The impact on school governance of the Team of Eight school board training as perceived by selected school boards and superintendents in Texas public schools

The purposes of this study were to establish empirical evidence to test the validity of the requirement for the Team of Eight school board training and to examine the impact of selected variables on the perceived effectiveness of the Team of Eight requirement.; The questionnaire used in the survey was developed by Dr. John Hoyle and modified by the researcher. It was based upon a semantic differential scale to request perceptions about programs, goal-setting and planning, board and superintendent roles, board meeting effectiveness, the Team of Eight Training, governance, and public trust. The populations were board members and superintendents of school districts in Texas randomly selected from the following student enrollments: less than 700 students, 700 to 2,499 students, and 2,500 or more students. The number of districts surveyed in each grouping of the sample population was proportional to the number of districts in each of the groups in the state. The state was divided into five regions with each region represented. Responses ranged from 11.8 percent in Central Texas to 36.3 percent in the North Texas area.; Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results were reported using numerical and graphic techniques and using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).; Major findings of the study were: (1) School Boards that had never or seldom participated in the "Team of Eight" were the least likely to function in as a true team. (2) Superintendents and board members had perceptual differences of more than 3 rankings regarding the board's approval of the superintendent's recommendations. (3) Regardless of training, boards lack the ability to inform the public concerning schools' progress and needs. (4) A positive correlation existed between the board's ability to maintain public trust and the superintendent's years of experience in the current position. (5) The relationship between the board and the superintendent is not impacted by team-building training. (6) Board members who participated in the training were no more likely to put aside trivial personal feelings than those who did not participate. (7) Governance teams that participated in the training were more likely to show evidence of long-range educational planning.