The role of the superintendent of small schools in Texas as perceived by superintendents and school board presidents

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed between the role of the superintendent of small schools in Texas as perceived by the superintendent of schools and the school board president. The purpose was also to determine whether any differences found were related to certain characteristic properties of either the superintendent, the school board president, or the school district. Through the use of the Superintendent Behavior Questionnaire developed by Raymond G. Fast and personal data sheets, data were requested from the superintendents and school board president in 210 Independent School District throughout Texas which reported an average daily attendance (ADA) of 300 scholastics or fewer in the 1975 Texas Educational Directory. A total of 327 or 78% of the identified participants returned the questionnaires, producing for the study 107 or 51% of the matched pairs of questionnaires. Further data were taken directly from the 1975 Texas Educational Directory pertaining to the latest reported district valuations. The wealth of the districts in thousands was determined by dividing the valuation by the ADA to produce an index number. The data were tabulated and analyzed for statistical significance at the Texas A&M University Data Processing Center on an IBM 360/65 computer. Analysis of variance plus simple and multiple correlation analysis formulas were used to analyze the data..