California Elementary School District Superintendents' Perceptions

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CALIFORNIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY

by Julie Ann Graves B.A. (California State University, Bakersfield) 1977 M.A. (California State University, Bakersfield) 1984

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctorate in Education

Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at Fresno State Kremen School of Education and Human Development

California State University, Fresno 2017 ii Julie Ann Graves December 2017 Educational Leadership

CALIFORNIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY

Abstract

This dissertation examined perceptions of elementary district superintendents regarding professional development in the superintendency. The current challenges of the superintendency require superintendents to be more prepared than ever before and to serve as effective leaders of school districts. Specifically, this research identified what professional development activities provide effective support in the superintendency, and additionally identified the value of linking professional standards with professional development. This study also focused on the connection between reflective practice and professional development in the superintendency. The three research questions that guided this study were: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency? This study employed the explanatory sequential design mixed-methods approach. In phase 1 of this study, quantitative data were collected and analyzed ii

iii from California elementary superintendents’ responses to an electronic questionnaire regarding professional development in the superintendency. In phase 2 of this study, qualitative data were collected and analyzed from a random selection of the California elementary superintendent participants who were willing to participate in a follow-up telephone interview to further explain the quantitative results in this study. A semi-structured interview protocol for the qualitative data collection of superintendent participants was used in this study, followed by a qualitative data analysis in order to discover the emergent themes in the data. The quantitative and qualitative data in this study uncovered numerous common elements regarding professional development in the superintendency. The three overall themes that emerged in both the quantitative and the qualitative data analyses were: the frequency and need for professional development, the CPSEL alignment of professional development, and professional development support for reflective practice in the superintendency. The frequency and need for professional development had two subthemes: context of district diversity and fiscal alignment and board support. CPSEL guided professional development had one subtheme: pursuit of continuous learning. Reflective practice had one subtheme: collaboration. Implications for future practice were given as well as recommendations for future research.

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California State University, Fresno Kremen School of Education and Human Development Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

This dissertation was presented by

Julie Ann Graves

It was defended on November 14, 2017 and approved by:

Randy Schultz, Chair Teacher Education

Charles Weis Educational Leadership

Donald Wise Educational Leadership

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 I would first of all like to acknowledge that this is one of many blessings that I have received in my life in which my faith has facilitated my successful completion of this journey. To my parents, Margaret and Eugene Nelson, who valued and instilled a love for learning in me and always encouraged me to achieve my goals. You have provided unequivocal love and support for all of my endeavors in life. To my sisters, Lori and Vicki, you have supported and encouraged me and ultimately believed in my ability to accomplish this goal. To my husband Frank, who has sacrificed as much as I have in achieving this goal. Your love and support has been a hallmark of my success as I approached each milestone in this endeavor. I know that I could not have successfully completed this journey without you. To my children, Tad, Brian, Denny, Steven, Jessica, and Emily, and their spouses, Megan, Kathy, Jill, Brad, and Bill, you have all inspired me to be the best person I can be and I thank you for that. To my grandchildren, Connor, Kaiden, Garrett, Tristan, Alice, Evan, Rylan, and Addison as well as my future granddaughter Lyllah, you have all been an endless source of inspiration in my life. To my Family Five cohort, each and every one of you has added value to my life from knowing you. I appreciated your support and acceptance of me for

vii who I am, and I cherish the bond that has been formed that I believe will last a lifetime. To Angie, Jonathan, and Robin, what can I say? The team we created was incredible and you will always be in my heart. To Rita, it truly breaks my heart that we lost you before we could complete this journey together and I will forever honor your inspiration and memory in my life. To all of my fellow elementary district superintendents in California who so willingly gave of their time and talents in contributing to this topic of research. I am honored to be considered and to serve as an elementary district superintendent with all of you. To my chair and committee members, Dr. Schultz, Dr. Wise, and Dr. Weis, I thank you for providing guidance and for the sharing of your expertise with me in the completion of my Doctoral Degree. Words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude. Additionally, the support from both California State University, Fresno and California State University, Bakersfield Doctoral Programs was essential to my success and provided valuable assistance in the process of earning my Doctoral Degree.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

LIST OF TABLES ...... xi

LIST OF FIGURES ...... xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Background ...... 1

Statement of Problem ...... 7

Theoretical Framework ...... 8

Organizational Learning ...... 9

Reflective Practice ...... 10

Significance ...... 11

Purpose of Study ...... 14

Research Questions ...... 14

Limitations ...... 14

Definitions ...... 15

Summary ...... 17

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...... 19

Historical Perspectives of the Superintendency...... 19

Evolution of the Superintendence Role ...... 19

Decennial Superintendent Survey Research ...... 23

Current Challenges of the Superintendency ...... 30

Educational Reform Reports and Initiatives ...... 30

21st Century Learning ...... 33

Professional Standards ...... 34

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Organizational Learning ...... 37

Reflective Practice ...... 47

Professional Development ...... 52

Summary ...... 56

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...... 58

Purpose of Study ...... 59

Research Questions ...... 59

Research Design ...... 60

Phase 1 ...... 61

Phase 2 ...... 61

Participants ...... 62

Instrumentation ...... 64

Instrumentation Pilot Study ...... 66

Procedures ...... 67

Data Analyses ...... 69

Quantitative Analysis ...... 69

Qualitative Analysis ...... 71

Limitations ...... 72

Summary ...... 73

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS/OUTCOMES ...... 75

Participants ...... 76

Phase 1 ...... 76

Phase 2 ...... 76

Quantitative Data Analysis ...... 77

Professional Development Participation in the Superintendency ...... 83

Reflective Practice and Professional Development ...... 85

CPSEL Alignment of Professional Development ...... 87

Reliability and Validity ...... 88

Qualitative Data Analysis ...... 89

Emergent Themes ...... 92

Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses Summary ...... 110

Summary ...... 111

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION/SUMMARY/CONCLUSION ...... 113

Current Study ...... 115

Research Questions ...... 116

Summary and Discussion of Findings ...... 116

Research Question 1 ...... 116

Research Question 2 ...... 119

Research Question 3 ...... 121

Implications for Future Practice ...... 122

Recommendations for Future Research ...... 124

Conclusion ...... 126

REFERENCES ...... 129

APPENDIX A: SURVEY INSTRUMENT ...... 144

APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ...... 158

APPENDIX C: EMAIL COVER LETTER ...... 159

APPENDIX D: TELEPHONE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ...... 160

APPENDIX E: SURVEY PARTICIPANT COMMENTS ...... 229

APPENDIX F: INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT CODING ...... 235

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1.1 California Professional Standards for Education Leaders ...... 7

Table 2.1 National Decade Studies of the American Superintendency ...... 24

Table 2.2 AASA and ISLLC Professional Standards ...... 36

Table 4.1 Student Enrollment of Sample and Population ...... 77

Table 4.2 District Location Category of Sample and Population ...... 78

Table 4.3 Position Title ...... 78

Table 4.4 California County Representation of Participants ...... 80

Table 4.5 Gender of Sample and Population ...... 81

Table 4.6 Earned Doctoral Degree of Participants ...... 81

Table 4.7 Years of Experience in Current Superintendency ...... 82

Table 4.8 Total Years of Experience in the Superintendency ...... 82

Table 4.9 Professional Development Correlation with Reflection ...... 86

Table 4.10 CPSEL as Related to Professional Development ...... 88

Table 4.11 Cronbach Alpha Test ...... 88

Table 4.12 Professional Development Questionnaire Correlation with CPSEL .. 89 Table 4.13 Participant Citations Noting Professional Development Frequency ...... 97 Table 4.14 Participant Citations Noting Small Size, Rural Location, and Isolation ...... 99 Table 4.15 Participant Citations Noting Structures of Collaboration, Networking, and Learning ...... 110

Table 5.1 Summary of Findings ...... 115

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 4.1. Professional development attendance of participants (1-4 times)...... 83

Figure 4.2. Professional development attendance of Participants (5+ times)...... 84

Figure 4.3. Total professional development and reflection...... 86 Figure 4.4. Professional development activities that support reflective practice...... 87

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background The role of the public-school district superintendent has evolved into a demanding, complex, and challenging position that is critical for producing outcomes of student achievement. Marzano and Waters (2009) noted the correlation between district level leadership in implementing educational reform, finding the following: Of the twenty-seven reports examined in the meta-analysis, fourteen contained information about the relationship between overall district-level leadership and average student academic achievement in the district. These fourteen reports included data from 1,210 districts. The computed correlation between district leadership and student achievement was .24 and was statistically significant at the .05 level. (p. 4) Research has supported that a school district superintendent plays a critical role in the success of the school system (Björk, Kowalski, & Browne-Ferrigno, 2005; Glass, 1992; S. Harris, Ballenger, & Mixon, 2016). Kowalski and Reitzug (1993) stressed that leadership in the superintendency is a complex and difficult undertaking that involves ambiguity of decision making in effectively addressing the various challenges inherent to the position. Ultimately, strong leadership in the

1 superintendency can be linked to the positive outcome of student learning and academic achievement. Kowalski (2013) noted the following of the superintendent’s role: Officeholders are expected to have the knowledge and skills essential for leading and managing. As evidenced by the evolution of the role conceptualizations, the demands of the superintendency have become increasingly complex. In many communities, a superintendent is responsible for the largest local transportation department, food service program, and public facility program. At the same time, he or she must possess substantial knowledge pertaining to pedagogy, psychology, assessment, planning, and school improvement. (p. 25)

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Since the inception of the superintendency in Buffalo, New York in 1837 (S. Harris et al., 2016) the role of the school district superintendent has progressed to historically include the roles of teacher-scholar, business manager, and political and democratic leader (Petersen & Barnett, 2005). Kowalski (1999) summarized the superintendent role expectations of teacher-scholar, business manager, and democratic leader as follows: Superintendents were expected to assume each of these roles at varying times with different publics. Superintendents’ success, and even survival, often depended on their ability to make successful transitions among these three distinct roles. To achieve these roles, they also had to possess the personal flexibility to make appropriate adjustments. (p. 10) Subsequently, the progression of the role in the superintendency continued and resulted in the ensuing roles as described by Kowalski (2005) to include the applied social scientist and the communicator roles. As applied social scientist, a superintendent is expected to have the knowledge and skills from various social science disciplines in order to effectively address social and institutional issues, such as poverty, racism, discrimination, violence, and crime. The role of the superintendent as communicator is one of the most recent role expectations to emerge in the superintendency. Kowalski (2005) described the communicator role

in the superintendency as follows: 2

Communicative expectations for administrators reflect a confluence of reform initiatives and the social environment in which they are being pursued. Virtually every major school improvement concept and strategy encourages superintendents to work collaboratively with principals, teachers, parents, and other taxpayers to build and pursue collective visions. (p. 11) Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005) postulated that superintendents must understand the importance, the complexity, and the conflict of their role as instructional leaders, while simultaneously addressing the internal mechanisms of their organization that controls the behavior of both individuals and subunits. The

3 3 constant challenge of the superintendency involves focusing on the matters of curriculum and instruction through the expansion of educational leadership as well as the development of organizational learning within the structure of the school district (Senge et al., 2012). Kowalski (1995) deduced the following: One reason why there has been so little research on the superintendency is that it is difficult to execute. This is especially true of qualitative research that probes the subtleties of practice in relation to specific conditions. In the next few years, there ought to be more concerted efforts to examine the interactivity, of person, organization, task, and community. (pp. 148-149) While research generally has addressed preparation programs for the superintendent’s role, specific structures of support and professional development during the superintendency has not been addressed as extensively. Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) acknowledged the implications for aligning university-based professional preparation programs with the new realities of practice in the superintendency as vital for providing the depth and breadth of knowledge that a superintendent must possess. It is essential for superintendents to respond to the educational demands and reform initiatives of the past several decades to achieve improvement in the educational system. National educational reform initiatives have resulted in recommendations of practice for

superintendents, by leveraging support for “changes in practice, reconfiguring 3

superintendent preparation programs, and bringing coherence to professional development” (Björk, Kowalski, & Young, 2005, p. 65). Implications for success in the superintendency indicate that, as district leaders, superintendents must continually focus on the academic success of students, according to both state and federal accountability measures. Portis and Garcia (2007) contended and summarized that the characteristics of superintendents who are leading district reform effectively include not only having the knowledge and understanding of the politics of educational leadership but also having the receptiveness to learn

4 4 from everyone within the organization in order to contribute to the outcome of student learning. According to Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005), in the past 50 years there have been reform efforts in education, and decisions that were handed down by the United States Supreme Court as well as legislation enacted by both Congress and in the individual states, for the purpose of achieving equity and excellence in public education. Specifically, the authors noted that in recent decades, national commission and task force reports have been critical of public education, focusing on the need to increase accountability, increase student learning, improve curricula, and strengthen teaching practices. Björk, Kowalski, and Young reported that nationwide efforts commenced in the 1970s, while extending into 1983, when A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) was published in which the report revealed major deficiencies in the American educational system. The recommendations from this report included an increased focus on content, expectations and standards, teaching, leadership, and fiscal support in order to address the educational deficiencies identified by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Kowalski (2013) characterized accountability approaches and policy streams as influential in the work of school

4 superintendents, as they aspire to be instructional leaders. Kowalski (2013) stated: When pursuing change, no matter how well designed and intentioned, superintendents should not lose sight of the fact that districts are social and political systems bounded by democratic principles, institutional and community cultures, and local politics. (p. 90) Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005) recommended utilizing nationally established professional standards for the superintendency in guiding the development and preparation programs for superintendents, also recommending that standards and guidelines of the superintendency can be used as “a coherent

5 5 template for recentering the field and radically changing professional preparation” (p. 66). Professional guidelines and standards for the superintendency emerged nationally in 1979 as an instrument and as a tool for the training, employment, evaluation, and promotion of school administrators (American Association of School Administrators, 1979). The American Association of School Administrators (1979) publication broadly addressed the following in regard to the superintendency: The entire structure of education-from the national level through state organizations to local school systems- must cooperate in a major effort to identify and develop leadership for the tasks that lie ahead. Useful knowledge needs to be compiled, analyzed and transformed into learning activities and strategies that will best meet the evolving leadership needs. (p. 2) Subsequently, in 1993, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) developed and published the Professional Standards for the Superintendency that specifically listed eight performance standards that combined the knowledge base required of educational leaders with acceptable performance goals as well as competencies and skills needed for an effective superintendency (Hoyle et al., 1993; Hoyle, English, & Steffy, 2005). In exploring the evaluation aspect of the superintendency, DiPaola and Stronge (2003) noted

5 the critical skills of effective superintendent leadership to include the combination of technical skills for specialized knowledge, conceptual skills for the purpose of providing and planning for the future, and human skills for building relationships in attaining organizational goals. The California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) were originally developed in 2001 by a collaboration of representatives from various agencies, including the California School Leadership Academy at WestEd, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), the Commission on

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Teacher Credentialing (CTC), the California Department of Education (CDE), California public and private universities, and the county offices of education (COE) throughout the state (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014). The CPSEL were modified from the 1996 national Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards for school Leaders (S. Harris et al., 2016). The CPSEL (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014) supported a sustainable and effective practice for educational administrators. The CPSEL are a “set of broad policy standards that are the foundation for administrator preparation, induction, development, professional learning and evaluation in California” (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014, p. 1). The CPSEL effectively describe, not only critical areas of leadership for administrators, but they also provide a framework and structure of support for developing education leaders for the superintendency. In October 2013, the CPSEL were revised and updated, resulting in their final approval by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in February 2014 that reflected the current and emerging expectations for education leaders in California (see Table 1.1). S. Harris et al. (2016) emphasized the importance of professional standards in stating, “Thus, when educators reflect in order to make good decisions, it is important that their

6 reflections are guided by standards, rather than just their own experiences” (p. xxi). Petersen and Barnett (2005) advocated for strengthening the instructional leadership of superintendents through opportunities of professional development. Superintendents are continually faced with increasing responsibilities and must incorporate the historical roles of teacher-scholar, business manager, democratic leader as well as the social scientist and communicator roles in the superintendency for effectiveness. Hess (1988) advocated for a model of professional development

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California Professional Standards for Education Leaders 2014 California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) Standards

STANDARD 1: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SHARED VISION Education leaders facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision of learning and growth of all students.

STANDARD 2: INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP Education leaders shape a collaborative culture of teaching and learning informed by professional standards and focused on student and professional growth.

STANDARD 3: MANAGEMENT AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Education leaders manage the organization to cultivate a safe and productive learning and working environment.

STANDARD 4: FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Education leaders collaborate with families and other stakeholders to address diverse student and community interests and mobilize community resources.

STANDARD 5: ETHICS AND INTEGRITY Education leaders make decisions, model, and behave in ways that demonstrate professionalism, ethics, integrity, justice, and equity and hold staff to the same standard.

STANDARD 6: EXTERNAL CONTEXT AND POLICY Education leaders influence political, social, economic, legal and cultural contexts affecting education to improve education policies and practices. in the superintendency that integrates practical knowledge and expertise based on research and scholarship: Prospective school leaders spend their time in lectures, examinations, and thesis writing- when instead they need to apply research to practical situations, participate in supervised internships, and learn the interpersonal skills that will help build the productive relationships with school board members, members of the public, and representatives of the press. (p. 43) Effective professional development models of active learning are clearly focused,

sustainable, and coherent, and can provide support for superintendents that is most 7

likely to bring about long-lasting and authentic reform within a school system.

Statement of Problem The demands of the superintendency can overwhelm the capacity of individuals in the position, making professional development support a mandatory consideration for all superintendents. The current challenges of the superintendency require superintendents to be more prepared than ever before in serving as effective leaders of school districts. Grissom and Anderson (2012)

8 8 highlighted that professional development support is a critical component of the superintendency and that “districts might work to build supports for superintendents faced with increased administrative complexity in more challenging local contexts” (p. 1175). Research, however, is scant on identifying effective support structures and professional development for superintendents, and has not focused on professional development that is needed subsequent to superintendency appointments. The superintendent’s commitment to continuous learning in the position is vital, and can be accessed through executive coaching, networking, conference attendance, and professional association affiliation, in order to meet the challenges of the superintendency. It is imperative that superintendents have opportunity to access and to participate in professional development activities that provide continuous support in meeting the complexities, challenges, and demands of the superintendency. It was the intent of this research to identify which professional development activities provide support in the superintendency, as guided by both standards-based professional development and reflective practice, within the organizational learning framework, as core elements. The problem that this research addressed was to determine if superintendents are adequately accessing professional development opportunities

8 and support during the tenure of their superintendency position.

Theoretical Framework In order to provide a conceptual framework that addressed and supported the complexity of the elementary school district superintendent’s role, the integration of organizational learning and reflective practice was under consideration in this study and was utilized as a structure and basis of effective support for the elementary superintendence role. Elementary school district superintendents face a vast array of challenges within the scope of their

9 9 responsibilities. Organizational learning, or a process for creating, retaining, and transferring knowledge can facilitate the achievement of continuous improvement in learning (Senge, 2003). The process of reflective practice, or the mindful contemplation of one’s professional actions (Osterman, 1990), can also provide the knowledge needed in connecting support structures to effectively facilitate professional growth in the superintendent’s practice during their tenure.

Organizational Learning The Organizational Learning Theory was developed by Cyert and March (1963) as a key process within an organization and as a powerful tool in modulating and shaping its performance for improvement (Gonzalez, 2001). In the adaptive learning process of organizational learning, the goals, the attention rules and the search rules become aligned to the experiences occurring within the organization. Finger and Brand (1999) asserted that organizational learning is the “activity and the process by which organizations eventually reach the idea of a learning organization” (p. 136), while Fiol and Lyles (1985) emphasized that an organization must have the “potential to learn, unlearn, or relearn based on its past behaviors” (p. 804). Organizational learning is a complex conceptual lens and theory that was a

frame of reference for this study and has the potential to provide school district leadership with valuable lessons for problem solving and decision making. This can be accomplished by creating environments in which the possibility for learning capabilities are increased (Kowalski, 2013; Senge, 1990). The disciplines underlying the learning organization can help individuals, teams, and organizations develop an understanding of the problems, processes, and challenges within the organization (Adkison, 2001). Kofman and Senge (1993) highlighted an analytical way to address complex situations through building learning

10 10 organizations that combine personal commitment with the capacity of team members to produce fundamental changes in the organization. Adkison (2001) noted that with the rapid changes of leadership and professional environments, the principles of organizational learning facilitate opportunities in administrator development. Adkison also cited that the result of an organizational learning environment can ensure a process of learning in which diverse participants learn to engage in difficult issues in such a way that individual members become more effective participants within the whole organization.

Reflective Practice Reflective practice is an integrated way of thinking and acting, and can be instrumental in improving organizations through the collaborative actions of improving the individuals in an organization (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993). Osterman and Kottkamp noted that reflective practice is viewed as a means in which practitioners can impact their performance through opportunities for professional growth and development. Kolb (1984) asserted that reflective practice is supported by the Experiential Learning Theory, and noted the close relationship between reflection and learning. Kolb also emphasized that experience provides a basis for learning

10 in which reflection is an essential component in the process that enables learning from experience. Kolb explained that all learning is relearning, and “one’s job as an educator is not only to implant new ideas, but also to dispose of or modify old ones” (p. 28). Similarly, Schön, as cited in Kirby and Paradise (1992), described reflective practice as: Diagnosis, testing and belief in personal causation. Diagnosis is the ability to frame or make sense of a problem through use of professional knowledge, past experience, the uniqueness of the setting and people involved, and expectations held by others. Once framed, the reflective

11 11 practitioner engages in on-the-spot experimentation to test alternative solutions. (p. 1057) The Experiential Learning Theory maintains that experience is the basis for learning, and is a dialectic and recurring process that consists of the four stages of experience including observation, reflection, abstract reconceptualization, and experimentation (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993), all of which are critical components in the reflective practice process.

Significance Research has indicated that providing professional development support for superintendents can offer skill development that contributes to the continuous and professional growth of superintendents (Alsbury & Hackman, 2006; Daresh, 2004). Daresh (2004) also asserted that professional development, such as mentoring programs, can assist administrators in seeing the translation of educational theory into daily practice and also stated the following: Having a guide and mentor who already speaks the language of school administration as an ally ready to interpret real-world problems allows the novice to begin to understand subtle relationships between what was learned in books with what now must be learned through daily interactions with parents, teachers, staff, and students. (Daresh, 2004, p. 504) Spanneut, Tobin, and Ayers (2011) noted that the increased leadership

demands in the superintendency call for the superintendents’ commitment to remain current with the evolving trends and reforms in education as well as with the existing demands of the current political and economic circumstances of society. In order to achieve success in the superintendency, the authors asserted that superintendents must recognize the extent of their leadership knowledge and must identify their own specific areas of need for their leadership growth in the position of the superintendency. Funk (2013) cited that strong leadership skills in district level leaders can be cultivated through engaging in structured and ongoing

12 12 professional development activities. Furthermore, Funk advocated for designing a course of professional development action for educational leaders that is not only important, but is also a vital component of district level leadership. One inhibitor of the superintendency is the complexity of the position that has evolved to a role of increased expectations, and as stated by Cooper and Conley (2011), “site and district leaders occupy difficult and complex jobs, and the trainees for and the incumbents in these jobs deserve more attention and help” (p. 2). The infrastructure of organizational learning, and the establishment of a collaborative environment consisting of shared ownership and commitment at all levels, contributes to the coherent messages and strategies as well as to the sustainability of the leadership structure within the organization (Margolin, 2013). Recent research from Augustine-Shaw and Funk (2013) confirmed the influence of mentoring on developing leaders and that reflection can serve as a tool in developing increased awareness of both decisions and actions of educational leaders. Margolin (2013) additionally affirmed the value of networking with other professional leaders through the participation in professional development activities such as mentoring and coaching, attending regional summits and conferences, and affiliation with professional organizations that support leaders in

the superintendency. Both Pardini (2003) and McCord (2009) recognized the value of executive coaching and mentoring programs for new and veteran superintendents that not only may positively impact superintendents’ decisions and actions but may also positively impact educational outcomes of students. This study provided the rationale and recognition of the value of support in professional development opportunities for superintendents. Björk (1993) confirmed that superintendents have opportunities to improve instructional effectiveness in their districts through their instructional leadership role. Daresh

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(2001) proposed various forms of support for school leaders, such as professional development programs that garner support from colleagues on an ongoing basis. This comprehensive approach of support may also be instrumental in attracting and retaining school administrators in the superintendency as well. Cooper and Conley (2011) recommended that in providing support for educational administrators, “Feedback is the key: not critical or threatening; when it comes from administrative superiors and/or mentors showing understanding and being helpful” (p. 5). Hartley (2013) explored common antecedents to the superintendency including experience, leadership experience, reflective practice, and mentorship, and recognized the need to raise awareness of the antecedents in the skill development of superintendents. S. Harris, Lowery, Hopson, and Marshall (2004) specified that the motivators and inhibitors of the superintendency indicate a need to examine superintendent preparation as well as the influence of mentoring and other professional development programs that effectively support superintendents in their role. The present study informed the value of professional development and continuous learning of superintendents in relation to the CPSEL as well as in

relation to organizational learning and reflective practice in the superintendency. The data from this study may be instrumental in providing a rationale for increasing professional development support for superintendents in order to achieve an increased level of effectiveness in the superintendency. This research also fills a void that exists in the body of knowledge needed on the topic of professional development in the superintendency.

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Purpose of Study The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine, understand, and describe elementary school district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development support that effectively fosters organizational learning and reflective practice. This study also investigated whether superintendents have received professional development support during the tenure of their superintendency aligned to the CPSEL.

Research Questions The following overarching research questions have guided this study throughout all phases of the research: RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency?

Limitations 14

One limitation in this study was that the explanatory sequential research design had time constraints due to the time it took to implement the two distinct phases in the mixed-methods explanatory sequential design for this study. As stated by Creswell (2015a), the explanatory sequential design “is challenging to conduct, however, because it takes time to implement two distinct phases in sequence” (p. 38).

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A second limitation in this study was that this study was delimited to publicly funded elementary school district superintendents in California serving elementary school students. This study did not focus on any other superintendent status types, including COE superintendents, high school district superintendents, regional occupation center program superintendents, unified school district superintendents, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Special Schools program superintendents. The results of this study were applicable specifically to the status type of elementary district superintendents, and may or may not be generalizable to any other superintendent status types. A third limitation in this study was that the data collected was limited by the set of questions that were asked in the superintendent survey and in the semi- structured interview protocol. An additional factor and limitation involved the willingness of participants to dedicate time in providing their relevant and meaningful input for the purpose of this research study. A fourth limitation in this study was that a similarity of the sample and total population in student enrollment category, as well as in the district location category, could not be established and is noted as a limitation in this study. A final limitation in this study was that the researcher qualified as a

participant of this study, however did not participate due to the potential conflict in the data analyses of this study.

Definitions Executive Coaching/Mentoring For the purpose of this study, executive coaching and mentoring were synonymous, indicating an ongoing process in which experienced individuals provide support and guidance to superintendents through the sharing, listening, and learning process (Daresh, 2001).

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District Location Categories Rural: Districts comprised primarily of nonresidential areas Suburban: Districts surrounding major urban areas Urban: Districts located in major cities with populations of at least 100,000 (Kowalski, 2005) Earned Doctorate An earned doctorate degree excludes honorary degrees but includes a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) Degree (Kowalski, McCord. Petersen, Young, & Ellerson, 2011). Local Education Agencies COE: County Office of Education State Educational Agencies CDE: California Department of Education Superintendent Professional Associations American Association of School Administrators (AASA), established 1865 AASA Affiliate: Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) National School Boards Association (NSBA), established 1940 NSBA Affiliate: CSBA- California School Boards Association

National Association of School Superintendents (NASS), established 2009 Small School District Association (SSDA), established 1983 Urban Superintendent’s Association of America (USAA), established 2016 National Alliance of Black School Educators (NASBE), established 1970 California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA), established 1971 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), established 1943

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Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity, International (ΦΔΚ) (PDK), established 1906 Superintendent Professional Development For the purpose of this study, superintendent professional development included activities directed toward building capacity of leaders in the superintendency to improve student learning (Björk, Kowalski, & Young, 2005).

Summary Björk, Browne-Ferrigno, and Kowalski (2014) maintained that the evolution of the superintendent’s role over the past 150 years in the United States reflects the relationships between the changing contexts and the superintendent’s role characterization. With the intensity of educational reform increasing over the past several decades, the persistence of the previously described superintendent roles continue to remain relevant today and provide a framework for examining the current demands and challenges in the superintendency. The complexities and challenges inherent in the superintendence role have evolved and multiplied over the years, due to both the external and internal factors as well as the influences in education and in society. This chapter provided an introduction to the research that included the background, statement of problem, purpose of study, research questions,

17 theoretical framework, significance, and limitations of the study. Definitions relevant to this research were also provided in this chapter. This study examined elementary district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development that effectively supports and positively impacts the superintendency. This study also explored the relationship between superintendent professional development and the CPSEL as related to organizational learning and reflective practice in the superintendency.

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The remainder of this study was organized into four additional chapters, followed by a bibliography and appendices. Chapter 2 reviews the literature related to the historical perspectives and evolution of the superintendence role as well as the theoretical frameworks that address challenges and complexities that exist in the superintendency. Chapter 3 presents the methodology used in this study including the research design, research questions, purpose of the study, the participant sample, the instrumentation, and the pilot study. The data collection and data analyses as well as the limitations of study are also discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study including the data analyses and emergent themes in relation to the research questions. Chapter 5 presents the summary of findings, the conclusions, and the discussion of the literature as well as the implications for practice and future research regarding professional development support in the superintendency.

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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Historical Perspectives of the Superintendency

Evolution of the Superintendence Role The role of the American school superintendent is not only a complex role, but also one of the most important positions in American public education, both past and present (Glass, Björk, & Brunner, 2000; Hoyle, Björk, Collier, & Glass, 2005; Kowalski, 2005, 2013; Kowalski et al., 2011). The first schools in America were governed and administered by boards of education; however, there was a need that emerged, beginning in 1837, for the appointment of superintendents to replace and augment the activities of lay boards (Callahan, 1966). The historical perspective of the superintendency began with the development of the position that has progressed through various stages, as depicted by both Griffiths (1966) and Callahan (1966) in their examination of the superintendency. Callahan (1966) cited the research of Joseph Mayer Rice in 1892, who observed more than 1200 teachers in schools in 36 cities in his perspective of the superintendent’s role: The office of the superintendent is, in my opinion, one the importance of which cannot be overestimated. Indeed, in the study of the educational conditions of any given locality, the superintendent may be regarded as the

central figure,--as a careful consideration of what he is, what he does, as 19 well as the circumstances under which he labors, will scarcely fail to point out the reasons why the schools of that locality are on a comparatively high or low level. When he is a thorough educator,--that is, when he has made a profound study of the science,--spares no pains in instructing his teachers in educational methods and principles, and is fully sustained in his actions by the board of education, the schools in his charge, if there be not too many, improve rapidly and ever continue to advance. But a modification in any one of these conditions impeded the progress of the schools. (p. 3) Callahan (1966) reported that as superintendents were appointed to their posts throughout America, their duties and responsibilities were divided between

20 20 the boards of education and the superintendents. As towns grew into larger cities, schools and districts grew as well, and superintendents served as the chief school district administrator; however, boards of education still maintained the power and final authority on many fronts. During this initial period of the superintendency, the superintendent held the image of being a teacher-scholar, with the major responsibilities involving curriculum and instruction in the district, even though many superintendents had not graduated from college, or even attended college. English (1994) described the teacher-scholar role in the superintendency as an expansion from an overseer to a curriculum and instruction coordinator, but also included the role of an instructional supervisor that often involved addressing the problem of incompetent teachers. Griffiths (1966) noted there was frequent correspondence among superintendents, at that time, for the purpose of sharing practices and ideas as well as meeting and convention attendance that occurred after the formation of the National Education Association (NEA) in 1865, thus supporting the role and responsibilities of superintendents. Subsequently, the superintendency transitioned from the scholarly and educational leadership role, into the role of business manager, involving school finances and the building and maintenance of school building facilities. During the

early decades of the twentieth century, superintendents utilized the principles of scientific management and focused on efficiency from a business perspective and standpoint (Björk, Glass, & Brunner, 2005; Callahan, 1962). Browne-Ferrigno and Glass (2005) emphasized organizational management as a critical role assigned to superintendents that was developed to guide the competency and performance of district leaders. As the population in America grew, schools also continued to grow and compulsory attendance laws increased the enrollment in schools and districts nationwide. Björk, Glass, and Brunner (2005) specified that the

21 21 superintendents were, in this period, faced with serious challenges, including the lack of financial resources, accountability expectations, and compliance issues with both state and federal mandates. Glass (2005) stated that “Leaders are those who do the right things and managers are those who do things right” (p. 39), while maintaining that, for a superintendent, both the managerial and leadership roles were essential for a successful superintendency. In the next phase of the superintendency, during the 1930s through the 1950s, the superintendents began to perform as educational statesmen, serving as the democratic leaders in their districts, thus increasing their political involvement in their job. Callahan (1966) indicated that during this period, the leaders in school administration set aside their business and managerial aspects of their position, and instead, studied educational problems as well as the development of methods of procedure. Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) summarized that this period of the superintendency reinforced the idea of democratic administration in which superintendents viewed their communities as an essential and important resource for support of district initiatives and policy. Beginning in the 1950s, the next phase of the superintendency emerged as that of applied social scientist. Kowalski et al. (2011) defined this stage of the

superintendency as an effort to increase the superintendents’ sensitivity to larger social problems inherent in a democratic and multicultural society. The expectations during this period were for superintendents to rely on empiricism, predictability, and scientific certainty, and as a result, the professional preparation of superintendents became more extensive, less practice-based, and more theoretical in nature. The trend in this phase of the superintendency deliberately moved away from the classical and scientific management theories, as they were

22 22 incompatible with the emerging democratic values of the time (Kowalski et al., 2011). The final phase of the American superintendency emerged in the 1990s and has been described by Björk, Glass, and Brunner (2005) as the necessity of superintendents to serve as communicator, in which they effectively communicate in the organization to initiate and sustain district reform. Björk, Glass, and Brunner (2005) acknowledged that during this phase, the expectations of the superintendency increased to include superintendent involvement in providing leadership for the purpose of improving teaching and learning, and in altering district cultures as an improvement method, while also assessing and utilizing relevant information to resolve problems of practice. Kowalski and Keedy (2005) proposed three critical issues that needed to be addressed in order for superintendents to achieve communication competency in their position. First of all, the authors supported the value of communication and advocated for communication to be elevated in the professional preparation of superintendents. Secondly, Kowalski and Keedy asserted that communication competence in school administration must be defined within the context of the profession. Finally, the authors advocated for ensuring communication competence for educational

administrators by embedding instruction in school administration programs, rather than through an isolated approach. The accumulation of the five historical role expectations of the superintendency indicated the knowledge and skills that are integral to the contemporary practice of the superintendency (Björk, Kowalski, & Browne- Ferrigno, 2005). Kowalski (2001b) summarized the following when considering the role conceptualizations of the superintendency:

23 23 Boards will accentuate rather than eliminate expectations that superintendents are competent in four traditional role conceptions: educator-scholars, managers, social scientists, and political leaders. In addition, reliance on information to identify and solve problems is rapidly legitimizing a fifth conception – superintendent as effective communicator. Those who believe in this outcome argue that both professional preparation and licensure should be strengthened. (p. 199) The totality of role expectations for superintendents contributed to the challenges of the superintendency by requiring specific knowledge and skills as a part of a superintendent’s professional knowledge base, and as an essential component of successful and effective leadership.

