Thesis advisor: Andrew Hargreaves / This exploratory case study examines the experience of twelve women teachers who taught in two state-controlled school districts that had been taken over by the state authorities due to low academic performance and operational mismanagement. The qualitative methodology of exploratory comparative case analysis allowed for the consideration of the two districts as two parts of the same case, and the foundation for future research in this field (Streb, 2010). Twelve semi-structured interviews, teacher climate survey responses, and fifty-three state government documents were analyzed using an iterative coding process (Yin, 2015, pp. 196-197; Saldaña, 2015). The analysis found that structural and cultural barriers prevented the study participants from succeeding personally and professionally. Their skills as experienced educators were under-utilized and their perspectives as women were not acknowledged. Structurally, the internal organization of the districts asked a great deal of the teachers without recognizing them as professionals or women. Culturally, their gender identities as women placed them at a disadvantage with school and district leadership. The gendered barriers were woven into the fabric of the workplace so that the women teachers were unable to have access to those with power or influence. This study lays the groundwork for larger research endeavors on women in state-controlled schools, as well as policy implications for the state control of public schools and school turnaround. This study contributes to the field by specifically bringing women teachers’ voices into the discussion of school reform and improvement. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_108483 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Burns, Mary Bridget |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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