Superintendent-Led Change: Process and Impact

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: The Faces of the Superintendency: Research on the Superintendency SIG Roundtable Session (Table 7)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how school superintendents perceive the change process. To serve this purpose 14 New Jersey school superintendents were interviewed for approximately 90 minutes each about their most significant change experience. The results suggest that superintendents’ ability to lead depends on their ability to engage their constituents in strategic planning and decision-making. Engagement was further enhanced by superintendents’ ability to heighten the awareness of their constituents, motivate them to act, and stimulate their thinking. Superintendents’ approach to increasing engagement differed, depending on whether the superintendent led a single change initiative or implemented a system-wide approach to creating change in their district.

Authors

• Tracy Mulvaney, University of North Carolina - Pembroke

• William O. George, Monmouth University

• John E. Henning, Monmouth University

• Bernard Francis Bragen, Montgomery County Public Schools