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Ten prominent feminist researchers from diverse backgrounds examine educational leadership by focusing on critical questions about the theories, methods, and epistemologies feminist researchers use. The contributors analyze the impact of research on participants and assess the ethical and political implications of researching across groups. They explore the types of strategies feminist researchers have developed to address the problems of the field and propose alternative epistemologies that provide for more sensitive research methods and more complex research results. The book provides a timely examination of how gender inequalities were created and structured within U.S. systems of school administration, how they are maintained and perpetuated, and how they might best be understood and dismantled.

This volume tells the story of women and school leadership in America from the common school era to the present, revealing how teaching became women's work and the school superintendency, men's. It also explores how this gendered division of roles and power has been maintained over the years. The first two chapters survey the creation of sex-segregated employment in 19th-century schooling. Focusing on the superintendency, chapter 3 discusses how the turn-of-the-century women's movement pushed women into school leadership positions despite informally enforced gender barriers and a backlash movement depicting single women administrators as socially dangerous spinsters and/or lesbians. Chapter 4 documents this postsuffrage backlash movement and the resulting gender-role polarization. During the 1940s and 1950s, more married women became administrators, attempting to project feminine exteriors while performing \"male-identified\" work. Chapter 5 elaborates on the quiet, rapid decline of female administrators from World War II to 1970. Chapter 6 documents how women's advocates attempted to work through legal and judicial systems to eliminate persistent sex inequalities in schooling and educational employment and explores subtle resistance to these efforts. Included are appendices with historical data, an index, and numerous chapter endnotes. (MLH)

Shares perspectives from twelve successful women school superintendents. Women who seek to be school superintendents or who want to improve their chances for success in the superintendency can clearly benefit from the insights and cultural wisdom of women who have attained the position. Principles of Power shares perspectives from twelve successful women superintendents and puts them in a cultural context that highlights what they can teach us about their methods for success. To illustrate the underlying behaviors that helped them succeed, Brunner uses as a framework the system of beliefs gathered by Carlos Castaneda from Yaqui Indian warrior training. Castaneda calls this system the “riddle of the heart.” To understand the riddle of the heart, women must be able to simultaneously comprehend and use two different perceptions of the world: that which is and that which is becoming. To be able to solve the riddle, warriors develop mind set and a discipline that allow them to get the best out of any conceivable situation. This book is the story of these warriors­—twelve women superintendents—and how they have solved the riddle of the heart.

Women who seek to be school superintendents or who want to improve their chances for success in the superintendency can clearly benefit from the insights and cultural wisdom of women who have attained the position. Principles of Power shares perspectives from twelve successful women superintendents and puts them in a cultural context that highlights what they can teach us about their methods for success. To illustrate the underlying behaviors that helped them succeed, Brunner uses as a framework the system of beliefs gathered by Carlos Castaneda from Yaqui Indian warrior training. Castaneda calls this system the \"riddle of the heart.\" To understand the riddle of the heart, women must be able to simultaneously comprehend and use two different perceptions of the world: that which is and that which is becoming. To be able to solve the riddle, warriors develop mind set and a discipline that allow them to get the best out of any conceivable situation. This book is the story of these warriors¬—twelve women superintendents—and how they have solved the riddle of the heart.

Ten prominent feminist researchers from diverse backgrounds examine educational leadership by focusing on critical questions about the theories, methods, and epistemologies feminist researchers use. The contributors analyze the impact of research on participants and assess the ethical and political implications of researching across groups. They explore the types of strategies feminist researchers have developed to address the problems of the field and propose alternative epistemologies that provide for more sensitive research methods and more complex research results. The book provides a timely examination of how gender inequalities were created and structured within U.S. systems of school administration, how they are maintained and perpetuated, and how they might best be understood and dismantled.

