The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of developing a scale for rating a public school superintendent in Texas in terms of his adherence to selected characteristics of administrative leadership. A secondary problem is to verify the hypothesis that very few schools in Texas, if any, use a rating scale to evaluate the performance of the superintendent. The purpose of this study will be to identify a set of administrative leadership characteristics which are accepted by members of Boards of Trustees, professors of educational leadership, and superintendents.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the procedures and methods elementary school principals in Texas utilized to implement the state-supported kindergarten program. A questionnaire was developed and content validity established by five authorities in the field of early childhood education. The questionnaire was forwarded to 100 randomly selected elementary school principals in Texas, and 94 percent returned the completed form. This study has a twofold purpose. The first is to describe the most frequently used procedures to implement the state-supported kindergarten program. The second is to identify those procedures used that are not educationally beneficial to young children to assist in statewide planning.

This study initially was designed to produce an in-depth profile of minority students at North Texas State University. After the original dissertation proposal was presented and accepted the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974" was passed. Considerable time passed while NTSU officials developed a legal basis as to the kind of information that would be accessible to doctoral students. The problem of this study was to construct a profile of minority students at NTSU who enrolled during the Fall and Spring semesters, 1974-75. It appears, and very significantly so, that the population percentage for minority students at NTSU is quite disproportionate when compared with the minority population percentage of the State of Texas. For the period examined, one out of every four students of minority designation was Latin-American while three out of four were of Afro-American ethnicity. The average minority student is from a population center that may be designated as a medium sized city to a large metropolitan area. The average minority student at NTSU is admitted from a large urban area high school, and not much preference seems to be given to native Texans. It appears that most minority students are admitted on the same basis …

This study was concerned with which competencies are considered necessary for success as a Texas public school superintendent, and the results were derived from responses to a questionnaire by practicing school superintendents in Texas during the spring of 1975. Summary of Findings: The literature reviewed and the data obtained from the survey instrument appeared to indicate that school superintendents in Texas do need certain competencies in order to adequately fulfill their role in the educational setting. This study was limited to seventy-five school superintendents in Texas. There were variations in their responses depending on: 1. Size according to pupil population. 2. Wealth according to the amount of taxable value located in the school district subject to taxation backing each pupil enrolled. 3. Experience of the superintendent surveyed. There was no effort to develop historically the concepts related to the competencies necessary for success as a school superintendent in Texas. Only opinions of writers and school superintendents of schools serving in Texas schools were used in this study.

The problem of this study was to determine competencies which are necessary for effective administration by secondary school principals. The sources of data included a review of the literature and supplemental materials. The survey technique, employing a jury-validated questionnaire, was used to collect the perceptions of superintendents, principals, teachers, and college professors in the State of Texas. A total of 316 educators responded to the questionnaire. The development and findings of this study are presented in five chapters. Chapter I presents an introduction to the study. In Chapter II, a survey of the literature is reported. Chapter III contains details of the procedures employed in collecting data for the study. Chapter IV presents the data gathered through the use of the questionnaire. Chapter V presents the summary, findings, conclusions, and recommendations resulting from the study. The study identified eight general areas of competency for secondary school principals. Those competency areas were (1) organization and administration, (2) curriculum design and improvement, (3) the instructional process, (4) business and financial management, (5) student management, (6) personnel management, (7) facilities, equipment, and supplies, and (8) communications. A total of ninety-five competencies was identified from the literature and from communications with college professors and …

The purposes of this study were to 1) compare the characteristics between the elections that were successful and unsuccessful; 2) identify the purpose of the school bond issue (demographic characteristics); 3) identify the financial resources and structure of the school districts (economic characteristics); 4) analyze the public relations and publicity techniques used in the school bond campaign (communications variables); 5) determine the degree of responsibility assumed by individuals and groups for the educational, building, and bond needs of the school districts (group involvement); 6) ascertain personal and professional information about the district superintendent as it related to voter influence in the bond campaign; 7) determine prior bond election experience. The major conclusions were that the trend of large or small eligible voter turnout was inconclusive, urban districts had more difficulty than rural or suburban districts in passing bond issues, and bond issues were passed mainly for new facilities. School districts with large assessed valuation per resident student had better results than others. The newspaper, "general talking it up," speakers, public meetings, and telephone committees were effective means of communication. The superintendent, board of education, faculty, principals, P.T.A., and lay groups assumed the most responsibility in the elections.

