School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover

School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover PDF Author: Mark Jutabha
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover by Mark Jutabha Doctor of Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Christina A. Christie, Co-Chair Professor Diane Durkin, Co-Chair Within California, superintendents continue to experience a high rate of turnover, affecting over six million students in nearly 1,000 school districts. The literature cites conflict as a key indicator affecting superintendent tenure. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities and political interests are often highlighted as contributing to this conflict. School boards--typically comprising three, five, or seven individuals who are charged with managing the superintendent as well as determining local policies to ensure state and federal laws are followed--also play a role. Their ability to skillfully resolve conflict is essential. While much of the existing research on this topic centers on identifying causal factors of turnover, this study sought to identify significant indicators that separate high and low turnover districts. I posited that turnover is associated with the level of training board members and superintendents receive. Moreover, findings from the literature show higher functioning districts have established protocols for decision making. Therefore, I wanted to compare decision-making processes between high and low turnover districts. I partnered with the California School Board Association to conduct a survey of superintendents and school board members on these key issues. The study found relationships between board members and superintendents and specific areas of governance to be key indicators of conflict. Further, these indicators were found to be primary reasons for board members or superintendents not returning to their roles the following year. Effective conflict resolution was also found to be associated with turnover. I found no association between high and low turnover districts and the use of decision-making protocols. However, I found a difference between high and low turnover districts in how board members and superintendents were trained in knowledge of roles and responsibilities and constituent and community interests. Furthermore, respondents had high interest in ongoing professional development with feedback. Service providers such as consultants or county offices of education can use these findings to inform professional development delivery methods designed to address the turnover indicators. This is an important consideration given the challenges in scheduling training for board members who typically have other, competing professional responsibilities. A school board with a clearer understanding of roles and expectations and the ability to skillfully resolve conflict can not only improve superintendent turnover rates but also positively impact the education of California's student and teacher population.

School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover

School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover PDF Author: Mark Jutabha
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Get Book Here

Book Description
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION School Board Conflict, Decision-Making Processes, and Professional Development: The Effect on Superintendent Turnover by Mark Jutabha Doctor of Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Christina A. Christie, Co-Chair Professor Diane Durkin, Co-Chair Within California, superintendents continue to experience a high rate of turnover, affecting over six million students in nearly 1,000 school districts. The literature cites conflict as a key indicator affecting superintendent tenure. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities and political interests are often highlighted as contributing to this conflict. School boards--typically comprising three, five, or seven individuals who are charged with managing the superintendent as well as determining local policies to ensure state and federal laws are followed--also play a role. Their ability to skillfully resolve conflict is essential. While much of the existing research on this topic centers on identifying causal factors of turnover, this study sought to identify significant indicators that separate high and low turnover districts. I posited that turnover is associated with the level of training board members and superintendents receive. Moreover, findings from the literature show higher functioning districts have established protocols for decision making. Therefore, I wanted to compare decision-making processes between high and low turnover districts. I partnered with the California School Board Association to conduct a survey of superintendents and school board members on these key issues. The study found relationships between board members and superintendents and specific areas of governance to be key indicators of conflict. Further, these indicators were found to be primary reasons for board members or superintendents not returning to their roles the following year. Effective conflict resolution was also found to be associated with turnover. I found no association between high and low turnover districts and the use of decision-making protocols. However, I found a difference between high and low turnover districts in how board members and superintendents were trained in knowledge of roles and responsibilities and constituent and community interests. Furthermore, respondents had high interest in ongoing professional development with feedback. Service providers such as consultants or county offices of education can use these findings to inform professional development delivery methods designed to address the turnover indicators. This is an important consideration given the challenges in scheduling training for board members who typically have other, competing professional responsibilities. A school board with a clearer understanding of roles and expectations and the ability to skillfully resolve conflict can not only improve superintendent turnover rates but also positively impact the education of California's student and teacher population.

How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member

How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member PDF Author: Richard E. Mayer
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1452237131
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Build a successful board by knowing where the land mines are Veteran school board member, Richard E. Mayer, takes a humorous but substantive approach to the serious relationship between school administrators and board members. While the overwhelming majority of school board members have good motives, even people who mean well can make bad moves. This book shows how to prevent good intentions from creating bad outcomes. Each chapter presents a negative school board scenario, offers alternatives, and provides win-win solutions. Key features include 28 brief case studies Lessons learned for board members Lessons learned for administrators In addition to highlighting typical traps, the case studies light the path to positive collaboration and shared decision making between superintendents and school boards. Whether you are a school board member or an administrator who is trying to figure out what goes on in school board members′ heads, How Not to Be a Terrible School Board Member provides clear direction in a realistic and memorable way.

