Journal of School Leadership

This article examines high superintendency turnover through rural community members’ perceptions of such attrition in their districts. Findings indicate that community members perceived high turnover as negative and believed that turnover was created by financial pressures, rural community resistance to educational trends, and bias against minorities and/or “outsiders.” Interestingly, most community members talked about superintendent turnover as “just the way things are around here,” attributing high turnover to what they considered external financial conditions (the superintendents’ low salary and the state funding sources) and unwittingly putting themselves in a position of helplessness, or as victims, even when they controlled the amount of salary that they offered candidates.

Empirical studies indicate family concerns as a primary reasons why promising principals and central office administrators do not aspire to the superintendency (O'Connell, Brown, Guptil, Stosberg, & O'Connell, 2001; Volp & Rogers, 2004). Hesitancyto apply for superintendent positions is further complicated by the fact that the superintendency has largely been constructed in male images or archetypes (Jung, 1964), which are affected by context. And while psychology and sociology offer theoretically grounded empirical literature on work–family balance (e.g., Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985) and conflict (e.g., Sieber 1974), superintendents are not part of the sample. In-depth case study research was used to collect and analyze data on two effective rural superintendents (one female and one male) whose life conditions match three of the hesitancy factors (Rogers, Terranova, & Volp, 2006) associated with the next generation of school superintendents: having school-age children, spousal considerations, enjoyment (quality of life) factors. Participants were selected via snowball sampling techniques (Lincoln & Guba, 1993), and data sources primarily included narrative interviews with the superintendents and their family members (a total of 42 interviews). Documents such as the superintendent's calendar were also analyzed. Data were coded inductively and deductively into themes and subthemes (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Two conceptualizations of balance emerge from the data: an integrated view (superintendency as lifestyle) and a compartmentalized view (equal time devoted to each life role). Furthermore, traditional perceptions of gender permeated findings related to life quality and superintendent effectiveness. Findings indicate that the “superintendency as lifestyle” perspective appears to be more compatible with the next generation of school leadership. The article concludes with implications for rural superintendent research, preparation, and practice.

An exploratory investigation was conducted into the motivations and leadership traits of five rural school superintendents who over time evidenced a commitment to social justice. This effort meets a call in the research literature by Furman (2012), who noted that “to date, the literature offers few specifics about the actual practice of social justice leadership in K–12 schools and the capacities needed by school leaders to engage in this practice” (p. 192). Also noted has been the lack of attention to rural social justice and rural education internationally (Cuervo, 2009; Tikly & Barrett, 2009). To address this deficiency, a qualitative methods approach was used. As a result, we sought to compile a profile for the rural social justice leader who is capable of engendering strong social justice–oriented rural leadership. Findings suggest that these superintendents were attracted by, as well as challenged by, the work. Moreover, themes revealed how these superintendents worked to sustain themselves and to maintain resiliency through various strategies, including finding their rudder, managing the work, establishing relationships, and seeking out mentors or relying on spiritual guidance.

This article examines how school superintendents and parents in high-needs rural districts conceptualized educational quality. Specifically, this comparative case study of two rural school superintendents presents a contextualized understanding of rural superintendents’ and other educators’ mainstream views of educational quality, parents and other rural community members’ place-based views, and the tensions among these. Primary data sources featured interviews with two superintendents and their constituents, including Board of Education members, principals, teachers, parents, and community members. Findings indicated that both superintendents worked to create an aspirational culture in which education was the way out of poverty for their students, aspirations that were frequently at tension with community values. This article concludes with a proposed critical leadership and pedagogy of place that may help superintendents navigate these tensions.

This article focuses on the broader political sphere as it affects superintendents and other constituents of rural districts. The current landscape of education reform focuses on accountability—particularly at the policy level of both state and federal education agencies. This article draws on the literature and an empirical study that examined how rural superintendents—“held accountable” through reform policy—articulate their experiences. The discussion of cultural and political effects of accountability policy finds insight through local superintendents’ norms, beliefs, and commonsensical understandings. Thus far, many of the examinations of No Child Left Behind have analyzed the “inputs–outputs” of accountability reform—whether through critical or empirical inquiry. Furthermore, past examinations primarily focus on either macro- (structural) or micro- (local) perspectives. Findings from this study suggest the need for a third (meso- or regional) level of analysis to understand how leaders articulate accountability experiences.