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Virginia Tech

Experiences in the Principalship for African American Women

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the perceptions African American female principals hold regarding the challenges and opportunities they experienced when seeking and holding administrative positions in a K-12 public school setting. The interview protocol contained open-ended questions and was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with six participants. Findings indicated that when seeking the principalship, African American women inspired to become principals, obtained the required credentials through district-sponsored cohorts and university programs, were knowledgeable of the required skills, felt mentors and networking were most helpful in obtaining a principalship, and noted that as they served as principals, they took advantage of opportunities to serve their school community. They reported that as they sought and served as principals, stereotypes about African American women were unique challenges and their experiences, opportunities, and challenges were different than those of their peers. Implications from the study indicate school district leaders can encourage African American women to pursue the principalship by promoting positive relationships with other administrators and supervisors, developing mentorships, and promoting district-sponsored programs. District leaders must also maintain awareness and combat the stereotypes faced by African American women as they seek and hold administrative positions.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Education
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Department dc:contributor.department
Counselor Education
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2022

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Edmunds-Heard, Terri Lynn
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Gratto, John Robert
  • Brent, Eric Von
  • Cash, Carol S.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:34269
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/109795

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Edmunds-Heard, Terri Lynn. Experiences in the Principalship for African American Women. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/109795