Lars Bjork

University of Kentucky, Educational Leadership, Faculty Member

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Lars Björk, Ph.D.

Professor
Department of Educational Leadership Studies
111D Dickey Hall

Dr. Björk has co-edited: Higher Education Research and Public Policy (1988), Minorities in Higher Education (1994), and The New Superintendency: Advances in Research and Theories of School Management and Educational Policy(2001) and The Contemporary Superintendent: Preparation, Practice and Development (2005). In addition, he has co-authored, The Study of the American Superintendency 2000: A look at the Superintendent of Education in the New Millennium (2000), The Superintendent as CEO: Standards-based Performance(2005) and is a contributing author in The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases(2006). He has held faculty appointments at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and the Ministry of Education (PRC), National Training Center for Secondary School Principals (Shanghai). He was a Fulbright Scholar (2009, Finland) and helped conduct their national superintendent study.

He has consulted with Universities in the United States, Europe and China, school districts, state governments, national associations, international agencies, and on committees and task forces in the United States Department of Education. In addition, he has presented keynote addresses at international conferences on educational leadership.

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Sophie Harnay

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Papers by Lars Bjork

Effective Schools–Effective Superintendents: The Emerging Instructional Leadership Role

Journal of School Leadership

The national commission reports, which launched the most intensive and sustained effort to improv... more The national commission reports, which launched the most intensive and sustained effort to improve schools in America's history, confirmed the importance of instructional leadership. Although the role of the principal was initially emphasized, research studies on instructionally effective schools indicate that superintendents use their “bureaucratic” positions in the formal organization to improve instruction. They enact their instructional leadership roles through a broad array of activities including staff selection, principal supervision, establishing clear instructional goals, monitoring instruction, and financial planning for instruction to improve instruction. The concept of instructional leadership has moved beyond a simple description of the principal's role to understanding it as a multi-level, multidimensional, and highly interactive activity that may require a more consultative leadership style.

Principal Recruitment: Assessing Job Pursuit Intentions among Educators Enrolled in Principal Certification Programs

Journal of School Leadership

Superintendent Recruitment: Effects of School Councils, Job Status, Signing Bonus, and District Wealth

Journal of School Leadership

This study examined the effects of four variables on job ratings provided by applicants for simul... more This study examined the effects of four variables on job ratings provided by applicants for simulated superintendent vacancies. The participants were superintendents ( n = 72) and superintendent-certified personnel ( n = 72) reacting to jobs described in simulated position announcements. The participants rated jobs in districts without school councils higher than jobs in districts with school councils. Superintendents rated jobs in districts without school councils higher than did superintendent-certified personnel. Superintendents rated jobs in high-wealth districts with signing bonuses higher than jobs in a high-wealth district with no signing bonus. Implications for recruitment practice and future research are discussed.

The Revisionists’ Critique of the Education Reform Reports

Journal of School Leadership

A Summing Up

Educational Administration Quarterly, Oct 1, 1999

Role Expectations of the District Superintendent: Implications for Deregulating Preparation and Licensing

Journal of Thought, Jun 22, 2005

Roles assumed by district superintendents have been evolving for more than 100 years. As the posi... more Roles assumed by district superintendents have been evolving for more than 100 years. As the position became more complex and demanding, the vast majority of states set policies requiring these administrators to complete a prescribed professional studies program and subsequently to obtain a license to practice. Over the past two decades, however, two opposing views have emerged addressing a growing concern that entry requirements do not address the realities of practice. One of them, expressed primarily by critics from within the profession (e.g., Cooper, Fusarelli, Jackson, & Poster, 2002; Murphy, 1994), advocates reforms that would make preparation and licensing more practice-based and rigorous. The other one, expressed primarily by critics from outside the profession (e.g., Broad Foundation & Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2003; Hess, 2003), advocates deregulating preparation and licensing so that local school boards would be given the option of employing executives from outside of education. The drift toward deregulation began in the mid-1980s as a byproduct of the intense criticism of public education made by political and business elites (Kowalski, 2004). Now several decades later, 9 states no longer require superintendents to possess a license and among the remaining 41 states, 21 have provisions for issuing waivers or emergency certificates. Moreover, 15 states allow or sanction alternative routes to licensure (i.e., other than university-based study) (Feistritzer, 2003). The most recent

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The Next Generation of Faculty: Minority Issues

Education and Urban Society, 1989

Finnish Superintendents: Leading in a Changing Education Policy Context

Leadership and Policy in Schools, 2014

Changing Social Context of Education in the United States: social justice and the superintendency

Journal of In-service Education, 2001

Page 1. Journal of In-Service Education, Volume 27, Number 3, 2001 405 Changing Social Context of... more

Superintendents and Interest Groups

Educational Policy, 2001

U.S. citizens traditionally have abhorred politics at the schoolhouse door At the turn of the 19t... more U.S. citizens traditionally have abhorred politics at the schoolhouse door At the turn of the 19th century, the office of superintendent was designed as a professional buffer to politics in education. Mid-20th century scholars of school politics recorded the persistence of politics in education and, more important, the diversity of political roles necessary for superintendents to appease local interests. This article reviews results from one mid-century investigation of superintendents' relationships with their school boards and communities. Survey results from 2,262 superintendents in office during the 1998-1999 school year revealed that superintendents persist in practicing professional decision making while at the same time recognizing the politically charged, interest driven environment of their school districts and communities. The article concludes with recommendations for superintendents and educational administration programs to end their naïve, a political professional ...

