Date of Award

1-12-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Bronwyn MacFarlane

Abstract

According to AASA, “men are four times more likely to serve in the most powerful position in education” (Robinson et al, 2017). That position being the superintendent in public school setting. The School Superintendents Association (AASA) found that less than 25% of superintendents were women (Superville, 2016). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence, if any, that is created by a female superintendent choosing certain career pathways or having certain identities such as the identity of a female, spouse/mother, and leader and how those identities shape her professional identity making her a better fit in the organization when it comes to the superintendent position. This study examined to see if there is any intersectionality of the multiple identities that a female superintendent carries and its’ influence on her chances at becoming a successful superintendent. There are currently 265 superintendents in Arkansas. 56 superintendents, 30 males and 26 females) participated in this study. Findings suggested that gender identity does marginal effect on intersectionality, β = -.27, p = .059. The more important gender identity was to a superintendent, the fewer experiences that they had with intersectionality. Other notable findings include that leadership identity had a significant effect on intersectionality, β = -.40, p = .004, the more important their leadership identity was to superintendents, the fewer experiences they had with discrimination.

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