Perceptions of school superintendents in Michigan regarding specifics of 'highly qualified' teacher requirements in the NCLB law

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of school superintendents in Michigan regarding the specifics of the highly qualified teacher requirements in the NCLB law. A random sample of 200 superintendents from Michigan was used. Of the 200 surveys that were distributed to superintendents, 44 were completed and returned for a response rate of 22%. The instrument measured four specific aspects of the "highly qualified" teacher provision: intention of the highly qualified teacher provision, personal reactions to the highly qualified teacher provision, effects of the highly qualified teacher provision, and responsiveness to the "highly qualified" teacher provision of the NCLB law.;The findings of the study found that superintendents generally had negative perceptions regarding the effects of the highly qualified teacher provision on public education. Results of the analysis on the three remaining subscales indicated that superintendents were neither positive nor negative regarding the intentions of the highly qualified teacher division, personal reactions to this provision, and responsiveness to the highly qualified teacher provision. The results of the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) used to determine if a difference existed in the four subscales measuring superintendents perceptions of the "highly qualified" teacher requirements of NCLB by the size of the school district indicated that the superintendents had similar perceptions regardless of the size of the school district. Separate stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine whether superintendents' professional characteristics and school district characteristics could be used to predict or explain superintendents' perceptions of the "highly qualified" teacher provision of the NCLB. The results indicated that these were not significant predictors of superintendent's perceptions of NCLB.;Based on the findings of the study, it appears that superintendents have similar perceptions of the "highly qualified" teacher provision NCLB Law in regards to the improvement of student achievement. They do not appear to endorse this law as means of improving education in Michigan schools.