The thesis records and comments upon the climate of opinion in South Australia with respect to questions of freedom and authority from the late sixties to 1974. Thus it includes material prior to the South Australian Director - General's Memorandum on Freedom and Authority of August 1970 and material relevant to its implementation between 1970 and 1974. The question of student rights within the schools is emphasized. The changing role of the senior secondary student is reviewed as is the growth of student activism in Adelaide. This is linked to the general movement for democracy in education and to the views on this question of principals and teachers. Important differences emerged between the perceptions of principals and students, the former perceiving more progressive features than did the students. This was particularly noticeable with perceptions of communication and of whether the school climate was democratic or authoritarian. Another difference was between girls and boys, the former showing stronger 'will for change'. Smaller schools, generally, reported better communication, and one school, H, was found to have some distinctively open characteristics.