A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences

of African American Female Educators Becoming Urban School Principals

by

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Approval Page

This applied dissertation was submitted by Tondra M. Collins under the direction of the

persons listed below. It was submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

and School of Criminal Justice and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

the degree of Doctor of Education at Nova Southeastern University.

Deeb Paul Kitchen, EdD

Committee Chair

David Weintraub, EdD

Committee Member

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I declare the following:

I have read the Code of Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility as described in the

Student Handbook of Nova Southeastern University. This applied dissertation represents

my original work, except where I have acknowledged the ideas, words, or material of

acknowledged the author’s words by using appropriate quotation devices and citations in

the required style.

I have obtained permission from the author or publisher—in accordance with the required

guidelines—to include any copyrighted material (e.g., tables, figures, survey instruments,

large portions of text) in this applied dissertation manuscript.

Tondra M. Collins

Name

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Acknowledgments

Father God, I thank you the most. You are the only one who made it possible for me to

complete the dissertation. I vow to use my gifts and talents to show the world your glory

(Romans 8: 37-39). I am so grateful for the love and support of my father, Langville

following educators who made an impression on my understanding of the profession by

providing excellent education with unwavering love: Stacey Shells, Emily Volpe, Crystal

Winter, Nikeira Roker, Iyinka Williams-Jones, Puleng Tsotetsi, Jalena Stanley, Marlon

Cadore, Colette Dempsey, Victoria Latorre, Seanette Martin, Meisha Mcleod, Charlene

Manaoat, Mr. Andrae Dunwoody of Dunwoody Dance, and Dr. Courtney Bethel.

nudges, and faith in me! You believed in me when I did not believe in myself. To my first

African American, female teachers- Anita (my mom) and Priscilla (my aunt), thank you

for always being loving, selfless, positive, understanding, and optimistic. To my first

formal teachers, thank you for being models of excellence, joy, and fun: Sister Bessie

Brown, the Northside Christian Academy Staff. Special Thank you to my committee

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A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of African American Female

Educators Becoming Urban School Principals. Tondra M. Collins, 2023: Applied

Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: African American women principals,

staff overall impacts student achievement levels and improves equity in disciplinary

practices. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of African

American women who are currently or were previously urban school principals. Through

the theoretical lenses of critical race theory and social inclusion theory, this study

examined African American female educators’ motivation to pursue the urban principal

role and the challenges they faced along the way. The study looked at how African

American women describe the factors that motivated and propelled them to become an

urban school principal, as well as the challenges they encountered and how they

addressed them. With the 12 participants, the qualitative study used semistructured, one-

on-one interviews. The researcher analyzed data from the interview transcripts and the

diversity, cultural sensitivity and competence, self-awareness, and bias.

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Table of Contents

Page

Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1

Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................1

Phenomenon of Interest ...........................................................................................3

Background and Justification ...................................................................................4

Deficiencies in the Evidence ....................................................................................6

Audience ..................................................................................................................8

Definition of Key Terms ..........................................................................................8

Roles... ....................................................................................................................19

African American Women in Education.................................................................23

Conclusion ..............................................................................................................27

Research Questions .................................................................................................27

Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................29

Aim of the Study ....................................................................................................29

Qualitative Research Approach .............................................................................30

Participants .............................................................................................................31

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Relation of Findings to Theoretical Frameworks ..................................................81

Implications of Findings .......................................................................................85

Recommendations for the Practice ........................................................................86

Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................86

Researcher Reflections...........................................................................................87

Limitations .............................................................................................................89

Conclusion .............................................................................................................89

C Confirmed Interest Email…….. ...................................................................105

D Member Check Process…….. ......................................................................107

Tables

1 Demographics of the Participants ...................................................................41

2 Emergent Themes and Categories of Responses by Participants ...................44

3 Emergent Themes and Explanations ..............................................................45

Although schools have been racially integrated for a number of decades, racial

segregation in schools is still a growing problem. In fact, many American schools are

impact on the school community.

Currently, in schools, there is a disproportionate number of African Americans in

principal roles in comparison to other racial groups. Ladson-Billings (2009) highlighted

the impact of African American teachers on African American students, with particular

emphasis on the power of communal ties and shared values within the school setting as

equity in disciplinary practices as well.

The problem to be investigated in this study is a disparity in the numbers of

African American women in urban school principal roles in comparison to other racial

groups. African Americans accounted for about 10% of all urban school principals, while

the percentage for African American women who serve as urban school principals was

female principals and create perspectives on the importance of their roles as principals.

Understanding the lived experiences of African American women in principal

roles may enrich the following departments: performance management, human resources,

directors, school board chairs, and CEOs of schools. With this research, human resource

and performance management departments would benefit in the following ways: provide

a window into the perspective and needs of African American women, inform hiring and

teacher/leader coaching practices, and potentially help to identify a recruitment pipeline.

