John Smith is the superintendent of Green Hill Public Schools. This case study follows John through the whole budget process from July 2011 to July 2012. An interpretative perspective was used to tell his story. Ten interviews were given from October 2011 to July 2012. Newspaper articles and the minutes from meetings were analyzed and used as discussion items in the interview questions. This study was an analysis of how he made his budget decisions in a time of fiscal constraint and the role values played in the budget decision making. The budget year started out normal with John doing an analysis of the 2011/2012 budget during the month of July. A hurricane hit in August and it delayed the school year. The Governor’s budget was released in December and it caused the school division to scramble to figure how to cover the VRS and health insurance increase which amounted to $1.8 million. The budget from the General Assembly was delayed until April it confirmed that the VRS increase was to be implemented. The school division looked to the Board of Supervisors to fund $1.8 million. The Board of Supervisors claimed they did not have the money so a tense negotiation occurred. The school division ended up receiving $1.277 million from the Board of Supervisors. This study looked at the decision making process of the superintendent during a time of fiscal constraint. John had a budget team that he worked with that help him with this decision making. John had to display flexibility throughout the budget as unexpected expenses occurred during the process and deadlines were not followed. Values were used by John during his decision making. The first value was his compliance with the rules. He believed that the Standards of Quality dictated his decision making. The second value was keeping the quality of education high. John valued protecting the quality of education for the students. The third value was relationships and trust. This budget process was tense and many relationships were damaged during the process. The final value was transparency. John believed in a budget process that was open so the public could see what was going on.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / The existing literature regarding leadership to support technology innovation in schools is limited. This qualitative study employs a multiple case study method to explore the leadership of superintendents in five school districts that have moved toward a 1:1 learning environment. This dissertation examined how superintendents gain acceptance for large-scale technology initiatives by describing the superintendent's own use of technology and their attitude about technology. The study explored the impact a superintendent's attitude and use of technology had on the acceptance of technology initiatives. The study highlights how superintendents use technology both professionally and personally. The study results indicated that while the superintendent's attitude about mobile devices in the hands of students has a profound impact on gaining acceptance for a large-scale technology initiative, it is inconclusive if the superintendent's use of technology has such an impact. The result is an important addition to the literature including recommendations for superintendents seeking to implement a large-scale technology initiative in their district. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Lowenhaupt / This qualitative case study examined the mechanisms employed by a public school Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer to support district wide curriculum reform. Utilizing organizational learning theory as a frame, the study aims to uncover the extent to which the district functions as learning organization. A learning organization can be characterized by a systematic approach to the acquisition and distribution of information to then retrieve and uniformly interpret new knowledge for the organization’s future use. Interview data and document analyses revealed strong evidence of organizational learning mechanisms employed by the Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer. Specifically, strategies for information acquisition and distribution were highly utilized, as well as structures for accountability including supervision, coaching models and a focus on data use. These district administrators delegated roles and meeting structures to support curricula adaptation, including heavy reliance on the instructional leadership of coaches and directors. With the goal of improving student outcomes via curricula reform, such structures facilitated adaptation and engagement in new learning by various members of the school district. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The developing roles of the Methodist general superintendent (bishop) are studied from the year 1784 to the present. Major attention is given to the twentieth century. Contemporary role theory, leadership theory, and theories of authority and bureaucracy are used in the interpretation of historical data. The scope of the study includes the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; relevant developments in the Methodist Protestant Church; and The Methodist Church (formed in 1939 with the union of the three Methodist groups). Attention is given to the bishops in the Washington, D. C., area in the twentieth century as a case study. Primary sources include General Conference minutes for the denominations mentioned and minutes of many Jurisdictional Conferences; fifty- two Episcopal Addresses delivered since 1840; the complete minutes of the Council of Bishops of The Methodist Church for the period 1940 to 1960; biographies, eulogies, letters, and the like, of selected bishops; Methodist apologetic literature and magazines; and Methodist Protestant polemical works. Secondary sources include the popular press and various historical and theological works [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

