The Relationship Between Spirituality and Leadership Practices of Public School Superintendents in Texas

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between spirituality and leadership practices of public school superintendents in Texas and explore any gender differences.

METHODOLOGY
The population were all public school superintendents in Texas (N = 1,043), of which 146 were female. Surveys were mailed to a stratified (by enrollment categories) random sample of 50 male and 50 female superintendents, of which 39 from each group responded (78% response rate). Respondents completed the Leadership Practices Inventory and Inventory on Spirituality (Rayburn & Richmond, 2000). Most of the respondents were Euro American (90%), between 43-52 years of age (51%), married (94%), Protestant (64%), and holding a graduate degree.

KEY FINDINGS
For females there was a significant relationship between spirituality and the leadership practices of Encouraging, Modeling and Inspiring. For males there was a significant relationship between spirituality and Challenging. No significant differences were found between males and females in spirituality