An assessment of the administrative internship program for superintendents in Texas based upon perceptions of public school superintendents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the administrative internship program for superintendents in Texas. The population included practicing public school superintendents in Texas, while the sample included superintendents from 50 small, 50 medium, and 50 large school districts. One hundred three superintendents provided usable responses to the survey instrument that was developed for this study. Descriptive data were analyzed through the use of frequency distributions. Analysis of variance was used to determine the statistical relationships in comparisons of groups, that is, superintendents in small, medium, and large school districts, and superintendents in rural, urban, and suburban school districts. Analysis of variance was also used to determine the statistical relationships in comparisons of superintendents, university supervisors, and cooperating administrators. The perceptions of the respondents revealed that few significant differences existed among superintendents from small, medium, and large school districts or superintendents from rural, urban, and suburban school districts. Significantly different means were detected among the responses from superintendents, university supervisors, and cooperating administrators for 13 of the 20 research variables that were tested for analysis of variance. There was only one item, requiring administrators with proven administrative ability to take the internship, that the superintendents felt should be removed from extensive use. Suggested additions to the internship program included providing separate internship experience for rural, urban, and suburban superintendents, and providing funds for interns and cooperating administrators. Additional internship studies might explore the feasibility of requiring interns to gain experiences in more than one size school district; the effectiveness of administrative internship programs in Texas from the viewpoint of students who have recently completed an internship; and the feasibility of possible funding for the internship program.