The Paradox of Superintendent Leadership in School Restructuring1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The thrust of recent school improvement efforts across a number of industrialized countries has been to decentralize decision‐making and broaden access to the decision‐making process for teachers and parents. Such efforts are predicated on the belief that this type of empowerment results in increased commitment and better decisions. This article examines the role that superintendents might play in initiating the restructuring of a school district. Is it possible for the hierarchical leader of the organization to lead a process of bottom‐up improvement? We explore this question in the context of a case study of one superintendent in a moderately‐sized American school district. 1This research was conducted under the auspices of the National Center for Educational Leadership, a consortium of Harvard University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago. The investigation was supported by U.S. Department of Education Grant No. R1 17C8005. The views expressed in this paper are those of the a...