School Board Presidents' Perceptions of the Changing Role of the Superintendent

Download or read book School Board Presidents' Perceptions of the Changing Role of the Superintendent written by Ella H. Musser and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study was developed to investigate school board presidents' perspectives of the changing role of the superintendent. Thirty-one presidents of public schools located in 8 southeastern Pennsylvania counties participated in an online survey consisting of multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions. The questions collected data on board presidents' perspectives about the role of the superintendent and how it is changing, perspectives about leadership skills necessary for effective district leadership and how the importance of various skills might be changing, and perspectives regarding changes in communication patterns between the board and the superintendent. Nine board presidents also participated in a follow-up interview consisting of 8 related questions. Results indicate that participating board presidents perceive the role of the superintendent to be increasing in complexity, especially in the areas of school finance, communication with stakeholders, and academic achievement. Furthermore, results suggest that participating board presidents consider effective communication and financial management as increasingly important skills for successful district leadership. Finally, results indicate that in the represented districts, communication between the superintendent and the board has become more frequent and detailed, and that the communication is often presented in electronic formats. These findings offer direction for prospective superintendents as they seek to develop effective leadership skills, for board presidents as they support the work of the superintendents, and for current superintendents as they seek ways to grow and develop their professional skills.