Factors That Overcome Barriers For African American Educators In Educational Leadership

The demographic landscape of the United States has indeed been undergoing significant changes over the past few decades, marked by a growing diversity in its population. This shift is primarily driven by factors such as immigration, higher birth rates among certain ethnic and racial groups, and the aging of the white population. According to a report published by the Census Bureau the United States is projected to be a majority minority country by 2044. The term "majority-minority" refers to a situation where no single racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority of the population. As a result of this shift, our school districts are becoming increasingly diverse. In Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS), the second largest school district in Kentucky, the school district is now a majority minority district. According to the FCPS diversity index 46.9% of the student population is White, 23.3% Black, 18.6% Hispanic, and 4.9% Asian. Although we see the growing trend of school districts becoming more diverse. Those trends of diversity are often not reflective in educational leadership positions. According to a report by the Lexington Herald Leader, the Kentucky public school system is comprised of 171 school districts. Of the 171 school districts, there are only 6 African American Superintendents or 3.5% of the total superintendent population. This data leads me to question the causes related to this underrepresentation, and what are the factors these educational leaders had to overcome to move into educational leadership positions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Year

2025

Author dc:creator

• Williams, Joshua Allen

• Education
• Educational Leadership

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/856

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1854