Metaphors We Supervise By: Israeli Superintendents' Views of their Role in Transitional Times.

The study examines the role perceptions of Israeli superintendents operating in a transitional time from a centralised toward decentralised educational system. Content analysis of the metaphors used by 129 superintendents to describe their role revealed three main themes: the superintendent as an omnipotent person; acting under difficult circumstances; and functioning as a facilitator rather than a leader. While the rhetoric stresses decentralisation, in practice centralisation still prevails. The metaphors demonstrate the complexity of the transitional phase within which Israeli superintendents act, where there is a large discrepancy between the declarative and the explicit policies regarding decentralisation processes. This duality in the educational system's messages makes the superintendent's role much more complicated in comparison to the roles of other officials operating outside the school.