The problem of this study was predicting teachers' job satisfaction and performance based upon selected factors in personal background and organizational properties of their school. The purposes of this study were to determine (1) whether seven organizational properties of a teacher's work environment were important in predicting five job satisfactions and job performance, (2) whether the five job satisfactions were important in predicting teacher job performance, and (3) whether there were significant differences in five job satisfaction scores and in performance rating between teachers grouped by fifteen independent variables. This study concluded that the use of data collected on the seven organizational properties increased the prediction of job satisfaction and performance. The addition of the five job satisfactions and seven organizational properties increased the prediction of job performance. The specific independent variables that had the highest relationship on criteria mean scores were Teaching Field, Teaching in Area of Preparation, Expenditure per Student, and Campus Size for elementary teachers. For secondary teachers the highest relationships were on Contract and Salary.

This study sought to review the due process appeal cases that came before the Texas State Commissioner of Education from 1970 to 1975 in order to determine the impact of the decision upon school districts' management and operation. Five purposes directed this study and are as follows: (a) to review the cases appealed to the State Commissioner from 1970 to 1975, (b) to develop a cross reference for cataloging these decisions, (c) to develop a handbook on reference materials for local administrative use, (d) to outline a special procedure for orderly due process, and (e) to determine the impact of these decisions rendered to concerning local school district policy. These five purposes were attained through a research design combining historical research methodology with survey research methodology. In conclusion, negligible impact was observed on school districts as a result of due process appeal cases. No school board changed policy as a result of the commissioner's decision. In summary, the five purposes were met. Attaining these five purposes produced the following, which are contained in the report: (a) a Cross-reference Matrix for cataloging decisions, (b) an Administrative Due Process Handbook containing case briefs, (c) a procedure for orderly due process, and (d) …

The problem of this study is to determine the extent to which the Texas Education Agency and selected school districts have implemented the legislative provisions of House Bill 467, enacted by the Sixty-First Texas Legislature. No hypothesis is advanced. The purpose of the study is twofold: first, it describes the sequential development of the crime prevention and drug education program by the Texas Education Agency as mandated through House Bill 467; and second, it determines the current status of the crime prevention and drug education program in selected school districts through the use of a semi-structured personal interview with the individual assigned primary responsibility for coordination of the program in each of the nineteen school districts included in the study. It is the further purpose of this study to determine principal and teacher perceptions toward twenty-two factors related to drug abuse among students. This was accomplished through the use of a perception survey mailed to a random sample of 1,184 teachers and all 149 principals within the nineteen school districts participating in the study. This procedure resulted in the return of usable surveys by 804 teachers and 119 principals.

The problem of this study was to identify a minimum competency-testing framework for the state of Texas, based upon perceptions of superintendents of schools. Additionally, this study attempted to determine whether relationships existed between school district characteristics and the superintendents' perceptions of minimum competency testing. In summary, eight conclusions were reached with regard to minimum competency testing. Two implications have been presented which would direct the application of a minimum competency framework within the state of Texas. Finally, six recommendations have been made. Five recommendations dealt with additional studies, while one recommendation dealt with the Texas Education Agency's use of results from the five recommended studies.

The problem of this study was to determine legal, moral, and social responsibilities and practices of the Texas public school system in dealing with religion. The purposes of the study were (1) to determine the impact of state and federal judicial decisions on religious practices in schools, (2) to review the historical background for trends of religious practices in the public schools of Texas, (3) to determine the social and professional influence on religious practices in public schools, and (4) to survey current religious practices from a select sample of public schools in Texas to determine if schools were basically sectarian. The following conclusions are inferred: I. It is not the intention of the Supreme Court of the United States to deny the existence of a Supreme Being, but rather its intention is to assure each individual freedom from any form of an established religion. 2. School policies do not delineate the role of religion in public school, 3. Through careful planning, progress could be made in developing policies for a study of religion which will complement, not supplement, the religious teachings of the home and of the church. 4. There are many opportunities for public schools to provide religious …

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between principal job satisfaction and the principal perception of superintendent leadership style in six school districts located in North Central Texas.

