Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

Advisor

Deeb P. Kitchen

Committee Member

Jan Hammond

Committee Member

Sherry Bennett

Committee Member

Steven Hecht

Committee Member

Mel Coleman

Keywords

Florida, leadership skills, longevity, qualifications, school superintendent, student achievement

Abstract

High turnover in the role of school superintendent signaled functional disruption, decreased morale and impaired student achievement. The principal researcher sought to explain perceptions among professional Florida K-12 public school educators about key factors related to the role of school superintendent, necessary qualifications, important leadership skills, longevity and its impact on student achievement.

The principal researcher disseminated a 10-question online self-administered survey she developed for the study to a sample of 199 professional Florida K-12 public school educators. Independent demographic variables among sample participants included: gender, current job, highest level of completed education and years of experience as an educator. Dependent variables included: qualifications, leadership skills, longevity and student achievement. In this her final report, the principal researcher documented the problem, presented a literature review and research methodology, reported descriptive analysis of simple frequencies for guiding research question one and reported findings of nonparametric Kruskall -Wallis H testing for guiding research questions two through five. Current job was statistically significant in sample participant perceptions. School teachers rated a doctoral degree in education, 10+ years’ experience in education and experience in the same district more highly as necessary qualifications for school superintendent candidates than did school and district leaders. School teachers also rated advocating for employees, trust and confidence in employees and fairness and integrity more essential than did school and district leaders, as important leadership skills related to school superintendent longevity. School leaders rated longevity and student achievement more essential than did school teachers and district leaders, as factors related to the role of school superintendent. School leaders also rated classroom teachers experience more highly than did school teachers and district leaders as a necessary qualification for school superintendent candidates. Finally, school leaders rated more highly than school teachers and district leaders a four-to-10-year term of service for school superintendents for maximum impact on student achievement. Discussion, elaboration and interpretation of findings, implications of findings and recommendations for future research are included herein.

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