Leaders in action: The experiences of seven Texas superintendents before, during, and after Hurricane Harvey

The devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey on school districts along the Texas coast in 2017 required public school superintendents to provide strong, decisive leadership for their students, staff, and communities. Limited research exists on the experiences of superintendents who lead during times of crisis. The purpose of this study was to explore how superintendents understood the conditions of their leadership and decisions made before, during, and after Hurricane Harvey. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to explore two questions: (1) how do superintendents make sense of their world and experiences during a crisis? (2) how do superintendents describe actions made in context of a crisis? Technical-adaptive leadership combined with sensemaking served as theoretical frames. Interviews and a focus group were conducted over the course of a year. Superintendents recalled their experiences chronologically, revealing leadership experiences and action that happened sequentially. Findings are separated by four distinct episodes in which superintendents enabled sensemaking and action, and featured by representative quotes and vignettes to foreground the critical issues as reported by the superintendents. The findings suggest that their experiences and action taken were situated in terms of school district vulnerability, leadership development, and networks of collaboration and advocacy.

Public school superintendents and the perceived impact of ethics training, professional experience and professional codes of ethics on ethical decision making : a multiple case study

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the decision making processes of public school superintendents and to identify those factors that influenced decision making. Ethics education/training, professional experience and professional codes of ethics were considered as possible influencing factors. Thus, this study sought to answer how superintendents' perceive ethics education/training and professional experience influence their ethical decision making. This research further examined the use or non-use of professional codes of ethics by public school superintendents and the perceived impact these codes have on administrative decision making. This study collected data from 10 public school superintendents throughout nine regions in Missouri. Superintendents were recruited based on variety in school district size and type. Both male and female superintendents participated in the study. Research data was obtained via personal interview with the participants. Findings concluded that professional experience was by far the greatest perceived influence on study superintendents' decision making. In contrast, both ethics education/training and professional codes of ethics had little, if any, perceived impact on the ethical decision making processes of study superintendents.

Perceptions of Texas Public School Superintendents Regarding Online Teacher Education

This study examined Texas public school administrator perceptions of online teacher education. Of primary concern were superintendent perceptions of online teacher education as it exists today. Data for the study were collected through the use of a survey questionnaire. The survey consisted of nine items where participants were asked to respond to a Likert scale format and one open-ended question in which respondents were asked to provide comments or suggestions regarding online teacher education. The researcher used regular and electronic mail to survey a random sample of one-hundred-fifty public school superintendents in the state of Texas. Seventy-two superintendents responded to the survey which represented a response rate of forty -seven percent. Based on the limitations of the study the following conclusions were made: Superintendents within the state of Texas apparently had negative opinions and perceptions regarding the use of online courses to train future teachers. A large majority of the superintendents did not fully agree that online courses or programs would fully prepare future teachers for conditions that would be faced within the public schools. Specific areas such as classroom management and the social aspects of teaching were not viewed as being positive in terms of online preparation. Other areas such as the theories and principles of teaching were viewed in a neutral light by the superintendents. Several of the administrators noted that online courses and programs would not be adequate without an abundance of field experiences and student teaching. Superintendents appeared to be very concerned that many of the teachers prepared online would possibly not endure the rigors of the classroom without having real classroom experience. Several administrators noted that future teachers needed to be taught by mentors in a real classroom setting in order to enhance modeling. Texas public school administrators appear to be open-minded to this new methodology but appear to be unconvinced that it will prepare teachers for the challenges that teachers face. Results agree with earlier results in two different regions of the country.