Black women administrators in higher education, who in 1985 comprised only 3.4% of all higher education administrators, have been described as an endangered species. Because of this lack of representation little research has been focused on these women and their special challenges. With academia's increasing commitment to diversity, more needs to be learned about these women who serve as role models for college students. / Most black women in higher education administration are working in lower administrative levels and are not progressing into the more powerful institutional positions. This study explored one possible reason for this lack of upward mobility--the way black women use social power in the organization. / The 128 participants in this study were selected from the American Association of Women in Community & Junior Colleges Leaders and a national list of women CEOs in community colleges. Using the Rahim Leader Power Inventory to measure the administrators' use of the five French & Raven social power bases (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent) this study examined the effect of race and organizational level on the use of social power by black women administrators in the community college. / Four hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1. There is no difference between the power profiles of black and white women working in the lower-levels of community college administration. Hypothesis 2. There is no difference between the power profiles of black and white women working in the upper-levels of community college administration. Hypothesis 3. There is no difference between the power profiles of black women working in the lower-levels and black women working in the upper-levels of community college administration. Hypothesis 4. There is no difference between the power profiles of white women working in the lower-levels and white women working in the upper-levels of community college administration. / A description of the social power base profiles of black and white women at the upper and lower levels of community college administration was calculated and examined using multiple analysis of variance. Race was found to have no effect on the social power scores of the women in the sample. However organizational level did have a significant effect on the scores. As a group, upper-level administrators scored higher on each of the five power bases. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0696. / Major Professor: Lou Bender. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76570 |
| Contributors | Bower, Beverly Lynne., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 109 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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