Lastly, school board chairs and CEOs of schools can use the data to create an

lens of race, culture, and oppression from the dominant society (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004)

Inclusion Theory The process of improving the way people participate in society based

on their identity markers (World Bank, 2017)

Urban Schools Schools centered in neighborhoods with four traits:

population/location/geography, student-characteristics, available resources in schools,

results can provide insight on how to mentor African American women pursuing a

principal’s position in an urban school. Additionally, this research will contribute to an

existing body of work on the challenges African American female principals face while

pursuing work in schools.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The goal of this literature review was to understand the lived experiences of

African American women who pursue a principal position, so that the understanding can

how their contributions are perceived in America, negative stereotypes against them, and

how African American women express their identity. Then the chapter goes on to explain

the underrepresentation of African American women in leadership roles, education roles,

and school principal roles. The final section offers a conclusion and lists the research

questions.

(CRT), which seeks to understand the lived experiences of female African American

principals in obtaining a principal position. According to the U.S. Department of

Education (2016), 49% of the national student body in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12

were students of color, yet about 18% of the national registry of educators were teachers

of color. By using CRT in this study, the researcher sought to understand the current

of counter-storytelling, convergence of cultural interests, property of Whiteness, and the

critique of liberalism (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004). The most consistent tenets of CRT in this

research are the permanence of racism and the interest convergence, although all five are

visible throughout the research. Hoag (2020) defined interest convergence as the ability

African American staff performs at higher rates in the area of classroom management and

parent engagement. Thus, because it was perceived by some that African Americans

address misbehavior more effectively, then there was an increase in the number of

available dean or culture roles (Hinkley & McCorkell, 2019). In other words, African

American advancement occurs in this scenario because it converged or intersected with

Therefore, it is important for people of color and subgroups to express their identity and

communicate their experiences through counter storytelling. Counter storytelling gives

voice to their identity and establishes racism as a debilitating force. According to

Bahadoosingh (2021), mainstream media likes to create a universal narrative that

everyone-regardless of race and gender-have the same experience of being and existing in

Theory, which is a school of thought created by the World Bank (World Bank, 2022),

that problematizes the level of access a group of people possesses within a setting based

on their demographics. Participation, empowerment, and social justice are tenets of

inclusion theory that are relevant when studying why there are so few African American

When diversity is a priority, social inclusion flows naturally (Swartz et al., 2019).

The work of Swartz\ et al. (2019) addressed the value of diversity with data on inclusion

and diversity. The research revealed that a diverse workforce is beneficial because it

brings an appreciation for a diverse set of skills. Life experiences, places of origin, and

universities attended are some factors that contribute to diversity. With different and

diversity provides a platform to comprehend intersectionality. grasping intersectionality

creates awareness, tolerance, and sensitivity toward others, which reduces discriminatory

practices-thus promoting inclusion-as referenced in the work of Swart et. al (2019) The

conclusions drawn in this research call for a complete examination of policies and

procedures to ensure all groups are included and valued in the practices of the

positions. As well as creating infrastructures where diverse employees receive support

and mentoring; furthermore, all policies and systems must be evaluated consistently for

bias and exclusion.

In understanding the roots of Social Inclusion theory, Taylor (2012) shone a light

constructs foster inclusive environments. The work of Allman (2013) highlighted

exclusionary techniques. Ostracism is a technique used to preserve the purity and

predictability of group dynamics, where groups are isolated from the majority set of

people. Whereas stigma-another exclusionary technique- pertains to the degradation and

caste away of people based on demographics. Stigma is a strategy used to devalue and

evident in racially marginalized groups.

Perceptions of African American Women in America

In the previous sections, the following was discussed: the impact of women in

executive leadership positions, and the experiences of African American women. These

Coleman, Reynolds, and Torbati (2020) noted that America has a long history of

negative stereotypes against African American women, which are rooted in slave

depictions and justifications for slavery and mistreatment. These stereotypes are so

Sapphire-who is perceived as over-sexualized and baseless; and the Angry Black

Women-one that excels at berating men.

Similar to Coleman, Reynolds, & Torbati (2020), the work of Eckr (2018)

highlighted stereotypes against African American women. The three core stereotypes

against African American women rooted in slavery and racism are Mammy, Jezebel, and

slavery in the depiction of a female slave who resided in the house. Living in the house

with the slave masters included the following duties: to nurse and nurture the children,

looking after the slave owners’ children with more care and regard than her own children.

This motherly figure had a strong sense of influence and autonomy over the children, yet

remained in a subservient role due to race and gender. In fact, the archetype of Mammy

sexually enticing toward slave owners and utilized their sexual skills as a form of

currency to navigate the slavery ranks. Lastly, Sapphire referred to an African American

character that was created on television in the 1970s, to represent an angry, aggressive,

and strong-willed woman.

discrimination in the American workforce to the point where it negatively impacts their

health and physical well-being. Lewis et al. (2006) concluded that daily mistreatment

based on race and gender raised the cardiac artery calcification levels of middle-aged

African American women. The researchers examined the impact of their daily

mistreatment in comparison to situational mistreatment or injustice. Injustice meant that

In the previous section, the impact of stereotypes on the target was discussed and

evidenced by research. On the contrary, stereotypes had a significant impact on other

groups as well. Skinner-Dorkenoo et al. (2021) conducted research that defined and

explained micro aggression toward African Americans, which showed that micro

aggressions have lasting effects on the dominant society-besides just the intended targets

examples of micro aggressions are the following: exoticism, eroticism, judgments on

language acquisition, tokenism, racial categorizing, and the ascription of intelligence. The

findings concluded that micro aggressions ostracized one race or group of people while

elevating another group of people or race. Participants reported feeling that their

parties.

