Blazing New Trails - Connexions

93
CRITICAL ISSUES IN SHARED LEADERSHIP
Superintendent Decision-making and Problem-solving:
Living on the Horns of Dilemmas
INTRODUCTION
Walter S. Polka
Peter R. Litchka
Frank F. Calzi
Stephen J. Denig
Rosina E. Mete
The general subject population for this comprehensive mixed-methods research study
consisted of public school superintendents throughout the United States. Teams of
researchers were established in various regions of the country to conduct research using the
same survey instrument and methodology. Each team of researchers was responsible for
survey packet distribution, completed survey collection and data analysis as well as for
interviewing those superintendents in their region who volunteered to participate in the
qualitative component of this research project.
However, the major focus of this manuscript is the quantitative research conducted by
two different teams of researchers: one team from Niagara University who originally designed
the study and surveyed New York superintendents and the other team from Loyola University
in Maryland who replicated the study with superintendents in Delaware, Maryland, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The two teams merged their respective quantitative data resulting in
a substantial sample of 259 school superintendents. The findings about the decision-making
and problem-solving approaches used by those superintendents as well as their perspectives
regarding the frequency and stressful impact of resolving school leadership dilemmas are
presented to further expand the contemporary educational leadership knowledge base.
There is acute interest in this topic based on the fact that 670 surveys were sent to
superintendents of K-12 school districts in New York State and 178 useable surveys were
returned (26.7%). In addition, 205 surveys were sent to superintendents of K-12 school
districts in the following Mid-Atlantic states: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania and 80 useable surveys were returned (39%). The combined return rate for
purposes of this review was 29.6%, and the combined number of useable surveys equaled 258
(N=258). In addition, it should be noted that 100 superintendents or 38.8% of those who
returned the survey indicated their willingness to participate in the qualitative “face-to-face”
interviews. Thus, practicing superintendents were willing to tell their stories and share their
concerns about “living on the horns of dilemmas” as they lead their school districts in this age
of intensive accountability.
Walter S. Polka, Niagara University
Peter R. Litchka, Loyola University, Maryland
Frank F. Calzi, Niagara University
Stephen J. Denig, Niagara University
Rosina E. Mete, Loyola University, Maryland