Conflict Between School Boards And Superintendents And Strategies Employed For Resolution

The purpose of the study was to examine (1) the different perceptions of school board members and superintendents regarding the frequency and nature of conflict between them, and (2) the strategies each responsive group employed to resolve those conflicts; Descriptive research techniques were employed for the study. Two questionnaires were developed, one each for each respondent group. Keats Garman\u27s Conflict Approaches Questionnaire was used to address the strategies employed to resolve conflict; The population for the study was drawn from the 107 school board members and the 17 superintendents from the seventeen county school districts in the state of Nevada. Questionnaires were returned by all 17 school district superintendents (100.0%) and by 82 school board members, or 76.6 percent of the total sample; The major findings regarding the issues that cause conflict between superintendents and school board members and the strategies they employ to resolve conflict were: Superintendents identified (1) role and responsibility of the school board, (2) communications failure, (3) differences over method of management, (4) administrative reorganization, and, (5) surprise items/information at board meetings as the top five issues that cause conflict. School board members identified (1) communications failure, (2) performance expectations, (3) differences over method of management, (4) sharing information from variety of sources, and, (5) administrative reorganization as their top five issues that cause conflict. Both groups agreed that other issues that contribute to conflict between them were: (1) lack of trust, (2) lack of communication, and, (3) lack of leadership. Superintendents and school board members selected the integrating approach to handling conflict in all eight selection choices. Harmonizing and negotiating were each selected in four of eight selection choices. Forcing and avoiding strategies to handling conflict were the least selected; Major conclusions from the study were: (1) the issues that cause conflict between superintendents and school board members centered on the relationship between the two groups rather than on issues relative to school personnel, i.e., students, teachers, community, and state; and, (2) the respondent groups agreed that through confrontation on the issues and problem-solving; the integrating approach to resolving/managing conflict was the best strategy to employ