Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
10-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Timothy B. Jones
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Sandra Hightower
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Leah Wickersham-Fish
Abstract
Superintendents frequently report job-related stress and politics as primary reasons for early resignations. Rural superintendents and school boards engage extensively with community stakeholders, intensifying the impact of local political influence on decision-making. The purpose of this study was to describe how five rural superintendents in Texas experience the influence of political will on decision-making and, subsequently, on their well-being. Perceptions of sources of political influence and the strategies used by superintendents to navigate political influence were investigated. Participant data were gathered through district documents and semistructured interviews. The research captured the challenges the rural superintendents face. The participants in this study have been deeply impacted by a breakdown of roles and responsibilities, fluctuating commitment to organizational policies, procedures, and priorities, and diminished support in the face of political influences and personal agendas. They have dealt with persistent stress, considered leaving their positions, and some have even taken steps to do so in the past. However, they also shared how they frequently advocated for their values to realign the team of eight to shared priorities and goals. The participants valued open and honest communication with their school boards to deal with problems head-on, set expectations, and define boundaries. Despite the stresses of the job, they drew on diverse sources of resilience to continue leading their districts. The findings of this study provide aspiring and current rural superintendents with strategies and methods to reduce potential stress caused by this problem.
Keywords: decision-making, governance, superintendent, school board, stress, micropolitics, community, roles and responsibilities, board operating procedures, resignation
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Aiken, Brian D., "Navigating the Political Waters of Rural Superintendency in Texas" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1061.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1061