The Impact of Gender and Race on African American Female School Administrators

Secondary Education    Managers/Executives/Administrators

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TITLE: The Impact of Gender and Race on African American Female School Administrators
 
RESEARCHER: Zanthia D. Reddish
School of Education
Immaculata University (PA)
Unpublished doctoral dissertation: April 2010

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this case study was to examine the practices and self-perceptions of power of African American females in various positions of school leadership in school districts in southeastern Pennsylvania.

METHODOLOGY
Forty-eight African American female administrators in Pennsylvania were invited to participate in this case study. Of the 48 invitations, 19 administrators returned the consent forms and agreed to participate, and 15 of the administrators completed the Leadership Practices Inventory and the Power Management Inventory (Hall & Hawkins, 1981). Ten participants were also interviewed.

KEY FINDINGS
The most frequent leadership practice for African American female school administrators in this study was Encourage the Heart. This was followed by Enable, Model, and then Inspire and Challenge. ETH also had the highest standard deviation; and was more prevalent among building level leaders than those in central administration.