District Superintendent and School Board President Perceptions Regarding Leadership Characteristics for Superintendents of Texas Schools

ABSTRACT

District Superintendent and School Board President Perceptions regarding Leadership Characteristics for Superintendents of Texas Schools. (December 2009) Kenneth Lee Groholski, B.S., Sam Houston State University M.Ed., Tarleton State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. John R. Hoyle

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of Texas Public School superintendents and school board presidents on the importance of leadership characteristics of the superintendency.
The questionnaire used in this study was developed by Dr. Douglas D. Wilson and modified by the researcher.  Responses to a Likert Scale instrument and a nominal ranking of ten leadership characteristics were solicited from superintendents and school board presidents of Texas public schools.  The population was superintendents and school board presidents from Texas Public Schools.  The population was divided into large school districts (>10,000 students) and small school districts (<10,000 students).

Data was then generated regarding the respondent?s perceptions of leadership characteristics. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney Tests for differences were used to determine if possible significant differences exist in the data. Results were reported using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 14.0).

Major findings of the study suggest:

1. Superintendents may view the importance of instructional leadership, prior work experience in education, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents.
2. Superintendents of small schools may view the importance of instructional leadership, prior work experience in education, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents of small schools. Conversely, school board presidents of small schools may view the focus on professional development significantly higher than superintendents of small schools.
3. Superintendents of large schools may view the importance of instructional leadership, comfort with media relations and politics, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents of large schools.
4. Regardless of school size, superintendents and school board presidents appeared to be in agreement concerning the three least important superintendent leadership characteristics.