Document Type
Issue Area One
Abstract
There are times when school board members and the superintendent disagree on certain matters. It would be highly unusual if there never were disagreements, as school administration is not an exact science. The debate over whether administration is an art or a science continues to stir the interest of many. Considered as a science, it is suggested that when certain variables are controlled, certain activities will lead to predictable outcomes. As Griffiths (1959) pointed out:
The term art is used to designate practice guided by intuition and experience rather than by scientific findings. It is true, at the present time, that no one could administer in a thoroughly scientific manner; and, indeed, it may be that no one will ever be able to administer in this way. On the other hand, one should be able to do better than operate solely on the level of art. (p. 21)
The research, along with personal observation for the last 35 years, indicates that the failure of the superintendent to successfully apply the art component of the position creates a greater misunderstanding and lack of trust with the board of education than does the scientific component.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
4
Issue
1
First Page
29
Last Page
35
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1993 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Robinson, James L.
(1993)
"Insights on Building Mutual Trust from Superintendent/Board Members,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 4:
No.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol4/iss1/11