The Politics of Leadership

The Politics of Leadership PDF Author: George J. Petersen
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1607527480
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
The primary contribution of this book, is not its advocacy of a specific position but rather, its objective analysis of cogent topics. The content prompts us to consider governance in relation to quality education and to ponder alternative policy strategies that have yet to be fully evaluated. As a young doctoral student more than a few years ago, William Van Til, an eminent scholar and a mentor, reminded me almost daily that members of the education profession had a moral responsibility to address the most difficult questions about education and democracy. These enduring queries, he argued, extended to determining how this critical social service should be organized and controlled and to determining the appropriate roles for administrators and teachers. Those in our profession who fail to heed his advice by remaining indifferent to these philosophical dilemmas should consider Plato’s long-standing warning: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

The Board-Savvy Superintendent

The Board-Savvy Superintendent PDF Author: Paul D. Houston
Publisher: R&L Education
ISBN: 1461663474
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
The Board-Savvy Superintendent's hard-hitting, no-nonsense, advice on school board leadership capitalizes on Houston and Eadie's hands-on experience working with hundreds of boards and superintendents over the past quarter-century. It is a practical, survive-and-thrive book that will help school district leaders—board members, superintendents, and senior administrators—learn to work together successfully in leading their districts in these extraordinarily challenging times. Filled with detailed, thoroughly tested guidance on how to acquire the skills and knowledge that make up board savvyness, it also addresses how to develop the school board's capacity to produce truly high-impact governance, and how to build a strong, enduring, productive board-superintendent working partnership. The authors take a fresh look at the process of governing, going well beyond the old-fashioned, control-focused "policy governance" approach. Rather than being preoccupied with developing a static structure of policies to distinguish the board's role from the superintendent's, the book describes how the board and superintendent can creatively work together in making decisions about such critical governing "products" as values, vision, mission, and strategic change initiatives. School district leaders will appreciate The Board-Savvy Superintendent's close look at the "gold standard" for board involvement in school affairs: leading strategic change. The authors go well beyond the conventional long-range planning approach of merely projecting everything a school district is doing for some arbitrary period of 3 or 5 years, which has generated tons of paper and little important change to provide the reader with detailed, practical guidance on engaging school boards creatively and proactively in a much more selective, vision-driven process that actually results in the implementation of strategic change: the Strategic Change Portfolio.

Living on the Horns of Dilemmas

Living on the Horns of Dilemmas PDF Author: Peter R. Litchka
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475800177
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
This book is based on the professional experiences and research findings of Drs. Litchka, Polka, and Calzi who possess a combined total professional experience of over 100 years as educators in the United States, including over 75 years as public school administrators and over 30 years as chief school officers. The authors have also spent a combined 30 plus years in researching and roles, responsibilities, and stresses of school district leadership. They are committed to appropriately preparing current and aspiring leaders to survive and thrive as superintendents. The authors know the topic of school leadership very well from both the practical “lived experiences” to the various theoretical research conceptual frameworks. This book reflects actual stories collected via their most recent research associated with school district leadership, decision-making, politics, and “living on the horns of dilemmas.”

Working Toward Success

Working Toward Success PDF Author: Amy E. Van Deuren
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475815549
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
The importance of positive board/superintendent relationships cannot be understated. The need to balance competing political pressures to create the best possible learning opportunities for students is ever present. Most importantly, board/superintendent relationships should be cultivated with openness and transparency among each other and the public. This book is a resource for both board members and superintendents, and explores issues related to the board/superintendent relationship and superintendent hiring practices. The book includes contributions from experienced and new superintendents and board members on a wide range of topics that boards and superintendents must navigate together successfully in order to move districts in a positive direction for students, staff, parents, and communities. This book is unique in that the intended audience is both boards and superintendents. It is not a resource wherein “experts” tell board members how they should conduct board business, nor a resource that informs superintendents how to “manage” school boards. Instead, the book promotes and encourages a productive working relationship and partnership that moves school districts forward in a positive manner.

