A leadership shortage has been documented across professions. Emotional intelligence skills, traits, and abilities have received much attention as a tool for business leaders in the past decade as a way to increase leadership skill, meet organizational goals, and enhance profits. The study sought to determine whether public school superintendents…

Many state and education leaders continue to support and employ methods that prevent schools and principals from undertaking the efforts that they think are most needed to improve education in their classrooms. The use of state categorical grants--funds to school districts with strict limits on their use--exemplifies this lack of innovation in…

A growing number of school districts are moving away from the idea that charter schools are the enemy. Instead, districts are breaking down barriers and openly discussing how to share resources, responsibilities, and knowledge of what works. This report explores a lesser-known form of knowledge transfer: the practice of superintendents looking…

The chapter examines school administrator responsibilities to special education students and their families from case scenarios based on conflicts between parents and districts regarding services provided by schools to special education students. From these case studies based on real case law, readers are exposed to situations intended to pose…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ethical leadership perspectives of Ohio public school superintendents. Secondly, this study examined to what extent ethical leadership perspectives of Ohio public school superintendents vary according to school district characteristics. Furthermore, the study examined to what extent do ethical…

In the current accountability policy context, access to and use of research evidence are central to district and school improvement. Our study examines the network of relations between central office administrators and principals using a political lens to consider the ways in which the underlying politics in a district may call into question some…

This article examines high superintendency turnover through rural community members' perceptions of such attrition in their districts. Findings indicate that community members perceived high turnover as negative and believed that turnover was created by financial pressures, rural community resistance to educational trends, and bias against…

The primary task of the educational leader is to assure high quality learning environments for all students. Research (Gordon, 2004; Sparks, 2007) supports the proposition that effective professional development contributes to instructional improvement by building educator capacity. Much of the research on professional development focuses in…

When a specific system is chosen, in reference to selecting a school superintendent, contention between constituents who oppose such system ensues. Such issues range from demographics and differences in management style to which superintendent is more credentialed. In Florida, each county is considered a school district and has its own school…

Section 25 of Act 58 of 2011 required the Department of Education (DOE) to "explore options for restructuring the delivery of driver education." The DOE convened a combination of partial and total stakeholder meetings. Included in this meetings were representatives of the DOE, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Vermont Superintendents Association…

The purpose of this study was to identify the utilized strategies and practices that urban superintendents use to raise student achievement. This study examined the strategies, practices, and leadership skills that are applied by urban superintendents. Three research questions were used in this mixed-methods study. A survey instrument was used…

The purpose of this study was to add to the research on position longevity for urban school superintendents by examining personal character traits and skills. The study explores how these traits translate to leadership behaviors. Additionally, relevant background and experience necessary to success were examined. This was a case study involving…

Descriptive data on the state of the U.S. superintendency have been collected approximately every 10 years since 1923; yet no comprehensive data were collected on the characteristics, career paths, recruiting, and retention of ASOS heads between 1993 and 2011. This study gathered current data on the characteristics and career paths of ASOS heads;…

It appears that superintendent turnover has become an accepted occurrence in districts across the country. Governing boards have resigned themselves to the idea that sustained district leadership is not realistic. There is a growing idea that good educational leaders, who are willing to endure the political landscape and the roller coaster ride…

Career and technical education was founded on the common practice of apprenticeships integrated into the public schools at the beginning of the 20th century as manual arts, which continued to evolve into a culture and practice of its own as vocational education, and into what is now career and technical education, with an evolving focus on college…