To be precise, stereotypes against African American women had lasting effects.

Lewis et al. (2016) emphasized the danger of stereotypes on dominant groups’

understanding/ perception of African American women. In this study, there were two

streams of data: focus groups and demographic interviews. The results were categorized

interactions with White groups, and from visible experiences (i.e. being a minority in a

group setting or being called out as a spokesperson for their race or sex). All in all, the

participants were African American women who reported negative feelings and

maltreatment that led to marginalization and silencing. For example, in the workplace or

in a group setting, they felt the need to tone down their passion or neutralize their attire to

of education. Their work sought to understand why there are so few women of color in

the field, with a focus on early childhood development to career opportunities and

retention. The theoretical frameworks were intersectionality and social capital, due to an

emphasis on how race, gender, and access impact the success of these women. The

advancement. In the literature review, two areas were highlighted. Two findings in the

research were the impact of education on women of color’s interest in the field and the

treatment of women of color in public schools. The results concluded that both- impact of

education on women of color’s interest in the field and the treatment of women of color

in public schools had an impact on their ability to express scientific personality traits.

revealed a connection between discrimination and identity. (Alfred et al., 2018).

Related to identity and societal pressure, Williams (2018) explored the identity

challenges of African American teachers working in public schools, which offers a

counter-narrative when compared to the work of Farinde-Wu and Fitchett (2018). In

Williams’ study (2018), the participants were four African American educators that

leadership style as a combination of male distinct, Anglo distinct, and African American

female distinct. Parker and Ogilvie's work (1996) is an example of seminal research, for

their model elevated the importance of race and gender within the context of leadership.

Ironically, they found similarities between the leadership tools used by African American

isolation, and invisibility. The researchers found that African Americans faced unfair

challenges and often avoided situations that could lead to being stereotyped in the

workplace. For example, it is said that African American women experience a myriad of

challenges due to their race, gender, and positionality in the workplace. Sim and Carter’s

research (2019) concluded that micro aggressions in the workplace impacted the level of

shed light on the impact of micro aggression on the workplace experience for African

Americans.

The work of Curtis (2017) affirmed the need for more African American women

in school principal roles. This work explained the value of African American women in

being taken seriously as leaders, and being denied promotional opportunities.

Additionally, they experienced reservations about their own stamina to fight the bias and

unfair treatment. African American women were motivated by their challenging

experiences and future aspirations; through the research. Through community and shared

This is called bicultural leadership, which means African American women were said to

analyze the strategies used by the dominant culture. The purpose of analyzing the strategy

is to understand how to best survive and advance within the system. Overall, the results

in Curtis (2017) concluded the necessity of African American women in school

leadership roles in urban education. For African American women possessed the cultural

lead schools with higher populations of students that are economically disadvantaged

when compared to White and male counterparts. This work gives perspective on the

impact of their leadership. Their quantitative study used data from the High School

Longitudinal Studies collected from 2009-2016 which provided long-term data on

students from 9th grade through adulthood/entering the workforce. The research

grade 9 math achievement scores of students from low socioeconomic status and under

the leadership of African American female principals. In fact, African American female

principals were associated with math achievement scores that were 2.84 points higher for

all 9th grade students-this included White, Black, American Indian, Asian, and students

women, this looked like toggling between two worlds. The work of Jones and Shorter-

Gooden (2003) in their seminal study explained Bi-culturalism, which is the shifting

between personal identity and majority culture. The participants were 333 African

American women. The participants completed a questionnaire with questions centered on

their experiences with racism and sexism. Bi-culturalism meant that African American

women choose to communicate based on their audience, the intended purpose for the

communication, and perception of being misunderstood or discounted-without shifting.

Some participants discussed how shifting led to feelings of depression, as the need to

shift the way in which one communicates also leads to a shift in one's identity. Shifting

serves a couple of different purposes: for the participants, it created a barrier between

“outsider” or “other” in group spaces (Shorter-Gooden, 2003).

This literature review sought to understand the issues faced by African American

principals in urban schools. Leaders are defined as assistant principals, principals, and

Conducting a deep dive on the impact of Brown vs. the Board of Education, was the first

step in providing context on the shortage of African American teachers and

administrators. The next step was an analysis of African American teacher candidacy and

placement. Understanding the hiring criteria and job placement of African American

teachers helps the readers become critical of the role of equity and in teacher placement

example, Whiteness as property became evident in the large percentage of White males

being chosen for leadership positions over other groups, regardless of experience,

credentials, and skills. Lastly, this was later confirmed through the use of counter-

storytelling by African American leaders when they shared their experiences of

interviewing for leadership roles.

Research Questions

factors that motivated them and propelled them to become an urban principal?

Support Research Question 2: How do African American women describe the

challenges they encountered to become an urban principal, as well as how they addressed

the challenges?

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the

lived experiences of African American female educators who are currently or were

pursuit of the role, the researcher sought to highlight any challenges that presented

themselves along the way. African American women are a subset of a dominant group.

