Education Commons^™

Women's Access To The Superintendency: Pathways From The Elementary Ranks, Julie Marie Powell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to describe the experiences of six women superintendents who began their careers as elementary principals. The central question was: What can we learn from the lived experience of women who came from a background as elementary educators and advanced to the superintendency in a variety of district contexts within Michigan’s traditional public school system?

The research design was a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study approach using the data collection method of interviewing. Two conceptual frameworks – expectations states theory and feminist poststructuralism – provided the context for this research. Portraits of each of the …

Racial Battle Fatigue, Role Strain, And African-American Faculty At Public Community Colleges, Tamara N. Stevenson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

African Americans remain disproportionately underrepresented in the faculty ranks at institutions of higher education in the United States. The faculty role is critical to the quality and exchange of teaching and learning, particularly at public community colleges. The extant literature documents how “chilly” campus climates and racially charged encounters can be harmful to African-American faculty. Moreover, along with the traditional responsibilities and demands of the faculty role, African-American faculty members contend with racism, discrimination, and an anti-Black sentiment in academia as a microcosm of society, likely resulting in race-related role strain. Overall, this exploratory study sought to understand the nature …