Decennial Superintendent Survey Research As noted by Murphy and Hallinger (1986), “Research on the superintendency in general is remarkably thin, while research on the leadership role of superintendents is sparser still” (p. 214); Murphy and Hallinger also noted that very few studies have examined the instructional leadership role of superintendents. Nationally, since 1923, there has been a series of comprehensive survey studies conducted, during each decade, on the American superintendency. The purpose of collecting demographic data and information regarding relevant topics and issues in the superintendency has been to evaluate and analyze data in regard to topics such as superintendent training and education, superintendent 23

tenure, and the authorities and duties of the superintendent. Glass and Franceschini (2007) reported that the first formal group to study the superintendency was organized in 1886, almost 50 years after the appointment of the first school superintendent in Buffalo, New York. George D. Strayer, one contributor of the first organized superintendent’s yearbook, had intended that the yearbook data would be beneficial in improving the efficiency of administration in public schools, and contended that “one must know the facts before he can determine

24 24 procedure” (Glass and Franceschini, 2007, p. 2). Strayer utilized the data from the early studies of the superintendency to compile compendiums of best practices cited as being used by exemplary principals and superintendents. Subsequently, 10-year studies of the superintendency followed nationally, with the exception of 1943 due to the outbreak of World War II (see Table 2.1).

Table 2.1

National Decade Studies of the American Superintendency Year Study Title Author(s) Number of Agency Surveys Sponsor Returned

1923 The status of the superintendent Chadsey et al. 1,181 NEA

1933 Educational leadership: Progress and W. T. Harris 3,150 NEA Possibilities

1952 The American school superintendency Rogers et al. 3,144 NEA/AASA

1960 Profile of the school superintendent, American 859 NEA/AASA 1960 Association of School Administrators

1971 The American school superintendent Knezevich 741 AASA

1982 The American School Superintendency, Cunningham & 2,342 AASA 1982 Hentges

1992 The 1992 study of the American school Glass 1,744 AASA superintendency: America’s education 24

leaders in a time of reform

2000 The study of the American Glass, Björk, & 2,262 AASA superintendency 2000: A look at the Brunner superintendent of education in the new millennium

2010 The American school superintendent: Kowalski, 1,867 AASA 2010 decennial study McCord, Petersen, Young, & Ellerson

The 10-year studies of the American school superintendency were initially conducted by the Department of Superintendence of the NEA of the United States,

25 25 and subsequently directed by the AASA, who solely sponsored the ten-year American school superintendency studies since 1971. AASA jointly published the decennial studies with the research division of the NEA in 1952 and 1960 (Kowalski et al., 2011). The AASA also published mid-decade studies in 2007 and 2015 in order to provide an update to the decennial studies of the superintendency (Glass & Franceschini, 2007; Ellerson et al., 2015). The decennial and mid-decade studies have provided data regarding the superintendency however Kowalski (2003) advocated for broader research in the field. Kowalski stated that “Unfortunately, much of what we know about this position is based on opinion rather than facts. For example, virtually all supply and demand studies report views or attitudes but not numbers” (Kowalski, 2003, p. 300). The decennial studies of the American school superintendency have consistently reported superintendent responses according to various district size enrollment categories (Kowalski et al., 2011), and collected information from a sampling of urban, suburban, and rural school district superintendents. The superintendent survey in 2010, for the first time, was administered and analyzed using an electronic online survey tool, while previous studies utilized traditional communication and correspondence methods for the completion of the

superintendent surveys. In regard to general demographic data and information collected of superintendents, the first yearbook noted that “The superintendent of schools in the American city is usually a man from 24 to 73 years of age” (Committee of Department of Superintendence, 1923, p. 13). Knezevich, in 1971, reported gender of superintendents for the first time and listed 98.7% as males from the National Weighted Profile, with only seven female superintendents who participated in the study. This confirmed what previous studies had concluded “that the

26 26 superintendency is a man’s world” (Knezevich, 1971, p. 21). The 2010 report also indicated that the percentage of female superintendents had increased from 13.2% in 2000, to 24.1% in 2010, and increased again by slightly over 2% to 26.9%, according to the mid-decade update and summary of findings (Ellerson et al., 2015; Kowalski et al., 2011). According to Glass et al. (2000) the median age of superintendents in 1923 was 43.1 years of age, in 1960 was 51.8 years of age, and in 1982 was 48.7 years of age, as measured by the National Weighted Profile. The pattern of the aging superintendent population continued, according to Kowalski et al. (2011) who indicated the superintendent's modal age range has changed from 51-55 years in 2000, to 56-60 years in 2010. Tenure and superintendent experience data were consistently collected in the superintendent studies. The average tenure of the school superintendent has varied over the years, with the most recent tenure and experience data summarized as follows: Over half the superintendents participating in this study (54.3%) had between 2 and 8 years of experience in the position, and one-fourth (24.8%) had thirteen or more years of experience in the position. Superintendents in districts with 25,000 or more students were about twice as likely as peers in other district enrollment categories to have 13 or more years of experience in the position. (Kowalski et al., 2011, p. 38)

A high superintendent turnover rate can adversely affect the progress of district improvement, resulting in a short-term focus and an insufficient investment of time for achieving the long-range vision through the infrastructure of the district (Grissom & Anderson, 2012). Kowalski (1995) suggested that “we must remove the revolving door from the superintendent’s office. No organization can be expected to be engaged in meaningful reforms when there is a change in top leadership every 2 or 3 years” (p. 151).

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Chadsey et al. (1923) reported that in regard to tenure, the “brevity of tenure retards the development of the profession and is a decided hindrance to the progress of education” (p. 17). A separate research study (Cooper, Fusarelli, & Carella, 2000) surveyed superintendents nationally, and in analyzing the mobility of the superintendent, confirmed that the average years of service in the superintendency was determined to be 7.25 years, with the respondents from large districts having served the shortest number of years, while the medium and small district superintendents served longer periods of time. According to Callahan (1966) who quoted Joseph Mayer Rice, a former physician who conducted extensive and systematic research of public schools in 1892, stated the following regarding the trials and challenges in the tenure of the superintendency: But even when the superintendent labors under very unfavorable conditions, he seldom fails to stamp the schools with his individual pedagogical ideas, thus giving the education in his schools at least a tendency in a certain direction, provided he remains long enough—say four or five years—in any one city. As a rule, however, superintendents do not remain long in any one place, and this is particularly true of the smaller cities. They frequently, for political or other reasons, fail to be reappointed, or they accept other positions by reason of higher salaries. Superintendents of small cities not uncommonly go from one locality to another for a consideration of one or two hundred dollars per annum. By reason of these changes the schools of many cities are always in a transitional stage, never reaching any distinctive character. (pp. 3-4) 27

The decennial superintendent surveys addressed the primary duties of the superintendency, challenges encountered in the profession, and overall satisfaction of the career choice as superintendent (Kowalski et al., 2011). The structural and organizational aspects in the superintendency surfaced in the superintendents’ responses and can be summarized by the reflection of the changing roles and challenges of the superintendency over the years. Kowalski et al. (2011) indicated that for the most part, superintendents viewed employees as assets in building a

28 28 productive culture in the district. They also perceived stakeholder support as essential in the implementation of district mission and vision, and they viewed the reform movement including standards and assessment, as empowering individuals within their organization (Glass & Franceschini, 2007). Superintendents in 2010 acknowledged diversity as an asset, and at the same time, the level of job satisfaction by superintendents remained high as most superintendents indicated that they would follow the same career path if they could redo their career (Glass et al., 2000; Kowalski et al., 2011). In examining the questionnaires of the decennial superintendent studies, commonalities of questioning emerged, such as professional preparation and training of superintendents, degrees and credentials earned as well as the extent of continued professional development and the value of professional association affiliation of superintendents. Glass (2006) suggested that numerous professional organizations serve both superintendents and central office administrators and can assist and support superintendents during their tenure as superintendent. However, as noted by Glass and Franceschini (2007), lacking has been questions to ascertain the level of mentoring and coaching relationships for superintendents, including being the recipient of a mentor or coach as well as in serving as a mentor or coach.

The topic of coaches and mentors in the superintendency did not surface in the superintendents’ studies until 1982, 2000, and 2010 (Cunningham & Hentges, 1982; Glass et al., 2000; Kowalski et al., 2011). Glass and Franceschini (2007) recognized that “mentoring has served as a powerful developer of human potential throughout the centuries, and has assisted novices being inducted into, and succeeding in, their professions” (p. 156). The authors reported that in 2000, the majority of superintendents, or 58%, had been mentored in their careers by a practicing or retired superintendent, regardless of the district size, or age, race, and

29 29 gender of the superintendent. Subsequently, Kowalski et al. (2011) conveyed that the “most important source for informing elements of their practice were peer superintendents, especially those in comparable school districts” (p. 83). Absent also in most decennial survey questions was the direct relationship of professional standards for the superintendency as a guide and basis for structures of support in the profession. However, professional standards in the superintendency were addressed in relation to university preparation for school district superintendents in the 1992 superintendent survey (Glass, 1992). The national decennial superintendent studies have afforded a global view of the state of the American superintendency; however, because of specific educational challenges in California, such as state and federal mandates, student accountability as well as budgetary instability, the national overview of the superintendency may not be as exclusively applicable to all elementary district superintendents by state. Petersen, Kelly, Reimer, Mosunich, and Thompson (2009) conducted a study of California superintendent perspectives and concluded that the participants recognized the value of interpersonal connections and the interdependent nature of their organizations. However, one commonality that the recent superintendent research studies confirmed was that support structures for

the superintendency are essential, including targeted training and support programs that link organizational learning and reflective practice to the superintendents’ efficacy (Cooper et al., 2000; Glass et al., 2000; Kowalski et al., 2011).

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Current Challenges of the Superintendency

Educational Reform Reports and Initiatives National educational reform reports and initiatives have greatly impacted the role of public education and of the superintendency in America. With the emergence of accountability measures in school systems as well as national educational reform initiatives and the public demand for improved student achievement, there has been a great deal of pressure for superintendents to perform effectively. With the rise of current social problems, with changes in student needs, and with the complexity of communities, the American society has both broadened its demands for increased education services, and made it more difficult to implement change and reform in the school and district settings (Björk, Glass, & Brunner, 2005). The gravity of the reform movement in education, has had profound implications for all educational leaders, including superintendents, and was summarized by English (2016): That we are in a period of profound social and cultural change in public education is attested by the continuing frontal attacks on teacher unions, schools of education, and democratic governance as represented in the tradition of the American school board. (p. ix) The accountability movement, the emergence of a global economy, and

America’s transition to an information-based society, are all translated into school reform that has impacted the organizational characteristics of schools and districts. Educational reform has mandated reconfiguration of institutional culture in order to meet and carry out requirements at both the federal and local levels. The superintendents’ role has been pivotal in leveraging leadership to address America’s social issues and reform in education (Björk, Kowalski, & Young, 2005; Kowalski et al., 2011).

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Commission and task force reports commenced in 1983 with the publication of A Nation at Risk that launched an era of educational reform in the United States that has been unprecedented in its duration, magnitude, and intensity (Björk, Kowalski, & Young, 2005). The A Nation at Risk report stated the following: We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur – others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments. (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983, p. 5) The first wave of educational reform reports according to Björk, Browne- Ferrigno, and Kowalski (2014) called for improvement of student test scores and accountability in assessing schoolwide performance and also scrutinized graduation requirements for students, the length of the school day and year as well as the rigor of teacher licensure requirements. The result of the task force publications included state level legislation that addressed school accountability and regulatory controls and effectively forced the district’s role in policy making and in increasing the workload of teachers, principals, and superintendents.

Subsequently, a second-wave of educational reform reports from 1986-1989 revealed recurring themes for educational improvement that advocated for the implementation of standards-based assessment, higher-order thinking skills for students, poverty related educational resolutions, and a redesigned teaching process that better served all students. Districts also recognized that bureaucratic structures and regulatory control may have contributed to low academic student performance as well as to student failure rates. Björk et al. (2014) noted that the third-wave reform reports of 1989-2003 were extremely critical of previous

32 32 commission recommendations that emphasized organizational and professional issues instead of focusing on authentic reform and student learning. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002) was one reform measure that reflected and addressed earlier task force report themes. Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005) noted that while the intent of NCLB was commendable in ensuring that all students learn, including targeted subgroups of students that had been least well served in the past. The arbitrary growth targets and narrow definitions of prioritized content areas of NCLB however proved to be unsuccessful (Petersen & Young, 2004). Conversely, Le Floch, Garcia, and Barbour (2016) asserted that since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, instead of the checklist approach to student improvement, states must consider how to proceed in improving their lowest performing schools within the framework of ESSA. The “Every Student Succeeds Act” (2017) highlighted provisions for maintaining “an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools” (p. 4). Le Floch et al. advocated for focusing on policies that develop and support human capital in order to further school improvement in low-performing schools, including the adoption of purposeful approaches in professional learning for education leaders.

Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) noted that the public’s demand for educational reform has heightened the awareness of the superintendent’s role in the implementation of systemic reform initiatives, and also has raised concerns regarding the identification, recruitment, preparation, selection, and retention of next generation district leaders. Kowalski (2001a) addressed the criticisms of educational reform and examined issues of both preparation and practice in the superintendency as crucial components to be considered for successful educational reform.

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21st Century Learning The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (2016) developed a framework that defined and illustrated the skills and knowledge needed for students to achieve success in the 21st century. The elements of the 21st century skills framework are essential for students to ensure 21st century readiness by engagement in the learning process for preparation of students who are “better prepared to thrive in today’s digitally and globally interconnected world” (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2016, para. 3). Kay (2010) iterated that the vision and purpose of the 21st Century Framework unifies 21st century student outcomes with 21st century educational support systems into a holistic and systemic view. Kay described the 21st Century Skills Framework as follows: The starting point for this framework is actually the end result: the outcomes – in terms of mastery of core academic subjects, 21st century themes, and 21st century skills – that should be expected of students once they leave school to venture successfully into higher education, workplaces, and independent life. It’s only when we understand these outcomes that we can then begin building the supporting infrastructure that will lift the education system to commanding heights. (p. xiv) Glass et al. (2011) identified that the challenges of the 21st century have changed both the skills required and the environment in which those skills are practiced significantly. The widespread use of information and technology provide 33

a challenge of leadership in the 21st century to intentionally shape and mold the schools of the future. Glass et al. indicated that the superintendency can effectively “focus on high technology, globalization, and challenges to the human and physical condition of the planet” (p. 1). Glass et al. advocated for superintendent leadership that provides the vision and collaborative direction in meeting the inherent challenges of the 21st century.

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Keane (2001) hypothesized in regard to 21st century challenges that “substantive changes in the educational delivery system, currently dependent on the local school district as the main organizing entity, are inevitable” (p. 360). Keane predicted that future changes in education would be caused by innovation in technology, by cultural diversity and public values, and by theories that best support innovation and change. Keane summarized that 21st century learning and technology are “destined to revolutionize the method of delivering public education” (p. 374). The challenges of 21st century learning as noted by Wagner (2012) was “that the highly disruptive nature of innovation creates new challenges to traditional authority, and successful leadership of an innovative enterprise requires a different kind of authority” (p. 240). Wagner advocated for promoting a new authority that moves from top-down and compliance-based systems in schools to face-to-face, reciprocal, and relational systems in order to ensure that schools are producing student innovators, through their forward-thinking approaches. Funk (2013) supported the development of strong and effective district leadership in meeting the needs of 21st century learners. Funk indicated that continuous learning in the superintendency as well as leadership development ensures that district

leaders can facilitate the successful preparation of students to effectively face a global and multi-cultural society.

Professional Standards The professional standards for the superintendency served as a theory of action for this study and emerged as a direct response to the national educational reform reports and initiatives in bringing coherence to the preparation and the professional development of educational administrators. The professional standards for the superintendency were developed nationally by two separate

35 35 agencies, and although similar in content, both sets of standards provided a clear description of related skills that school leaders must realize for effective and successful leadership in schools (S. Harris et al., 2016; Hoyle, English, & Steffy, 2005). In 1979 AASA published “Guidelines for the Preparation of School Administrators” (American Association of School Administrators, 1979) that focused on the goals, skills, and competencies for the preparation of school administrators. Subsequently, in 1993, AASA created the “Professional Standards for the Superintendency” (see Table 2.2) that are utilized not only in preparation for the superintendency but also as performance standards that support effective superintendent leadership skill development (Hoyle et al., 1993). The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) similarly developed a set of standards for school administrators to guide the examination for the state licensure for both elementary and secondary principals (Björk, Kowalski, & Browne- Ferrigno, 2005). According to S. Harris et al. (2016) in 2015, the ISLLC standards were rewritten and renamed the “Professional Standards for Educational Leaders” (see Table 2.2). The CPSEL were originally developed in 2001, and revised in 2014 (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014). The development of the standards

was not only a statewide initiative and collaborative effort but also included the consideration and alignment of national leadership standards (see Table 1.1). The purpose of the CPSEL was to develop a guide to identify what an administrator must know and be able to implement in order to ensure sustainable and effective practice in educational leadership (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014). Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) emphasized the effect of educational leadership, and construed that both site and district level administrators are key players in ensuring the preparedness of all students, a process which can be

36 36 Table 2.2

AASA and ISLLC Professional Standards 1993 AASA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR 2015 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENCY EDUCATIONAL LEADERS

Standard 1: Leadership and District Culture Standard 1: Mission, Vision, and Core Values

Standard 2: Policy and Governance Standard 2: Ethics and Professional Norms

Standard 3: Communications and Community Standard 3: Equity and Cultural Responsiveness Relations

Standard 4: Organizational Management Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Standard 5: Curriculum Planning and Development Standard 5: Community of Care and Support for Students

Standard 6: Instructional Management Standard 6: Professional Capacity of School Personnel

Standard 7: Human Resources Management Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff

Standard 8: Values and Ethics of Leadership Standard 8: Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community

Standard 9: Operations and Management

Standard 10: School Improvement effectively guided by the CPSEL. S. Harris (2009) also reinforced that professional standards can support a superintendent’s overall responsibility of providing educational leadership for the district as essential to promoting student

success and achievement. Hoyle (1983) asserted that the intention of the professional standards in educational administration was proposed to reflect contemporary management standards and to suggest a common set of administrator preparation guidelines for inclusion in administrator preparation programs. Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005) specified that professional standards for educational leaders can facilitate providing a coherent template that effectively addresses and responds to challenges of the superintendency through the adoption of a “hands-on and

37 37 proactive application of knowledge that will exemplify programs in the future” (p. 66). Professional standards of the superintendency can effectively inform both the preparation and the practice of superintendents.

Organizational Learning For the purpose of appropriately framing this study, it was pertinent to research extant literature in the field of organizational learning. Organizational learning is a social process that modulates and shapes performance within an organization, a theory that can be traced back to the early nineteen sixties (Cyert, March, & Starbuck, 1961). Cyert et al. (1961) iterated in their studies of organizations and established the following regarding organizational learning: The studies suggest that members of an organization will treat estimates, information, and communication generally as active parts of their environment. They will tend to consider the decision for which the information is sought, the probable consequences of various potential biases in information, and the pay-off to them for various possible decision results. They adjust the information they transmit in accordance with their perceptions of the decision situation. (pp. 263-264) Cyert and March (1963) noted that organizational learning is an adaptive process that involves setting, and changing goals over time. The authors identified that an organization should consider three variables when setting goals including

the past goal and the past performance of an organization as well as the past performance of other comparable organizations. Additionally, the authors noted that an effective organization must address attention rules, the identification of which parts of an organization require the most attention as well as search rules that indicate the ability to find solutions for its organizational problems. The theory of action learning, also tied to organizational learning, emerged in the 1980’s and can be described as “learning from concrete experience and critical reflection on that experience - through group discussion, trial and error,

38 38 discovery, and learning from and with each other” (Zuber-Skerritt, 2002, pp. 114- 115). Revans (2011), a key contributor of the action learning theory, asserted that the managerial application of action learning involves the process of inquiry, in order to solve real problems that have previously defied solution. Action learning supports the action of doing a task, and through reflection, new approaches can be developed to resolve problems. Argyris and Schön (1974) expanded on the action learning theory of Revans, and proposed that organizations can improve over time by gaining experience. Revans (1971) also emphasized that the concept of feedback, of comparing results with expectation, and of evaluating the impact of action within the reality of situations in an organization is of utmost importance. Argyris (1977) defined organizational learning as a process that detects and corrects error in single loop learning, while detecting error but also questioning the underlying policies and goals in double loop learning within organizations. Easterby-Smith and Araujo (1999) described double loop learning as a process that involves questioning and changing conditions in order to achieve desired results, as opposed to single loop learning that detects error without questioning any of the underlying policies. Argyris (1977) emphasized that the value of double loop learning lies in the confrontation of underlying assumptions, norms, and

objectives in the organization, through the process of inviting inquiry within the organization. Senge (2003) noted that the ultimate success and effectiveness of an organization is dependent on its ability to learn and think insightfully. Learning in organizations is about innovative and coordinated action that can result in lessons being learned, leading to both new and subsequently more productive actions. Organizational learning facilitates the willingness to detect and correct errors individually and can simultaneously foster the continuous improvement in the processes, practices, skills, and structures of the larger organization. Senge (1996)

39 39 advocated for organizational learning by stating, “Significant change will require imagination, perseverance, dialogue, deep caring, and a willingness to change on the part of millions of people. I believe it is also the challenge posed in building learning organizations” (p. 37). Argyris (1976) noted that organizational learning can facilitate solutions within the learning environment with leadership serving as a catalyst and change agent of the organization. In this case, learning can be seen as less of a process that leads to outcomes and more of a process that thinks of learning in developmental terms. Argyris (1976) studied behavior of individuals in organizations including both the espoused theories of action, or beliefs in which individuals profess allegiance and communicate to others as well as theories-in-use that can be detected from observations in behavior. Osterman (1990) reiterated similarly that “Our actions are not always consistent with our intent; what we say we believe (espoused theory) sometimes differs from what we actually do (theory-in-use)” (p. 136). Argyris (2000) identified, and as a result categorized Model I behavior as producing decreased effectiveness in an organization by engaging in single loop learning while avoiding both public testing of ideas as well as attaining limited

feedback in problem-solving situations and producing defensive dialogue and blame. Additionally, Model I behavior is characterized by rationality, control, and individualistic perceptions. However, Model II behavior in an organization produces increased effectiveness by engaging in double loop learning that is supported through the frequent and public testing of theories as well as obtaining valid information and free and informed choice through a collaborative approach. Argyris (1976) postulated, in regard to the chief executive as a change agent in an organization:

40 40 The organizational learning model can be effective only if the barriers are outweighed by people's awareness of the existing problems in their organization, by their desire to enhance their ability to behave congruently with their espoused values, and by their willingness to trust Model II as an espoused theory long before they are able to enact it. (p. 186) Additionally, Schön (1975) also advocated that organizational learning requires individuals to develop competence for continuing shared inquiry for the purpose of discovery, invention, and production of new behavior consistent with double loop learning. Weick (1976) has tied Organizational Learning Theory to the administrative units of leadership in school districts and noted a distinction between tightly and loosely coupled organizations, coupled meaning the connection, link, and interdependence of an organization. Weick (1976) noted that loose coupling indicates structures “may be tied together either weakly or infrequently, or slowly or with minimal interdependence” (p. 5). Weick has defined tightly coupled systems to indicate a maintenance of interdependence within the organization. Marzano and Waters (2009) recognized the need within school districts to establish a tightly coupled organization in order to establish an interdependency, consensus, communication, and a collaborative problem-solving system within the

40 larger organization. Marzano and Waters also acknowledged that district leadership is a critical component of effective schooling and supported organizational learning as a framework to support the elementary district superintendent’s efforts in achieving systemic and continual improvement. Both Marzano and Waters (2009) and Weick (1976) supported that tightly coupled districts can positively impact school districts by capitalizing on the complexity of the challenges and tasks within a school district as well as in addressing the diversity in membership for the purpose of complementing each other’s actions.

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Murphy and Hallinger (1986) concurred that districts that are tightly coupled tend to “promote clear goals, accepted approaches to technology, inspection of processes and outcomes, and accountability mechanisms” (p. 230), thereby increasing an organization’s effectiveness. Organizational Learning Theory, since learning is fundamentally about action, allows for a process that encourages innovative thinking and solutions to problems and issues, while adhering to the norms and guidelines that produce sound, workable, and successful results. Research of existing literature supports that a successful superintendency can be framed through the learning organization that utilizes learning within and develops the capacity of thinking and interacting with others (Harvey, Cambron-McCabe, Cunningham, & Koff, 2013). Schein (2011) noted that culture and leadership within organizations are conceptually intertwined, and argued that the work of real importance that leaders have is to create and manage culture. Schein defined the culture of an organization as follows: The culture of a group can now be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the

correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. 41

(Schein, 2011, p. 356) Schein (2011) concluded that if leaders do not become conscious of the cultures in their organizations, the cultures will manage the leaders instead. He noted that “Cultural understanding is desirable for all of us, but it is essential to leaders if they are to lead” (p. 358). Several studies (Fullan, Cuttress, & Kilcher, 2005; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008) summarized key findings while highlighting references from existing literature concerning successful school leadership. Fullan et al. (2005)

42 42 identified eight drivers that leaders can utilize in creating and implementing effective and lasting changes within school districts for improving overall student achievement. The first identified driver was engagement in the moral purpose for the goal of improving society and of all citizens through the improvement of the educational system. Secondly, the authors noted the value of building capacity to increase the collective power within an organization through the increased knowledge, resources, and motivation, that all work together for a greater change. The next drivers in understanding the change process and developing cultures for learning incorporated both the shared vision and the ownership of the organization as conditions and components of continuous improvement. In developing cultures of evaluation, the collaborative and collective efforts are utilized in the data collection of ongoing assessments of learning. In focusing on leadership for change, the knowledge must consist of knowing what kind of leadership is best in leading productive change within an organization. The authors additionally asserted that the driver of creating effective and lasting change in fostering coherence making can be achieved through new patterns of coherence that are focused on effective learning. Finally, the eighth driver identified was that of cultivating trilevel development through the achievement of not only changing

individuals but of changing contexts for the purpose of making systemic changes within an organization. Leithwood et al. (2008) similarly made seven claims about successful and effective school leadership that included the following:  School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning.  Almost all successful leaders draw on the same repertoire of basic leadership practices.

43 43  The ways in which leaders apply these basic leadership practices – not the practices themselves- demonstrate responsiveness to rather than dictation by, the contexts in which they work.  School leaders improve teaching and learning indirectly and most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment and working conditions.  School leadership has a greater influence on schools and students when it is widely distributed.  Some patterns of distribution are more effective than others.  A small handful of personal traits explains a high proportion of the variation in leadership effectiveness. (Leithwood et al., 2008, pp. 27-28). The authors revealed the above key findings from a comprehensive review of literature and empirical evidence that emerged as elements integral in successful school leadership. The similarities of reference from Fullan et al. (2005) as well as in Leithwood et al. (2008) lie in the assertion that first and foremost, leadership in education is a powerful tool that can ultimately improve overall student achievement through the commitment to “raise the bar and close the achievement gap in student achievement” (Fullan et al., 2005, p. 54). Finally, Fullan et al. asserted and addressed the concept of achieving systemic change in school district organizations by changing individuals and systems simultaneously while utilizing 43

learning in context or learning in the situations in which leaders wish to change. Hallinger and Heck (2010) studied the effects of shared leadership on school improvement through a longitudinal study that examined the effect of collaborative leadership in the change of the schools’ academic achievement and the indirect effect on the growth rates in student reading achievement. Their research and analysis of quantitative data, utilizing cross-sectional survey research, supported the view that collaborative leadership positively impacted the

44 44 growth of student reading achievement. This was accomplished through building capacity at the school site level and in gaining additional insight into the patterns of growth in student achievement through the use of longitudinal modeling. Lazaridou and Iordanides (2011) made a similar claim through a research study that investigated what school principals could do to foster school effectiveness. Their study analyzed teacher opinions on what the principals could or should do, according to teacher perspectives, in order to increase the effectiveness of their schools. The study also included the analysis of the differences associated with demographic variables. The two-part questionnaire was developed specifically for this study with the first part addressing the demographics of the respondent and the second part designed to probe the participants’ perceptions of the contributions made by the school principal toward achieving school effectiveness. The study concluded that teachers valued the transformative leadership approach and the principals’ vision for the school that demonstrated confidence in the teachers, with an emphasis on professional development, the development of interpersonal staff relations, and effective communication strategies. Leithwood (1992) also referenced and advocated for transformational

leadership as “a leadership that facilitates the redefinition of a people’s mission and vision, a renewal of their commitment, and the restructuring of their systems for goal accomplishment” (p. 9), as opposed to transactional leadership which is based on an exchange of services, such as salary and recognition. Leithwood noted that some view transformational and transactional leadership as complementary; however, he emphasized that transformational leadership specifically provides the motivation for individuals to attempt improvement in their practice through

45 45 maintaining a collaborative culture, fostering teacher development, and improving group problem-solving. Waters and Marzano (2007) conducted a meta study on the effects of district level leadership in student achievement. The authors discovered a positive correlation between the work of the district superintendent and student achievement. Results of the study indicated that five district-level responsibilities had a statistically significant correlation with average student academic achievement. These included the goal-setting process, non-negotiable goals for student achievement and instruction, board alignment and support of district goals, progress monitoring on goals for achievement and instruction, and the use of resources to support the goals for student achievement and instruction. Waters and Marzano concluded that the general effect of superintendent leadership positively impacted districts and also produced gains in student achievement. Senge (1990) incorporated principles of systems thinking into the concept of a learning organization. Senge (1990) indicated a conceptual framework for accomplishing personal mastery, shared vision, mental models, and team learning. Senge (1990) indicated that the conceptual framework and systems thinking shifted away from viewing organizational components in isolation by

incorporating principles of systems thinking into the concept of a learning organization. Senge (1990) named his idea as the “fifth discipline,” indicating a conceptual framework for accomplishing personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning within an organization. The fifth discipline framework, and systems thinking approach, identified leadership tools that enhanced the capacity to achieve continuous learning in order to realize the highest aspirations of the organization. Systems thinking facilitated the ability to make the patterns of events in an organization clearer while also helping to see how to change them

46 46 effectively. Both Senge et al. (2012) and Harvey et al. (2013) related the organizational learning framework components as the conceptual tool for educational leaders that can facilitate improved student achievement in schools. Senge (1990) developed the systems thinking and fifth discipline as organizational views that see people in organizations as active participants in change as a process, instead of as a destination. Senge (1990) contended that the task of creating and sustaining organizations in which individuals take responsibility for their own learning is dependent upon visionary leaders who assist in the ongoing processes of questioning, testing assumptions, and learning by providing a framework to engage in informed and continuous improvement (Hoyle, Björk, Collier, & Glass, 2005). Senge (1989) wrote the following to guide organizational learning in regard to helping managers reconceptualize complex and challenging issues: There is much to be learned regarding the design of learning processes whereby large numbers of managers can develop their own insights. The essence of such learning processes is that it enables people to develop their own insights rather than leading (no matter how cleverly) people to a predetermined set of answers. (p. 232) The superintendency provides educational leaders the opportunity to utilize

systems thinking as a framework in guiding their leadership decisions for the 46 purpose of organizational learning in their districts (Adkison, 2001). Nationally, the AASA, in 1993, developed a set of professional standards for the superintendency that are well-aligned with concepts of organizational learning as previously discussed (Hoyle et al., 1993). The professional standards for the superintendency have been designed to increase the knowledge base of educational administrators, including recent research on student performance goals, competencies, and skills that are needed by effective superintendents (Hoyle et al., 1993). S. Harris et al. (2016) suggested that the professional standards for

47 47 educational leaders serve the purpose of guiding the reform of administrative leadership preparation programs, assessing student progress, providing a template for the review of licensure credentials, providing a framework for evaluation of performance, and fostering a sense of professionalism and trust within the organization. S. Harris (2016) also noted that “in addition to making decisions through reflecting on one’s experiences, an equally important component that leads to quality decision making is that of using standards as a framework” (p. xix). In terms of support for superintendents to successfully implement the components of a learning organization as described by Senge (1990), the professional standards of the superintendency can serve as a framework of support and guidance in the practice of the superintendency. Additionally, Kowalski (2001a) highlighted the value of utilizing real occurrences in fostering reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills for teaching and reinforcing reflection of thinking in the superintendency.