A superintendent is vital to the success of school districts. Stability of an individual in this position is important for building trust and morale for district personnel over time. Small school districts in a large southern state have experienced increased rates of voluntary or involuntary superintendent succession, having had 2 or more superintendent changes within a 6-year period. Participative leadership theory served as the framework for this study. The guiding questions for this study investigated the impact of frequent superintendent succession in small school districts and the levels of trust and morale among district personnel. The variables for the study were superintendent succession between the years 2005 and 2011 and personnel trust and morale. Data were collected from Frequent Superintendent Turnover in Small School Districts and Impact on Personnel Trust and Morale surveys. Quantitative analysis of the survey data was conducted using the Spearman Rho correlation coefficient and chi-square analysis. Key findings indicated a significant relationship between frequent superintendent succession and decreased personnel trust and no significant relationship between morale of personnel. Chi-square correlation for trust showed a correlation to turnover and morale showed no correlation. It is recommended that districts provide training for school boards on the impact of frequent superintendent succession with an emphasis on administrative stability to enhance morale and trust among personnel. These actions could contribute to positive social change by building leadership capacity and sustaining high levels of morale and trust among district personnel.

The purpose of the study was to determine how superintendents in the state of Utah perceived their role as superintendent. It focused on: (1) how superintendents perceived their role as superintendents, (2) what demands were affecting their role, (3) if superintendents in different-size school districts perceived their role differently, (4) how the superintendent-board relationship was viewed by the superintendents, and (5) what the superintendents considered to be the greatest problems facing them in Utah today. A survey research design was used to collect the data from all 40 superintendents. For the purposes of analysis, the districts they represented were divided into three categories based on district size. Two instruments were used to collect the data. They were: (1) the Superintendent Behavior Questionnaire developed by Raymond Fast (1968), and (2) a personal data sheet and interview guide. In addition, three questions were used to find out how superintendents spent their time. The information obtained from the questionnaire and personal data sheet were analyzed in two ways. First, a one-way analysis was done between the independent variable (school district size) and the subscores on the nine dimensions of the Superintendent Behavior Questionnaire. No significant differences were found. Second, an item-by-item analysis was done between the demographic data and the 37 items of the questionnaire using Chi-square crosstabulations. Only 21 of the 407 crosstabulations were significant at α=.05 and above. It was found that: (1) superintendents had a positive perception of their role as superintendent and a positive relationship with the local boards of education; (2) there was no difference in how superintendents in different-size school districts perceived their role; (3) the highest-ranking demands from federal and state agencies and local constituencies were paperwork, resolving problems of parents-students-staff in terms of patron input and teacher militancy, and handling increasing costs and inflation. The Three highest-ranking problems superintendents stated they were facing were: (1) financial demands in terms of providing more services on a limited tax base, dealing with inflation, and increasing energy costs; (2) time and resources to provide quality education for a growing school population, and teacher problems in terms of teacher militancy, loss of good teachers to other occupations, and the removal of mediocre teachers; and (3) the expectations of special interest groups.

After Taiwan National Health Insurance implemented in 1995, health care management systems of hospitals in Taiwan had gradually turned in financial-oriented. On the other hands, people had paid less attention and little mention to basic ethics-oriented topics. Ethics of Health Care Administration (EHA) combined business ethics and medical ethics and extended a broader connotation within it. Except general guidelines of medical ethics, EHA was extended to considerations for management and policy conducts. This research has surveyed the EHA implementation in hospitals in Taiwan and influenced investigated the relationships amoung the differences of hospitals characteristics, the superintendents¡¦ characteristics, and the superintendents¡¦ perceptions toward EHA. A cross-sectional study with structured self-completion questionnaires had been done. Questionnaires were distributed during May and August, 2009, and 135 were returned, with a response rate of 27.89%. Responses were gathered from superintendents of hospitals at a district level or higher. Results delivered by two sections in this research: Quantitative Section: 1. Superintendents with different hospitals characteristics had positive attitude and identifications toward the EHA implementation degree in hospitals. 2. Superintendents with older age or deeper experiences had higher appraisal of the EHA implementation degree in hospitals. 3. Responses for the EHA implementation degree in hospitals, the scores in themselves-hospitals were higher than the scores in others-hospitals. 4. Responses with higher satisfaction with present health care environment could with a higher EHA implementation degree in their hospitals. Qualitative Section: 1. Responses for the perceptions of internal operations in health care institutions were more focused on positive ways of operational management in health care institutions, included the agreements of human-based management, health care quality, cost control, sustainable development under the specific operating model by a certain hospital. 2. Responses for the perceptions of external environment of health care institutions were more focused on policies and systems within medical or health care field included the regard for the possibility of health care policies¡¦ and health care insurances¡¦ reforms. Ethics of health care administration can be implemented with a well conduct health care infrastructure and policy supported management system.

