One Voice Conference: Gender Attitudes Towards School Board Governance: Professional Leadership and Policy Orientation Patricia Neville, Michael Rubino, Caroline Burns, Dr. Elsa-Sofia Morote, Dr. Richard Hawkins, and Dr. Robert Manley Dowling College

Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender and school board members’ perceptions towards both policy orientation and professional leadership on their school board. This study was done in the framework of selected school boards of education in Suffolk County, New York.

Background For this study 45 board of education members from Suffolk County, New York responded to a survey that examined several components of governance: Policy Orientation and Professional leadership. Of the participating board members 33.3% of the respondents were female. The response differences between male and females board members were examined on two variables: Policy Orientation and Professional Leadership.

Gender in School Boards At the beginning of the 20 th Century in United States history women were under-represented on local school boards (Blanchard, 1977). However, recent research conducted has shown a vast improvement on the number of women seeking election and playing a role on their local school boards. The recent research proposed that gender attitudes and philosophical differences were significant. Tallerico’s research in 1992 indicated that female board members’ were generally more interested in curriculum, programs, and humanistic issues. While equivalent male school board members’ exhibited a greater interest in school finance, facilities, control and efficiency.

Definition of Terms School Board Member: A member of an elected body whose primary function is to govern a school consistent with the roles and responsibilities outlined in New York State Education Law Policy Orientation: Policy Orientation is the process utilized by the school board to guide the actions of others, the extent to which the board examines alternative courses of action, selects system-wide objectives aligned with the mission of the schools, and anticipates or evaluates outcomes of their policies on a regular basis. Professional Leadership: Professional Leadership is the extent to which the school board has respectful communications with the superintendent and the extent to which the members exhibit respect for each other as well as focus their efforts on the school district’s mission, goals, and regard for community values.

Methods Data was collected from a 2002 study conducted by Hawkins, which was divided into three parts. The demographic of gender was extracted from the first part of the survey. School board member respondents were asked to identify their level of participation using a five-point Likert scale of (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) slightly agree, (4) agree, (5) strongly agree. A complete survey can be seen in Hawkins 2002, page 151.

Policy Orientation Items Policy Orientation Items (Reliability =.87) 1. Our board considers current research during the process of decision making. 2. Our board members evaluate policies about the hiring of staff. 3. Our board has a common understanding of the purpose of education. 4. Our board matches district wide policies with the mission and objectives of the district. 5. Our board is attentive to the ethnic and multicultural needs of the district. 6. Our board focuses on its role in policy making. 7. Our board provides leadership in developing the districts mission statement.

Professional Leadership Professional Leadership Items (Reliability =.86) Our board has respectful communications with the Superintendent. During periods of adversity our board considers its mission and objectives when making decisions. Our board encourages trustees to achieve consensus on board decisions. In public sessions, our board members exhibit respect for each other. Our board represents the interests of the entire district rather than individual interest groups.

Results for Policy Orientation 33.3% of males compared to 13.3% of females slightly agree with “Our board considers current research during the process of decision making.” 13.3% of males compared to 6.7% of females strongly disagree and disagree to “Our board members evaluate policies about the hiring of staff.” 3.3% of males compared to 0% of females strongly disagree and disagree with “Our board has a common understanding of the purpose of education.” 30% of males compared to 20% slightly agree to “Our board matches district wide policies with the mission and objectives of the district.”

Policy Orientation..results 16.7% males compared to 6.7% of females strongly disagree and disagree with “Our board is attentive to the ethnic and multicultural needs of the district.” Question 16 had no significant percent differential in any of the categories. 43.3% of men compared to 14.3% of females slightly agree with “Our board provides leadership in developing the districts mission statement.” 46.6% of men and 71.5% of females agree and strongly agree with “Our board provides leadership in developing the districts mission statement.”

Results for Professional Leadership An analysis of the Professional Leadership Items (Table 3) concluded that: 3.3% of males compared to 6.7% of females strongly disagree and disagree with, “Our board has respectful communications with the Superintendent.” 10% of males compared to 20% of females strongly disagree and disagree with “During periods of adversity our board considers its mission and objectives when making decisions.”

Professional Leadership..results 6.7% of males compared to 26% of females slightly agree with “Our board encourages trustees to achieve consensus on board decisions.” 3.3% of males compared to 20% of females strongly disagree and disagree with “In public sessions, our board members exhibit respect for each other.” 23.3% of males compared to 6.7% females strongly disagree to disagree with “Our board represents the interests of the entire district rather than individual interest groups.”

Conclusions In conclusion, this data supports the idea that men and women serving on a Suffolk County, New York Board of Education have different viewpoints and ideas regarding their roles as members of the school board. Females tend to be more in agreement with questions related to policy orientation. On the other hand, females tend to be more in disagreement in items related to professional leadership.

Conclusions In addition, it would also be beneficial for school board members to attend workshops provided by the New York State School Board Association educating school board members’ role on policy orientation and professional leadership. This would provide school board members with a clear vision of their purpose which in turn provides the school district with a more focused Mission Statement.