Reflective Practice The concept of reflective practice emerged in the 1980s, and was studied in depth and developed by Schön in 1983. Schön (1983) asserted that competent

47 practitioners use reflection as a process, while utilizing their experiences as a basis for assessing and revising more effective action strategies, or essentially, reflecting on their practice while in the midst of it. Reflective practice assumes that problems are opportunities and the process of reflection supports the organizational learning constructs for increased effectiveness. Schön (1983) synthesized the following regarding reflective practice: Problems are interconnected, environments are turbulent, and the future is indeterminate just in so far as managers can shape it by their actions. What is called for, under these conditions, is not only the analytic techniques

48 48 which have been traditional in operations research, but the active, synthetic skill of designing a desirable future and inventing ways of bringing it about. (p. 16) Schön (1983) discussed the reflective practitioner in relation to both technical rationality and the process of knowing in action. Technical rationality is a process of problem solving in professional practice, where problems of practice are solved through the selection of the one best solution to the problem, or an application of expertise and knowledge in making pivotal decisions. Knowing in action refers to the idea that a kind of knowing is inherent in intelligent action and that “in much of the spontaneous behavior of skillful practice we reveal a kind of knowing which does not stem from a prior intellectual operation” (Schön, 1983, p. 51). Schön (1983) asserted in his research that, through reflection, the practitioner “can surface and criticize the tacit understandings that have grown up around the repetitive experiences of uncertainty or uniqueness which he may allow himself to experience” (p. 61). Kirby and Paradise (1992) tested Schön’s assumptions through their research in the examination of reflective practice and in the effectiveness of teachers, as guided by a reflective thinking instrument that supported the theorized relationship between reflective practice and effective practice. Smith (2001)

surmised that when the effort of learning organizations has evolved, a specific focus can be placed on learning and reflection as a specific strategy of leadership development. Funk (2013) specified that continuous feedback is a crucial component of reflective practice and facilitates growth among the members of a learning organization in which success can be achieved by supporting the success of its leaders. Schön (1983) considered the art of management as a form of reflection-in- action, while Simon (2011) noted that “administration cannot aspire to be a

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‘science’; that by the nature of its subject it cannot be more than an ‘art’… Even an ‘art’ cannot be founded on proverbs” (p. 128). Schön (1983) viewed the art of managing as consisting of “on-the-spot surfacing, criticizing, restructuring, and testing of intuitive understandings of experienced phenomena; often it takes the form of a reflective conversation with the situation” (p. 241). Schön (1983) also noted that when managers displayed artistry in leadership, the capacity to construct situational models as representations is enhanced, along with the capacity to reflect on the meanings of situations and the goals of action that emerge through the process of reflection. Grogan and Crow (2004), noted the challenge of developing leadership for continuous learning as follows: Some people have more learning agility and are better protégés than others, thanks in part to their emotional intelligence and their propensity for introspection and reflection. They are reflective practitioners in the best sense of the term. Among other things, they adopt an explorer’s stance in new situations, they are open to and invite new ideas, and they can incorporate diverse perspectives; they also have dialogue skills and are capable of seeking and using feedback from others. (p. 467) Dewey (1933) similarly referred to the value of reflective thinking in education and noted that the ability to think is highly important. Dewey asserted in relation to action learning and organizational thinking that reflective thinking must be an educational aim: 49

Thinking enables us to direct our activities with foresight and to plan according to ends-in-view, or purposes of which we are aware. It enables us to act in deliberate and intentional fashion to attain future objects or to come into command of what is now distant and lacking. By putting the consequences of different ways and lines of action before the mind, it enables us to know what we are about when we act. It converts action that is merely appetitive, blind, and impulsive into intelligent action. (Dewey, 1933, p. 17) Dewey addressed that attitudes and character qualities of individuals including open-mindedness, whole-hearted and absorbed interest as well as the willingness

50 50 to take responsibility in facing consequences, are all essential in developing the habit of thinking in a reflective way. Dewey posited that experience and information are central components of reflective thinking, while the readiness to proceed in a thoughtful way is also an essential element of reflective thinking. The research of Whitt, Scheurich, and Skrla (2015) revealed that student achievement is directly dependent on the superintendent’s ability to utilize their instructional leadership skills in successfully attaining improved student achievement. The authors concluded that the superintendents’ self-efficacy and instructional leadership is defined by self-reinforced and deficit thinking paradigms that address barriers for students in achieving academic success. Klentschy (2005) related a similar concept through his representation that professional development programs in education should revolve around the paradigm shift of providing a site-based and collaborative analysis of practice that allows for both reflection and exposure to alternatives, thus facilitating reflection and the improvement of practice over time. Bolman and Deal (2013) asserted that reflective thinking can assist professionals in building their skills, knowledge, intuition and wisdom in their leadership roles, resulting in providing an array of options of actions in which to choose. Bolman and Deal rediscovered a very old

truth in regard to reflective thinking: Reflection is a spiritual discipline, much like meditation or prayer. A path to faith and heart. He knows the road ahead is still long and difficult. There is no guarantee of success. But he feels more confident and more energized than when he started. He is starting to dream things that never were and to say, “Why not?” (p. 429) Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) noted that in relation to the school district superintendency, the primary challenge of professional preparation as well as professional development programs, is the building of capacity in both aspiring and veteran superintendents. Leithwood and Stager (1989) in a study of

51 51 elementary school principals in relation to problem solving and making sense of ambiguous, complex and unique problems asserted that educational leaders can move toward appropriate solution strategies through the application of reflective practice. Short and Rinehart (1993) recommended altering administrative behavior through reflective thinking. The authors supported a specific process in reflection that included describing and reflecting on the view of the problem, proposing alternative solutions to the problem, listing possible consequences and criteria for satisfactory resolution, articulating reasons for solution selection, and reflecting on the outcome and what was learned in the reflection process. Short and Rinehart discovered that these sequential actions of reflection developed the capacity for reflective practice that contributed to the effective decision-making and problem- solving abilities of school leaders. Additionally, the authors noted that interactions with mentors successfully enhanced the capacity for reflective thinking and problem solving of school district superintendents. Through reflective practice, educational leaders can develop ideas about how to do things more effectively, while transforming their ideas into action. Argyris (1976) proposed that if schools are to change, districts and schools

must become workplaces that support professional growth and development, also enabling educators as reflective practitioners to achieve professional growth and organizational change. Schön (1987) identified the need for reflective forums, or safe environments in which reflective and collaborative conversations are held. Schön (1987) advocated for reflective practicums for educational leaders and described the process as calling “for kinds of research new to most professional schools, including research on the reflection-in-action characteristic of competent

52 52 practitioners, especially in the indeterminate zones of practice, and research on coaching and on learning by doing” (p. 311).

Professional Development The enhancement of organizational learning can be accomplished through the activities of professional development in the superintendency, as described by Fiol and Lyles (1985): The associations that result from higher-level learning have long term effects and impacts on the organization as a whole. This type of learning occurs through the use of heuristics skill development and insights. It therefore is a more cognitive process than is lower-level learning, which often is the result of repetitive behavior. (p. 808) Desimone and Stuckey (2014) identified the characteristics of high-quality, and effective professional development as comprising of five essential elements that include content focus, active learning, coherence, sustained duration, and collective participation. The authors described content focus as a concentration of subject matter and defined how participants can effectively learn that content. Active learning refers to opportunities of observation, receiving feedback, analyzing data, and where the role of the learner is an active one, not one involving passively listening to lectures in a classroom setting as the only means of interaction. Desimone and Stuckey indicated coherence in professional 52

development as essential that requires the alignment of the professional development content, goals, and activities with the district’s curriculum, knowledge, and beliefs in focusing on student needs. The authors maintained the importance of ongoing professional development activities, citing a threshold of at least 20 hours as a minimum engagement level and as an important element of learning. The final element, emphasized by Desimone and Stuckey, was that collective participation in professional development is critical in building an

53 53 interactive learning environment. Desimone (2011) discussed content focus and coherence as being fundamental to professional development offerings, and also recognized the challenges of professional development including the investment of sufficient fiscal resources as well as the commitment and assurance of considerations of time. Hochberg and Desimone (2010) also highlighted the key features of effective professional development as “content focus, active learning opportunities, coherence with other initiatives, sustained duration, and collective participation” (p. 103). The premises of adult learning are a closely related concept of professional development that support the process of reflective practice in the superintendency. Lambert (2002) asserted, in relation to adult learning and reflective practice that when “new experiences are encountered and mediated by reflection, inquiry, and social interaction, meaning and knowledge are constructed. Learning takes place as well as adult development” (Lambert, 2002, p. 81). The focus in adult learning is a method of providing individuals with tools that assist in achieving improved performance in the workplace (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011). Knowles (1974) identified four principles that characterized adult learners. First of all, adult learners are typically self-directed, and take responsibility for their own actions.

Secondly, adult learners generally have an extensive amount of experience, serving as a critical component in the foundation for their identity as a professional. Thirdly, adult learners are ready to learn, and most are likely to actively engage in their learning process. Finally, adult learners are task motivated and goal oriented, demonstrating an internal motivational drive in their learning. AASA (1979) emphasized the value of professional development in the superintendency and advocated for leaders who recognized the need to continually upgrade their knowledge and leadership skills through through their own

54 54 continuing education. AASA (1979) continued to highlight in their publication that professional development activities for superintendents should be flexible and adaptable to individual needs in order to improve both the relevance and the quality of professional development as applicable to the superintendency. Beem (2007) encouraged the implementation of mentoring programs for school district superintendents as offered by universities and professional associations to fill a professional development need in the superintendency. Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) confirmed that mentoring in the superintendency increased learning and skill transference to their practice. Björk, Kowalski, and Browne-Ferrigno (2005) supported a mentoring model in the superintendency as an important dimension of high risk and experiential learning, particularly since superintendent mentors have expertise in the field and tend to be senior and highly respected members of the profession. The practice of current and former superintendents who serve as mentors can increase an aspiring or practicing superintendent’s reflective thinking through the establishment of a mentoring relationship. Arnau (2009) discussed the need to utilize professional leadership standards for guidance and support in order to ensure the high-quality, results-driven,

standards-based, and job-embedded professional development for educational leaders. The author noted that the support of a coach or mentor for school district superintendents is one method of intentional and job-embedded professional development that facilitates adult learning and can result in improved student achievement. Hargrove (2008) noted that coaching and mentoring for educational administrators also allows for introducing different perspectives and viewpoints, thereby creating an environment conducive to reflective practice.

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The components of adult learning, paired with the use of professional standards and reflective practice, can provide a framework of support and guidance to enhance professional learning in the superintendency. Murphy and Hallinger (1986) concluded in their qualitative research of twelve superintendents from the most instructionally effective school districts in California that current superintendents were dependent on the active involvement of managing and directing core activities in their districts. They maintained that effective superintendents “do not assume that the actions needed to make the school system work will automatically occur because goals are developed and ‘embedded organizational structures’ are put into place. They actively pursue the development of these ‘organizational events’” (Murphy & Hallinger, 1986, p. 229). The authors thus established an important connection to both organizational learning and reflective practice in increasing the efficacy of school district superintendents. Research has supported and advocated for innovative leadership development in the superintendency including the comprehensive and continuous education of superintendents (Mercer & Meyers, 2013). Kamler (2006), through qualitative data collection methods, concluded that the collaborative networking of superintendents facilitated dialogue on a variety of issues that enhanced their

learnings, forged new connections, and provided a secure and safe environment to foster continuous growth of leadership in the superintendency. In this study and setting the superintendent participants gained new information, observed and questioned various leadership styles, while also reflecting on their own practice. Due to the importance of the superintendent’s role, including political and social complexities, there is a need for continuous professional learning and development in the superintendency (Björk, Kowalski, Browne-Ferrigno, 2005; Petersen, 2011). The structures and theories of organizational learning and

56 56 reflective practice are critical considerations for the professional support of school superintendents. Organizationally, the superintendent can effect change through establishing a collective vision, building an awareness of the current status and reality, and implementing school change through strategies of leadership at the district level (Senge et al., 2012). When superintendents engage in reflective practice, they effectively develop a new awareness of their own performance in order to improve the quality of their practice (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993). The professional standards for the superintendency additionally guide the structure of support for superintendents and when standards are coupled with professional development support, the result is increased effectiveness in the practice of school superintendents (AASA, 1979; Hoyle et al., 1993; Hoyle, English, & Steffy, 2005).

Summary This chapter reviewed the literature and focused on the relevant concepts of the superintendency as a foundation for this study. First, a historical perspective of the superintendency has been presented that included the evolution of the superintendent’s role since the inception of the superintendency in 1837. Next, the challenges in the superintendency were outlined and included the consideration of

56 educational reform reports and initiatives that have greatly impacted public education. Also included in this review of literature were the challenges of 21st century education that supports student inquiry, design, and collaborative approaches to learning but requires changes in curriculum, instruction, assessment practices, and professional development for educators. The professional standards in the superintendency were discussed as an important consideration in the superintendency that provide a framework for effective leadership. The conceptual framework of organizational learning enables the growth of its members through

57 57 the continual collaboration and transformation of the organization in achieving collective goals. Reflective practice as related to organizational learning was reviewed as an essential component of the superintendency that supports creative and expansive thinking in leadership and can be linked to effective professional development support. Chapter 3 presents the methodology used in this study including the research design, research questions, purpose of the study, the participant sample, the instrumentation, and the pilot study. The data collection and data analyses as well as the limitations of study are also discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study, including the data analyses and emergent themes in relation to the research questions. Chapter 5 presents the summary of findings, the conclusions, and the discussion of the literature as well as the implications for practice and future research regarding professional development support in the superintendency.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter outlined the method that was used to undertake this study. The major elements of this chapter included the purpose of this study, the research questions and the research design underlying this study, the description of the population sample, the instruments that were used to measure the variables in this study as well as the information regarding the method and procedure that was used to collect and analyze the data in this study. This chapter concludes with the limitations of the research, and closes with a summary. Using the groundwork of the Organizational Learning Theory and the Experiential Theory of reflective practice was appropriate for this study as a foundation and basis of understanding effective professional development support in the superintendency. The CPSEL were developed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and served as a framework of alignment for the professional development activities of superintendents in this study. The CPSEL provide a structure for supporting educational administrators during their tenure and serve as a “foundation for administrator preparation, induction, development, professional learning and evaluation in California” (Commission on Teacher Credentialing,

2014, p. 1). The six CPSEL standards include the following: 58

Standard 1: Development and implementation of a shared vision: Education leaders facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision of learning and growth of all students. Standard 2: Instructional leadership: Education leaders shape a collaborative culture of teaching and learning informed by professional standards and focused on student and professional growth. Standard 3: Management and learning environment: Education leaders manage the organization to cultivate a safe and productive learning and working environment.

59 59 Standard 4: Family and community engagement: Education leaders collaborate with families and other stakeholders to address diverse student and community interests and mobilize community resources. Standard 5: Ethics and integrity: Education leaders make decisions, model, and behave in ways that demonstrate professionalism, ethics, integrity, justice, and equity and hold staff to the same standard. Standard 6: External context and policy: Education leaders influence political, social, economic, legal and cultural contexts affecting education to improve education policies and practices. (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014, pp. 4-10).

Purpose of Study The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine, understand, and describe elementary school district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development support that effectively fosters organizational learning and reflective practice. This study also investigated if superintendents have received professional development support during the tenure of their superintendency aligned to the CPSEL.

Research Questions The following overarching research questions have guided this study throughout all phases of the research: RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do

59 elementary school district superintendents participate? RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency?

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Research Design A mixed-methods research design served as the main methodology for this study. Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) defined the mixed-methods approach as incorporating many diverse viewpoints that “combines methods, a philosophy, and a research design orientation” (p. 5). Creswell and Plano Clark described the components of a mixed-methods approach to include collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, while mixing the two forms of data through a combination or merging process for data analyses. Additionally, in mixed-methods, the researcher uses procedures in either a single or multiple phase of study, by framing the procedures within theoretical lenses and by combining the procedures into specific research designs while conducting the study. This research study utilized the mixed-methods approach by employing the explanatory sequential design. According to Creswell (2015a), the explanatory sequential design “is to begin with a quantitative strand and then conduct a second qualitative strand to explain the quantitative results” (p. 38). The process of conducting the explanatory sequential design commences with collecting and analyzing the quantitative data in the first phase, followed by the determination of what results need further explanation, and what questions will be asked of

participants in the second, or qualitative phase of the study. Creswell (2015a), noted that the strength of the explanatory sequential design is that the two phases build on one another so that there are two distinct and easily recognizable stages of conducting the research design. However, Creswell (2015a) also noted that the challenges of this approach include that it takes time to conduct and implement the two distinct phases of the study in sequence and that it can be difficult to determine which quantitative results in phase 1 need further explanation in phase 2.

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Phase 1 During the first phase of study, the researcher conducted a quantitative analysis of study through the collection of California elementary district superintendent survey data. In this phase, the researcher collected data, examined and analyzed survey data, and ascertained which results needed further explanation in the second, qualitative phase of the study. Creswell (2015a) noted that the quantitative results in phase 1 of the explanatory sequential design “yield statistical significance, confidence intervals, and effect sizes and provide the general outcomes of a study” (p. 38). Within phase 1, the quantitative methodology consisted of the distribution, collection, and analysis of superintendent surveys. The superintendent surveys consisted of open and closed questions to determine if professional development activities provided support in the superintendency (see Appendix A). The survey was also utilized to further the understanding of whether superintendents were guided by both standards-based professional development and reflective practice as related to their professional development activities.

Phase 2 The second phase of the explanatory research design in this study included

61 the qualitative data collection and analysis procedures to help explain the quantitative research results of phase 1. In phase 2, the researcher conducted interviews with a random sampling of California elementary school district superintendents who participated in the survey, followed by a data analysis to assist explanation of the quantitative results of this study. Following the qualitative data collection and analysis in this phase, the researcher drew inferences that explained the important variables in this study.

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Within phase 2 of this study, qualitative data consisted of superintendent interviews as well as survey participant comments submitted in the elementary superintendent surveys. The superintendent interviews were conducted utilizing a semi-structured interview protocol (see Appendix B) to determine if professional development activities provided support in the superintendency. The qualitative phase has assisted in the explanation of the quantitative results of this study. In summary, Creswell (2015a), noted that in utilizing the mixed-methods approach, the researcher can combine the correlation trends, or quantitative data, with personal experiences and stories, or qualitative data, providing a collective strength and a better understanding of the research problem, more than what one type of data collection could have provided. Creswell (2015a) listed the following as a strength of mixed-methods research: An approach to research in the social, behavioral, and health sciences in which the investigator gathers both quantitative (close-ended) and qualitative (open-ended) data, integrates the two, and then draws interpretations based on the combined strengths of both sets of data to understand research problems. (p. 2) In this study, the researcher gathered both quantitative data, through the use of a survey instrument (see Appendix A), and qualitative data, through the use of a

semi-structured interview protocol instrument with participants (see Appendix B). 62

Participants Creswell (2015b) defined a population as a “group of individuals who have the same characteristic” (p. 140). Creswell (2015b) further hypothesized that researchers have the ability to select a sample for study within the target population, or a group of individuals with common and defining characteristics in order to identify and study a population. The target population for this study was public school district superintendents located in California and selected for the

63 63 purpose related to their ability to answer research questions that are central to the study (Salmons, 2015). Creswell (2015b) defined a sample as “a subgroup of the target population that the researcher plans to study for generalizing about the target population” (p. 141). The population that the researcher planned to study was purposive and consisted of all elementary public school district superintendents located in California. For phase 1, or the quantitative data collection in this study, the participants were selected from public school district superintendents in California, a population of 1,038 according to the California Department of Education (n.d.) public districts data files. For this study nonprobability sampling was applied, a sampling strategy defined by Creswell (2015b) as the selection of individuals who are both available and convenient and represent a characteristic that the researcher intended to study. The population in phase 1 of this study was the subgroup of all public school district superintendents in California. The researcher selected the purposive, non-probabilistic sampling strategy so that specific criteria and characteristics were represented in the population, specifically that superintendents met the criteria of serving as superintendent in an elementary public school district in California, of which there were 524 elementary district superintendents,

according to the California Department of Education (n.d.) public districts data files. Creswell (2015b) identified that as an estimate, an educational researcher needs “approximately 350 individuals for a survey study” (p. 145) so that the sample size will likely be a good estimate of characteristics of a population. Newby (2014) described that in utilizing non-probabilistic techniques, the researcher needs to be aware of participant selection that gives the best results for the circumstances of the research. All participants in this study met the criteria of serving as an elementary public-school district superintendent in California.

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Random sampling was used in selecting the superintendents for the follow- up telephone interviews in phase 2 of this study. Creswell (2015a) defined random sampling in which “the researcher samples participants using a random procedure so that the participants are representative of the population” (p. 125). The random sampling strategy that was utilized in this study ensured that diverse individuals were chosen who were expected to have different perspectives on professional development in the superintendency. Additionally, phase 2 sampling strategies ensured that the qualitative follow-up phase utilized a smaller sample size than in the quantitative phase, and that participants were drawn from the pool of participants in the quantitative sample. The researcher collected the contact information of willing participants for the interviews from the superintendent surveys, and after identifying a random sample of 39 participants and upon consent, the researcher scheduled subsequent dates and times to conduct the telephone interviews with individual elementary school district superintendents.

Instrumentation An instrument has been defined by Creswell (2015b) as a “tool for measuring, observing, or documenting quantitative data” (p. 150). Creswell (2015b) specified that an instrument for the purpose of research may be in the

64 form of a questionnaire, a tally sheet, an inventory, a log, an assessment instrument, or any other type of tool that collects and assesses data. Two instruments were used in this study: the superintendent survey instrument utilizing an electronic process (see Appendix A), and the semi-structured interview protocol (see Appendix B). The instruments in this study were designed, developed, and pilot tested by the researcher in order to address the research questions as follows:

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RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? Superintendent Survey Questions #3, #5 Interview Protocol Questions #1, #4 RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? Superintendent Survey Questions #4, #5 Interview Protocol Questions #2, #4 RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency? Superintendent Survey Questions #3, #5 Interview Protocol Questions #3, #4 Superintendent survey question #3 and superintendent survey question # 4, utilized a Likert scale with from three to five options as a response for each prompt. According to Creswell (2015b), interval, or rating or continuous, scales provide continuous response options to survey questions that have assumed equal distances between the options. The considerations of a Likert scale for researchers

is also critical in the choice of statistic to use in the data analysis. Creswell (2015b) recommended the following in regard to utilizing the Likert scale in research: In order to consider treating Likert data on an interval scale, researchers should develop multiple categories or choices in their scale, determine whether their data are normally distributed, and establish whether the distance between each value on the scale is equal. If this cannot be done, then you should treat the Likert scale and scales like “extent of importance, or “degree of agreement” as ordinal scales for purposes of data analysis. (p. 165)

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Superintendent survey question #5 utilized an open-ended format in order to collect a response from the participants. Superintendent survey question #6 through superintendent survey question #13 collected demographic data from each participant including background information as well as demographics of the school district and the experience of the superintendents. At the conclusion of the electronic superintendent survey, participants in superintendent survey question #14 and superintendent survey question #15, had the option of choosing to participate in a follow-up telephone interview with the researcher. If the participant agreed to participate, they completed the prompt for contact information, and out of the participants who agreed to participate in the follow-up telephone interview, the researcher randomly selected participants for the telephone interviews. The interview phase of this study allowed the researcher to gain knowledge about the participants’ experiences at a deeper level, in relation to professional development participation as aligned to CPSEL and as linked to reflective practice in the superintendency. The semi-structured interview protocol was developed by the researcher and was revised accordingly after the quantitative phase of this research indicated the results in phase 1 that needed further explanation in phase 2.

Instrumentation Pilot Study The superintendent survey instrument in this study was piloted first, with retired and former superintendents in California. There were 19 individuals who were identified to participate in the pilot study, of which 14 participants fully completed the pilot survey. Pilot participants provided feedback to the researcher regarding the superintendent survey and the overall process of this research study. The pilot study of the survey instrument was deployed to ensure that the questions were easily understood and that the estimated time projected to complete the

67 67 survey was reasonable. Additionally, the researcher tested the wording of the superintendent survey questions to ensure clear understanding for true responses of the pilot participants. The researcher requested that pilot participants provide comments on the clarity of the instructions and the questions in the survey instrument. Information gathered during the pilot study process was used to refine and revise the survey instrument before the actual research study. The pilot study allowed the researcher to enhance the content validity of the instrument by confirming that the survey items measured the content they were intended to measure, while also improving the questions, format and scales of the survey instrument in the process. Additionally, a Cronbach Alpha test was conducted in this study to estimate the internal consistency and reliability of the six-item CPSEL in the questionnaire item #4. The Cronbach Alpha test measured each CPSEL that represented the same general construct and indicated that similar scores were produced for each item. The researcher also piloted the semi-structured interview questions for question clarity by utilizing at least one district level administrator to provide feedback on the semi-structured interview protocol. Subsequently, the researcher made appropriate adjustments, as necessary, to the semi-structured interview

protocol prior to phase 2 of this research study.

Procedures This study’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) at California State University, Fresno was submitted according to protocol when the researcher passed the preliminary defense of this study. Once IRB approval was granted, phase 1 of this study commenced, which was followed by phase 2 of the data collection process.

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The researcher distributed the online superintendent survey according to the California Department of Education (n.d.) public districts data files that listed all elementary public school district superintendents in California as published in August 2017. The researcher sent an email to each of the 524 superintendent recipients with a cover letter (Appendix C) attached that outlined the purpose of the study as well as the confidentiality guidelines that were followed in this study. The online survey instrument was developed, field-tested, and deployed utilizing the Qualtrics Research Suite web survey tool that was used to gather data and information from the participants. The researcher also conducted follow-up telephone calls to verify elementary school district information, including the names and email addresses of superintendents as needed for survey distribution in phase 1. The participants who agreed to the terms of participation and informed consent in question #1 were able to proceed with the access to the survey questionnaire through the URL provided in the email. In order to achieve a high participation rate of completion, the researcher followed-up with two additional email contacts as reminders to participate in the survey. The third and final email reminder listed a deadline date in which the survey would be closed. The span of time for completion of the superintendent survey in phase 1 was 22 days.

The second phase of this study consisted of the identification of selected participants who indicated on the superintendent survey an interest in participating in a follow-up telephone interview with the researcher. There were 86 participants who agreed to participate in a follow-up telephone interview. The researcher then utilized random sampling in order to select interview participants and identified 39 interview participants to contact and to conduct a follow-up telephone interview. Interviewees were selected randomly in order to explore the quantitative results in more depth through a qualitative approach. Interviews were scheduled at the

69 69 convenience of the participants, and lasted approximately 7 minutes. With permission of the participants, the interview was audio recorded. The researcher commenced the telephone interview with a standard script to verify the interview process, and asked the same questions of each interviewee. The audio recordings for each interview were transcribed by a transcription service, Rev (see Appendix D) and subsequently edited by the researcher for accuracy. The interview transcriptions were analyzed using axial coding. The themes discovered during the superintendent interviews were related to the quantitative results of phase 1 in this study. The span of time for completion of the semi-structured interview protocol with participants in phase 2 was 13 days. Confidentiality was maintained during the data collection throughout phases 1 and 2 of this study including the analyses and reporting of all results in this study. In order to ensure the participants’ anonymity, and the validity of the results, all downloaded data were secured, and all personal identification information was treated according to IRB guidelines, so that the participants were not linked to individual responses.

Data Analyses

Quantitative Analysis 69

A survey design was selected for the quantitative portion of this study and was described by Creswell (2014) as providing “a quantitative or numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population” (p. 155). In this study, the survey administration was cross- sectional, with data being collected at one point in time. At the conclusion of the survey administration, the researcher analyzed the data by providing statistical analyses for all of the variables in this study. Creswell (2015b) defined

70 70 correlational research design as the researcher’s use of “a statistical test to describe and measure the degree of association (or relationship) between two or more variables or sets of scores” (p. 339). The researcher utilized the components of correlational research in the data analyses of this study design as described by Creswell (2015b): Step 1: The researcher correlates multiple variables, as identified in the research questions Step 2: The researcher collects data according to a cross-sectional model of survey research. Step 3: The researcher collects information from only one group, and does not divide the group into categories or factors. Step 4: The researcher obtains multiple scores for each individual in the group, according to each variable. Step 5: The researcher reports the use of an appropriate correlational statistical test in the data analysis. Step 6: The researcher makes interpretations and draws conclusions from the statistical test results. In addition to the Qualtrics analysis of data, statistical analysis was applied

to the quantitative data in this study. The researcher initially ensured that there was no duplication in the survey participation by reviewing and analyzing Qualtrics data for participant duplication. Quantitative and initial statistical information, including descriptive statistics, was administered, collected, reviewed, and organized through electronic, online survey software. The researcher consulted the California State University, Fresno Graduate Statistics Studio for research and statistical assistance in the quantitative analysis of data. The computation of survey data were inputted and analyzed using Excel and SPSS (Version 25; IBM,

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2012) for the purpose of determining statistical relationships through data analysis that determined the relationship between the quantitative variables in this study (Newby, 2014). The variables analyzed included measuring the frequency of professional development participation in the superintendency and how superintendent professional development was related to CPSEL as well as how superintendent professional development was supported by the application of reflective practice. The purpose of the quantitative data analysis was to describe and measure the degree of association and relationship between the variables in this study, as described above.

Qualitative Analysis Ravitch and Carl (2016) noted that qualitative data analysis begins in the interview process and in the recordings of individual interviews that are transcribed verbatim. Creswell and Poth (2018) noted that “the processes of data collection, data analysis, and report writing are not distinct steps in the process- they are interrelated and often go on simultaneously in a research project” (p. 184). According to Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) the purpose of the qualitative phase of the explanatory sequential design was to provide further information for “statistically significant results, statistically nonsignificant results, key significant

71 predictors, variables that distinguish between groups, outlier or extreme cases, or distinguishing demographic characteristic” (p. 186) as found in the quantitative phase of study. Creswell and Poth identified five steps in the qualitative data analysis process that was used in this study. The five steps that were implemented by the researcher were as follows: Step 1: The data management and organization are completed at this first stage in the data analysis process. Data conversion and security of long-term file storage are also under consideration in this phase.

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Step 2: The data analysis continues in this contemplative stage in the researcher’s reading and writing notes and memos for reflection, helping to track the development of the researcher’s ideas in the process. Step 3: Classification and data interpretation allows for making sense of the text collected in interviews. This stage also begins the process of capturing the emerging themes of the interviews through categorizing and labeling of the participants’ actual words. Step 4: The interpretive process occurs in this phase and extends beyond what is meaningful in the patterns and themes from the data, and for the larger meaning in the analysis. In this stage, the researcher links their interpretations and compares with existing data and relevant research. Step 5: The final phase in the interview data analysis occurs when researchers present a representation of the qualitative data in both visual and narrative forms. The researcher participated in the qualitative data analyses as described above to analyze the interview and survey qualitative data in this study. The researcher coded directly on the printed transcripts of the telephone interviews and the survey comments to complete the coding process and to identify emergent

themes. The researcher applied axial coding, or the thematic cluster coding of patterns, based on the established codes as related to the research questions of this study.

Limitations One limitation in this study was that the explanatory sequential research design had time constraints due to the time it took to implement the two distinct phases in the mixed-methods explanatory sequential design for this study. As stated by Creswell (2015a), the explanatory sequential design “is challenging to

73 73 conduct, however, because it takes time to implement two distinct phases in sequence” (p. 38). A second limitation in this study was that this study was delimited to publicly funded elementary school district superintendents in California serving elementary school students. This study did not focus on any other superintendent status types, including COE superintendents, high school district superintendents, regional occupation center program superintendents, unified school district superintendents, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Special Schools program superintendents. The results of this study were applicable specifically to the status type of elementary district superintendents, and may or may not be generalizable to any other superintendent status types. A third limitation in this study was that the data collected was limited by the set of questions that were asked in the superintendent survey and in the semi- structured interview protocol. An additional factor and limitation involved the willingness of participants to dedicate time in providing their relevant and meaningful input for the purpose of this research study. A fourth limitation in this study was that a similarity of the sample and total population in student enrollment category, as well as in the district location

category, could not be established and is noted as a limitation in this study. A final limitation in this study was that the researcher qualified as a participant of this study, however did not participate due to the potential conflict in the data analyses of this study.

Summary This chapter described the research design, purpose of the study, research questions, participants, instrumentation, data collection, data analyses procedures, and limitations of the study. This study examined elementary district

74 74 superintendents’ perceptions of professional development that effectively supports and impacts the superintendency. Additionally, this study explored the relationships between superintendent professional development and the CPSEL, organizational learning, and the reflective practice of superintendents. Chapter 4 presents the findings of this study, including the data analyses and emergent themes in relation to the research questions. Chapter 5 presents the summary of findings, the conclusions, and the discussion of the literature as well as the implications for practice and future research regarding professional development support in the superintendency.

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CHAPTER 4: RESULTS/OUTCOMES

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine, understand, and describe elementary school district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development support that effectively fosters organizational learning and reflective practice in the superintendency. This study also investigated whether superintendents have received professional development support during the tenure of their superintendency aligned to the CPSEL. The following overarching research questions have guided this study throughout all phases of the research: RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency? This research study utilized a mixed-methods approach and employed the

explanatory sequential design. This study was designed in two phases. Phase 1 75

included the collection and analysis of quantitative survey data from elementary school district superintendents in California. Phase 2 included the collection and analysis of qualitative interview data from a randomized sampling of elementary school district superintendents in California who completed the quantitative survey and were willing to participate in a follow-up telephone interview. The results and outcomes of this study were organized into five sections. The first section offers a description of the study’s participants. The second

76 76 section presents the data analysis of the quantitative data in this study. The third section presents the data analysis of the qualitative data in this study. The fourth section summarizes the quantitative and qualitative data analyses of this study and the fifth section presents a summary of this chapter.

Participants

Phase 1 For phase 1, or the quantitative data collection in this study, the participants were purposefully selected from school district superintendents in California. The researcher utilized the purposive and non-probabilistic sampling strategy and identified all 524 elementary public-school district superintendents in California to participate in this study according to the California Department of Education (n.d.) that listed all elementary public-school district superintendents in California. The researcher also conducted follow-up telephone calls to verify elementary school district information, including the names and email addresses of superintendents as needed in phase 1. The quantitative survey instrument was initially sent by email to the population of 524 elementary district superintendents in California, with two follow-up reminders to participants requesting that they complete the

electronic survey by a final designated date. The researcher subsequently closed 76

the survey on the designated date and collected 152 completed survey responses from participants for a participation rate of 29.0%.

Phase 2 For phase 2, or the qualitative data collection in this study, the participants were randomly selected from the superintendent participants who completed the survey and who agreed in the survey to participate in a follow-up telephone interview with the researcher. There were 86 participants who agreed to participate

77 77 in a follow-up telephone interview. The researcher utilized random sampling in order to select interview participants and identified 39 interview participants to contact and to conduct a follow-up telephone interview. The researcher scheduled, interviewed, and completed 37 telephone interviews (see Appendix D). The researcher also accessed all of the submitted comments in Qualtrics from the open- ended question #5 in the quantitative survey, to be included in the qualitative data analysis in relation to the emergent themes of this study (see Appendix E).

Quantitative Data Analysis The data in Table 4.1 show the total number of elementary school district superintendents according to student enrollment district data in the sample and in the population.

Table 4.1

Student Enrollment of Sample and Population Sample Sample Population Population Enrollment Category Frequency Percent Frequency Percent 25,000 and above 1 .7 2 .4 3,000-24,999 59 38.8 132 25.2 300-2,999 56 36.8 206 39.3 Fewer than 300 36 23.7 184 35.1 Column Totals 152 100.0 524 100.0 77

The chi-square statistic is 12.8595. The p-value is .004951. The result is significant at p < .05. For this study a similarity of the sample and total population in student enrollment category could not be established and is noted as a limitation in this study. The data in Table 4.2 show the total number of elementary school district superintendents according to district location category in the sample and in the population.

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District Location Category of Sample and Population Sample Sample Population Population District Location Category Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Rural (Districts comprised 73 48.0 307 58.6 primarily of nonresidential areas) Suburban (Districts 59 38.8 180 34.4 surrounding major urban areas) Urban (Districts located in 20 13.2 37 7.0 major cities with populations of at least 100,000) Total 152 100.0 524 100.0

The chi-square statistic is 8.1963. The p-value is .016603. The result is significant at p < .05. For this study a similarity of the sample and total population in district location category could not be established and is noted as a limitation in this study. The superintendent participants listed their position title as superintendent, superintendent/principal, or superintendent/principal/teacher as shown in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3

Position Title Position Title Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Superintendent 113 74.3 74.3 74.3 Superintendent/Principal 36 23.7 23.7 98.0 Superintendent/Principal/ 3 2.0 2.0 100.0 Teacher Total 152 100.0 100.0

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Superintendent participants indicated that 74.3% of participants have a position title of superintendent, while 23.7% of participants indicated their position title was superintendent/principal. There were 2% of participants who listed their position title as superintendent/principal/teacher. The data in Table 4.4 show the total number of elementary district superintendent participants according to school district locations in county divisions within the state of California. There were 41 counties that were represented by participating elementary superintendents, out of a total of 58 counties in California. There were 12 counties in California, or 20.7%, that do not have any elementary school districts in their county. The highest represented county by superintendents was Kern County with a total of 15.1% participation, while the second highest represented county was Los Angeles County with a total of 8.6% participation. Eleven counties had the least representation with one participant at .7%, including Calaveras, Glenn, Inyo, Kings, Merced, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Trinity, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties. There were five counties in California that have at least one elementary school district, however none of the elementary school district superintendents participated in this study, including in Alameda, Lake,

Mendocino, Napa, and Nevada counties. Personal information was collected from elementary school district superintendents including gender, possession of a doctoral degree, and years of experience in the superintendency including in their current superintendency as well as in their total years of experience as a superintendent, including superintendent service in other school districts.

