Metaphors of Place-Conscious Leadership in the Multidistrict Superintendency: Negotiating Tensions of Place-Consciousness and District-Wide Goal Attainment

McHenry‐Sorber, Erin; Sutherland, Daniella Hall

doi:10.1177/1052684619852693

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Novice and new-to-place principals (seasoned administrators working in new schools or communities) lack the essential relationships and knowledge needed to navigate their rural communities (Bailey, 2020; Wieczorek & Manard, 2018), placing them at a disadvantage when trying to recruit “best fit” community outsiders or credentialed locals to fill vacant teaching positions (Bland et al, 2016; Reininger, 2012). Rural administrators need to develop a critical understanding of the dynamics and dimensions of their communities (Budge, 2006; McHenry-Sorber & Sutherland, 2020) in order to recruit teachers who are more likely to stay. Rural administrators can develop critical, place-based leadership through ongoing engagement with community stakeholders and organizations (Bauch, 2001; Harmon & Schafft, 2009), thus building trust with community members and local teachers (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2015).…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“If I Ever Leave, I Have a List of People That Are Going With Me:” Principals’ Understandings of and Responses to Place Influences on Teacher Staffing in West Virginia

McHenry‐Sorber

Campbell

Sutherland

2021

Educational Administration Quarterly

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Purpose: Schools across the predominately rural state of West Virginia are experiencing widespread teacher shortages, though recruitment and retention difficulties are unevenly distributed across place. Using spatial in/justice as our framework, we explore how principals define place, how place influences principal perceptions of teacher recruitment and retention, and how principals respond to these staffing challenges given their leadership experiences, relationship to school community, and understandings of place affordances and disadvantages. Research Methods/Approach This research utilized interviews with eight principals across six school districts in West Virginia over a four-month time frame. We inductively coded interview transcripts in iterative cycles using our research framework as a guide for emic and etic codes. Findings: We find principals’ understanding of place influences on staffing to be specific to the unique attributes of each community and the placement of their leadership experiences – as community returners, seasoned though not originally from the community, and new-to-place. Their understandings of spatial in/justice as it relates to teacher staffing shape ideas of place affordances and disadvantages and recruitment and retention practices. These findings complexify the teacher staffing picture across geographically diverse rural places and the responses available to leaders given their leadership experience and relationship to place. Implications for Research and Practice The place-specific influences on teacher staffing problematize statewide policy mechanisms for ameliorating teacher shortages. The findings also suggest the need for further in-depth qualitative research within districts and across states, with an emphasis on racially diverse rural places.

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Section: Theoretical Framework and Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“If I Ever Leave, I Have a List of People That Are Going With Me:” Principals’ Understandings of and Responses to Place Influences on Teacher Staffing in West Virginia

McHenry‐Sorber

Campbell

Sutherland

2021

Educational Administration Quarterly

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“…A single superintendent works with a centralized SU-board, as well as with each community school board (Vermont Agency of Education, 2015). Although a multi-district superintendency is unusual, 13 states employ a similar governance structure, including Maine, Massachusetts, and South Carolina (Hall & McHenry-Sorber, 2017; McHenry-Sorber & Sutherland, 2019).…”

Section: Research Design and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Capacity and Control: Superintendent-School Board Relations in Locally Controlled Districts

Sutherland

2023

Educational Administration Quarterly

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Purpose: In the wake of school board protests nationwide, it is essential for educational leaders, policymakers, and researchers to understand locally controlled educational governance. The stability of educational districts depends on superintendents navigating relationships with their school boards, yet little research exists that addresses board–superintendent relationships in locally controlled districts. Using theories of local will and capacity, and community power relationships, I examine what factors shape the extent of local control enacted by school boards, and how these factors affect superintendent–school board relations. Research Methods: The qualitative case study design is bounded as one multi-district union superintendent and three rural school boards. Data collection included semistructured interviews, ethnographic observations, and document collection to understand the relational dynamics of local control. Data analysis included in vivo and a priori coding, and the development of analytic matrices. Findings: All boards demonstrated local will and some local capacity, which explained the dimensions of enactment of local control. Rural board capacity—tenure, expertise, and residency of board members—influenced the extent of local control. Cross-case analysis revealed a relationship between board capacity, community capacity, and board–superintendent relationships. These patterns are theorized as local control school board–superintendent relationships typology, based on board capacity and local community capacity. The relationships include role contestation, confusion, collaboration, and dependence. Implications for Research and Practice: The study expands the theory of local capacity to include community and board dimensions and describes the complexities of superintendent–board relationships. The study concludes with recommendations for practice, policy, and research on locally controlled school boards.

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Beyond the School Walls: Collective Impact in Micropolitan School-Community Partnerships

Zuckerman

2022

Peabody Journal of Education

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Metaphors of Place-Conscious Leadership in the Multidistrict Superintendency: Negotiating Tensions of Place-Consciousness and District-Wide Goal Attainment

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

“If I Ever Leave, I Have a List of People That Are Going With Me:” Principals’ Understandings of and Responses to Place Influences on Teacher Staffing in West Virginia

“If I Ever Leave, I Have a List of People That Are Going With Me:” Principals’ Understandings of and Responses to Place Influences on Teacher Staffing in West Virginia

Capacity and Control: Superintendent-School Board Relations in Locally Controlled Districts

Beyond the School Walls: Collective Impact in Micropolitan School-Community Partnerships

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