Leadership Perspectives of Tennessee School Leaders

The problem was to determine factors Tennessee school leaders consider important to effective leadership. Organizational frames by Bolman and Deal were used. The four organizational frames used in the study were structural, human resource, political, and symbolic approaches to leadership. The frames were examined with regard to their relationship to Tennessee superintendent\u27s leadership and management styles with the perception of his/her style by their superordinates and subordinates. Leadership Orientations, a validated instrument designed by Bolman and Deal, was used to gain insight about school leader perceptions from superintendents and from individuals who work in school administration with the superintendents. Individual school systems, the director of the Tennessee Academy of School Leaders (TASL), the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS), and the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) received the data analysis results about leadership perspectives. The research provided school system personnel a method to understand individual, subordinate, and superordinate expectations as they relate to the four organizational frames. Additionally, the findings indicated predictors of management and leadership effectiveness as perceived by the respondents