The problem. --The problem in this study was to describe the issues arising in employment decisions appealed to the Texas Commissioner of Education. Decisions made in courts are binding on school officials, and they are published in law reporters found in most libraries. The Commissioner's decisions are also binding on school officials, but they are not published or widely reported. Thus, this important body of information may not reach those who are responsible for its application. Methods. --The decisions of the Commissioner were examined to determine the issues and the underlying rationale used by the Commissioner in the process of deciding the appeals. A series of data reductions allowed a determination of patterns found in the outcomes of the decisions which favored the employee and those which favored the school districts. The analysis produced a set of data from which implications for decision making could be drawn.

The major purpose of this descriptive study was to determine common characteristics and influences among women who were serving as public school superintendents of independent districts in Texas during the 1988-89 school year. Commonalities were determined in (1) personal characteristics, (2) personality traits, and (3) perceived barriers to career mobility. A seventy-item survey was developed, validated, and mailed to the thirty-three women superintendents in Texas. Data from the survey were analyzed to determine if commonalities existed among women superintendents. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions seem justified: (1) Commonalities in personal characteristics which exist among women superintendents include age, ethnicity, marital status, parenthood, positive attitudes toward being both mothers and superintendents, preference for husbands in the field of education, demonstration of early leadership traits, and self-perceptions of being assertive and risk-taking; (2) Most women superintendents share common views on subjective measures concerning their own personalities, and they rated themselves highest in areas which include self-esteem, general daily activity level, independence, job satisfaction, ability to operate under pressure and practicality; and (3) Most women superintendents perceive similar internal and external barriers to their career mobility; a lack of professional network and employers' negative attitudes toward women are …