Women represent about 75% of teachers in the United States, so you would expect that 75% of the country’s superintendents would also be female (Blount, 1998). Unfortunately, that is not the case; the percentage of female superintendents is very small at 14%, and when you research the percentage of Latina superintendents, the proportion is even smaller at 10% (Brunner, 2000). In other words, women teach while men manage (Tallerico, 2000). The purpose of this study was to employ a qualitative testimonio design to interpret how one former Latina superintendent navigated through her superintendency and explored the phenomenon of the underrepresentation of Latinas in the superintendency while educational institutions are mainly comprised with female teachers. This testimonio additionally attempted to determine the meaning of the experiences lived by this selected former Latina superintendent participating in this testimonio in an effort to enhance the current research on leadership roles of Latina public school superintendents. In order to enhance this testimonio, secondary participants identified by the former Latina superintendent as school board members during her tenure were used in the pláticas to provide support of her lived experiences. The findings of the pláticas became a reality through the lens of the theoretical framework. This research study was grounded in Chicana Feminist Epistemology. Chicana Feminist Epistemology recognizes Latinas’ diverse ways of knowing and the importance of their experiential knowledge as well as how that knowledge can inform theory and practice (Elenes & Delgado Bernal, 2010). The following themes were revealed, Preparación y Mi Experiencia [preparation and my experience] which included the following sub themes: motivation, role models/mentors, networking, education, and leadership. La Mesa (Direct)iva [the school board] included the following sub themes: barriers, school board relationships, and strategies. The findings brought forth the creation of (Mis)Identidades. (Mis)Identidades of my participant were discussed and organized using her voice in order to provide a rich description of preparation, experience, identity and relationship with the school board as she embarked on her journey of the superintendency. The components included family values, gender, ethnicity, culture, and spirituality and served as the identities that shaped who this former Latina superintendent was. The conceptual model presented multiple aspects that my participant embodied and every time she dealt with a challenge she pulled from her cultura [culture]. In dealing with (Mis)Indentidades, this practice shows vivid pictures in how her whole plática encompassed the symbolic representation of four loteria cards to create Una Mujer de Fortaleza. According to the data collected, La Fortaleza [the strength] embodies La Mujer Fuerte [the strong woman], La Jefa [the boss], La Ganadora [the winner] y La Esperanza [the hope].

The superintendent must create a vision at all levels of the organization (Black, 2007) so that internal and external players can work towards achieving common goals and outcomes (Bolman & Deal, 2003) that will ultimately equate to student success. Nevertheless, the lack of Latina superintendents remains a continuing professional concern. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of three Latina assistant superintendents in South Central Texas as they navigated their way through the process of obtaining a superintendent position through a narrative inquiry with the use of testimonios. This research study was grounded in Chicana feminist theory. Chicana feminist theory recognizes Latinas’ diverse ways of knowing and the importance of their experiential knowledge as well as how that knowledge can inform theory and practice (Elenes & Delgado Bernal, 2010). Data was collected via interviews with three participants. The interviews were transcribed then analyzed. The analysis revealed three overarching themes: 1.) mestiza consciousness, 2.) empowerment, and 3.) borderlander. As a result of the themes a three-pronged conceptual model was produced to represent a process of how the participants enacted mestiza consciousness, borderlander, and conocimiento resulting in a construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction of their experiences.

Executive leadership positions in public schools in the United States are dominated by white males. Equitable representation is not currently present for females in the role of public school superintendents (Mertz, 2006). The superintendency maintains the status as the least gender-diverse executive position in the country (Bjork, 2000; Grogan & Brunner, 2005; McGovern-Robinett & Orlando, 2003; Skarla 2000). Nationally, women hold at least 70% of the teaching positions and 41% of the principal positions. Yet, only 18% of public school superintendent positions are held by females in the United States (Glass, 2000; Grogan & Brunner, 2005). Certainly, many women are well-qualified to fill administrative positions. At some point in their progress through the administrative career path, they meet a barrier to further advancement which is referred to metaphorically as the “glass ceiling” (Scanlon, 1997, p. 39). The study targets Iowa female principals’ decision to pursue or avoid the superintendency. Over the past five years, the number of female superintendents in Iowa has ranged from 8.2% to 11.3%. Nationally, the growth for females in the superintendency has been at a faster pace than Iowa. The American Association of School Administrators reports a range of female superintendents in the United States from 16% to 21.7% in the same timeframe of the past five years. The study investigates the reasons that Iowa ranks below the nation in the representation of women in the superintendency. Research gathered in the mixed-methods study reports the mean and frequencies of survey items. Study participants include respondents to the on-line survey which was sent electronically to all K-12 female principals in Iowa. Focus groups were held to encourage more in-depth responses from Iowa female principals and associate principals. Three focus groups of 4-8 female principals took place at the School Administrators of Iowa Conference in August of 2009. All aspects of the study were designed to examine the factors which influence Iowa female principals’ decision to pursue the superintendency.