Their experiences and perspectives enrich and add breadth to the quality of service they

provide in the field of education. Understanding African American women’s motivations

and challenges contributes to an existing body of work on the following: importance of

students. Chapter 1 explained the following: the research problem, definition of terms,

background and justification of the problem, deficiencies within the evidence, the

intended audience, and the importance/significance of the study. Chapter 2 was a

literature review that describes the theoretical frameworks (Critical Race Theory and

Social Inclusion Theory), the importance of women in executive leadership roles, African

describe the factors that motivated them to become a principal? How do African

American women describe the challenges they encountered to become a principal? Once

these questions are answered, the goal is to have an understanding of the motivations and

challenges African American female educators face on the road to becoming school

A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to learn about the views and

experiences of the participants within the study. Qualitative research was used to assess a

process over time (Creswell, 2013). The researcher obtained information from a set of

participants. The study focused on the lived experiences of the participants within their

natural environment. The researcher collected data and analyze the participants’ feelings

appropriate because the researcher seeks to understand the African American female

principal perspective on the motivations and challenges faced along the path to urban

school principalship. This research topic is critical given that only 20% of school

principals in urban schools are African American, which is an even lower number for

African American women in this role (Goldring et al., 2018).

There was no random assignment since the participants are grouped based on a set of

characteristics. For this study, using the experiences and perspectives of the participants,

the researcher sought to elevate the experiences of educators that may contribute to the

field of education and equitable hiring practices for school administrators.

current and former African American female principals to conduct one-on-one

interviews. To collect data, the researcher utilized a qualitative research approach where

one-on-one interviews were used to respond to the research questions. The goal was to

identify trends and underlying meanings across participants and data sources.

recommend other potential candidates (snowballing) to help the researcher identify

additional participants.

Data Collection Tools

The researcher utilized two tools to collect the data needed to answer the

researcher's questions. The following tools were used in this study: interview protocol

address the research problem and questions. Interviews were appropriate for this study

because they will provide context, perspective, and a deeper understanding of what

motivates the participants (Hannan, 2007).

There were nine interview questions. The goal of the interview questions was to

participants’ motivations, challenges, and means to address challenges. These five

questions connected to the research questions in an effort to understand universal factors

that motivate and challenge participants. Next, the last four interview questions sought to

understand the motivations and challenges within the school setting that participants

experienced in pursuit of the principal role. To be precise, interview questions one, two,

two.

Field Notes

The second data collection tool that the researcher used was field notes. During

the one-on-one interviews, the researcher took low inference notes as a means to process

the research questions’ responses from the participants. To organize the responses into

To assess the validity of the interview protocol, a field test was conducted prior

to the launch of the research study. The participants in the field test were African

problem. Also, the field test helped the researcher determine if the number of interview

questions was adequate to provide the data to address the research questions. It sought to

determine if there were questions that need to be added. The researcher made changes to

the interview protocol based on feedback from the field testing process.

of participants. For example, the pilot was a rehearsal of the interview for this study. The

participants of the pilot were African American, female educators. The data collected

from the pilot was not used for the actual research study. With the pilot, the researcher

sought to gain insight on the procedures for collecting data. Ultimately, the pilot provided

the researcher perspective on the interview process. If any changes are made to the

Chapter 4: Findings

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of

African American women who are currently or were previously urban school principals-

how do African American women describe their experiences in becoming a school

principal?

The phenomenological research approach was appropriate for the purpose of this

study. According to Creswell (2013), phenomenological research is a journey to find

meaning based on the experiences of the participants. The researcher connected with

field notes. This chapter explains the findings and the themes that emerged from the

analysis. The findings will be presented through tables and theme analyses.

Research Questions

Central Research Question: How do African American women describe their

experiences in becoming a school principal?

challenges?

Table 1 gives a snapshot of the demographics for the 12 participants.

and submitted the consent form, the interviews began via Zoom. The interviews took

place between December 29th, 2022 and February 13th, 2023. The participants showed

enthusiasm to share their experiences and passion for the field of education.

the principal role. According to Vaismoradi (2016), the theme is defined as, “...a high

degree of generality that unifies ideas regarding the subject of inquiry” (p. 101). The

creation of themes established interconnectedness between the participants and their

experiences. The major themes provided context to the lived experiences of the

participants. The researcher used the recordings of the interviews, the transcripts, and the

the themes, experiences, and deep analysis of the data. The length of each transcript was

an average of fourteen pages in length. Once the researcher finished uploading the

transcripts in Dedoose, it was time to read, organize, and analyze the data. Six themes

emerged from the analysis of the data. The themes are (a) childhood experiences were

motivating factors to become a principal (b) experiences with bias while pursuing and/or

pursuit of a leadership role and (f) Representation as a motivating factor to pursue the

principal role. Table 2 notes the emergent themes and categories and Table 3 notes the

explanations of those themes.

students’ access through education, and the necessity of school systems, which were

established based on their experiences with their parents, teachers, and trusted adults as

children. The pivotal responses from the participants are listed below:

Impact of Upbringing on Educational Perspective. X333S said,

was a teacher. Mom taught music in the church.

