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An Examination of North Carolina Public School Superintendents' Perceptions of Women in the Superintendency

Author : Mary A. Hales

Publisher :

Page : 264 pages

File Size : 43,89 MB

Release : 2008

Category : Educational leadership

ISBN :

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Book Description

Historically, women hold the majority of teaching positions in education and comprise 70 percent of all teachers in the United States. Administrators come from the teaching ranks, and men hold most of the positions (Feldman, Jorgensen, and Poling, 1998). Men continue to dominate educational administration, particularly the superintendency (Holloway, 1998, Ryder, 1994). The number of women represented in school superintendency throughout the United States has been minimal. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine North Carolina superintendents' perceptions of women in the role of the superintendency, to determine whether there were differences in superintendents' perceptions of leadership characteristics based on gender, and to determine whether there were differences in superintendents' perceptions of obstacles and barriers to obtaining the position of superintendent. The study employed a quantitative approach to conduct the research. Research (Bjork, 2000; Flora, 2001; Guptil, 2003; Hickey-Gramke, 2007) suggests that the rare female who has made it to the superintendency differ from her male counterpart, in intelligence, education, teaching, experience, work attitudes, and drive. Documentation obtained from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction revealed that as of October 2007, only 25 of the 115 public school superintendents are women. The data in the study also indicates that only seven had ten or more years of experience as a superintendent and that 18 have been in the position for nine years or less. An Examination of the Disparity of Women Leadership in the Superintendency Survey Instrument was administered to each of the superintendents in North Carolina. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that further research be conducted to: (1) include women superintendents in other states and compared to the findings from this study to determine if the views are similar or different and (2) determine local school board members' perceptions with regards to hiring practices for women.



African-American Women Superintendents

Author : Shelly Geneen Goines-Harris

Publisher :

Page : 280 pages

File Size : 29,48 MB

Release : 2020

Category : African American women educators

ISBN :

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Book Description

This research study was designed to add to the existing but limited literature that explores perceived barriers and challenges African-American women superintendents experienced while ascending and serving in the superintendency. According to the literature, African-American women are underrepresented in the role of public school superintendents. This study examined the impact of gender and racial discrimination on African-American women superintendent aspirants and those currently serving in the role. This study surveyed and interviewed African-American women superintendents serving in public school districts in North Carolina and South Carolina, examining their perceptions of barriers and challenges experienced while ascending and serving in the superintendency. Race and gender were the two identified themes found in the analysis of survey and interview data. This study determined that race and gender have an impact on African-American women public school superintendents while ascending and serving in the role. All subthemes supported racial and gender biases. Choice of dress, working in a male-dominated field, isolation and exclusion from “good old boy networks,” dispelling the belief that African-American women do not make good administrators, and the lack of acceptance by male and non-African-American administrators and staff were all subthemes of the impact of race and gender. The findings of this study will serve to better prepare African-American women who aspire to and serve in the superintendency when faced with barriers and challenges rooted in racial and gender biases. The findings can be used to better inform school boards, hiring personnel, educational leadership programs, and public school districts of the barriers and challenges African-American women public school superintendents experience and how race and gender impact them in the role of superintendent.



Choices and Circumstances: North Carolina Women Not Pursuing the Public School Superintendency

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Publisher :

Page : pages

File Size : 39,85 MB

Release : 2003

Category :

ISBN :

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Consistent with national trends, women in North Carolina are under-represented in superintendent positions. This qualitative study explored the factors influencing women employed in the North Carolina public school system who held both a doctoral degree and a superintendent's certification not to pursue the public school superintendency. Through electronic interviews, 49 women shared the context affecting their decisions. The women in this study held both a doctorate in the field of education and a superintendent's license and all reported that they were not interested in the pursuit of the superintendency. The prevailing tone of the interviews was one of negativity toward the position of superintendent. Participants shared that their goals did not align with their perceptions of the superintendency. Even those participants who thought about seeking the position cited that their aspirations had changed. A number of participants cited that the superintendency created a dissonance between work and lifestyle pursuits and that they valued a more balanced role of home and work than the superintendency offered. Though the reasons were varied and the circumstances diverse, the following emerged as common factors participants were not interested in pursuing the superintendency: (a) lifestyle issues; (b) age; (c) politics; (d) too removed from children; and (e) not a career goal. The findings of this study indicated that no one factor influenced the decision of these women not to pursue the North Carolina public school superintendency. Rather, a multitude of factors influenced the study participants' decisions not to seek the superintendency. The contextual situations of each participant affected her decisions. Based upon the findings and conclusions of this study, general recommendations were suggested to the following groups: (a) parents; (b) women; (c) superintendents; (d) school districts; (e) boards of education; (f) universities; and (g) professional associations.







Perceived Leadership Practices of Female Superintendents in North Carolina

Author : Deardre J. Gibson

Publisher :

Page : 222 pages

File Size : 15,77 MB

Release : 2009

Category : Women school superintendents

ISBN :

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Book Description

This study investigated the perceived leadership practices of North Carolina women school superintendents during the 2008-2009 school year. The study surveyed the female superintendents who were listed on the roster of N.C. superintendents published by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction for the 2008-2009 school year. Using the Leadership Practices Inventory Self Survey (Kouzes and Posner 1995) and a demographic questionnaire to gather descriptive statistics, the researcher used analysis of variance to assess the perceived leadership practices of female superintendents based on age, administrative experience, and size and structure of their districts. The findings indicated that neither age nor years of administrative experience had any impact on how North Carolina female superintendents perceived their leadership practices. All of the respondents were aged 50 or older and 77% were 55 or older. The respondents' average number of years of administrative experience was eight. The structure of the school district was found to be significant in regards to perceived leadership practices for N.C. female superintendents. District structure was defined as the ratio of central office personnel to the number of school buildings within the district. When the district structure was 1.59 or less, superintendents perceived themselves to utilize the leadership practice of Enabling Others to Act most often. The findings also indicated that the majority of N.C. female superintendents described effective leadership practices as having a shared vision and mission, setting goals, communication and having high expectations. The results of this study were compared to a similar study of female superintendents in four midwestern states conducted by Susan Katz in 2004. The female superintendents in both studies perceived themselves to utilize the leadership practice of Enabling Others to Act most often.





Voices of Women Aspiring to the Superintendency

Author : Margaret Grogan

Publisher : State University of New York Press

Page : 236 pages

File Size : 39,92 MB

Release : 1996-04-04

Category : Education

ISBN : 1438405111

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Book Description

The superintendency offers the most powerful and prestigious positions in K–12 public school systems. Few superintendents of these systems in the United States are women, although the majority of teachers are women and many women have leadership positions in schools. There are also increasing numbers of women in administrative preparation programs at institutions of higher education. This study of 27 highly qualified women in top-level administrative positions in public education was designed to find out what it is like to be a woman aspiring to the executive leadership position. Research questions included: Why are there so few women superintendents when so many are qualified? What are the routes to the superintendency? What is the context of educational administration in the public school? What kinds of leaders are women who aspire to the superintendency? The research was also informed by a femininst advocacy of social change to discover how and under what conditions a more equitable distribution of superintendencies is likely to occur. A feminist poststructural framework provided the theoretical basis for the analysis of the data.