80 80 Table 4.4

California County Representation of Participants County Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Butte County 2 1.3 1.3 1.3 Calaveras County 1 .7 .7 2.0 Contra Costa County 5 3.3 3.3 5.3 El Dorado County 3 2.0 2.0 7.2 Fresno County 4 2.6 2.6 9.9 Glenn County 1 .7 .7 10.5 Humboldt County 4 2.6 2.6 13.2 Imperial County 3 2.0 2.0 15.1 Inyo County 1 .7 .7 15.8 Kern County 23 15.1 15.1 30.9 Kings County 1 .7 .7 31.6 Lassen County 2 1.3 1.3 32.9 Los Angeles County 13 8.6 8.6 41.4 Madera County 3 2.0 2.0 43.4 Marin County 5 3.3 3.3 46.7 Merced County 1 .7 .7 47.4 Monterey County 4 2.6 2.6 50.0 Orange County 6 3.9 3.9 53.9 Placer County 2 1.3 1.3 55.3 Riverside County 3 2.0 2.0 57.2 Sacramento County 1 .7 .7 57.9 San Benito County 1 .7 .7 58.6 San Bernardino County 5 3.3 3.3 61.8 San Diego County 7 4.6 4.6 66.4 San Joaquin County 1 .7 .7 67.1 San Luis Obispo County 2 1.3 1.3 68.4 San Mateo County 3 2.0 2.0 70.4 Santa Barbara County 7 4.6 4.6 75.0 Santa Clara County 4 2.6 2.6 77.6

Santa Cruz County 2 1.3 1.3 78.9 80

Shasta County 3 2.0 2.0 80.9 Siskiyou County 4 2.6 2.6 83.6 Sonoma County 6 3.9 3.9 87.5 Stanislaus County 4 2.6 2.6 90.1 Sutter County 2 1.3 1.3 91.4 Trinity County 1 .7 .7 92.1 Tulare County 3 2.0 2.0 94.1 Tuolumne County 1 .7 .7 94.7 Ventura County 7 4.6 4.6 99.3 Yuba County 1 .7 .7 100.0 Total 152 100.0 100.0

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The data in Table 4.5 show the total number of elementary district superintendents surveyed with gender listed for both the sample and the population of this study.

Table 4.5

Gender of Sample and Population Sample Sample Population Population Gender Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Female 71 46.7 236 55.0 Male 81 53.3 288 45.0 Total 152 100.0 524 100.0

The Fisher exact test statistic value is 0.781424. The result is not significant at p < .01. This established a similarity in regard to gender in the sample and in the population of this study. The data in Table 4.6 show the total number of elementary district superintendents who possess an earned doctorate degree that was defined as excluding honorary doctorate degrees, but included a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree or a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) Degree.

Table 4.6 81 Earned Doctoral Degree of Participants Doctoral Degree Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent No 84 55.3 55.3 55.3 Yes 68 44.7 44.7 100.0 Total 152 100.0 100.0

Participating superintendents were represented in this study at a 44.7% rate of possessing an earned doctorate degree and 55.3% of participating superintendents who do not currently possess an earned doctorate degree.

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Participating superintendents listed their tenure in their current superintendent position as well as in their total years of experience in the superintendency. The data in Table 4.7 show the statistical analysis for the participants’ tenure in their current superintendency position.

Table 4.7

Years of Experience in Current Superintendency Distribution Measures Current Superintendency Mean 4.8 Range 24.8 Maximum 25.0 Minimum 0.2 Standard Deviation 4.5

The data in Table 4.8 show the statistical analysis for the participants’ total number of years served as superintendent, including the years in their current position, plus any additional years of service in other superintendency positions.

Table 4.8

Total Years of Experience in the Superintendency Distribution Measures Total Years of Experience Mean 6.4 Range 32.8 82

Maximum 33.0 Minimum 0.2 Standard Deviation 6.1

The calculation was made from the data in Table 4.7 and from the data in Table 4.8 to determine how many superintendents have served in their current superintendency exclusively, and how many superintendents have served in one or more superintendent positions in total. The results indicated that 117 participants, or 77.0% of participants, have served as superintendent entirely in their current

83 83 superintendency position; 35 participants or 23.0% of participants indicated that they have served as superintendent in their current position and also in at least one other school district superintendency.

Professional Development Participation in the Superintendency The data collected from the participants in the superintendent survey indicated the frequency in which superintendents participated in professional development activities. All superintendents indicated that they each participated in at least one or more professional development activities during their superintendency. Figure 4.1 indicates the rate and frequency of superintendent participation for each listed professional development activity at the rate of from 1-4 times during the superintendency.

1-4 Times

160 146 134 140 128 123 120 97 100 80 80 65

60 83 Frequencies

35 40 31 18 17 20 9 4 4 0

PD Activities

Figure 4.1. Professional development attendance of participants (1-4 times).

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Figure 4.2 indicates the rate and frequency of superintendent participation for each listed professional development activity at the rate of 5 + times during the superintendency.

Figure 4.2. Professional development attendance of Participants (5+ times).

The data in Figure 4.1 and in Figure 4.2 indicated consistency in the most attended professional development by all superintendents as the COE offerings of professional development. Coaching or mentoring was ranked second by superintendents who participated in coaching or mentoring activities 5+ times, while superintendents who participated 1- 4 times ranked coaching or mentoring as the fourth most frequently attended activity. ACSA, CSBA, and CDE were ranked third, fourth, and fifth respectively by superintendents who participated in ACSA, CSBA, and CDE activities 5+ times, while superintendents who

85 85 participated 1- 4 times ranked ACSA as second, CSBA as third, and CDE as fifth for the most frequently attended activities. Both superintendents in the 5+ times category and the 1- 4 times category ranked SSDA and ASCD as sixth and seventh, respectively, for the most frequently attended activities. CALSA and AASA were ranked eighth and ninth respectively by superintendents who participated in activities 5+ times, while superintendents who participated 1- 4 times ranked AASA as eighth and CALSA as ninth for the most frequently attended activities. NSBA, USAA, PDK, NASS, and NABSE all ranked in the lowest five professional development activities in frequency for both of the 1- 4 times and the 5+ times categories.

Reflective Practice and Professional Development Table 4.9 lists the professional development activities of superintendents as related to the extent in which each type of activity has supported the capacity for reflective practice in the superintendency according to the Likert response scale of not at all, minimally supportive, moderately supportive, and very supportive. The mean was also calculated that indicated that coaching/mentoring and ACSA were highest in supporting the capacity for reflective practice, while the lowest ranked professional development activities were NABSE and USAA in supporting the

85 capacity for reflective practice in the superintendency. A Chi-square goodness of fit test was run to see if the frequency of professional development attendance occurred at different rates. There was a significant difference in attendance rates, χ2(13, N = 891) = 581.8, p < 0.001. A Chi-square goodness of fit test was run to see if the frequency of responses for reflective practice occurred at different rates. There was a significant difference in responses, χ2(3, N = 1099) = 153.3, p < 0.001.

86 86 Table 4.9

Professional Development Correlation with Reflection PD Activities Not at All Min Mod Very Mean Coaching/Mentoring 6 8 30 85 2.5 COE 6 20 60 63 2.2 CDE 13 38 42 15 1.5 ACSA 1 13 41 78 2.5 AASA 15 5 16 15 1.6 CSBA 1 17 61 51 2.2 NSBA 22 6 7 7 1.0 SSDA 13 5 34 39 2.1 USAA 28 0 2 3 0.4 NASS 25 1 5 5 0.7 NABSE 26 1 3 1 0.3 CALSA 23 9 11 10 1.2 ASCD 9 12 23 27 2.0 PDK 24 8 6 4 0.8

Figure 4.3 indicates the frequency of responses in total for professional development activities that supported reflective practice in the superintendency.

Figure 4.3. Total professional development and reflection.

87 87

Figure 4.4 lists the participants who indicated that each professional development activity was very supportive and informed everyday action through reflective practice in the superintendency.

Figure 4.4. Professional development activities that support reflective practice.

Figure 4.4 indicates that the superintendent participants, or 55.9%, believed that coaching and mentoring activities were very supportive for reflective practice in the superintendency. The superintendent participants listed the second most

supportive activity as ACSA, while the third most supported activity was listed as 87

the COE in supporting reflective practice in the superintendency.

CPSEL Alignment of Professional Development Table 4.10 lists statistics by CPSEL as the extent in which professional development participation has influenced their superintendency. CPSEL 1 mean was 2.0 and median was 2.0. The standard deviation for CPSEL 1 was 0.6, while the skewness was -0.3 and kurtosis was -0.6. See Table for 4.10 statistics for CPSEL 2-6.

88 88 Table 4.10

CPSEL as Related to Professional Development Standard CPSEL Mean Deviation Median Skewness Kurtosis CPSEL 1 2.0 0.6 2.0 -0.3 -0.6 CPSEL 2 2.0 0.6 2.0 -0.5 0.1 CPSEL 3 1.8 0.6 1.8 -0.3 0.1 CPSEL 4 1.6 0.6 1.8 0.1 -0.4 CPSEL 5 2.1 0.6 2.0 -0.5 0.3 CPSEL 6 2.0 0.6 2.0 -0.3 0.1 Total 1.9 0.5 2.0 -0.4 0.1

Reliability and Validity A Cronbach Alpha test was conducted to estimate the internal consistency and reliability of the six-item CPSEL as shown in Table 4.11. The Cronbach Alpha measured each CPSEL that represented the same general construct and indicated that similar scores were produced for each item.

Table 4.11

Cronbach Alpha Test CPSEL M SD Cronbach Alpha 1 2.04 0.09 0.80 2 1.96 0.22 0.77 3 1.81 0.21 0.82

4 1.65 0.08 0.82 88

5 2.05 0.19 0.76 6 1.96 0.17 0.68

For CPSEL 1, the coefficient alpha for the scale was .80 and indicated an adequacy of good for internal consistency. For CPSEL 2, the coefficient alpha for the scale was .77 and indicated an adequacy of fair for internal consistency. For CPSEL 3, the coefficient alpha for the scale was .82 and indicated an adequacy of good for internal consistency. For CPSEL 4, the coefficient alpha for the scale was .82 and indicated an adequacy of good for internal consistency. For CPSEL 5, the

89 89 coefficient alpha for the scale was .76 and indicated an adequacy of fair for internal consistency. For CPSEL 6, the coefficient alpha for the scale was .68 and indicated an adequacy of marginal for internal consistency. The mean of the individual items ranged from 1.65 to 2.05. Overall the participant responses on the scale indicated that the questions possessed from a marginal to a good degree of CPSEL alignment with professional development in the superintendency. The mean and the standard deviation of the CPSEL are provided in Table 4.11. The margin of error in this study was calculated at 6.7% at a confidence level of 95%. The content validity of this study was addressed in relation to whether the questions were representative of CPSEL items as listed in Table 4.12. In constructing the questions regarding CPSEL and professional development support, the researcher utilized terminology directly from the CPSEL, as indicated in Table 4.12, that enhanced the content validity for each question through the representation and alignment of each CPSEL.

Qualitative Data Analysis Based on the quantitative results of this study, the researcher conducted a qualitative phase of study that included gathering interview and survey data from

89 superintendent participants to further understand their perceptions of professional development in the superintendency. The researcher randomly selected multiple participants in this study in order to collect data and to show various perspectives of elementary district superintendents in California regarding professional development in the superintendency. The researcher replicated the procedures in the semi-structured interview protocol (Appendix B) with each participant and commenced the telephone interview with a standard script to verify the interview process for inclusion in the qualitative phase of this study.

90 90 Table 4.12

Professional Development Questionnaire Correlation with CPSEL CPSEL 1: Development and implementation of a Shared Vision

21) Increased my capacity to address achievement disparities among student groups. CPSEL 1A-3

20) Reinforced my belief that all students can achieve at high levels. CPSEL 1A-4

2) Enabled my development of a shared vision. CPSEL 1B

6) Improved my use of the district’s vision in guiding decisions. CPSEL 1C

CPSEL 2: Instructional Leadership

18) Improved my use of technology in gathering stakeholder input. CPSEL 2C-5

3) Improved my ability to promote professional learning in staff. CPSEL 2A

7) Helped me implement a standards-based curriculum in the district. CPSEL 2B

9) Facilitated my monitoring of student learning. CPSEL 2C

CPSEL 3: Management and Learning Environment

22) Improved my use of data for increasing student engagement. CPSEL 3C-3

5) Developed my ability to provide a safe learning environment for students. CPSEL 3A

10) Assisted my establishing structures to support college and career readiness for students. CPSEL 3B

12) Supported my implementation of a positive behavior system for students. CPSEL 3C-2

16) Assisted in resource distribution to ensure equity for all students. CPSEL 3D-1

CPSEL 4: Family and Community Engagement

23) Expanded my ability in communicating to all parents and families. CPSEL 4A-3

13) Aided my ability to promote parental involvement. CPSEL 4A

17) Aided my establishment of community partnerships. CPSEL 4B

4) Enhanced my skills of leveraging community resources. CPSEL 4C

CPSEL 5: Ethics and Integrity 90

25) Helped me to communicate expectations for professional behavior in staff. CPSEL 5C-1

8) Promoted my reflection in learning. CPSEL 5A

14) Assisted my use of relevant research to inform decision-making. CPSEL 5B

15) Helped me to develop a climate of trust and mutual respect districtwide. CPSEL 5C

CPSEL 6: External Policy and Context

24) Increased my understanding of cultural contexts affecting education. CPSEL 6

1) Influenced my implementation of education policy. CPSEL 6A

19) Increased my understanding of district policy. CPSEL 6B

11) Aided my collaboration with stakeholders to influence district policy. CPSEL 6C

91 91

The researcher contacted 39 randomly selected participants from a purposefully selected sample of elementary district superintendents, who were willing to participate in the interview, by email and subsequently scheduled a telephone interview according to the preselected date and time selected by each participant. There were 37 participants who agreed to be interviewed. The researcher conducted the telephone interviews according to schedule and after obtaining consent from each participant, recorded each interview. The average length of each interview was approximately 7 minutes. The researcher used the Rev transcribing service to transcribe each interview. Upon receipt of each transcription, the researcher verified and edited each transcript for accuracy (see Appendix D). The researcher coded the interview participants according to numeric codes by date and time data to allow for anonymity (see Appendix F). The researcher also compiled submitted comments in Qualtrics from the open-ended question #5 of the superintendent questionnaire survey as applied to the emergent themes and qualitative data analysis in this study. Some survey participants added comments in the quantitative survey completion to assist the researcher in understanding professional development in the superintendency. The survey comments were generated by 71 participants, at a 46.7% response rate (see

Appendix E). The qualitative data analysis in this study began with the preliminary exploration of the data by reading through the transcripts of the interviews and survey comments. The researcher was then involved in the coding of the data by dividing the text of the telephone interviews and the text of the survey comments into smaller units, including words, phrases, and sentences, that were assigned a label and were then grouped into themes and subthemes. The researcher utilized the hand-coding process in the qualitative data analysis by assigning code words to

92 92 text segments in the margins of the text, and by color-coding and highlighting the common themes that emerged in the text of the interviews and in the text of the survey comments. The researcher also utilized the find feature in Word to quantify individual references of terminology in the qualitative data as related to professional development activities in the superintendency. The researcher coded directly on the printed transcripts of the telephone interviews and the printed transcripts of the survey comments while completing the coding process of grouping and charting evidence and of labeling ideas and concepts in order to reflect the broader perspectives of the participants. The researcher applied axial coding, or the thematic cluster coding of patterns, based on the established codes as related to the research questions of this study.

Emergent Themes During the data analysis of the semi-structured interviews, the researcher read each transcript numerous times and coded the data. Categories and concepts emerged in this process that reinforced quantitative data collected in phase 1 of this study. The three main themes that emerged from the qualitative interview data were the following: 1) Frequency and need for professional development

2) CPSEL guided professional development 3) Professional support for reflective practice The researcher found that all of the identified themes had one or more additional subtheme. The frequency and need for professional development had two subthemes: context of district diversity and fiscal alignment and board support. CPSEL guided professional development had one subtheme: pursuit of continuous learning. Reflective practice had one subtheme: collaboration.

93 93

Frequency and need for professional development. The first theme that emerged from the participants in the qualitative interview data were the frequency and need for professional development in the superintendency. Participant 5 indicated a critical need for professional development in the superintendency as follows: I think I'm aware of the responsibilities of not only my job, but of my role as a leader in the district, and so I try to choose things that line up with that, and that support that learning. I really am a believer in lifelong learning, that it's never too late to learn things, or to be better, and it's always important to keep learning every day, we’re in such a dynamic profession. Many other participants echoed a similar theme, including participant 22 who stated that “I think it's just critical if you can get really good professional development that really informs and engages people.” Many of the participants associated success in the superintendency with effective professional development for superintendents. Participant 13 noted that “professional development allowed me to be successful in the superintendency,” while Participant 18 asserted that “having a clearly defined professional development plan I think is essential for success.” Participant 19 simply stated regarding professional development in the superintendency, “that's the key to a

successful superintendent,” while Participant 32 indicated that the need for 93 professional development in the superintendency “cannot be underestimated.” Additionally, several of the participants noted that professional development in the superintendency can be applied to the practice of the superintendency that positively impacts the district. Participant 6 specified that “The things that I learn, I internalize, and I apply those to my daily activities as a superintendent.” Participant 17 referred to the cumulative effect of professional development by stating the following:

94 94 All of my professional development at this point has supported my role now. The professional development that I've received as a teacher, as a principal, as assistant superintendent for educational services has all built the foundation for my leadership as a superintendent. Participant 9 also related that the application of professional development in the superintendency was relevant to the role of superintendent when stating that “my role as a superintendent is to guide and support the needs of my staff,” while Participant 5 specified that “it just has to be all about learning and getting better.” The need for professional development that occurred among interview participants included a variety of supportive structures of professional development. One structure of support was from the COE, as well as the professional organizational support of ACSA, CSBA, SSDA, and CALSA. One recurrently cited structure of professional development support was the training and professional development provided by the COE. There were 20 participants, or 54.1%, who cited COE support as essential to a successful superintendency. Participant 31 summed up typical COE support for superintendents as follows: One type is the monthly meetings. The superintendent’s meetings that occur at the county office, where all the superintendents come together. We receive information regarding what's new and current in education,

legislation, and we also have a professional learning community formed as 94

a group of superintendents. Participant 2 stated that “I feel like our county does work very hard at supporting superintendents, and I feel like that is an important piece,” and similarly, Participant 4 noted specific support “through the county office, all of our LCAP professional development” as well as LCAP technical assistance as provided by the COE. Many of the participants indicated that COE professional development support was a viable option in order to receive local training and information in

95 95 education. Participant 10 stated that “it's mainly what's provided through our county office that I participate in.” A second structure of professional development support named recurrently by participants was ASCA, also cited by 22 participants, or 59.5%. Participants noted multiple professional development opportunities in ACSA including the Superintendent’s Symposium, ACSA Academies as well as other ACSA regional and statewide conferences and trainings. Participant 25 cited of the ACSA Academies that “as far as the bigger picture with ACSA Academy, it's a broader view that, again, bringing back that information and encouraging our administrative staff to participate, which they have, has been beneficial.” Likewise, Participant 2 shared that the ACSA Academy provided “an incredible overview of really all components of leadership for a district, that was hugely valuable.” CSBA was cited by 12 participants, or 32.4%, of participants. Participants noted CSBA conference attendance, with board members, as an important partnership in the superintendency. Participant 30 stated that “I traditionally attend CSBA with our board, really focused on building relationships and convergence issues,” while Participants 6, 7, 8, 14, 16, and 20 all echoed a similar opinion

regarding the opportunity to attend relevant professional development with board members. Participant 8 iterated that the CSBA conference has given the superintendent and board members time to “focus on team leadership and direction and vision” of the district collaboratively. Participant 32 also noted the value of CSBA trainings and said “in-district trainings that were led by CSBA, was my board, including the Masters in Governance, the Good Beginnings, and some other selected personal trainings and policy development.”

96 96

Coaching and mentoring was a recurring topic among participants and was cited as effective support in the superintendency. Ten participants, or 27%, shared that they have worked with a coach or mentor in the superintendency. Participant 18 shared their coaching experience as follows: So, that was probably the most beneficial and the most powerful. We met once a month in person, for a minimum of two hours, and then we touched base by phone and-or by email in between that monthly meeting. That relationship was so strong that we continue it even now, on a less formal basis, but into my fourth year. Participant 27 also noted that the coaching model that best supported the role of superintendent was the following: The one that best supported me was having a coach, a retired superintendent, who was actually my superintendent when I was a principal. She met with me monthly for two hours for a year and a half. That was one-on-one mentoring, and the topic changed according to whatever my needs were. Participant 15 connected coaching support to reflective practice by stating that “having a coach to structure that a little bit better and provide me with other things to consider, it's probably been the most helpful in that reflective practice.” Finally, Participant 35 said regarding the coaching experience, “I think, every one of us, it helps tremendously if we just have our own personal coach, and I do.”

The SSDA was referenced by six participants, or 16.2% of participants. 96

Participant 7 iterated that the SSDA New Superintendent Boot Camp “was a little bit about everything and just more down to the nitty gritty and just reality of what it's like being a new superintendent. That one was extremely helpful to me.” CALSA was referenced by two participants, or 5.4%. Both Participants 18 and 20 referred to the CALSA mentoring program as a valuable resource for new superintendents.

97 97

The theme of the need for professional development in the superintendency also emerged with several survey participants, and Survey Participant E stated that “professional development is a critical ingredient if you want to lead in an ever- changing world.” Many of the survey participants noted the uniqueness across school districts as well as challenges faced in accessing professional development opportunities in rural and small school districts. Survey Participant K noted that the “hardest part of the job is isolation and being in a rural school environment. One relies heavily from county for information and professional development.” The professional development support that was most frequently cited by survey participants was county office of education support as well as ACSA, as similarly stated by telephone interview participants. Table 4.13 notes and summarizes the citations from participants indicating the frequency and percentages of occurrences according to the telephone interviews and survey comments transcripts.

Table 4.13

Participant Citations Noting Professional Development Frequency Professional Telephone Interviews Survey Comments Development Participant Citations and Participant Citations and

Percent Percent 97

Coaching/Mentoring 10 - 27% 15 - 21.1% COE 20 - 54.1% 10 - 14.1% ACSA 22 - 59.5% 4 - 5.6% CSBA 12 - 32.4% 3 - 4.2% SSDA 6 - 16.2% 1 - 1.4%

Context of district diversity. One subtheme in the frequency and need for professional development that emerged in the qualitative data were the identified

98 98 need for professional development in the superintendency as predicated by factors of diversity among school districts. Several participants indicated that professional development needs vary among districts. Participant 36 stated that “PD for the superintendent needs to be almost customized based on what your situation is.” Participant 2 similarly asserted the following: I feel like every one of us has such a unique situation, that I wish that there were more resources or more job alike, although there are people who do provide support and there are people that we can go to, and there are people available, but I wish there was a wider net cast. I wish that we had more opportunity to really get to know and work with people that really have jobs that are very much like ours. It's just different. Participant 8 also referred to the uniqueness of each superintendency and stated that “I'm in a district that's very stable, that has a culture of working together, where a superintendent really is starting out so much farther ahead, so that the professional development that I seek out and need isn't what maybe other superintendents may seek out and need, or may never get.” Participant 37 stated that “so much of it is unique to every single superintendency that I think it’s been, if anything, so much of it, is the experience you go through or finding others that have had that similar experiences.” Sixteen participants, or 43.2%, identified existing challenges in small or

rural districts related to professional development in the superintendency. Participant 26 shared that “small districts in California are 2,500 or less, small is me, I've got 20. And then there's a smaller one in another county, they've got nine. And so, you know our needs are so different.” Participant 28 referred to the remoteness of location for many small school districts, noting the advantages of COE professional development as follows: That has been incredibly beneficial to my position as a superintendent as we cover legal and various other issues and items that come up statewide and nationally. So, otherwise, I think if I was not attending those

99 99 trainings/meetings, I don't think I would ever get that kind of information up here where I am at. Participant 16 shared that, “Oh, I wish there was more here available. Sometimes the where it's offered can be a big prohibitive factor for us.” Also iterating the challenges of small school districts, Participant 25 mentioned the challenge of time as prohibitive as well, indicating that “if it's not offered through the county office or through a webinar, then we're commuting a minimum of 90 minutes to get to, and then if it's further, it's four-and-a-half hours.” Another prohibitive factor for small school districts was that participants recognized that their absences from school sites and districts posed additional challenges. Participant 3 stated that professional development activities are “done in a way that I can try to stay on site as much as possible.” Participant 25 also noted that “we have a lot small districts that have principals/superintendents.” Participant 28 stated that the principal/ superintendent job tends to be “more principal in nature” and that “should I take a superintendency at a larger district, I most definitely would need to seek out further training in that area.” Table 4.14 notes and summarizes the citations from participants indicating the frequency and percentages of textual references to the small size and the rural characteristics of school districts, both noted as challenges, as well as the concept

99 of remoteness and isolation in relation to the context of district diversity.

Table 4.14

Participant Citations Noting Small Size, Rural Location, and Isolation Telephone Interviews Survey Comments Participant Citations and Participant Citations and District Characteristics Percent Percent Small Size/Rural 16 - 43.2% 9 - 12.7% Location Isolationism 5 - 13.5% 3 - 4.2%

100 100

Fiscal alignment and board support. An additional component of professional development resources and support in the superintendency involved both board of trustee and fiscal support in the ability for superintendents to pursue professional development opportunities. Participant 14 stated the following regarding professional development: I do appreciate that I have a board that allows me to take advantage of professional development and encourages my professional growth because otherwise it is very easy to get locked up within the district business and not stay as current and I do feel it's important that superintendents have the ability to take advantage of professional development and particularly the ability to take advantage of professional development that is specifically for superintendents. Participant 21 also alluded to board support for professional development of superintendents and stated that “the board has to support their superintendents and their principals. If they're behind them and us, then you can make headway.” Many of the participants indicated that fiscal support for professional development was just as important in supporting superintendents. Participant 34 emphasized how important it is to maintain support for the continuing professional development of superintendents, even in difficult budgetary times: Especially in these tight budget times coming up, that it's not just a luxury, it's a necessity. Our quality staffing and our leadership, it is an investment, so we're as good as we can be as superintendents, that they're investing time 100 and resources in our development as well. CPSEL guided professional development. The second theme that emerged from the participants in the qualitative interview data were the CPSEL guidance of professional development in the superintendency. Eight participants, or 21.6%, indicated that the CPSEL were directly tied to their goals in the superintendency as supported through professional development activities, while seven superintendent participants indicated that their evaluation was directly linked to the elements of the CPSEL. Participant 2 stated that “we work really

101 101 hard to make sure we're addressing every standard in my role as a superintendent.” Participant 29 noted the relationship between the CPSEL and organizational learning and stated the following: Organizational leadership, was foundational to everything that came afterwards, just being able to really understand change, what needed to happen with change and with the relationships of the individuals. That was absolutely a critical piece in being able to forward my work as a new superintendent. Additionally, Participant 12 cited the relationship of organizational learning as supported by professional development: the degree that you can interact with others in similar positions, or at the ground level directly with students, or with teachers, or with principals, or with administrators, to me, they all give you a different opportunity to reflect on where people are at, where you are at in your leadership, where your organization is in relationship to those feedback loops. Participant 31 also cited organizational goals as supported through professional development and as a means to achieve improved student achievement in the district: One is change management, and managing change from an organizational level. And what exactly does that look like when for all the constituents and stakeholders that are a part of this, and what are some of the key components for change management that allow the change to be deeply implemented with sustainability that will equate to student achievement.

101 CPSEL 1, or shared vision, was referenced by multiple participants in

relation to professional development in the superintendency, confirming its importance as a priority. Participant 23 stated that “I also consider such things as our strategic plans, our LCAP goals, and what is the vision and mission of our school” while serving in the leadership role of the superintendency. Participant 23 engaged others in organizational learning as reinforced by professional development activities and stated that “I do try when I come back to utilize what I'm learning, reading, share it with my administrative team, and put it to some kind

102 102 of use.” Participant 29 described the collaborative process of achieving a shared vision and stated it involves “really developing some incredible coherence and common language and common expectations for instructional classrooms across the district.” CPSEL 2, or instructional leadership, was referenced by multiple participants in this study. Participants 1, 2, 3, 11, 13, 17, 25, 34, and 35 all shared a common focus on curriculum and instruction through their instructional leadership approaches in the superintendency. Participant 9 asserted involvement in curriculum and instruction through the “job embedded PD with instructional rounds and then the debriefs” that was implemented for the purpose of supporting standards-based curriculum and improved student achievement. Participant 11 stated that “thinking for me what professional development has been the most beneficial, is anything where we have reviewed data and used the data to better our program” indicating support for professional development that supports the instructional leadership aspect of the superintendency. Participant 34 indicated that instructional leadership was a focus “that is why I joined the superintendent network this year,” that intentionally guided the professional development options. Participant 23 stated that “I've tried to focus on being a strong instructional leader

102 that I think is critical.” While Participant 36 stated that “I know there's been this

transformation with principals to be instructional leaders but I think superintendents need to be as well. So, I think that we're starting to see a greater shift towards that.” CPSEL 3, or management and learning environment was referenced by multiple participants in relation to professional development in the superintendency. Participant 23 stated that “I think learning environment is incredibly critical” while Participant 30 declared that “I think that professional

103 103 development is integral to managing a very rapidly changing school and school district environment.” Participants 3, 21, and 16 all indicated that technology implementation supports college and career readiness skills for students, while Participant 23 indicated that “we're really focusing on learning environment and what types of physical structures support the types of teaching and learning that we have now, as 21st century educators, and what do we expect in the future?” CPSEL 4, or family and community engagement, was referenced by multiple participants in relation to professional development in the superintendency. Participant 13 stated “I think the community initiatives that we're doing and the training and getting collaborations together probably best fits my role as the superintendent.” Participant 24 noted that “I have been able to identify what are best practices that are appropriate for this particular school district and this community, so, tying what works with the culture of the current district and becoming aware of what works in other places that can also work here.” CPSEL 5, or ethics and integrity, was referenced by multiple participants in relation to professional development in the superintendency. Participant 19 noted the following in establishing a cultural support in the superintendency: It's lonely at the top. I was once told that the higher you get in education the

less truth that you hear because people then don't want to, maybe are 103

reticent about giving them your information or reticent about providing feedback and so you have to really develop that culture and you can do that through professional development. Participant 20 also noted “the importance of being a reflective leader, and to take inventory on all the elements impacting decision making or implementation, or the effects of politics. And just kind of a multi-brain approach to thinking.” CPSEL 6, or external context and policy, was referenced by multiple participants in relation to professional development in the superintendency. Participant 20 stated that “I think it's very important for superintendents to not lead

104 104 in a vacuum and to work alongside the governance team members” in reference to external context and policy. Additionally, Participant 32 recognized: the importance of reflection and how to use reflection and introspection to guide my own leadership experiences and to add to the collaborative and social development and team aspects of leadership. I would say that reflection has played an important part, both in my own training and in my practice. The theme of the CPSEL guided professional development in the superintendency was reiterated by several survey participants. Participant T emphasized that “our role is to be instructional leaders.” Additionally, Survey Participant J noted the following as related to the challenges of organizational learning within a school district: For the most part, I came into the superintendency with the passion and ability to create a shared vision, work with community/stakeholders, promote professional learning of others, and many other attributes listed on the survey. Due to my own leadership strengths and educational opportunities. Survey Participant JJJ summarized that professional development in the superintendency is “extremely needed in order for these leaders to focus their efforts on building capacity, and not just being compliant.” Pursuit of continuous learning. An additional subtheme that emerged under the theme of CPSEL guided professional development was the role and 104

pursuit of continuous learning in the superintendency. Eight participants, or 21.6% of participants, referenced the doctoral program as a contributing factor in their reflective practice in the superintendency. Participant 2 stated the following regarding the doctoral program and how it: really helped me become, and continue to be, a more reflective practitioner than, per se, the things that I've done since then. I would say that naturally I am very reflective. I am very much always looking at what we're doing every day as a district and as a person to figure out how to move forward and evaluating where we are and changing course of action if it's not

105 105 working, and also acknowledging what is working and then the continuous cycle of improvement. Participant 32 additionally noted the reflective practice connection to the doctoral program of study: I think because my own doctoral program at my university was so focused on collaboration, working in teams, group problem solving, you know, that was the emphasis coupled with reflection. Reflective practice really was one of the key themes of that program. You know, I learned through that experience that reflection, the importance of reflection and how to use reflection and introspection to guide my own leadership experiences and to add to the collaborative and social development and team aspects of leadership. I would say that reflection has played an important part, both in my own training and in my practice. Professional learning for many participants consisted of and has been reinforced through their own professional and academic readings. Participant 3 stated that “I read a great deal. I read everything that comes from a cabinet report from CSBA, and I also read things that come from not only ACSA, but directly from the state that pertain to activities that I do.” Participants 12, 18, 22, 23, 31, and 37 all acclaimed that their professional learning through reading positively impacted their reflective practice in the superintendency. Participants 2, 6, and 24 referenced the importance of lifelong learning in the superintendency as an important component of reflective practice. Participant

105 17 noted that as lead learner in the superintendency, it involves being “committed

to our own learning, and the learning of our team, so that we can build our capacity to close the achievement gap for kids, and to support their growth.” Participant 37 similarly stated that “I would say I am just probably more of a self- learner. It’s constant reflection, constant collaboration and talking with, again, the mentors that I mentioned, or my colleagues.” Participant 31 noted the value of continuous learning, including at the superintendency level:

106 106 With my colleagues that are superintendents, they're not receiving a lot of professional development or support or coaching because that's usually not offered to superintendents. They believe, I think they think that once you're at that level of administration, that you don't need a whole lot more, and the reality is things are changing constantly in education. They're remaining the same, but they're also changing, and that support is, I think, essential Professional support for reflective practice. The third theme that emerged from the participants in the qualitative interview data were professional support for reflective practice in the superintendency. Participant 8 discussed the relationship and application of reflective practice in the superintendency: I would say that by participating in the type of professional development opportunities that I do participate in, it allows me to be more, I don't know how to say this, more explicitly reflective. In other words, when I do something or when we're looking at doing something or even when you're just in deep thought and reflection before deciding on how to do something, you find yourself reflecting back on your most current learning opportunities. Similarly, Participant 17 shared that “in our work, it’s difficult to take time to reflect, but whenever you have an opportunity to stop and learn with colleagues, or collaborate with colleagues, it informs your practice.” Additionally, Participant 32 shared that “I learned through that experience, that reflection, the importance of reflection and how to use reflection and introspection to guide my own leadership

experiences and to add to the collaborative and social development and team 106

aspects of leadership.” The overall perception of reflection by the participants was that reflective practice in the superintendency has been supported by professional development activities in the superintendency. Collaboration. One subtheme that emerged under support structures for reflective practice was the role of collaboration in the superintendency. Collaboration included networking among superintendents as well as the coach and mentor models in which many superintendents participated. Participant 12 stated in regard to collaboration that “there’s a greater opportunity for

107 107 collaboration, and seeing things from different points of view.” Participant 29 spoke to the dialectic and inquiry processes of networking and collaboration and noted the benefits by stating that “having 12 colleagues just listen, ask questions and then ponder other possibilities is extremely powerful for peeling back the issue and getting the opportunity to look at it with 24 new eyes.” The participants indicated that networking among superintendents was considered to be an important activity. Participant 19 stated that “networking is extremely valuable. I would say that it has played a very important role in my development as a leader.” Participant 22 noted that “I think when it's fairly a small group and personal and ... I don't know, there's opportunities for real, authentic networking. I think it's good.” Participant 11 also indicated the value of both formal and informal structures for networking as support in the superintendency by stating, “it doesn't necessarily need to be formal professional development opportunities. I think when we did book studies together or when we do our regional meetings, I think those are great opportunities to learn and grow as a professional as well.” Participant 1 stated in reference to informal professional development among local superintendents that “professional development in the sense of the majority of the superintendents in our county are each approachable

107 and workable with each other.” Participant 20 emphasized that for networking

“having someone to bounce ideas off of that's in a similar role, is key.” Participant 24 also noted the importance of networking among superintendents: I think that there are too few opportunities for superintendents to get together and just have formal or informal conversations about the job and about this position, because I think it's unique to any of those positioned in the system. You can really only comment or reflect about it if you've been in the job. Participant 29 also discussed how critical it is to build a network of other superintendents and stated “that isolation, if you don't have that network, I believe

108 108 can really, it can be just, it's kind of hard on you, hard on the soul, hard on the mind, and may result in some less-than-ideal decisions and actions and results thereof.” Likewise, Participant 34 indicated that “we can't do this work alone, the networking opportunities are essential.” Several participants connected their reflective practice in the superintendency to the coaching and mentoring models of support. Participant 6 referred to the positive connection of mentorship in the superintendency and stated, “I think there should be a greater opportunity for mentorship with successful and practicing superintendents, or aspiring superintendents, whether it's job shadowing or some aspects of that. I think that was certainly missing in my own experience.” Participant 18 noted that having been both a mentor and a mentee that both roles served as beneficial for their reflective practice and stated that “one caveat to that is as serving as a mentor for another superintendent, actually caused me to be probably as reflective as when I was being coached, so it was an interesting twist.” Participant 15 stated that “it's critical for all new superintendents to have a mentor or a coach during at least their first year, potentially their second year as well,” noting the benefits of having a coach in the superintendency. Participant 31 discussed the relevance of coaching in the

108 superintendency and stated, “What that support looks like is that one on one

fieldwork coaching that aligns with the CPSEL and individual improvement plans, very much what you see with a beginning teacher induction program.” The theme of professional support for reflective practice in the superintendency recurred numerous times in survey participant comments and focused on the processes of collaboration and networking as well as coaching and mentoring in the superintendency. Survey Participant JJJ stated that “working with like peers on issues within their districts is a high priority and a needed activity,”

109 109 while Survey Participant QQQ claimed to have found that “formal and informal opportunities to network with experienced superintendents, and/or those in the position, to be the most powerful PD I have ever received.” Survey Participant LLL cited that “the most important PD for a superintendent, in my opinion, is mentoring/coaching by an experienced superintendent.” Additionally, Survey Participant GG stated that “in my experience coaching and mentoring have had the most impact on my leadership practices. I believe relationships with another administrator allows opportunity for conversations tailored to my situation and has been most powerful in changing or guiding my practice.” Survey Participant DD shared the relevance of coaching for new superintendents as follows: I was fortunate to have a coach my first two-years as a Superintendent. The monthly meetings with my coach were relevant, timely, and applicable. He not only allowed me to reflect on my practice, but to forecast potential issues moving forward. This type of professional development was the most beneficial, in terms of reflective practice. Survey participants also addressed their own professional learning as an important component of reflective practice and noted the value of the doctoral program as well as their own readings in the field of education and administration. Survey Participant DDD noted that “the greatest learning opportunities I have had

to help me in all aspects of my superintendency have come from my participation 109 in a university's Doctorate program,” while Survey Participant ZZ asserted that the professional development “that had the greatest impact on my superintendency was my doctoral program.” Professional reading also surfaced as an important part of professional learning in the superintendency and was indicated in several survey participant comments. Survey Participant PP stated that “I read a lot and my reading varies: books, journals, news feeds. I also listen to various podcasts which also expands my learning,” while Survey Participant KKK noted that

110 110

“staying current with professional reading was a huge benefit to me professionally.” Table 4.15 notes and summarizes the citations from participants indicating the importance of collaboration and of networking in relation to and in support of reflective practice and continuous learning in the superintendency.