M45BF noted,

No, my mom was a warm, but strict disciplinarian. When I was at my mom's

school, I would watch her 2 fingers in the air, and the whole entire room would

fall silent. I was someone who had classroom management from day one because

process]...They had every activity, every foreign language.\

we've always had to fix everything like this is completely not related [to the

pursuit of the principal role].” “But like from my own personal experiences, I was

raised by a Black woman that was just like, forget it. I'll do it. My mother was

So that's the example of the Black woman that I saw” “I also think that Black

women get tired. We get tired of having to fix it all. So we shouldn't have to fix it

all. But if we don't do it, who won't do it? And it's just like the discouragement is

so very real. I remember being told: Oh, yeah, you will be a great leader. But

Emergent Themes and Explanations

Factors to Becoming a Principal

Challenge on the Path to Principalship

to and During the Principalship

Challenges and Solutions to Challenges While

in Pursuit of a Leadership Role

6. Representation as a Motivating Factor to

Participants discuss their upbringing, education

disparities as a child in school, interactions with teachers,

in pursuit of school leadership roles

Participants explain challenge of the hiring

and interview process for the principal

role: hand-picked for the role, selected

based upon completion of pre-requisites;

extensive interview process

Participants reflect on the impact of a mentor, that

encouraged/coached them up for leadership, modeled

Participants discuss how being a symbol of representation

who's gonna teach? Who's gonna be the great teacher today? And I'm like, well, if

I'm the leader then it will be my job to create these great teachers.

B000C noted,

But after I had my daughter I had a degree, but I wasn't doing anything with it,

because she didn't work. And so I remember those conversations…I didn't want

that for my daughter, so I decided to go back to school.

C458B said,

I always believed that God has ordered every one of my steps because I never

thought like I'm going to be a school leader. I didn’t feel developed. I didn’t feel

sign of failure. I was looking at the students just thinking through, how do we

definitely prepare independent middle school students to where they feel proud of

themselves and they're confident in their skills.

Impact of Educational Disparities Experienced in School as a Child. (X333S)

When I was growing up, in 4th grade there was a difference in the science

computer classes.

A231B followed up with,

How did I get here, or why education for me? I got into education because of my

experiences in the lack of high quality education options in my hometown. So I

the goal.

Participants recalled experiences of bias while pursuing the principal role which

posed a significant challenge for them. Some participants reported that during the principal

participants believed aspects of their personality prevented them from maintaining a

principal role. For example, “being vocal”, “candid and courageous”, “pushing back”, and

“being assertive” were specific personality traits that were described by participants. The

pivotal responses from the participants are listed below:

Ageist Experiences While in Pursuit of the Principal Role. M458F said,

implement a program and there were some veteran teachers that were pushing

back, what would be your next step?” And one of the principals yelled, “ I

wouldn't even have smebody your age talking to my veteran teachers.

M458F noted,

almost 10 years. You know I had been like [teaching for] seven years, and he was

like: “You need at least 10 more years [of teaching experience]. That's when you

should ask me that question”. I thought to myself, this is why I will leave. Why

would he have expected me to be 40 [years old]? But he looked at me and

assumed I was like 21. So I perceived there to be a little bit of discrimination. And

[teaching] in the absence of achievement. They'll promote someone who would

have been at it for years, but not doing it well for years.

L246F noted,

Number one, my age, because when I became a principal, I was 29, so I was the

youngest or second youngest principal in the State of Missouri… I've come in and

said, “You know the strong Black woman. I happened to be Black! But when a Black

woman is strong you know that that people tend to be intimidated by your strength- as a

leader in such a political realm”

A231B followed up with ,

don't. They just want it to look that way. But that value [for Black leaders] wasn't

there.

C458E agreed,

I am a creative type of person. I like to chart my own. Don't tell me how to do

something, just tell me the guardrails. Because again, I get it sometimes as many

leader until I got a master’s (degree). I sat in my principal's office like, what else

can you give me to do to show you that I'm a leader. I also think that Black

women get tired. We get tired of having to fix it all. So we shouldn't have to fix it

all. But if we don't do it, who won't do it? And it's just like the discouragement is

so very real. I remember being told: Oh, yeah, you will be a great leader. But

And we have the person right there in the building, and that person is you.

Selected Based Upon Completion of Prerequisites. A231B began,

So I went. So I went out for that fellowship. To, let's just found my own school …

So what that meant is that for a year, I was paid to learn how to propose a school

the nation. So I studied schools that were doing well in urban areas: traditional

public schools, charter schools, private schools, all types of schools who were

doing well in urban areas. And then I had to pair with our community, figure out

together what would work for [my city]. I went through proposing a school twice,

because COVID interrupted everything with the State.

development. There were 1 year and 2 year fellowships. I got the 2-year

fellowship, and I was fine with that. When I returned home, they told me I would

do a combination. They said, we need you to still be a high-performing AP [and]

go to the 2-year fellowship and the 1-year fellowship.

H781D followed with, I was hired as a dean of students, and they put me on a

B000C noted, “So then I was named principal here [at a different school]. While

An Extensive Interview Process. M458F began this discussions with,

The interview process was all day long. I mean, it was just so intricate. It was

and debated about them.

