Number of African American Superintendents in Texas.

Number of African American Superintendents in Texas.

Historical Perspective

Superintendents as a teacher-scholar was dominant from 1865 to 1910 (Spring, as cited in

Smothers, 2012). They functioned as lead educators who were subordinate to board members but

were considered superior to principals, teachers and students (Kowalski, 2006). The

superintendent as a business manager emerged after 1910. Some school boards placed more

emphasis on a superintendent’s managerial skill than they did on his or her teaching skills. Prior

to this time, there were neither courses nor academic degrees offered in educational

administration (Cubberly, 1924).

Minority Representation

The United States of America has faced a significant shift in demographics and

population over the past 20 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), the numbers and

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diversity in the U.S. population will continue to grow, especially among minority students. The

racial composition of superintendents, teachers and student populations appears to be facing the

same changes but at a much slower increase (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005).

The President of the Association of California School Administrators (2008) advocated that “it is

important to address the needs of African American education leaders and students because we

want all members of our society to achieve” (para. 8). A disparity in the number of

superintendents in districts where the majority of the population consists of minority African

American and Hispanic students creates a serious setback in the success of these students

(Campbell, 2015). Domenech, Executive Director of the School Superintendents Association,

stated, “we are nowhere near representing the population that is in our schools” (as cited in

Campbell, 2015, para 4). He further stated that “these students need role models. When they see

a brown or black face walk into their classroom, especially as the superintendent, they think and

say ‘wow’ that could be me” (Domenech, as cited in Campbell, 2015, para. 4). According to

Carpenter and Diem (2014), as of today, African American superintendents continue to struggle

for employment in districts. Educational theorists have stated that not unlike the principal, the

superintendent’s impact on learning is facilitated through the establishment of climate and

culture and the direct impact of the district/school. Therefore, having superintendent populations

reflective of the population of the district is the key to learning and student achievement. As

noted by Bandura (1986), equitable representation ensures students will identify and model

themselves after other successful educators, mentors and superintendents.

Significant Research Studies

Research inquires have been conducted concerning various aspects of the school

superintendent over the previous years. The American School Superintendent: 2010 Decennial

Study (Kowalski et al., 2011) is an expansion with inquires that have been organized every 10

years and was developed in 1923. However, there were matters that were the main points of

specific time epochs such as the 1933 investigation that included the role that public schools

would have in changing economic and social expansion after the Great Depression. The 1952

investigation concentrated on the difference between urban and rural superintendents. The 1960

investigation concentrated on superintendent readiness, and the 1971 investigation included

around 100 questions about attributes of the position, the individuals in the position and the

school districts employing them. The NABSE (2011) mentioned that there are around 13,893

school districts in the United States. Nevertheless, only 361 or 2.5% are African American male

and female superintendents. Ethnicity of the superintendency appears not to be a thing similar to

that of the population of students and teachers those superintendents serve and supervise (Volp,

2001).

Leadership Practices

As leaders of change, school leaders must therefore engage strategies favorable to

comprehensive practices among the elements such as shared vision, collaboration and effective

support, to play a central role (Salisbury & McGregor, 2002). It is imperative that school leaders

participate in a balancing act where issues of improving achievement, equity and social justice

are on the front lines of their agenda (Devecchi & Nevin, 2010). However, school leaders

regardless of ethnicity are evaluated by what they do. According to Boyatzies and McKee

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