This study examines the extent of agreement or disagreement among and between Texas superintendents, principals and athletic directors toward fifty specifically defined role expectations for the full-time athletic administrator. By defining the athletic director's role expectations, the superintendents, principals and athletic directors may function more effectively in discharging their duties and implementing quality interscholastic athletic programs. Parents and educational leaders are very interested in athletic programs which contribute to the emotional, social, physical, and mental growth of youth. Given the increasing number of athletic programs and participants, it is important to analyze and report data related to athletic administration. The perceptions of the superintendents, principals, and athletic directors to the specifically defined role expectations for the athletic director provided data for analysis to determine the extent of role conflict and the role of the athletic director. The main findings are the following. (1) There is a minimal role conflict for the athletic director based upon the perceptions of the superintendents, principals, and athletic directors. (2) The majority of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with forty-four of the specifically defined role expectations for the athletic director. (3) The majority of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the athletic director …

Using a case study approach, this investigation focused on the decision-making processes involved in developing budgets in two Texas school districts following a tax limitation, or rollback, election. Factors influencing the decision-making processes included the rollback election's outcome in each district, the participants, the perceptions participants held of themselves, the perceptions participants held of others in the district and community, the decisions made, and the factors influencing participants' decisions. Two Texas school districts were selected as subjects of this study which used qualitative data collection methods. In one school district, the rollback election passed. In the other, it failed. Data collection included observations of school board meetings and budget workshops. Structured interviews of school board members and administrators, pro- and antirollback proponents, and newspaper editors were conducted. Questions focused on the budgetary decision-making processes before and after the rollback elections. They also solicited information fromsubjects regarding rollback elections, the factors precipitating the rollback elections and the impact of the rollback election campaign upon each school district. Document analyses were triangulated with the observations and interviews to identify the factors influencing the budgetary decision-making process. Following the rollback elections, school officials in both districts adopted a conservative approach to budgetary decision-making. …

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Texas House Bill 72 on equalization of finances in the public school districts of Texas. House Bill 72 is a finance reform bill which was passed by the Texas Legislature during the Summer of 1984. This study involves basically three steps. First, current criteria for equity as defined by school finance "experts" and recent definitive court decisions were determined. Second, financial data from the Texas Education Agency were statistically analyzed for the 1984-1985 school year. Third, the statistical analysis was used to determine if the current Texas school finance plan meets the current criteria for equity. The population used in the study was 1,068 school districts. Based on the findings of this study the following conclusions were drawn. 1. The use of a per capita flat grant by the Texas Public School Finance System contributes to the unequalizing of financial resources available to school districts. 2. School districts with greater property index values are required to exercise very little effort toward the support of their public schools. 3. School districts with high property index values tend to have lower effective tax rates and high per-pupil expenditures. 4. School …

The problem of this study was to answer the question, of whether or not there is congruence between Texas elementary school counselors' and elementary principals' perceptions of the role of Texas elementary school counselors. Research questions were formulated to carry out the purpose of this study. A review of related literature revealed that only two studies of the role of the elementary school counselor had been conducted in Texas. Both studies polled only elementary school counselors; therefore, Texas elementary principals' perception of the role of the elementary counselor was unknown. Christian's Elementary Counselor Inventory (ECI) was the instrument used in this study. The ECI contains 60 items describing tasks likely to be part of the counselor's role. Respondents were asked to consider each task twice; once according to the ideal role (should this be part of the counselor's role?), and once according to the actual role (is the elementary school counselor actually performing this function?).

This study addressed superintendents' value perceptions of nineteen component parts of P.L. 94-142, The Education For All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. In addition, the study sought to determine whether relationships existed between superintendents' value perceptions of P.L. 94-142 and (1) school district size and (2) total years experience as a superintendent. As a result of this research, twenty-one conclusions were drawn, consisting of Texas superintendents' perceptions of several aspects of P.L. 94-142 such as: its effectiveness, appropriateness, process hearing costs, funding, time/cost efficiency, feasibility, and ultimate goal. Additionally, there was no significant relationship between the total number years served as a superintendent, or the size of school districts served, and the superintendents' value perceptions concerning P.L. 94-142. In summary, twenty-one conclusions were reached regarding superintendents' value perceptions of P.L. 94-142. A total of seven implications were drawn from the conclusions. Finally, seven recommendations for future study were made.

