Education Commons^™

Shattering Your Own Glass Ceiling: The Self-Sabotaging Behaviors Of Secondary Female Principals And Strategies Used To Overcome Them, Ashley Sandor

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe self-sabotaging behaviors experienced by female secondary principals and to explore the impact these behaviors have on their career development. A secondary purpose of this study was to identify strategies used to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors.

Methodology: An explanatory mixed methods design was used to uncover the perspectives of 10 female secondary principals in Northern California who have experienced career impacting self-sabotaging behaviors and to examine strategies that exemplary female secondary principals use to overcome their internal barriers. The quantitative phase included a 51-item online survey about self-sabotaging …

Grounded Roots Applied To Women Presidents In The California Community Colleges System, Penny Shreve

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe what exemplary female presidents in California community colleges do to stay grounded and maintain physical, emotional, intellectual, social, vocational, and spiritual health.

Methodology: This mixed methods study identified and described the perceptions of 16 women presidents in the California Community Colleges system regarding strategies they use to remain grounded in their current positions. Respondents were purposively chosen based on specific criteria. Data were gathered through the Stay Grounded survey from 16 participants and interviews with 5 of the participants. Quantitative data were tabulated to determine mean …

Black Girls Matter: The Impact Of Historical Representation On Contemporary Education, Carolyn Strong

Dissertations

A long history of misogynoir and negative stereotypes about Black
girls and women can be found throughout the literature and popular
culture of the United States. These stereotypes inform the lived
experience of Black girls and women, and in particular interfere with
African American girls’ ability to thrive in a school environment. An
autoethnographic research approach shows that various strategies, in
particular, Black girl-centric spaces, have proven to be helpful in
supporting Black girls who have to negotiate varying degrees of
hostility in general environments. These could be applied more broadly
to improve Black girls’ mental, psychological, physical, and
educational …

Against The Wind: A Study On Aviation As A Female Career Choice, Bonnie Gagliardo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to identify and describe the educational and social experiences that sparked the interest of female pilots as young women to pursue a career in aviation.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study utilized semi- structured interviews to explore the lived experiences of female pilots, to understand if there were common social and educational factors which influenced them to become interested in aviation. Using convenience sampling, eleven pilots who hold a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot’s License were selected to participate in this study.

Findings: The findings from this …

Exploring The Political Styles And Strategies Used By Successful Women Classified Managers In Educational Agencies, Colleen Stanley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover and describe the political styles of successful women classified managers within California’s central coast region who advanced from middle management to top-level management level positions within an educational agency. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to explore and understand the political strategies that they perceived enhanced or hindered their ability to be promoted.

Methodology: This phenomenological study captured the stories of classified women managers’ lived experiences as they successfully advance in their careers to high-level management positions within an educational agency. A sample size of 15 …

Positionality Matters: School Choice Decisions Based On Ethnographic Accounts Of African American Parents, Dr. Stacy L. Thomas

Dissertations

This research delves into experiences with reasoning and selected criteria for choosing the right school for their children. Beginning with a series of vignettes that assist with recognition of parental empowerment, this research archives acknowledgement of their own positionality when it comes to making life changing decisions. As selected parents of African American children grapple with the strategic balance and possibilities of educational outlets, family and finances, they offer ethnographic accounts of their successes and failures with school choice. Individual accounts of parental school choice decisions posing as data ascertained from interviews provided research that explored the critical frequencies and …

Gender Inequity In The Representation Of Women As Superintendents In Mississippi Public Schools: The "No Problem Problem", Deidre Joy Seale Smith

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the phenomenon of continuing underrepresentation of female superintendents in Mississippi K-12 public schools. The study was conducted during the 2014-2015 school year. At the time of the study, women represented 23% of the overall population of superintendents in Mississippi public schools. Fourteen women who were serving as superintendents in Mississippi during the 2014-2015 school year participated. Interviews were conducted, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The data were analyzed using constructs associated with feminist theory, feminist postsructural and feminist standpoint theoretical frameworks. Two primary themes emerged as a result of this …

Female Head Athletic Trainers In Ncaa Division I (Ia Football) Athletics: How They Made It To The Top, Joanne Gorant

Dissertations

The profession of athletic training has opened its doors to women, who now slightly outnumber men in the profession (Shingles, 2001; WATC, 1997, 2005). Unfortunately, this representation does not carry over into positions of high rank. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of female head athletic trainers in NCAA Division I (IA football) institutions to focus on the issues of barriers to advancement and their ability to overcome them.

Using Hakim’s “preference theory” as a lens, this interpretive qualitative investigation utilized semi-structured, open-ended interviews to learn how participants advanced in the field of athletic …

The Role Of Faith In God In Administrative Decision-Making: A Descriptive Multiple Case Study Of Three African-American Christian Women Administrators Of American Higher Education, Nancy Ann Link

Dissertations

Problem. Faith in God is a phenomenon that is difficult to define. Yet, it can be seen as an attitude of complete trust in God. As Proctor (1995) stated, faith in God is believing that there is a purpose and a power (called God) available to each of us, giving us an "inexhaustible source of evergreen inspiration" (p. xvii). Therefore, this study focused on how faith in God impacted administrative decision-making practices of three African-American Christian women administrators of higher education.

Method. To achieve the purpose of this study, the literature was reviewed to identify existing theories. This descriptive …

A Study Of Issues And Problems Women Face In Attempting To Pursue Careers In Educational Administration In Kenya, Bertha Kirigo Mutai

Dissertations

Problem

In Kenya, the majority of women in education occupy classroom teaching positions. Educational officers, in their hiring practices, appear to overlook women as resources, thereby depriving the schools of the skills and talents of potentially capable leaders. Students are also denied the role models of female leaders. This study investigates how difficult it is for women to secure professional careers in educational administration in Kenya.

Method

The population consisted of all the female teachers employed by the Ministry of Education in Kenya, and female Kenyan students in North American universities. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the …

Attitudes Of Male Administrators Toward Hiring And Promoting Female Administrators In The Seventh-Day Adventist Educational System In The North American Division, Hessen C. Ghazal

Dissertations

Problem. The ratio of female to male educational administrators is considerably lower than the ratio for teachers. This study investigated the attitudes of male administrators toward hiring and promoting female administrators in the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) educational system in North America.

Method. A questionnaire was prepared consisting of four subscales with a total of 45 items measuring attitudes with respect to recruiting, performance evaluation, promotion, and general areas. This questionnaire was mailed to 458 male educational administrators of whom 322 returned usable surveys. Four hypotheses were tested by analysis of variance and chi-square.

Findings. (1) On 40 of the 45 …