This dissertation is a historical biography on the life, suffrage and educational contributions of Mary Carroll Craig Bradford, a wife, mother, suffragist, teacher and educational administrator in the state of Colorado. The purpose of this dissertation was to find out exactly what Bradford?s contributions were to her state. The initial observation was that she was an educator, but after analyzing the data, it was learned that she was so much more. She began as a woman?s rights activist and had a part in the Colorado and national suffrage campaigns. Her activism and popular reputation gained her the respect of the Colorado Democratic Party and she was nominated to run for political office. The research was accomplished by collecting and analyzing many documents. Data was found in the town of Leadville, Colorado, where she first lived and in the archives in Denver, Colorado, where she lived the remainder of her days. Pictures, letters, newspaper clippings, superintendent reports and various other documents were found that gave a perspective on her life. This dissertation described her journey to becoming an elected official and focused on her roles as a suffrage activist and eventually State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The role of state superintendent is one that is not often written about as noted in this dissertation. Several studies have been done on county or city superintendents, but very few have been done on female state superintendents. This dissertation will make a contribution to this field of research.

The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of superintendents and legislators regarding strategies utilized by superintendents to influence the development of educational policies. The study was guided by the following three research questions: 1) How do Texas superintendents perceive they influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? 2) How do Texas legislators perceive Texas superintendents influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? 3) What commonalities and differences exist between the perceptions of Texas superintendents and legislators in regard to how superintendents influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? A qualitative methodology and a grounded theory approach were utilized in this study (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Data was collected via in-depth interviews with three purposely selected Texas public school superintendents and three Texas legislators. The data were coded and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques (Patton, 2002). This method of data analysis allowed for themes to emerge from the data and for the identification of a single overarching theme by which all other themes were connected. This study's findings uncovered that superintendents influence the development of educational policies at the state level by interacting with legislators and their staff members, by participating as members of professional organizations, and by enlisting local stakeholders. Ingrained in each of these processes for influencing policy development is the overarching theme that superintendents must build and foster relationships to influence the development of educational policies. Based on a thorough examination of the data gathered in this study, implications for practice were offered and recommendations for consideration of future studies that build upon this research were provided. This study is one of the only research endeavors ever conducted to examine the strategies utilized by superintendents to influence the development of educational policies. It is the only study of its kind known to the researcher that utilizes qualitative methodology. The richness of the data provided by the participants of this study adds significant value to the knowledge base regarding the political role of the public school superintendent to influence policy development. / text

To be successful, future leaders of the school, district, or other levels will require very different characteristics than those expected of leaders in the last decade (Fullan, 2000). The purpose of this study was to identify the key characteristics needed by school district superintendents to meet the demands of this position in the twenty-first century. The key characteristics were identified by exemplary superintendents who had been recognized for their effectiveness. The ten most frequently identified characteristics were then analyzed for commonalities and anomalies. A selected group of survey respondents also participated in semi-structured interviews to develop an understanding of the context surrounding the characteristic selections.This study of the key characteristics of effective superintendent indicates that an effective Arizona school superintendent for the 21st century must be centered on having the capacity, knowledge and aspirations to develop a collaborative relationship-driven culture. This study suggested both quantitatively and qualitatively that the development of positive relationships with all educational stakeholders was imperative to the success of the superintendent. Practicing and future superintendents will need to have superior interpersonal skills to be successful in the 21st century. Practicing and future superintendents will need to have superior interpersonal skills and it is the responsibility of university programs and professional organizations to provide opportunities for the development of these skills.