The School Board Effect

The School Board Effect PDF Author: Alexander U. Ikejiaku, Ph.D.
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1491801832
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
Every school board adopts a unique governing style which affects the way the district is managed. This book identifies some of those styles and examines their potential impact on district administration, and ultimately on student achievement. The book also clarifies the role of school boards in unequivocal terms, discusses board-superintendent relations, and offers several recommendations and critical takeaways for education stakeholders. The author's doctoral research which gave rise to this book shows that a school board's governing style has the potential to affect educational outcomes in consequential ways, particularly in urban districts where the greatest impact was observed. A content outline for a set of professional development modules on school board governance is provided in the book, including an in depth review of the roles and responsibilities of school boards, and some case studies on board-superintendent interaction.

Decision Making and the Superintendency

Decision Making and the Superintendency PDF Author: Randy W. Hetherington
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : School management and organization
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Abstract Public education in Alberta is undergoing substantive change and there is renewed interest in how school superintendents make decisions. My inquiry came from a practitioner's perspective looking into superintendent's decision-making processes. Eight serving school superintendents were interviewed to determine the influences on their decision-making around governance, human resource and accountability issues. I sought insights to inform superintendent practice in the province and uncover further questions for study. The research question used to identify the expectations, influences and understandings of public school superintendents regarding decision-making within their respective school jurisdictions was: What factors impact decisions related to jurisdiction governance, human resource management and accountability in the superintendency? A multiple case-study model was utilized to review responses from the purposive sample. The sample was balanced for gender and geographic and demographic diversity. Transcripts, government documents and research journals were utilized in the analysis as understandings were revealed and explanations built in response to the research question. The effect of time, role identification, relationship building, capacity building, and community expectations were identified as common factors affecting the decisions of school superintendents. Roles and responsibilities within school jurisdictions and whether an authoritative or participative approach to decision-making was utilized varied across genders and jurisdiction size and location. Perceived self-efficacy of superintendents in their role and perceived organizational efficacy of school jurisdictions in the public education system emerged as influences on the process. Superintendents indicated a clear preference for processes rendering decisions from understanding rather than decisions designed to compel understanding. Responses from superintendents in this study indicated they valued a collaborative approach to decision-making and a desire to transform decision-making from a process focused on individual roles and responsibilities to one supporting broader stakeholder values. Participants sought decisions that ultimately met the academic, social and emotional needs of the students. Changes to the landscape of public education in Alberta created by a new Education Act (2012) and the evolving expectations of society will require superintendents to make critical decisions in the months to come. The findings of this study support them in that work.

Building Great School Board -- Superintendent Teams

Building Great School Board -- Superintendent Teams PDF Author: Bradley V. Balch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781945349133
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
To address urgent challenges and drive continuous improvement effectively, school board members, superintendents, and school leaders must develop strong school board/superintendent teams. The authors offer a systematic approach for establishing a unified school leadership team that can efficiently meet demands, avoid conflict, and respond to the ever-changing educational environment. Each chapter includes professional development activities that can be adapted for teams of any size. Learn how to build an effective school leadership team: Consider how the school board/superintendent team can remain sustainable and productive in governance, instructional leadership, and school improvement. Foster committed team relationships and develop effective school leadership practices and qualities within the team. Clarify superintendents' and school board members' roles and responsibilities to improve governance and avoid conflict. Learn characteristics of effective communication and how to speak with one unified voice as a team. Participate in team professional development activities that build trust, respect, transparency, and accountability among the team. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Legal Perspectives and the Case for Local Control Chapter 2: Induction and New Team Member Orientation Chapter 3: Team Members' Roles and Responsibilities Chapter 4: Effective Communication and a Unified Voice Chapter 5: Team Decision Making Chapter 6: Committed, Effective Team Leadership Chapter 7: Foundational Statements Chapter 8: Continuous Improvement and Quality Assurance Chapter 9: Governance and Leadership During Change Chapter 10: Dysfunctional Teams and Rogue Members Chapter 11: System Evaluation Essentials Chapter 12: The Future of the School Board-Superintendent Team References and Resources

Dynamics of Decision Making in a School District

Dynamics of Decision Making in a School District PDF Author: Jean Bernice McGuire
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : School management and organization
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description