Competence over partisanship: Party affiliation does not affect the selection of school district superintendents (Record no. 532382)
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| 100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME | |
| Personal name | Mellon, Greer |
| 245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT | |
| Title | Competence over partisanship: Party affiliation does not affect the selection of school district superintendents |
| 260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT) | |
| Place of publication, distribution, etc | American Sociological Review |
| 300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION | |
| Extent | 90(4), Aug, 2025: p.561-593 |
| 520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC. | |
| Summary, etc | In recent decades, affective polarization and partisan animosity have risen sharply in the United States. To what extent have these trends affected hiring decisions? I examine partisan biases in hiring by considering the case of school district superintendent appointments: chief executives of local U.S. elementary/secondary education systems. I analyze mixed-methods data on a decade of hiring outcomes in Florida and California from 2009 to 2019. Despite rising polarization, the data consistently show that partisan affiliation is not a primary factor in these hiring decisions. Quantitative analyses reveal no significant relationship between changes in board partisan composition and superintendent hiring outcomes within school districts. I find no relationship between board-level partisan composition and superintendent exits. Qualitative findings show hiring decisions are primarily shaped by evaluations of candidates’ interpersonal skills and competence, even among board members with strong partisan views on other policy issues. Board members discuss a strong commitment to building consensus in their selections. While I cannot rule out very small effects, these results show that school boards do not routinely prioritize applicants from their own political party. This study advances research on affective polarization and social closure by demonstrating the contingent nature of partisan affiliation on decision-making and by providing evidence of a strong respect for professionalism in a critical U.S. public sector setting.- Reproduced https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00031224251346993?_gl=1*q4t3es*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTkyNjg1NzY3LjE3NzAwMjM4MTQ.*_ga_60R758KFDG*czE3NzAwMjM4MTMkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzAwMjM4NDAkajMzJGwwJGgxMjkzNDc1Nzgw |
| 773 ## - HOST ITEM ENTRY | |
| Main entry heading | American Sociological Review |
| 942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA) | |
| Item type | Articles |
| Withdrawn status | Lost status | Source of classification or shelving scheme | Damaged status | Not for loan | Permanent location | Current location | Date acquired | Serial Enumeration / chronology | Barcode | Date last seen | Koha item type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Public Administration | Indian Institute of Public Administration | 2026-02-02 | 90(4), Aug, 2025: p.561-593 | AR138002 | 2026-02-02 | Articles |