The nature and role of chief education officers' values

grantor: University of TorontoThis study was an investigation into the nature and sources of the personal and professional values of Directors of Education and was guided by four research questions: (1) To what extent do Directors of Education in Ontario share similar values? (2) To what extent have Directors of Education in Ontario experienced similar influences during the development of their personal and professional values? (3) What are the values Directors consider most important to their professional problem-solving processes? and (4) How are these values linked to professional action? The methodology was divided into three parts. The first part consisted of a survey questionnaire regarding personal and professional values and their development sent to all 122 Directors of Education in Ontario ('N' returned = 62). Second, a smaller group of volunteers participated in telephone interviews regarding influences on the development of their professional values ' N' = 14). The third part involved transcripts from stimulated recall interviews with Directors based on the playback of audiorecordings from problem-solving meetings they had led with senior administrative staff ('N' = 7). Analysis of the survey data through frequency counts, crosstabulations, and ranking of responses by comparing weighted means showed similarities and differences among Directors' values and their development. Different values were emphasized in answers that involved a specific context (e.g., CEOs' examples of value conflicts) and in non-contextual situations (e.g., ranking values in a list). Telephone interview transcripts revealed a variety of influential experiences that had affected the development of Directors' professional values. The interviewees presented a range of reactions (from acceptance to rejection) to policies created by the Ministry of Education, and they indicated the extent to which their professional values had been affected by the following list of high-ranking influences on professional values from general survey results: Mentors, Peer Groups, Educational Work Experiences, and On the Job Leadership Opportunities. Segments of CEOs' speech from the stimulated recall interview transcripts were coded as representing values using the Leithwood and Steinbach (1991) Values Framework. The results were organized into value profiles for the Directors that reinforced findings from the survey indicating different values were emphasized when the CEOs were situated in a specific professional problem-solving context.Ph.D