| Even though superintendents come predominantly from the teaching ranks, there is an ongoing shortage of women in the highest office of a profession that is dominated by them (Keller, 1999; Brunner, 1997). Some women do become superintendents, but there exists a need for more research on those women who do (Grogan, 1996). The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of the lived experiences of women in their journey to becoming superintendents. The primary question was "What is the meaning of the lived experiences of women in their journeys to becoming superintendents?" This study reviewed theories of development, theories of women in workplace, socializing influences on development, as well as studies of women's experiences and careers in the organization, particularly school administration.; A phenomenological qualitative approach was used in this research study. A purposeful sample of 10 women public school superintendents in Oklahoma's independent (K--12) public school districts was interviewed. Data collection consisted of in-depth, open-ended interviews with seven Caucasians, two Native Americans, and one African American. Data were analyzed using the phenomenological methodology of Colaizzi (1978). Several aggregated theme clusters were important in the women's journeys to the superintendency. Those themes included birth order, parental influences, positive and negative role models, schooling, college and university training, husband and children, advanced degrees, experience, career paths, on-the-job mentors, traditional gender stereotyping, and gender/racial/religious discrimination. Quality control was maintained by establishing credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.; The journeys of the participants began in their childhood and extended until they reached the superintendency. Both personal and professional life experiences of the women were explored. The researcher determined that a mixture of certain sociological factors combined with their personal and professional influences were instrumental in determining the meaning of the lived experiences of these women in their journeys to becoming superintendents. This was noted in the exhaustive description of the results of the women's journeys to the superintendency. From the exhaustive description of the results of the data analysis emerged a fundamental structure of becoming a woman superintendent. |
