The superintendency: Preparation. A school finance issue

Scope and method of study. The purpose of the research was to determine if superintendents receive sufficient professional development to enable them to be successful in the area of school finance. The source(s) of their professional development was/were studied, compared and contrasted with the level of success they achieved in their role as superintendent.;Findings and conclusions. The quantitative/qualitative study presented how superintendents are prepared for their roles in school finance. The theoretical framework developed by Yukl through the Taxonomy of Managerial Behaviors and House & Mitchell's Path-Goal Theory of Leadership were used to filter the perspectives of the superintendents who completed the self-developed survey instrument. Through the conceptual theories and a conceptual map, a direct path for success was either formulated by a superintendent or their path to gaining professional development became blurred. In either case, the superintendents were able to separate the situation variables very precisely into substitutes and identify the neutralizers. Hoy & Miskel stated that leaders (superintendents) with this ability will have a higher success rate and will be less likely to be distracted by intervening variables.;Based on the findings presented in Chapter IV, the researcher made several conclusions from the results of this study. Quantitative data from the self-developed survey instrument revealed basically one half of the superintendent felt they were adequately prepared for their roles in school finance. The demand for continued professional development in the school finance area is prevalent, and the significantly important improvements necessary for superintendents to be technically prepared were discovered and ranked by frequency. The responses are significantly relevant data to be addressed at both formal and informal training levels. Qualitative data from the interviewees reaffirmed the quantitative data and gave a more prescriptive approach to improvements in school finance preparation.