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Deregulation and the New Leader Agenda: Outcomes and Lessons from Michigan

409 Erickson Hall, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1034, bas{at}msu.edu.

Purpose: This research examined whether the removal of certification and other requirements led to larger or more diverse applicant pools for superintendent positions in Michigan. Michigan has not had any degree or certification requirements for educational administrators for many years and provided an empirical test of whether deregulation draws new talent into the field.

Research Design, Methods: The research was designed as a state-level case study employing quantitative and qualitative methods to develop descriptive findings and analytic interpretations.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data on superintendent search processes and applicant pools between 1996 and 2005 were collected. Sources of data included superintendent search files and semistructured interviews with search consultants, private sector recruiters, out-of-field superintendent candidates, professional association leaders, and other actors.

Findings: Removing certification and other requirements did not attract new talent into the field, did not stimulate new search systems, and did not generate interest among schools boards, their constituents, or other external agents. Over the 9-year period studied, superintendent applicant pools in Michigan underwent the same troubling trends in applicant pools and turnover as the nation overall.

Implications: No cavalry of talented executives lurks behind a wall of certification waiting to spread its talents to the nation's districts. Absent significant changes to a web of social, economic, and institutional factors, the likelihood that deregulation policies will affect educational leadership and school organizations is very low.

Key Words: leadership policy • certification • markets • superintendents • empirical study

Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 1, 30-65 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0013161X07306454


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