The number of women in educational leadership positions has increasingly grown over the last few decades. However, there still are discrepancies between the number of women in education and the number of women represented in educational leadership, especially in the superintendency. The irony of this research is that professors in educational administration programs continually comment about a strong majority of their students being women. Furthermore, educational certification agencies report that the majority of those licensed for educational leadership positions are women. The purposes of the study was to: (a) provide opportunities for female senior administrators to offer their understanding of the barriers and challenges they have encountered during their career; (b) provide insight into the mentorship experiences and support they have received during their career; and, (c) describe their preferred/espoused leadership styles. Female superintendents identified a number of challenges over the course of their career: balancing career and home life, gender discrimination, various work conflicts and relocation. In contrast, the women in the study acknowledged the mentorship experiences and support that they received during their career from various professional colleagues or groups, educative institutions or programs, and family and friends. Their preferred leadership styles included a strong focus on relationships seconded by management and pedagogical issues. The study culminates by outlining various recommendations for practice, research and theory in chapter five.

The public school superintendent is the least progressive position in education at integrating women and balancing the scales of equitable representation. Statistical data indicates there are far fewer females than males serving as superintendents. Current statistics show women make up: 1) over 70 percent of all public school educators; 2) nearly half of all principals; and 3) almost 60 percent of all central office administrators. Yet today, female superintendents in our nation total only 20 percent. Despite the perceived oppression of the marginalized, gender study research on women in the superintendent/ Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position is limited and built on a narrowly focused foundation. Most of the work on this topic has been done to study the barriers women encounter when attempting to become a public school administrator, rather than to explore their role as a modern day superintendent/ CFO. The purpose of this qualitative study will be to build on prior research, which has only begun to expose the qualitative and narrative aspects of research, and delve into the daily professional lives of three female superintendents. The study further explored their experiences as a female superintendent/ CFO in a male dominated profession. The findings of the study support that it is time to remove the institutional and personal stillness and allow women to share their stories concerning the barriers they encountered in attaining the superintendency, as well as how they continue to overcome barriers in the active role of superintendent/ CFO. The benefit of this study will be to serve as a vessel for these pioneering females to show that their perceptions and lives as a female superintendent are stories worth sharing.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 168-175.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 286-289.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 286-289.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1974. / Bibliography: leaves 51-55.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 145 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-128).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 1997. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 168-177.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Report (Ed.D.)--Teachers College. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William P. Anderson. Dissertation Committee: Frank L. Smith, Jr. Bibliography: leaves 84-90.