The problem of this study was to determine the effectiveness of community education in Texas as perceived by the superintendents, community education directors, and selected laymen in the participating school districts. The sources of data included a review of the literature and supplemental materials. The survey technique, employing a jury—validated questionnaire, was used to collect the perceptions of superintendents, principals, teachers, and college professors in the State of Texas. A total of 121 educators and lay participants responded to the questionnaire. As a result of the study, it appears that according to the perception of those surveyed, that the community education programs in Texas are accomplishing at least 83 percent of all the goals purported in the nationally-circulated literature. Based on the study, it appears that the ongoing community education programs in Texas are perceived to be effective by those most closely associated with them and therefore deserve to continue to receive special considerations and funding.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of bureaucratic structure to communication satisfaction of teachers in a suburban school district in north Texas. This study compared seven components of communication satisfaction of teachers in Authoritarian schools with those of teachers in Professional schools.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of high school assistant principals as perceived by principals, assistant principals, and teachers. The population in this study consisted of the principals, assistant principals, and teachers in Class 5A high schools in Texas during the 1985- 86 school year. One hundred and twenty of the Class 5A high schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. One principal, one assistant principal, and one teacher from each school were asked to respond to the survey. A questionnaire was designed to measure the perception of the three groups under study and contained seventy-seven job responsibilities which were divided into six major areas. The six areas were school management, staff personnel, community relations, student activities, curriculum and instruction, and pupil personnel. Eighteen items were eliminated through clarity, appropriateness, and reliability studies. Each respondent was asked to rate the degree of involvement of assistant principals for each job responsibility listed in two columns labeled current and ideal. Five hypotheses were developed for the study. Three hypotheses were tested by a multivariate one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, and two were tested using a univariate one-way analysis of variance. The .05 level of …

The purpose of this study was to compare the legal costs of Texas public school districts during the school years 1980-81, 1981-82, and 1982-83 with the preventive law practices utilized by those districts. A survey was made of Texas superintendents' knowledge of school law. The data were contrasted with legal costs and the preventive law practices of the district. Two survey instruments were developed, and the case study approach was utilized. A survey was sent to the 1,101 Texas public school superintendents. The twenty-five item instrument was designed to solicit information regarding the amount of money spent by districts and the types of preventive law practices that school districts use to reduce legal costs. A legal awareness questionnaire was developed and administered to 72 of the 542 superintendents who responded to the first survey instrument. Three school districts were selected to be case study sites. The data from the instruments were analyzed to determine if a relationship existed between a district's legal costs and its preventive law practices, a district's legal costs and the superintendent's knowledge of school law, and a superintendent's knowledge of school law and the district's preventive law practices. The major conclusions of the study were as …

The purpose of this study was to determine the stress factors which create the most difficulty for the superintendent; to determine which, if any, groups are most responsible for generating these stress factors? to determine if variables in the personal life of the individual superintendent are related to the amount of stress felt by him; and to suggest ways in which the amount of stress may be reduced. The population of this study was the school superintendents in Texas. The instrument used in this study was a two-part questionnaire consisting of thirty-five items designed to elicit perceptions of superintendents toward those situations that were most bothersome on their job.

The problem of this study was to determine the perceived needs of selected Texas public school administrators in the areas of competence addressed in the PEEL (Performance Evaluation of the Educational Leader) definition of administrative competence. The conclusions included the following: 1. Between levels of administrative activity, differences were indicated in the high indexes of perceived need on the competency statements between the superintendency-level staff members (superintendent and his advisory staff who hold "line" positions) and the building-level administrators (elementary principals, junior high principals, and senior high principals). 2. Superintendency-level staff members tend to exhibit higher perceived needs on the competency statements relating to instruction and student-oriented responsibilities than do building-level administrators. 3. The size of a school district in which an administrator is employed, the number of years that an administrator has in educational administration, and the highest degree earned by an administrator cause no significant differences to appear in the manner in which an administrator assesses his perceived need on a particular competency statement.

The problem of this study was the perceptions of Texas public school teachers and principals regarding recommendations for educational reform made in April, 1983, by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Purposes included determining those perceptions and investigating differences between them, differences among teachers1 perceptions, and differences among principals' perceptions relative to specific categories of recommendations and specific biographic variables. A random sample of 460 teachers and 180 principals, stratified equally among the state's twenty education regions, was selected from the population of public school teachers and principals on computer at the Texas Education Agency, Austin, Texas. The actual number of respondents included 224 teachers and 91 principals, or 49 percent and 51 percent respectively. The instrument used was an attitude scale developed by the investigator. The thirty-nine original recommendations made by the Commission were converted into 118 specific recommendations, more precise and easier to read according to a jury of experts. An. analysis of variance was calculated for hypotheses one, two, five, and six, and t values were calculated for hypotheses three and four. The study was organized into five chapters including the "Introduction," "Review of the Related Literature," "Procedures for Collection and Analysis of Data," "Analysis of …