| dc.description.abstract | While there is still much to learn about superintendent tenure, this study explored the
importance of superintendent job satisfaction connected to longevity. The correlation research
was designed to extract which factors increase superintendent job satisfaction and influence a
superintendent to stay. The national average tenure for superintendents has been reported as 5.6
years, with other numbers between five and six years, depending on who conducts the study
(Johnson, Huffman, Madden, & Shope, 2011). Regardless of the actual number, there is a
general agreement that turnover occurs more frequently than is optimal (Marzano, Waters, &
McNulty 2009; Pascopella, 2011). A de-centennial study done in December 2010 by the
American School Superintendent found it has become very apparent that one of the key elements
in running a successful district is stability.
This quantitative study measured public school superintendent job satisfaction in the state
of Iowa. Five research questions guided this study: What are the demographics and school
settings of the superintendents who participated in the study, what components of the PERMA
Model contribute most strongly to superintendent job satisfaction, to what extent do number of
total years of experience as a superintendent, total years of experience as superintendent in the
current district, education level, and salary have on overall job satisfaction, to what extent do the
various factors that superintendents indicate they might consider in deciding whether or not to
leave their current position have on job satisfaction, to what extent does school setting, student
enrollment, and student enrollment trend have on superintendent job satisfaction?
The survey instrument was based on the work of Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the
positive psychology center at the University of Pennsylvania, who designed the PERMA (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment / achievement)Model and sent out to all Iowa public school superintendents. Overall, on a scale one to five, superintendents reported a job satisfaction level of 3.78. The findings yielded five statistically
significant factors that either positively or negatively impacted overall superintendent job satisfaction.
This study is recommended to be replicated over the course of several years to generate
comparable data sets. Another recommendation is to conduct the study and break down the
results by the age of the superintendent and then sorted by the various generations such as baby
boomers, generation x, and millennials. | en_US |
