Group Representatives in Educational Institutions: An Empirical Study of Superintendents and Teacher Union Presidents

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
As critical group representatives in public school districts (K-12), superintendents and teacher union presidents have a direct impact on the success of education reform programs. Aspects of the superintendent-union president interface were explored by focusing on one ingredient of effective work relations, namely, interpersonal trust. Regression analyses of survey data from 305 superintendents and 293 presidents investigated potential differences across the two samples concerning variables influencing respondents ` willingness to trust the other group representative. For both samples, willingness to trust was influenced primarily by expectations about the other group representative's future trustworthy behavior Social judgment factors were important predictors of expectations for both superintendents and presidents. For presidents, personality failed to influence expectations. Perceptions of normative referent groups suggested that superintendents and presidents operate under conflicting intergroup pressures.