Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and describe the leadership and management behaviors that four California school superintendents in low wealth school districts used to acquire and manage additional resources in ways that resulted in improved student learning. Methodology. The research was descriptive and ex post facto. Four superintendents and eight constituents were included in this exploratory study. Three sources of data were used: quantitative data collected from a published survey, qualitative data collected during face-to-face interviews, and archival data gathered from records maintained by the districts in which the four superintendents worked. Qualitative analysis was used to identify, classify, and summarize the predominant leadership and management behaviors. Findings. Specific leadership and management behaviors used by the four superintendents to obtain and manage additional resources were perceived to more closely link with improved student learning. These behaviors included the ways superintendents (1) communicated the importance of improved student learning through clear expectations, (2) used innovative strategies to obtain additional resources relevant to the district's goal of improved student learning, (3) aligned the use of additional resources with the achievement of improved student learning, (4) monitored student progress through systematic assessment, and (5) communicated to staff and community that student learning had improved during the last three years. Conclusions. The leadership and management behaviors demonstrated by these superintendents linked more closely with improved student learning when they: (1) communicated the importance of student learning in ways that made the goal meaningful to constituents and gained their participation and support in reaching the goal, (2) used political (cosmopolitan) behaviors to build alliances in the community and obtained resources focused on improved student learning, and (3) demonstrated follow-through that indicated that additional resources were used to achieve the priority goal of student learning. Recommendations. That professional conferences offer training for superintendents that focus on specific leadership and management behaviors that are useful in obtaining and managing additional resources, and the ways these behaviors can affect improved student learning. That professional development programs offer workshops for administrators that focus on behaviors that school leaders can use to build alliances with leaders of organizations and agencies outside their school districts.