Table 4.15

Participant Citations Noting Structures of Collaboration, Networking, and Learning Telephone Interviews Survey Comments Reflective Practice Participant Citations and Participant Citations and Supports Percent Percent Coaching and Mentoring 10 - 27% 15 - 21.1% Collaboration Networks of Support 14 - 37.8% 10 - 14.1% Collaboration Doctoral Programs 9 - 24.3% 6 - 8.5%

Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses Summary The quantitative and qualitative data in this study uncovered numerous common elements regarding professional development in the superintendency. The three overall themes that emerged in both the quantitative and qualitative data

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analysis were: the frequency and need for professional development, the CPSEL alignment of professional development, and professional support for reflective practice. The frequency and need for professional development in the superintendency was evident in both the quantitative and the qualitative results of this study. The quantitative results indicated that the frequency of professional development is fairly high and consistently includes coaching and mentoring as well as COE, ACSA, and CSBA support. The CDE, ACSD, and SSDA were also

111 111 listed as relevant structures of support in the superintendency. The qualitative results indicated that coaching and mentoring as well as COE, ACSA, and CSBA support were valued forms of professional development support in the superintendency. Both the quantitative and the qualitative results in this study indicated that, in many cases, the CPSEL have been instrumental in guiding professional development in the superintendency. The framework of the CPSEL has provided a reference for aspects of specialized knowledge and skills that can be used as a guide for ongoing professional development in the superintendency. The data indicated that CPSEL can serve as a valuable guide in the professional growth of elementary superintendents. Professional support for reflective practice was evidenced in the quantitative and the qualitative results of this study. Reflective practice is supported at a moderate rate in the quantitative results and is evidenced in the qualitative results in the form of coaching and mentoring activities referenced as well as in networking activities in the superintendency. Continuous and ongoing professional development in the superintendency supports the professional growth and reflective practice of elementary school district superintendents in California.

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Summary This chapter presented the findings of the study, including the quantatative and qualitative data analyses in relation to the research questions. The first section offered a description of the study’s participants. The second section presented the data analysis of the quantitative data in this study. The third section presented the data analysis of the qualitative data in this study. The fourth section summarized the quantitative and qualitative data analyses of this study.

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Chapter 5 presents the summary of findings, the conclusions, and the discussion of the literature as well as the implications for practice and future research regarding professional development support in the superintendency.

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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION/SUMMARY/CONCLUSION

Accessing professional development support in the superintendency is essential in order to effectively lead a school district and to ensure student success. The superintendent’s role currently includes a vast array of expectations and demands that have originated from the historical roles of the superintendency including that of teacher-scholar, business manager, educational statesman, social scientist, and communicator (Björk, Glass, & Brunner, 2005). The focus of this research study was to identify which professional development activities have provided adequate support in the superintendency, as guided by both standards- based professional development and reflective practice, within the organizational learning framework, as core elements. The guiding theoretical frameworks for this research study included the Organizational Learning Theory as well as the Experiential Learning Theory of reflective practice. Additionally, the CPSEL were used as a framework and theory of action for the guidance and the focus of professional development support in the superintendency. Together these frameworks were the lenses that the researcher used to analyze data, to discover the emerged themes, and to write the

113 conclusion.

Organizational learning is a conceptual lens and theory that discusses the ability to provide school district leadership with valuable lessons for problem solving and decision making. This can be accomplished by creating environments in which the possibility for learning capabilities are increased (Kowalski, 2013; Senge, 1990). The disciplines underlying organizational learning can help individuals, teams, and organizations develop an understanding of the problems, processes, and challenges that occur within the organization (Adkison, 2001).

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Kofman and Senge (1993) highlighted an analytical way to address complex situations in the superintendency through building learning organizations that combine personal commitment with producing fundamental changes in the organization. Adkison (2001) cited that the result of an organizational learning environment can ensure a process of learning in which diverse participants learn to engage in difficult issues in such a way that individual members become more effective participants within the whole organization. The principles of organizational learning can be applied in the superintendency and can serve as a guide to the interactions of individuals to ensure meeting the extraordinary challenges and possibilities in the superintendency. The Experiential Learning Theory of reflective practice discusses that experience is the basis for learning in leadership positions, and is a dialectic and recurring process that consists of experience, observation and reflection as well as experimentation (Osterman, & Kottkamp, 1993). Augustine-Shaw and Funk (2013) confirmed the influence of mentoring and coaching on developing leaders, and that reflective practice can serve as a tool in developing an increased awareness of both decisions and actions as educational leaders. The principles of reflective practice can be applied in the superintendency while also serving as a

114 guide for effective leadership.

The CPSEL have provided a framework in the superintendency to guide ongoing professional development based on the scholarly application and integration of the concepts embedded in each standard (Hoyle et al., 1993). Hoyle (1983) asserted that the intention of the professional standards in educational administration was to suggest a common set of administrator preparation guidelines, while Björk, Kowalski, and Young (2005) specified that the professional standards for education leaders can provide a coherent template to

115 115 effectively address and respond to challenges in the superintendency. It was noted by Hoyle et al. (1993) that both aspiring and practicing superintendents are not expected to attain full mastery of all of the leadership standards, but that the standards can be used to guide the ongoing professional learning in the superintendency.

Current Study The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine, understand, and describe elementary school district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development support that effectively fosters organizational learning and reflective practice. This study also investigated if superintendents have received professional development support during the tenure of their superintendency aligned to the CPSEL. The quantitative and qualitative data results in this study were analyzed to examine and understand perceptions regarding professional development support in the superintendency. Table 5.1 summarizes the findings and lists the emergent themes from the data analysis in this study.

Table 5.1

115 Summary of Findings RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? Frequency and need for professional development 1) Context of district diversity 2) Fiscal alignment and board support RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? CPSEL guided professional development 1) Pursuit of continuous learning RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency? Professional support for reflective practice 1) Collaboration

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Research Questions The three research questions for this study were: RQ1: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? RQ2: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? RQ3: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency?

Summary and Discussion of Findings This section provides the findings for each research question and discusses the quantitative results as well as the qualitative results of emerged themes that came from the data analyses in this study.

Research Question 1 The first research question was: In what structures of support and professional development do elementary school district superintendents participate? This question explored the frequency and types of professional

development in which superintendents currently participate. 116

The quantitative data indicated that superintendent participants commonly and often sought after professional development support through a variety of professional development structures of support. The data indicated that the most commonly accessed professional development activity among superintendents was through the training and support of the COE, while mentoring and coaching as well as the professional associations of ACSA and CSBA were also listed at a high rate of attendance for superintendent participants. The qualitative data reinforced a

117 117 similar pattern in the frequency and need for professional development in the superintendency. The COE training and workshops were most often accessed by superintendents as a structure of support, followed by ACSA and CSBA conference and training attendance. The qualitative interview data clearly indicated that COE training was a selection frequently made by superintendent participants and also provided an opportunity to network with other superintendents within the same county of residence. This study indicated that elementary superintendents consistently pursued knowledge and specialized skills through various state and county agencies as well as through the formal and informal trainings offered by professional educational associations (Hoyle et al., 1993). Additionally, participating superintendents indicated that they often participated in coaching and mentoring models of support in their superintendency. The coaching and mentoring models provided an opportunity for collaboration and a commitment to build leadership capacity through the meaningful interactions with experienced mentors. Beem (2007) has advocated specifically for a model of mentorship and coaching programs for superintendents as offered in various states, and at varying levels, in the acknowledgement that

117 coaching and mentoring programs are viable and valuable professional

development structures of support in the superintendency. According to Beem, the concept of formal mentoring in the superintendency is emerging as a new model, and would follow the longstanding teacher and principal mentorship tradition that has successfully provided support to both teachers and site level leaders in education. One subtheme that emerged within the main theme of the frequency and need for professional development support was the context of district diversity.

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Both the quantitative and the qualitative data indicated that district demographic diversity was related to the unique professional development needs of elementary superintendents in California. The district location as well as the enrollment categories indicated a vast diversity of district demographics for the superintendent participants in this study. The data also indicated a variance of the position title of the superintendent, often including the role of principal and teacher within the superintendence role. S. Harris et al. (2016) noted that while there may be commonalities and similarities in the work of superintendents, differences exist between districts including district size, organizational culture, and community features that can influence professional development practices in the superintendency. Forner, Bierlin-Palmer, and Reeves (2012) indicated that various and unique contexts of school districts pose a variety of challenges in which successful leadership can become a matter of matching an appropriate response to a specific challenge. Within the scope of this study, the contexts that affected professional development in the superintendency included district enrollment and location categories as well as the consideration of various unique needs that occur within each individual school district.

118 A second subtheme that emerged within the main theme of the frequency

and need for professional development support was the fiscal alignment and board support for professional development in the superintendency. One concern noted in the qualitative data of this study was that the lack of financial resources as well as board support could critically impact the ability to provide ongoing professional development in the superintendency.

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Research Question 2 The second research question was: To what extent are professional development activities of elementary school district superintendents connected to the CPSEL? This question explored the relationship between the CPSEL with professional development activities in which superintendents currently participate. In phase 1 of this study quantitative data were collected and analyzed, while in phase 2, qualitative data were also collected and analyzed in relation to the CPSEL. The quantitative data indicated that the highest rated CPSEL elements that were connected to professional development activities in the superintendency were the ethics and integrity standard (CPSEL 5), the development and implementation of a shared vision standard (CPSEL 1), and the instructional leadership standard (CPSEL 2). The qualitative data indicated that the highest rated CPSEL elements that were connected to professional development activities in the superintendency were the development and implementation of a shared vision standard (CPSEL 1), the instructional leadership standard (CPSEL 2), and the external context and policy standard (CPSEL 6). Both quantitative and qualitative data confirmed that the current professional development activities in the superintendency can be

119 linked to CPSEL according to the six broad categories that characterize both

personal and professional practice as well as the overall responsibilities of an education leader. Hoyle et al. (1993) indicated that educational standards for practicing superintendents should be used to guide ongoing professional development in the superintendency. S. Harris et al (2016) identified the key areas of leadership as related to educational standards and asserted that reflections in the

120 120 superintendency should be guided by the framework of professional leadership standards. The superintendent participants in this study linked the CPSEL to their professional development opportunities with commonality established between data sets that surfaced in CPSEL 1 in the development and implementation of a shared vision as well as CPSEL 2 in instructional leadership. The development and implementation of a shared vision focuses on the principles of organizational learning as implemented in the superintendency, while instructional leadership focuses on supporting the coherent systems of curriculum and instruction for student academic success. The participants in the qualitative phase of this study discussed the value of professional development that supported their leadership in relation to the implementation of a shared vision and to establishing a collaborative culture of teaching and learning. CPSEL 5 in ethics and integrity was connected as central by the participating superintendents as related to reflective practice and the continuous reflection and learning in the superintendency. The superintendent participants recognized professional development activities that supported CPSEL 5, such as coaching and mentoring, for the purpose of reflecting and of assisting with

120 decision making in the superintendency (S. Harris et al., 2016).

CPSEL 3 in the management and learning environment was linked by the participating superintendents in managing resources as supported in various professional development activities with a specific focus on budgetary and resource allocation challenges. CPSEL 6 in external context and policy was recognized as relevant in professional development activities and supported by focusing on the function of governance in districts. Finally, CPSEL 4 in family and community engagement was ranked as sixth in both the quantitative and

121 121 qualitative data; however superintendent participants acknowledged various support structures of professional development in the area of family and community engagement as an important aspect of their learning. One subtheme that emerged within the main theme of CPSEL guided professional development was the continuous and ongoing pursuit of professional learning in the superintendency. The CPSEL supported both knowledge and skills acquisition for superintendents in this study. Superintendent participants in the quantitative and qualitative data consistently identified the achievement of a doctoral degree as advantageous to the practice in the superintendency, thereby continuously informing the leadership development throughout their professional career. The concept and idea of being a lifelong learner by participants also surfaced in this study in the continuous and ongoing pursuit of professional learning in the superintendency. Hoyle et al. (1993) recognized that leadership standards provide a point of reference and support for professional development activities that focus on the individual concepts contained in each standard. Hoyle et al. (1993) also noted that while complete mastery of each standard is not expected in the superintendency, leadership standards can serve as criteria and focus for broadly supporting the

121 development of both aspiring and practicing education leaders in the

superintendency.

Research Question 3 The third research question was: To what extent do professional development activities enhance the elementary school district superintendent’s application of reflective practice in the superintendency? This question examined the professional development activities that best supported reflective practice in the superintendency.

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Osterman (1990) recognized reflective practice as a professional development and dialectic process that enables practitioners and educational leaders to increase their skills and effectiveness. Reflective practice was recognized consistently by superintendent participants as supported through collaboration and networking opportunities in promoting their own professional growth. One subtheme that emerged within the main theme of reflective practice was collaboration to achieve collective professional learning in the superintendency. Funk (2013) identified that even though mentoring programs are recognized as valuable, there are in actuality very few mentoring programs for superintendents that exist across the nation. Both the quantitative and qualitative data in this study consistently indicated that superintendents value and participate in coaching and mentoring activities in order to support the application of reflective practice in the superintendency. Superintendent participants also noted the value of networking with other superintendents through collaborative professional development activities. Structures of networking and collaboration are essential and can facilitate creative and expansive thinking in the superintendency (Senge, 1990). The support of

122 professional learning in the superintendency through collaborative professional

development activities can serve as a tool in addressing the challenges in the superintendency.

Implications for Future Practice In order to meet the challenges and demands of the superintendency, it is essential for supportive structures of professional development to be in place and for superintendents to access professional development opportunities for growth

123 123 and achievement in the superintendency. This study offers implications for future practice in regard to professional development in the superintendency. Establishing board and fiscal support for the ongoing professional development of elementary school district superintendents is crucial for supporting superintendents in accessing appropriate and relevant professional development opportunities in the superintendency. The uniqueness and diversity of elementary school district demographics indicated in this study that each district often has singularly identified professional development needs that are specific and uniquely applicable to their district. The structures of professional development support for superintendents have been identified by elementary district superintendents as essential for the advancement of their professional learning and leadership development in the superintendency Models of coaching and mentoring programs as structures of support should be considered as effective and valued support in the superintendency. Typically, models of coaching and mentoring support in the superintendency include the regular access and interaction with experienced superintendents as coaches or mentors. Coaching and mentoring in the superintendency promotes the dialectic process to support reflective practice and to gain the exposure to

123 alternative solutions of leadership. Glass and Franceschini (2007) recognized

mentoring and coaching as a powerful strategy to increase human potential and capacity of leadership, also reinforcing that reflection can be utilized as a means of attaining expertise. Establishing structures of networking opportunities and collaborative structures of support is also an important consideration of professional development in the superintendency. Fullan and Quinn (2016) noted the value of networked learning communities for district level leaders for the purpose of

124 124 focusing on best practices and to learn new practices. Fullan and Quinn advocated for an inquiry approach within professional learning networks to promote thoughtful reflection and questioning strategies for a collaborative inquiry model of learning in the superintendency. Finally, CPSEL should be implemented universally and consistently in California to guide focused professional development in the superintendency. The CPSEL serve as leadership criteria to ensure a focused approach in professional development as well as to provide a consistent and coherent system of leadership development support. Organizations that provide professional development for education leaders should also consider the CPSEL in the design, development, and implementation of professional development activities they offer to ensure the alignment of professional development to the CPSEL. The value of the CPSEL and leadership standards should be recognized as a structure of support for education leaders that matters in all aspects of the superintendency, including in the improved performance of superintendents. The CPSEL support ongoing professional learning for education leaders through the establishment of largely supported leadership criteria and high expectations to ensure excellent education leaders throughout California (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014).

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Recommendations for Future Research This study examined the elementary district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development in the superintendency as well as the relationship of professional development support for the promotion of reflective practice in the superintendency. This study also examined how the CPSEL can support and guide the professional development of superintendents to ensure the advancement of their professional learning and development in the superintendency.

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An extension of the current study could be conducted by replicating this study and by identifying specific district demographics as related to district size, district location category, gender, and length of service in the superintendency in order to correlate professional development in the superintendency with district demographics. This study would provide insights and determine the differences of professional development needs in the superintendency according to various demographics. A similar study could be conducted in the future that would focus on the professional preparation programs for superintendents to determine the alignment of reflective practice and of the CPSEL for effective support and preparation for the superintendency. This related topic of study could contribute to the overall knowledge base in this area as associated with the professional preparation for future superintendents. A case study of elementary district superintendents who receive mentoring and coaching support in the superintendency could be conducted to determine if coaching and mentoring support effectively facilitates successful leadership in the implementation of reform efforts as well as in the implementation of organizational learning in the districts that they serve. This related topic could

125 potentially extend the knowledge base of professional development in the

superintendency through the use of a case study model of research. Another area of further examination could include a study of the effectiveness of the superintendent evaluation processes in order to determine CPSEL alignment as a guide or framework in the evaluation process in the superintendency. The board would be a factor in this study and the information gained in this regard could assist future efforts in achieving consistency in superintendent evaluations throughout the state of California.

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An additional area of future research in professional development in the superintendency could be to research successful and local collaboratives, for superintendent networking purposes, that support professional learning and reflective practice in the superintendency. Specifically, rural districts that have developed partnerships and collaboratives with neighboring school districts should be investigated as a model of support for professional learning and support in the superintendency. Finally, targeted research could be conducted in the future that focuses solely on the unique professional development needs of small, rural district superintendents in California. The researcher could specifically focus on the California counties that house elementary school districts in an exclusively rural county. Additionally, the COE could also be included as a point of reference and resource for small and rural districts in this study.

Conclusion The results of this study suggested that professional development in the superintendency effectively supports the professional learning and leadership development of superintendents. Superintendents in California frequently seek professional development opportunities that strengthen their knowledge and skill

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base in the superintendency. Moreover, the findings of this study indicated that reflective practice in the superintendency is reinforced and supported by professional development activities that incorporate the collaborative and the dialectic analysis of practice within the context of leadership. Furthermore, the results of this study indicated that support of local and onsite professional development initiatives for superintendents can adequately and effectively meet the continuous learning needs in the superintendency. The high concentration of rural, small, and isolated elementary school districts within the

127 127 state of California necessitate local and easily accessible professional development for superintendents. Professional development support from the COE was accessed frequently by study participants who also indicated that COE support is not only convenient, but that the COE consistently and adequately addressed relevant topics of the professional development needs of elementary school district superintendents. Additionally, participation in mentoring and coaching activities, as well as in the networking of local collaboratives, are opportunities within the superintendency that directly support the interactive processes and applications of professional development and reflective practice among superintendents. It is imperative that superintendents plan to access and participate in professional development activities during their tenure to enhance their leadership skills and add relevancy to the tasks and duties in the superintendency. The findings of this study specified that CPSEL can serve as an overarching and important framework in guiding ongoing professional development for superintendents and in serving as an application of support for each of the standards contained in the CPSEL. The CPSEL can also be utilized in the process of strengthening superintendent professional development by establishing a connection between the CPSEL in the formation of professional development

127 activities for school leaders. Additionally, the CPSEL can be used to communicate

general expectations regarding the important work of education leaders in the superintendency. The findings of this study also demonstrated that the knowledge gained in professional development support in the superintendency can be applied within the organization for district improvement. Research shows that both organizational learning and reflective practice can be tied to district advances in student achievement (Marzano & Waters, 2009). Overall, the results of this study

128 128 presented that professional development in the superintendency can impact the leadership practices of superintendents by supporting their reflective practice in the superintendency, while also aligning CPSEL to achieve organizational learning objectives within elementary school districts in California.

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APPENDIX A: SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Final Elementary Superintendent Survey 2017 Q1 Research Consent Letter I am Julie Graves, a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership Program at Fresno State, in partnership with CSU Bakersfield. I am conducting a research study entitled: “California Elementary School District Superintendents' Perceptions Regarding Professional Development and Reflective Practice in the Superintendency.” The purpose of this study is to examine elementary district superintendents’ perceptions of professional development support that effectively fosters reflective practice and is aligned to the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) in the superintendency. You are being asked to participate in this study because you are an elementary school district superintendent in the state of California. Your input is extremely important to the research study being conducted. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and you can withdraw from participation with no penalty. The Committee for the protection of Human Subjects at California State University, Fresno has reviewed and approved this study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a participant, please contact the chair, Kris Clarke, (559) 278-2985. Procedures If you agree to participate in this study, the following will occur: Your participation in an electronic survey from the principal investigator. The questionnaire includes questions regarding superintendent professional development support as well as demographic information questions. For those participants who volunteer and who are selected to participate in the follow-up telephone interview, the interview will be conducted by the principal investigator in asking interview questions regarding superintendent professional development support. The risks for participating in the study are minimal. All answers are confidential and no identifying information will be collected. If

you have any questions or concerns about participation in the study, please contact 144 me, Julie Graves, principal investigator at [email protected], or by telephone, (661) 623-0754. Participation in this research is voluntary. I understand the procedures of the study listed above.  I give my consent to use my data in this study. (1)  I do not give my consent to use my data in this study. (2)

Skip To: End of Survey If Q1 = I do not give my consent to use my data in this study. (2) Skip To: End of Block If Q1 = I give my consent to use my data in this study. (1) End of Block: Consent Block

145 Start of Block: Default Question Block

Q2 What is your current position title in your school district?  Superintendent (6)  Superintendent/Principal (7)  Superintendent/Principal/Teacher (8)  Other (9)

Display This Question: If What is your current position title in your school district? = Other Q16 What is your current position title?

______

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Q3 Please indicate the types of professional development activities you participate in, or have participated in during your superintendency, AND then indicate the extent to which each type of activity has supported your capacity for reflective practice.

Support for Reflective Practice: Reflective practice can Professional Development be defined as the deliberate application of professional participation frequency in your learning, that informs everyday actions, through the superintendency reflective examination of practice. 0 1 2-3 3-4 5 + Minimally Moderately Very Not at N/A times time times times times Supportive Supportive Supportive all (1) (5) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (2) (3) (4)

Executive Coaching/Mentoring (1)          

County Office of Education (COE)

Workshops/Training/Conferences           (2)

California Department of Education (CDE)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (3)

Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences

(4) 146

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (5)

California School Boards Association (CSBA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (6)

National School Boards Association (NSBA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (7)

Small School District Association (SSDA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (8)

Urban Superintendent's Association of America (USAA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (9)

National Association of School           147

Superintendents (NASS) Workshops/Training/Conferences (10)

National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (11)

California Association of Latino Superintendents and

Administrators (CALSA)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (12)

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)           Workshops/Training/Conferences (13)

Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity,           International (ΦΔΚ) (PDK) (14)

148

Q4 Please indicate the extent in which your professional development activities have influenced your practice in the superintendency: To what extent has your professional development participation

influenced your practice in the superintendency: To a Minimal To a Moderate To a Great Not at All (1) Extent (2) Extent (3) Extent (4) Influenced my implementation of education     policy (1) Enabled my development of a shared vision     (2) Improved my ability to promote professional     learning in staff (3) Enhanced my skills of leveraging     community resources (4)

149

Developed my ability to provide a safe learning     environment for students (5) Improved my use of the district's vision     in guiding decisions (6) Helped me implement a standards-based     curriculum in the district (7) Promoted my reflection in my     learning (8) Facilitated my monitoring of student learning     (9) Assisted my establishing structures to     support college 150

and career readiness for students (10) Aided my collaboration with stakeholders to     influence district policy (11) Supported my implementation of a positive behavior     system for students (12) Aided my ability to promote parental     involvement (13) Assisted my use of relevant research to     inform decision- 151

making (14) Helped me to develop a climate of trust and mutual     respect districtwide (15) Assisted my resource distribution to ensure equity     for all students (16) Aided my establishment of community     partnerships (17) Improved my use of technology in gathering     stakeholder input (18) Increased my understanding     152

of district policy (19) Reinforced my belief that all students can     achieve at high levels (20) Increased my capacity to address achievement     disparities among student groups (21) Improved my use of data for increasing student     engagement (22) Expanded my ability in communicating to all parents     and families (23)

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Increased my understanding of cultural contexts     affecting education (24) Helped me to communicate expectations for professional     behavior in staff (25)

Q5 Please add any comments to assist the researcher in understanding professional development for superintendents.

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Q6 School District Name

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Q7 California County in which your school district is located ▼ Alameda County (1) ... Yuba County (58)

Q8 Approximate district enrollment  Fewer than 300 (1)  300-2,999 (2)  3,000-24,999 (3)  25,000 and above (4)

Q9 District location category  Urban (Districts located in major cities with populations of at least 100,000) (1)  Suburban (Districts surrounding major urban areas) (2)  Rural (Districts comprised primarily of nonresidential areas) (3)

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Q10 Gender  Male (1)  Female (2)

Q11 Do you possess an earned Doctorate Degree (Ph.D. or Ed.D)?  Yes (1)  No (2)

Q12 How many years have you served as superintendent in your current district? Please indicate the exact number of years.

______

Q13 How many years have you served as superintendent in total, including service in other districts? Please indicate the exact number of years.

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Q14 Would you be willing to participate in a 10 minute telephone interview about the impact of professional development activities on the practice of the superintendency?  Yes (1)  No (2)

Skip To: Q15 If Q14 = Yes (1) Skip To: End of Survey If Q14 = No (2)

Q15 If you are willing to participate in a 10 minute telephone interview regarding professional development and the superintendency, please provide the following information:  Name (1) ______ Telephone number (2) ______ Best Day of the week to call (3) ______ Best time to call (4) ______ School District (5) ______ Email address (6) ______

End of Block: Default Question Bloc

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APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Semi-Structured Telephone Interview Protocol My name is Julie Graves, a student in the Doctoral Program for Educational Leadership at Fresno State, in partnership with CSU Bakersfield. First, I would like to thank you for your willingness to participate in this telephone interview. The focus of the interview will be on what professional development support you receive as superintendent, and how that support relates to the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) as well as the reflective practice of elementary school district superintendents.

It is extremely important that I capture accurate data, not an interpretation or opinion of what I thought I heard, but what you actually said, therefore, it is important that your responses are digitally recorded. Your responses will not be identifiable to any person and data will be anonymous. You may decline to answer any question and may discontinue the interview at any time. I have four interview questions to ask, and it may take up to 10 minutes to conduct this interview process. Do I have your permission to record the interview? In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what 1. professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and 2. support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your 3. reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency?

Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support 158 4. in the superintendency? I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I am turning off the recording device. [Turn off recording device]. Additional notes:

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APPENDIX C: EMAIL COVER LETTER

Dear Colleague:

I am Julie Graves, Superintendent of Taft City School District, emailing you today as a Fresno State doctoral student to ask for your assistance as an elementary school district superintendent in completing my dissertation. My study examines California elementary district superintendents’ professional development experiences and their perceptions of the support that those experiences have provided to reflective practice and growth on the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL). The online survey includes questions regarding your professional development participation as well how professional development in the superintendency supports reflective practice and the alignment to the CPSELs. Additionally, you will have the option of providing your contact information and subsequently may be selected for a brief follow-up telephone interview so that I can better understand the survey data. The former superintendents who piloted the survey instrument assured me that it will require less than 10 minutes of your valuable time to complete. I have been working very closely with my dissertation chair and committee members on this study. One committee member, Dr. Charles Weis, 2009-10 President of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) has co-authored this request to indicate his support and endorsement of this research project. Thank you in advance for your assistance to help our colleague superintendents’ better understand the impact of our professional development!

The survey link is listed below: https://fresnostate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZmOwQ1vxQM7KfP

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Sincerely,

Charles Weis, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, CSU Channel Islands Retired Santa Clara and Ventura County Superintendent of Schools

Julie Graves Superintendent, Taft City School District

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APPENDIX D: TELEPHONE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

Participant 1 The first question is, in what types of professional development Interviewer: activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? I would say that many of the activities that we have done for our Participant 1: teachers that have to do with public relations, marketing, social media, things that will improve the image of our school. I have also participated in Aims Web, Imagine Learning, Renaissance Learning, writing workshops. There's been a variety of curriculum workshops as well to support the professional development on the curriculum side, since it's a small school district and I have to have my hands in on that. I believe it may not necessarily be considered professional development, but I would say serving on committees like the County Facilities Committee, the SISC Board for Workers Comp, the SISC Board for medical insurance, both of those are secondary in case somebody is not there I end up going. I'm aware of what's going on there. The school's legal board of directors, the SELPA area director, Superintendents Executive Council, and then on SSDA as an executive board member, which they now refer to as a director. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 1: For small school districts. Okay. All right. The next question. Are you aware of how your Interviewer: professional development activities are aligned to, and support the

California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or the 160

CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 1: I would say that I would not know exactly what's in each of those standards, but due to the nature of the job and the nature of having integrity and doing the right things for kids, I have to believe that we're headed completely in the right direction. In terms of knowing precisely what those standards are, I've read them before, but it's been a couple of years.

