Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of superintendents, assistant superintendents or directors of instruction/curriculum, assistant superintendents or directors of personnel, and current middle school principals concerning the critical skills, attitudes, and experiences that they believe women should possess in order to increase the probability of women being selected for a middle school principalship in California. This study compared the findings of: (1) Hanson's study on the perceptions of board members and, (2) Cartwright's study on the perceptions of superintendents, assistant superintendents or directors of instruction/curriculum, assistant superintendents or directors of personnel, and current high school principals. Methodology. The study used descriptive and correlational research. The population was superintendents or directors of instruction/curriculum, assistant superintendents or directors of personnel, and current middle school principals in the 52 school districts which have between two and nine sixth through eight grade middle schools in California. An existing survey questionnaire developed by Dr. Gretchen Hanson (1991) was the model for this study. Magnitude Estimation Analysis was used to assess the degree of importance of the skills, attitudes, and experiences as perceived by the respondents. Magnitude Estimation is a format for scaling perceptions by finding out the rank order among objects, the relative size of the interval between objects, and the ratios between objects. The power ratio for each object was calculated by dividing the geometric mean by 100. The power ratio was used to determine the ratio of the importance of one skill, attitude, or experience relative to another. Findings and conclusions. The results of a Kendall's Tau Test for Correlation showed that the four subgroups have similar opinions regarding the importance of the critical skills, attitudes, and experiences aspiring women middle school principals should have. Women should have interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and interact with others. Motivating others, being an active listener, involving others when making decisions, are considered critical skills that a middle school principal needs when interacting with others and when being involved in decision making. Respondents in this study emphasized the importance of the aspiring women middle school principal possessing attitudes that enable her to interact and communicate with others such as: being visible, being committed, and valuing teamwork. Prior experience as a middle school assistant principal was identified as essential. There was similarity between the rankings of the current study, Hanson's study, and Cartwright's study for both critical skills and critical attitudes. Correlations were not computed for critical experiences between the respondents in this study and Hanson's or Cartwright's samples because the experiences were different. All three studies revealed that in order for women to obtain an administrative position, it is essential to explore the essence of leadership, and look toward successful leaders in business as role models.