Principles of Reform and Reforming Principal Training: A Theoretical Perspective

Educational Administration Quarterly, 1995

This article examines reform debates in educational administration training programs using a theo... more This article examines reform debates in educational administration training programs using a theoretical framework derived from Thomas Kuhn 's notion of paradigm. Most educational administration training programs in the United States are characterized as hybrid/preparadigm departments, unlikely to undertake fundamental changes. Based on an example of a collaborative school leadership preparation program, it is argued that true restructuring as called for in the American reform debates is most likely in developing or emerging settings. Based on the assumption that fundamental reconceptualization of educational administration training is necessary today, the article derives implications from the theoretical argument for means to actualize the kinds of changes depicted by reformers critical of current training.

Introduction: Women in the Superintendency--Advances in Research and Theory

Educational Administration Quarterly, 2000

During the past year, Educational Administration Quarterly has received a number of manuscripts o... more During the past year, Educational Administration Quarterly has received a number of manuscripts on women in the superintendency authored by feminist and critical scholars. The editorial team decided to organize these manuscripts into a theme issue and augment it with a review of a recent book on women in the superintendency. Although receiving this set of manuscripts was fortuitous, it

The micropolitics of school district decentralization

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and …, 2009

This case study of school district educational reform in the United States adds to the knowledge ... more This case study of school district educational reform in the United States adds to the knowledge base of macropolitics of federal, state and local governing bodies and private sector agencies in formulating educational policies: It also contributes to our understanding the microplitics of policy implementation. Middle managers' political acquiescence and resistance to district-wide decentralization and distributive leadership initiatives were studied using a longitudinal, ten-year (1998-2008) case study method. Middle managers were faced with a dilemma when the school district implemented a state sponsored decentralization policy that included adoption of distributed leadership and Total Quality Management (TQM). On the one hand, middle managers risked termination if they failed to implement legislated reform policies and the superintendent's directives. On the other hand, if they succesfully implemented such policies their positions would become redundant. Initially responses of middle managers ranged along a continuum from acquiescence to resistance however as implementation of the decentralization initiative accelerated, middle managers' political resistance increased in scope and intensity. Findings from the case study discussed in this article that superintendent's success at implementation of district-wide decentralization policies is related to the nature and structure of microplolitics at the middle management level of the organization. In addition, findings suggest that internal evaluation processes used to assess the success of the district change process were compromised by miropolitics. Understanding that those who implement policy have the capacity to reshape and even prevent implementation as intended by officials at higher levels may contribute to reframing program evaluation methods as well as enhancing understanding of the politics of the superintendency.

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Parent participation in school governance: a legal analysis of experiences in South Africa and Kentucky

by Justin Bathon, Johan Beckmann, and Lars Bjork

This comparative study on the educational governance systems of South Africa and the Commonwealth... more This comparative study on the educational governance systems of South Africa and the Commonwealth of Kentucky examines legal evidence from judicial decisions and administrative law to understand similarities in how school-based governance structures have been developed. We found that although school-level governance structures may provide greater opportunities for community and parental participation, each engenders a number of legal problems that compromise the decentralization of democracy to the school level. Recommendations for policymakers and practitioners are offered that may achieve this goal. E ducation is an important social function that consciously weaves together responsibilities of the state, the community, and the family. Most nations engaged in systemic education reform are challenged by the need to balance countervailing forces for centralization that advances the broad interests of the state and for decentralization that gives greater voice to communities and protects individual legal rights of parents. Although education reform is 11_522_5_Bathon.indd 349 11_522_5_Bathon.indd 349

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International perspectives on leadership education

by Lars Bjork, Miles Bryant, and Jacky Lumby

In this chapter we view US leadership preparation from a global stage. We bring together voices f... more

International perspectives on leadership education

by Lars Bjork and Miles Bryant

In this chapter we view US leadership preparation from a global stage. We bring together voices f... more

The Reality and Myth of the Superintendent Shortage: Implications for Research and Educational Policy

Journal of School Leadership, 2003

EJ671390 - The Reality and Myth of the Superintendent Shortage: Implications for Research and Edu... more