| Summary: | Empirical research has shown a relationship between the school principal's leadership ability as an instructional leader and student learning outcomes. It would be reasonable to assume that the school principal benefits greatly from his or her superintendent sharing his or her knowledge and experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of a sample of rural West Texas principals and the frequency and extent to which their superintendent provides them effective professional development and advice on a professional level or setting. Furthermore, the study focused on passive-avoidant, transactional, and transformational leadership styles. This was a mixed-method study utilizing 50 quantitative questions and 7 open-ended qualitative questions. Findings indicate that the principals'' perceptions of their superintendent's leadership style were on average, positive. Research supports that the behavior and actions superintendents used were both transformational and transactional forms of leadership and more often than not encouraged growth and positive outcomes among principals. The principals' perceptions regarding the impact of their superintendent's leadership style(s) on their own professional growth was positive, with results indicating that many superintendents would support and encourage professional and personal growth even where resources were limited.
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