Career Pathway Barriers, Strategies, and Practices of Female Superintendents in Rural Georgia: A Narrative Inquiry
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Authors
Rehberg, Erin S.
Issue Date
2022-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Educational leadership , Feminist theory , Georgia , Rural schools , School superintendents , Women school superintendents
Alternative Title
Abstract
I investigated six rural Georgia female school superintendents’ perceptions of trajectories into the superintendency and their roles and responsibilities as educational leaders. I examined how their life and career experiences shaped their professional roles as practicing female superintendents. This study contributes to the limited academic literature on female superintendents, focusing on the gender obstacles they overcame to find success in a male-dominated career. It also uses the voices of women in rural districts to tell their own stories. I used three conceptual lenses: feminist theory, the gatekeeping theory, and the structural empowerment theory to understand the women's main characteristics of rising to senior leadership positions in a rural school district. I developed four analytical themes from the data: 1) surviving in the male-dominated jungle of educational leadership, 2) being safer at home, 3) the paradox of female leadership, and 4) balancing work-life demands. The findings suggest that female educational leaders adapt and change their behaviors to survive a male-dominated landscape. Although female superintendents are severely underrepresented, they bring to leadership a complete range of the qualities modern leaders need, including self- awareness, resilience, creativity, humility, and authenticity. Male leaders might benefit from these unique characteristics. The research shows the strategies to address the social, political, and economic challenges females face in their day-to-day practices as superintendents. This study's findings are significant for those who mentor female educational leaders, design educational leadership programs and hire school superintendents.
Keywords: female superintendents; rural Georgia; feminist theory; educational leadership; superintendents; gatekeeping theory;
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.