The purpose of the present study was to explore the nature of hiring a public school superintendent in a context, which challenged school board trustees to select a particular type of leader. The researcher's intent was to study three former school board trustees who were initially involved in what they considered a complex change process,…

Women continue to be underrepresented in the superintendent role in public school systems in the United States. The path to the superintendency requires candidates to pass through a series of gates controlled by school board members. Qualified women seek superintendent jobs and are not passing through the gates at the same rate as men. This…

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to understand the hiring practices of a school district when considering a principal and how the school district attends to leadership within those hiring practices. The central premise of the study was leadership matters and is second to teaching in student achievement. However, the historical…

The hiring process is a shared responsibility between the employer and the prospective candidates seeking employment. The purpose of the hiring or selection process is to find the candidate with the right knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the job or role and be successful within the employment process for the organization or…

This study sought to determine whether there was correlation between a superintendent's use of a transformational leadership and levels of collective teacher efficacy. Four research questions were answered in this study: Is there a statistically significant correlation between collective teacher efficacy and school district superintendents'…

This study sought to determine whether there was a statistically significant correlation between school board behaviors and characteristics, and a superintendent's use of a transformational leadership model. The study was grounded in four research questions: Is there a statistically significant correlation between board behaviors and…

The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed-method study was to discover the factors that lead to a school board hiring a non-traditional superintendent qualified through a Commission Qualification Letter over a superintendent qualified through a traditional Letter of Eligibility in Pennsylvania. The researcher used surveys and interviews to…

The underrepresentation of African Americans in the superintendency and lack of equitable access to the superintendency in K-12 public school districts across the United States is a problem of significant concern. This qualitative study explores the perceptions of 17 African American superintendents with the recruitment, selection, and promotion…

Black superintendents are significantly underrepresented in our nation's schools. Despite a slight increase in representation of female Black superintendents, minorities of all races continue to be underrepresented (Tienken & Domenech, 2020). In this study, I examined the experiences of Black superintendents in Michigan who currently hold…

The purpose for this study was to add to the current research on the perceptions of superintendent preparation programs within Pennsylvania by examining how participants felt their preparation program prepared them for their current role as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, or assistant to the superintendent. One of the school board's…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain which personal characteristics and professional skills differentiate female superintendents from school board presidents during the hiring process of a new superintendent. Input from practicing Louisiana public school superintendents and school board presidents was obtained in this quantitative study.…

Throughout history, women have played an important role in the field of education. Women have served mostly in the realm of teaching but have steadily fought to become school leaders. The number of women principals has increased over time; however, the number of women who serve has high school principals has only grown marginally. This…

One of the most important endeavors a school board will complete is the hiring of a district superintendent. This study focused on Northwest Arkansas school board members' perceptions of criteria used for hiring practices and review how or if they align with the professional leadership standards. The research concentrated on the 16 Northwest…

Concerns about a strong positive correlation between leadership and student success (Wood et al., 2013) coupled with community input around hiring from outside an organization, or hiring from within and selecting existing employees to fill superintendent vacancies contribute to the complexity of the hiring process. The limited research available…

Although there have been significant increases in the number of female school leaders over the last several decades, women are still drastically underrepresented in the ranks of school and district leadership positions within K-12 school systems. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine and understand female school administrators'…