Schoolboards' expectations of the superintendent – a Swedish national survey

Figures & data

Figure 1. Chain of governance (SOU 2015:22)

Figure 2. Levels of principal-agent in the educational system

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for communication between the chair and the superintendent

Variables		M	SD	N	F	p	η^2
Gender	Female	4.56	0.46	68	1.76	.186	.01
	Male	4.44	0.64	94
Age	Less than 50	4.61	0.47	51	1.76	.177	.02
	Between 50 and 60	4.48	0.49	51
	More than 60	4.41	0.69	60
Size of municipality	Less than 15,000 inhabitants	4.45	0.64	82	2.89	.058	.04
	More than 15,000 but less than 40,000 inhabitants	4.43	0.54	48
	More than 40,000 inhabitants	4.71	0.37	32

Table 3. Superintendents’ most important assignments

Replies	Frequents f	Leadership n (%)	Budget n (%)	Students’ Results n (%)	Other
Most important	153	67 (44)	3 (2)	31 (20)	52 (34)
Second most important	152	24 (16)	29 (19)	11 (7)	88 (58)
Third most important	146	20 (14)	31 (21)	5 (3)	90 (62)
n	451	111 (25)	63 (14)	47 (10)	230 (51)

Table 2. Superintendent and student results

	Principal	Teacher	Schoolboard	Superintendent
Responsibility for student results	4.35	4.23	3.72	3.08
	Teacher	Principal	Parents	Superintendent
Affecting student results	4.88	4.56	4.17	4.07

5 = highest (scale 1–5)

Table 4. Superintendent risks being criticised or dismissed

	Unclear leadership	Exceed allocated budget	Not loyal towards the board	Poor student results	Other
Risk of being criticised	3.56	3.50	3.32	3.08	1.58
	Not loyal with the board	Unclear leadership	Exceed allocated budget	Poor student results	Other
Risk of being dismissed	3.89	3.50	3.28	2.69	1.79

5 = highest risk (scale 1–5)

Figure 3. The chain of governance and relations

Figure 4. Levels of principal-agent in the educational system

SOU. (2015:22). Rektorn och styrkedjan. Betänkande av Utredningen om rektorernas arbetssituation inom skolväsendet [The principal and the chain of governance. Report on the working situation for principals in the educational system]. Fritzes.

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