Education Commons^™

Giving A Lot Of Ourselves: How Mother Leaders In Higher Education Experienced Parenting And Leading During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Laura E Boche

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the lived experience of mother executive administrators in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing the philosophical underpinnings of the Heideggerian phenomenological approach, the following research question guided this study: What are the lived experiences of mother executive administrators in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic? Participants included nine self-identified mother executive administrators from one Midwest state at a variety of institution types and locations within the state. Data collection involved two focus groups and individual interviews with all nine participants. After data analysis, three recurrent themes emerged from the data: (1) Burnout and …

Leadership Journeys: Reflections On Experiences And Challenges From Women In Academic Leadership, Sarah L. Smiley, Andrea G. Zakrajsek, Kathryn L. Fletcher

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

Although the number of women holding administrative positions in higher education has risen over the past two decades, the gender gap in academic leadership in higher education institutions persists. Barriers exist to prevent women from entering these positions, including those related to workplace culture and personal considerations. This qualitative exploratory study interviewed 38 women leaders in positions ranging from Assistant Dean to President at universities in a mid-west athletic conference. It asked the following research questions: How did they enter academic leadership? What were their experiences in leadership positions? What advice would they offer to other women considering leadership positions …

From Negotiator To Note-Taker: The Role Of Women Leaders And Academic Technology Cultures, Leslie Zenk, Susan Harden

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

For years, there has been a perceived inaccessibility of the field of Information Technology, centering on an organizational culture of “men and their machines” (Clark, 2012). This paper examines the role of women who lead technology initiatives in higher education and presents the experiences of these women leaders and their collision of organizational cultures as part of a comparative case study of two public institutions. Findings suggest elements of culture within the IT field that contribute to the experiences of women leaders in IT, and illuminate that leading a technology project may add a layer of gender expectations and gender …

Experiences Of Women Department Chairs In Engineering: A Narrative Study, Kayla Person

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Within higher education, STEM based disciplines need strong and balanced leadership. Leadership which demonstrates equity and diversity because all perspectives are needed to solve complex issues that face our world today. In 2016, women earned 23.2% of engineering Ph.D.’s awarded, which contributes to the low number of women faculty in engineering (Yoder, 2016). Those women who enter the professoriate increasingly need to navigate the labyrinth within their faculty positions and leadership roles within higher education. A key leadership role, department chair, has numerous responsibilities as both a faculty member and an administrator. Little research has been conducted to showcase the …

A Review Of Women’S Leadership Conferences: Ways Public Research Institutions Support Female Students Opting-In, Tania Reis, Marilyn L. Grady

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of women’s leadership conferences at public research universities. A search of the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education revealed a list of 157 research universities. Of these institutions, 40 held a women’s leadership conference. Implications are discussed in how a women’s leadership conference supports female students opting-in.

What Have We Learned From The Departures Of Female Superintendents?, Kerry Kathleen Robinson

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answer (1) What factors cause women superintendents to move and/or leave the superintendency? and (2) How do the women construct the story of their moving or leaving? Thematic analysis of the interview narratives discerned four major themes in the stories of these women: (1) Expectations of job duties; (2) Exhaustion as Superwoman; (3) Conflict with stakeholders; and (4) Departure on their own terms and timelines. This study contributes to the research on women in the superintendency and suggests implications for research, policy, and practice.

Paths To Leadership Of Native Hawaiian Women Administrators In Hawaii's Higher Education System: A Qualitative Study, Farrah-Marie Gomes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of the pathways to leadership for Native Hawaiian women administrators at the University of Hawaii by exploring and describing the experiences along their education and employment journeys. Eight Native Hawaiian women administrators shared the supports and challenges they encountered along their education and employment journeys, provided advice for Native Hawaiian women aspiring to be leaders, and suggested ways that the University can facilitate the development of more Native Hawaiian women leaders.

Using methods consistent with qualitative research, this narrative study utilized semi-structured interviews, field notes from the interviews and …

We Matter, We’Re Relevant And We Are Black Women In Sororities: An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Black Sorority Members At A Predominately White Institution, Delores J. Allison

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study explored the experiences of NPHC Black sorority women at a predominately White institution and the benefits that their individual sororities provided. The theory that guided this study is Black feminist thought, which reveals the complexity of Black women’s experiences. The case study approach was used to collect their stories because it focuses on them individually. Three Black graduate sorority women were interviewed in depth. Throughout these women’s college careers they have been faced with racism and sexism. Through their individual sororities they were able to find solace and embrace their Black womanhood on campus.

Advisor: Stephanie …

Women In Nontraditional Occupations: A Case Study Of Worker Motivation, Katherine Wesley

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupation Act (WANTO Act) of 1992 highlighted an urgent matter facing the American workforce that persists today. The urgent matter in 2012 involves the precarious effect of demographics on the American labor market, placing women at the crux of engaging opportunity or maintaining status quo.

Women must be empowered and encouraged to seek employment opportunities they have never considered, e.g. male-dominated, nontraditional occupations, for the U.S. to keep pace with labor market needs. The need amplifies the myriad of issues for women in male-dominated, nontraditional occupations.

Among the barriers confronting women is the persistence …

Color Them Pink: An Exploratory Study Of Women And Other Underrepresented Minorities In Master's Stem Programs, Maggie J. Jobes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This quantitative, exploratory study was designed to examine and compare socialization and mentoring in two groups of students, and the influence these factors had on their ranking of academic and overall experience in Master’s degree level science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) programs at a large, Midwestern university. The subjects were University of Nebraska-Lincoln Master’s degree recipients who had completed the Master’s Degree Graduate Studies Exit Survey and had identified themselves as being part of a STEM graduate program. Literature displayed the underrepresentation of women and individuals of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds in STEM fields and particularly in graduate …

Women In Positions Of Influence: Exploring The Journeys Of Female Community Leaders, Mary Pflanz

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although the leadership norm continues to be male-oriented, more women are occupying positions of leadership in our society. The prevalent question has shifted from whether or not women can lead to how effectively they lead. To better understand the effectiveness of female community leaders, this qualitative research study explores the common features in the paths of women who have attained leadership positions. The stories of these women were derived by conducting ten interviews with women who are in positions of leadership within their communities. The interviews used open-ended questions to elicit personal responses from the interviewees, and phenomenological methods were …

Women Leaders In Student Affairs: A Case Study Exploring Career Choices, Julie C. Taylor-Costello

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, multiple case study explored what women working in student affairs reported as influences on their career choices and the impact that the type and level of student interaction has on their careers.

Data from semi-structured interviews and journal entries were obtained from ten women working in student affairs at private, four-year institutions of higher education in the Midwest. The “Stage Model of the Careers of Successful Women” (White, Cox, & Cooper, 1992) provided the theoretical framework and the basis for selecting women for the study. Two women at each of the five stages of White, Cox, and Cooper’s …