Educational Administration; Elementary Secondary Education;

Recent data show a gradual increase in the number of women in administrative positions; however, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the attitudes of superintendents and school board presidents toward women in educational leadership. The 1996 national survey repeated a similar 1978 survey. Five-hundred-and-thirty superintendents and 530 school board presidents received the Women as School District Administrators (WSDA) survey, and half of each group received the second survey instrument, the Science Research Associates (SRA) Opinion Survey. The combined response rate of all groups was 30 percent. Findings indicate that those responsible for hiring school district administrators were more accepting of women in educational leadership roles than they were in 1978. Respondents in 1996 expressed concern about women's emotionality, their ability to be aggressive, and their self-confidence. They viewed women as being more sensitive