Exploring Superintendent Leadership: Do Superintendents’ Backgrounds and District Contexts Influence the Latent Classes of Superintendent Decision-Making?

• In Event: Factors Influencing the Selection of Superintendents and Decision-Making Practices

Abstract

Superintendents are important educational personnel, but research on the superintendency is remarkably thin compared to building-level leaders, and research on superintendent leadership is even sparser. Using the most recent decennial survey of AASA, the American School Superintendent 2020 Decennial Survey, this study pays particular attention to examining identified influences on their decision-making as it helps provide a picture of the currently serving superintendents’ leadership practices. A three-step ordered polytomous latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify different styles of superintendent leadership across the United States: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership. I also discussed the implications of these findings, not only for research and practices but also for state leaders and policymakers across the U.S.

Author

• Seijoon Park, University of Missouri