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Effective superintendent leadership strategies and management techniques for improving student performance as perceived by superintendents in selected school districts in Texas
There have been several studies examining the role of the principal and the various strategies that enhance student success, but the literature remains limited regarding how the daily activities practiced by the district superintendent contribute to student academic achievement. The purposes of the study were to 1) determine if leadership strategies practiced by the district superintendent affect student academic achievement; 2) determine if management techniques practiced by the district superintendent affects student academic achievement; and 3) examine demographic data from selected public school districts to determine the impact on student academic achievement during the timeframe of the current study. Results from the multiple regression analysis indicate that the leadership strategies investigated in the present study, which included the use of the Site-Based Decision-Making Committee, communicating expectations, establishing non-negotiable goals, and practicing a professional style of leadership, have no significant impact on student achievement. Student achievement in the present study is measured by the standardized mean difference among all students passing all Texas Assessment of Academic Skills exams (reading, mathematics, and writing) at the district level, from 1996-97 to 1998-99. In contrast, the analysis of the management techniques examined, which include how the superintendent spends time on the job, monitors the environment, establishes open communication, and allows campuses autonomy, reveals that allowing campuses autonomy and establishing open communication accounts for eight of the variance in the dependent variable, TAAS growth. The results from the full model consisting of the leadership strategies and management techniques, derived from principal component analysis, indicate that the superintendent's influence on student achievement is, in fact, one-dimensional. The managerial aspect was determined to significantly affect student achievement. The results of this study call into question a number of assumptions regarding the leadership attributes of the district superintendent. Limitations of the research were noted and suggestions for further research were made.
"Major Subject: Educational Administration".
Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-151).