Davia Brown Franklyn
Published: 2022
Total Pages: 0
Get eBook
In the past five decades, white men have predominately held the superintendent position (Grogan & Nash, 2021; Tallerico & Blount, 2004). Women have gradually gained access to this position, but women of color still have to navigate access to this crucial seat in public education ((Grogan & Nash, 2021). Relatedly, public schools have become more racially and ethnically diverse, and this shift in student population should be represented in the diversification of the leadership, who may understand the complex needs of these various communities due to their own cultural and racial identities (Grogan & Nash, 2020; Theoharis & Scanlan, 2015). The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore how race and gender impacted the formal and informal mentoring relationships for women of color superintendents and assistant superintendents from K-12 public school districts in the Northeast; namely, the study explored how these mentorship relationships supported participants' access to professional resources, job opportunities, and career decision-making processes. Intersectionality was used to unpack the various identities and race markers, and Black feminist thought was the expanded theoretical framework used to interpret the superintendents' and assistant superintendents' stories. Mentoring has been cited as critical social support, one that could potentially aid the career advancement and retention of women of color superintendents (Angel et al., 2013; Brunner & Grogan, 2005; Sampson & Gresham, 2017). Three research questions were formulated to understand the lived experiences of superintendents and assistant superintendents and perceptions of their mentoring relationships. Data were gathered through interviews with all 15 participants. Key findings were that superintendents and assistant superintendents believed having a similar gender or race with their mentors influenced the perception of the relationship as more positive and effective, and trust was a critical element identified as a core component of a mentoring relationship; participants also discussed their mentors offering them both psychosocial and career development functions; and participants spoke profoundly about their mentors aiding in their leadership trajectories through technical and adaptive supports. Several conclusions and recommendations resulted from the findings of this study, but possibly one of the most important was the practice recommendation for Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to establish and encourage women of color superintendents to join collaborative networks (i.e., communities of practice) to broaden their social networks.