Mentoring of female administrators in a school district led by a female superintendent and one led by a male superintendent

Statement of the problem. Women remain seriously underrepresented in positions of educational leadership when compared to their male counterparts. The problem of a lack of visible and accessible female role models is often cited as a reason that women have not moved into administrative positions in greater numbers. There is evidence that it is the mentor or sponsor who is critical in women's advancement.;This study focused on two school districts: one led by a female superintendent and one led by a male superintendent. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there is a difference in the nature of mentoring in school districts led by women as opposed to men.;Procedures. Five research questions were designed to address the differences of interview and survey respondent perceptions regarding the definition of mentoring, the mentoring process, the functions of mentors, gender differences in mentoring, and the career benefits of mentoring.;The study used two interview schedules, one for Group I--District superintendents, one male and one female; and one for Group II--Female administrators holding positions of directors and above. Three forms of a survey instrument were administered to three other groups in the study: Group III--Female administrators holding positions of administrative interns through coordinator; Group IV--Female teacher-leaders; and Group V--A random sampling of female teachers.;Findings. Overall there were no significant differences in the nature of mentoring in the two school districts as perceived by the interview and survey respondents. However, an item by item statistical analyses of the data found five significant differences.;There were three significances in the teacher-leader group related to being mentored by a male, to mentoring occurring later in the career cycle, and to the need for assistance from a mentor for career advancement.;There were two significance differences in the teacher group, one related to a mentor providing constructive criticism, and one related to being mentored by both males and females.