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Critical public relations tasks of Texas public school superintendents
The purpose of this study was to determine: (a) the critical
public relations tasks of Texas public school superintendents
for the immediate future (0-5 years) and for the not-too-
distant future (I 0-20 years); (b) how vision, as a
leadership tool, may be articulated through the use of public
relations practices and techniques; and (c) how Texas public
school superintendents perceived their public relations role,
relative to fostering positive school-community relations
through the office of the superintendency. A Delphi panel of
experts (Delbec, 1975), composed of members of the
Administrative Leadership Institute's planning committee, at
Texas A&M University, was selected to provide public
relations tasks they felt were vital to the performance of
the Texas public school superintendent. This study was
designed to bring about a consensus of opinion on what the
expectations were for Texas public school superintendents
relative to their performance of public relations tasks going
into the next century. The Delphi Technique was the research
methodology used in this study. This methodology provided a
systematic solicitation and collation of the Delphi panel's
informed judgments (Pill, 1975) on the research questions of
this study. Through a series of questionnaires, the Delphi
panel identified I 10 critical public relations tasks which
were categorized into 12 categories: Community, School Board,
School, Governance, School Finance, Curriculum and
Instruction, Technology, Facilities, Cultural Diversity,
Discipline, Media, and Marketing. Adroit communication
skills were cited throughout the literature as fundamental to
the success of Texas public school superintendents. The
Delphi panelists echoed this premise citing the
superintendent's endeavor to represent the district in its
surrounding community and state; building a sense of
ownership and identity among communities, internal and
external publics. In its final recommendations this Delphi
study proposes that Texas superintendents develop and
incorporate public relations skills and strategies in their
repertoire of leadership tools; build comprehensive public
relations programs in their districts through the allocations
of both human and fiscal resources; and include a systematic
plan for public relations as a component of their district
"Major Subject: Educational Administration".
Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc.
Includes bibliographical references: pages 126-134.