X333S noted,

In terms of me actually getting the principal role? There were so many people that

were applying for that position. So I actually took initiative, and I wrote a letter to

our ILB, who was a White male at that time, and I wrote a letter to him:

dept. They [human resources] in turn called me back the next week through the

entire process that some people didn't even have to go through, but they called it

The Hunger Games. And it's a very intensive day-long process, in order to get the

position. However, you know, I went through it, passed through it.

provided a guide for the next steps toward leadership. Oftentimes, mentors encouraged

participants to do the following: apply for the principal role and resiliently face the

challenges that come with the pursuit. Also, it was reported that mentors provided

support that assisted the participants in maintaining the principal role. The pivotal

said, Hey, do you know about like charter incubation? There are nonprofits that

are charter incubators. So with a text message, I looked into it [charter

incubation]. And they were sort of doing a needs assessment for [my city] and

needed another charter school.

C458E added,

what is the worse you have to lose? Just go through it, and you get feedback, big

deal!

G891D noted, “A motivating factor was one of the people who tapped me. I

knew I was going somewhere that I knew that the leadership that was there …would

J670C said,

I saw strong African American female administrators-in both buildings. We had

an informal mentoring situation: watching them and working with them-

B000C noted,

So, even though I didn't have her responsibilities, [I had] very similar

responsibilities. And so she asked me one day what was my goal. I told her I

wanted to be a dean (for about five years) and become an assistant principal, and

retire. She was like, it doesn't work that way. So she kinda pushed me and

I actually had a class that I took before I took my superintendent's exam, which

was called cultural competence. It was taught by Dr. Sherry who actually was my

dissertation chair 3 years ago. I had even exhibited things that are associated with

cultural competence, cultural relevance, and she was just really deep with her

thinking. She really was instrumental in having that come forward. She was really

I called and I quit. Then I called my coach and friend and I cried. He said I

understand. I hear you, just drive up and come to my school. I went there and I

wept like a baby. He asked me what do you need? I said I don't have an office

space or anything. He said you can have your demo lessons in my school because

a good leader, and then they really focused on professional development, and that

and that professional development of teachers was a passion of his, and how to do

it in a way that included practice.

L246F noted, “They said, as long as you're doing your part, we will do ours. So

you stay in school, working on your program, we’ll do everything to support you in this

Participants reported employment transitions that challenged them to pursuit

leadership roles. In some instances, the transition away from a role or school was a

solution to a challenge they faced in their role. In terms of causes for transitioning, they

left their position and/or schools as a result of one or more the following: typical district

reassignments based on need or leader vacancy, misalignment between the values of the

schools. However, a different type of transition is a misalignment in values between the

principal and the mandates of the district/organization. Next, participants reported feeling

stuck and paralyzed in their current roles. When they applied for leadership positions,

they were praised for their performance, yet informed that they were not being promoted

the participants are listed below:

Typical District Reassignments. G891D said,

I got my dream job as an executive director of mathematics. I led math for our

whole school district-that's what I had been working towards. I shifted, I went

back to the school building, but as an academy director- still leading mathematics.

that position for maybe 5 years. Then the district eliminated that position, and we all

became assistant principals after that.”

B000C added, “So then I was named principal here [at a different school]. While

I was interim at the previous school.”

X333S said,

Misalignment of Values. G891D began,

I addressed those challenges because I left that district. I had to continuously fight

with them [people at the district level] about the direction of my program-what it

was doing, why because they had no knowledge. It became a constant battle for

E678B added,

of issues within the school system. It was unexpected. I would not have ever

moved to this different school environment with the issues with 42 children. I left

to experience something more in line with what I truly wanted to try to do. It is

…choose the ones that fit our school community. It was a completely different

mindset.

H781D added,

I was demoted from my last principal job because they told me that they didn't

see my growth and urgency as a leader. And so I won a grant to rebuild the

K122C noted,

I made my decision that it is time for me to go. That the information that I was

talking about was withheld from the board. So it came out that I was shaking

things up too much, and I was going against what they're used to. And the person

upper middle class families. So yeah, I didn't make friends with them [executive

leadership]. And my answer was, if you are the superintendent I have to uphold

these policies and procedures for Black and Brown students that sit next to your

White child. I don't want to understand how I would even be arguing that this is

C458E added,

The person over leadership did not like me. She didn't like me. When I turned in

work, there was never positive feedback. So it was just an obstacle everywhere

with her. I even did a school visit where I traveled at 6am, left my kids at home

with my husband. I went down there and then while I'm down there, I am on the

When I was in public school, some of the challenges were for me- particularly

because I was a good teacher, it was difficult to get umm out of the classroom

because principals wanted their strong teachers to stay in the classroom. So it was

a lot of you know, I would interview for positions and things will go great, but

Feeling Used. A231B began by saying,

principal position for about five years. Take this on [execute an additional role or

task]. You're on the bench [next up to be a principal] right? Take this on because

you're gonna be the next principal, or take this on which were roles\ duties that

It's okay [for me to be visible] when the news comes. And it's okay [for me to be

visible] When you know politicians come [to observe classes]. But I guess in

making major decisions, it's okay to send them to the leadership team. And it's

okay [for me] to run this thing, that thing… summer school this and that. But it's

not okay to then have to be at the true table making huge decisions like, it's not

People don't mind putting you in a principal role. That’s the hardest job. They

don't mind that. The people above you don't really want that job anymore. But

they know that they need strong people in it- to run the schools. You have to put

your strongest people in, especially urban schools cause you gotta have the ones

years from now’?

