Following are highlights from the survey of administrators by the National Center for Education Information:
Demographic Data
Sex: 96 percent of superintendents, 69 percent of the public-school principals, and 48 percent of private-school principals are men.
Race: 97 percent of superintendents, 90 percent of public-school principals, and 97 percent of private-school principals are white.
Age: The average age for superintendents is 49; public-school principals, 47; private-school principals, 46.
Experience in Education: Superintendents, 25.2 years; public-school principals, 22.8 years; and private-school principals, 21.4 years.
Years in Current Job: For superintendents and public-school principals, 6.7 years.
Marital Status: 94 percent of superintendents, 87 percent of public-school principals, and 60 percent of private-school principals are married; 4 percent of superintendents, 7 percent of public-school principals, 3 percent of private-school principals are divorced or separated.
Political Views: Republican--36 percent of superintendents, 25 percent of public-school principals, and 37 percent of the private-school principals; Democrat--36 percent of superintendents, 43 percent of public-school principals, and 43 percent of the private-school principals. In 1984, 69 percent of superintendents, 63 percent of public-school principals, and 58 percent of the private-school principals voted for President Reagan.
Views on Reform Ideas
Local-School Choice: Favored by 31 percent of superintendents, 37 percent of public-school principals, and 90 percent of private-school principals.
Vouchers: 8 percent of superintendents, 13 percent of public-school principals, and 84 percent of private-school principals favor a system including public, private, and parochial schools.
Parent Involvement: 14 percent of superintendents, 13 percent of public-school principals, and 32 percent of private-school principals say that parents should have more say in the school curriculum. Roughly 8 out of 10 public-school administrators think parents currently have the “right amount” of say.
Views on Sex Education
In Elementary School: 86 percent of superintendents, 84 percent of public-school principals, and 69 percent of private-school principals favor it in grades 4-8.
In High School: 92 percent of superintendents and public-school principals, and 76 percent of private-school principals, favor it.
Other Views
Busing: 16 percent of superintendents, 20 percent of public-school principals, and 18 percent of private-school principals favor it.
Federal Influence in Education: 56 percent of superintendents and public-school principals, and 51 percent of private-school principals, favor less. Fewer than 1 in 10 favor more.
Job Satisfaction: 94 percent of superintendents and public-school principals, and 96 percent of private-school principals, are satisfied.
Professional Preparation: 1 in 4 superintendents and principals said their professional preparation was “excellent"; some 50 percent said it was “pretty good"; 1 percent of the superintendents, 2 percent of the public-school principals, and 4 percent of the private-school principals said their preparation was “poor.”
Unions: 4 percent of superintendents, 19 percent of public-school principals, and 1 percent of private-school principals belong to a union.
