The Politics of Leadership

Superintendents and School Boards in Changing Times

Edited by:
George J. Petersen, California Polytechnic State University
Lance Fusarelli, North Carolina State University

A volume in the series: Educational Policy in the 21st Century: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions. Editor(s): Bruce Anthony Jones, University of Houston.

Published 2006

The primary contribution of this book, is not its advocacy of a specific position but rather, its objective analysis of cogent topics. The content prompts us to consider governance in relation to quality education and to ponder alternative policy strategies that have yet to be fully evaluated. As a young doctoral student more than a few years ago, William Van Til, an eminent scholar and a mentor, reminded me almost daily that members of the education profession had a moral responsibility to address the most difficult questions about education and democracy. These enduring queries, he argued, extended to determining how this critical social service should be organized and controlled and to determining the appropriate roles for administrators and teachers. Those in our profession who fail to heed his advice by remaining indifferent to these philosophical dilemmas should consider Plato’s long-standing warning: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

CONTENTS
Foreword. Theodore Kowalski, University of Dayton. Chapter 1: Superintendent-Board Relations: An Historical Overview of the Dynamics of Change and Sources of Conflict and Collaboration, Lars Björk. Chapter 2: Personalization of Interest Groups and the Resulting Policy Nonsense: The Cobb County School Board’s Evolution Debate, Darlene Opfer. Chapter 3: Towards a Reappraisal of Power to Better Understand the Challenges of the Contemporary Superintendent, Sheldon Watson and Margaret Grogan. Chapter 4: Political and Apolitical School Board and Superintendent Turnover: Revisiting Critical Variables in the Dissatisfaction Theory of American Democracy, Thomas L. Alsbury. Chapter 5: A PEERances Can Be Deceiving: Superintendents, School Boards and the Transformation of Intentions, Peggy Placier, Doug Hager and Angela Hull. Chapter 6: The School Board President and Superintendent: An Examination of Influence Through the Eyes of the Decision Makers, George J. Petersen and Barbara Morrow. Chapter 7: When Generals (or Colonels) Become Superintendents: Cultural Conflict, Community and Chaos, Bonnie Fusarelli. Chapter 8: The Preparation of District Leaders: The Influence and Role of the University, Michelle D. Young. Conclusion and Summary, Lance D. Fusarelli.