Interviewer: Okay. All right. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday

161 action in the superintendency? Participant 1: Well, I think the biggest piece of professional development I have is attending the SSDA and ACSA meetings where you learn more about what's going on statewide, instead of just focusing on just what happens in my county. I think being able to apply those things and raise questions in certain areas is beneficial because by being involved in those areas, you're talking to people who are not just our county and have just our viewpoint on how things go in the county. Interviewer: Okay. The last question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 1: I think also the unofficial professional development in the sense of the majority of the superintendents in our county are each approachable and workable with each other. A great example of that is just what we do on our Westside schools. We bring in the professional development that's at a fairly high level. Pretty high level in my opinion when we get national speakers coming in, and we've joined those combinations of our smaller districts working together to bring in high profile staff development and professional development for both staff and the administrators. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview. I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 2 Interviewer: The first question is, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 2: The type of professional development activities I participate in are, well several things. I've continued to do academies through ACSA. 161

I am currently engaged in a school facilities leadership academy through the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. I attend conferences for, mostly with ACSA, also regarding curriculum. Also, with CSBA, and a lot of different things. My job right now is really, really related to facilities for my district, so I also spend a lot of time attending meetings and successful projects workshops, and presentations by legislatures and things like that in relation to school facilities. There was a second part of the question, what was the most valuable? Interviewer: What activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 2: Like I said, I'm currently in the role of superintendent clearly as an

162 all-encompassing role with multiple facets, but in my current district, and it being such a small district, and with facilities being such a focus of the work that I do every day, I would say the support I received that was the most valuable, I did the ACSA Academy, the school business academy. That was an incredible overview of really all components of leadership for a district, so that was hugely valuable. Also, the opportunity to really talk with a lot of different people and network and build relationships, but this school business academy, or the facilities leadership academy has been really incredible as well, and for the same purposes, the opportunity to meet people, the opportunity to network, the opportunity to find out who to go to, was all of the various needs that I had. Interviewer: Okay. Question two states, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to, and support, the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 2: I have both in my district and my district goals are all aligned to the CPSELs. Every single year I have a specific goal that is aligned with the standards, and every year I do a self-evaluation reflection, and then share that with my Board, and all of the goals are directly tied to that, and then our specific needs as a district, so we are very well aware of how they are tied with the standards, and we work really hard to make sure we're addressing every standard in my role as a superintendent and as a lifelong learner, really. Interviewer: Okay. All right, question number three, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? 162

Participant 2: Gosh. I don't know that my... I really think that my educational experience prior to being a superintendent, my Master’s program that was for an Administrative Credential and then also my Doctoral program, those programs really helped me become, and continue to be, a more reflective practitioner than, per se, the things that I've done since then. I would say that naturally I am very reflective. I am very much always looking at what we're doing every day as a district and as a person to figure out how to move forward and evaluating where we are and changing course of action if it's not working, and also acknowledging what is working and then the continuous cycle of improvement. Honestly, I feel like my education, my master’s, and my Doctoral program were the

163 biggest impact on me as a reflective learner, but everything I do every day is really a part of it. A lot of it's who you are too personally. My personal opinion. Interviewer: The next question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 2: Well, I feel like our county does work very hard at supporting superintendents, and I feel like that is an important piece. I feel like there is a huge difference in the jobs of superintendents at ... I mean each district is so different and so unique and my job is so completely different than your job. I feel like every one of us has such a unique situation, that I wish that there were more resources or more job alike, although there are people who do provide support and there are people that we can go to, and there are people available, but I wish there was a wider net cast. I wish that we had more opportunity to really get to know and work with people that really have jobs that are very much like ours. It's just different. You can have a superintendent meeting, but a superintendent meeting for what I deal with every day is so completely different than a superintendent meeting for the superintendent of a high school district, for example, because I have to be boots on the ground, hands on every single aspect of my district every day, but that's not what his job is like. Not that he doesn't have to have vast knowledge of all of that, but that's not what he does, for example. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 3 Interviewer: The first question is in what types of professional development 163

activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 3: I currently participate primarily in going to two different kinds of events. One is the Association of California School Administrators either regional or state conference, and the second one is I participate in the California School Boards Association Conference on a yearly basis. Those are the two professional activities that I attend. I read a great deal. I read everything that comes from a cabinet report from CSBA, and I also read things that come from not only ACSA, but directly from the state that pertain to activities that I do.

164 In terms of the things that are the most valuable to me, obviously pertinent information that's going to impact me both legally, and yes, I do read all of the new board changes or the new policy changes that come through. Those affect me a great deal. I also read everything that comes through on any professional magazine that has to do with school construction up to and including curriculum, because those things impact also everything that happens at a district level. Most of my stuff is done in a way that I can try to stay on site as much as possible, but there are those two conferences or three conferences I attend every year. I also learn a great deal, because I'm trying to build a new facility from the Coalition for Adequate Student Housing, or CASH conference that I attend on a yearly basis. Interviewer: Okay. All right. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to, and support, the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 3: In terms of ethics and policies, yes, I'm very aware of it. In terms of some of the other things that you bring up, I find it to be fascinating, and a fascinating subject because superintendency is the one area involved in a school district where you do not need to have a credentialed certification. I find that fascinating. I also find it a great deficiency but I find it fascinating. I'm not exactly sure which standards you're applying here. Are you applying the same standards that apply to teachers? Are you applying the same standards that apply to school board members? I'm not aware of a specific to be perfectly honest, a specific set of standards that were developed for district leaders. If that exists, then none of my training brought that into effect, and I did go to both Principals 164

Academy and Superintendent Academy, and a number of different academies in between, so it's interesting that you're bringing that up, because no one has ever elucidated specificities shall we say with those standards. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Number three, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 3: There is no handbook for becoming a superintendent. Interviewer: Yes. Participant 3: I'm sure you're aware of that, right? Interviewer: Yes.

165 Participant 3: There is no handbook that, again, specifies exactly what it is going to be applicable in every case, because every superintendent steps into a different situation. If you're following something that has been very successful, you're facing one situation. If you're following a district that might be in some disarray, you're following a completely different set of circumstances. I have found the professional developments that I have gone to, to be extremely useful when I aim them at specific areas where I think we need improvement. For instance, curricularly. I will go attend something specifically for curriculum and have an overview of it. Technology. If I don't have a grasp on the technology of the district, then I feel I have a big hole and I'm going to spend $2 or $3 million on a new technology system of something like Chromebooks or something along those lines. What I try to do, is I try to self-reflect if you will on the holes that I feel I have in my knowledge base, and then I will go and attend the things that I specifically am aware might be able to fill those holes. Interviewer: Okay. Number four, the final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 3: I think it's very important along the way to gain experience. I don't know how to quantify that. One of the things that I have found, first of all I'm older than most people who are still working in this capacity, and I've had the advantage of having had a number of people involved in ACSA, the Association of California School Administrators along the way, and being involved in Masters programs where I met a number of people, and using those people to network and interact along the way. Unfortunately, what happens is somewhere along that way, if you are the "last man standing" you find that you've lost a lot of that network and most of the people 165

how are now networking are networking to try to get knowledge from you, that's a very scary thing to have to face up to, but I would say the networking ability and the professional development opportunities that come by are something that should not be missed. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 4 Interviewer: The first question is, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as a

166 superintendent? Participant 4: As far as ... you're breaking up just a little bit, or I couldn't really hear you. What professional developments have I went to ... have I participated in? Interviewer: Yeah, what professional development activities do you participate in, and what professional development activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 4: Through SSDA, various workshops as far as have to do with different initiatives such as next gen math and some different things up there. Obviously, through the county office, all of our LCAP professional development helping those develop our LCAP with small school districts, being a small school, and getting help from them. Through the county, through Schools Legal Services, through different professional development for myself, for the district, as far as teacher preparation, teacher issues, as far as vacations ... let teachers go, things like that. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 4: Yeah. Interviewer: Okay, all right. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 4: Am I aware of it? Interviewer: Yeah, are you aware of how your professional development aligns to those standards? Participant 4: Yes, as far as trying to be ... like I said, with you also being in a small school district trying to wear all the hats as possible. Interviewer: Right, yes. Okay, and the next question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflected 166

practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 4: With me, once you've been with a small school district, being able to learn myself. Like I said, when I got this position as you know, I was brand new. The first two years I was learning everything possible, and then now being in it with my seventh year basically taking all those experiences that I've had over the last six years, and then transfer them into the classroom with the teachers and the teachers themselves, and staff. Interviewer: Okay, and then the final question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency?

167 Participant 4: The only thing I would say, especially for new superintendents, is to really get out there and get as much experience as you can and as many workshops and things, and definitely peer coaching, I thought, was a good deal. Anonymous Superintendent #1 and I helped each other on that ... going back and forth helping each other, we came in the same year. So, having a mentor would be nice. Interviewer: Okay. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 5 Interviewer: The first question, "In what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent?" Participant 5: You mean district staff development activities, or any? Interviewer: Any district, personal. Participant 5: I try to go to a wide range. For example, I've gone to the personnel conference that ACSA puts on, probably every other year. I'm going again this year. I go to Negotiations conference a couple of times. I always go to the school services budget workshops twice a year. I'm on the board of School Legal, and the advisory superintendent of schools, so it's important to me to kind of get out. I go to CSBA with my board, to get out and learn as much as I can about, not only pertinent issues, but about just the mechanics of being a superintendent. Good, best practices, both current events and best practice type things is what I look for. And then, of course, I go to things that my teachers are involved in. We've done a lot of work around standards based instruction. I've brought people in just for my leadership 167

team, for my principals, for school sites. I try to go to quite a bit of that, because I, number one, want to be visible, but number two, I'm kind of wanting to learn the message and the wording so that I can be consistent with that. That's this year. Anything to do with curriculum. Pre-service days that we do. We had professors from universities. We go to all of those, because I feel like I learn a lot, but I also just think it's really important for the teachers to see me at those things. Is that kind of what you're looking for? Interviewer: Yes, thank you. The next question, "Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to, and support the

168 California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy?" Participant 5: Well, I am familiar with the CPSELs, and mainly because I teach in the Ed leadership program. I'm aware of what some of the specifics are for each of the CPSELs, and then I've got a little bit more familiar with them this year because I have a couple of vice principals that are going through the tier two training, and a lot of their extra activities and learning is tied to the CPSELs. So, I am aware of that, and I ... what was the second part of this? I do try to attend staff development. I don't know that I necessarily focus on, "Oh, I'm going to work on this CPSEL, so I'll go to this training." I really do go to training that I think are pertinent to my job, and to my specific areas of need that are happening, or really more practical things. I don't necessarily go because it's a CPSEL. Interviewer: OK. And the next question, "How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency?" Participant 5: Well, I think because I look for things that help my everyday learning. As you know, you just don't have time for the peripheral stuff. If it's going to contribute to things that I need to do to be a better superintendent, to be a better leader, to be more knowledgeable about the budget, to be more knowledgeable about current events. I think I'm aware of the responsibilities of not only my job, but of my role as a leader in the district, and so I try to choose things that line up with that, and that support that learning. I really am a believer in lifelong learning, that it's never too late to learn things, or to be better, and it's always important to keep learning every day, 168

we’re in such a dynamic profession. The support that we can provide to the principles of the classroom is so important in terms of the vision that we establish, and what we want for kids. I guess my answer is I don't really base it on the CPSELs, but I base it on what I feel like my role as a leader is in the district, which, ultimately, I guess goes back to the CPSELs. I have studied them a little bit in my role as a professor in adjunct. Interviewer: OK. My final question is, "Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency?" Participant 5: Well, I think it is so important, and I don't think that we have enough time for that, not only for it ourselves. Sometimes we pick

169 and choose, but you don't have enough time for it with the rest of the people in your district, whether it's administrators, or teachers, or aides. It just has to be all about learning and getting better. There's probably not enough time. I don't know if there's ever enough funding for a lot of the things that you want to do, but yeah, I'm very much a supporter of that. Interviewer: OK. All right, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 6 Interviewer: The first question is, in what types of professional development activities do you participate? And what professional development activity, or activities, have best supported your role as a superintendent? Participant 6: Yeah, I participate in number of ACSA sponsored events, and I went to the small school district association event. The best part of those was attending situations and events with other superintendents. That was what I got the most out of. Interviewer: Okay. Then the second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to, and support, the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 6: You know, as best I can with my years of experience that I have. Yes, but I don't know what the ... 33 years as a superintendent. I'm not sure I know I can quote verse and chapter for every single aspect of current thinking on those lines, but didn't have any problems doing the job. Interviewer: Okay. The next one, how has your participation in professional 169

development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 6: The things that I learn, I assimilate, either through direct instruction, or through association with other acting superintendents. The things that I learn, I internalize, and I apply those to my daily activities as a superintendent, and I'm still a superintendent of a small school district. I apply those and I think in daily reflection of what I do. Interviewer: Okay. The final question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency?

170 Participant 6: I think there should be a greater opportunity for mentorship with successful and practicing superintendents or aspiring superintendents, whether it's job shadowing or some aspects of that. I think that was certainly missing in my own experience. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning of the recording device.

Participant 7 Interviewer: The first question is, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 7: Being that this is just my second year being a superintendent, so last year I attended the SSDA superintendent boot camp. Right in the very beginning when I first started my new role, and I attended the CSBA conference with my board of trustees. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 7: I'm trying to. I think I went to an ACSA. Interviewer: Okay. ACSA. Okay. Participant 7: Was there a second part of that? I'm sorry. Interviewer: Oh, it just asked, what activities have best supported your role as superintendent do you think? Participant 7: I really, really enjoyed the SSDA, the superintendent boot camp. Just coming in new it was very beneficial for me. I felt like it was a little bit about everything and just more down to the nitty gritty and just reality of what it's like being a new superintendent. That one was extremely helpful to me. I wish I could have went again this year, because I think having a year in and then being able to apply 170

some of those things I've been hearing, it would but helpful. I was pretty green so I didn't really have a good base to go off of. That one I definitely felt was extremely valuable for me. Interviewer: Ok. All right. Participant 7: Including there's a lot of county training that I've attended with my team. This last year Jay from, it's not West Ed. Interviewer: Yeah. I know. Yeah. Participant 7: I'm blanking, but the county. I was just kind of on I guess systems of improvement and coherence. We really, that was actually really very valuable as well so we've been doing that work in our district, so that was nice support for that. Interviewer: Okay. All right. The next question. Are you aware of how your

171 professional development activities are aligned to, and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or the CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 7: No. If I'm being honest, no I haven't sat down with the CPSELs to see where everything kind of landed, no. Interviewer: Okay. Then how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your own reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 7: Again, I think because last year was my initial year in a new role, I chose professional development activities that were broader based. Just because of where I was in my knowledge base I should say, which then helped me to really inform me a little bit on a lot of areas that I needed to be up to speed on. Looking at this year I'm trying to be a little more focused in the conferences I attend in regard to areas that I'm trying to strengthen. As far as for me, probably more so with facilities and finance. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 7: Last year, again it was a little broader. Interviewer: Okay. Then the final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 7: I think it's nice to go to professional development specifically with either somebody that's currently a practicing superintendent, or definitely as somebody that has been in the role. I think that that's valuable to have that perspective of somebody that knows what you're living every day. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I am 171

turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 8 Interviewer: The first question is, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as a superintendent? Participant 8: Participate obviously mostly in conferences, and those can be either local, county, regional, or statewide. I would think that the most beneficial ones that I've gone to have to do with district leadership, i.e. CSBA, those that include both myself and the governing board members so that we can kind of focus on team leadership and

172 direction and vision. Interviewer: Okay. The next question is, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to, and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or the CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision and instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 8: Where, like as in explicitly as you just read that? No. I would say probably not. Interviewer: Okay. Then, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 8: Say that one more time please? Interviewer: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 8: I would say that by participating in the type of professional development opportunities that I do participate in, it allows me to be more, I don't know how to say this, more explicitly reflective. In other words, when I do something or when we're looking at doing something or even when you're just in deep thought and reflection before deciding on how to do something, you find yourself reflecting back on your most current learning opportunities. If you are ... I find that because I participate in these annually, semiannually, that it allows me to remember to think I guess I would say. It allows me to remember too, hey wasn't there something that we just kind of participated in and did or went to that workshop down there. That's what's all the rage down in other parts of education. It allows you just to kind of to stay current even 172

when you don't have a chance at the moment when you're just busy and you're just looking at only the two feet in front of your face. It allows you to just stay current because you're in that mode. You've been introduced to concepts and ideas and thought processes. Interviewer: Okay. Then my final question, is there anything else you'd like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 8: Regarding professional development - Interviewer: Support in the superintendency. Participant 8: Well, obviously we're talking about everybody's individual perceptions and expectations and personal experiences to answer those questions. For me, I'm blessed, but I had a unique position in

173 that I was in district advisory for many years prior to Fairfax. Why I'm trying to build that up, Interviewer, is to say that I'm blessed, I'm in a district that's very stable, that has a culture of working together, where a superintendent really is starting out so much farther ahead so that the professional development that I seek out and need isn't what maybe other superintendents may seek out and need, or may never get. If I were a superintendent that came in from the out of the county, and went into a district that really you just interviewed for like everybody else does let's say, and you were offered the job. You may walk into a beehive's nest that just runs through superintendents every year, year and a half, and that superintendent’s professional development, he may or she may need one heck of a lot of personal survival skills on how to keep a job, just how to keep a job. Let alone the stuff that I'm focusing on that is how to build professional learning communities and how to involve parents in a more collaborative manner. It really just depends on the district, how it's treating its leaders. I guess for me, I feel, and I don't know if I'm being naive, but I feel that I'm being offered and I acquire all the professional development I need to do my job. Then I just have to do my job, but I do know colleagues, and I know you know them as well, that they really could use some just professional development on how to best protect themselves as a component of staying employed, you know what I mean, and the like. I really guess it just goes to the individual district and superintendent. I can't answer that question any more than I have to be honest with you. I think I'm good and I wouldn't change anything. I think county office offers a good network of people. I think that it provides a good opportunity of people like yourself and myself who could get on the phone and talk if we have similar things we know are going on and that's professional 173

development in and of itself. It's informal. It's formal. Most superintendents I think you would find probably do all their PD with in about 20 minutes from their district. At their county office or around their regional. Yeah. I think I'm babbling, but I hope that I answered the question. Interviewer: No, that's perfect. Thank you. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I am turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 9 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development

174 activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 9: Okay. What areas have… Interviewer: I'll read it again. In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as a superintendent? Participant 9: All right. I'm in MTSS. I attend a professional development regarding multi-tiered support systems. I attend, I actually run our PD with our job embedded PD with instructional rounds and then the debriefs. The brief, the debriefs as well as the general sessions, debrief with grade level and that's once a month. I organize the professional development after looking at the needs assessments from the staff and then also the data that I receive from the job embedded professional development and find speakers to come in or rock star teachers who really know how to do whatever that strategy is and then lead a professional development within the staff. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 9: Then there was a second part of the question? Interviewer: Yes, it said, what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as a superintendent? Participant 9: Is that me going to a professional development training? Interviewer: Yes, yes. Participant 9: Oh. I think actually the doctoral program has helped me the most. Interviewer: Okay. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? 174

Participant 9: Yes, I am. Interviewer: The third one, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 9: My role as a superintendent is to guide and support the needs of my staff, so we kind of look at leading from the middle. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 9: That my role is to support the needs and that's why we kind of focus on a lot of in-house type of surveys and assessments and then that helps to build the efficacy within the teachers and also build capacity among the staff.

175 Interviewer: Okay. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 9: I feel that there needs to be more specific trainings to help superintendents in maybe knowing the law and helping us to then to fulfill out the professional development component. Does that make sense? Let me rephrase. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 9: Sometimes I am putting forth maybe, how would I say it? Okay, so if I am working with like Pivot Learning let's say and then as I am working with Pivot Learning I go back to my policies and sometimes my policies are not aligned with what I am kind of doing ... so I see a conflict between the two. So, I think it’s almost like I need something in-between to help me in managing my policies to actually know what is in there. And I think that that is on my superintendent level so then I would go to my stakeholders and into my middle management and talk to them about well now these are the policies in place in regards to let’s say homework or grading and then I think I need more help in integrating on the policy side into the school sites application. Interviewer: Alright. That was the final question. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I am turning off the recording device.

Participant 10 Interviewer: The first question: In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activities or activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 10: Fairly limited, to be honest with you. At this point in my career I no longer make it a habit to go to many conferences or I don't go to 175

small school district conference every year or anything like that. It's mainly what's provided through our county office that I participate in. Interviewer: Okay. Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional standards for Education Leaders or the CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 10: My honest answer would probably be no. Interviewer: Okay. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action

176 in a superintendency? Participant 10: Frankly, Interviewer, at this point in my career, it's been more of a factor in my selection of site principals and my assistants in making sure that I hire people that are at the point in their career where they're participating in more staff development and more up on things than I am, to be honest with you. I feel like I set a vision and I manage it rather than be intimately involved myself. It's more a function of the training of, or the selection of a cadre of site principals and assistants in the district office that fill our needs. So, for example, when we have a principal need, we'll see where we have any holes in the district-wide expertise. So, I want to filter that. So, it's more selection of others than my own direct training. Interviewer: Okay. And is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 10: The other thing I might, I probably should mention that I do go to legal advisories and some of the other prominent law firms within my work. So, I keep up on those, but probably not. I have nothing further. Sorry not to be of more help. Interviewer: No, that's perfect. I appreciate your input, and I want to thank you for your time, and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 11 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 11: Wow. You know this, being the superintendent of a small school district, I have participated in everything from curriculum, to facilities, to special education, to personnel, to Schools Legal, to 176

governance, so I've been blessed that I've had the opportunity to participate in professional development in all of those areas as well as serve on advisory boards in several of those areas where I learn a lot every time I sit down at the table. Thinking for me what professional development has been the most beneficial is anything where we have reviewed data and used the data to better our program. For me personally, I always call myself a curriculum personnel superintendent, so personally I feel like I've grown the most and professionally, would be in things that, professional development that I receive in the area of business, fiscal advisory and facilities. Interviewer: All right, and then the next one says, are you aware of how your

177 professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or the CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 11: My experiences have been and I think we're really lucky to have a very supportive county office and I think the offerings for administrators are aligned very well with the CPSEL standards, and in fact I did an evaluation with one of my administrators today. We just never had time to sit down and looking at the CPSEL, it was an evaluation that had been completed in spring, but sitting down and looking at those CPSELs again, I just thought about the fact that ILN (Instructional Learning Network) and all of the supportive branches of our county office, where I receive the bulk of my professional development, I just think that they really align those opportunities well to the CPSELs. Interviewer: Okay, all right. The third one is, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 11: You know, people think I'm crazy, but I always say that categorical program monitoring and special education self-reviews were two of the best things that ever happened to my District because when I came they were not, they were not in compliance in a lot of areas. It was my job as Director of Accountability and Academics to become aware of what compliance looks like and put in place with the help of, you know, in program improvement as well we had great support from the county. Participating in the self-review and the state review for categorical programs and participating in program improvement activities, with an outside entity coming in, I really feel like we were able to 177

identify the needs and the weaknesses of the district. And then receive that targeted professional development so that I could come back and bring that learning back to our staff and get them trained in what they needed to be trained in so that our programs and policies were more effective. Interviewer: Then and the final question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 11: The only thing that's difficult, Interviewer, you're a superintendent and you can attest to this, I remember asking my mentor, can you tell me what should I focus on, what can I expect? She had been superintendent of a couple of different school districts in this

178 County as well as taught at university level, administrative courses in the doctoral program. She told me, she said I can tell you to expect the unexpected. No one can tell you what to expect until you sit in that chair. I think, the only thing that I can say is, again, I want to reiterate the fact that we are lucky and I was sitting in a Schools Legal board meeting yesterday and they were going over all of the different trainings that they're going to offer. We just talked about the fact that we take care of each other and we have a really good network. I think people have strengths in different areas, superintendents, and I learn a lot from them and it doesn't necessarily need to be formal professional development opportunities. I think when we did book studies together or when we do our regional meetings, I think those are great opportunities to learn and grow as a professional as well. Interviewer: Okay. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 12 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 12: Okay. So, my own professional development? Interviewer: Yes. Participant 12: I participate in a great diversity of things that I guess you could put in professional development frame. One is I offer and actively present and engage others with professional development. My own participation as a professional development provider is a great source of my own professional development. Another would be 178

participation in like-minded and interested school districts or groups of educators or networks. One example is Ed Leader 21. That's been valuable. Another is a group from Carnegie Institute, a foundation on improvement science. I would say generally speaking, but less potently, monthly meetings of the superintendents at the county level, professional reading, conducting research, doing collaborative research. All of these things contribute to professional development. Interviewer: Okay. Is there anything that has best supported your role as superintendent? Any one of those things. Participant 12: Among those, which is the most supportive of my role? Interviewer: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yes. Participant 12: No, I wouldn't hold one above the other. It's a constellation of

179 things. Interviewer: Okay. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy?

Participant 12: Well, I can go back to question number one, once you mentioned the word CPSELs. The other thing that contributes to my professional development is I work as an adjunct professor at two local universities. That also, even though providing instruction to or facilitating learning for people in the masters or Ed.D. programs, that contributes to my own professional development. Probably the closest connection to those CPSELs is that work in which the university level kind of focuses in on that. Our new Ed.D. program, is built in and around the CPSELs and a Berkeley leadership model. Interviewer: Okay. All right. The next question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday actions in the superintendency? Participant 12: How has it impacted? Was that the word? Interviewer: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice in the superintendency? Participant 12: Well, I generally work to be very reflective in this work, and all of those things just give you a reflective vantage point that's different than things that weren't identified in that list. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 12: I mean, I'd have to go in great depth of how each one does, but you know, the degree that you can interact with others in similar positions, or at the ground level directly with students, or with 179

teachers, or with principals, or with administrators, to me, they all give you a different opportunity to reflect on where people are at, where you are at in your leadership, where your organization is in relationship to those feedback loops. Think that probably kind of answers. Interviewer: Oh, yes it does. Thank you. The final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 12: Well, I would say this, that one of the things that we've been working ... We've been developing different models and trying to think about these two words, or this noun, professional development, a little differently in our district in general, and in

180 particular, aimed at one of the words that you used, which was reflective practice, and actually inquiry, the same sort of inquiry and reflective practice that we want to see our teachers have, and our principals have. The one thing that I would add would be that just this simple thing, two simple things. One, thinking about professional development as a verb, and we call it just professionals developing. Then the second thing would be this notion of resonance, so where we get all of the parties, including the superintendent, engaged in processes that kind of interact with each other, and that are similar with each other in certain ways. There's greater opportunities for collaboration, and seeing things from different points of view. I guess that's the only other things I would add. Interviewer: Okay. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 13 Interviewer: The first question says, "In what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent?" Participant 13: I participate in professional development probably more sparingly at this point in my career. I'm down to about a year to a year and a half. Interviewer: Oh, okay. Participant 13: If it's something I feel is going to be of value to me, then I'll do it. Typically, that's going to be about new legislation, it's going to be about fiscal issues, things of that nature. Most of my career as a superintendent, or a big chunk of it, was in very small, rural 180

districts. In that sense, I needed professional development in the fiscal things I deal with now, but also curriculum. Part of that time was right when Common Core was being envisioned and how we ramp up for that. Those things were huge and invaluable to me. Now I really don't have as much hands-on. I have people, and so I kind of limit myself to fiscal types of issues, and working on collaborative things locally, like early literacy, early childhood literacy, things like that. Interviewer: Okay. Of those activities you mentioned, could you identify which have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 13: Well, honestly, I think the community initiatives that we're doing and the training and getting collaborations together probably best

181 fits my role as the superintendent. Interviewer: All right. The second question says, "Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 13: Honestly, I have no idea. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 13: I think I've read them one time, and you know, yeah. I have no idea. Interviewer: Okay. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 13: Well, I'll tell you the perfect example is, as a leader, I like to be proactive, and I like to make sure my students have the best we can give. That professional development that I got, oh six, seven years ago, about the Common Core, and Here's what it looks like, then here's how you need to ramp up. That allowed me to go back and directly apply that in my district. Actually, ended up doing training for the whole county, and then by us easing into that early and making that transition, that first year that we had actual tests, I looked that district up and they had like close to 60% proficient or advanced. It was because that professional development kept us on our game. I would say also, the professional development like through the School Services, et cetera, that has to do with fiscal issues really helped me stay ahead of the game. In my first two superintendencies, my job really was to keep them out of bankruptcy. That professional development allowed me to be successful at that. 181

Interviewer: Okay. All right. My final question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 13: I think superintendents need to not get caught up in trends, and they need to really analyze what's relevant to their district and focus on that, as far as the professional development that they're going to need to address their real-time issues and long-range planning. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device.

182 Participant 14 Interviewer: The first question says, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 14: I attend the ACSA Superintendents Symposium every year. I also attend the California City Schools Superintendents Conference, it's twice a year. I do attend CSBA with my board members every year. I have participated in the Executive Leadership Program that's been offered. I am also currently participating in Leadership Associates, a cohort for superintendents. Interviewer: Okay. Of those professional development activities, do you have a particular one or have they all best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 14: You know, of course I think one of the differences is some, like the Leadership Associates is small, it's six to eight people, which is very different from something like the ACSA Superintendent’s Symposium, or CSBA, so the smaller ones, I think the smaller you are, like California City School Superintendents is smaller, I probably get more from those just because it's smaller and it can be more personalized. You can have better conversations with colleagues. I really feel all of them do provide good information and do help me in my work. Interviewer: Okay, all right. The next question says, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 14: I think they align very well with those. You know, I would say that's probably the area where the larger groups like the 182

Superintendent’s Symposium probably has more offerings in all areas, whereas some of the smaller ones maybe aren't able to offer always like, for example, California City School Superintendents doesn't always have something on ethics and that type of thing. They do have items, all of them I think pretty much help with instructional leadership and things like that, but probably the larger ones are able to focus more on all topics in the CPSELs. Interviewer: Okay, all right. The next question says, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 14: Several of the sessions, and I now know the, ELC was the one that I

183 was trying Executive Leadership, yes. I attend that, it's a pre- conference for ACSA. That particular one, they have reflection time built in, which is nice. Some of them have more of the reflection built in than others. I would say the greatest probably reflection happens with talking with colleagues, you know, fellow superintendents at the conferences as well. Interviewer: Okay, all right. My final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 14: I just, I do appreciate that I have a board that allows me to take advantage of professional development and encourages my professional growth because otherwise it is very easy to get locked up within the district business and not stay as current and I do feel it's important that superintendents have the ability to take advantage of professional development and particularly the ability to take advantage of professional development that is specifically for superintendents. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 14: It's a lonely job. Interviewer: I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 15 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional developmental activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 15: So, the main activity I participate in is getting coaching every other week which is supported by our county office of education. 183

They've assigned a coach to me, and we meet biweekly. That's more around reflective practice. Oh, and then in addition to that, so ... Well, as a superintendent and in my role because we're a small district so I don't have any assistant superintendent. There's a CBO and an admin so there's no HR person per se. Last year, I attended the superintendent academy which was eight weekends throughout the year. I've attended professional development from school services so I've gone to governor budget meetings. I've gone to monthly superintendent meetings at our county office. I participate in meetings around leadership and instruction at the County office of Ed. I've participated in regional assessment network meetings at

184 Sacramento County Office of Ed and professional development workshops there around the same topics. There are just really so many, Interviewer. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 15: To be able to tell you all of them. Interviewer: Out of those, do you have any specific activities that have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 15: I would say the academy was very beneficial in certain areas, and then the other piece is the reflective practice that I go through with my coach. Interviewer: Okay. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, including in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 15: I would say in the areas of ethics and policy, that is incredibly supported in both ACSA and all of our meetings at the county office, and my reflective practice with the coach. The area that's probably been a little weak is the shared vision piece but I do in terms of outside professional development, but I do a lot of research. I've done a lot of research with Fullan’s work and Hattie’s work so there are a couple of people that I like their approach especially around collective efficacy.

Interviewer: The third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 15: Well, it's hard to say. I've always been quite a reflective 184

practitioner. Having a coach to structure that a little bit better and provide me with other things to consider, it's probably been the most helpful in that reflective practice. Interviewer: Okay, all right. The final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 15: I think it's critical for all new superintendents to have a mentor or a coach during at least their first year, potentially their second year as well which I have the benefit of having a coach for a second year. I think that if there was a way to make that happen, that would provide ... With a quality coach and the right experience, of course.