Theme 6: Representation as a Motivating Factor to Pursue the Principal

Role. Participants believed that being an African American woman in the principal role

was a motivating factor. When an African American woman is in the principal role, it

becomes a form of representation that affirms the notion that African Americans do have

Vicarious Success. C458E noted,

Towards the elementary school, it looks like five Black principals and there were

five elementary schools. Prime example, we took a picture together and I noticed

like just the meaning of that moment- and the importance of that moment. I was

leadership with a clear of vision of excellence, and thus need autonomy to execute their

visions in order to improve the quality of schools.

Conversely, African American women use negative experiences to fuel their

passion and drive to affect change. For example, participant H781D viewed the principal

Woman, Mammy, who is self-sacrificing and exists for the purpose of helping others.

The researcher noted that some of the participants as self-sacrificing in their roles as

principals, in which they denied their own needs. While participant C45BD perceived

herself as a failing leader, and thus unable to lead a school, since failure was not an

option in the immigrant household of her childhood. Participant C45BD’s experience

attended struggling schools in their childhood, so the researcher deduced that their

mission as educators was to provide quality education to all students. All in all, African

American women tend to neglect their own needs and allow their role as a principal to

affect their well-being. It is imperative that African American develop balance between

stress management and personal needs.

women educators experienced a greater number of micro aggressions around assumptions

of inferiority, criminality, and environmental micro aggressions compared to all other

women of color (Mahatmya, et al. 2022). The participants of this study recalled

experiences of bias (with race, gender, age, and personality traits) while pursuing the

duality as women and a person of color (Curtis, 2017). An example of racial and gender

bias is the following from participant L246F perceived that the executive leaders were

intimidated by her strength since she was a Black woman. A common theme in West’s

study (2020) about African American women in administrative roles was a lack of

visibility. The researcher discovered that African American female principals often feel

“aggressive,” “vocal,” “ruffled feathers,” “divisive,” yet the participants were expected

to take on additional tasks. The labels and expectations were feedback they received or

felt from executive leaders with the influence to offer them (participants) a principal role.

The researcher realized that these forms of bias are pervasive and contribute to African

American women being passed over or removed from the principal role. In other words,

recommends that school districts establish clear, consistent, documented, and anti-racist

guidelines for performance management and job promotion.

In example, the participants of this study experienced various interview and hiring

processes. For African Americans to be visible in the workforce, there have to be

conditions in place for them to be seen because of White gaze (McCluney & Rabelo,

2021). Visibility is based on White gaze which means that only certain actions, skills, and

experiences were visible or noticed, in that they align with what White or dominant

the principal role. Participants X333S and M45BF went through an extensive hiring

process, where other candidates had the same experience. However, participant X333S

perceived that the school system engaged in inequitable hiring practices. To secure a fair

interview process, this participant contacted the executive leaders in the district to

express her interest in the role. Other participants had a different experience. Because of

role upon completion of a set of prerequisites devised by their employers. In the program,

they fulfilled an administrative role along with set tasks and professional development

workshops. Initially, it was believed by the participants that they would be given a

principal role contingent on their completion and performance in the principal

of clear structures established by the school board) as a barrier to obtaining a school

principal role. Similarly, in this study, each of the participants was denied the principal

role without an indication of performance or task completion breaches. In fact, two of the

participants reported taking on additional tasks beyond what was required during their

tenure in the principal preparedness program. Research by Sandles (2018) who examined

education, and skills of African American women are the focal point. These conditions

are created by equity protocols and hiring for equity team to audit staff attrition and

hiring data quarterly.

The researcher interpreted that mentoring was the biggest motivator for African

a mentor along the journey to principalship. Additionally, female school administrators

reported higher performance in environments that were psychologically supportive,

specifically with the ongoing support of a coach or supervisor (De Bruyn & Mestry,

2020) Most participants recounted that a mentor encouraged them to pursue school

principal based on the model of excellence they saw consistently from their mentors.

Additionally, participants (C45BE, M458F, and L246F) reported that their mentors

provided them support as they faced challenges while pursuing and/or actually fulfilling

the principal role. Support came in the form of brainstorming how to solve problems,

proactively planning for the success of their schools, and being a thought partner during

The researcher interpreted that African American women were overwhelmed,

isolated and felt pushed out of their roles as leaders. African American women are the

least likely group to transition into the principal role (Davis et al., 2017). Participants

standard procedures and not a reflection of the participants’ performance and/or

competence. Participants G891D, E678D, H781D, and K122C classified the cause of

their transition as a misalignment between their values and the mandates of the

district/organization. The researcher expounded that these participants were not trusted

metrics (Moorosi, 2018). In turn, these participants vocalized their objections to the

structures and offered revisions; then they felt compelled to transition away from these

schools as a result of no changes. In the history of African American women in the field

of education, their legacy is one fueled by activism and disruption of the status quo to

affect the greater good (Peters & Miles Nash, 2021).

feelings held against them by the executive leaders as opposed to deficiencies in

performance. Oftentimes in the workplace, African American women are misunderstood

or discounted among their colleagues (Gooden, 2003). Examples of being misunderstood

or discounted include the following: participant C458E was told by the executive leader

that she wasn’t sure if she was ‘built for’ the principal role. Participant H781D was told

The researcher surmised that African American women are more likely to be

selected for educational leadership roles if they show submission to and execute the

directives of their superiors. One of the pivotal stereotypes of African American women

in American history is Mammy (Coleman et al., 2020). Mammy, the slave-depicted,

principal role. Participant E678B was denied a leadership role and was told it would be

too challenging to replace her as a classroom teacher. Participants A231B, K122C,

J670C, C458E, D444P, and L246F reported feeling used to fulfilling the agenda of the

school/organization versus being valued for their individual contributions.

