Elementary Principal/Superintendent Relationship as Perceived by Teachers

Abstract

Despite more than a decade of research on bottom-up school change, the principal/ superintendent relationship continues to be studied primarily as a traditional flow of power from the top down. There is little research that considers the proposition that power vested in principals can be exercised upwardly within the school district hierarchy in the form of independence from and influence on the superintendent. Given the lack of research on these phenomena, it is not surprising that we could find no studies that explore the effects of hierarchical independence and influence on school climate. The present study investigates both. Two schools form the basis of this comparative case study. The schools were chosen based on scores obtained through the OCDQ and TAI instruments. The first school is selected for its high scores on both instruments and the second school is selected based on average scores on the OCDQ and the TAI. Both schools are in the same school district and a brief description of that district begins the discussion. Individual case study findings as well as a comparison of the two case studies follow.