185 Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 16 Interviewer: Okay, the first question states, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as Superintendent? Participant 16: So, this is the second superintendency I've had. And this is a quite different experience than my previous superintendent experience so I'll start with what was in place. In my previous district we had a fairly healthy budget with designated funds for my professional development so I was able to, and as a new Superintendent the board was very supportive of me seeking professional development. Being a small district, I did the new superintendent, oh, I forget what it was called ... boot camp or something through Small School District Association to start off with. Then followed up with different professional development throughout my two years there with everything from you know the ACSA Superintendent Symposium to ... I went to CASBO CBO Boot Camp. I'm trying to think what else. I did negotiation training with in conjunction with CTA. I did CSBA twice, the annual education conference and a lot of ... we also had a big technology push so a lot of the tech professional development under like Google camps. I did the CUE, the admin designated ... you know the Rockstar training. I had professional development in all kinds of areas the first two years and then I took over this district the last year and I was immediately faced with a pretty severe budget crisis and we cut 100% of the superintendent professional 185

development budget. So, I did still continue with a couple of things but I paid for it out of pocket so I kept it to a minimum and I went to ACSA Superintendent Symposium and I would try to find free things. I did an HR one. The County Office of Education was very aware of our budget situation and if they would ... for instance they would host, they did a hosting for an HR training and gave one of the free spots to me so I would take advantage of any of those kind of free professional development trainings I could get. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 16: But it was pretty limited last year. This year I've taken a couple of furlough days and asked to put those

186 funds into a very small professional development budget for me and I'm going to be attending Annual Education Conference again and the Superintendent Symposium. And then I'm paying again on my own for a few and I'm doing a legal update one coming up pretty soon. Interviewer: Okay, are there any of those activities you listed that have best supported your role as Superintendent? Participant 16: Gosh, I would say Superintendent Symposium and Annual Education Conference seem to have the most pertinent strands for me. One other one that was offered last year by my previous county and I asked permission to attend and they gave it to me which was great and that was “Working with the Media.” That was an interesting one that I've used a few times since ... the skills I picked up. Interviewer: Okay. The next question is are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 16: Yeah, so I am very familiar with CPSELs and when I craft my superintendent goals and even when I craft like my survey that I survey my community with, I use those as guides. You know, for what I want to see how I'm doing on my goals and the input that I get back. Interviewer: Okay. And the next question. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 16: Well, as I'm sure you can attest to, no matter which educational program you went to get your credential and then your 186

administrative credential they don't fully prepare you for what you deal with on a day to day basis. One example of that is, you know, let's take HR for instance. That in my training for my administrative credential I think we had one class, like a half a day on HR issues and then you get in a seat either as a principal and then as a superintendent and you're faced with ... like I had to do cutbacks last year. Learning the process for layoffs and making sure you're crossing your T's and dotting your I's and staying abreast of the laws that surround HR. Without those professional development opportunities, I feel like I would be lost because when something is on my radar or coming up, for instance I'll give you an example. In my previous district we had a grand jury situation with developer

187 fees that I inherited and so it was like stepping into that from a principal to a Superintendent I'm like what are developer fees? What is this about? So, I found a training on developer fees and went to that and you know, greatly increased my own knowledge and was able to deal with that situation much better whereas that's not something that I just came in to the Superintendency at that point knowing about. Interviewer: Right. Participant 16: You know, now I feel much more adept although I constantly have to say, "Oh, I wonder ... let's see if we can use developer fees" but you know, wanting to stay within the right guidelines. I do feel that that professional development has been a huge boon to me personally in my role as a Superintendent. Interviewer: Okay, and the last question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the Superintendency? Participant 16: No, I wish there were more opportunities here in my area because for instance CAST, you know, the CDE was just putting out the opportunities to go and go to trainings for being the CAASPP administrator and they're all in Los Angeles or the Central Valley or Sacramento and now you're talking an entire day plus probably an evening beforehand which includes then a hotel stay, the travel ... you know, and it's like, "Oh, I wish there was more here available." Sometimes the where it's offered can be a big prohibitive factor for us. Interviewer: Okay, all right. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right-

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Participant 17 Interviewer: So, the first question says, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 17: All of my professional development at this point has supported my role now. The professional development that I've received as a teacher, as a principal, as assistant superintendent for educational services has all built the foundation for my leadership as a superintendent. And I would say that some of the most powerful professional learning that I've had as a superintendent has been in your ACSA Superintendent’s Academy, the superintendent

188 symposium from ACSA. And I continue to attend trainings that are specific to the initiatives that we're working on as a school district, and those have helped me as well. Interviewer: Okay, and the next question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethic, and policy? Participant 17: I would say that the ACSA professional learning that I've had covers all of them. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 17: And some of the others that are specific to curriculum and instruction, covers some of those areas, and they support so much of our district vision. But the ACSA PD has really addressed all of CSPEL's. Interviewer: Okay, and the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice for the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 17: Can you read that to me again? Interviewer: Yes. how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice for the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 17: You know, you know this, in our work, it's difficult to take time to reflect. But whenever you have an opportunity to stop and learn with colleagues, or collaborate with colleagues, it informs your practice. And it's important, and so creating opportunities for that time away from the day to day work to support your reflection is 188

really critical. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 17: To moving forward the district vision. Interviewer: Okay, thank you, and the final question. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 17: We have to be the lead learners in our school districts, and I think, to be an effective superintendent, we have to be committed to our own learning, and the learning of our team, so that we can build our capacity to close the achievement gap for kids, and to support their growth. Interviewer: Alright, and I want to thank you for your time and important

189 perspectives and insights, this concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 18 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as Superintendent? Participant 18: I'll start with the second part of the question first. When I became a superintendent, three years ago, our board here in this School District agreed to hire a coach for me, and so I had an external coach for two full years. So, a retired superintendent, not from the county or from the area, so I got to choose my coach, which I think was extremely helpful as opposed to having the board select one for me, or the search firm select one for me. So, that was probably the most beneficial and the most powerful. We met once a month in person, for a minimum of two hours, and then we touched base by phone and-or by email in between that monthly meeting. That relationship was so strong that we continue it even now, on a less formal basis, but into my fourth year. So, we meet probably once every trimester, so three or four times a year, both for personal and professional kind of growth, now that that's been less formalized. That probably has been the most powerful, was that one-to-one coach. The other thing I've been involved with is I was involved with CALSA, the California Association of Latino Superintendent Administrators, in their mentoring program, as well as serving as both a mentee as well as a mentor for a brand-new superintendent. Then, prior to becoming a superintendent I studied, or I went to the ACSA training for those who kind of 189

wanted to be superintendents. While serving as superintendent, also Pivot Learning had a contract here in this County, and so districts who wanted to have their executive members attend could go to that, so I did that for a year with Pivot Learning, and then I was invited to join the SELF Group, the Superintendents Executive Leadership Forum, which is sponsored by UC Davis, so I got invited to be a cohort there, and that was last school year. That, I believe, is eight meetings, so I think it was basically once a month. It's a full day session with multiple speakers brought in, as well as time to discuss kind of our own concerns or things that we were dealing with as superintendents. I believe that cohort group was about 18 people, kind of extending from

190 the local area kind of exclusively. So those have been the main things that I've been involved in, in terms of my professional development. Interviewer: Okay. The next question, number two, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or the CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 18: So, I would answer the question as yes, I'm aware of how they're linked, however there wasn't an explicit desire in any of the programs, and-or to the coaching to link them to the professional standards. But the things that we talked about were around developing a shared vision, the instructional leadership, management, community engagement, the ethics and integrity, so while it wasn't explicit, I think the topics that were covered linked to it, but it wasn't explicitly done. Interviewer: Okay. All right. And the third question, how has your participating in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in a superintendency? Participant 18: I think the two most powerful ones were the individual coaching I had for those two years, it really forced you to be prepared for the meeting and to reflect. We did a common study, and-or shared articles and those kinds of things to really force the reflection, but then there were also the actions in between the meetings, which were expected to take place. So, that was probably the most reflective. The second one as the SELF organization through UC Davis. I think there was ... because 190

there was a cohort of people who were all kind of working together, you wanted to make sure that you brought your “A” Game to those meetings, both in terms of being prepared, but also being reflective in one’s practice, I think was highly encouraged through those two things. So those were probably the two that caused the most reflection. I think some of the others were ACSA or CALSA, my own reading, less on the reflective side. I would say one caveat to that is as serving as a mentor for another superintendent, actually caused me to be probably as reflective as when I was being coached, so it was an interesting twist. Interviewer: Okay. The final question is, is there anything else you would

191 like to add regarding professional development support in a superintendency? Participant 18: Well, a.) I think it's vital, especially as your transitioning from kind of a cabinet role to the superintendent role. It's a leap that is bigger than most people can imagine, in terms of the scope, and so having a clearly defined professional development plan I think is essential for success, and I think that it's a collaboration with the board and superintendent, especially in terms of allocating resources to that, but beyond that transition, I think it has to be a part of our practice, that we're not only modeling the desire to become better, but then carrying that out in terms of both allocating our resources of time and treasure so that we are putting that at the forefront. Interviewer: Okay. That concludes the interview. I want to thank you for your time, and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I am turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 19 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 19: Oh, that's the key to a successful superintendent. I just became a superintendent this year. The first thing I did ... Part of my contract when I was appointed I put in there a $15,000 coaching allowance and the Board really liked that. I hired a school leadership and associates, two of the gentlemen that actually lead the search, so they knew a lot about the district, they knew the culture of the district, they knew the culture of my board members and so I hired 191

both of those gentlemen to be a mentor to me, Anonymous Superintendent 3 and Anonymous Superintendent 4. I am also involved in a professional development, what they called superintendent network that also school leadership is organizing. I'm also involved with another school superintendent of all of the superintendents, 23 of us, and we meet on a regular basis. The other professional development is just the connection that I have with great friends and mentors who have been in the job longer than I have. I spend a lot of time on the phone with them. Probably some of the best professional development that I received. Also, attending some different conferences through leadership and associates. Interviewer: Okay. The second question is, are you aware of how your

192 professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the area of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 19: Yes, I'm aware of those, I'm aware of all of those sections. I think that every meeting that I have with my mentors and every meeting that I have with the conferences that I attend have all been focused on those areas. Interviewer: Okay, and the third question. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 19: I don't know how I could be in the position I am right now without that support. I use it often. Like for example, when my CBO came in and said she was announcing her retirement the first thing I did was get on the phone with five other superintendents to just talk about it. The networking is extremely valuable. I would say that it has played a very important role in my development as a leader. Interviewer: Okay, and the final question. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 19: The only thing is that I would just encourage in your research hopefully that superintendents, whether they've been on the job for a year or 10 years or 15 years, there's no match for that collaboration with other superintendents. As you probably know, Interviewer, it's lonely at the top. I was once told that the higher you get in education the less truth that you hear because people then don't want to, maybe are reticent about giving them your information or reticent about providing feedback and so you have to really develop that culture and you can do that through professional development. 192

Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview. I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 20 Interviewer: So, the first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate? And what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 20: I'm part of the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators. I've ... I am the past president in that organization, and have done a lot of professional development. In specific, work

193 related to mentoring both as a mentor, and as a mentee or protégé. I've also been part of ACSA and have done several of the academies through ACSA as well as been part of superintendent’s council type of activities. As well as participate in a variety of workshops that ACSA offers. So primarily, those are the two organizations that I've worked with. Additionally, I know our County Office of Education, has brought in professional development programs for superintendents that I have participated in. Interviewer: Okay. And out of those do you have any that have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 20: I think the mentorship program with CALSA specifically, being key in my development as a superintendent. Even though it involved a two-year mentorship element to it, I continuously talked with my mentor; even throughout my experience as a superintendent. So, even though my two-year mentorship ended, I still maintain a close relationship with that person. I think being able to have reflective dialogue on kind of where theory meets practice, and then just dealing with the daily rigors of the job, or how to confront new policy issues. Or just politics. I think it's been helpful to have a mentor, but then also to be part of a professional learning community type of groups with other superintendents. Interviewer: Okay, and the second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELS, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policies? Participant 20: Well I was remiss of sharing with you some of the workshops I attended with CSBA. I've also been attending sessions along with 193

members of my governing board. And I would think that I've done a lot of work on shared governance and visioning with CSBA. Looking at it from a governance team perspective. And that's been really helpful in ... from looking at the vision process from a district perspective that's more global, and brought a different element than the traditional professional development that's targeted for all school site administrators; both central and district, that some of the other workshops I've attended do. I think it's very important for superintendents to not lead in a vacuum. And work alongside the governance team members. Which are the elected trustees in establishing a vision and moving forward. Interviewer: Okay. All right. I thank you for that answer, number three; how has

194 your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in superintendency? Participant 20: I think both ACSA and CALSA have done a great job with their superintendents, and promoting the importance of being a reflective leader. And to take inventory on all the elements impacting decision-making or implementation, or the effects of politics. And just kind of a multi-brain approach to thinking. I think any time you get a group of superintendents together with a trained facilitator, that can help guide our reflection; I think it has always been a fruitful experience for me. Interviewer: Okay. And the final question is: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 20: I think that just the overall importance of building professional learning community networks among superintendents, even if it's beyond your immediate surroundings. I think staying in tune with ... through research, and perhaps having a book talk with job alike folks, or just discussing current policy at the state level. Or perhaps sharing stories of what's going on locally. I think having someone to bounce ideas off of that's in a similar role, is key. And any time organizations build that into their normal professional development, I think it's very good. Interviewer: Okay, well thank you so much. And I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 21 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development 194

activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 21: Okay. When I interviewed for this position, I knew of the Leading the Leaders training. That's actually a cohort that was established by ACSA. Are you familiar with ACSA? Interviewer: Absolutely. Yes. Participant 21: Okay. So, I believe it was five sessions that year. But those trainings were key to me in my first year as a superintendent. I also knew from having been a principal and gone through some other stuff by ACSA, I did want to do the ... I think it's called the Leadership ... What is it? Conferences that they provide. I going to have the name on that in just a second.

195 Leadership Summit. ACSA does that every year. So again, back to when I interviewed with my board I said, "I want to be sent to those Leading the Leaders and also the Leadership Summit every year and I wanted to go to the Superintendent's Symposiums every year." So that was actually worked into my contract and also, they, my board, was willing to let me choose anything that I feel would be beneficial for my improvement as a superintendent. So those three conferences each year, I'm in my fifth year and I plan on doing all three of those again this year. And it has helped me with deciding how to lead in personnel because I'm a small school district. I do a lot of different things. I've learned a lot in regard to personnel issues, finances, curriculum. A lot has been shared with me regarding the movement to one-to-one technological devices and all that stuff. So that's what I've been doing for four years and I plan to continue it this year. Interviewer: Okay. All right. And the second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 21: I couldn't quote all of that verbatim but I do know that ACSA has always put out quality experiences for administrators and supervisors, superintendents. So, I'm assured they're aligned. Along the line they may have said these are aligned with those very things you mentioned. But I would imagine they are because that's ACSA's goal is to get us to follow those professional practices and be aligned with standards and stuff. So ... Interviewer: Okay. Alright. And the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that 195

informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 21: Okay. Well, I believe that through all those different experiences, I have ... I learned how to appropriately deal with all staff, not just certificated but classified as well. How to supervise them properly leading to the goal of doing what's best for kids. So, if somebody in food service is not doing their job properly, it affects kids in a negative way so I deal with that. Transportation is a huge one, also maintenance and custodial. We have to have a clean environment for kids to ... and a healthy environment with regard to our water issues, cleanliness of the restrooms and classrooms, etc. So, every part of my job has been affected in a positive way. Then the whole technology push, we now have one-to-one devices for K through 8.

196 We have added extra time of a technology assistant to help our teachers advance in their applications of technology or use that technology and also help to train the kids. If I'm saying this right, it has affected me and my practices in a huge way. I believe we've made some great steps in our district. When it comes down to it, I've gotten rid of some staff as a result. Because they were not here to help kids. If you're heading to a position like mine that is huge. That is something you have to keep on your radar is if ... It doesn't matter what position, if they're not here to help kids they're most likely hurting them in one way or another. You've got me fired up. Interviewer: The final question is, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 21: If I had the listening ear of the CSBA, which is California School Board Association, which I'm sure they would respond to me if I were to say something, but they have to make sure the board has to support their superintendents and their principals. If they're behind them and us, then you can make headway. If they have their own personal agenda, board members, then they need to find something else to do. They need to be there for the kids as well and many times that is giving 100% toward ... and that means giving ... allowing time, energy for the superintendent and the finances ... the financial backing to get the professional development. Because that ... it's key not only for moving ahead but even just the relationships I've made through those trainings. The collaboration, camaraderie, support from my very first experiences with that Leading the Leaders, I was able to call some of those peers and talk to them about issues I was facing. Anyway, thankfully, I've 196

had that kind of support with my board. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 22 Interviewer: So, the first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 22: So, I try to participate in a variety of activities. I've been to CSBA conferences, I participate in some network learning that we've done

197 through Pivot Learning, I guess they sponsor it. So, I've done some courses through SELF, are you familiar with SELF? Interviewer: I am, yes. Participant 22: Okay, so I've done a yearlong workshop with them. I do some networking with just local area superintendents, more informal. Even more informal with superintendents in my immediate neighboring districts. Then we've done things with our SELPA and some professional development. So, it's been a variety of things. Interviewer: Okay. Are there any activity or activities that have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 22: I really appreciated ... I participated in a yearlong SELF sponsored workshop where they brought in some of the best speakers around. Michael Fullan, just the gurus in education to speak. It was some interactive, we were a small group of superintendents from all over California. That was a very valuable ... appreciated that there wasn't a lot of prep for it, just more go in, listen, learn a lot. Interviewer: Okay, and the second question states are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 22: Not formally aware, no, but I would imagine most of what I'm doing completely aligns with them. Interviewer: Okay. Alright, and the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 22: Goodness, Interviewer, these are big questions. I try to go to things where I really feel like they're going to be valuable and meaningful and informed practice. So, I do try when I come back to utilize what 197

I'm learning, reading, share it with my administrative team, and put it to some kind of use. It's why I get really frustrated with really poor professional development and training. Interviewer: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Participant 22: Some of the work that we did a couple years ago through Pivot and through this principal’s network, there were some really excerpts of good articles that were shared that I'd bring back to my team, there were some activities that we did that I found very useful. So, I do try to make it a point not just to go and listen and then go, "Oh, well good, great that I learned that," but figure out how to disseminate that information and use it. Interviewer: Okay, alright, and then the final question, is there anything else you

198 would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 22: I think it's just critical if you can get really good professional development that really informs and engages people. I think when it's fairly small group and personal and ... I don't know, there's opportunities for real, authentic networking, I think it's good. Interviewer: Okay, alright. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 23 Interviewer: The first question: In what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 23: Professional development activities in which I participate. I just want to clarify, are you referring to activities in which I've participated since becoming a superintendent or can there be some just prior to my becoming a superintendent? Interviewer: You can include both or all of them. Participant 23: As part of my doctoral program at the University of Southern California, there was a course on the superintendency. I think that was highly informative. It was taught by, the professor who was a prior superintendent of both a large school district in southern California and a county office superintendent. He brought a great deal of experience to the course and really tried to focus on the different facets that you see reflected in the CPSELs. I thought that the CPSELs were really the guideposts for the whole course. But as I reflect on the CPSELs, I think he really covered them quite well in the course work that was provided. It was very relevant to 198

the real day-to-day work of the superintendent. I would say also, I joined AASA, the American Association of School Administrators, prior to becoming a superintendent. Was able to go to a conference and found that the sessions were really valuable, and the networking was really valuable. And, of course ACSA, so any of the both conferences that ACSA has available on the statewide level, as well as regionally, I'm regionally involved in my local ACSA chapter and attend professional development through them. I've actually presented, but also have been an attendee. Now, since I've become a superintendent, ACSA, and then also the California School Boards Association Conference, they have an

199 annual conference, and then the ACSA-sponsored superintendent symposium that typically is in Monterey, but this last year was in Indio, near Palm Springs. I attended that and I found that to be very, I think, well worth it. Again, not just because of the knowledge from the sessions, but because of the opportunity to network. Interviewer: All right. Well thank you. The second question: Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policies? Participant 23: In all honesty, I haven't looked at the CPSELs and aligned my professional development to them. I think that certainly would be a good idea to do so. As you are the superintendent, I too am evaluated by the board of trustees in my district. I also consider such things as our strategic plans, our LCAP goals, and what is the vision and mission of our school. Those things do guide my professional development. I do have a superintendent coach that I will be continuing with for this year for the second year of my superintendency. I think that type of kind of personalized learning, based on what I need at the time I need it, as well as just what my coach who is a retired superintendent, knows is valuable to share with me is really important. In terms of aligning to the CPSELs, I haven't done so officially, but again, as I review them, development and implementation of a shared vision certainly is an area that I believe I've focused on through attending conferences and professional reading that I have done. Instructional leadership, I think my coach has focused on that a great deal with me, as well as my attendance at conferences. 199

I've tried to focus on being a strong instructional leader I think is critical. I expect the principals of my school sites to be strong instructional leaders. I think it's the most valuable role that they have and I too need to model that. Probably the management and learning environment, I think learning environment is incredibly critical. We're undergoing a facilities master planning process now. Where we're really focusing on learning environment and what types of physical structures support the types of teaching and learning that we have now, as 21st century educators, and what do we expect in the future? I don't know if I answered your question, but I'm happy to go through each of the standards and kind of tell where I think I've

200 had good P.D., but I haven't purposefully aligned my P.D. with the CPSELs. Interviewer: Okay. No, I think that's good, so thank you. The next question, number three: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in a superintendency? Participant 23: Well, I think, just as teachers in the classroom or principals at school sites? Every day is different. If you don't set aside time for professional learning for yourself, it won't happen. You have to be purposeful about it. You have to make time. If you expect your teachers to stay on the cutting edge, and your site principals stay on the cutting edge, you have to model that. You have to walk that talk. That includes going to conferences, presenting at conferences, showing that you're learning, trying new things. I believe by setting aside time to engage in professional reading, by setting aside time to go to conferences, present at conferences, you model that behavior of a lifelong learner and a learning leader. Interviewer: Then the final question: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in a superintendency? Participant 23: Well, I would just say professional development support for administrators, period, I find that it's often lacking. Particularly in tight budgetary times, we focus on trying to ensure that we're providing outstanding professional development for teachers. That is critical. No doubt about it. But I often have found, in more than one district, that professional development for administrators is not a primary focus. I think that's a mistake. It's important to keep in mind that we need to help superintendents move forward if we expect them to model the types of learning, professional learning 200

that we expect in every other level of the organization. So hopefully boards of trustees and boards of education can be made aware through CSBA, and other avenues, of the importance of continuing to provide superintendents with those opportunities to learn. Interviewer: Well thank you so much. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 24 Interviewer: So, the first question. In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development

201 activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 24: Most of the professional development activities are through groups and associations. So, for example, the Northern California Superintendents Groups. The ACSA School Board Association access, so usually attending those conferences, or meeting with groups of other superintendents, and problem-solving. Interviewer: Okay. And out of those activities, are there any that particularly have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 24: The Northern California Superintendent's Group is the most meaningful. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 24: The most meaningful. Interviewer: Okay. And the next question. Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management community, engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 24: Yes. Interviewer: Okay. And can you expand on that a little? How they're aligned? Participant 24: We use the CPSELs for our evaluation system. And so, it's just part of the day to day. And its part of my work with the school board, and what I report to them. Interviewer: Okay. And then the third question. How has your participation and professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 24: I think that through professional development, I have been able to identify what are best practices that are appropriate for this particular school district and this community. So, tying what works 201

with the culture of the current district and becoming aware of what works in other places that can also work here. Interviewer: Okay. And then the final question. Is there anything else you would like to add, regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 24: I think that there are too few opportunities for superintendents to get together and just have formal or informal conversations about the job and about this position, because I think it's unique to any of those positioned in the system. You can really only comment or reflect about it if you've been in the job. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview

202 and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 25 Interviewer: So, the first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 25: I’ve participated in professional development activities through our county office of education and also through ACSA and CASBO. Interviewer: Okay. And are there any specific activities that have best supported your role as superintendent. Participant 25: As far as the CASBO, professional development, I did a project management, which applied to my job. We also did a basic concept with payroll and AP as a district office staff, it’s a small staff. And then, also, advance budgeting. And so as far as CASBO those are the professional development activities within the last year that I've participated in. ACSA in the past I've completed Curriculum &Instruction Academy, Personnel academy twice, Special education academy, Superintendents' academy, and the Business Officials' academy. Those have all been applicable to my job, especially the Personnel Academy, once I was in the position of superintendent. Interviewer: Okay. And the second question: Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for education leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 25: Yes. All of the academy programs are aligned and the CASBO is you know, sort of a pick and choose, I guess. So, it depends on how you want to define them, but I would say yes. And the 202

professional development opportunities that I participate in at the county office level are also applicable. Interviewer: Okay. And then the third question: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice, or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action, in the superintendency? Participant 25: The CASBO program that I participated in has affected our district office directly because, again, the majority of those we completed as a district office staff, which is now staffed for -- We have a CBO, an executive assistant who plays a role in accounts payable, and then a payroll/HR manager. So, again, it's a small district office so as far as building a network and a team within our office,

203 it's made us much more efficient and just more effective. As far as the bigger picture with ACSA Academy, it's a broader view that, again, bringing back that information and encouraging our administrative staff to participate, which they have, has been beneficial again, going forward, especially with implementation of LCFF and LCAP. County Office staff has provided continual professional development in the LCAP and that, you know, basically affects direct implementation of programs in our district. Interviewer: Okay. And then the final question: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency. Participant 25: I think just in general in California, at least where we are because we are at the top of the state, it's often times more difficult to have the professional development opportunities than say, in a centralized area. But here, I mean, if it's not offered through the county office or through a webinar, then we're commuting a minimum of 90 minutes to get to, and then if it's further, it's four-and-a-half hours. So, for example, just professional development for those up-and- coming administrators moving into a superintendency, and again, similar to probably where you are, we have a lot small districts that have principals/superintendents. And they really don't have any access to much professional development. So, we have to, ours is a small district, it's two- school district, basically. The principal's attended the Principal Academy, but they had to go to another city to do that. So that was pretty distant. ACSA has tried to change it up a little bit this year. We used to have an academy every year, for the last 203

five years we haven't. But this year they're offering the Principal's Academy and the C&I Academy nearby. It's going to be an in- person webinar kind of deal with three counties. Again, for us up here, I think it's more of availability. And, again, our county office does, I think, a very good job of trying to provide as much professional development as they can, you know, bringing in outside agencies like CASBO or FCMAT you know. So anyway. Interviewer: All right. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

204 Participant 26 Interviewer: So, the first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 26: Okay. My background and stuff has always been in small districts, kind of districts, a couple hundred kids at a time. And so, a lot of the professional development that I as a superintendent chose to do tend to be more hands-on kinds of things because my office staff is usually just one or two people. And so, the big global, I mean my doctorate's in Educational Leadership. And so, I know the big global picture if I had thousands of kids and I was trying to motivate a whole staff. For small districts, that's some of the things that we struggle with is the fact that our needs are so much different. I'm not motivating a staff of hundreds, I'm motivating five or six, but my needs are the hands on. I'm the only one who does the LCAP, I'm the one that does the safety checks. So, the professional development that I tend to get the most out of is hands on, how do I do my day to day job, better or more efficiently or whatever. Interviewer: Okay. And the second question is, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California professional standards for education leaders, or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 26: You know, not really. Those have not, up here in our County, that's never been a discussion. When your questionnaire, I'm looking at it, I was like hmm, really? It's not one of the things when I teach school administrators and we all meet in the county or whatever. That's 204

not a series of concerns that would ever come up. Interviewer: Okay. Alright. And the next question, how has your participation in professional development activities, promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in a superintendency? Participant 26: You know one of the things that I have found is the professional development, the conferences and stuff that we go to. I always find things that I can bring back to my staff, different ways to do things, new ways to look at things. You know the whole doctoral experience, changed the whole way I look at using data, doing research. Before I had those skills, I never did it. After that it tends to help focus on things and so when I come back from a

205 conference and I'm putting my notes together, and I'm thinking of things, new ways to do things, and I share that with my staff, it's definitely helpful, it definitely changes the way we operate, hopefully for the better. But I sort of look back over my years and go you know, I wish I'd known this sooner, because I went to a lot of conferences and never had that focus on what can I bring back, how can this make my district better, how is this going to make what I do more efficient and so that's pretty much right now when you go to a conference you're looking for specific things. They just came back from charter authorizer conference and so I went down there with the very idea, how can I write a better MOU with my charters and I got lots of good stuff, just going down to the superintendence conference in Monterey. Good chance to go visit old friends and play golf, but I never went down there with the idea I was going to learn something new. And I probably should of because there were good sessions. Interviewer: Okay, and then the final question. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 26: Yeah, I think that what I sort of touched on for that first question. In the state of California there's such a span of needs for superintendents when I have a friend who just retired he had 55,000 kids in his district, I've got 20 in mine. The needs are so different to span that. Even the small school districts, small districts in California are 2,500 or less, small is me, I've got 20. And then there's a smaller one in another county, they've got nine. And so, you know our needs are so different from what Anonymous Superintendent 5 would need for his big district. I mean he's motivating, and I don't know how he does that. I don't 205

know how he motivates an organization that, but I do know when I was vice Principal and I worked with him, you know, his one on one skills were horrible, but he can motivate a huge organization. I'm really good with small groups, I have no idea how you motivate and move a whole origination that to me is amazing but I think the span and the needs are so huge, and you know even my doctoral degree and they shifted the program, I was the last cohort that went to, it's now shifted to the urban superintendent and so they are gearing towards big districts, yeah big districts have big problems, but there's a whole lot of us with tiny districts we tend to need more hands-on kinds of things. Less theory more experience. People saying oh yeah, negotiations is always a bugaboo for small

206 districts because you know you have a working relationship with your ten or 12 or 15 teachers, and then they put the CTA person at the table, we're out-classed from the get go because we don't have that experience, and that background. So, it would be nice if you said, I don't know how you would do it. How you would spread the professional development to shift all those needs. Small School Districts Associations, it's almost like it's a hobby, association. It just doesn't have that clout or whatever you'd like to see, it hasn’t been all that helpful in my career. A lot of things that are not geared, like I said the in conferences, our county office has been super for training, things that are hands on, I don't have any EL kids but they do a great job with training for EL kids, homeless kids, foster kids, you know these kids all have different needs, different things, but it's local, it's the county idea. From the state level, I mean the state is so big and so diverse it's probably an impossible task but it will be interesting to see how your research findings comes up. Interviewer: So okay well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now

Participant 27 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 27: The one that best supported me was having a coach, a retired superintendent, who was actually my superintendent when I was a principal. She met with me monthly for two hours for a year and a 206

half. That was one-on-one mentoring, and the topic changed according to whatever my needs were. After that, there are different workshops at our County Office of Education that I attend. Some are given by lawyers, and I find those very helpful, but because they're generic, they're not as helpful as the mentoring. There are often topical workshops on a variety of subjects that I attend, again, given for free by the COE, and those vary in usefulness. Some are quite useful, and others I think I had more pressing things I should have been doing. I have only attended one outside conference since I've been a superintendent, principal, and that was the Superintendent’s Symposium in Monterey last year. Actually, I think it was two

207 years ago. That was really fun and parts of it were valuable, but on the whole, I prefer the things that are more designed specifically for my needs, and some of the workshops within the conference that I went to were better and some were less valuable, but in general, it was kind of average I think. Interviewer: Okay. The second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 27: I am, but I have not spent any time trying to match up what I'm doing with the CPSELs. I read them before, and I'm generally aware of them, but I haven't specifically tried to line them up. Interviewer: Okay. Then the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 27: Well, the mentoring was very helpful in that regard, because my mentor was very good at balancing times when she would just tell me, "This is how it is. This is how you do it," very direct and directed help, and other times, I would ask her something. Usually she'd ask me clarifying questions, and then ask me some philosophical questions. She turned it back on me and say, "Well, what do you think you should do, and how would you handle it? What would you consider," and those types of questions that would help me be more reflective about it? Sometimes when you get bogged down in the day-to-day stuff, you need someone to lift you above it and help you think it through, rather than just trying to get it all turned in on time. Sometimes the other workshops I've gone to at the COE or the 207

Symposium, they would cause me ... I'd get new information that would cause me to think, "Oh, I've been doing it wrong," or, "There's a better way to do it," and sometimes that was the result of what the speaker was saying and the facilitator was saying, and other times, it was a result of sitting next to a colleague and saying, "How do you handle that?" But, again, I think the individual mentoring was the most valuable in terms of causing me to be reflective. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Then the final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 27: Yes. Reinstating Title II would help.

208 Interviewer: Yes. Participant 27: I mean besides that flip response, it's also quite serious. We don't have a lot of funds that are dedicated towards professional development in general, and there's nothing specific to superintendents that I get anyway. It always has to be carved out of something else, and there are all these competing demands on those funds, because they have to justify, and as the leader of the institution, a big part of my job is just seeing the needs, and I often think, "Well, I can make do without it," because you have these other more pressing things. But what ends up happening if you do that too often is that, yeah, you get the facility fixed, or the teacher paid, or whatever you're trying to do, but you wind up kind of starving the person who is supposed to act as the visionary, and if they're not maintaining and nourishing that vision, then the entire institution can wither and atrophy. You have to have some funds to make it happen. I mean most of the stuff isn't free. Some of it is or appears to be so, because some other institution pays for it, like the COE. But really, I think the superintendent needs to be fed, and in a lot of other professions, we have built in ... Like if you think about sports, for example, we have built in coaching, and the best players still have coaches even at the peak of their career, and so it shouldn't be that you become a superintendent, and, all of a sudden, you think you know everything or the institution acts as if you're supposed to know everything. It should be that we're constantly getting coached as well. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device right now. 208

Participant 28 Interviewer: So, the first question: In what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 28: As a small school district superintendent and as a teacher as well, I take very few days off during the school year, during school days, so any professional development I participate in has to be weighed very carefully. I participate in one ongoing professional development. That is a superintendent's council meeting at the County Office of Education with all the

209 superintendents from our county. That has been incredibly beneficial to my position as a superintendent as we cover legal and various other issues and items that come up statewide and nationally. So, otherwise, I think if I was not attending those trainings/meetings, I don't think I would ever get that kind of information up here where I am at. Interviewer: And they've best supported you for the information, you said? Participant 28: Yeah, it's a really informative meeting. They keep it very tight and concise. It really keeps me up with what's going on statewide as a superintendent, as you may know, being in a small school district, it's very difficult to stay on top of everything, especially considering I am the only employee. Doing facilities and HR and Special Ed during all those items where most of the other districts, they have at least one or two other people to help out in those categories. It's very challenging to stay on top of all the current laws and policies and procedures and whatnot. So that meeting is invaluable to me, seeing as I really don't get out for any other trainings in general. Interviewer: Okay, alright. And the second question: Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? Participant 28: I find that because those CPSELs are pretty close to what we do as a job, our superintendents’ meetings really revolve around those items very closely because our county superintendent understands that we don't have time to be at meetings where we talk about anything other than what relates to our job. So, I feel like those meetings do really support those items. Now, do they 209

indicate that every single time? Do we talk about it every time? No, not really. But I think the general topics on the agendas are very, very aligned to those items. Interviewer: Okay, alright. And the third question: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 28: Well, I think if I'm not aware of something I can't reflect on it. So, you know, being informed and staying on top of policies and procedures and whatnot helps me make better decisions. I do have to say that I, in general, I am a fairly reflective person. I

210 think that that particular meeting that I go to, that training, really, if I wasn't a reflective person, I don't think it pushes me to be in any specific way, but as a reflective person I tend to come back and focus it on those items and address them as needed so I guess. Interviewer: Thank you. And then the final question: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 28: I think just being in the kind of situation I'm in. I'm the one supporting me, because I am the district. My board has been very supportive of any training that I need but I think I probably don't get as much training as some other superintendents do because they can take a couple of days and a weekend to go to a big conference and get further training or they have the ability to get a mentor. I mean, I don't know that anybody would ever come all the way out here to mentor me. And not to mention, I really don't do a lot of the same things that some superintendents do. My job tends to be more principal in nature. I do work with the board but my board is a three-member board and it's a small community up here, so I don't know that further training in that area and/or ... and we don't bargain here because we only have part-time employees. So, I don't know that any additional training would really assist me within the nature of my job here. Should I take a superintendency at a larger district, I most definitely would need to seek out further training in that area. But I think in general the training that I do get does support me within my job. Interviewer: Okay, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm 210

turning off the recording device.

Participant 29 Interviewer: So, the first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate? And, what professional activity or activities have best-supported your role as superintendent? Participant 29: Okay, so certainly my ... and I'm going to include the work I did towards my own doctorate, in organizational leadership, was foundational to everything that came afterwards, just being able to really understand change, what needed to happen with change and with the relationships of the individuals. That was absolutely a critical piece in being able to forward my work as a new

211 superintendent. I would say I was going to say the other most compelling professional development I've had since then as a superintendent is working through the University of California Davis through their SELF program, which is Superintendent Executive Leadership Forum. I did the first strand of that, I want to say eight, nine years ago, maybe as many as ten ... about nine years ago, and last year and this year they brought back together the so-called, some alumni from that program for a two-year superintendents PLC and that is absolutely amazing. It's incredibly good professional development. It's very, very relevant. And then the third that I would point out is our district is working with the Center for Educational Leadership through the University of Washington. They have a high-quality instructional rubric that really defines what high-quality instruction looks like, and so doing that PD with my principals and district admin team is really developing some incredible coherence and common language and common expectations for instructional classrooms across the district. So those are the three that I would point out as the most impactful. Interviewer: Okay. And the second question is, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 29: Absolutely. The one I was just talking about with SELF, that work that we're doing, that is absolutely instructional leadership and in spades it's the most amazing professional development around instructional leadership that I've been a part of. We do classroom observations as teams and then we critically analyze the instruction 211

that we've seen, and now we have ... At the beginning, people were all over the place with the quality of instruction that we were observing, and now we're so much more aligned. I would say that both my doctoral and my work with Davis touches all those other areas in terms of the CPSELs. You're working with the new CPSELs, right? Interviewer: Yes. Then the third question is, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency. Participant 29: I'm a naturally reflective person, so separating that out in terms of professional development. I would say that in the Davis program

212 that I'm in right now, one of the things that we do is each of us bring a really well-defined issue to the table for presentation and then discussion, and the process by which Davis has set up, where we are defining the program and doing our own reflection on the things that impact the issue, the strategies that we've applied, those that have worked and haven't worked. And then having 12 colleagues just listen, ask questions and then ponder other possibilities is extremely powerful for peeling back the issue and getting the opportunity to look at it with 24 new eyes. So that is, I guess the best way I could answer that. Interviewer: Okay, all right. And then the final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 29: Well, as I'm sure you are well aware of, it's really critical for superintendents to build a network of other superintendents to be able to talk through strategies. There's no one else in the district that you can have certain conversations with. There just isn't. So that isolation, if you don't have that network, I believe can really ... It can be ... just, it's kind of hard on you, hard on the soul, hard on the mind, and may result in some less-than-ideal decisions and actions and results thereof. So, I would say that network of trusted colleagues is really critical. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

Participant 30 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as 212

superintendent? Participant 30: Okay. Let's see. There are so many things that superintendents are invited to, right. You know we can travel all the time. I tend to focus on a couple things. I tend to focus ... Let me kind of walk through the year. In the fall, I do a one-day meeting for California City superintendents and their fall meeting. Sometimes in the fall I will attend an ACSA, either an ACSA conference or a NASS conference for a couple days. Much of that focuses, let's say, legislative and what's happening on the political front. Then I traditionally attend CSBA with our board, really focused on building relationships and convergence issues. Let me see.

