Purpose -The purpose of this research study was to examine the role perceptions of superintendents and their supervisors in Palestine regarding the roles and training needs of superintendents. It was part of a larger study conducted by the Department of Administration and Educational Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. Design/methodology/approach -A grounded theory approach was used in this study. Data were collected by interviewing 16 superintendents and four general directors using guided qualitative interviews, in addition to examining Ministry of Education documents and archival data. Findings -The grounded theory approach analysis revealed that superintendents and general directors held variant perceptions regarding the roles and training needs of superintendents. Most superintendents felt they were ill prepared for the job and had to rely on the Ministry of Education for support and direction. They perceived their role as a combination of educational managers and educational leaders. Their supervisors, however, perceived them as keepers of the status quo. The findings showed that superintendents in countries similar to Palestine (newly emerging) appear to experience problems similar to their counterparts in other transitional societies. Originality/value -The findings of this research are important to new educational systems. It shows clearly the difficulties experienced by superintendents in a newly emerging system. Furthermore, superintendents in such systems may require training needs different than their counterparts in developed systems. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevancy and contributions to educational leadership theory.
Keywords Training, Palestine, Educational administration Paper type Research paperThe reviewed literature shows clearly that the role of superintendent cannot be separated from the context of the job (Johnson, 1996;Owen and Ovando, 2000). It also indicates that the degree to which superintendents are effective in their jobs is related to the nature of their pre and in-service training (Milstein, 1999;Milstein et al., 1991;Murphy, 1992), and that the training should be tailored to the context in which they work (Newton, 1996;Reilly and Brown, 1996). This interrelationship among role, context, and training poses the following question for educational systems within newly emerging countries: what kind of training do superintendents need to become promoters of change in light of existing political and economic conditions?Although the topic of educational leadership and administrative training has received expansive attention in the West, particularly in the United States and Canada (McCarthy, 1999;Murphy, 1992), few studies have focused on developing, newly emerged, or in transition countries. Furthermore, the findings of such sparse studies are based primarily on personal anecdotes, observations, experiences, and advice, rather than on rigorous scholarly research approaches and techniques (Newton, 1985,