The researcher discovered that African American women being in a principal role

school tour agenda, where the media, local and state officials visited her classroom as a

representative of the school. She said the purpose (for the constant visitors in her

classroom) was to give the illusion that a “Black” person was in charge. Participant

K122C also mentioned that when she was hired for the principal role, the interview board

was “excited” by the way she looked-in reference to her race and upbeat personality.

of the field of education as a result of feeling used in their last schools.

The researcher interpreted that mentoring was the biggest motivator for African

American women to pursue the principal role, in turn being a representation of African

participants in this study indicated that having African American women in the principal

role was impactful for the purpose of representation. The researcher exclaimed that when

an African American woman is in the principal role, it becomes a form of representation

that affirms the notion that African American women do have the capacity for leadership.

Seeing and experiencing the leadership of African American women was a major

became a marker of vicarious success for their students. Additionally, the participants

being a marker of vicarious success, manifests into empowerment for students and

teachers. For example, when a student or teacher felt vicarious success, it pushed

him/her/they to work harder and pursue the next level of success. Being a representation

of leadership capacity is a reciprocal relationship, in that the student/teacher felt vicarious

stated that being the same race as the students is not a guarantee that the decisions one

makes will always be right.

An outlier in the research study is that a participant experienced bias as a child,

actively worked toward being a hairstylist. Through the encouragement of mentors, the

participant defeated the limited belief and went to college. Based on the income of

African American female students, teachers hold particular expectations for behavior and

outcome later in life (Butler-Barnes & Inniss-Thompson, 2020). This outlier is

monumental in relation to the purpose of the study, which was to understand the

of being a lawyer. The advice that the participant was given by the teacher stayed with

her because the participant did not have parents that encouraged her to pursue her

dreams.

Relation of Findings to Research Question

This section connects the findings with the research questions. The central

children. A portion of the participants described their experiences in becoming an urban

principal as rewarding but unexpectedly stifling. The experiences were unexpectedly

stifling because of the experiences with bias of some executive leaders on the path to

principalship, or while in the principal role. Some participants did not feel autonomy to

a mentor, and being a representation of leadership capacity for African Americans and

African American women. The most motivating factor for African American women in

pursuing the principal role was having a mentor. The second supporting research

question: how do African American women describe the challenges they encountered to

become an urban principal as well as how they addressed the challenges. African

age, and personality bias. Of the African American women who selected bias as a

challenge, they addressed the challenge by transitioning from the school/role.

Relation of Findings to Theoretical Frameworks

This study sought to understand the lived experiences of female African

American women in obtaining a principal position. In Chapter 2, the researcher discussed

school level. For example, many participants -when they were teachers- being recognized

as effective instructors with the ability to communicate content in a way that led to higher

achievement scores for students. As a result, students in the participants’ classes

outperformed their peers. So, as principals, these participants sought to provide the same

areas. These participants viewed the school principal’s role as an opportunity to improve

the quality of instruction and student achievement with a population of students who

historically struggled academically. Additionally, some participants viewed the school

principal role as a platform to empower the community. For these participants,

empowering the community was defined as a principal who did the following: provided

consistently called to support classroom management, community relations, and parent

engagement when they were teachers.

Once the participants transitioned to the principal role, they saw the position as an

opportunity to tweak and implement effective operational systems that would improve

the functionality of the school environment. However, some of the participants became

battle with executive leadership over deciding the most important area of need. All in all,

many of the participants felt the strain of these challenges and elected to transition out of

the role, switch to a different school, and two participants left the field of education as a

result.

are a true representation of the experiences of African American women throughout the

United States.

2. The researcher only posted the research flier on social media with the goal

of attracting eligible participants. Eligible participants that do not have access to social

media were not aware of the social media post, and they did not have the opportunity to

where some participants may have benefited from additional processing time during the

interview.

Conclusion

In this chapter, the researcher provided the following: summary of the research,

findings, interpretations, relation to research questions, researcher reflections, limitation,

Additionally, it exposes the need for diversity and sensitivity training in universities and

schools. Lastly, it calls for school districts and organizations to create and maintain

equitable hiring and promotion guidelines, as well as audit these practices consistently.

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Appendix C

My name is Tondra Collins, and I am an education doctoral student at Nova

Southeastern University in South Florida. I am reaching out because you expressed

on their motivation to pursue the role and the challenges they faced along the way.

and are available to be interviewed via Zoom for 60 minutes.

Appendix D

Member Check Process

Hello (Insert potential participant name):

This is Tondra Collins, an education doctoral student and a researcher at Nova

Southeastern University in South Florida. I am reaching out because you were a