213 Then I also attend school services, budget updates and fiscal outlook conferences. Usually three of those a year. Actually, let me take that back. I think it's two I really attend. I attend the one for the proposed budget and then the second for the May revise. Those are the ones that I attend. I have, for the last couple years, have gone to AASA's national conference. American Association of School Administrator's conference. And then one city superintendent meeting during the course of the spring. That's all my professional development that I do. Interviewer: Okay. Out of those activities, are there any particular that have best supported your role as superintendent, or are they equally beneficial? Participant 30: I think equally beneficial is the key. But I think there are a number of things that superintendents are hit with. One is leadership and curriculum and instruction. Secondly trying to keep up with the economy and financial outlook for fiscal planning, and maybe ever benefits associated with that. In addition, I would say that there is a real focus for me in terms of keeping up to speed with legal updates, court cases, decisions that impact school districts. And then I think that other one, just being covered as how to be a good superintendent for your board and lead people effectively. So, each one of those kind of fit those strands in different times and places. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Perfect. The second question. Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California professional standards for education leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 30: I have seen those. Although those have more developed since I 213

have been in administration, well eventually getting up there and this is my 36th year. Is that right? I'm trying to think of how many of those were administrator. Yeah, I think I'm pretty close to pushing 30 as an administrator. I have morphed through the years. Pretty significantly. During that time, there have been a number of shifts, of course, you know, for administrators in CPSELs. I've seen them, but I'm not as aware of them probably as a model as I should be. Interviewer: Okay. The third question. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application and professional learning

214 that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 30: I think that professional development is integral to managing a very rapidly changing school and school district environment. Whether it’s national politics, California legislation, decisions and law by courts, keeping up with the financial trends. All of those help me plan ahead and think ahead, so that I can position our district to be ahead of the game, as opposed to responding. Interviewer: Okay. Then the final question. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency?

Participant 30: I just think all of us need to be aware of what our particular deficits are at a given time and make sure that we're reflecting on that so we can address those issues that we're perhaps not as current or strong in. Interviewer: Okay. All right. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview. I'm turning off the recording device at this time.

Participant 31 Interviewer: So, question number one says, "In what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent?" Participant 31: There are two types of activities I participate in. One type is the monthly meetings. The superintendent’s meetings that occur at the county office, where all the superintendents come together. We receive information regarding what's new and current in education, legislation, and we also have a professional learning community formed as a group of superintendents. That's type number one. 214

Type number two are conferences, so I attend conferences when given the opportunity, like the one I'm going to tomorrow and that's further develops me as a professional, and it also meets some of the components of the CPSELs. Interviewer: Okay. Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 31: Yes, I'm very aware of them, and the reason I'm very aware of them, Interviewer, is because I teach in the master’s program, and I'm sorry, I taught in the master’s program, and I'm currently teaching

215 and supporting people at another University that are in the doctoral program that are beginning their second-tier admin and credential. So, what that support looks like is that one on one fieldwork coaching that aligns with the CPSEL and individual improvement plans, very much what you see with a beginning teacher induction program. Interviewer: Okay. All right. And then the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 31: I would say daily I use the knowledge that's gained through professional development. I think one of the most meaningful professional developments that I've gone through in the last two to three years, well, two of them. One is change management, and managing change from an organizational level. And what exactly does that look like when for all the constituents and stakeholders that are a part of this, and what are some of the key components for change management that allow the change to be deeply implemented with sustainability that will equate to student achievement. The other part that I, the other component or the other topic through professional development that's in the CPSELs, but not directly in the CPSELs, is understanding political climate and political power structures that deal with the people that report to me, direct reports, job alikes, committee members, board members, and just understanding what those structures are, what types of political power they hold, and why. And then also, depending on what their, how they operate within a political leadership format, so that I can best understand the situation and meet the needs of the adults and the students within the context of the political climate at the time. Interviewer: Okay. And then the final question is, is there anything else you'd 215

like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 31: I think the thing that I'd like to add is that as a superintendent, if I didn't seek the professional development, if I didn't read the books, if I didn't attend the workshops or the conferences, if I wasn't ... and part of that professional development is through the university, through their doctoral program because I mentor people getting their doctorate, I also get to be privy to all their assignments and the speakers and all that. So, it's kind of like fringe professional development. But with my colleagues that are superintendents, they're not receiving a lot of professional development or support or coaching

216 because that's usually not offered to Superintendents. They believe, I think they think that once you're at that level of administration, that you don't need a whole lot more, and the reality is things are changing constantly in education. They're remaining the same, but they're also changing, and that support is, I think, essential. And I would venture to say that most superintendents don't even realize that the standards for leadership, the CPSELs, have changed in the last three years. I would say they probably think they're the same old ones they had when they first went through their program, how many ever years ago. For me, it was 15 years ago. Interviewer: Okay. All right. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I am turning off the recording device right now, so I really want to thank you for taking the time for me. I appreciate it. I could relate to a lot-

Participant 32 Interviewer: The first question: In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 32: Is this just open ended, Interviewer? Interviewer: Yes. Participant 32: Yeah, okay. I have been a school superintendent for nearly 20 years. I participated in a wide variety of professional development over the years. Some pieces that were sponsored by ACSA, including the Superintendent's Academy where I first began many years ago. I've always participated in the annual superintendent symposium sponsored by ACSA, the annual school boards conference with my board members. I've participated in district trainings that focused on 216

strategic planning, California School Leadership Academy in its heyday many years ago. County office sponsored superintendent’s networks and trainings through the years. I am the most senior superintendent in the county, so for years I've done that with the county office. I've also done in-district trainings that were led by CSBA, was my board, including the Masters in Governance, the Good Beginnings, and some other selected personal trainings, and policy development, sponsored by CSBA. Then, of course, my own doctoral training was an important part of my own professional developmental for the superintendency. Interviewer: Okay. Is there any particular one of those that is best supported or equally beneficial?

217 Participant 32: Well, I think my doctoral program was the best designed to support my leadership work. Interviewer: Okay. The next question: Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSEL, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 32: Yeah, I would say that although not necessarily by intention, but the reality is as I think about my own professional development trainings over the years, those are exactly the areas that have been my focus. I think that though I supported those standards, and I think my own training taken overall lines up pretty well with those. Interviewer: Okay. All right. Then, the third question: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice for the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every-day action in the superintendency? Participant 32: Well, I think, first of all, referring to the doctoral program, I think because my own doctoral program at my university was so focused on collaboration, working in teams, group problem solving, you know, that was the emphasis coupled with reflection. Reflective practice really was one of the key themes of that program. You know, I learned through that experience that reflection, the importance of reflection and how to use reflection and introspection to guide my own leadership experiences and to add to the collaborative and social development and team aspects of leadership. I would say that reflection has played an important part, both in my own training and in my practice. Interviewer: Okay. The final question: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? 217

Participant 32: No, I guess just to say that it cannot be underestimated. Often times, when we run into trouble financially in our school districts, one of the first things that goes is professional development. I think we all know that that's a mistake. We've got to keep a focus on professional development. Our people are our best resource, including the resource of the superintendent him or herself. Along with board training and development, sometimes we're tempted to leave those on the wayside when we run into financial trouble, but I guess my comment would be that that's probably when they ought to be even more important to us than ever. Interviewer: Okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview. I'm turning

218 of the recording device ...

Participant 33 Interviewer: So, the first question: in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 33: I've only been a superintendent for nine months. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 33: My experience will probably be less than some of those that have been around a while. The only one I've been able to participate in is the ... It's called the County Superintendent's Consortium. Interviewer: Okay. Participant 33: Four times a year, the County Office of Education puts together four workshop days spread throughout the year in the morning about four hours. They've hired an outside organization like Leadership Associates or something like that who come in and are doing four four-hour per day workshops on leadership or going through a book. But I've only been to two of them because I haven't been a superintendent that long. The only other form of professional development would be I've developed my own connection of about three different mentors that are former superintendents that I've worked for. I meet with them off and on throughout the year, all three of them, just for one-on-one coaching and mentorship. But I do that on my own. Interviewer: Okay. Then the second question: are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics, and policy? 218

Participant 33: I don't know how they line up with that at all. I know ... The things that we talk about with the people I meet with one-on-one or down there, they do touch on all the things you just mentioned, but I couldn't articulate how they crosswalk over to those. Interviewer: Okay. Then the next question: how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 33: 100%. Part of that's because I picked the three or four folks that I meet with regularly, and I know that they directly ... Everything matches up

219 with what I need to know and learn or stretch me or challenge me to think differently. Interviewer: Okay. The final question: is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 33: Well probably I don't know enough to add a whole lot, but I would say that one of the things I've learned is that probably of all the positions I've served in, superintendency is probably the loneliest of all of them. When it comes to professional development even when you're with other superintendents, you're not real gung ho to let your hair down and ask the hard questions because you end up ... You could end up ... someone might perceive that they end up sharing their weaknesses and are then concerned that somehow that creates a bad reputation or it puts you in a bad position or bad light. Unless you have someone... I happen to have three people that are retired superintendents that I can talk with very candidly, and they can say very openly. I don't have to be worried about showing my flaws, but I don't know how other people do it if they're in a big group setting because they all want to pretend like it's tough and they're all great and everything is wonderful. Sometimes it's just not wonderful. Interviewer: Okay. Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview, and I'm turning off the recording device right now. So, I really appreciate-

Participant 34 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate, and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? 219

Participant 34: Where to start? Let's see. Let's see. At the instructional level ... We can start there ... So probably more under instructional leadership. I attend the professional development that we have for our teachers, in part, not all of it, as much as I would like, but I do make efforts. For example, curriculum adoptions, new initiatives, under our LCAP, things of that nature. We have weekly staff development time and I try to make those on occasion, we try to integrate our professional development, year-round. And I would say I probably attend one a month of those for an hour. And then on the county level, I participate in quite a bit of professional development around policy, law, through various workshops from county legal counsel that's brought in conjunction with our county office.

220 And then as a superintendent, my own professional development, I'm currently participating in a superintendent network and we are partnering with the University through the Center of Ed Leadership, CEL. And that's a yearlong professional development this year. And then another partnership with our county office is a grant and I'm doing that alongside my staff and it's another yearlong commitment, under what's called a E3 and that's around, equity, engagement, and empathy. And that will be an 11-month commitment, and that's looking at making societal change for starting at our school level and expanding out. Interviewer: And of those are they all equally beneficial, do you think for you and your superintendency, or are there any activities ... Do all the activities best support your role as superintendent? Participant 34: I do, I think that every single one of them serve a different purpose. First and foremost, this year the superintendent network is focused on instructional leadership, period. So, at the end of the day, that's what we're in the business for. And I'm really enjoying that because we have so many other responsibilities, some of the other PD, I also ... We are a single school district, so small and so I'm the director of pretty much all operations, special education, cafeteria, facilities, so I attend a lot of workshops and development, but every one of the ones I listed I find very meaningful just really for different purposes. Interviewer: And number two question, are you aware of how your professional development activities aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 34: I am. Interviewer: Okay, can you expand on that just a little. Participant 34: Sure, a couple things is the CPSEL indicators and goals is what my 220

entire evaluation as a superintendent is framed around. And so, when we have our district goals, we're also aligning the district goals with my superintendent goals. So, we look at the different areas. So, for example, let me think here for a second. Family and community engagement, Standard Four, even if it's not PD and just endeavors are aligned with that, but especially for professional development. So, school culture, and district culture and environment, that was the entire reason I participated in E3, entire training. And then the biggest one this year was instructional leadership, so under Standard Two, that is why I joined the superintendent network this year. And that's 11 superintendents out of 40 that are participating in that work together.

221 Interviewer: And then the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities, promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning, that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 34: I would say, I think the as a superintendent, the responsibility of really becoming an expert in the different fields. It is essential because as we're supervising others and as we're directing work to really be able to understand that work and to help guide it. I think sometimes because we are spread thin, we're not always developing our expertise in each of these areas and it is our responsibility to do so, especially in areas instruction. Interviewer: And then the final question, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 34: I think just the message always is how important it is that our board support us in that. I think that we can be over ran with some responsibilities and the importance of superintendents attending professional conferences and the symposiums and that for me it's very revitalizing, I'm always renewed from it and just understanding how important that is. And especially in these tight budget times coming up that it's not just a luxury, it's a necessity. Our quality staffing and our leadership it is an investment, so we're as good as we can be as superintendents that they're investing time and resources in our development as well. And also, we can't do this work alone, the networking opportunities are essential. Interviewer: Well I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights, this concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 35 221

Interviewer: The first question: In what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 35: What do I currently participate in? Interviewer: Currently and recent past. Participant 35: Okay. In our county, we have ... I think there's 24 superintendents. We consistently have our monthly meetings. I think a lot of counties have. But it also has training embedded in that. Then I participate in the Region and ACSA sorts of things. The other thing that happened is that because I had the experiences of a large district, I had done like the Aspiring Superintendent

222 Academy. We had brought in Marilyn Taber for lots of creative coaching types of conversations. As a district, we had work to do, the breakthrough coach thing was with Malachi Pancoast. We had done all the professional learning communities with the DuFour’s. We had done ... something else ... Plus the doctoral program of course. I've had lots of opportunities before walking into the superintendent role. It was interesting to come to a county that has significantly fewer kids. I have to go looking for those opportunities. It's one of those catch 22s where you've had a lot of experiences and then come somewhere you don't really have as many opportunities. But also, what happened is since I have been in this position, that my CBO, my HR Director, my SPED Director and my Director of Curriculum has all turned over, as well as my facility person. At different times in this job, I have played all of those roles while we were working to fill the positions. And I had the experiences to do that just cause of all the administrative positions I have held. Some of my professional development, whether it was for superintendent or not, went with those job alike cohorts too during that time. Does that make sense? Interviewer: Yes, it does. Participant 35: Even now though as I hire new people, it often is their first district office experience. I've required them to go through like a CBO Academy or the Personnel Academy through ACSA. It's kind of fun to revisit some of those things cause I'd done the ACSA Personnel Academy, to revisit it with my team now as they've gone through processes. For example, today I sat in a SELPA director meeting cause my new Special Ed Director's not coming on for another two weeks. Interviewer: Oh, no. Okay. 222

Participant 35: Did that help or hinder? Interviewer: Yes, it does. Now it's perfect. Are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders, or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 35: Yes. Our district's tool for leadership evaluation is completely based on CPSELs. For the majority of like my principals are all in the process of working them through Standard Two. Basically, what happens is I set my goals with the Board around all of the CPSELs, whether it's financial solvency or working on community or relationships with them, unions, et cetera et cetera.

223 Then it filters down to each department that their goals reflect with more detail the pieces that are in mine on down to principals around Standard Two and instruction and student learnings pieces of it. Then, of course, then it filters down to the teachers and then to ... I don't even know if down is the right word. But it filters so that by the time it's down to the exact students and their performance and what we're doing for intervention if they're not at grade level all the way through. Interviewer: Okay, all right. Then the next question is: How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 35: Okay, read it again. Sorry, one more time. Interviewer: That's okay. How has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 35: Okay, what the professional development things, it does two things, I think. Well, probably more than that. One is it keeps you up to date on the new things that you should be doing in your district, whether it's legislative, whether it's something new coming down the pipeline, whatever. It keeps you informed first. Then number two, it often gives you specific ways that you might be able to implement what's being required next. But it also gives you that whole PLC type of community piece to be able to see and hear what other people are doing. Because in reality, most of the time we all need to get to the same place no matter what it is we're working on, but we don't have to all do it the same way because our cultures are different. What best works in my community and my culture may be pieces of all of the above. So much of the time, the 223

professional development is really the communicative professional learning community time in the groups that I go to. Interviewer: Okay. Then the final question: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 35: You know what? The other pieces, I think, every one of us it helps tremendously if we just have our own personal coach, and I do. I still communicate regularly with my previous superintendent. It's something he's done in retirement, it just helps to have someone else to bounce ideas off it and really think through what things might look like at politically and through your board, and all the difference lenses before you go off the deep end and do something

224 have unintended consequences. Interviewer: Right, okay. Well, I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 36 Interviewer: The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities has best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 36: So, you're talking about my personal professional development activities, right? Interviewer: Yes. Yes. Participant 36: Okay. You know what? I think ... Gosh there's been so many things. Part of which, I've been involved with ACSA. So, a part of that piece was really if I go back to ... I've done the Personnel Academy, which was extremely helpful. Then I've also been a Certified Leadership Coach for probably the past five or six years. There's ongoing PD for us as coaches through ACSA and that's been extremely helpful as well. So, because I can transfer that to my own work as well. Let's see. Gosh, other PD that has been helpful ... Even just informal stuff, I mean to tell you the truth, I just met with two long-standing superintendents right now and just to bounce ideas off of them. So, it's almost like informal coaching. I think that that's really helpful. Then I think it's important to the ... especially ... I know there's been this transformation with principals to be instructional leaders but I think superintendents need to be as well. So, I think that we're starting to see a greater shift towards that. I participate in the NGSS roll-outs. I've actually asked to be a presenter for the state. 224

Unfortunately, it was during the time of the transition over to superintendent, so I couldn't take that on. The new C3 Framework, I've participated in those roll-outs. Gosh, I've done work with Stanford in terms of ... worked directly with Jo Boaler ... did some research there and participated in a research study with her. So yeah, I mean I think it's just ... It's constant from all angles. I think not only instructional but then also doing those things like the HR Personnel Academy. I mean those as a superintendent are extraordinarily helpful. Interviewer: Okay. All right. And then the second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education

225 Leaders or CPSELs, in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 36: I think so. I mean part of it is when I coach principals and/or others going through their Tier Two program, like the new Tier Two, it's all around work with the CPSELs. So, when we're talking about their major professional learning goal and then outlining their activities, we attach the CPSEL to each activity. So that helps me kind of reflect even on my own work, so in terms of what CPSELs I'm addressing. Also, gosh for the past ... Since 2010, I have taught at either USC or Cal State Long Beach. Through those programs, there was a constant emphasis on the CPSELs. Weaving it into my class structure also allowed me as a professional to think about them more readily in my every day work. Interviewer: Okay. Then the third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs every day action in the superintendency? Participant 36: I think a lot of things that I gain from professional development I take that and pass it on. So, if I think about something like the leadership coaching pieces that I've attended and been a part of, I then in turn modify those presentations or those materials to work for principals to use with teachers and teacher leaders. I think it's all about just sharing. Sharing anything that I've learned with others and sifting through that too just so that I'm not overwhelming people. I remember I went to one PD and I was with my former superintendent and I. One of the principals called us and her response was, "Don't learn anything new." Because she'd have to 225

come back, all right, and share it. So, you have to be aware of that too. I think that that... While we laugh at it, I think it was a good reminder that all the cool stuff that we learn you got to think about focus ... I love that Schmoker book. What's our focus this year and how does this relate? Interviewer: Okay. Then the final question is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 36: I don't think so. I think hopefully I've covered it all through my responses. I think ... it's kind of ... It's interesting because if you think about the superintendency it speaks a lot of that profile that they cut out when they post the position. I think my position as a

226 superintendent is very different than someone who is in a district that's going out for a bond or that's facing financial crises or someone who has even a different level of union issues and/or strength. So, it's ... I guess what PD for the superintendent needs to be almost customized based on what your situation is. I mean I've been in ... this is an affluent district, obviously, but I spent the bulk of my career in a very different place. If you're a superintendent in low income, you have a whole other set of issues that you're dealing with. So, I think just kind of offering differentiated options for us. I think sometimes when I go ... when I hear ... I don't know. As a whole superintendent, at least some of the stuff that people talk about is all related to finance, which I know is really important but our sole job isn't around ... isn't finance. Our sole job is about providing high quality education. So, if you have a superintendent that can't ... doesn't understand instruction that's a major gap I think. So, but anyway I think it's more about menu of choices to address those gaps. We can't know everything. Interviewer: Okay. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device right now.

Participant 37 Interviewer: The first question, in what types ... Participant 37: Just so you know, Interviewer, you do keep cutting out a little bit so I think we'll be fine but if I don't hear something I'll ask you to repeat it. It's like every ... And I don't if it's my ... we did just get new phones. I'm not sure but ... I don't know if it's you or me or just our connection but you are cutting out a little bit. Interviewer: Okay. Feel free to ask me to repeat anything. I'll be fine with that. 226

Okay. The first question, in what types of professional development activities do you participate and what professional development activity or activities have best supported your role as superintendent? Participant 37: Yes. I think I said this in the survey and in some ways, it's almost even a little embarrassing that at this point I'm not doing tons of professional development. I did a lot of professional development prior to ... I've been a super ... This is my seventh year and a lot more in preparation for the superintendency and a lot at the beginning of the superintendency but less as the years have gone on mostly just because I find most of it is on-the-job training now. That part is gone. A lot in preparation where more classwork and so forth. All of the ACSA programs and so forth and then just every single thing I

227 could get on the superintendency. What I realized early in my career or superintendency and probably still to this day, the majority of mine rests on the relationships that I built with outstanding mentors that were either previously just very successful superintendents or currently successful superintendents. I rely a lot on relationships and probably my own reading more so than things I'm going to. Interviewer: Okay, all right. Then the second question, are you aware of how your professional development activities are aligned to and support the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders or CPSELs in the areas of shared vision, instructional leadership, management, community engagement, ethics and policy? Participant 37: I am definitely aware of how my leadership supports all of that and so therefore I would say my professional development in those areas as needed. Because my entire leadership would be based on that including even the way I'm evaluated and so forth of which I designed. I'm certainly aware of all of them and I know how my leadership impacts those areas and so then I would also say any professional development, and I'll go back to again, more reading, relying on relationships than working on my doctorate, for example. Absolutely support that but it's not really classes. It would still be as my leadership needs something, I seek it out. Does that make sense? Interviewer: Yes, it does. Thank you. The third question, how has your participation in professional development activities promoted your reflective practice or the deliberate application of professional learning that informs everyday action in the superintendency? Participant 37: Well, I would say I am just probably more of a self-learner. It's constant reflection, constant collaboration and talking with, again, the mentors that I mentioned or my colleagues. We have the unique circumstance of having multiple elementary districts in our city so 227

we are very collaborative. I would say the biggest thing is that as one of us are going through anything or we need something, it's collaborative and that's the reflection piece I suppose. Not just personally but also with, again, my cabinet which is an extremely cohesive group. But with other superintendents, which again, is probably where I'm still going to say that I get the majority of the support and I'm going to call it professional development or mentorship is from them. Does that answer that? Interviewer: Yes, it does, thank you. The final questions, is there anything else you would like to add regarding professional development support in the superintendency? Participant 37: No, except for what I think I've said. It starts out where you need a

228 certain amount of professional development in all areas to obviously be prepared to take on the position. But so much of it is unique to every single superintendency that I think it's been, if anything, so much of it is the experience you go through or finding others that have had that similar experiences. I guess that would be it. Interviewer: Okay. I'd like to thank you. I want to thank you for your time and important perspectives and insights. This concludes the interview and I'm turning off the recording device.

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APPENDIX E: SURVEY PARTICIPANT COMMENTS

A. Access to professional development can be difficult in districts without the necessary funds. For example, I have been a superintendent in a district with a fairly generous PD budget and one in which I had to pay for all my own PD out of pocket since there were no funds available at all. PD is extremely expensive (even without travel costs) and that is somewhat prohibitive. B. ACSA's "Leading the Learners" training for first year Superintendents was very valuable for me when I became a Superintendent 5 years ago. I felt I received great training and support through those meetings and I built some great relationships with the cohort members throughout the years. The ACSA Superintendent Symposiums have also been very valuable. C. As a Superintendent/Principal in a geographically isolated county -- travel for many professional development opportunities is difficult. D. being part of networks like edleader21 and the Carnegie improvement science group have been the best paths of superintendency development E. Best of luck to you! I sometimes compare the growth from Professional Development to the act of measuring how tall your child has grown. If you try to measure the growth too frequently the changes can be imperceptible but when you look back over time you are often shocked to see how much growth has occurred. I would say that Professional Development is a critical ingredient if you want to lead in an ever-changing world. F. CASBO is a very good source of professional development for superintendents in the north state. G. Coming from a highly skilled professional development Educational Services background, professional development for Superintendents is very lacking, minimal, unfocused, and poor no matter who is providing it. H. Every district being different, the only commonalities that can be addressed 229

generally relate to mandates or state/federal expectations. I. For small, rural districts, our challenges are more unique and our resources are minimal. J. For the most part, I came into the superintendency with the passion and ability to create a shared vision, work with community/stakeholders, promote professional learning of others, and many other attributes listed on the survey. due to my own leadership strengths and educational opportunities. I will say that our county office of education has been an excellent source of support and learning in my profession, and my informal mentoring from county and local superintendents has been a tremendous resource for me. One thing that is lacking for new superintendents is professional development in the area of superintendent/board relationships, and I believe

230 this is a critical aspect of a successful superintendency, as this is usually what will make or break you as a superintendent. K. Hardest part of the job is isolation being in a rural school environment. One relies heavily from county for information and professional development. L. Having been a Doctoral Student in this same program it would have been great to also add what great benefits were received from that education and training. :) M. I also belong to the National Center for Education Research & Technology (NCERT) which is an amazing group of educators nationwide N. I also receive professional development opportunities by attending CQL/SRN workshops twice a year which has had the most impact on my professional development. O. I am a relatively new superintendent and the workshops and trainings have been very helpful. Working with the community though is not something that you can learn in a training or workshop. Every community has different needs and our small community all help each other. P. I am associated with California League of Schools which is an organization that has helped me as much or more than any other group. They provide PD for teachers -- by teachers, reward great educators through their Educator of the Year Program and act as the facilitator for the Schools to Watch Program. Q. I am completing my second month as new superintendent, so my sample size of PD opportunities is limited and have little time to reap benefits R. I answered based on PD after the superintendency - I have had much prior to this role that has aided me in the role. S. I attend a monthly Superintendent's meeting at my county level that is very helpful. Otherwise most of my PD is on the teacher level. T. I believe an area that is lacking for school superintendents is the acknowledgement that our role is to be instructional leaders. I have found that most of the superintendent in the county I work in have limited to no 230

knowledge of teaching and learning. This is an area that needs to be improved as we prepare the next generation of school superintendents. U. I consider my own doctoral program to have a significant impact also. V. I feel that there is plenty of support at County level to help Superintendents know law. District advisory helps coach superintendents. I appreciate the opportunity to take part in web conferences and find that the most effective professional development includes collaboration with administrative teams and not in silo. W. I found the best professional development for me as a new Superintendent was tapping the expertise of experienced, successful Superintendents through ACSA "Lead the Leaders" and the ACSA Superintendent's Symposium. X. I have also benefited from the City Schools Superintendent's workshops.

231 Y. I have been a superintendent for only about six weeks. In that time, I have only participated in two trainings, which is why my responses are limited. The most important thing I've gained so far is finding a network of support from other superintendents and identifying a mentor. Z. I have been drawn to topics in the area of Access and Equity such as the work of Cultural Proficiency with Dr. Lindsey. This work has influenced my work in policy and practices for my organization. AA. I just began my superintendency two months ago. I was an assistant superintendent in the same district for eight years. BB. I learn the most from reading and ongoing collaboration with colleagues and mentors. Most of it is on the job training. CC. I participate in professional development regularly, especially to reflect on my practice and to guide my work with my administrative team. You didn't include Superintendent's Executive Leadership ELC DD. I was fortunate to have a coach my first two-years as a Superintendent. The monthly meetings with my coach were relevant, timely, and applicable. He not only allowed me to reflect on my practice, but to forecast potential issues moving forward. This type of professional development was the most beneficial, in terms of reflective practice, I've experienced in my 20+ year career. EE. I would say that much of my building/use of vision and building teams and buy-in came from my Doctoral program that I completed prior to my superintendency. FF. In addition to Executive Coaching as part of my contract as a 9-year superintendent, I have participated in Professional Learning Networks through District Reform Support Network (national district network working on personalized learning) and California Superintendents Collaborative Network... reflection for deep learning in both of these that compliments Executive Coaching... GG. In my experience, coaching and mentoring have had the most impact on 231

my leadership practices. I believe relationships with another administrator allows opportunity for conversations tailored to my situation, has been most powerful in changing or guiding my practice. HH. In my experience, the most rewarding conferences/workshops/events have been provided by ACSA, CSBA, SSDA, and CASBO, particularly those moderated by former superintendents. II. In our county, superintendents have recently experimented with executive learning - prereading on a topic prior to meeting, reflecting on the topic and its relevance to our lives/work, sharing/discussing the reflections with colleagues and then finally engaging with a knowledgeable expert on this topic with any new questions that arise. This has been very fruitful and has allowed the learning to stick.

232 JJ. In these rapidly changing LCFF and financial times, I would add School Services to your list of PD for Superintendents. KK. Involved in AASA also. Also work with universities. LL. It is very difficult to adequately train a rural small school Superintendent/principal. It is very costly and difficult for us to step away from our post and attend workshops or conferences. We learn as we travel down this path we are on. MM. It was difficult to rate the PD on its influence on all the various options without having the specific PD listed so I took it as all PD. My doctoral program --Laverne, completed in 1991, did all that stuff very well and experience, work with colleagues, County Office PD, Legal training and meetings have much more influence than conferences... NN. Local support, through other Superintendents, has been helpful as a new Superintendent (informal mentoring) OO. Most of us are alone in our jobs. I cannot travel to be with peers very often. PP. My contacts on Twitter and my professional learning network also serve as great influencers in my own development. I follow successful Superintendents and ensure that we are doing the work they are doing, authentically. I read a lot and my reading varies: books, journals, news feeds. I also listen to various podcasts which also expands my learning. QQ. My training at ACSA, CSBA and coaching has had a tremendous impact on my understanding of how to steward and support the Governance Team. Many of the other areas noted were areas that I had already had a great deal of training, job experience and success, which is why I was selected for the role. So, although the training I've had since becoming a superintendent has not impacted my instructional leadership, leadership for equity, vision building etc. I had great training as a school leader that prepared me for those elements of the Superintendency. RR. No questions about doctoral studies? 232

SS. None TT. PD for superintendent/principal is limited. The job is very unique and it's difficult to find resources to support our work. UU. Superintendents are often focused on everyone else's professional development and they really need to continue with their own as well. VV. Superintendents must work together to create a positive trusting relationship between districts. This trusting relationship works well when smaller districts are able to combine time, energy, and resources that support both the learning of the students and that of the staff in each district. WW. At many levels. XX. Thank you for studying this area and good luck to you. YY. Thanks for conducting this study. This is a very interesting topic!

233 ZZ. The "professional development" that had the greatest impact on my superintendency was my doctoral program. AAA. The 1:1 coaching by a retired superintendent was fantastic. When you are the only administrator in the district and workshops are far away, the coaching makes much more sense. BBB. The best professional development for me has been the development of collegial relationships with other superintendents who actually understand the job and are doing it currently. CCC. The best professional development I have ever experienced has been through an experienced, empathetic mentor utilizing Cognitive Coaching. DDD. The greatest learning opportunities I have had to help me in all aspects of my superintendency have come from my participation in a university's Doctorate program. EEE. The most valued assistance, from my perspective, has come from my fellow superintendents and from county office consultants FFF. The need of employer employee relationships at multiple levels within the organization. GGG. The second set of questions did not specify if the PD you asked about was only as a Superintendent or was from PD in other roles as an administrator. I would have responded much differently if the second set of questions was for your entire career. The questions for PD needed to specifically state that it was the PD received in the Superintendent's role. HHH. The size of my district has had a lot to do with my ability to set time aside to attend PD. When I was in smaller districts, I was more dependent on the networking, and I had more time to attend PD. In a larger district, it is very hard to carve out time to participate in PD other than CSBA. III. The standards are great targets but fail to train superintendents on the "how" of the job. Many of us in small districts do it all. We need to pin down the "how" before we can refine the quality of the program and stakeholder involvement. 233

JJJ. The Superintendent is the one person, mostly, that is at the will of a board for employment. Working with like peers on issues within their districts is a high priority and a needed activity. Helping Superintendents to build the capacity of staff members to reflect a culture of empowering is difficult for smaller districts. These Superintendents are forces to focus on compliance and not building a program. The CDE is more about getting it in on time rather than get it done well. Having staff development that is targeted towards Superintendents is extremely needed in order for these leaders to focus their efforts on building capacity and not just being compliant. KKK. There were frequently options available in regard to available PD topics at conferences, and so individual choice affected the training received. Staying current with professional reading was a huge benefit to me

234 professionally. LLL. These questions are very broad. I don't know how meaningful my responses to them will be. The most important PD for a superintendent, in my opinion is mentoring/coaching by an experienced superintendent. MMM. This is my first year in this position--as such my administrative PD has been fairly minimal (one conference and several COE meeting/trainings); and my answers are based on two months of work. NNN. this superintendent role is extremely dynamic and changes every year with the new laws and legislation. Keeping up with this, and positioning the district to take on these challenges, is a huge role for training and support OOO. Two excellent professional development opportunities where left off the list: The California City Superintendent symposium (the best 24-hour professional development opportunity for superintendents), and the annual Leadership Associates Summer Institute. Both have been great for developing my skills as a superintendent. PPP. Where I identified minimal extent in many responses, I came to the superintendency with those understandings and skill sets from my 30 + years in education. QQQ. While you have done an excellent job of identifying the array of professional development opportunities for educational leaders, there continues to be a lack of on-going and relevant PD for leaders at the Superintendent level. Most PD opportunities are primarily focused on the Principal as leader. I have found that formal and informal opportunities to network with experienced superintendents, and/or those in the position to be the most powerful PD I have ever received. The Northern and Southern California Superintendent's Associations are an excellent example of this kind of networking PD. Good Luck! RRR. Working in such a small district and wearing many hats makes it difficult to attend conferences that are out of county. SSS. You may get false data is your assumption is that professional 234

development opportunities listed in section #1 are the same that I referenced in section #2 are the same. The PD that has most impacted me professionally were ones not listed in your section #1.

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APPENDIX F: INTERVIEW PARTICIPANT CODING

Participant Number Participant Code 1 94.10.36 2 94.10.53 3 94.11.32 4 94.02.18 5 94.02.49 6 94.03.00 7 94.10.18 8 94.03.38 9 95.09.37 10 95.10.24 11 95.02.22 12 95.02.41 13 95.02.54 14 95.03.12 15 98.10.17 16 98.01.03 17 98.03.50 18 98.04.19 19 99.11.16 20 99.02.31 21 99.02.36 22 99.03.12 23 99.03.38 24 90.09.06 25 90.09.23

26 90.09.50 235 27 90.10.02 28 90.03.56 29 90.05.57 30 91.10.53 31 91.01.39 32 91.03.01 33 91.03.46 34 92.12.54 35 92.02.39 36 95.01.17 37 96.09.04