The Public School Superintendency in the Twenty-First Century: The Quest To Define Effective Leadership.

Abstract

This study examines research on public school leadership effectiveness, focusing specifically on the superintendent. It begins with a discussion of the historical mission to define leadership effectiveness, followed by a review of existing research on effective school districts and superintendents. The report also analyzes how superintendent effectiveness is defined and measured, concluding that this is one of the major shortcomings in the knowledge base. The report then details the obstacles that superintendents face in effectively managing a school system, including stability, the politicization of the profession, and superintendent and school board relations. Finally, the report presents suggestions for further research, which include addressing concerns regarding various operational definitions of effective leadership, examining the roles of the superintendent in their specific contexts, studying superintendent and school board relations, and providing information for preparing and recruiting effective educational leaders. (Contains 84 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENCY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY The Quest to Define Effective Leadership