lT HAS been observed that educational literature contains materials which deal largely with educational problems in terms of (a) what has been done, (b) what exists at the present time, and (c) what should be done. Review of the literature dealing with problems of school business administration during the period under consideration leads to the observation that there is practically none of the first category, a little of the second, and altogether too much of the third. If, in reviewing the literature, one abides by the definition of educational research, it must be said that the bulk of what has been published cannot be considered to fall within the accepted meaning of the term. There appears to be an overwhelming abundance of materials describing the solution of a particular problem, in a particular place, by a particular method. Moreover, there is a full measure of those articles which suggest means and methods of how a certain problem should be dealt with, even tho the suggestions are made without benefit of extensive investigation or supporting evidence. Until those aspects of school business administration mentioned below are dealt with more objectively, improvement of school business administration will be delayed accordingly.

I N THE APRIL 1938 issue of the REVIEW the reviewer commented that "there has been little research in the field of financial and property accounting since 1935." It is discouraging to report that the same comment holds at the present time. The paucity of research in this field in no way signifies the absence of vital but unsolved problems. "This condition is probably due to the fact that too few of our educational workers are familiar with these problems and too few by training or experience are prepared to attack them" (2) . There is, however, evidence of improvement in practice throughout the country as well as increased interest in the problems connected with fiscal administration. Many state departments of education are continuing their helpful activities in the form of improved accounting systems for use in local school systems (1 ) .

CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE SUBJECT of this chapter have been treated in the issues of the two preceding cycles of the Review of Educational Research which dealt with the school plant. The same topic was also discussed in one chapter of the issue of February 1934 on Methods and Technics of Educational Research. It will therefore be the purpose of this chapter to review only those studies appearing since, or which were omitted from, previous treatments in the Review.