The purpose of this study is to identify and document processes that are associated with effective desegregation in six school districts enumerated below; to examine the interrelationships of these processes; and to identify commonalities among the six districts which could provide guidelines for models of effective school desegregation. The major question addressed by the study is what the major status and process variables associated with progress toward ethnic desegregation in the public schools are. The six case study districts are: Birmingham, Durham, Ewing, Goldsboro, Minneapolis, and Orangeburg. The introduction addresses the following topics: background and significance of the study, definitions, procedures, criteria for selecting school districts, site selection, preparation for site visits, and debriefing. A section on methodological considerations examines methodological problems involved in the descriptive case study approach to research in the area of desegregation. These are sampling, documentation analysis, and generalization--areas for which existing research and evaluation methods are seen as not providing answers. Summaries of the case studies for the six cities form the conclusion of the study. (Author/AM)