This article examines 20th-century longitudinal data on the American superintendency's composition by sex. The authors analyze and discuss those data in the light of occupational sex segregation theory to illuminate complexities associated with women's in roads into historically male work. The authors' overarching purpose is to deepen…

Overview of macro-level structures, policies, and institutionalized practices that influence mismatches between superintendent supply and demand. Also explores micro-politics of local school board searches and selection practices that can affect access of women and people of color to the superintendency. Provides an alternative explanation of…

Findings of a study that explored reasons why women exit the superintendency are presented in this document. Data were collected through open-ended telephone interviews conducted with 20 women who left superintendencies within the past 7 years and with 4 women informants, all derived through snowball sampling. One-third had voluntarily exited…

Analyzes school board members' on-the-job training and development from board members' and superintendents' perspectives. Most board members viewed their own learning development within a broader framework than did most superintendents; the latter mistakenly saw themselves as central to board learning. Implications for three policy areas (training…

Pursuing and obtaining a superintendency is more complicated than any other educational employment process. School board members are intensely involved. Outside search consultants serve as power brokers. Long-standing biases are often built into the process. This book demonstrates how to navigate this challenging terrain by providing an…

Little is known about the relationship between school boards and superintendents. Structured interviews in six districts revealed that behavioral inclinations of board members ranged from passive acquiescence to proactive supportiveness to restive vigilance. Superintendents' behaviors were "more controlling" and "less controlling." Respondents…

Although the functional relationship between school board and superintendent is a critical connection that stands at the apex of the organizational pyramid in education, little is known about that linkage, other than the tension endemic to the relationship. This study therefore examines how superintendents and school boards interact and inquires…

Examines experiences and perspectives of four women who have exited urban school district superintendencies. Sources of disenchantment with the political aspects of the role are discussed. Increased attention to recruitment and retention of women and other underprivileged groups are advocated. (SLD)

Examines superintendent search and selection practices in New York State districts, using gatekeeping and career mobility theories. Findings illustrate how certain elements of school-board and headhunting practices, school-administration norms, and dominant ideological/sociocultural values facilitate nonminority males' access and limit others'…

Considers knowledge about location and contexts of men's and women's superintendencies, along with the authors' own recent research on former women superintendents. Women are likely to occupy superintendencies in the smallest, least cosmopolitan districts with the fewest central-office administrators, declining enrollments, more reported job…

Explores gender issues in school board membership through interviews with 13 male and 5 female school superintendents and 28 male and 26 female school board members in Arizona, New York, and Pennsylvania. Responses represent the beginning of a database of experiences of female school board members. (SLD)