Dissertation
School boards in transition: An examination of board member induction
Washington State University
Doctor of Education (EdD), Washington State University
08/2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005946
Abstract
The overall purpose of this study was to examine and inform the process of school board member induction in a local school district using action research methodology. This study was conducted in a large, urban school district, where in addition to adding two new school board members within a two year span, recently a third new member was selected. Data were collected through interviews with experienced board members and the most recently appointed board member. Additionally, the perspective of the superintendent was included through the role of coresearcher. This study was guided by these research questions: (a) What is the superintendent's role in the induction process and how do they influence the process? (b) How do existing board members influence the transition and induction of new members? (c) When the school board gains a new member and enters into a transition, what activities and/or strategies are integral elements of an induction process, contributing to the development of a new team and readying the new member to function in their new role? (d) How does an induction process support the on-going work of the school board? and (e) What improvements can be made to the induction process used in this district? As a result of collaborative analysis sessions with the superintendent, a number of conclusions and recommendations were generated. First, when a school board experiences transition, the process of inducting the new member or members is critically and can be leveraged as a board development practice. The second is that the superintendent/board relationship is not only a multi-faceted and essential association, the relationship among board members can also be complex, and when a new board member joins the leadership team, it has an effect on the entire team. Third, the role of board member requires specific technical knowledge in addition to process knowledge. Last, the process of induction is complex and should be seen as an on-going professional learning experience for the entire team versus a onestop isolated training episode that focuses only on the new board member. Each of these conclusions led to recommendations for future inductions.
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Details
- Title
- School boards in transition
- Creators
- Bridget Evelyn Lewis
- Contributors
- Paul E. Pitre (Chair)Gail C Furman (Committee Member) - Washington State University, College of EducationGene Sharratt (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- College of Education
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Education (EdD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 109
- Identifiers
- 99901055132701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation