Bureaucracy and Social Interaction: A Study in the Perceived Interaction Between a Superintendent and Campus Principals

• Main Author: Helms, Mildred K. (Mildred Kunkel)
• Other Authors: Anderson, Gary Weldon
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: North Texas State University 1985
• Subjects: educational administrators; School principals.; Principal-superintendent relationships.; bureaucratic leadership styles; social interactions
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331152/

Effective relationships among the levels of educational administrators will support the emphasis on academic excellence at national, state, and local levels. Recognizing the factors involved and understanding the interactions of those factors is a complex process. This study examined the bureaucratic leadership style of a superintendent in the organizational structure and the social interaction between the superintendent and campus principals in that organization as perceived by the principals. Quantitative data were collected by using two instruments: (1) the Administration Organi zationa1 Inventory to define the superintendent's bureaucratic leadership style and (2) the Perceived Social Interaction Questionnaire to determine the degree of social interaction between the superintendent and the campus principals. The study included the superintendent and the forty-three principals of a Texas suburban public school. Data analysis examined the leadership style and its relationship to the social interaction and both style and social interaction in relationship to age, sex, elementary or secondary level, and years of experience as a principal. Results of the study did not clearly define the superintendent's leadership style in a bureaucratic organization and indicated no significant difference between the style and social interaction and the four biographical variables. However, analysis of the data revealed that more principals perceived the superintendent as a Professional with a high degree of expertise and low degree of authority when biographical data were considered. Principals who perceived the superintendent as having a high degree of expertise also indicated they had a warm and friendly social relationship with the superintendent. Further analysis revealed that older, male, secondary principals with more than ten years of experience had a warm and friendly social interaction with the superintendent. This study attempted to provide greater knowledge of the organizational structures and the inward workings of a school system so that other administrators might better understand essential factors affecting district decisions and practices