Superintendents’ Beliefs About and Engagement in State Education Policy Making
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21582034 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel S White (0000-0002-8408-2079, University of Texas at Austin, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 106-145 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0895-9048 • E-ISSN: 1552-3896 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/08959048251329324 |
| OpenAlex | W4409956173 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 50 |
This mixed methods research explores superintendents’ beliefs about and engagement in state education policymaking processes. Through interviews with 58 superintendents and a national survey of superintendents, I find that superintendents feel their voices have value in state policymaking spaces; however, actual policy engagement is relatively low. Three factors shape superintendents’ state policy engagement: (1) personal and professional capacity, (2) proximity to State Capitol building, and (3) perceived weight of voice, which superintendents often associated with district size. Leadership preparation programs, professional organizations, researchers, and policymakers may draw on this work to reduce inequalities in superintendents’ access to education policy spaces
Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Student engagement · Computer Science · Educational Assessment and Improvement · Psychology · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research
Equitable Access for Secondary English Learner Students
The importance of pilot studies
Shaping Teacher Sensemaking
Street-Level Bureaucracy
How Leadership Influences Student Learning
Efficiency and equity in schools around the world
Managing in the Middle
How Principals Affect Students and Schools
Case Study Research
Political battles in suburbia
Institutional Structures as Mediators for Diversifying State Education Policymaking Bodies
The Policy Implementation Process
The Multiple Meanings of (In)Equity
The Changing Nature of the School Superintendency
Ceilings Made of Glass and Leaving En Masse? Examining Superintendent Gender Gaps and Turnover Over Time Across the United States
Barcelona as imagined community
Practical Research
Synthesizing the Implementation Literature
Experiments and Surveys on Political Elites
Getting in the Door
From Actor to Avatar
From Data Management to Actionable Findings
Conducting the Pilot Study
Using Mixed-Methods Sequential Explanatory Design
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |