1

LEADE
RSHIP
JOUR
NEYS:
A NAR
RATIV
E RES
EARC
H STU
DY EX
PLORI
NG W
OMEN
SCHO
OL SU
PERIN
TEND
ENT’S
MEAN
ING-
MAKIN
G OF L
EADE
RSHIP
DEVEL
OPME
NT
EXPER
IENCE
S

A Docto
ral Diss
ertation
Present
ed
by

Malisa
Komolt
hiti

to
The Gr
aduate
School
of Educ
ation

In Parti
al Fulfill
ment of
the Req
uireme
nts for t
he Deg
ree of
Doctor
of Educ
ation

in the fi
eld of

Educati
on

College
of Profe
ssional
Studies
Northe
astern
Univers
ity
Boston,
Massac
husetts
June 20
16
2

Abstra
ct

Literat
ure on
women
’s leade
rship re
veals w
omen a
re unde
rrepres
ented in
top lead
ership

roles in
public e
ducatio
n in the
U.S. (S
karla, 1
999) an
d superi
ntende
ncy is t
he most
male-

dominat
ed exec
utive po
sition of
any pro
fession
in the U
nited St
ates. T
he obje
ct of thi
s study
was

to explo
re the l
eaders
hip jour
neys of
five wo
men sc
hool su
perinte
ndents f
rom sm
all-
midsize

school
districts
in the r
emote
geogra
phic reg
ion of U
.S (Alas
ka). Thi
s type o
f school
leader
may

differ fr
om mai
nland U
S state
Superin
tendent
s becau
se of Al
aska’s "
frontier"
and "in
depend
ent"

nature.
The stu
dy used
Super’s
career
develo
pment t
heory a
nd Mez
irow’s (
1978) tr
ansfor
mative

learning
theory
as fram
eworks
to unco
ver me
aning-
making
of leade
rship de
velopm
ent

experie
nces, w
hich are
associa
ted with
leaders
hip acro
ss the li
fespan
of the fi
ve wom
en

superint
endents
. This st
udy em
ployed
a qualit
ative na
rrative r
esearch
design.
Narrativ
e conte
nt

was an
alyzed,
using a
combin
ation of
deducti
ve and i
nductiv
e appro
aches.

Seven c
onclusi
ons em
erged fr
om this
study. F
irst, exp
erience
s and a
ctivities
that are

associa
ted with
leaders
hip and
that occ
ur in no
n-
formal s
ettings
were im
portant
for lead
ership

develop
ment of
these w
omen s
chool s
uperinte
ndents.
Second
, experi
ences t
hat gav
e wome
n

school
superin
tendent
s’ oppo
rtunitie
s to sho
w leade
rship a
nd the r
ecogniti
on of th
eir lead
ership

by othe
rs helpe
d build t
heir self
-
concept
of being
a leade
r. Third,
meanin
g makin
g is a p
art of

leaders
hip lear
ning of
women
school
superint
endents
, which
can occ
ur in no
n-
formal s
ettings

and can
begin in
early ch
ildhood.
Fourth,
family i
nfluenc
ed the
develop
ment of
leaders
hip

qualitie
s of wo
men sc
hool su
perinte
ndents,
starting
from th
e growt
h stage.
Fifth, th
e self-
concept

of being
an educ
ational l
eader,
who ca
n make
a positi
ve impa
ct or ca
n perfor
m leade
rship ta
sks,

drove w
omen s
chool s
uperinte
ndents t
o take e
ducatio
nal lead
ership p
ositions
. Sixth,
women

school
superint
endents
have a
supporti
ve netw
ork bec
ause of
the cre
dibility t
hey buil
t over ti
me.
3

Sevent
h, wom
en scho
ol super
intende
nts hav
e positi
ve attitu
des tow
ard bein
g femal
e

superint
endents
.

Keywor
ds: fem
ale sup
erinten
dents, l
eaders
hip dev
elopme
nt, critic
al reflec
tion, car
eer

develop
ment th
eory, a
dult lear
ning, tr
ansfor
mative l
earning
theory,
women
leaders
hip
4

DEDIC
ATION

This do
ctoral th
esis is
dedicat
ed to m
y family
. To my
grandp
arents,
who su
pported
me

emotio
nally an
d financ
ially thr
ough m
y prima
ry educ
ation a
nd taug
ht me t
he imp
ortance
of

educati
on and
person
al integ
rity. To
my fam
ily for b
eing su
pportiv
e and s
acrificin
g time
with me

so I cou
ld achie
ve my d
ream.

ACKN
OWLE
DGEM
ENT

I wish t
o thank
all of th
ose wh
o helpe
d me co
mplete
my Doc
toral de
gree in

Organiz
ational
Leader
ship. Fir
st, I wo
uld like
to expr
ess my
deepest
appreci
ation to
my dea
r

friend a
nd men
tor, Dr.
Scribne
r Messe
nger, w
hose en
courag
ement
and hel
p with
my Eng
lish

have b
een inv
aluable
through
out my
graduat
e progr
am. Ad
ditionall
y, I wou
ld like t
o thank
my

advisor,
Dr. Mar
garet G
orman,
and oth
er doct
oral the
sis com
mittee
membe
rs, who
guided
me

through
this end
eavor.
I would
also lik
e to tha
nk all of
the part
icipants
in this s
tudy, w
ho took
time fro
m their

busy sc
hedules
to share
their ex
perienc
es that
may hel
p and e
ncourag
e other
women
to beco
me

leaders.
5

TABLE
OF CO
NTEN
TS
6
7
8
9
10
11

LIST OF
FIGURE
S
12

LIST OF
TABLE
S

Table 1
Super's (
1957) Ca
reer Dev
elopment
Stages ..
...............
...............
...............
...............
.... 28
13

CHAPT
ER ON
E: INTR
ODUCT
ION

This doct
oral thesi
s centers
on the le
adership
journeys
of wome
n school
superinte
ndents.

Specifica
lly, it see
ks to und
erstand
meaning
-making
of their le
adership
develop
ment exp
eriences.

This cha
pter begi
ns with a
statemen
t of the r
esearch
problem,
a discuss
ion of the
significan
ce of

the study
, present
ation of t
he resear
ch questi
ons, and
a positio
nality stat
ement. T
hen, the

conceptu
al frame
work that
informs t
he inquir
y is pres
ented, fo
llowed b
y an ove
rview of t
he

research
plan and
a discus
sion of th
e limitati
ons of thi
s study.

Stateme
nt of the
Problem

Men are
“40 time
s more li
kely to a
dvance f
rom teac
hing to t
he top le
adership
role in

schools t
han are
women”
(Skrla, R
eyes, &
Scheuric
h, 2000;
Skrla, 20
00a, p. 4
5). Men
are

overrepr
esented i
n superin
tendency
in U.S. p
ublic edu
cation (G
rogan &
Brunner,
2005). U.
S.

Census
Bureau d
ata show
ed superi
ntendenc
y is the
most mal
e-
dominate
d executi
ve positi
on of
any prof
ession in
the Unite
d States
(Bjork, 2
000; Dob
ie & Hu
mmel, 2
001; Skrl
a, Reyes
,&

Scheuric
h, 2000;
Skrla, 20
00a; Skrl
a, 2000b
). Althou
gh the fe
minist m
ovement
during th
e 1970s

and 198
0s drew
attention
to the un
derrepre
sentation
of wome
n in scho
ol admini
stration (
Skrla,

2000a), t
he under
represen
tation still
continue
s. As we
advance
in the 21
st centur
y, which
was

expected
to be the
“golden
age for
women i
n school
administ
ration” (
Shakesh
aft, 1989,
p. 34),

the numb
er of wo
men in s
enior lev
el leader
ship posi
tions, su
ch as su
perintend
ent, has
not greatl
y

increase
d. Wome
n are for
ced to le
arn to ad
apt and
work in a
male-
dominate
d leaders
hip cultur
e,

where it i
s difficult
for them
to break
through
and succ
eed (Lan
e-
Washing
ton & Wil
son-
Jones,

2010).
14

There ha
ve been
attempts
to help w
omen su
cceed in
senior le
adership
positions.
Several

programs
and work
shops ha
ve been
establish
ed to ass
ist wome
n in gaini
ng the co
nfidence
and

skills to s
ucceed i
n leaders
hip. For
example,
the Asso
ciation of
Supervisi
on and C
urriculum

Develop
ment (AS
CD) spo
nsors co
nference
s and wo
rkshops f
or wome
n seekin
g leaders
hip

positions
(Lane-
Washing
ton & Wil
son-
Jones, 2
010). Ho
wever, th
ese effor
ts for ad
vancing

women i
nto leade
rship pos
itions ha
ve not gr
eatly cha
nged the
underrep
resentati
on of wo
men in

superinte
ndency.
Nationall
y, only 2
4 percen
t of publi
c school
superinte
ndent po
sitions ar
e held

by femal
es (Glas
s, Bjork,
& Brunn
er, 2000)
; in Alask
a, the fig
ure is ev
en lower,
20.7 per
cent

(Alaska
Departm
ent of Ed
ucation,
2014).

Many stu
dies hav
e been c
onducted
to investi
gate how
women b
ecome s
uperinten
dents

(FeKula
& Robert
s, 2005;
Kim & Br
unner, 2
009; Mai
enza, 19
86; McD
ade & Dr
ake, 198
2;

Muñoz,
Pankake,
Ramalho
, Mills, &
Simonss
on, 2014
). These
studies tr
ied to ad
dress car
eer

path mo
dels for
women s
uperinte
ndents (
McDade
& Drake,
1982), w
omen’s
barriers i
n the

journey t
oward su
perinten
dency (M
uñoz et a
l., 2014),
and gen
der differ
ences is
sues (Fe
Kula &

Roberts,
2005; Ki
m & Bru
nner, 20
09; Maie
nza, 198
6). The g
ender dif
ference
aspect of
career

develop
ment tow
ard supe
rintenden
cy has b
een give
n much a
ttention b
y scholar
s. This to
pic

includes
the quest
ion of wh
y fewer
women t
han men
pursue s
uperinte
ndency (
FeKula &
Roberts,

2005), a
look at g
ender dif
ferences
in career
develop
ment (Ki
m & Bru
nner, 20
09), and
an

assessm
ent of the
differenc
es in acc
ess to su
perintend
ency bet
ween me
n and wo
men (Mai
enza,

1986). W
hile scho
lars pay
attention
to compa
ring men
and wom
en, little i
s known
about th
e

strengths
and inne
r abilities
that mak
e women
superinte
ndents di
fferent fr
om other
women,

particula
rly with r
egard to
their lear
ning pro
cess at t
he cognit
ive level
along th
eir journ
eys to

leadershi
p positio
ns. Unde
rstanding
their care
er paths
and the e
xternal fo
rces invo
lved is n
ot
15

enough t
o underst
and the p
henomen
on. The k
ey issue i
s not abo
ut descri
bing their
career pa
ths,

but abou
t describi
ng what t
hey learn
from exp
eriences,
activities,
or tasks
as they f
ollow tho
se

paths.

Learning
is a mult
ifaceted
phenom
enon tha
t may in
clude “s
omethin
g as strai
ghtforwa
rd

as memo
rizing a s
et of fact
s or deve
loping a
new skill,
or as co
mplex as
a transfo
rmation
of

one’s pe
rsonality
or world
view” (C
ourtenay
, Merria
m, & Re
eves, 19
98, p. 10
2). The l
atter typ
e

of learni
ng is the
focus of t
his study
. It is kno
wn as tra
nsformat
ive learni
ng, a typ
e of lear
ning

that invo
lves “the
process
of using
a prior i
nterpreta
tion to c
onstruct
a new or
revised

interpret
ation of t
he mean
ing of on
e’s exper
ience in
order to
guide fut
ure actio
n” (Mezi
row,

1996, p.
162). Thi
s theory
has emer
ged as a
valuable
framewor
k for lead
ership de
velopme
nt of

women (
Debebe,
2009), pr
ofession
al develo
pment of
educator
s (Kabak
ci, Ferha
n Odaba
si, &

Kilicer, 2
010; Kin
g, 2004),
and care
er devel
opment (
King, 20
02; Krot
h & Bov
erie, 200
9). It has

gained s
cholars’
interest a
nd has b
een used
widely i
n differe
nt conte
xts, beca
use “tran
sformati
ve

learning
goes to t
he heart
of what p
eople are
, how the
y relate t
o instituti
ons and
society a
t large,

what the
y should
be, and
how the
y can ch
ange” (S
ands & T
ennant,
2010, p.
100). It p
rovides a

compreh
ensive fr
amework
of how le
arners le
arn from
their exp
eriences
(Brown
& Posne
r, 2001).

The mai
n mecha
nism of tr
ansform
ative lear
ning is m
aking me
aning or i
nterpreti
ng an ex
perience

(Mezirow
, 1991). I
n this se
nse, mea
ning-
making a
nd learni
ng are in
terrelate
d, as “le
arning

always in
volves m
aking a n
ew exper
ience ex
plicit and
schemati
zing, app
ropriatin
g, and ac
ting

upon it”
(Meziro
w, 1991,
p. 11).

A review
of the lite
rature sh
ows mea
ning-
making h
as been
used to u
nderstan
d learnin
g

and cog
nitive de
velopme
nt of indi
viduals i
n several
contexts,
including
those inv
olving

privilege
d and dis
advanta
ged stud
ents (Bar
raclough
& McMa
hon, 201
3), HIV-
positive
adults
16

(Baumga
rtner, 20
05; Court
enay et a
l., 1998),
Vietnam
veterans
(Liu, 201
3), coupl
es expec
ting

their first
child (N
ataša, 20
11), Jewi
sh adults
(Schuste
r, 2005),
and wom
en with i
nsulin-

depende
nt diabet
es (Stuc
key, 200
9). In the
educatio
nal field,
meaning
-making
within a

transfor
mative le
arning fr
amework
, in gener
al, has b
een used
to exami
ne learni
ng of edu
cational

leaders t
hat takes
place in t
raditional
classroo
m setting
s, for exa
mple, in
pre-
service

administr
ator traini
ng (Brow
n, 2005),
graduate
program
s design
ed to pre
pare teac
her leade
rs

(Ross et
al., 2011
), teache
r leaders
hip progr
ams (Ha
rris, Low
ery-
Moore, &
Farrow,
2008), y
ear-

long lead
ership pr
ograms f
or wome
n (Lafren
iere & Lo
ngman,
2008), a
nd gradu
ate leade
rship

courses (
Sullivan
& Palmer
, 2014).
One stud
y investi
gated th
e meanin
g-making
of educat
ional

leaders t
hat takes
place in i
nformal s
ettings. I
n that stu
dy, storie
s of 23 s
chool pri
ncipals w
ere

captured
to exami
ne princi
pals’ pro
fessional
learning
(McGoug
h, 2003).
Findings
showed
one

factor tha
t influenc
ed their p
rofession
al learnin
g was im
pression
s of teac
hers and
schoolin
g

formed i
n early c
hildhood
.

Although
meaning
-making
and lear
ning of e
ducation
al leader
s has be
en explor
ed, little i
s

known a
bout me
aning-
making a
nd learni
ng of wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s. In addi
tion,

knowled
ge about
learning
of educa
tional lea
ders is st
ill limited
to what t
akes pla
ce in for
mal

settings.
The resu
lts of the
se empiri
cal studi
es do not
show a h
olistic vie
w of the l
earning
process

that incl
udes lear
ning in n
atural set
tings. Th
ey captu
re only “
a single
snapshot
of their l
earning

experien
ces” (Ba
umgartn
er, 2002,
p. 56). T
here is a
mismatc
h betwee
n “the w
ay learni
ng is

conceptu
alized in
most sch
ool settin
gs and th
e way le
arning an
d meanin
g-making
happens

outside o
f school”
(Wildma
n, 2005,
p. 16). E
ducators
in the fiel
d of lead
ership d
evelopm
ent of

women
must cor
rect this
mismatc
h and thi
nk about
an altern
ative wa
y to look
at learnin
g:

ongoing
cognitive
develop
ment, oc
curring in
natural s
ettings. T
he prese
nt study
explores
17

meaning-
making
of five w
omen sc
hool sup
erintend
ents’ ex
perience
s in the
State of
Alaska f
rom

this pers
pective.
Since the
journey t
o leaders
hip positi
ons is pa
rt of care
er develo
pment, th
is

study us
es Super
’s career
develop
ment the
ory (199
0) to gui
de an ass
essment
of experi
ences,

relevant
to partici
pants’ ca
reer path
s to lead
ership p
ositions.
These ca
reer-
relevant
experien
ces,

suggeste
d by Sup
er (1990)
, include
experien
ces at di
fferent st
ages of t
he partic
ipants’ li
ves,
includin
g growth
, explora
tion, esta
blishme
nt, and
mainten
ance. Su
per’s fift
h stage o
f decline
is

irrelevant
to the pu
rposes of
this stud
y. The int
erviews
on which
the curre
nt study i
s based
were

conducte
d to ask t
he wome
n school
superinte
ndents a
bout their
career-
relevant
experien
ces

associat
ed with t
heir lead
ership, st
arting fro
m their c
hildhood.

Significa
nce of th
e Proble
m

Several r
esearch
studies h
ave been
conducte
d on how
to advan
ce wome
n into lea
dership

positions
(Dahlvig
& Longm
an, 2010
; Dahlvig
& Longm
an, 2014
; Debebe
, 2009; D
ebebe, 2
011;

Lafrenier
e & Long
man, 20
08; Stea
d, 2014).
However
, only a f
ew wom
en succe
ed at bre
aking

the glass
ceiling. E
ducators
and care
er couns
elors fac
e challen
ges deter
mining h
ow to hel
p

women s
tep into l
eadershi
p positio
ns. In the
educatio
nal field,
superinte
ndency i
s identifi
ed as

the most
male-
dominat
ed profe
ssion (Bj
ork, 200
0; Dobie
& Humm
el, 2001;
Skrla et
al., 2000
;

Skrla, 20
00a; Skrl
a, 2000b
). Althou
gh many
studies h
ave inve
stigated
how wo
men bec
ome

superinte
ndents, t
hey pay l
ittle atten
tion to w
hat make
s women
superinte
ndents di
fferent fr
om

other wo
men. “W
hat disti
nguishes
the leade
r from ev
eryone el
se is that
he [or sh
e] takes
all of

his [or h
er] life e
xperienc
es . . . an
d makes
himself [
or hersel
f] all ne
w and u
nique” (
Bennis,

2003, p.
62). To g
ain insig
hts into t
he under
represen
tation of
women s
chool su
perinten
dents, thi
s
18

study ex
plores th
e leaders
hip journ
ey of wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s to unde
rstand ho
w they

make me
aning of t
heir expe
riences,
particular
ly leader
ship dev
elopment
experien
ces.

By exami
ning wo
men sch
ool supe
rintende
nts’ subj
ective m
eaning o
f leaders
hip

develop
ment exp
eriences,
research
ers can b
etter und
erstand
which lea
dership d
evelopm
ent

experien
ces are
meaningf
ul or rele
vant to fe
male lea
ders’ lea
dership,
how mea
ning and

knowled
ge are co
nstructed
, how the
se leader
s think fo
r themsel
ves, and
what oth
er factors

influence
leadershi
p develo
pment of
women l
eaders.
Knowled
ge about
these me
aningful

experien
ces, lead
ership rel
evant ex
perience
s, the me
aning-
making p
rocess, a
nd other f
actors th
at

influence
leadershi
p develo
pment of
women l
eaders s
hed light
on the co
mplexity
of leader
ship

develop
ment of
women,
as well a
s why an
d how th
ey beco
me leade
rs. This s
tudy atte
mpts to

provide i
nformatio
n useful t
o parents
and educ
ators, su
pervisors
of wome
n, leader
ship train
ers,
and instit
utions th
at create
and man
age lead
ership de
velopme
nt progra
ms for w
omen; m
ost

importan
tly, this s
tudy offe
rs insight
s to wom
en who
want to p
ursue le
adership
positions
in

educatio
nal settin
gs, partic
ularly su
perinten
dency. F
or parent
s and ed
ucators o
f young g
irls, this

study pr
ovides u
seful info
rmation i
n fosteri
ng the d
evelopm
ent of le
adership
of young
girls.

Supervis
ors of wo
men can
also ben
efit from
this stud
y if they
use the i
nformati
on as gui
dance to

foster lea
dership d
evelopm
ent of fe
male sub
ordinates
. For trai
ners who
develop l
eadershi
p

develop
ment pro
grams fo
r women,
this stud
y provide
s guidan
ce to imp
rove lead
ership

develop
ment trai
ning pro
grams fo
r women.
For educ
ational in
stitutions
, these fi
ndings c
an

provide i
nsights f
or institut
ions see
king mor
e diversit
y in lead
ership p
ositions,
particula
rly

superinte
ndency.
For wom
en, who
want to p
ursue lea
dership p
ositions,
the findin
gs descri
bed

here can
provide
suggesti
ons abou
t useful
meaning
ful exper
iences a
nd “what
distingui
shes the
leader fr
om ever
yone els
e” (Benn
is, 2003,
p.62).
19

This stud
y contrib
utes to th
e literatu
re on wo
men lead
ership de
velopme
nt by add
ing to

the body
of resear
ch on the
develop
mental pr
ocess of
leadershi
p that oc
curs in n
on-
formal

settings
and on th
e underr
epresent
ation of
women a
mong sc
hool sup
erintende
nts. This
study als
o

challeng
es educa
tors and
career co
unselors
to look at
leadershi
p develo
pment in
a way th
at

consider
s experie
nces not
only in fo
rmal setti
ngs, but
also in in
formal on
es, and e
xperienc
es
througho
ut one’s
life, incl
uding ch
ildhood,
youth, an
d adultho
od.

Researc
h Questi
ons

The obje
ctive of t
his study
is to expl
ore lead
ership jo
urneys of
women s
chool

superint
endents.
Specific
ally, this
study us
es Mezir
ow’s (19
78) trans
formative
learning t
heory as

a framew
ork to un
cover me
aning-
making o
f leaders
hip devel
opment e
xperienc
es in four
stages

of wome
n’s life s
pans, i.e.
, the stag
es of gro
wth, expl
oration, e
stablish
ment, an
d mainte
nance

(Super, 1
957, 199
0).
The main
research
question
is: How d
o women
school su
perintend
ents mak
e meanin
g of

their lead
ership de
velopme
nt experi
ences?

Position
ality Sta
tement

The rese
arch que
stion use
d to guid
e this stu
dy is expl
oratory in
nature. T
his study
,

therefore
, is qualit
ative res
earch in
which th
e primar
y instrum
ent and t
he findin
gs rely o
n how

the resea
rcher un
derstand
s and ma
kes sens
e of the
phenom
ena from
the parti
cipants’

perspecti
ves (Mer
riam, 20
02). Bec
ause the
research
er’s cult
ure, assu
mptions,
and bias
es could
affect th
e researc
h findin
gs, this s
ection di
scusses t
he resear
cher’s p
osition r
elative t
o this stu
dy

regardin
g women
leadershi
p.
20

Born and
raised in
Thailand
, a small
country i
n Asia, I
grew up
with orie
ntal belie
fs,

values, a
nd cultur
es. Howe
ver, my e
ducation
al career
has open
ed my int
ernationa
l eyes. F
or

nearly a
decade, I
have tau
ght and d
eveloped
foreign la
nguage p
rograms i
n higher
educatio
n. My

working
experien
ces have
provided
me with
strong b
ackgroun
d knowle
dge in ed
ucation.
As a

college i
nstructor
, who ha
s worked
in two pa
rts of the
world (T
hailand a
nd the U
nited Sta
tes), I

have wit
nessed d
ifference
s and si
milarities
in the tw
o educati
onal syst
ems. Alt
hough th
e

America
n system
seems to
support
equal op
portunity
and offer
an inclus
ive envir
onment i
n the

workplac
e, challe
nges that
America
n women
face in st
epping u
p as adm
inistrator
s are sim
ilar to

those of
Thai wo
men.

As a wo
man with
a desire t
o pursue
a leaders
hip positi
on, I enr
olled in a
doctoral

program
in educat
ion at No
rtheaster
n Univer
sity, with
a concen
tration in
organiza
tional

leadershi
p. During
my seco
nd year i
n the pro
gram, I t
ook lead
ership co
urses an
d learned
about

“the glas
s ceiling,
” define
d by the
Federal
Glass Ce
iling Co
mmissio
n (1995)
as “the u
nseen, y
et

unbreach
able barri
er that ke
eps mino
rities and
women fr
om rising
to the up
per rung
s of the

corporat
e ladder,
regardle
ss of thei
r qualific
ations or
achieve
ments” (
p. 4). Th
ose cour
ses mad
e

me realiz
e that wo
men face
many ch
allenges
along the
ir paths t
o leaders
hip positi
ons. Wh
en I

took cou
rses in a
dult lear
ning the
ory, Mez
irow’s (1
978) tran
sformativ
e learnin
g resona
ted with
me, with
regard to
the idea t
hat adult
learners l
earn by
making
meaning
of their lif
e experie
nces.

My intere
st in this
cognitive
process
prompte
d me to c
onduct fu
rther res
earch on
this topic
.

When I
moved to
Anchora
ge, Alask
a, I foun
d that, in
the state
of Alaska
, there ar
e 53

superinte
ndents, a
nd only 1
1, or 20.
7 percent
, are fem
ale (Alas
ka Depar
tment of
Educatio
n,

2014). T
he low p
ercentag
e of wom
en schoo
l superint
endents r
aised my
concern
about wo
men

being un
derrepre
sented in
superinte
ndent po
sitions. T
his conc
ern led m
e to sear
ch for ins
ights
21

into this
phenome
non, so I
conducte
d researc
h to expl
ore the e
xperienc
e-based l
earning o
f

women s
chool su
perintend
ents at a
cognitive
level.

My perso
nal exper
ience reg
arding ge
nder bias
in career
advance
ment has
made me

critically
reflect o
n my exp
erience
when loo
king for
a job aft
er I got
married
and had
a child. I

was thin
king abo
ut applyi
ng for m
y first job
in the U.
S. as an
assistant
professo
r of Thai
at the

Defense
Languag
e Institut
e. I told
my relati
ves in Th
ailand ab
out the id
ea. I was
excited a
bout

the possi
bility and
expected
to hear e
ncourage
ment, but
I was sur
prised by
their reac
tions. Th
e

comment
s they m
ade inclu
ded state
ments, s
uch as: “
Why are
you look
ing for a
job?” “Y
ou are a

married
woman
with a c
hild and
you are
getting o
ld now.”
I was 32,
at the tim
e, and I t
hought t
o

myself,
“What is
wrong w
ith being
32 years
old, mar
ried, and
having a
child?”
This exp
erience

triggered
critical r
eflection
that requ
ired me t
o make
meaning
of “who
I am” an
d “who I
see
myself t
o be as i
n the fut
ure.” I a
sked my
self abou
t career
possibiliti
es and m
y role as
a wife an
d

a mother
. Throug
h this refl
ection an
d careful
introspec
tion, I ch
anged m
y old vie
w from t
hat of a

woman b
orn in Th
ailand, w
ho sees
a traditio
nal role o
f women
as stay-
at-home-
housewiv
es, to a

new pers
pective o
f one wh
o sees w
omen as
having th
e potenti
al to suc
ceed in a
career, w
hile still

having a
happy fa
mily. I fin
ally appli
ed for th
e job an
d got a j
ob offer.
Everyon
e in my f
amily

was hap
py and c
urious to
know ho
w I pass
ed the m
eticulous
hiring pro
cess. Fro
m this

experien
ce, I beli
eve wom
en face c
hallenge
s and bia
ses towa
rd career
and care
er advan
cement,

but wom
en who b
ecome s
uccessful
leaders h
ave an in
ner stren
gth that
makes th
em differ
ent

from oth
ers, such
as the ab
ility to thi
nk for the
mselves
and reas
sess thei
r worldvi
ews to g
uide

their acti
ons. The
se belief
s and bia
ses shap
ed my pe
rspective
s for this
study.
22

Concept
ual Fra
mework

A conce
ptual fra
mework
explains
the focus
of any st
udy (Mile
s & Hub
erman, 1
994). Th
e

phenom
enon of i
nterest f
or this st
udy was
the mea
ning-
making p
rocess of
women s
chool

superint
endents’
leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s that oc
cur in fou
r develop
mental st
ages

from chil
dhood to
middle a
dulthood:
growth, e
xploratio
n, establi
shment,
and main
tenance.
This

study em
ploys tra
nsformat
ive learni
ng theor
y, which
provides
a compr
ehensive
framewo
rk of

how wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s learn b
y interpr
eting the
meaning
of their le
adership

develop
ment ex
perience
s. Mezir
ow’s (19
78) trans
formative
learning t
heory is
a primar
y means

to look at
their me
aning-
making
process,
and Sup
er’s (195
7) career
develop
ment the
ory has b
een

adapted f
or use as
a guide f
or leader
ship dev
elopment
experien
ces.

The follo
wing figu
re 1 depi
cts the c
onceptu
al frame
work that
supports
this stud
y. The

key cons
tructs ar
e presen
ted withi
n a circle
of transf
ormation
al learnin
g, includi
ng critica
l

incidents
, critical r
eflection,
meaning
-making,
and new
worldvie
ws (Mezi
row, 197
8, 1991,

2000). T
he meani
ng-
making
process
occurs th
roughout
one’s car
eer devel
opmenta
l stages

(Super, 1
957, 199
0) as ong
oing lear
ning on t
he caree
r path to l
eadershi
p positio
ns. The s
teps in

the figure
represent
career de
velopme
ntal stag
es and d
emonstra
te, “care
er decisi
on-
making i
sa

lifelong p
rocess in
which pe
ople cont
inually st
rive to m
atch their
ever cha
nging car
eer goals
to
the realit
ies of th
e world
of work”
(Smart &
Peterson
, 1997, p
. 359). T
hrougho
ut this lif
elong

process,
individu
als’ self-
concepts
evolve th
rough en
gagemen
t in caree
r develop
ment sta
ges and

tasks. Th
e arrows
between
the stage
s represe
nt the “r
ecycling
” proces
s that ma
y occur
when

“social f
orces as
economi
c downt
urns, lay
offs, co
mputeriz
ation, an
d the ad
vent of n
ew

technolo
gies, or n
ew caree
r paths w
ithin the
organizat
ion can a
ll stimula
te recycli
ng back
ward

through
career st
ages” (S
mart & P
eterson,
1997, p.
359).
23

Figure 1.
Concept
ual Fram
ework

Transfo
rmative
Learnin
g Theor
y

Many th
eoretical
framewo
rks of ad
ult learni
ng explai
n how kn
owledge
is create
d:

behaviori
sm, cogn
itivism, s
ocial-
learning,
and cons
tructivis
m. Learn
ing can r
esult fro
m
environm
ental sti
muli, and
behaviori
sts believ
e these s
timuli ev
oke resp
onses or
behavior
al

changes
(Skinner,
1969). H
owever,
environm
ental sti
muli are
not the o
nly sourc
e of lear
ning; as

the cogni
tivists cla
im, learni
ng come
s from th
e mental
capabiliti
es or the
cognitive
processe
s of

humans t
hat proc
ess the i
nformati
on, make
sense of
the stimu
li, and cr
eate kno
wledge (
Merriam,

Caffarell
a, & Bau
mgartner
, 2007).
Besides t
heories b
ased on t
he stimul
i-
response
process
and

the cogni
tive abilit
y of hum
ans, anot
her theor
y holds t
hat learni
ng can al
so be a p
art of soc
ial

interactio
n. Social
-learning
theories
emphasi
ze intera
ction wit
h and ob
servation
of others
in the

social co
ntext as
a source
of learnin
g, and le
arning is
no longer
an indivi
dual proc
ess (Sch
wandt,
24

2005). A
s the adu
lt learnin
g paradig
m expan
ded, con
structivist
s came t
o believe
that expe
riences

of individ
uals bec
ome a s
ource of
learning
and kno
wledge (
Mezirow,
1978). T
he interp
retation

of one’s
experien
ces and t
he proce
ss of criti
cal reflec
tion on th
ose expe
riences a
re critical
in

knowled
ge creati
on. This
process l
eads to t
ransform
ative lear
ning, i.e.,
learning t
hat trans
forms

or chang
es one’s
perspecti
ves.

The con
cept of tr
ansform
ative lea
rning, or
learning
by critica
lly reflect
ing and r
evising

the mean
ing of on
e’s exper
iences, r
esults fro
m the ev
olution of
the adult
learning
paradig
m that

expands
beyond f
ormal ins
truction (
Schwand
t, 2005).
The adul
t learning
paradig
m has sh
ifted

the focus
from for
mal lear
ning in s
pecific s
ettings to
various f
orms of l
earning i
n various

contexts
that can
occur an
ytime th
roughout
one’s lif
e (Tough
, 1967).
Learning
is now vi
ewed as

multidim
ensional.
Knowled
ge can b
e acquire
d not onl
y throug
h study a
nd instru
ction, but
also

the mea
ning-
making o
f experie
nces (Sc
hwandt,
2005). A
n unders
tanding o
f the me
aning-
making

process
of educat
ional lea
ders diffe
rentiates
reflective
and non-
reflective
action (S
chwandt,

2005). R
eflective
action re
quires va
lidation o
f prior kn
owledge.
It is a de
ep reflec
tion of w
omen

leaders a
s they try
to make
meaning
of their le
adership
develop
ment exp
eriences.
The focu
s of

this stud
y is on o
ne’s me
ntal proc
esses, rat
her than
on the i
mpact of
formal tr
aining. T
he key

compon
ents of tr
ansform
ative lea
rning the
ory are “
the ment
al constr
uction of
experien
ce, inner

meaning
, and refl
ections”
(Merriam
et al., 20
07, p. 13
0).

There ar
e seven l
enses th
rough w
hich to vi
ew transf
ormative
learning
(Taylor,
1997).

Taylor (1
997) divi
ded thes
e lenses
into two
groups:
sociocult
ural and
individua
l. The

sociocult
ural appr
oaches c
enter on
social-
emancip
atory, cul
tural-
spiritual,
race-
centric, a
nd

planetary
approac
hes. Acc
ording to
Taylor (1
997), the
sociocult
ural appr
oaches c
an be fo
und in

the work
of Freire
’s social
emancip
atory ap
proach,
Sheared’
s cultura
l-
spiritual,
Tisdell’s
25

cultural-
spiritual
approac
h, and O
’Sulliva
n’s plane
tary appr
oach. Th
e second
group, w
hich

focuses
on indivi
dual lear
ning, pay
s attentio
n to psyc
hocritical
, psycho
develop
mental, a
nd

psychoa
nalytic p
erspectiv
es. Thes
e individ
ual lense
s can be
found in t
he work
of Jack
Mezirow

(1978, 1
991, 199
4, 1996,
2000), L
aurent D
aloz, and
Robert B
oyd.

Of these
two grou
ps of len
ses, the i
ndividual
approach
seems a
ppropriat
e to this
study,

because
the main
focus of t
he study
is on lear
ning from
the inner
meaning-
making p
rocess of

each ind
ividual.
The stud
y aims t
o explor
e individ
ual wom
an schoo
l superin
tendent’
s meanin
g-

making o
f the lead
ership de
velopme
nt experi
ences, w
hich is u
nique an
d differe
nt. A

compreh
ensive w
ell-
known fr
amewor
k for a tr
ansform
ation of
an indivi
dual’s ps
ychocriti
cal

perspecti
ves can
be found
in the w
ork of M
ezirow’s
(1978) tr
ansform
ative lear
ning the
ory. The

current s
tudy em
ploys thi
s individ
ual appr
oach in v
iewing th
e meani
ng-
making p
rocess.
Mezirow
’s (1978)
theory fo
cuses on
the way
adults m
ake sens
e of their
life exper
ience

through t
ransform
ation of t
heir worl
dview. T
he mean
ing-
making
process
starts wi
th one’s

experien
ces. One
must criti
cally self
-evaluate
one’s as
sumptio
ns and b
eliefs, u
ntil they
transfor
m

to new
meaning
s in sear
ching for
“a comm
on under
standing
and asse
ssment o
f the just
ification

of an int
erpretati
on or bel
ief” (Me
zirow, 20
00, p. 10
). One wi
ll evaluat
e the arg
uments t
o

reassess
assumpti
ons to ac
hieve the
best pos
sible judg
ment and
then act
on the ne
w perspe
ctive

(Meziro
w, 2000)
.

Career
Develop
ment Th
eory

Mezirow
’s (1978)
transfor
mative le
arning th
eory is u
sed as a
primary l
ens to lo
ok at the

meaning-
making
process
of femal
e leaders
’ experie
nces thro
ughout t
heir path
s to lead
ership

positions
. Leaders
encounte
r many e
xperienc
es on the
ir journey
to leader
ship posi
tions. To
26

narrow th
e area of
interest,
career de
velopme
nt theory
is used t
o guide e
xperienc
es that le
aders

may enc
ounter al
ong their
journey.

Learning
is a lifelo
ng proce
ss. To le
arn how l
eaders le
arn or m
ake mea
ning fro
m their

experien
ces, one
must exa
mine that
process t
hrougho
ut the life
of the lea
der. Alth
ough the
re are

many car
eer devel
opment t
heories t
hat can h
elp illumi
nate care
er choice
and deve
lopment,

Super’s (
1957) lif
e span, li
fe space
theory is
used in t
his study
, becaus
e it is a c
areer
develop
ment the
ory that
aligns wit
h the con
cept of th
e ongoin
g nature
of learnin
g. It provi
des a

compreh
ensive fr
amewor
k of “the
long dev
elopmen
tal proce
ss which
begins i
n early c
hildhood

where ch
ildren’s f
irst caree
r choices
are expr
essed thr
ough fan
tasy and
attends t
o the pro
cess of

evolving
and impl
ementin
g the voc
ational s
elf-
concept t
hrough t
he explo
ration of
work role
s and

live expe
riences”
(Grier-
Reed &
Conkel-
Ziebell,
2009, p.
24). Sup
er’s (195
7) greate
st

contributi
on to car
eer devel
opment
was the r
ecognitio
n that car
eer choic
e change
s and de
velops

througho
ut one’s
life as a
result of
experien
ces.

Super (1
957) pro
posed fiv
e career
develop
mental st
ages: gro
wth, expl
oration,

establish
ment, ma
intenanc
e, and de
cline, the
last of w
hich is n
ot releva
nt to this
study. O
ne must

successf
ully comp
lete the v
ocational
develop
mental ta
sks in ea
ch stage
to progre
ss throug
h the

develop
mental st
ages. In t
he explor
ation sta
ge, aroun
d age 15
to 24, on
e must g
o through
a

cognitive
process,
called cr
ystallizati
on, whic
h involve
s a self-
examinat
ion of re
alistic ca
reer

options
and pref
erences.
The sum
mary of
Super’s (
1957) car
eer devel
opment s
tages an
d

vocation
al develo
pmental t
asks is p
resented
in Table
1. The ta
ble show
s the five
career

develop
mental st
ages, alo
ng with t
heir subs
tages. Ea
ch shows
vocation
al develo
pment ta
sks

socially
expected
of a pers
on at a c
hronolog
ical age.
Althoug
h Super’
s (1957)
develop
mental

stages w
ere prop
osed in a
chronolo
gical age
, in 1990,
he recog
nized de
velopme
nt does n
ot
27

depend u
pon chro
nologica
l age, bu
t the indi
vidual’s
personali
ty and lif
e circum
stances (
Smart &

Peterson
, 1997).
The mini-
cycle of t
he five st
ages ma
y occur
within on
e stage
when on
e

encounte
rs unexp
ected life
circumst
ances, s
uch as lo
ss of em
ployment
. Social f
orces ma
y

stimulate
the recyc
ling proc
ess and
make the
develop
ment go
backwar
d through
career st
ages.
28

Table 1

Super's (
1957) Ca
reer Dev
elopment
Stages
Super’s
(1957)
Career
Develop
ment St
ages
G S
r t
a
g
e
5
:
D
e
cl
i
n
e
B A
e g
g e
i 6
n 0
n a
i n
n d
g u
p
a
t
B
i
r
t
h
ct
er
Dev
istHas C
icelop h
s:s a
r
a
ct
e
ri
st
ic
s:
D Gra
e dua
v lly
e dis
l eng
o age
p s
s
s
e
lf
-
c f
o rbeco
n mes
c invol
e ved i
p n
t
s o
o
f
w
h
o

he/
she
wa
nts
to
e.
S
u S
Fan D
tas
y
ge
4-
10)
age
me
Ne 60
eds -
are 64
prio )
ritie D
s; el
fa eg
nt at
as es
y w
ol o
e r
pl k
ay
is t
o
i
Intero
estst
(ageh
11- e
12) r
s
,
b
sele
ctive
in th
e job
,
p

Car atio
eer nal
cho
ice
s
e
Ad (age
van 31-
ce
ba (age
se 65 &
d
n
kes
an
d
d u
i
Cap
acit
y
ge
3-
14)
Conn
ectio
ns
e
de
ns
give
up
car
ee
r
nd
im
me
rse
s
e
lf
i
n
o
t
h
e
r
r
o
l
e
s
.
betwe
en Speci
fying
lls a Voc
d ationa
l
r Pr
e ef
q er
u e
ir n
e ce
m (a
e g
n e
t 2
s 2-
. 2
4)

An appro
priate job
has been
found; a
first job i
s tried as
potential
life work
.
29

Super’s (
1957, 19
90) care
er devel
opment
stages of
fer a co
mprehen
sive fra
mework
for the

develop
ment of
one’s car
eer in fiv
e life sta
ges. Ho
wever, t
o examin
e the lea
dership j
ourney o
f

women s
chool su
perinten
dents, on
ly their e
xperienc
es within
the four
develop
mental st
ages,

including
growth, e
xploratio
n, establi
shment,
and main
tenance,
are inves
tigated.
The decli
ne

stage, w
hich invol
ves a dis
engagem
ent from
work, ha
s been ig
nored.

This stud
y builds
on the re
alization
that lead
ership jo
urneys of
women s
chool

superinte
ndents ar
e a part
of their c
areer de
velopme
nt. To ca
pture wh
at they le
arn from
their

experien
ces alon
g their w
ay to lea
dership p
ositions r
equires a
framewo
rk from a
dult learn
ing

theory an
d career
develop
ment the
ory. Mez
irow’s (1
978) tra
nsformat
ive learn
ing theor
y is used

as a lens
to captur
e meanin
g-
making
of femal
e leaders
, and Su
per’s (19
57, 1990
) career

develop
ment the
ory provi
des the
means to
look at e
ach life s
tage that
should b
e investi
gated.

Given th
e precedi
ng overvi
ew of the
theoretic
al frame
work use
d to guid
e this stu
dy, the n
ext

section b
roadly di
scusses t
he resear
ch plan.

Overvie
w of Res
earch Pl
an

The prim
ary purp
ose of thi
s study i
s to unde
rstand th
e cogniti
ve learni
ng proce
ss of

women s
chool su
perinten
dents, sp
ecifically
the mea
ning-
making o
f their lea
dership d
evelopm
ent

experien
ces. Qua
litative re
search is
best suit
ed for thi
s study,
because
qualitativ
e design
allows

the resea
rcher to u
nderstan
d the me
aning-
making o
f these w
omen sc
hool sup
erintend
ents’

experien
ces (Mer
riam, 200
9). The n
arrative a
pproach i
s most a
ppropriat
e, becau
se this st
udy

attempts
to captur
e “the de
tailed sto
ries or li
fe experi
ences” (
Creswell,
2013, p.
73) and
gather

“persona
l reflecti
ons of ev
ents and
their cau
ses and
effects fr
om a sin
gle indivi
dual or a
small

number
of indivi
duals” (
Creswell
, 2013, p
. 73).
30

Researc
h Site

This rese
arch was
conducte
d within t
he schoo
l districts
of the sta
te of Ala
ska. This

setting af
forded th
e researc
her the o
pportunit
y to arra
nge and
conduct i
nterview
s with th
e

women s
chool su
perintend
ents in th
e same s
tate as th
e researc
her. Parti
cipants o
f this stu
dy are

five wom
en schoo
l superint
endents
from sm
all-
midsize
school di
stricts an
d from re
mote

geograp
hic regio
n of U.S
(Alaska).
This type
of school
leader m
aybe diff
erent tha
n main-
land
US state
Superint
endents,
because
the natur
e of Alas
ka is mor
e "frontie
r" and "in
depende
nt."

Researc
h Design

A narrati
ve resea
rch study
, using in
-depth in
terviews,
with a re
presenta
tive sam
ple of

women s
chool su
perintend
ents was
used. A
purposef
ul sampl
e of five
superinte
ndents,
who are

female a
nd curre
ntly a su
perintend
ent in a p
ublic sch
ool syste
m in Alas
ka was s
elected.
The data

collectio
n include
d three p
hases: (
1) initial i
nterview
via phon
e with ea
ch poten
tial partic
ipant to

gather d
emograp
hic data,
obtain inf
ormed co
nsent, sc
hedule a
one-on-
one inter
view, an
d pilot

the interv
iew ques
tions; (2)
a 40-
minute, o
ne-on-
one inter
view eith
er in-
person o
r via pho
ne to

explore
meaning
-making
and lead
ership de
velopme
nt experi
ences; a
nd (3) a f
ollow-up
inquiry

via email
to allow
participa
nts to refl
ect on ex
perience
s and oth
er probe
s. A ded
uctive da
ta

analysis
approac
h was us
ed, starti
ng with d
escriptiv
e coding
of the ind
ividual st
ories and
then

use of M
ezirow’s
(1978) a
nd Super
’s (1957,
1990) th
eories fo
r identif
ying co
mmonali
ties acro
ss

all those
interview
ed. All in
terviews
were digi
tally reco
rded and
transcrib
ed. The
code wa
s

created a
nd applie
d to each
transcript
ion (Mile
s & Hube
rman, 19
94). The
n the cod
e was

classified
into them
es and c
ategories
, based o
n the fra
mework,
using M
ezirow’s
(1978) a
nd

Super’s (
1957, 19
90) ideas
.
31

Limitati
ons

This stud
y used a
n intervie
w metho
d to colle
ct narrati
ve data f
rom five
women s
chool

superint
endents i
n Alaska
. There i
s no rese
arch stud
y withou
t limitati
ons, and
“there ar
e no

perfect r
esearch
designs”
(Patton,
1990, p.
162). Thi
s study h
as limitati
ons beca
use of its

construct
ivist view
, interpre
tive fram
ework, r
esearch
site, and
small nu
mber of
participa
nts.

This stu
dy prima
rily follo
wed a co
nstructivi
st view t
o explor
e the me
aning-
making
process
of wome
n school
superinte
ndents to
better un
derstand
how they
learn fro
m their

leadershi
p develo
pment e
xperienc
es. An in
herent li
mitation i
n this me
thod is th
at the inf
ormation

depende
d on the
honesty,
opennes
s, and wil
lingness
of the pa
rticipants
to share t
heir life s
tories

and expe
riences,
and their
ability to
articulate
and recal
l these st
ories.

The inter
pretive fr
amework
s used in
this stud
y to unde
rstand th
e subject
ive mean
ings of

experien
ces pres
ent a sec
ond limit
ation, be
cause ch
oosing o
ne frame
work ove
r another
can be a
disadvan
tage as
well as a
n advant
age. Usi
ng differe
nt interpr
etive fra
meworks
creates d
ifferent

philosop
hical ass
umption
s, creati
ng differ
ent inter
pretation
s of reali
ty (Schw
artz & O
gilvy,

1979). T
he study
can be b
oth const
rained a
nd enabl
ed by int
erpretive
framewo
rks (Linc
oln &

Guba, 19
85). The
study wa
s constra
ined in th
at the fra
mework l
imited pe
rceptions
, but ena
bled

because
the fram
ework de
termined
what was
important
to study.
The rese
archer re
lied on h
er

ability to
interpret
these me
anings.
Such int
erpretati
ons were
shaped b
y the res
earcher’
s person
al,

cultural,
and histo
rical exp
eriences
(Creswel
l, 2013).
Accordin
gly, the i
nterpreta
tions of t
he

research
data wer
e limited
by the re
searcher
’s unders
tanding
of these
experien
ces.

A third li
mitation i
s that th
e resear
ch, cond
ucted in
Alaska,
was limit
ed to on
e geogra
phic

region an
d may no
t represe
nt wome
n school
superinte
ndents fr
om other
states. T
his meth
od was

likely not
as robust
as if the
data had
been coll
ected acr
oss the
United St
ates.
32

The final
limitation
of this st
udy is th
at it is qu
alitative r
esearch
on a sm
all scale.
The

purpose
was to “
collect e
xtensive
detail ab
out each
site or in
dividual
studies”
(Creswel
l, 2013,
p.

157), not
to gener
alize the
results, a
nd the re
search s
ample si
ze was li
mited to
only five
women

school su
perintend
ents to k
eep the a
mount of
data to b
e explore
d and an
alyzed at
a manag
eable

level.

Because
of the as
sumption
s, delimit
ers, and l
imitation
s noted a
bove, the
findings f
rom
this stud
y are not
generaliz
able to th
e larger
populatio
n of all w
omen sc
hool sup
erintend
ents in

the Unite
d States.
The data
collected
and the r
esults ar
e limited
to the pa
rticipants
in this st
udy

and the s
tate of Al
aska, as
it is not t
he natur
e of quali
tative res
earch to
be gener
alizable t
oa

larger po
pulation
(Creswel
l, 2009).
Instead,
the resul
ts from q
ualitative
inquiry s
eek to ex
plain

meaning
from the
participa
nts’ pers
pectives
(Creswel
l, 2013;
Lincoln
& Guba,
1985; M
erriam,

2009).

Summa
ry
This doct
oral thesi
s aims to
explore l
eadershi
p journey
s of wom
en superi
ntendent
s in the

state of
Alaska.
Specifica
lly, it see
ks to und
erstand
meaning
-making
of their le
adership

develop
ment ex
perience
s. The st
udy emp
loys Me
zirow’s (
1978) tr
ansform
ative lea
rning the
ory

and Supe
r’s (1957
, 1990) c
areer de
velopme
nt theory
in exami
ning me
aning-
making
of femal
e

leaders i
n each of
their care
er develo
pment st
ages. Th
e main re
search q
uestion is
: How do

women s
chool su
perintend
ents mak
e meanin
g of their
leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s?

This stud
y is qualit
ative, giv
en the na
ture of th
e researc
h questio
n. A narr
ative res
earch

study me
thod was
used. Th
e sampli
ng metho
d was a
purposef
ul sampl
e of five
superinte
ndents.

who hav
e been in
their role
for a mini
mum of t
hree yea
rs. The r
esearche
r conduct
ed an init
ial 15-
33

minute c
all to sch
edule th
e one-
on-one i
nterview
and prev
iew the i
nterview
question,
followed

by in-
depth int
erviews
within on
e week
after the
initial int
erview.

This stu
dy has li
mitations
because
of its con
structivis
t view, in
terpretiv
e frame
work,

research
site, and
small nu
mber of
participa
nts. The f
indings r
epresent
only the
subjectiv
e

meaning
of a few
women s
chool su
perintend
ents in Al
aska and
cannot b
e transfe
rred to ot
her

contexts.
34

CHAPT
ER 2: L
ITERAT
URE R
EVIEW

The prim
ary focus
of this lit
erature r
eview is t
o explore
leadershi
p theorie
s; adult

learning
theories,
especiall
y Meziro
w’s (197
8) transf
ormation
al theory;
and lead
ership in

educatio
n, with a
n empha
sis on fe
male lea
dership.
This cha
pter sum
marizes t
he literat
ure on

which th
e study i
s based.

The first
section o
f this cha
pter pres
ents a hi
storical r
eview of
five main
leadershi
p

theories
as they e
volved o
ver time:
trait appr
oach, sty
le approa
ch, conti
ngency a
pproach,

transfor
mational
leadershi
p approa
ch, and d
istributed
(or post-
heroic) le
adership
approach
. Next,

leadershi
p develo
pment is
discusse
d in term
s of its hi
story and
current lit
erature.
Followin
g that

discussio
n is a su
mmary o
f four the
ories of a
dult learn
ing and t
heir linka
ges to le
adership

develop
ment: be
havioris
m, cognit
ivism, so
cial learn
ing, and
construct
ivism. Th
e concep
t of

Mezirow
’s (1978)
transfor
mative le
arning th
eory and
its critiqu
es are th
en discu
ssed, alo
ng with

a summa
ry of car
eer devel
opment t
heories,
includin
g Super’
s (1957)
career d
evelopm
ent theor
y.

Mezirow
’s (1978)
and Sup
er’s (195
7) ideas
are espe
cially imp
ortant, be
cause th
ey are th
e

theoretic
al frame
work of t
his study
. The las
t section
of this ch
apter ai
ms to illu
minate t
he

phenom
enon of t
he under
represen
tation of
women i
n public
school le
adership
positions
by

providin
g a histo
rical revi
ew of w
omen’s r
oles in p
ublic sch
ool admi
nistratio
n and th
e nature
of

women s
chool su
perintend
ents, wit
h a discu
ssion of t
he challe
nges and
barriers t
hey are f
acing.

Leaders
hip The
ory

Leadersh
ip has be
en exami
ned exte
nsively, a
nd there
have bee
n several
attempts
at

defining l
eadershi
p and its
concepts
(Bass &
Stogdill,
1990). N
everthele
ss, conc
epts of

leadershi
p are vie
wed as t
he least
understo
od pheno
menon (
Rost, 19
91). Lead
ership ha
s been
35

defined
as “traits
, behavi
ors, influ
ence, int
eraction,
patterns,
role relat
ionships,
and occu
pation of

administ
rative po
sition” (
Yukl, 20
10, p. 2).
Most defi
nitions of
leadershi
p reflect
the assu
mption

that invo
lves an i
ntention
al proces
s of lead
ers who
want to
“guide, s
tructure,
and facil
itate

activities
and relat
ionships
in a grou
p or orga
nization
” (Yukl,
2010, p.
3).

Understa
nding ab
out leade
rship has
develope
d over ti
me, starti
ng from
an under
standing

of leader
s’ charac
teristic o
r their pe
rsonal tr
aits. The
n the foc
us shifte
d to wha
t leaders
actually

do, i.e., t
heir beha
viors. Lat
er, the sit
uational
aspect of
leadershi
p was int
roduced,
and in th
e

1980s, m
anageme
nt resear
chers intr
oduced t
he conce
pt of tran
sformatio
nal leade
rship wit
h an

attempt t
o unders
tand how
leaders i
nfluence
followers
to make
self-
sacrifice
s and mo
ve towar
d

organizat
ional goa
ls or mis
sions. U
nderstan
ding of le
adership
then mov
ed from
post-
heroic

leadershi
p to shar
ed or dist
ributed le
adership
(Pepper,
2010). M
ost leade
rship res
earch du
ring the

past half
century
was con
ducted in
the Unite
d States,
Canada,
and Wes
tern Euro
pe. How
ever,

during th
e past de
cade, the
increasin
g globaliz
ation of o
rganizati
ons has
made res
earchers

concerne
d about e
ffective l
eadershi
p in differ
ent cultur
es, so cu
ltural per
spective
has been
added

to the st
udy of le
adership
(Yukl, 20
10).

There ar
e also nu
merous t
heoretica
l framew
orks abo
ut leader
ship, and
many lea
dership

theories
have bee
n introdu
ced. How
ever, this
review fo
cuses on
five appr
oaches: t
he trait
approach
, the styl
e approa
ch, the c
ontingen
cy appro
ach, the t
ransform
ational a
pproach,
and the

post-
heroic le
adership
approach
. Each ap
proach pr
esented i
n this pa
per is as
sociated
with a tim
e

period. T
he trait a
pproach
dominate
d leaders
hip theor
y and res
earch in t
he 1940s
; the styl
e

approach
was used
during th
e1960s; t
he contin
gency ap
proach in
fluenced
leadershi
p researc
h

from the l
ate 1960
s to the e
arly 1980
s; the tra
nsformati
onal lead
ership ap
proach w
as introd
uced

from the
early 198
0s. Thes
e approa
ches foc
used on l
eaders a
s individu
als and c
an be ter
med
36

heroic m
odels. M
ore rece
ntly, the
post-
heroic m
odel of di
stributive
leadershi
p has be
en

presente
d.

Trait Ap
proach

Trait refe
rs to indi
vidual att
ributes, i
ncluding
personali
ty, needs
, motives
, and

tempera
ment (Yu
kl, 2010).
Trait was
one of th
e earlier
approac
hes to st
udying le
adership.
The

early trai
t studies
were bas
ed on a
belief in
natural l
eaders a
nd attem
pted to i
dentify l
eaders’

physical
character
istics and
personal
traits. Ma
ny studie
s compar
ed leader
s to non-
leaders o
r

investiga
ted attrib
utes of le
aders.

From a r
eview of
124 trait
studies d
uring the
period fr
om1904
to 1948,
Stogdill (
1948)

found th
e most c
ommon t
rait of lea
ders was
the abilit
y to help
the grou
p achiev
e its goal
s.

Samples
of traits f
ound we
re intellig
ence, un
derstand
ing of th
e task, in
itiative, r
esponsib
ility, and

self-
confiden
ce. Howe
ver, no p
articular
set of trai
ts that en
sure lead
ership su
ccess in
all

situation
s was fo
und. The
findings
showed t
hat there
was no o
ne patter
n of char
acteristic
s for

leadershi
p succes
s, and pe
rsonal ch
aracterist
ics of lea
ders mus
t relate to
the activit
ies and g
oals

of the foll
owers (S
togdill, 1
948). Sto
gdill (194
8, 1974)
reviewed
trait studi
es again
in 1974,
and,

although
many of t
he same
traits wer
e found i
n this rev
iew of 16
3 trait stu
dies duri
ng the p
eriod

1949-
1970, the
re were n
o univers
al leader
ship trait
s, and po
ssession
of one se
t of traits
did not

guarante
e effectiv
eness. H
owever,
other res
earchers
argued th
at some t
raits relat
ed to ma
nagerial

effective
ness, su
ch as sel
f-
confiden
ce (Bass
& Stogdil
l, 1990); i
nternal lo
cus of co
ntrol, or t
he

belief tha
t individu
als make
their own
destiny,
not fate (
Rotter, 1
966); an
d emotio
nal matu
rity

(Bass &
Stogdill,
1990). D
espite th
e disagre
ement of
research
ers on tr
aits and t
heir relev
ence to

manager
ial effecti
veness, i
nformati
on about
traits is s
ignificant
in manag
erial effe
ctivenes
s
37

(Yukl, 20
10). The
knowled
ge about
particular
sets of tr
aits need
ed for le
aders ha
s been h
elpful in

recruitin
g people
for mana
gerial po
sitions.

Style Ap
proach

In the 19
60s, rese
archers’
focus shi
fted fro
m perso
nal traits
of leader
s to their
behavior
s

or styles.
The emp
hasis wa
s on wha
t leaders
do, rathe
r than on
their char
acteristic
s. While t
he

trait appr
oach has
implicati
ons for s
electing i
ndividual
s for lea
dership
positions
, the styl
e

approac
h has im
plication
s for trai
ning (Par
ry & Bry
man, 20
06). Res
earch on
styles or
behavior
al

theory ai
med to i
dentify th
e types o
f leaders
hip beha
viors or s
tyles mo
st likely t
o influen
ce job

satisfacti
on and p
erforman
ce. The
methods
used for t
his type
of resear
ch were
behavior

descripti
on questi
onnaires
, laborat
ory and f
ield expe
riments,
and critic
al incide
nts (Yukl
, 2010).

Much of t
he leader
ship beh
avior res
earch foll
owed the
method u
sed by s
eparate
major

pioneeri
ng studi
es from
Ohio Sta
te Univer
sity and t
he Unive
rsity of
Michigan
.

The Ohio
State Le
adership
studies w
ere quest
ionnaire-
based re
search o
n effectiv
e

leadersh
ip behavi
or (Yukl,
2010). T
he resear
chers’ in
itial task
s were id
entifying
relevant

leadershi
p behavi
ors and d
evelopin
g questio
nnaires t
o examin
e how fre
quently a
leader us
ed

these be
haviors.
From th
e analysi
s of lead
ers’ beh
aviors, q
uestionn
aires wer
e develo
ped base
d

on two ty
pes of be
havior: c
onsiderat
ion and i
nitiating
structure
. The co
nsiderati
on categ
ory is an

employe
e-
centered
base, whi
ch refers
to a lead
ership st
yle in whi
ch leader
s are con
cerned a
bout

their sub
ordinates
; initiatin
g structu
re is task
-based,
which ref
ers to a l
eadershi
p style in
volving

leaders’
concerns
about tas
k accom
plishmen
t (Parry
& Bryma
n, 2006).
The que
stionnair
es that

were dev
eloped w
ere the L
eader Be
havior D
escriptio
n Questi
onnaire (
LBDQ), t
he Super
visory
38

Behavior
Descripti
on Quest
ionnaire
(SBDQ),
the Lead
er Opinio
n Questi
onnaire (
LOQ), a
nd the

Leader
Behavior
Descripti
on Ques
tionnaire
, Form X
II (LBDQ
XII) (Yuk
l, 2010).

The Mich
igan lead
ership st
udies foc
used on
identifyi
ng relati
onships
among l
eaders’

behavior,
group pr
ocess, a
nd group
performa
nce. The
se studie
s used a
different
approach
from

the Ohio
studies.
As oppos
ed to the
sole use
of questi
onnaires,
the Michi
gan studi
es utilize
d

structure
d intervie
ws with a
manager
ial behav
ior questi
onnaire (
Yukl, 20
10). The
three typ
es of

leadershi
p behavi
ors identi
fied that
differenti
ate effect
ive and i
neffectiv
e manag
ers were
task-

oriented
behavior
, relation
s-
oriented
behavior
, and par
ticipative
leadershi
p. Simila
r to the

initiating
structure
categoriz
ed by the
Ohio stu
dies, tas
k-
oriented
behavior
included
leaders’
task-

oriented
functions
with a br
oader ra
nge of b
ehaviors.
The relat
ions-
oriented
behavior
was

compara
ble to the
consider
ation cat
egory in t
he Ohio
studies.
Participat
ive leade
rship wa
s

identified
as behav
iors invol
ving the
ability to
remain r
esponsib
le for all
decision
s while u
sing a

group su
pervision
approach
such as
using gro
up meeti
ngs in de
cision-
making p
rocesses
(Yukl,

2010).

Conting
ency Ap
proach

Followin
g researc
h from t
he1940s
to the ea
rly 1960
s in whic
h leaders
’ traits, s
tyles, an
d

behavior
s were in
vestigate
d, in the l
ate 1960
s, situati
onal asp
ects wer
e determi
ned to id
entify

appropri
ate leade
rship role
s, behavi
ors, and
styles (Y
ukl, 2010
). The co
ntingenc
y theorie
s that

grew out
of this re
search in
clude Pa
th-Goal
Theory,
Situation
al Leade
rship Th
eory, Mu
ltiple

Linkage
Model, L
PC Conti
ngency
Model, C
ognitive
Resourc
e Theory
, and No
rmative
Decision

Theory (
Yukl, 20
10). One
of the ea
rliest exa
mples of
continge
ncy thin
king is F
iedler’s
LPC

Continge
ncy Mod
el. The m
easurem
ent instru
ment use
d to exa
mine lea
dership e
ffectiven
ess was
39

called th
e Least
Preferred
Coworke
r (LPC) s
cale (Fie
dler, 196
4). The L
PC score
indicates
a

leader’s
motive h
ierarchy
(Yukl, 20
10). A hi
gh LPC l
eader is
primarily
motivate
d to hav
e

interpers
onal relat
ionships
with peo
ple and s
ubordinat
es. The l
eader ha
s a supp
ortive ma
nner in

fostering
and impr
oving thi
s relatio
nship. In
contrast,
a low LP
C leader
is primar
ily motiv
ated by

task achi
evement.
The relati
onship b
etween l
eader LP
C score
and effec
tiveness
depends
on
situation
al variabl
es, a rel
ationship
called sit
uational
favorabili
ty. Situat
ional fav
orability
was

divided i
nto three
main cat
egories: (
a) leader
-member
relations,
the exten
t to whic
h subordi
nates

are loyal
and coop
erative; (
b) positio
n power,
the exten
t to whic
h the lea
der has
authority;
and

(c) task s
tructure,
the exten
t to whic
h operati
ng proce
sses are
in place t
o accom
plish the
tasks.

Over the
years, th
e conting
ency mo
del has b
ecome le
ss popul
ar becau
se of its i
nconsiste
nt

results (
Parry &
Bryman,
2006). N
everthele
ss, the m
ajor cont
ribution o
f the cont
ingency

approac
h was th
at it dre
w resear
chers’ at
tention t
o situati
onal fact
ors (Yuk
l, 2010).

Transfo
rmation
al Leade
rship

In their r
eview of
leadershi
p theory
and rese
arch, Par
ry and Br
yman (2
006) fou
nd that

various t
erms wer
e used to
describe
the new
kinds of l
eadershi
p. Some
samples
of these t
ypes of

leadershi
p are tra
nsaction
al leader
ship, tran
sformatio
nal leade
rship, an
d charis
matic lea
dership.

Transacti
onal lead
ership ref
ers to an
exchang
e proces
s involvin
g what le
aders an
d followe
rs

want fro
m each o
ther (Bas
s, 1985).
Transfor
mational
leadershi
p involve
s encour
aging an
d

motivatin
g followe
rs to acc
omplish t
asks. Tra
nsformati
onal and
transacti
onal beh
aviors ar
e

distinct,
but not
mutually
exclusiv
e (Yukl,
2010). T
ransform
ational b
ehaviors
include i
dealized

influence
, individu
alized co
nsiderati
on, inspi
rational
motivatio
n, and in
tellectual
stimulati
on.
40

Transacti
onal beh
aviors in
clude co
ntingent r
eward, a
ctive ma
nagemen
t by exce
ption, an
d

passive
manage
ment by
exceptio
n (Yukl,
2010).

Many wri
ters inter
changea
bly use t
he terms
transfor
mational
and char
ismatic (
Yukl,

2010). T
hese two
concepts
are simil
ar, but th
ere are s
ome disti
nctions.
While ch
arismatic
leaders

arouse e
nthusias
m and c
ommitm
ent of foll
owers th
rough th
eir comp
elling visi
on,

transfor
mational
leaders t
ransform
and moti
vate follo
wers by
making t
hem awa
re of the

importan
ce of tas
k outcom
es and or
ganizatio
nal or gr
oup inter
ests.

Distribu
ted Lea
dership

Recently
, the indi
vidual-
focused
or heroic
leadershi
p approa
ch has s
hifted to
an

alternativ
e post-
heroic m
odel that
focuses
not on o
ne leade
r, but on
collabora
tive effort
s of

stakehol
ders (Od
uro, 200
4). The h
eroics of
leadershi
p are pro
blematic
for two re
asons (S
pillane,

2005). Fi
rst, scho
ol princip
als, or ad
ministrat
ors, are t
he only f
ocus of s
chool lea
dership i
n the
heroic m
odel, whi
le leader
ship is m
ore than
individua
l efforts.
The Distr
ibuted L
eadershi
p Study

showed t
hat leade
rship cou
ld involv
e multipl
e leaders
(Spillane
, 2005).
The num
ber of le
aders

depends
on routin
e. For ex
ample, m
onitoring
and eval
uating te
aching pr
actice ge
nerally re
quires

only the
principal
and assi
stant prin
cipal, whi
le teache
r develop
ment in li
teracy m
ay requir
e

multiple l
eaders s
uch as th
e princip
al, curric
ulum spe
cialists, a
nd lead t
eachers.
The num
ber of

leaders
may also
depend o
n school
subjects.
For exa
mple, in t
he case
of Adam
s Elemen
tary,

literacy i
nstructio
n needs
more par
ticipants
in execut
ing leade
rship rou
tines tha
n mathe
matics

instructio
n (Spilla
ne, Diam
ond, & Ji
ta, 2003)
.

Second,
the heroi
c model
focuses
merely o
n “what”
rather th
an “how
” questio
ns. Its

focus is
on what l
eadershi
p structur
es, functi
ons, routi
nes, and
roles are
rather th
an on ho
w
41

leadershi
p is exer
cised. Le
adership
practice
must foc
us not on
ly on wh
at leader
s do, but
also on

how and
why they
do it. Ac
cording t
o Spillan
e (2005),
distribute
d leader
ship is a
n antidot
e to

heroics l
eadershi
p. “Distr
ibuted le
adership
” has be
en used i
nterchan
geably
with “sh
ared

leadershi
p,” “tea
m leader
ship,” an
d “demo
cratic lea
dership.”
The term
“distribu
ted leade
rship”

has been
defined i
n two wa
ys. One i
s as an e
xpansion
of authori
ty or lead
ership to
teachers,
and
another i
s as an e
xpansion
of leader
ship wor
k (Firest
one & M
artinez, 2
007). Dis
tributed

leadershi
p focus is
on an ex
ploration
of the spr
ead of le
adership
among le
aders an
d teacher
s.

Element
s of distri
bution ar
e (a) dis
persed, i
n which l
eadershi
p is an a
ctivity th
at can be
located a
t

different
parts of
organiza
tion; (b)
collabora
tive, in w
hich lead
ership is
through
alliance,

partners
hip, or n
etworkin
g; (c) de
mocratic
in which
leadershi
p is antit
hetical to
hierarch
y and

delegatio
n; and (d
) shared,
in which l
eadershi
p emerg
es from s
ocial pro
cess, not
from lead
ers

(Oduro,
2004).

Leaders
hip Dev
elopmen
t

Leader d
evelopm
ent is the
“expansi
on of a p
erson’s c
apacity t
o be effe
ctive in l
eadershi
p

roles and
processe
s” (McC
auley, V
an Veslo
r, & Rud
erman, 2
010, p. 2
). Leader
s can lea
rn

effective
leadershi
p behavi
ors and,
with purp
oseful de
sire, lead
ership ca
n be dev
eloped

(Boyatzis
, 2008).
Without
desire, d
evelopm
ent can b
e slow or
can caus
e unwant
ed outco
mes.

There ar
e many
methods
for and el
ements i
n leaders
hip devel
opment.
Leadersh
ip develo
pment

has been
comment
ed on sin
ce the ti
me of Pl
ato. The
following
sections
will explo
re the his
tory

of leader
ship dev
elopment
and the c
urrent lite
rature on
leadershi
p develo
pment.
42

A Histor
y of Lea
dership
Develop
ment

Discussi
ons of le
adership
develop
ment can
be found
as far ba
ck as Pla
to (Schw
andt,

2005). Pl
ato (194
1), writin
g in abou
t 380 B.
C., belie
ves that
philosop
hers sho
uld be m
ade king
s,

but kings
should d
evelop th
e skills a
nd attrib
utes of p
hilosoph
ers:

Unless ei
ther philo
sophers
become
kings in t
heir coun
tries or th
ose who
are calle
d

kings an
d rulers
come to
be suffici
ently ins
pired wit
h a genu
ine desir
e for
wisdom;
unless, t
hat is to
say, polit
ical pow
er and p
hilosoph
y meet

together
…there
can be n
o rest fro
m troubl
e. (p. 17
8)

Plato’s (
1941) vie
w of lead
ership im
plies that
a genuin
e desire t
o learn is
a key ele
ment in

leadershi
p develo
pment. H
owever,
his leade
rship dev
elopment
concepts
were limi
ted only t
o the

political c
ontext. M
odern co
ncepts of
leadershi
p develo
pment in
organizat
ions start
ed to gai
n

interest a
bout 20 y
ears ago.
One of th
e well-
known tr
ends ove
r the past
20 years
has been
develop
ment of
methods
for leade
rship trai
ning. Th
ere are v
arious ty
pes of le
adership
training,

including
primary f
ormal cla
ssroom l
eadershi
p training
, and oth
er activiti
es, such
as high r
opes

courses
or reflect
ive journ
aling (He
rnez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).

Accordin
g to Hern
ez-
Broome
and Hug
hes (200
4), classr
oom trai
ning is n
ecessary
for

leadershi
p develo
pment. N
everthele
ss, class
room trai
ning is n
ot the onl
y thing re
quired fo
r

leadershi
p develo
pment. O
ther activ
ies, such
as coach
ing, ment
oring, act
ion learni
ng, and 3
60-

degree fe
edback,
have bec
ome mea
ns of lea
dership d
evelopm
ent. In ad
dition, th
e develo
pmental

experien
ces gain
ed from
ongoing
work hav
e the gre
atest imp
act in lea
dership d
evelopm
ent.

Coachin
g is goal-
focused,
one-on-
one lear
ning, whi
ch can b
e a short
- or long-
term

interventi
on, aimin
g to effe
ct behavi
oral cha
nge (Her
nez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).
Mentorin
g,
43

on the ot
her hand
, is a co
mmited, l
ong-term
relations
hip in whi
ch a seni
or perso
n support
s the

develop
ment of
a junior p
erson. T
his ment
oring rel
ationship
can be a
formal or
nonform
al

process.

Action le
arning is
“a set of
organiza
tional de
velopme
nt practi
ces in w
hich imp
ortant re
al-

time org
anizatio
nal probl
ems are t
ackled” (
Hernez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004,
p.25). Th
ere is a

wide ran
ge of acti
on learni
ng, inclu
ding tacit
, unfacilit
ated lear
ning at w
ork, and
learning
projects.
Challengi
ng job as
signment
s are als
o used a
s leaders
hip devel
opment.

Another l
eadershi
p develo
pment m
ethod not
ed as the
most rem
arkable tr
end in le
adership

develom
ent is the
use of 36
0-degree
feedback
to assess
leader co
mpetenci
es (Chap
pelow, 2
004).

The 360-
degree fe
edback a
ssessme
nt is not
a method
for leader
ship dev
elopment
by itself.

Besides t
he feedb
ack, an o
rganizati
on must
have oth
er develo
pmental
plans an
d follow-
up

activities
.

Current
Literatu
re of Le
adershi
p Devel
opment
Currently
, leaders
hip is vie
wed as a
key elem
ent for or
ganizatio
nal succ
ess, and
a

leadershi
p develo
pment pr
ogram is
essential
in any or
ganizatio
n (Herne
z-
Broome
& Hughe
s,

2004). T
he leader
ship dev
elopment
paradigm
has shift
ed from t
raining le
aders to
be good

manager
s to a mo
re relatio
nship-
oriented
paradigm
between
leaders a
nd follow
ers. Lead
ership

develop
ment no l
onger foc
uses on
developi
ng the co
mpetenci
es of a le
ader, but
rather on
the

“relation
ships tha
t focus o
n the int
eractions
of both l
eaders a
nd colla
borators
” (Herne
z-
Broome

& Hughe
s, 2004,
p. 27).

Accordin
g to Hern
ez-
Broome
and Hug
hes (200
4), leade
rship dev
elopment
today ca
n be

categoriz
ed into th
ree them
es:
44

1. Lead
ership d
evelopm
ent withi
n the co
ntext of
work

2. The r
ole of co
mpetenci
es in lea
dership d
evelopm
ent

3. The i
ssue of
work/life
balance

Leaders
hip deve
lopment
within th
e contex
t of work
. The go
al of lead
ership

develop
ment in t
he conte
xt of wor
k today f
ocuses o
n action
and real-
world ap
plication,
not

knowled
ge (Hern
ez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).
Develop
ment inv
olves lea
rning fro
m work a
nd

integratin
g work e
xperienc
es with o
ther deve
lopmenta
l method
s. Leader
ship is vi
ewed as
an

essential
part of jo
bs not on
ly at the
manage
ment lev
el, but at
all levels.

The role
of comp
etencies
in leader
ship dev
elopmen
t. Leader
ship dev
elopment
has

been mo
ving aw
ay from
leaders’
skills, tr
aits, and
attribute
s. Nevert
heless, l
eadershi
p

compete
ncies are
still at th
e core of
leadershi
p develo
pment (H
ernez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).

Results o
f a recent
study ex
ploring le
adership
in leadin
g compa
nies sho
wed that
these co
mpanies

still try to
define ch
aracterist
ics and q
ualities o
f effectiv
e leaders
to guide l
eadershi
p

develop
ment (Ba
rrett & B
eeson, 2
002). Th
e design
ated com
petencie
s of best-
practices

organizat
ions are t
hose tied
to busine
ss strate
gies and
business
models (
Hernez-
Broome
&

Hughes,
2004). Al
though
modern
organizat
ions are
still tryin
g to defin
e these c
ompeten
cies,

each lea
der is not
accounta
ble for th
e same s
et of com
petencie
s. Accord
ing to thi
s new

perspecti
ve on co
mpetenci
es, leade
rs are not
accounta
ble for pr
acticing a
certain s
et of lead
ership
behavior
s, but are
responsi
ble for de
sired out
comes, a
nd leader
ship dev
elopment
is viewed
as a

process
of streng
thening l
eaders’ u
nique str
engths a
nd mini
mizing t
heir wea
knesses (
Hernez-

Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).

The issu
e of wor
k/life bal
ance. W
ork/life b
alance h
as beco
me an im
portant p
art of

leadershi
p develo
pment si
nce lead
ers’ pers
onal stre
ss can de
crease th
eir intere
st in and
attention
45

to their jo
bs (Hern
ez-
Broome
& Hughe
s, 2004).
Leaders
hip devel
opment i
s challen
ged by th
e

idea of w
ork/life b
alance,
which le
ads to d
evelopm
ent of re
silience (
Moxley
& Pulley,
2004).

Resilienc
e is the a
bility to r
ecover fr
om hard
ships by
using diff
icult exp
eriences
as oppor
tunities

to learn.
Developi
ng resili
ence, in
turn, dev
elops lea
ders’ abi
lity to fa
ce hards
hips.

Adult Le
arning T
heory a
nd Lead
ership D
evelopm
ent

There ar
e several
theories
of adult l
earning (
Merriam
et al., 20
07). How
adult lear
ning

theory ali
gns with
leadershi
p develo
pment m
ay be fo
und in th
e work of
Allen (20
07). Acc
ording

to Allen (
2007), a
dult-
learning t
heory is
essential
in leader
ship dev
elopment
, yet the l
ink

between
adult-
learning t
heory an
d leaders
hip devel
opment i
s overloo
ked. In hi
s writing,
he

explains
how the f
our adult
-learning
theories
—
behaviori
sm, cogn
itivism, s
ocial lear
ning, an
d

construc
tivism—
can be a
pplied to
leadershi
p develo
pment.

Behavior
ism invol
ves beha
vioral ch
ange; co
gnitivism
relates to
the devel
opment
of

learners’
capacity
and skill
s for lear
ning; soc
ial learni
ng focus
es on the
intersect
ion of so
cial

contexts
and learn
ers; and
construct
ivism is c
oncerne
d with th
e constr
uction of
an indivi
dual’s

reality an
d how he
/she mak
es meani
ng from
experien
ces (Alle
n, 2007).

Behavio
rism

Behavior
ists belie
ve in sti
muli and
response
. They b
elieve le
arning is
caused b
y stimuli.

Behavior
ists are c
oncerne
d with le
arners’ b
ehaviors,
but not t
heir think
ing and f
eeling. T
hey

believe t
hat learn
ers’ thin
king and
feeling c
annot be
measure
d (Allen,
2007). T
hree mai
n

characte
ristics of
behaviori
sm are: (
a) behavi
orists stu
dy only c
urrent be
haviors,
not the p
ast; (b)

they are
concerne
d only wit
h that wh
ich can b
e measur
ed and o
bserved;
and (c) t
hey belie
ve in

identifyin
g the de
sired res
ults of in
struction
before in
struction.
Behavior
ists also
believe i
n quick
46

learning
reinforce
ment an
d immedi
ate corre
ction of u
ndesirabl
e perfor
mance.
Early be
haviorist
s

were Ed
ward Th
orndike,
Ivan Pav
lov, Clar
k Hull, a
nd B.F.
Skinner (
Allen, 20
07).

Since be
havioris
m deter
mines th
e desired
results b
efore inst
ruction, it
is often u
sed in

skills an
d job trai
ning bec
ause of it
s objecti
ve-
centered
instructio
n (Allen,
2007). T
he cours
e

designer
of a lead
ership de
velopme
nt progra
m may ut
ilize beh
aviorism
theory by
stating th
e
desired o
utcomes
for leade
rship cou
rses (Alle
n, 2007).
Instructor
s may us
e freque
nt

examinat
ions to p
rovide fe
edback o
r provide
different
variation
s of the s
ame stim
uli (Roth
well &

Sredl, 19
92).

Cognitiv
ism

While be
haviorist
s are con
cerned w
ith the ex
ternal as
pect of le
arning an
d neglect

unobserv
able men
tal states
, cognitivi
sts focus
on intern
al eleme
nts (Deu
bel, 2003
). They a
re

concerne
d with m
eaning o
r semanti
cs (Winn
& Snyder
, 1996).
They beli
eve hum
an behav
iors or
response
s cannot
be easily
predicted
merely b
y a stimul
us (Deub
el, 2003).
The resp
onses ar
e

affected
by prior k
nowledg
e and m
ental pro
cesses.

Gestalt’s
experien
ce-
centered
instructio
n was dri
ven by th
e cogniti
vist belie
f that

instructio
n must b
e concer
ned with
learners’
understa
nding, ra
ther than
a behavi
oral cha
nge

(Rothwel
l & Sredl,
1992). A
s it relate
s to lead
ership de
velopme
nt, a lead
ership de
velopme
nt

program
may utili
ze case s
tudies “t
hat enco
urage lea
rners to
move thr
ough co
mplex pr
oblem-
solving
activities
and chal
lenge th
em to thi
nk in ne
w ways”
(Allen, 2
007, p.3
1).

Social L
earning
Theory

The foun
der of so
cial learn
ing theor
y was Al
bert Ban
dura (All
en, 2007
). He beli
eved

“most hu
man beh
avior is l
earned o
bservati
onally th
rough m
odeling:
from obs
erving ot
hers one
47

forms an
idea of h
ow new
behavior
s are per
formed,
and on la
ter occas
ions this
coded

informat
ion serv
es as a g
uide for
action” (
Bandura,
1997, p.
22). Lear
ning, the
refore, is
the

interactio
n betwee
n an indi
vidual an
d the env
ironment
. People
influence
the envir
onment
and the

environm
ent influe
nces thei
r learned
behavior
s (Bandu
ra, 1997)
.

Accordin
g to Alle
n (2007),
social le
arning th
eory is i
mportant
for leade
rship

develop
ment bec
ause lea
dership i
s situatio
nal. Lead
ership pr
actice th
at works
in one sit
uation or

culture m
ay not w
ork in an
other. Le
adership
develop
ment, th
erefore,
depends
on cultur
al contex
t

or enviro
nment.

Constru
ctivism

Construc
tivism is
concerne
d with o
ne’s mea
ning-
making s
ystem, h
ow indivi
duals ma
ke

meaning
of their e
xperienc
es, or ho
w they c
onstruct
their real
ity (Allen
, 2007).
A well-
known

example
of constr
uctivism
is Mezir
ow’s (19
78) trans
formativ
e learnin
g theory.
The basi
c

concept
of transf
ormative
learning
is that le
arning o
ccurs wh
en one c
ritically
reflects
upon on
e’s

experien
ces and t
ransform
s one’s t
hinking
and pers
pectives
of the w
orld (Me
zirow, 2
000).

Transfer
of learnin
g can be
both plan
ned and
unplanne
d. In ter
ms of lea
dership d
evelopm
ent, the

transfor
ming of p
erspectiv
es has a
n applica
tion to le
adership
develop
ment trai
ning, as t
he

training c
an challe
nge learn
ers to ch
ange thei
r distorte
d perspe
ctives (C
affarella,
2002). It
is “the

effective
applicati
on by pr
ogram p
articipant
s of what
they lear
ned as a
result of
attending
an

educatio
n or trai
ning pro
gram” (
Caffarell
a, 2002,
p. 204).
Because
it forms p
art of the

framewo
rk for thi
s study,
a detaile
d descrip
tion of
Mezirow
’s (1978)
transfor
mative le
arning

theory wi
ll be pro
vided in
the follo
wing sec
tion.
48

Meziro
w’s (197
8) Trans
formativ
e Learni
ng Theo
ry

Mezirow
first appl
ied the t
erm “tra
nsformat
ion” in 1
978 to hi
s study o
f U.S. w
omen

returning
to postse
condary
study or t
he workp
lace after
an exten
ded time
(Kitchen
ham, 20
08).

His quali
tative stu
dy aimed
to find fa
ctors tha
t prevent
or facilita
te wome
n’s progr
ess in th
e re-

entry pro
gram (M
ezirow, 1
978). Th
e subject
s of the s
tudy wer
e 83 wo
men fro
m differe
nt states

in 12 re-
entry coll
ege prog
rams. Th
e finding
s showe
d that tho
se wome
n had un
dergone
a

personal
transfor
mation.
Mezirow
(1978) a
nd his te
am concl
uded that
these wo
men may
have

been thro
ugh 10 p
hases in
their tran
sformatio
n. The 10
phases a
re:

1. A dis
orienting
dilemma

2. A sel
f-
examina
tion with
feelings
of guilt o
r shame

3. A crit
ical asse
ssment o
f epistem
ic, socioc
ultural, o
r psychic
assumpti
ons

4. Reco
gnition t
hat one’s
disconte
nt and th
e proces
s of tran
sformati
on are sh
ared and

that other
s have n
egotiated
a similar
change

5. Expl
oration o
f options
for new r
oles, rela
tionships
, and acti
ons

6. Plan
ning a co
urse of a
ction

7. Acq
uisition
of knowl
edge and
skills for
impleme
nting on
e’s plan

8. Provi
sional try
ing of ne
w roles

9. Build
ing of co
mpetenc
e and sel
f-
confiden
ce in ne
w roles a
nd relatio
nships

10. A rei
ntegratio
n into on
e’s life o
n the bas
is of con
ditions d
ictated b
y one’s
perspecti
ve

The re-
entry coll
ege wom
en revise
d their pe
rspective
s through
this 10-
phase pr
ocess. T
he

process
began wi
th a trigg
ering eve
nt or a di
sorientin
g dilemm
a, which
triggered
their self-

examinat
ion with t
he feelin
g of guilt
or sham
e. They t
hen cond
ucted a c
ritical as
sessmen
t of

assumpti
ons, whic
h were p
erceived
as distort
ed, about
themselv
es and ot
hers. The
y recogni
zed
49

that their
disconte
nt was s
hared wit
h others
while oth
ers were
revising
similar vi
ews. The
n they

explored
their opti
ons and,
eventuall
y, acted
accordin
g to their
new ass
umptions
.

The maj
or eleme
nts of tra
nsformati
ve learni
ng are a
disorienti
ng dilem
ma, mea
ning

scheme,
and critic
al self-
reflectio
n. A “dis
orienting
dilemma
” (Mezir
ow, 2000
, p. 18) i
s an eve
nt

or a strin
g of eve
nts or a
crisis tha
t forces
an indivi
dual to r
eflect cri
tically o
n their “
meaning

schemes
” (Mezir
ow, 200
0, p. 18).
Meaning
schemes
are “sets
of imme
diate, sp
ecific beli
efs,

feelings,
attitudes
and valu
e judgm
ents” (M
ezirow,
2000, p.
18). As i
ndividual
s criticall
y reflect

on their
old view
s, their
meaning
-making
develops
, resultin
g in a ch
ange of t
heir worl
dviews.

The chan
ge of me
aning sc
hemes m
ay increa
se self-
awarene
ss, which
is a majo
r theme i
n

leadershi
p develo
pment lit
erature (
Allen, 20
07).

Accordin
g to Mez
irow (19
91), “ma
king me
aning is
central t
o what l
earning i
s all abo
ut…
Learning
always in
volves m
aking a n
ew exper
ience ex
plicit and
schemati
zing, app
ropriatin
g and

acting u
pon it” (
p. 11). F
or him,
meaning
-making i
s a signif
icant skill
, becaus
e learner
s should

have the
ability to
“negotia
te meani
ngs and
purposes
instead o
f passive
ly accept
ing the s
ocial

realities
defied b
y others”
(Mezirow
, 1994, p
. 226). M
eaning-
making, t
herefore,
is the pro
cess of

thinking f
or onese
lf, rather
than pas
sively re
ceiving
what is g
iven. Me
aning-
making,
within th
e

transfor
mative le
arning fr
amework
, has bee
n general
ly used t
o examin
e the lear
ning of

educatio
nal leade
rs that ta
kes plac
e in tradit
ional clas
sroom se
ttings, for
example,
in pre-
service

administr
ators trai
ning (Bro
wn, 2005
), gradua
te progra
ms desig
ned to pr
epare te
acher lea
ders

(Ross et
al., 2011)
, teacher
leadershi
p progra
ms (Harri
s et al., 2
008), yea
r-long lea
dership

program
s for wo
men (Laf
reniere &
Longma
n, 2008),
and grad
uate lead
ership co
urses (S
ullivan

& Palmer
, 2014).
One stud
y investi
gated m
eaning-
making o
f educati
onal lead
ers that t
ook plac
e
in infor
mal setti
ngs. Stor
ies of 23
school p
rincipals
were cap
tured to
examine
principal
s’
50

professio
nal learni
ng (McG
ough, 20
03). Find
ings sho
wed one
factor th
at influen
ced their

professio
nal learni
ng was t
heir impr
essions
of teache
rs and sc
hooling f
ormed in
early chil
dhood.

Althoug
h scholar
s have b
een payi
ng much
attention
to Mezir
ow’s (19
78) trans
formativ
e

learning t
heory, an
d the the
ory has b
een exte
nsively e
xplored a
nd discus
sed, the t
heory ha
s

limitation
s (Taylor
, 1997).
Taylor (1
997) crit
iqued th
at Mezir
ow’s (19
78) trans
formativ
e

learning
theory la
cks clarif
ication of
the defini
tional out
come of
a perspe
ctive tran
sformati
on,

and it lac
ks an in-
depth inv
estigatio
n of the v
aried nat
ure of th
e disorie
nting dile
mmas an
d the

impact o
f the lear
ners’ co
ntext, su
ch as per
sonal an
d social f
actors. T
aylor (19
97) also
stated th
at

transfor
mative le
arning th
eory pay
s much a
ttention t
o the rol
e of critic
al reflecti
on, but i
gnores

the role
of other
ways of
knowing.
Taylor (1
997) poi
nted out
other lim
itations o
f the the
ory,

including
a univers
al perspe
ctive of t
he theor
y, which i
gnores t
he divers
ity of lear
ners bas
ed on

such cat
egories a
s class, r
ace, gen
der, and
sexual or
ientation.

Taylor’s
1997 and
2007 criti
ques stat
ed that r
esearch i
n transfo
rmative l
earning p
ays too

much att
ention to
its appli
cations a
nd not e
nough to
its funda
mentals,
and the t
heory’s

fundame
ntals nee
d to be cl
arified. S
ome sch
olars agr
ee with T
aylor (20
07) and
point out
that,

even tho
ugh tran
sformativ
e learnin
g can be
applied t
o a rang
e of situa
tions, tha
t fact is n
ot proof

of the m
odel (Gu
nnlaugso
n, 2008;
Snyder,
2008; W
ashburn,
2008).

Career
Develop
ment Th
eories

As adult
learning
shifted t
o the co
nstructiv
ism para
digm, w
hich inv
olves on
e’s mean
ing-

making s
ystem, h
ow indivi
duals ma
ke meani
ng of thei
r experie
nces, or
how they
construct
their

reality (A
llen, 200
7), the p
ost-
industrial
age or th
e moder
n perspe
ctive of t
he devel
opment
of

one’s vo
cation al
so move
d toward
the const
ructivist
view of
career de
velopme
nt (Grier-
Reed &
51

Conkel-
Ziebell, 2
009). Ca
reer dev
elopment
theories
have evo
lved over
time. Th
e five ma
jor

career d
evelopm
ent theor
ies are: t
rait-
factor th
eory, car
eer typol
ogy theo
ry, life-
span/life
space

theory, s
ocial lear
ning the
ory of ca
reer choi
ce, and c
onstructi
vist theor
y.

Parson’
s Trait-
Factor T
heory

The soci
etal uphe
aval that
gave birt
h to care
er couns
eling was
character
ized by t
he loss

of jobs in
the agric
ultural se
ctor, incr
easing d
emands f
or worke
rs in hea
vy indust
ry, the

loss of p
ermanen
t jobs on
the famil
y farm to
new eme
rging tec
hnologie
s such a
s tractors
,

the incre
asing urb
anization
of the co
untry, an
d the con
comitant
calls for
services
to meet

internal
migratio
n pattern
, all to re
tool for t
he new i
ndustrial
economy
. (Pope,
2000, p.

196)

The origi
n of care
er develo
pment w
as from t
he devel
opment
of career
counseli
ng, whic
h

was first
called vo
cational
guidance
(Pope, 2
000). Ac
cording t
o Schmi
dt (2003)
, career

counseli
ng was g
reatly infl
uenced b
y the wor
k of Pars
ons, and
he is ofte
n called t
he father
of

career co
unseling
. The foc
us of Par
sons’s m
odel is t
he conce
pt of mat
ching an
individu
al’s

abilities a
nd intere
sts with a
vailable c
areer op
portunitie
s. Parso
ns propo
sed this
model to
help

young pe
ople with
job place
ment (Po
pe, 2000
). At first,
his mode
l of caree
r counsel
ing was
not a

theory, b
ut was la
ter devel
oped into
the Trait
and Fact
or Theor
y of Occ
upational
Choice.
He

believed
the city o
f the futu
re neede
d a speci
ally train
ed profe
ssional t
o help yo
uth make

vocation
al choice
s (Brewe
r, 1918).
Parsons
recogniz
ed three
factors in
making a
successf
ul

career ch
oice: an
understa
nding of
self, a kn
owledge
of job req
uirement
s, and an
understa
nding

of the rel
ation bet
ween sel
f and job
(Parsons
, 1909).
One imp
ortant to
ol used i
n career

counselin
g is psyc
hological
assessm
ents to h
elp client
s have a
better un
derstandi
ng of thei
r
52

strength
s and int
erests (P
atton &
McMaho
n, 2006).
The imp
ortant co
ntributio
n of the t
rait-
factor

theory is
vocation
al testing
that mak
es use of
the asse
ssment t
o produc
e interest
inventori
es,

which, wi
th aptitud
e test sc
ores, bec
ame the
foundatio
n for car
eer coun
seling (R
eardon &
Burck,

1975). D
espite its
contributi
ons to ca
reer cou
nseling, t
he trait-
factor th
eory was
criticized
for its

lack of at
tention t
o enviro
nmental
factors, i
ndividual
develop
ment, an
d labor
markets
(Mitchell
& Krumb
oltz, 199
6; Osipo
w & Fitz
gerald, 1
996).

Holland
’s Caree
r Typol
ogy The
ory

Similar t
o trait-
factor th
eory, car
eer typol
ogy theo
ry focuse
s on mat
ching ch
aracteris
tics

of individ
uals to o
ccupatio
nal tasks
. This th
eory can
be seen i
n the wo
rk of Joh
n Hollan
d (1985).

He offer
ed a typ
ology fra
mework f
or career
interests
by classi
fying per
sonality i
nto six

personali
ty types
abbrevia
ted with t
he acron
ym RIAS
EC: reali
stic, inve
stigative,
artistic, s
ocial,

enterpris
ing, and
conventi
onal (Hol
land, 19
85). Holl
and (198
5) believ
ed a pers
on’s pri
mary

interest
must be
congrue
nt with a
work env
ironment
. The hig
her cong
ruence, t
he more
satisfyin
g

and stabl
e a perso
n will be
in the jo
b. In Hol
land’s (1
985) wor
ds, indivi
duals loo
k for wor
k that

allows t
hem to “
exercise
their skil
ls and ab
ilities, e
xpress th
eir attitu
des and
values, a
nd take
on

agreeabl
e proble
ms and r
oles” (p.
4). A su
mmary o
f Hollan
d’s (198
5) six job
personali
ty and

work env
ironment
types is
presente
d in Tabl
e 2.

Table 2
Holland's
(1985) Si
x Job Pe
rsonality
and Wor
k Enviro
nment T
ypes
e
P r
er
s
o
n
al
it
y
 u
T p
ra
it
s
at
io
Types
Re arc
alis hite
tic ct, f
arm
er,
and

(D e
oe
r)
er
Inve s
stiga c
tive i
e
n
t
i
s
t
,
l
a
w
y
e
r
,
p
r
o
f
e
s
s
o
r
(Thi an
nke aly
r) tic
al
53

independ
ence
Art artis
isti t, m
c usic
ian,
writ
er,

(Cr
activi d
eat
ties
or)

So soci
cia al w
l ork
er, t
eac
her,

(He d
lpe
r)
Enteselle
rprisr, bu
ing sines
s ex
ecuti
ve,
(Per
en pol
suaer itic
der)
ge ian
tic
,
ig
hl
y
se
lf
c
n ac
v co
e un
nt ta
io nt,
n cle
al rk
r
ul
e-
re
g
ul
at
e
d,
(Orgorde
effici
anizrly,
ent,
er)unawell
mbi
guo
us
activities

Super’s
(1957) Li
fe-
Span/
Life Spa
ce Theo
ry

In the ea
rlier care
er theori
es, caree
r counsel
ing was
all about
career ch
oice and
how to

match in
dividuals
with wor
k. These
theories
did not r
eally exp
lain the d
evelopm
ent of ca
reer.

Super (1
957) is a
scholar
who prov
ided a co
mprehen
sive fram
ework of
career d
evelopm
ent as an

ongoing
develop
mental pr
ocess. H
e propos
ed that c
areer dev
elopment
is a proc
ess of

develop
ment an
d imple
mentatio
n of one’
s self-
concept t
hrougho
ut life sta
ges and t
hat caree
r

develop
ment be
gins from
early chil
dhood. T
hese sta
ges (des
cribed ea
rlier, in T
able 1) in
clude

stage 1,
growth (f
rom birth
to age 14
); stage 2
, explorat
ion (age
14-25); s
tage 3, e
stablish
ment

(age 25-
44); stag
e 4, main
tenance (
age 44-
60); and
stage 5,
decline (
around a
ge 60 an
d up).

Althoug
h Super’
s (1957)
develop
mental st
ages wer
e propos
ed in a c
hronologi
cal age, i
n 1990,

he recog
nized tha
t develop
ment doe
s not dep
end upon
chronolo
gical age
, but rath
er on the

individu
al’s pers
onality a
nd life ci
rcumsta
nces (S
mart & P
eterson,
1997). T
he mini-
cycle of t
he

five stag
es may o
ccur withi
n one sta
ge when
one enco
unters un
expected
life circu
mstance
s such

as loss o
f employ
ment.

Super (1
990) pro
posed th
e three
major co
ncepts of
“self-
concept,
” “vocati
onal

develop
ment sta
ges,” an
d “career
maturity
.” Accor
ding to S
uper (19
90), thro
ughout i
ndividua
ls’
54

life stage
s, their s
elf-
concepts
evolve th
rough en
gagemen
t in caree
r develop
mental ta
sks. The

experien
ces gain
ed from t
hese car
eer devel
opmental
tasks, wh
ich are e
xpected
of person
s in the

given chr
onologic
al age, h
elp indivi
duals gro
w and ha
ve a bett
er under
standing
of thems
elves;

that unde
rstanding
, in turn,
guides th
eir caree
r choices
. The de
gree to w
hich a pe
rson can

accompl
ish these
develop
mental t
asks wit
hin each
stage is
called “c
areer ma
turity.”
One of h
is
remarka
ble acco
mplishm
ents is th
e Career
Develop
ment Inv
entory (C
DI) used
to asses
s career

develop
ment of
a person
in four di
mension
s: attitud
es towar
d plannin
g and ex
ploring, a
nd

compete
nce in jo
b knowle
dge and i
n decisio
n-making
(Savicka
s, 1994).
However
, some s
cholars

critiqued
his self-
concept
and argu
ed that c
areer cho
ice and d
evelopm
ent are n
ot merely
a

product
of self-
realizatio
n. Rather
, they ar
e a nego
tiation of
self and t
he enviro
nment in
which

one belo
ngs, and
culture is
viewed a
s an influ
ential fac
tor in car
eer choic
e (Leung
& Chen,
2009).

Krumb
oltz’s (1
976) Soc
ial Learn
ing The
ory of C
areer Ch
oice

Originall
y built o
n Bandu
ra’s (199
7) Social
Learning
Theory (
SLT), Kr
umboltz
(1976)

develope
d the soc
ial learni
ng theor
y of care
er decisi
on-
making (
SLTCD
M) to hel
p explain
why

a person
pursues
a certain
job. The t
heory wa
s later de
veloped i
nto the le
arning th
eory of c
areer

counseli
ng to pro
vide sug
gestions
to career
counselo
rs about
career-
related p
roblems (
Mitchell
& Krumb
oltz, 199
6). Socia
l learning
theory of
career d
ecision-
making a
ims to an
swer thr
ee

question
s:

1. Why
do indivi
duals ent
er partic
ular educ
ational c
ourses o
r occupat
ions?

2. Why
do indivi
duals ch
ange thei
r career
plans?

3. Why
do job pr
eference
s of indiv
iduals ch
ange at
different
points of
their live
s?
55

Social le
arning th
eory of c
areer de
cision-
making i
dentifies
four cate
gories of
factors th
at

influence
the care
er decisi
on-
making o
f an indiv
idual:

1. Gen
etic endo
wment a
nd speci
al abilitie
s. Geneti
cally inh
erited qu
alities, in
cluding

race, gen
der, phy
sical app
earance,
and char
acteristic
s, affect
individu
als’ abili
ty to

gain ben
efits or g
et acces
s to certa
in educat
ional and
occupati
onal opp
ortunities
.

2. Envir
onmental
condition
s and ev
ents. En
vironmen
tal condit
ions and
events, i
ncluding

social, c
ultural, p
olitical, n
atural, a
nd econo
mic force
s, affect
career d
ecisions.

3. Lear
ning exp
eriences.
Social le
arning th
eory of c
areer de
cision-
making a
ssumes t
hat

individu
als’ pers
onalities,
behavior
s, and pr
eference
s are the
results o
f learnin
g

experien
ces (Mitc
hell & Kr
umboltz,
1990). S
ocial lear
ning the
ory reco
gnizes th
e role

of two ty
pes of le
arning: in
strument
al learnin
g and as
sociative
learning.
Instrume
ntal

learning t
akes pla
ce when
an indivi
dual is p
unished
or reinfor
ced for b
ehaviors,
and

associati
ve learni
ng takes
place wh
en an ind
ividual as
sociates l
earning
with prev
ious

experien
ces. The
unique hi
story of i
ndividua
ls’ learni
ng exper
iences in
fluences
their

occupati
onal choi
ce.

4. Task
-
approac
h skills.
Task-
approac
h skills a
re the re
sult of int
eraction
among g
enetic

character
istics, en
vironmen
tal influe
nces, an
d learnin
g experie
nces. Th
ese skills

include p
ersonal s
tandards
of perfor
mance,
work hab
its, and e
motional
response
s.
The maj
or criticis
ms of Kr
umboltz’
s (1976)
theory ar
e that it f
ails to ac
count for
job

change (
Brown, 1
990), an
d the the
ory pays
too much
attention
to career
choice, b
ut not the

career a
djustmen
t process
(Osipow
& Fitzger
ald, 1996
).
56

Constru
ctivist T
heory

During th
e industri
al age, c
areer the
ories hel
ped indiv
iduals un
cover the
ir traits a
nd

abilities
and mat
ch them
with suit
able jobs
. Howev
er, the w
orld of w
ork in th
e post-
industrial

age has
become
more co
mplex, a
nd given
that peop
le may b
e “prepa
red for j
obs that
may not

even exi
st yet, de
velopme
ntal and
postmod
ern pers
pectives
that provi
de young
adults wit
ha

balanced
, compre
hensive,
and mea
ningful pr
ocess for
exploring
and maki
ng sense
of the
intercon
nections
between
identity
and voca
tion see
m most r
elevant”
(Grier-
Reed &
Conkel-

Ziebell, 2
009, p. 2
3). Tradit
ional vie
ws of car
eer devel
opment
and choi
ces are b
eing chal
lenged

by the co
nstructiv
e view of
work. Fo
r constru
ctivists, c
areer de
velopme
nt is a lif
elong,

develop
mental pr
ocess (S
uper, 19
53). The
focus of
career de
velopme
nt is “on
career pa
tterns

over tim
e and on
process r
ather tha
n choice
” (Hanse
n, 1976,
p. 44).

Construc
tivism is
not only
a domina
nt theory
in educat
ion, but a
lso in car
eer theor
y

(Laroche
lle, Bedn
arz, & G
arrison,
1998). C
onstructi
vist theor
y recogni
zes ther
e is no fi
xed

meaning
in the wo
rd. Indivi
duals cre
ate their
own mea
ning of e
xperienc
es. They
interpret
and

create m
eaning of
realities t
hrough t
heir own
unique le
ns; there
fore, ther
e are mu
ltiple real
ities

(Peavy,
1996). P
eople are
self-
organizin
g and me
aning-
makers a
s they co
nstruct th
e world

around t
hem thro
ugh refle
ctive me
aning-
making o
f themsel
ves and t
heir life s
tories. T
hey mak
e

constant
revisions
of these
stories, a
nd these
stories in
fluence t
heir care
er choice
s.

The con
structivis
t approa
ch is abo
ut life pla
nning an
d the se
arch for
meaning
ful work.
To

find mea
ningful w
ork, indiv
iduals m
ust critic
ally refle
ct on the
ir life exp
eriences
. They n
eed to

understa
nd the co
nception
s they ho
ld of thos
e experie
nces as t
hey relat
e to self,
life, and
work

(Peavy,
1996). C
onstructi
vist theor
y empha
sizes the
meaning-
making p
rocess a
nd the pe
rsonal
57

and uniq
ue perce
ptions of
life exper
iences. C
areer co
unselors
help their
clients se
arch for t
hese

meaning
s throug
h story-
telling, n
arrative,
metapho
r, mappi
ng, and
critical re
flection.

Women
’s Leade
rship in
Public
Educati
on

Women
are unde
rreprese
nted in to
p leaders
hip roles
in public
educatio
n in the
U.S.

(Skarla,
1999). W
omen ar
e sixty ti
mes less
likely tha
n men to
advance
from a te
aching p
osition

to the to
p leader
ship role
in a scho
ol district
(Skarla,
1999). Al
though w
omen ar
e well qu
alified

for admin
istrative
positions
, they ca
nnot adv
ance to l
eadershi
p positio
ns due to
the “glas
s

ceiling” (
Scanlon,
1997, p.
39). The
term “gl
ass ceili
ng” (Sca
nlon, 199
7) was fir
st used i
n 1991

as part o
f the Civi
l Rights
Act. Alth
ough the
civil right
s move
ment ai
med to e
liminate
barriers

and discr
imination
against
minoritie
s and wo
men who
attempt t
o advanc
e to lead
ership po
sitions,

these bar
riers and
discrimin
ation still
exist and
have nev
er been
eliminate
d, so the
result ha
s been
a limitati
on of wo
men’s a
dvancem
ent oppo
rtunities
in the tw
enty-first
century.
The

superinte
ndent po
sition, in
particular
, has bee
n the mo
st gende
r-
stratified
executiv
e positio
n in

the U.S.
(Bjork, 2
000). Na
tionally,
only 24 p
ercent of
Public sc
hool sup
erintend
ent positi
ons are

held by f
emales
within th
e United
States (
Glass et
al., 2000
); in Alas
ka, the p
ercentag
e of wom
en

superinte
ndents, 2
0.7, is ev
en lower
(Alaska
Departm
ent of Ed
ucation,
2014).

Historic
al revie
w
To illumi
nate the
phenom
enon of t
he under
represen
tation of
women i
n public
school

leadershi
p positio
ns, a hist
orical re
view of
women’
s roles in
public sc
hool ad
ministrat
ion is

needed. I
n the pas
t, women
had limit
ed acces
s to educ
ational pr
ograms.
Before th
e 1800s,

educatio
n was a
male prof
ession, b
ecause w
omen we
re expect
ed to be
wives an
d mother
s

(Blount,
1998). V
ery few
women,
especiall
y those
who wer
e from th
e upper
and midd
le classe
s,
58

had acce
ss to for
mal publi
c school
s (Blount
, 1998).
The dem
and for w
omen in t
eaching
positions

century
when the
re was a
n increas
ed dema
nd for tea
chers in t
he Unite
d States.

Since the
n, wome
n have in
creasingl
y becom
e teacher
s, and lo
cal board
s of educ
ation hire
d

female te
achers, b
ecause t
hey coul
d pay co
mpensati
on lower
than they
would ha
ve to pay
to men

(Blount,
1998). In
addition,
women t
ook direc
tion mor
e readily
than me
n (Shake
shaft, 19
89).

These ph
enomena
changed
societal p
erception
of teachi
ng positi
ons, whic
h becam
e seen a
s

feminine
and nurt
uring (Bl
ount, 19
98; Shak
eshaft, 1
989).

The shift
from the
demand f
or male t
eachers t
o the em
ployment
of female
teachers

resulted i
n a new j
ob for m
en, calle
d school
administr
ator (Blo
unt, 199
8). Milita
ry and in
dustrial

models,
which we
re used i
n bureau
cratic org
anization
s, were u
sed as m
odels for
school

administr
ators. A
school a
dministra
tor was v
iewed as
a person
with pow
er and a
uthority a
nd was

in charge
of manag
erial duti
es, such
as monit
oring fem
ale teach
ers. Adm
inistrator
s did not
have

to have e
ducation
al experti
se or exp
erience (
Blount, 1
998). Ru
ral distric
ts called
them

superinte
ndents.

The num
ber of wo
men in s
chool lea
dership p
ositions i
n the Uni
ted State
s increas
ed

during t
he wom
en’s mo
vement i
n the lat
e 1800s (
Blount, 1
998). Wo
men wer
e increas
ingly

elected t
o be sup
erintende
nts, a tre
nd that re
sulted in
a campai
gn run by
male sup
erintende
nt

associati
ons to ha
ve superi
ntendent
s appoint
ed rather
than elec
ted. This
develop
ment led
to a

great dec
rease in t
he numb
er of wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s. The nu
mber of
women s
chool

superinte
ndents re
ached th
e lowest l
evel after
World W
ar II, bec
ause the
jobs wer
e reserve
d for

returning
veterans
. In addit
ion, the
G.I. Bill li
mited th
e numbe
r of wom
en admit
ted to

administr
ative trai
ning pro
grams (B
lount, 19
98; Brun
ner, 200
0a).
59

Accordin
g to Glas
s et al. (
2000), th
e Americ
an Asso
ciation of
School A
dministra
tors

reported
that, duri
ng the 1
990s, the
number
of wome
n in publi
c school
educatio
n admini
strative

preparati
on progr
ams grea
tly increa
sed. The
number
of wome
n school
superinte
ndents in
creased

from 6.6
% to 13.
2%. Tod
ay, femal
es hold 2
4 percen
t of publi
c school
superint
endent p
ositions.

Although
the num
ber of wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s has gre
atly incre
ased, the
majority
of

superinte
ndents c
ontinue t
o be mal
e.

Female
Superint
endents

Many stu
dies wer
e conduc
ted to inv
estigate
how wo
men bec
ome sup
erintende
nts

(FeKula
& Robert
s, 2005;
Grogan
& Brunn
er, 2005;
Maienza,
1986; M
cDade &
Drake, 1
982;

Muñoz et
al., 2014)
. These s
tudies illu
minated
aspects
of the un
derrepre
sentation
of wome
n

school s
uperinten
dents. A
study on
why wom
en have
been les
s likely th
an men t
o pursue

superinte
ndent po
sitions re
ported th
at the int
eraction
among f
actors of
gender,
having c
hildren,

and purs
uit of the
superinte
ndency d
id not pr
oduce si
gnificant
results, a
nd family
demands
may

delay, bu
t not pre
vent, pro
fessional
develop
ment of
women (
FeKula
& Robert
s, 2005).

Historical
ly, wome
n have la
cked acc
ess to or
ganizatio
nal netw
orks. A s
tudy on t
he acces
s to

superinte
ndency o
f men an
d women
indicated
that wom
en lacke
d profess
ional net
works, a
nd

their soci
al classe
s have a
strong eff
ect on ac
cess to t
he superi
ntendenc
y (Maien
za, 1986)
.

However
, recent s
tudies sh
owed tha
t not all
women l
ack profe
ssional n
etworks,
and som
e

women k
new how
to take a
dvantage
of these
networks
; for exa
mple, a s
tudy com
paring tw
o

female s
uperinte
ndents' f
irst year’
s challen
ges and
successe
s indicate
the femal
e superin
tendent

knew ho
w to net
work an
d gain b
enefits fr
om profe
ssional n
etworks
(Isernha
gen & B
ulkin, 20
13).
60

The care
er paths
to superi
ntendenc
y of wom
en and
men are
different
(Grogan
& Brunn
er,

2005).
While w
omen’s
career ex
perience
s include
positions
, such as
elementa
ry teache
r, district

coordina
tor, assis
tant supe
rintende
nt, and h
igh scho
ol teache
r, men’s
experien
ces inclu
de

positions
, such as
high sch
ool teach
er, junior
high or m
iddle sch
ool teach
er, assist
ant

superinte
ndent, an
d director
or coordi
nator (Be
ll & Chas
e, 1995).
Women
are repor
ted as

spending
longer ti
mes in te
aching p
ositions
before th
ey beco
me super
intendent
s (Glass
et al.,

2000).

As superi
ntendent
s, wome
n are als
o reporte
d as havi
ng uniqu
e traits a
nd skills.
Women

school su
perintend
ents pos
sess trait
s and skil
ls aligned
to the cur
rent lead
ership th
eories of
the

time (Bjo
rk, 2000)
. Many w
omen ha
ve leade
rship skil
ls aligne
d to femi
ninity, su
ch as

communi
cation, c
ollaborati
on, and r
elationsh
ip buildin
g (Groga
n, 1999;
Schmok
er, 1996)
.

Women
school s
uperinten
dents we
re report
ed as ha
ving ope
n commu
nication
and enco
uraging

supportiv
e environ
ments (B
runner, 2
000a; Gr
ogan, 19
99). The
y spend
more tim
e visiting

classroo
ms than
working
with pap
erwork (
Brunner,
2000b).
They wer
e also re
ported a
s spendi
ng

more tim
e with pe
ers and
being mo
re effecti
ve chang
e agents
(Brunner
, 2000b).
Women
school

superinte
ndents vi
ew super
intenden
cy as an i
nstructio
nal leade
rship pos
ition, bec
ause the
y were

teachers
and spen
t more ye
ars in the
classroo
m prior t
o obtaini
ng an ad
ministrati
ve positi
on

(Snyder
& Hoffm
an, 2002
).

Women s
chool su
perintend
ents toda
y face m
any chall
enges. R
ecently, t
here has
been a

high dem
and for s
uperinten
dents wh
o can per
form mor
e than ju
st a man
agerial ro
le (Groga
n,

2003) an
d can wo
rk irregul
ar hours,
which m
ay cause
marital pr
oblems.
Time de
mands h
ave

been one
of the gr
eat chall
enges of
the super
intendent
position.
There wa
s eviden
ce of con
flict
61

between
job and f
amily co
mmitmen
t. A surv
ey of sup
erintend
ents who
divorced
cited one
reason

for their
divorces
was lack
of suppo
rt from th
eir spous
es (Grog
an & Bru
nner, 20
05).

Time de
mands ar
e not the
only pres
sure ass
ociated
with sup
erintende
ncy. Wo
men sch
ool

superinte
ndents fa
ce confli
ct with re
gard to t
he expec
tation of t
heir femi
nine role
of caring
about

staff and
students
(Nodding
s, 2002).
A survey
of 2,232
women s
chool su
perintend
ents repo
rted

that the c
onflict of
caregivin
g roles,
work pre
ssure, an
d time de
mands w
ere amo
ng their

challeng
es (Glas
s et al., 2
000).

Besides
their ma
ny roles,
the confli
ct betwe
en job a
nd family
commitm
ent, and
time

demands
, women
school s
uperinten
dents fac
e many b
arriers th
at exist i
n society
.

Superint
endency
has been
“the mos
t male-
dominate
d executi
ve positi
on of any
professio
n in the

United S
tates” (G
lass et al
., 2000, p
. 17). Sin
ce the w
omen’s r
ights mo
vement,
women
continue

to be und
errepres
ented in t
his positi
on for se
veral rea
sons, suc
h as gen
der stere
otyping a
nd the

conflict b
etween c
areer an
d family.

Barriers

“The situ
ation fac
ed by wo
men publ
ic school
superinte
ndents r
emains g
rossly in
equitable
,

and succ
ess for th
e women
who are
successf
ul comes
at a stag
geringly
high cos
t” (Skrla,
Scott,

& Benest
ante, 200
1, p. 127
). Wome
n face ch
allenges
on their p
ath to su
perintend
ency (Sk
rla et

al., 2001)
. There a
re many t
ypes of b
arriers th
ey encou
nter. Gen
der biase
s are exp
ected as
they

work in a
male-
dominate
d profess
ion (Brun
ner, 200
0a). Ster
eotyping
is preval
ent in the

relations
hip of wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s to their
subordin
ates, coll
eagues,
peers, an
d board

(Witmer,
2006). T
here was
a report
of prejudi
cial gend
er stereo
typing by
school b
oard me
mbers

in a stud
y conduc
ted by T
allerico (
2000). In
this stud
y, female
candidat
es gave
example
s of
62

prejudici
al gender
stereotyp
ing, such
as the sc
hool distr
ict was n
ot ready f
or a wom
an becau
se of

their cust
om of dri
nking alc
ohol toge
ther after
board m
eetings.
Another
example
was the

question
s asked
by board
members
, which s
howed th
eir conce
rns about
issues no
t related t
o the

compete
ncies of t
he superi
ntendent
position,
such as
childcare
arrange
ments (T
allerico,
2000).

Men and
women h
ave been
reported
as havin
g differen
t perspec
tives abo
ut wome
n’s

barriers i
n pursuin
g their le
adership
careers.
While wo
men beli
eve they
are facin
g many b
arriers

in their le
adership
path, me
n disagre
e with thi
s belief.
There is
evidence
of a diffe
rent

perspecti
ve on wh
ether wo
men face
sex discr
imination
in advan
cing their
career in

administr
ative pos
itions. In
a survey
asking s
uperinte
ndents to
rate the
barriers t
hat limit

administr
ative opp
ortunities
for wome
n, the re
sults sho
wed that
the majo
rity of ma
le

superinte
ndents di
d not beli
eve discr
iminatory
practices
were a fa
ctor limi
ting wo
men’s

opportun
ities to p
ursue ad
ministrati
ve positi
ons, whil
e women
school s
uperinte
ndents b
elieved

discrimin
atory pra
ctices we
re a fact
or (Glass
et al., 20
00).

Accordin
g to wom
en schoo
l superin
tendents
’ perspec
tives, ot
her barri
ers were
also rate
d

in the foll
owing or
der (Gla
ss et al.,
2000):

1. Lack
of mobili
ty of fam
ily mem
bers – 8
8.1%

2. Perc
eption of
school b
oard me
mbers th
at wome
n are not
strong m
anagers
– 81.6%

3. Perc
eption of
school b
oard me
mbers th
at wome
n are not
qualified
for budg
eting and
finance
work – 7
6.9%

4. Perc
eption th
at wome
n will allo
w their e
motions t
o influen
ce admin
istrative
decision
s–

71.9%

5. Scho
ol boards
do not ac
tively rec
ruit wom
en – 71.
4%

6. Lack
of mento
rs / ment
oring in s
chool dis
tricts – 6
6.2%
63

7. Lack
of profes
sional ne
tworks –
66.1%

8. Mid-
manage
ment car
eer glass
ceiling –
62.8%

9. The
nature of
superint
endent’s
work ma
kes it an
unattract
ive caree
r choice
– 57.8%

10. Lack
of opport
unities to
gain key
experien
ces prior
to pursui
ng the su
perinten
dency –

54.5%

There is
evidence
that wor
k-family
conflict li
mits wo
men in p
ursuing
an admi
nistrative

career (L
ee, 2000
). Accord
ing to Le
e (2000),
a survey
of all wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s in
Virginia r
eported t
hat 73.7
percent
of the su
perinten
dents ind
icated co
nflicting
demands
of

career a
nd family
were the
primary
barrier.
Unlike w
omen sc
hool sup
erintend
ents in V
irginia,

69.6 per
cent of w
omen sc
hool sup
erintend
ents in Ill
inois, Ind
iana, and
Texas di
d not feel
their

spouse’s
position
or childr
en were
a barrier
to their l
eadershi
p path (S
harp, Ma
lone, Wa
lter, &

Supley, 2
004). Ho
wever, th
ese supe
rintenden
ts did not
have sch
ool-aged
children
at the tim
e of

the surve
y.

Summa
ry
This cha
pter cove
red the f
oundatio
nal literat
ure that i
nforms t
he curre
nt study,
including

theories
about lea
dership, l
eadershi
p develo
pment, a
dult learn
ing, care
er develo
pment, a
nd

women’
s leaders
hip, as w
ell as a lit
erature r
eview an
d empiric
al studie
s about
women s
chool

superinte
ndents.

Leaders
hip theor
ies infor
med the
research
er about
leaders’
traits, sty
les, and
behavior
s.

There ar
e two ap
proaches
to viewin
g leaders
hip: a her
oic leade
rship app
roach in
which th
e focus

is on one
leader an
d a post-
heroic ap
proach in
which th
e focus i
s on the
collabora
tive effort
s of

stakehol
ders (Od
uro, 200
4). Furth
ermore, l
eadershi
p can be
develope
d. “Lead
ership

develop
ment is vi
ewed as
an expan
sion of a
person’s
capacity
to be eff
ective in
leadershi
p roles
64

and proc
esses” (
McCaule
y et al., 2
010, p. 2
). Althou
gh leade
rship the
ories and
literature
on

leadershi
p develo
pment pr
ovide us
eful infor
mation, t
hey do n
ot provid
e insight
s on how
one

becomes
a leader.
While the
leadershi
p develo
pment lit
erature f
ocuses o
n the dev
elopment
of

leadershi
p compet
encies, c
areer de
velopme
nt literatu
re provid
es richer
informati
on on

occupati
onal path
s and ch
oices.

In the se
arch for h
ow one l
earns to
be a lead
er, adult t
heories a
nd career
develop
ment

theories
were exp
lored. Th
e literatur
e reveals
that curr
ent views
of both a
dult learn
ing and c
areer

develop
ment are
congrue
nt. Both
are movi
ng towar
d a const
ructivist
view and
pay atten
tion to

the uniq
ue reflec
tive mea
ning-
making
of an ind
ividual (
Allen, 20
07; Laro
chelle et
al., 1998
).

The cons
tructivist
view of a
dult learn
ing and c
areer de
velopme
nt recog
nizes the
re are m
ultiple

realities
and peop
le are me
aning-
makers.
People in
terpret a
nd constr
uct mean
ing from t
heir

experien
ces. The
meaning
that one
construc
ts guides
one’s act
ions, par
ticularly
in career
choice

and dev
elopmen
t (Peavy,
1996). A
well-
known c
onstructi
vist theo
ry is Me
zirow’s (
1978)

transfor
mative le
arning th
eory. Me
zirow (19
78) provi
ded a co
mprehen
sive fram
ework us
ed as a

framewo
rk in this
study. It
helps ex
plain the
learning
or meani
ng-
making p
rocess of
adults.

Career d
evelopm
ent theori
es shed li
ght on ca
reer path
s and ch
oices. Ca
reer choi
ce can re
sult

from a m
atch bet
ween per
sonal ch
aracterist
ics and j
ob requir
ement (P
arsons, 1
909) or w
ork

environ
ment (H
olland, 1
985), or
a produc
t of learn
ing expe
riences (
Krumbolt
z et al., 1
976;

Peavy, 1
996; Sup
er, 1990)
. Among
these car
eer deve
lopment
theories,
Super’s (
1953) m
odel

provides
a compre
hensive li
st of care
er develo
pmental
stages u
sed to in
vestigate
the caree
r

develop
ment of
women s
chool su
perinten
dents in t
his study
.

Literatur
e on wo
men’s le
adership
reveals
women
are unde
rreprese
nted in to
p leaders
hip

roles in p
ublic edu
cation in
the U.S.
(Skarla,
1999), a
nd superi
ntendenc
y is the
most mal
e-
65

dominat
ed execu
tive posit
ion of an
y profess
ion in the
United S
tates (Bj
ork, 200
0; Dobie
&

Hummel,
2001; Sk
rla et al.,
2000; Sk
rla, 2000
a; Skrla,
2000b). I
n light of
underrep
resentati
on of

women i
n the sup
erintende
ncy, man
y studies
have bee
n conduc
ted to inv
estigate
how wo
men

become
superinte
ndents (
FeKula &
Roberts,
2005; Gr
ogan & B
runner, 2
005; Mai
enza, 19
86;

McDade
& Drake,
1982; M
uñoz et a
l., 2014).
These st
udies pa
y attentio
n to the
external f
orces
that influ
ence car
eer decis
ion-
making o
f female l
eaders, b
ut not the
learning
process
of their

career-
relevant
experien
ces.

Given th
e precedi
ng revie
w of the l
iterature
and curr
ent resea
rch, the n
ext chapt
er

reviews t
he metho
ds used t
o explor
e wome
n school
superint
endents’
meaning
-making
of their

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s. Chapt
er three
discusse
s the res
earch me
thodolog
y,

populatio
n, and d
ata colle
ction and
analysis,
as well a
s limitati
ons and
ethical g
uidelines
.
66

CHAPT
ER 3: A
QUALI
TATIVE
INQUIR
Y

The prim
ary rese
arch que
stion of t
his study
is: How d
o women
school s
uperinte
ndents

make me
aning of t
heir lead
ership de
velopme
nt experi
ences?
Given th
e decisio
n to inve
stigate

this ques
tion by u
sing Mez
irow’s (1
978) tra
nsformat
ive learn
ing theor
y as a fr
amewor
k to

uncover
meaning-
making
of wome
n superi
ntendent
s’ leader
ship dev
elopmen
t experie
nces in

terms of
Super’s (
1957, 19
90) four
stages of
growth, e
xploratio
n, establi
shment,
and

maintena
nce, the
purpose
of this ch
apter is t
o describ
e the det
ails of th
e proces
ses used
in this

study.

The first
section d
eals with
research
methodol
ogy and
explains
the ration
ale for us
ing a

qualitativ
e researc
h design
and, spe
cifically,
a narrativ
e approa
ch. The n
ext secti
on descri
bes the

research
er’s role
and how
it might
affect th
e researc
h. Subse
quent se
ctions de
scribe th
e sample

design; t
he proce
ss of dat
a collecti
on; the pr
ocess of
data anal
ysis; and
consider
ations of
data
storage,
protectio
n, and re
tention. T
he final s
ection of
this chap
ter is a di
scussion
of the

trustwort
hiness of
the study
.

Researc
h Metho
dology

This res
earch ai
ms to un
derstand
women s
chool su
perinten
dents’ m
eaning-
making o
n

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s throug
h the len
s of a co
nstructivi
st frame
work, wh
ich

honors m
ultiple re
alities co
nstructed
through li
fe experi
ences. T
he resea
rcher use
d a qualit
ative

research
design a
nd a narr
ative res
earch tra
dition to
capture t
hese exp
eriences
and the
meaning-

making p
rocess.
67

Qualitati
ve Rese
arch De
sign

The key
character
istics of q
ualitative
research
are: (a) t
he resear
cher see
ks to und
erstand

how peo
ple make
sense of
their exp
eriences;
(b) the re
searcher
is the pri
mary inst
rument o
f data

collectio
n; (c) the
process i
s inducti
ve; and (
d) the fin
al produ
ct is richl
y descrip
tive (Mer
riam,

2002).

A qualitat
ive resea
rcher atte
mpts to u
nderstan
d and ma
ke sense
of pheno
mena fro
m the

participa
nt’s pers
pective (
Merriam,
2002). Si
nce this
study se
eks to un
cover an
d to desc
ribe the

meaning
women s
chool su
perintend
ents give
to their e
xperienc
es and d
evelopm
ental pro
cesses

in their li
ves, the
study is i
nterpreti
ve and d
escriptiv
e by natu
re. There
fore, a q
ualitative
research

design is
appropri
ate for th
is study.

Narrativ
e Resea
rch Trad
ition

A narrati
ve study
is a stud
y of “the
ways hu
mans ex
perience
the worl
d” (Clan
dinin &

Connelly
, 1990, p
. 2). It giv
es resea
rchers in
sights int
o the ph
enomen
on (Cres
well, 201
2).

Creswell
(2012) n
oted, “F
or educa
tors look
ing for p
ersonal e
xperienc
es in act
ual scho
ol setting
s,

narrative
research
offers pr
actical, s
pecific in
sights” (
p. 502).
The focu
s of narr
ative res
earch ca
n

be on th
e experie
nces of o
ne or mo
re individ
uals. Sin
ce there
were thirt
een pote
ntial parti
cipants

in the sta
te of Ala
ska, five
subjects
were cho
sen for t
his study
.

In an edu
cational r
esearch
effort, a
narrative
study is
used to e
xplore th
e experie
nces of

an indivi
dual; the
narrative
design w
as most
suitable f
or this st
udy beca
use it all
owed the
research
er to expl
ore leade
rship dev
elopment
and the l
earning p
rocess d
uring lea
dership

develop
ment as
experien
ced by w
omen su
perintend
ents.
68

Narrative
research
comprise
s many p
rocedure
s, includi
ng gathe
ring data
through t
he

collectio
n of indi
viduals’
stories, r
eporting
their exp
eriences,
and chro
nological
ly orderin
g the

meaning
of those
experien
ces (Cre
swell, 20
13). Ther
e is a wid
e variety
of narrati
ve appro
aches.

The well-
known a
pproach
es are br
iefly des
cribed be
low.

a) A bio
graphical
approac
h is a nar
rative stu
dy in whi
ch the re
searcher
writes an
d

records i
ndividua
ls’ life e
xperienc
es.
b) An a
utoethno
graphy a
pproach i
s one in
which th
e subject
of the stu
dy writes
or

records h
er own e
xperienc
es.

c) A lif
e history
approac
h explor
es an ind
ividual’s
entire lif
e in mult
iple epis
odes.

d) An or
al history
approach
gathers p
ersonal r
eflection
s of even
ts from o
ne or sev
eral

individua
ls.

Although
there are
many nar
rative ap
proaches
, their diff
erent ele
ments ca
n be com
bined

(Creswel
l, 2013),
and the
combinat
ion can c
over the
entire liv
es of indi
viduals o
r specific
life
events (
Lieblich,
Tuval-
Mashiac
h, & Zilb
er, 1998)
. This stu
dy uses
an oral h
istory ap
proach t
o

gather p
ersonal r
eflection
s of even
ts, in this
case, lea
dership d
evelopm
ent exper
iences.

The mod
el develo
ped by Li
eblich et
al. (1998
) is used
in data a
nalysis.
The mod
el

suggests
four type
s of narr
ative ana
lysis.

1) Holis
tic-
Content f
ocuses o
n the con
tent deriv
ed from t
he entire
narrative
.

2) Cate
gorical-
Content f
ocuses o
n specifi
c content
themes
within th
e narrati
ve.

3) Holis
tic-Form
focuses
on plots
or the str
uctural c
ompone
nts of the
entire na
rrative.

4) Cate
gorical-
Form foc
uses on
specific f
orms of li
nguistics
, such as
metapho
rs used i
n

discrete
sections
of the na
rrative.
69

This stud
y employ
s Catego
rical-
Content t
o focus o
n specifi
c content
themes
within th
e

narrative
.

Researc
her’s R
ole

The rese
archer pl
ays an i
mportant
role in qu
alitative r
esearch
methodol
ogy beca
use the

research
er is the
primary
data gat
herer (Li
ncoln &
Guba, 19
85). Cres
well (201
3) noted
the

research
er is a “k
ey instru
ment” (p
.45). In h
is words,

The quali
tative res
earchers
collect d
ata them
selves th
rough ex
amining
documen
ts,
observin
g behavi
or, and i
nterviewi
ng partici
pants. T
hey may
use an in
strument
,

but it is o
ne desig
ned by th
e researc
her using
open-
ended qu
estions.
They do
not tend t
o

use or rel
y on que
stionnair
es or inst
ruments
develope
d by othe
r researc
hers. (p.
45)

Since a r
esearche
r is a pri
mary dat
a collect
or, devel
oping a b
ond with
the partic
ipant bec
omes an

inevitabl
e task. F
or this st
udy, the
research
er did “e
stablish
a close b
ond with
the parti
cipants”

(Creswel
l, 2012, p
. 502).
With the
reseache
r’s back
ground i
n educati
on and h
er experi
ences fro
m

her profe
ssional r
ole as in
structor i
n many e
ducation
al instituti
ons, the r
esearche
r could re
late to

the parti
cipants’
stories, e
stablish
credibilit
y with p
articipan
ts, and u
nderstan
d the co
ntext wh
en

interpreti
ng data.
The rese
archer inf
ormed p
articipant
s of her b
ackgroun
d and intr
oduced h
erself

as a fem
ale in the
educatio
n field be
fore the i
nterview.

Collabor
ation bet
ween res
earcher
and parti
cipants i
s also cri
tical in c
ollecting
and

analyzin
g narrati
ve data (
Creswell,
2012). T
he resea
rcher acti
vely colla
borated
with parti
cipants

and care
fully liste
ned to th
eir storie
s not onl
y hoping
to make t
hem feel
their stori
es were

importan
t and the
y were b
eing hea
rd (Cres
well, 201
2), but al
so to wor
k with th
e particip
ants to

reduce t
he gap b
etween t
he storie
s told an
d the nar
rative re
ported (
Clandini
n & Con
nelly, 20
00).
70

The rese
archer co
llaborate
d with th
e particip
ants thro
ughout th
e proces
s of rese
arch fro
m

“formula
ting the
central p
henome
non to d
eciding
which ty
pes of fi
eld texts
will yiel
d helpful

informat
ion to wr
iting the
final rest
ored stor
y of indi
vidual e
xerience
s” (Cres
well, 20
12, p. 51
2).

Although
bonding
and colla
borating
with parti
cipants a
re essent
ial in qua
litative re
search,

the resea
rcher nee
ded to be
cautious
about the
authentic
ity of the
data. Dat
a distorti
on may o
ccur
when the
participa
nts do no
t tell the r
eal story
for one o
r more re
asons su
ch as fea
r of tellin
g the

true stor
y or simp
ly becau
se of me
mory err
ors (Cres
well, 201
2). The r
esearche
r’s goal
was to

uncover
stories to
ld, but th
e resear
cher had
to be car
eful abou
t the pos
sibility of
data dist
ortion.

To establ
ish a rela
tionship
with parti
cipants,
so they p
rovided a
uthentic
and truth
ful respo
nses,

the rese
archer s
et up an i
nitial fifte
en-
minute in
terview p
rior to th
e actual i
nterview
to have a

casual c
onversati
on with e
ach parti
cipant. D
uring the
initial int
erview, t
he resea
rcher ex
plained

participa
nts’ righ
t to refus
e to ans
wer ques
tions dur
ing the a
ctual int
erview, t
he right t
o withdr
aw

at any ti
me durin
g the stu
dy, and t
he anon
ymity of t
heir iden
tities; an
d inform
ed partici
pants

about the
usefulne
ss of the
research
findings t
o other w
omen wh
o want to
step up t
o leaders
hip

position.

Sample
Design

When de
signing s
ampling
approach
es, a res
earcher
must rem
ember, u
nlike qua
ntitative

research,
qualitativ
e researc
h normall
y studies
a few indi
viduals o
r a few c
ases, be
cause th
e

purpose
of a quali
tative res
earch is t
o gain an
in-depth
picture of
each indi
vidual or
site

(Creswel
l, 2012).
The inte
ntion is
“not to g
eneralize
to a pop
ulation,
but to de
velop an
in-depth

explorati
on of a c
entral ph
enomen
on” (Cre
swell, 20
12, p. 20
6). Samp
ling appr
oaches b
etween

quantiati
ve and q
ualitative
research
are differ
ent in the
sense th
at quantit
ative sa
mpling

approach
es focus
on rando
m sampli
ng, selec
ting repr
esentativ
e individ
uals, and
generaliz
ing to
71

populatio
n, while
qualitativ
e sampli
ng appro
aches fo
cus on u
nderstan
ding insi
ghts and
learning

from indi
viduals (
Creswell
, 2012).
Accordin
gly, purp
oseful sa
mpling w
as used
and the
number

of partici
pants wa
s small t
o gain in
sights int
o the ph
enomen
a under i
nvestigat
ion.

Particip
ants

There ar
e two typ
es of sa
mpling:
probabili
ty and n
onproba
bility (Me
rriam, 20
09). Whil
e

probabilit
y sampli
ng emplo
ys rando
mizing te
chniques
to gener
alize the
results to
the large
r
populatio
n, nonpr
obability
sampling
employs
purposef
ul sampli
ng techni
ques to s
elect

participa
nts who
are “info
rmation
rich” (Pa
tton, 199
0, p. 169
).

The sam
pling tec
hnique to
use in th
e study d
epends o
n the res
earch pro
blem and

question
s of the s
tudy (Cre
swell, 20
12). Sinc
e this stu
dy aims t
o unders
tand me
aning-
making o
f

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s of wom
en schoo
l superint
endents i
n the stat
e of Alas
ka, a

nonprob
ability sa
mpling a
nd purpo
sive sam
pling wer
e most s
uitable a
s they all
owed the
research
er to gain
insights
and learn
about the
phenome
non. The
populatio
n being s
tudied

comprise
d women
school s
uperinte
ndents in
the state
of Alaska
. The ma
in criterio
n for the

sampling
was the
participa
nt was fe
male and
was curr
ently a s
uperinten
dent in a
public sc
hool

system i
n Alaska.
These w
omen lea
ders, fro
m small-
midsize
school di
stricts fro
m the re
mote

geograp
hic regio
n of U.S
(Alaska),
differ fro
m main-
land US
state Su
perinten
dents, be
cause

Alaska h
as a mor
e "frontie
r" and "in
depende
nt" natur
e.
Given thi
s descrip
tion of th
e particip
ants and
the purp
oseful sa
mpling cr
iteria, the
next

section d
escribes
the proce
ss the re
searcher
used to s
olicit volu
nteers for
this study
.
72

Sample
Size

The num
ber of pa
rticipants
for qualit
ative stu
dies is g
enerally
much sm
aller than
that of

quantitati
ve studie
s becaus
e the pur
pose of q
ualitative
research
is not to
generaliz
e the res
ults

(Ritchie,
Lewis, &
Elam, 20
03). Coll
ecting an
d analyzi
ng qualit
ative dat
a is a lab
or-
intensive

task. Usi
ng a larg
e sample
in qualita
tive stud
y is time
consumi
ng, costl
y, and im
practical.
In

determini
ng sampl
e sizes, s
ome sch
olars pro
vided gui
delines f
or the sa
mple siz
e (Bertau
x, 1981;
Creswell,
2013; M
orse, 19
94; Polki
nghorne,
1989). Si
nce the p
otential p
articipant
s of this
study

were thirt
een, the
sample s
ize of thi
s study w
as five, d
ependent
on the nu
mber of
women s
chool

superinte
ndents w
ho met th
e criteria
describe
d in the r
ecruitme
nt proces
s.

Data Co
llection

In a data
collectio
n proces
s, a rese
archer s
hould ide
ntify the t
ypes of d
ata that
will

address r
esearch
question
s. The ai
m of the r
esearch
question
of this st
udy was t
o explore

leadershi
p journe
ys of wo
men sch
ool supe
rintende
nts. Spec
ifically, t
his study
uses Me
zirow’s

(1978) tr
ansform
ative lear
ning theo
ry as a fr
amework
to uncov
er meani
ng-
making o
f leaders
hip

develop
ment exp
eriences
in four st
ages of t
he partici
pants’ lif
e spans,
includin
g the gro
wth,

explorati
on, estab
lishment,
and main
tenance
stages (S
uper, 195
7, 1990).
The narr
ative desi
gn

was mos
t suitable
for this st
udy as it
allowed t
he resea
rcher to
gather p
ersonal r
eflection
s of

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s. With t
his in mi
nd, the in
terview
method
was use
d to colle
ct

narrative
data. Sin
ce an int
erview of
underrep
resented
women s
chool su
perintend
ents may

comprise
sensitive
question
s, data di
stortion
may occ
ur when t
he partici
pants fea
r to tell th
e true

story (Cr
eswell, 2
012). To
help alle
viate this
problem,
this stud
y used o
nly a per
sonal int
erview,

not a foc
us group
interview
.
73

Recruit
ment an
d Acces
s

The rese
archer a
pplied to
the North
eastern
Universit
y Instituti
onal Rev
iew Boar
d for

permissi
on to stu
dy wome
n school
superinte
ndents u
sing prop
er protoc
ols for pr
otection
of

human s
ubjects.
Once ap
proved, a
pool of p
otential c
andidate
s for inter
view was
created u
sing

the follo
wing crit
eria:

The pot
ential p
articipa
nt is fe
male.

The pot
ential p
articipa
nt is cur
rently a
superint
endent i
n a publ
ic scho
olstem in

Alaska.

The rese
archer ch
ecked th
e educati
onal and
professio
nal back
ground o
f the parti
cipants

through t
he schoo
l district
website
before th
e actual i
nterview
to ensure
the accur
acy of th
e

informati
on. The i
nvitation
email (A
ppendix
A), acco
mpanied
by the in
formed c
onsent f
orm

(Append
ix B), w
hich exp
lained th
e partici
pant’s ri
ght to re
fuse to p
articipat
e or with
draw at
any

time duri
ng the st
udy, was
sent to th
e potenti
al partici
pants.

After the
potential
participa
nts respo
nded to t
he invitat
ion email
and agre
ed to par
ticipate

in the stu
dy, the r
esearche
r conduct
ed a fifte
en-
minute in
itial inter
view via t
elephone
with eac
h

potential
participa
nt to ens
ure that t
he partici
pant und
erstood t
he resea
rch proce
dure. Th
e

research
er explai
ned an o
verview
of the st
udy, veri
fied parti
cipants’
qualifica
tions to
be inclu
ded

in the stu
dy, clarifi
ed the int
erview pr
ocess, o
btained t
he conse
nt form,
verified t
hat the

candidat
e did not
have diffi
culties ar
ticulating
her expe
riences,
and set i
nterview
dates.
Pilot
A pilot te
st is an i
mportant
part of in
terview p
reparatio
n (Turne
r, 2010).
The pilot

interview
helps the
research
er identif
y flaws, li
mitations
, and we
aknesse
s in the i
nterview
design.

In the pil
ot proces
s, the res
earcher t
ested the
interview
protocol
with a fe
male coll
eague. T
he
74

interview
protocol f
ollowed t
he same
process
as the ac
tual rese
arch inte
rviews. T
he pilot

interview
assisted
the resea
rcher in d
eterminin
g the tim
e needed
for each
participa
nt, tested
the

interview
question
s, tested
the recor
ding devi
ce, assist
ed the re
searcher
in prepari
ng for th
e real

interview
, and veri
fied the a
ccuracy
and clarit
y of the i
nterview
question
s. The re
searcher

reviewed
and refin
ed the int
erview q
uestions
after the
pilot test.
Individu
al Interv
iew

The inter
view met
hod was
best suit
ed for thi
s researc
h inquiry
and was
the main
method

of data c
ollection
because
it allowe
d the res
earcher t
o captur
e what w
as on the
participa
nts’

minds an
d becaus
e it enabl
ed acces
s to phen
omena th
at could
not be ob
served, s
uch as th
oughts,

feelings,
intention
s, perspe
ctives, ex
perience
s, and m
eanings (
Patton, 1
990). An
interview

method
does not
involve o
nly the d
esign of i
nterview
question
s. It also
involves
many

procedur
es, inclu
ding iden
tifying int
erviewee
s who ca
n best an
swer the
question
s, deter
mining

which ty
pe of int
erview is
practical
(telepho
ne, focus
group, or
one-on-
one inter
view),

establish
ing a rec
ording pr
ocedure,
and desi
gning the
interview
protocol
(Creswel
l, 2013).
In

addition t
o these i
nterview
processe
s, when
conducti
ng an int
erview, t
he resea
rcher sho
uld also

pay atten
tion to th
e three le
vels of lis
tening. T
he resea
rcher sho
uld listen
to what i
s being s
aid, as

well as t
he “inne
r voice”
of the pa
rticipant
s. The re
searcher
should a
lso filter
out ungu
arded
response
s that are
irrelevant
, remain
aware of
the overa
ll intervie
w proces
s, and be
sensitive
to

nonverba
l cues (S
eidman,
2006).

Dependi
ng on the
availabilit
y and pre
ference o
f particip
ants, the
research
er set the
date

for a one
-on-one,
40-60 mi
nute inte
rview eit
her in-
person o
r via vide
o confer
ence. Th
e
75

research
er used
Google H
angouts
as a vide
o confere
nce meth
od. As sh
own in T
able 3, th
e

intervie
w format
s were d
etermine
d based
on partic
ipants’ p
referenc
e.

Table 3

Intervie
w Forma
t

P I

L
M

C
M

Before c
onductin
g the inte
rview, th
e researc
her remi
nded the
participa
nts about
the

statemen
t on reco
rding the
interview
in the co
nsent for
m and as
ked the i
ndividual
for permi
ssion

to record
the inter
view digi
tally via
an appli
cation o
n the res
earcher’
s cell ph
one. The
research
er

also remi
nded par
ticipants
that they
could ma
ke a requ
est to sto
p the inte
rview at
any time.

Interview
question
s can be
structure
d and un
structure
d (Merria
m, 2009)
. While a

structure
d intervie
w compri
ses pred
etermine
d questio
ns and le
aves littl
e room f
or the

responde
nts to de
viate fro
m the an
swers, a
n unstruc
tured inte
rview co
mprises
open-
ended

question
s becaus
e the res
earcher d
oes not k
now eno
ugh abou
t the phe
nomenon
to ask go
od

question
s (Merria
m, 2009)
. The int
erview q
uestions
in this st
udy were
semi-
structure
d and

guided b
y Meziro
w’s (197
8) transf
ormative
learning
theory a
nd Super
’s (1957)
career

develop
ment the
ory.

The inter
view que
stions ai
med to a
nswer th
e main re
search q
uestion:
How do
women
76

school s
uperinten
dents ma
ke meani
ng of thei
r leaders
hip devel
opment e
xperienc
es?

The inter
view que
stions so
ught to el
icit mean
ing-
making o
f leaders
hip devel
opment
experien
ces

of wome
n school
superinte
ndents.
Table 4 s
hows the
alignmen
t of the in
terview q
uestions
to

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s that ma
y occur i
n each c
areer dev
elopment
al stage.

Table 4

Alignme
nt of the
Interview
Question
s to Lead
ership D
evelopm
ent Expe
riences
Intervie
w Quest
ions to
obtain
meaning
-making
on each
leadersh
ip devel
opment
experien
ces
Part 1:
Growth
Stage (B
irth to A
ge 14)
Charact
eristics:
Develop
ment of
self-
concept
of who o
ne want
s to be
FWhen
ayou w
nere a c
t hild ab
aout 10
syears
yold or
(
A
g
e
4
-
1
0
)
N
e
e
d
s
a
r
e
a
y

leadershi
p?
I -12) B
nasis fo
tr
e
r
e
s
t
2)Tk whe
hn you
i were a
nbout 1
1 or 12
c y
a e
r a
e r
e s
r ol
c d
h .
o W
ic h
e a
is t
b w
a a
s s
e y
d o
o u
n r
li u
k n
e d
s e
a r
n st
d a
n
di
n
g

3) What
was your
dream jo
b? Why?
Ca you w
paere ab
out 13
cit
y
Ag
e
3-
14)
Co
nn
ect
ion
s
a e
r
m
a
d
e
b
e
t
w
e
e
n
 d
s i
d
y
o
u
l
i
k
e
t
o
d
o
?
W
h
a
t
w
e
r
e
y
o
u
g
o
o
d
a
t

5) What
were the
leadershi
p qualitie
s (if any)
that you
gained fr
om these
activities
?
Part 2: E
xplorati
on Stag
e (Age 1
4-24)
Charact
eristics:
Develop
ment of r
ealistic s
elf-
concept,
self-
examinat
ion, and
explorati
on of
careers
TeWhen
ntyou w
atiere ab
veout 15
(A
ge
15
-
17
)
T
en
tat
iv
e
ch w
oi e
ce r
s e
ar y
e o
m u
a r
d c
e a
a r
n e
d
tri
e
d
o
ut
vi
a,
forDescri
exbe key
amexperi
pleences
, cfrom s
ourchool
se
wo
rk
an
d
art-

work ass
ociated
with your
leadershi
p and
may hav
e led you
to your d
ecision t
o pursue
a leaders
hip positi
on.

ystal
8 u were
lizati
) about
on18
Age
18-
21)
y
spe Did yo
cifiu have
c any ca
hoireer pl
ces ans?
; fie
Did yo
ld u
f tr
aini
ng
s

10) Wha
t was the
field or ar
ea study
you chos
e?
77

Did you
engage i
n any typ
es of car
eer
training?
Describe
the key e
xperienc
es from
the care
er trainin
g or edu
cation in
relation t
o
leadershi
p.
S the fir
st job
An th
ap at
pr m
op ad
ria e y
te ou
jo fe
b el i
ha t c
s oul
be d
en be
fo yo
un ur
d, po
a te
nti
al
f l
i i
f
e
w
o
r
k
?
D
i
d
e
x
p
e
r
i
e
n
c
ew your le
o adersh
ip qual
ities?
Part 3: E
stablish
ment St
age (Ag
e 25-43)
Charact
eristics:
The indiv
idual has
found a
permane
nt and a
ppropriat
e field of
work.
T
old,
did
s your c
et areer g
tl oals an
e d plans
s ?
d
o
w
n
a
n
d
m
a
k
e
s
u
s
e
of
th
ei
r
D
nd plans.
A W
d h
v at
a w
n a
c s
e y
m o
e ur
n jo
t b
( w
A h
g e
e n
y
3 o
1 u
- w
4 er
3 e
) a
E b
f o
f ut
o
r
t
s

3
w
your deci
sion to p
ursue a l
eadershi
p
position?
15) From
the reflec
tion on y
our care
er
develop
ment tod
ay, when
did think
you
started s
eeing yo
urself as
a leader?
16) Whe
n did you
start your
career as
a
superinte
ndent?
Part 4:
Mainten
ance St
age (Ag
e 44-59)
Charact
eristics:
The indiv
idual alre
ady has
a suitabl
e career.
The conc
ern is ho
w to hold
on to
it.
Cfeels
like to
be a
co su
nc pe
er rin
ne te
d nd
ab en
ou t?
t Pl
m ea
ai se
nt us
ai e
ni a
ng m
pr et
es ap
en ho
t rt
o

w
o
18) Can
you desc
ribe what
it feels lik
e to be a
female su
perintend
ent? Plea
se use a
metapho
r to desc
ribe your
feeling.
19) Look
ahead 5-
10 years
from no
w. If
someone
wrote ab
out you,
what wo
uld the
headline
be?
20) What
advice d
o you ha
ve for wo
men who
want to b
ecome s
uperinten
dents? W
hy do
you want
to give th
em such
advice?

Once the
interview
s were c
ompleted
, the rese
archer se
nt a than
k-you em
ail to the

participa
nts withi
n 24 hou
rs after t
he intervi
ew. The i
nterview
was tran
scribed b
y a profe
ssional
78

transcript
ion servi
ce. The t
ranscripti
on proce
ss was c
ompleted
within thr
ee days.
Within o
ne

week aft
er the int
erview, t
he resea
rcher em
ailed the
transcript
s to the p
articipant
s to give
them an

opportun
ity to che
ck the ac
curacy of
the conte
nt.

Researc
her’s N
otes and
Reflexiv
e Journ
al

During th
e intervie
ws, the r
esearche
r wrote n
otes abo
ut her ob
servation
s and

interpret
ation of t
he story t
old. The
notes hel
ped the r
esearche
r keep a
record of
the partic
ipant
profile an
d preven
t distorte
d inform
ation, wh
ich could
have occ
urred if t
he resea
rcher reli
ed only

on the re
searcher
’s memo
ry (Salda
ña, 2009
).

In additi
on, the r
esearche
r helped
prevent t
he influe
nce of th
e researc
her’s bia
ses by

using ref
lexive jo
urnals th
at helped
reflect th
e researc
her’s ass
umption
s and bia
ses on th
e

research
process (
Guba &
Lincoln,
1989). A
reflexive
journal i
s the res
earcher’
s person
al

reflectio
ns on “a
ssumptio
ns, world
view bias
es, theor
etical ori
entation,
and relati
onship to
the
study th
at may a
ffect the
investiga
tion” (M
erriam, 2
009, p. 2
29). Writi
ng a refl
exive jou
rnal was

an ongoi
ng proce
ss to ens
ure that t
he findin
gs result
ed from t
he exper
iences a
nd the p
articipan
ts’

worldvie
ws, not t
he prefer
ences of
the rese
archer.

Table 5
below de
picts the
generic d
ata colle
ction pro
cess for t
his study
.

Table 5

Generic
Data Col
lection S
chedule

Apply fo
r IRB Pe
rmissio
n

Applied
for per
mission
from No
rtheast
ern Uni
versity I
nstitutio
nal Rev
iew Boa
rdstudy
women s
chool su
perintend
ents.
Once a
pproved
, a pool
of candi
dates w
as creat
ed.
Create a
Pool of
Candida
tes and
an Invita
tion Em
ail
79

Created
a pool o
f candid
ates for
intervie
wing usi
ng the f
ollowing
criteria:
a femal
e
superinte
ndent, cu
rrently in
the supe
rintende
nt role in
a public
school s
ystem in
Alaska
Checke
d the ed
ucation
al and p
rofessio
nal bac
kground
of the p
articipa
nts thro
ugh the
school di
strict we
bsite to e
nsure th
e accura
cy of the
informati
on.
Sent in
vitation
email a
nd the i
nforme
d conse
nt form.

Conduc
t a 15-
minute I
nitial Int
erview

Once th
e potent
ial parti
cipants
respond
edemail a
the
nd agre
nvita
ed to pa
tion
rticipate
in the stu
dy, they
were ask
ed to pro
vide their
resume
prior to t
he intervi
ew.
The res
earcher
conduct
ed a fift
een-
minute i
nitial int
erview
via tele
phone.
Purposes
:
- to ensur
e the pa
rticipant
underst
ood the
researc
h proce
dure
- to provi
de an o
verview
of the s
tudy
- to verif
y partic
ipants’
qualific
ations t
o be in
cluded
in the s
tudy
- to clarif
y the in
terview
proces
s
- to obtai
n the c
onsent
form

- to verify
that the
candida
te did n
ot have
diffic
ing her
ultie
experie
s nces
culat
- to set i
ntervie
w dates
.
Pilot the
Intervie
w Quest
ions

Piloted
the inte
rview pr
otocol
with a f
emale c
olleagu
e.
Purposes
:
- to deter
mine th
e time r
equired
for the i
ntervie
w
- to test t
he inter
view qu
estions
and rec
ording
device
- to prep
are the
researc
her for t
he real i
ntervie
ws
- to refin
e intervi
ew que
stions a
fter the
pilot tes
t.
Conduc
t a One-
on-One
40-60 Mi
nute Int
erview

The inte
rview q
uestion
s were
sent 3-7
days
ual inter
prior
view to
tohelp the
e
participa
nts prep
are for re
flective q
uestions
about chi
ldhood
A one-
on-one,
40-60
minute i
ntervie
w either
in-
person
or via p
hone or
video c
onferen
ce
was con
ducted.
During th
e intervie
w, the re
searcher
wrote not
es about
her obse
rvations
and inter
pretation
of the st
ory told.
The int
erview
was dig
itally re
corded
via a ph
one ap
plicatio
n.
Thank y
ou emai
l was se
nt withi
n 24 ho
urs afte
r the int
erview.
Transcri
be Inter
views

The int
erviews
were pr
ofessio
nally tra
nscri
bed.

Send Fo
llow-up
Emails
80

The foll
ow-up i
nquiries
and the
transcri
ptions
were e
mailed t
o the pa
rticipant
s to giv
e
them an
opportun
ity to che
ck the ac
curacy of
the conte
nt.

Data An
alysis

The anal
yzed dat
a was pri
marily fr
om the tr
anscripti
ons of th
e intervie
ws . Addi
tional

data cam
e from th
e researc
her’s not
es and re
flexive j
ournal. I
n exami
ning the
data, the
research
er

looked fo
r themes
from the
content a
t both ma
nifest an
d latent l
evels, th
emes tha
t could b
e
directly o
bserved i
n the nar
rative an
d the the
mes lyin
g beneat
h the nar
rative (B
oyatzis,
2008).

To condu
ct narrati
ve analy
sis, data
can be a
nalyzed t
hrough d
eductive
or inducti
ve

thematic
analysis
approach
es (Brun
er, 1986)
. For this
study, th
e researc
her empl
oyed bot
h

deductiv
e and ind
uctive ap
proaches
. Deducti
vely, the
research
er, follow
ing the g
uidelines

inherent i
n theory-
driven th
ematic a
nalysis (
Boyatzis,
1998), a
nalyzed
meaning
-making
of

leadershi
p develo
pment ex
perience
s of all p
articipant
s based
on predet
ermined t
hemes. T
hemes

were bas
ed on Su
per’s (19
57, 1990
) career
develop
ment the
ory and
Mezirow
’s (1978)

transfor
mative le
arning th
eory. Ind
uctively,
the study
also allo
wed for
new the
mes to e
merge.

Figure 2
shows th
e data an
alysis ap
proaches
of this st
udy.
81

Figure 2.
Data An
alysis Ap
proaches

The rese
archer co
mpleted
all the int
erviews
and trans
cription b
efore an
alyzing t
he data t
o

avoid im
posing m
eaning fr
om one i
nterview
onto the
next inte
rview (S
eidman,
2006). T
he

research
er began
the data
analysis
process
by creati
ng a profi
le for eac
h particip
ant to pre
sent
participa
nts in co
ntext (Se
idman, 2
006). De
mograph
ic data of
all partici
pants we
re combi
ned

into a de
scriptive
statisical
format. T
he data t
o be anal
yzed wer
e from st
ories told
by the

participa
nts, whic
h include
d 33,519
words of
transcrib
ed intervi
ews. Ad
ditional d
ata cam
e from

the resea
rcher’s r
eflexive
journals
and note
s.

The ded
uctive pa
rt of the
analysis
proceede
d with a
search in
the raw d
ata for th
e

presence
or absen
ce of the
predeter
mined th
emes des
cribed fi
rst in Su
per’s (19
57, 1990
) and
then in
Mezirow
’s (1978)
theories
(Boyatzis
, 1998).
The tabl
es of eac
h individ
ual parti
cipant’s

career de
velopme
nt stages
(Tables
9 throug
h 13) ba
sed on S
uper’s (1
957) mo
del were
created.

Deducti
vely, the
analysis
of partici
pants’ le
adership
develop
ment ex
perience
s focused
on the

develop
ment of
participa
nts’ self-
concepts
and the a
ctivities t
hey enga
ged in du
ring the f
our

career de
velopme
ntal stag
es descri
bed by S
uper (19
57, 1990
). Key th
emes der
ived fro
m Super
’s
82

(1957) th
eory incl
uded the
major ca
reer dev
elopment
stages (e
.g., growt
h, explor
ation,

establish
ment), pl
us the ca
reer dev
elopment
sub-
stages (e
.g. fantas
y, interes
ts, capac
ity, tentat
ive,

crystalliz
ation), a
nd self-
concept.
An addit
ional pre
defined t
heme fro
m Mezir
ow’s (19
78) theor
y

was criti
cal refle
ction. Th
is theme
was base
d on Me
zirow’s (
1978) cri
tical inci
dents, m
eaning

making,
and lear
ning.

The curr
ent study
also allo
ws new t
hemes to
emerge i
nductivel
y. After t
he transc
ripts

were exa
mined for
the prese
nce or ab
sence of
the prede
termined
themes, t
he resear
cher use
d

iterative
processe
s, which i
ncluded r
e-
reading t
he transc
ripts, re-
listening
to the au
dio, and
re-

examini
ng the re
searcher
s’ notes
and jour
nals, to
determin
e potenti
al theme
s. Cross-
case anal
ysis

was use
d to com
pare simi
larities a
nd differ
ences a
mong th
e particip
ants to id
entify co
mmon

themes.
Four the
mes, bas
ed on lea
dership d
evelopm
ent exper
iences, e
merged f
rom this i
nductive
analysis
of the da
ta: intern
al motiva
tion, fami
ly influen
ce, netw
ork, and
glass cei
ling.

Data Sto
rage, Pr
otection
, and Re
tention

This secti
on conce
rns data
storage,
protectio
n, and ret
ention. D
ata stora
ge has to
do with

the amou
nt of data
and how
it should
be stored
; data pr
otection r
efers to p
rotecting
data fro
m

physical
damage
and tamp
ering, an
d data ret
ention rel
ates to th
e length
of time th
e researc
her

must kee
p the res
earch dat
a (Stene
ck, 2007)
.

All of the
data wer
e kept in
digital fo
rmat. Th
e recordi
ngs of th
e intervi
ews of th
is study

were tra
nsferred
from the
research
er’s cell
phone in
MP3 for
mat to a
laptop co
mputer.
The

research
er used
a profess
ional tran
scription
service t
o transcri
be the int
erviews i
n Word f
ormat,

which we
re then c
onverted
to PDF f
ormat. T
he signe
d consen
t forms a
nd the re
searcher
’s notes
83

were sca
nned an
d convert
ed to PD
F format.
Once co
nverted t
o digital f
ormat, all
paper

documen
ts were s
ubseque
ntly destr
oyed.

All digital
files, bot
h audio
and PDF
, were sa
ved and
kept on
passwor
d-
protecte
d

(secure)
USB fla
sh drive
in a lock
ed cabin
et at the
research
er’s hom
e for dou
ble prote
ction, i.e
.,

to protect
the data f
rom phys
ical dam
age and f
rom tam
pering, lo
ss, and t
heft.

The rete
ntion peri
od for re
search d
ata varie
s, depen
ding on t
he spons
or institut
ions and

funding a
gencies.
This stud
y was an
unfunded
study an
d the dat
a of this
study ha
ve been r
etained

and will
be destr
oyed per
the sche
dule in T
able 6.

Table 6

Data Sto
rage, Pro
tection, a
nd Reten
tion

Da F
ta
Ty
pe
s
Dis
po

Rec
ordi Dest
ngs roy
of
i
n
t
e
r
v
i
e
w
s

Tran
scri Dest
ptio roy
ns
of
int
er
vi
e
w
con
sent
form
s Dest
roy

Res
ear Dest
che roy
r’s
n

Trustwo
rthiness
 There ar
e many c
ritics of t
he trustw
orthiness
of qualita
tive rese
arch bec
ause its
validity

and relia
bility can
not be es
tablished
in the sa
me way
as quanti
tative res
earch (S
henton, 2
004).
84

The conc
ept of tru
stworthin
ess differ
s betwee
n quantit
ative and
qualitativ
e researc
h becaus
e the

research
er views
trustwort
hiness fr
om a diff
erent fra
mework
or paradi
gm.

Quantitat
ive resea
rchers e
mploy th
e quantit
ative met
hod to te
st hypoth
eses, det
ermine

cause an
d effect,
and gene
ralize the
results. T
herefore,
the reliab
ility of a
quantitati
ve study

involves
whether t
he result
is replica
ble, and t
he validit
y involve
s whethe
r the me
ans of

measure
ment or t
he instru
ment is a
ccurate a
nd meas
ure what
they are
suppose
d to mea
sure

(Golafsh
ani, 200
3). Howe
ver, the
concepts
of reliabil
ity and v
alidity for
qualitativ
e resear
chers

are differ
ent. Qual
itative re
searcher
s aim to
understa
nd the ph
enomena
of interes
t and thu
s do

not need
to establi
sh reliabi
lity, i.e., t
he result
can be re
plicated
or applie
d to othe
r cases o
r

populatio
ns. In ter
ms of val
idity of in
strument
s, the qu
alitative r
esearche
r is the in
strument
;

therefore
, the vali
dity for q
ualitative
research
refers to
the abilit
y and eff
ort of the
research
er to
ensure t
hat the fi
ndings ar
e congru
ent with r
eality (G
olafshani
, 2003).
Qualitati
ve resea
rchers

avoid usi
ng the te
rms relia
bility and
validity.
Reliabilit
y and val
idity are
not treat
ed separ
ately in

qualitativ
e studies
, and the
research
ers prefe
r to use d
ifferent te
rms, suc
h as cred
ibility,

transfera
bility, an
d trustwo
rthiness
(Golafsh
ani, 200
3).

In addre
ssing thi
s termin
ology, G
uba (198
1) propo
sed four
terms, cr
edibility,

transfera
bility, de
pendabili
ty, and c
onfirmab
ility, to b
e used i
nstead o
f the ter
ms inter
nal validi
ty,
exernal
validity o
r genera
lisability,
reliability
, and obj
ectivity.

Given thi
s review
of the co
ncepts a
nd termi
nology u
sed in ad
dressing
trustwort
hiness of

quantitati
ve and q
ualitative
research,
the next
section di
scusses t
he four a
spects of
the

trustwort
hiness in
this stud
y, i.e., cr
edibility,
transfera
bility, de
pendabili
ty, and c
onfirmab
ility.
85

Credibil
ity

While th
e internal
validity o
f quantita
tive rese
arch invo
lves whe
ther rese
archers
measure

what the
y intend
to measu
re, the cr
edibility
of qualit
ative res
earch in
volves t
he questi
on, “Ho
w

congrue
nt are th
e finding
s with re
ality?” (
Merriam,
1998). C
redibility
is a vital
compon
ent of a

study. It i
s the mo
st import
ant facto
r in ensu
ring trust
worthine
ss (Linco
ln & Gub
a, 1985).
To

establish
credibilit
y of this
study, m
any relev
ant issue
s have b
een ident
ified fro
m others
’

research.
Those is
sues are
discusse
d in the p
aragraph
s below.

Utilizati
on of th
e appro
priate m
ethodol
ogy for t
he inqui
ry. Adop
ting the
correct

method f
or the re
search p
roblems i
s very im
portant (
Yin, 199
4). The
methodol
ogies em
ployed in

this stud
y were cl
early stat
ed and e
xplained
in the res
earch me
thodolog
y section
s. An ext
ensive

literature
review w
as condu
cted to e
nsure tha
t the met
hods use
d in this
study we
re utilize
d in

previous
compara
ble studi
es.

Prolong
ed enga
gement.
Prolonge
d engage
ment bet
ween the
research
er and th
e

participa
nts was
establish
ed to allo
w the res
earcher t
o underst
and the c
ulture of t
he conte
xt, to

develop
a relatio
nship wit
h the par
ticipants,
and to g
ain their
trust (Lin
coln & G
uba, 198
5). The

relations
hips wer
e develo
ped via e
mail, tele
phone co
nversatio
n, and vi
deo conf
erences.
The

research
er introd
uced her
self first
via email
. During t
he recruit
ing proce
ss, the re
searcher

conducte
d an initi
al intervi
ew to en
gage in c
asual co
nversatio
n and an
swer the
question
s of the

potential
participa
nts befor
e the act
ual interv
iew took
place. Th
e researc
her was
careful a
bout

such co
mmunica
tion and
did not at
tempt too
much co
ntact wit
h the par
ticipants
as the re
searcher

knew of t
he “dang
er” of fr
equent c
ontact,
which m
ay have
deterred
the parti
cipants f
rom

cooperati
on (Shen
ton, 2004
, p. 65).
The rese
archer w
as carefu
l to keep
the conta
ct at a
86

professio
nal level
as the rel
ationship
between
the partic
ipants an
d the res
earcher c
ould hav
e

biased h
er profes
sional ju
dgment (
Lincoln
& Guba,
1985).

Selectio
n of part
icipants.
In selecti
on of par
ticipants,
a rando
m sampli
ng appro
ach is

commonl
y used to
prevent b
ias in the
participa
nt selecti
on proce
ss. This
study, ho
wever, u
sed a

purposef
ul sampli
ng meth
od to sel
ect parti
cipants
who wer
e “infor
mation r
ich” (Pat
ton, 1990
, p.

169), whi
ch was a
n approp
riate met
hod for t
he resea
rch inquir
y. Althou
gh a ran
dom sam
pling is

a good m
ethod to
ensure th
at the sa
mple is a
represent
ation of t
he popul
ation, a r
epresent
ative

sample
was not t
he purpo
se of this
study (B
ouma, Di
xon, & At
kinson, 1
995). Usi
ng a ran
dom

sampling
in this st
udy coul
d have re
sulted in
a negativ
e effect,
since a d
isadvant
age of thi
s

method i
s that “it
is possib
le that q
uiet, unc
ooperati
ve or ina
rticulate
individu
als may
be

selected
” (Shent
on, 2001
, p.65). T
he resea
rcher trie
d to esta
blish cre
dibility in
the selec
tion
process
by selecti
ng partici
pants wh
o best su
ited the n
ature of t
he study.
The parti
cipants h
ad to

be willing
and able
to articul
ate and s
hare thei
r life exp
eriences.
They ha
d to be in
formatio
n-rich

participa
nts who
met the c
riteria est
ablished
for this st
udy. The
research
er select
ed the

participa
nts base
d on thes
e guideli
nes and t
ried to pr
event an
y bias in
the selec
tion of th
e

participa
nts.

Triangu
lation. T
riangulati
on involv
es the us
e of diffe
rent met
hods and
data sou
rces or

collectio
n of data
from info
rmants fr
om differ
ent orga
nizations
(Shenton
, 2004).
The indiv
idual

interview
, howeve
r, was th
e main m
ethod us
ed in this
study be
cause th
e study a
imed to e
licit the

reflection
or the thi
nking pro
cess of t
he partici
pants tha
t could n
ot be unc
overed b
y observ
ation

or other
methods.
However
, in terms
of data s
ources, t
he resea
rcher coll
ected dat
a from m
ultiple

sources,
includin
g intervi
ew recor
dings, tr
anscripts
, and the
research
er’s note
s and jou
rnal.

Regardi
ng partic
ipants’ e
ducation
al and pr
ofession
al backg
round, th
e researc
her also
checked
87

this infor
mation vi
a the sch
ool distri
ct websit
e before
the actua
l intervie
w to help
ensure t
he

accuracy
of the inf
ormation
.

Site trian
gulation
was achi
eved by
collectin
g data fr
om infor
mants fr
om differ
ent

organizat
ions. The
participa
nts were
from diff
erent sch
ool distri
cts enabl
ing the r
esearche
r to

obtain dif
ferent pe
rspective
s and a b
etter and
more acc
urate vie
w of reali
ty (Dervi
n, 1983).

Authenti
city of t
he story
told. To
obtain th
e authent
ic story, t
he resea
rcher ne
eded to
ensure th
at the pa
rticipant
s “are ge
nuinely
willing t
o take pa
rt and pr
epared t
o offer d
ata freel
y”

(Shenton
, 2004, p
.66). All
participa
nts were
informed
that they
could wit
hdraw fr
om the s
tudy at

any time
so that t
he data
collectio
n proces
s involve
d only th
e particip
ants who
were willi
ng to

participat
e. The re
searcher
also infor
med the
participa
nts that t
here was
no right o
r wrong a
nswer,

and that t
he resear
cher held
an indep
endent st
atus. Add
itionally, t
he resear
cher enc
ouraged t
he

participa
nts to be
honest a
nd tried t
o reduce
their fear
of telling
stories in
the study
by ensuri
ng

that their
response
s were c
onfidenti
al and th
at they w
ould be i
dentified
only by p
seudony
ms.

Besides t
he above
techniqu
es, to en
sure the
authentic
ity of the
data, pro
bes and i
terative

question
s were u
sed to un
cover the
story (Sh
enton, 20
04). Whe
n discrep
ancies in
the data

emerged,
the resea
rcher disc
arded the
suspect d
ata.

Advisor
and pee
r scrutin
y. The re
searcher
had ongo
ing conta
ct and di
scussion
with her

advisor,
who prov
ided feed
back and
enabled t
he resea
rcher to r
ecognize
the flaws
of the stu
dy

and her b
iases (Sh
enton, 20
04). Simi
larly, the
research
er’s coll
eagues a
nd peers
were alw
ays

welcome
to provid
e feedba
ck, which
brought
different
perspecti
ves to th
e study a
nd helpe
d the

research
er develo
p a better
study.

Member
check. B
esides re
ceiving f
eedback
from pee
rs and ad
visor, me
mber che
ck, also

known a
s particip
ant verifi
cation, w
as used i
n this stu
dy (Rage
r, 2005).
Member
check is
“the
88

most cru
cial tech
nique for
establish
ing credi
bility” (L
incoln &
Guba, 1
985, p. 3
14). The

participa
nts were
asked to
validate t
he data a
nd provid
e feedba
ck both o
n the spo
t and afte
r the

data coll
ection w
as compl
eted (Lin
coln & G
uba, 198
5). The tr
anscript
of each i
nterview
was

shared w
ith the pa
rticipant.
The rese
archer al
so asked
each part
icipant to
validate t
he accur
acy of

the trans
cript. Wh
en appro
priate, th
e particip
ant was
asked to
validate t
he emer
ging theo
ries and

inferenc
es made
by the re
searcher
(Brewer
& Hunter
, 1989;
Miles &
Huberm
an, 1994
).

Reflecti
ve com
mentary
. Besides
taking ad
vantage
of outsid
e scrutin
y, the res
earcher

critically
reflected
on her o
wn work
to monit
or devel
oping co
nstructio
ns (Gub
a & Linc
oln,

1989). W
riting a re
flective jo
urnal wa
s an ong
oing proc
ess. The
research
er ensur
ed that th
e

findings r
esulted f
rom the
participa
nts’ expe
riences a
nd world
views, no
t the pref
erences
of the

research
er. The p
reliminar
y assum
ptions th
at did not
emerge f
rom the s
tudy wer
e ackno
wledged

and elimi
nated.

Transfe
rability

For quan
titative re
search,
external
validity o
r general
izability i
s “the ex
tent to w
hich the

findings
of one st
udy can
be appli
ed to oth
er situati
ons” (Me
rriam, 19
98, p. 20
7). Quali
tative

research
ers, on th
e other h
and, inve
stigate th
e pheno
menon w
ithin a sp
ecific con
text, thus
, it is

impossib
le to gen
eralize (
Erlandso
n, Harris,
Skipper,
& Allen,
1993), al
though s
ome sch
olars

may disa
gree and
argue tha
t the tran
sferability
interferen
ce can b
e made t
o some e
xtent

(Densco
mbe, 19
98; Stak
e, 1994).
With a th
ick descr
iption of t
he phen
omenon
provided
in a

study, re
aders m
ay make
such tran
sfer (Linc
oln & Gu
ba, 1985
). Before
any trans
ferences,

however,
additiona
l informa
tion, incl
uding th
e numbe
r and loc
ation of t
he sites,
informati
on

about pa
rticipants
, data col
lection m
ethod, th
e length
of data c
ollection
sessions,
and the p
eriod
89

of time w
hen the d
ata is coll
ected, sh
ould be r
eported i
n the stu
dy (Shen
ton, 2004
). The

research
er strictly
followed
these gui
delines,
and all of
the infor
mation m
entioned
above is

included
in this ch
apter. Th
e resear
cher, ho
wever, di
d not pro
vide this
informati
on inten
ding to

make su
ch transf
erence. I
nstead, t
he resea
rcher inte
nded to r
eport the
informati
on of the
context

in which t
he study
was con
ducted to
provide a
better un
derstandi
ng of the
results. S
ince ther
e

were onl
y five inf
ormants
and the
data wer
e collect
ed in a s
hort peri
od of tim
e, to det
ermine

whether t
he result
s of the s
tudy appl
ied to oth
er situati
ons see
med impr
oper. Ev
en thoug
h the

results of
this stud
y cannot
be prove
d transfe
rable, thi
s does n
ot imply t
hat the st
udy is

untrustw
orthy. In
stead, it
“simply
reflects
multiple
realities”
(Shenton
, 2004, p
. 71).

Depend
ability

To gain
dependa
bility, or r
eliability,
in quantit
ative res
earch, th
e resear
cher mu
st show

that “if t
he work
were rep
eated, in
the same
context,
with the
same me
thods an
d with th
e same

participa
nts, simi
lar result
s would
be obtai
ned” (Sh
enton, 20
04, p. 71
). For qu
alitative r
esearch,

to show t
hat using
the same
method
will gain t
he same
results c
an be pro
blematic,
because
the

nature of
qualitativ
e resear
ch is con
text spec
ific. The
qualitativ
e resear
cher, ho
wever, c
an

address t
he depen
dability i
ssue by r
eporting
the proc
ess in de
tail, “ th
ereby en
abling a
future

reserarch
er to rep
eat the w
ork, if no
t necessa
rily to ga
in the sa
me resul
ts” (She
nton, 20
04, p. 71
).

This stud
y provide
s detaile
d inform
ation abo
ut the re
search d
esign, its
impleme
ntation,

participa
nt recruit
ment and
access, t
he data c
ollection
process,
and the r
eflective j
ournals o
f the

research
er. In ad
dition, th
e researc
her’s ad
visor an
d the doc
toral thes
is commit
tee assist
ed the

research
er in exa
mining th
e method
ologies t
o ensure
the depe
ndability
of the me
thods us
ed in

this stud
y.
90

Confir
mability

The con
cept of c
onfirmab
ility can
be assoc
iated wit
h the co
ncept of
objectivit
y in a

quantitati
ve study i
n which a
quantitati
ve resear
cher use
s instrum
ents, suc
h as test
s or

question
naires, t
o ensure
that the i
nstrume
nts “are
not depe
ndent on
human s
kill and
percepti
on”

(Shenton
, 2004, p.
72) and a
re free fr
om resea
rchers’ b
iases (Sh
enton, 20
04). Sinc
e a resea
rcher

is a key i
nstrume
nt in qual
itative re
search, t
he conce
pt of con
firmabilit
y differs f
rom that
concept
in quantit
ative res
earch. Al
though it
is impos
sible for
a qualitat
ive resea
rcher to
prove th
at the

findings
do not d
epend on
a researc
her’s ski
lls or per
ception,
a qualita
tive rese
archer m
ust ensur
e

the confi
rmability
of the fin
dings by
showing
that the f
indings e
merge fr
om the p
articipant
s of

the study
rather th
an from
the resea
rcher’s p
referenc
es (Shent
on, 2004)
. To addr
ess this i
ssue,

triangula
tion play
s a role i
n ensuri
ng the c
onfirmab
ility of th
e study, i
n additio
n to ens
uring its

credibilit
y (Shent
on, 2004
) . In this
study, th
e resear
cher use
d a trian
gulation
of data s
ources,

collectin
g data fr
om multi
ple infor
mants a
nd multip
le sites (
Shenton,
2004).

Additiona
lly, any d
ecisions
made an
d any me
thods ad
opted by
the resea
rcher are
made

explicit in
the repor
t; the stre
ngth and
weaknes
s of the a
pproach
used are
explaine
d; and th
e

prelimina
ry assum
ptions th
at did not
emerge f
rom the
participa
nts are di
scussed
(Shenton
, 2004).

This proc
ess of de
tailed me
thodologi
cal descr
iption tha
t enables
the read
er to trac
e how th
e data
eventuall
y leads t
o the fin
ding is c
alled an
audit trail
(Merriam
, 2009).
The rese
archer ut
ilized

the audit
trail appr
oach by
collectin
g the imp
ortant da
ta as rec
ommend
ed by Lin
coln and
Guba

(1985). T
he six ca
tegories
of inform
ation coll
ected to i
nform th
e audit p
rocess w
ere: raw
data;

data redu
ction and
analysis
notes; da
ta recons
truction a
nd synth
esis prod
ucts; pro
cess not
es;

materials
related t
o intentio
ns and di
sposition
s; and pr
eliminary
develop
ment inf
ormation

(Lincoln
& Guba,
1985).
91

Human
Particip
ants an
d Ethica
l Precau
tions

As previ
ously me
ntioned, t
his study
used one
-on-one i
nterview
s in the d
ata colle
ction

process.
When a s
tudy invol
ves hum
an partici
pants, re
searcher
s are req
uired to h
ave their

proposal
s review
ed by th
eir colle
ge’s Inst
itutional
Review
Board (I
RB), wh
ich will
ensure th
at

human s
ubjects a
re protec
ted and t
hat vulne
rable pop
ulations
are not in
volved (
Creswell,
2009).

Since thi
s study
was con
ducted a
s a partia
l fulfillme
nt of the
requirem
ents for
a degree
from

Northeas
tern Univ
ersity, th
e resear
cher sub
mitted th
e resear
ch protoc
ol and all
communi
cation

materials
for the re
view and
approval
to Northe
astern U
niversity
’s IRB.
Since the
sample w
as

drawn fr
om scho
ol superi
ntendent
s, the sa
mple did
not inclu
de vulner
able subj
ects.

The recr
uiting pr
ocess for
this stud
y was co
nducted
to keep t
he partic
ipants’ r
esponses
as

confident
ial as po
ssible. T
he partici
pants we
re identifi
ed by ps
eudonym
s. They
were info
rmed

about th
e right to
refuse to
participat
e and to
withdraw
from the
study at
any time,
and their

consent
was obta
ined in w
riting bef
ore enga
ging in th
is study (
see App
endix A)
(Creswel
l, 2009).

The cons
ent form
explaine
d to the
participa
nts how t
heir infor
mation w
ould be u
sed and

protecte
d (Light,
Singer,
& Willett,
1990). T
he resea
rch proto
col, instr
ument, a
nd

communi
cation m
aterials
were revi
ewed an
d approv
ed by the
Northeas
tern Univ
ersity

Institutio
nal Revi
ew Boar
d (IRB).

Lastly, a
final publ
ication c
opy of thi
s study a
nd any s
ubseque
nt relate
d publica
tions are

to be pro
vided to t
he partici
pants for
review to
ensure t
hat their
confident
iality is p
rotected.

Chapter
3 Summ
ary

This cha
pter prov
ided a de
tailed de
scription
of the m
ethodolo
gy for th
e conduc
t of the

study. Th
e purpos
e of this r
esearch
was to e
xplore le
adership
journeys
of wome
n school

superint
endents.
Specifica
lly, this s
tudy use
d Meziro
w’s (197
8) transf
ormative
learning
theory as
92

a framew
ork to un
cover me
aning-
making o
f leaders
hip devel
opment
experien
ces of th
e

superint
endents’
life span
s in Sup
er’s four
stages: g
rowth, ex
ploration,
establish
ment, an
d

maintena
nce stag
e (Super,
1957, 19
90).

The main
research
question
was: Ho
w do wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s make
meaning

of their le
adership
develop
ment exp
eriences
?

The rese
arch site
was scho
ol district
s in the s
tate of Al
aska. Th
e particip
ants of th
is study

were five
women s
chool su
perinten
dents fro
m two sc
hool distr
icts in th
e state of
Alaska.
The

criteria fo
r selectin
g the par
ticipants
were that
they mus
t (1) be f
emale an
d (2) be
currently
a

superinte
ndent in
a public
school s
ystem in
Alaska.

This stud
y employ
ed a qual
itative na
rrative re
search d
esign an
d used b
oth dedu
ctive and

inductive
approac
hes to da
ta analys
is. The d
ata colle
ction beg
an with a
15-
minute in
itial

interview
via telep
hone wit
h each p
otential p
articipant
to ensur
e that th
e particip
ant unde
rstood

the resea
rch proce
dure. Th
e researc
her then
set up an
actual in
terview
date at t
he partic
ipant’s

convenie
nce. A 4
0-
minute, s
emi-
structure
d, one-
on-one i
nterview
with eac
h particip
ant eithe
r in-

person o
r via pho
ne was c
onducted
later. Th
e intervie
ws were
digitally r
ecorded
and

professio
nally tran
scribed.

For data
analysis,
the dedu
ctive app
roach foll
owing th
e guideli
nes inher
ent in the
ory-

driven th
ematic a
nalysis w
as used (
Boyatzis,
1998). D
eductivel
y, the an
alysis foc
used on

meaning-
making o
f leaders
hip devel
opment e
xperienc
es of all
participa
nts base
d on

predeter
mined th
emes. T
hemes w
ere base
d on Sup
er’s (195
7, 1990)
career d
evelopm
ent theor
y

and Mez
irow’s (1
978) tran
sformativ
e learnin
g theory.
The stud
y also all
owed for
new the
mes

that eme
rged fro
m an ind
uctive an
alysis tha
t was ba
sed on a
dditonal r
eviews of
all resear
ch

materials
produced
and that
used cro
ss-case
analysis.
93

In addre
ssing the
trustwort
hiness of
this stud
y, the res
earcher
employe
d multipl
e metho
ds.

These in
cluded ut
ilizing ap
propriate
methodo
logy; pro
viding de
tailed ex
planation
s of the

methodol
ogy used
, as well
as any d
ecisions
made in t
his study
; maintai
ning prol
onged

engage
ment wit
h particip
ants; utili
zing an u
nbiased
participa
nt selecti
on proce
ss, triang
ulation of

data, an
d multipl
e inform
ants and
sites; en
suring th
e authen
ticity of t
he story t
old; welc
oming

outside s
crutiny a
nd mem
ber chec
k; and uti
lizing refl
ective co
mmentar
y.
94

CHAPT
ER 4: R
ESEAR
CH FIN
DINGS

In this st
udy, five
women s
chool su
perinten
dents in
Alaska s
hared th
eir meani
ng-
making

of their c
areer de
velopme
ntal expe
riences t
hrougho
ut their lif
e span, i
ncluding
stages of
growth,

explorati
on, estab
lishment,
and main
tenance (
Super, 1
957, 199
0). The s
tories tol
d provide
d

personal
experien
ces as p
erceived
by each
superinte
ndent. Th
e perspe
ctives we
re from w
omen

school s
uperinte
ndents fr
om small
-midsize
school di
stricts in
Alaska.
Because
Alaska is
more

"frontier"
and "ind
ependen
t," this ty
pe of sch
ool leade
r may be
different
than the
main-
land US

state Sup
erintende
nts. A na
rrative o
f each w
oman sc
hool sup
erintend
ent’s ex
perience
s unfold
ed

the subje
ctive me
aning of
her caree
r develop
ment sta
ges and t
asks. Ea
ch story
also desc
ribed

critical in
cidents a
nd the de
velopme
nt of eac
h superin
tendent’s
leadershi
p.

The purp
ose of thi
s chapter
is to pres
ent the fi
ndings re
lated to t
he main r
esearch

question:
How do
women s
chool su
perintend
ents mak
e meanin
g of their
leadershi
p develo
pment

experien
ces? Fin
dings are
organize
d by the
career de
velopme
nt stages
and task
s and

transfor
mative le
arning-
related t
hemes.
This org
anizing
method i
s a syste
matic wa
y to help

reveal pe
rsonal in
sights of
each sup
erintend
ent’s me
aning-
making e
xperienc
es. Table
6 outline
d

the key t
hemes,
which wil
l be disc
ussed in
this chap
ter.

Particip
ant Prof
iles

Five wo
men sch
ool super
intendent
s in publi
c school
s in the s
tate of Al
aska part
icipated

in this st
udy. Eac
h particip
ant provi
ded her r
esume a
nd partici
pated in
a 40-60
minute in
terview.

Participa
nt demo
graphic
and bac
kground
informati
on follow
s, with a
brief prof
ile of eac
h

participa
nt.
95

Participa
nts’ resu
mes pro
vided ed
ucationa
l and pro
fessional
history i
nformati
on. The

interview
s elicited
more det
ail on the
ir backgr
ound, inc
luding th
eir educ
ational b
ackgrou
nd,

ethnicity,
country
of birth, t
he first la
nguage
used, an
d marital
status. T
his infor
mation is
listed in

Table 7.
All five in
terviewe
es have
graduate
degrees.
Four hav
e doctora
l degrees
in the

educatio
nal field,
and one
holds a
master d
egree in
the educ
ational fi
eld. All w
ere born
in the

U.S. Fou
r are Cau
casian, a
nd Englis
h is their
first lang
uage. On
e particip
ant is Asi
an, and h
er

first lang
uage is J
apanese.
Their ma
rital statu
s varies.
One parti
cipant is
single, tw
o are div
orced,

and two
are marri
ed.

Table 7

Demogra
phics an
d Backgr
ounds S
ummary

Hig
Na he
me st
De
gre
e
O
b
t
a
i
n
e
d

Doct
Li orat
sa e in
Educ
ation
al Le
ader
ship
Doctorat
e in
Mid lis
ge h
Div
orc
Technol
ogy
Mast
A ers i
nn n Ed
ucati
onal
Ad
mi
nis
trat
ion
Doct
Ca orate
ndy in
Educ
ation
al Le
aders
hip
Doctorat
e in
Ma Lear
rie ning
Asse
ssme
nt
and
Syst
em
Performa
nce
96

Individu
al Profil
es

Lisa

Lisa is 4
6 years o
ld. She h
as been i
n her cur
rent posit
ion for ab
out two y
ears. Sh
e loves

challeng
es and is
a goal-
driven pe
rson. Sh
e always
wanted t
o be the t
op and w
anted to
be a

leader in
any activi
ties in wh
ich she e
ngaged.
She has
a strong
sense of
competiti
on and lo
ves to

compete,
especiall
y in sport
s. She lik
es indivi
dual spor
ts, espec
ially cros
s-country
skiing. H
er

dream w
as to be
an Air Fo
rce pilot,
but beca
use of a
problem
with her
vision, sh
e change
d her

goal and
continue
d her ed
ucation i
n public
speaking
with a m
ajor in E
nglish, a
nd then
got a

teaching
certificat
e. She st
arted her
first job a
s a middl
e school
teacher,
and then
became
a high

school te
acher. S
he starte
d her lea
dership r
ole as a
principal
of one hi
gh schoo
l when sh
e was 37

and beca
me super
intendent
when sh
e was 44
years old
.

Midge

Midge is
52 years
old. She
has been
in her cur
rent posit
ion for ab
out two y
ears. Sh
e
believes
in bringin
g humani
ty into le
adership.
For her, r
elationsh
ips are i
mportant
. When s
he

was you
ng, she li
ked to rol
e-play as
a teacher
. She str
uggled w
ith a hear
ing impai
rment an
da

speech i
mpedime
nt until s
he went t
o high sc
hool, whi
ch had a
great imp
act on he
r life. Sh
e

taught he
rself to re
ad lips a
nd had to
overcom
e her pro
blems to
prove sh
e was no
t

develop
mentally
disabled.
In school
, she enj
oyed soc
ialization.
She had
no clear i
dea of he
r

dream jo
b. She di
d not hav
e a speci
fic intere
st in any
extracurr
icular act
ivities, ex
cept char
ity

work, wh
ich helpe
d develo
p her pe
ople skill
s. She c
hanged
her care
er goal o
ften from
florist, to

photogra
pher, to
special e
ducation
al needs
teacher,
to pilot in
the Blue
Angels (t
he U.S.
Navy

flying aer
obatic te
am). She
started w
orking as
a manag
er in a gr
oup, then
took a br
eak and
97

worked i
n a food
store. Sh
e started
working i
n the edu
cational f
ield as a
substitut
e teacher
and

became
a teacher
. She the
n got a jo
b offer as
an assist
ant super
intendent
. When t
he forme
r

superinte
ndent left
the scho
ol district
, she got
an offer t
o be the
superinte
ndent. S
he was 5
0 years

old at th
e time.

Ann

Ann is 56
years old
. She has
been in h
er curren
t positon
for about
three yea
rs. She s
ees

herself a
s a hard
working
woman.
When sh
e was yo
ung, she
enjoyed r
eading.
Her drea
m job wa
s

a marine
biologist
because
she was i
nterested
in whales
and enjo
yed scien
ce class.
She eng
aged

in many
extracurr
icular act
ivities th
at helpe
d develo
p her lea
dership s
kills. Her
part-time
job,

during hi
gh schoo
l, was as
a salesp
erson at
Nordstro
m. Ann g
raduated
with a m
ajor in E
nglish,

but did n
ot work a
fter she g
raduated
. She got
married
and lived
in Spain f
or two ye
ars. Whe
n she

came ba
ck to the
U.S., she
took her f
irst leade
rship role
as a man
ager in di
fferent d
epartme
nts at
Nordstro
m. For h
er, worki
ng at the
departm
ent store
was not f
ulfilling,
so she d
ecided to
follow

her fathe
r’s footst
eps and
become
a teacher
. She got
a teachin
g creden
tial, but
did not t
each righ
t

away as
she had t
o take ca
re of her
three chil
dren. Sh
e was a s
tay-at-
home mo
ther and
opened a

daycare
operatio
n to take
care of h
er own a
nd other
people’s
children
for a whi
le before
starting

work as
a teacher
. After 5
years of t
eaching,
she beca
me a prin
cipal. Aft
er 10 yea
rs, she b
ecame

a superin
tendent.
She was
about 53
years old
at the tim
e.

Candy

Candy is
62 years
old. She
has been
in her cur
rent posit
ion for 4
years. Sh
e sees h
erself as

a woman
who is tr
ustworth
y and co
nducts h
er affairs
with inte
grity. Sh
e took a l
eadershi
p role in
98

her famil
y from th
e time sh
e was yo
ung. She
was the
oldest of
six childr
en, and
being the
oldest

child gav
e her op
portunitie
s to lead
her siblin
gs and m
ake deci
sions for
them. Sh
e always
led

leisure a
ctivities
with sibli
ngs, esp
ecially o
utdoor a
ctivities.
She also
led a gro
up of chil
dren in

the area
to a park
or a river
. She like
d to be o
utside; th
erefore,
her care
er goal w
as to wor
k

outside a
nd be a r
ecreation
al progra
m directo
r. She w
anted to
work for t
he U.S.
Departm
ent of
Natural
Resourc
es and w
ent to sc
hool for a
year, but
when sh
e realize
d that sh
e loved
working

with child
ren, she
changed
her caree
r goal to
be a teac
her. After
she got a
degree in
educatio
n,

she start
ed her fir
st job as
a teacher
. She wa
nted to b
e an edu
cational l
eader be
cause sh
e believe
d

that she
could ma
ke an im
pact on a
great nu
mber of s
tudents.
When sh
e was 44
years old
, she

participat
ed in a s
uperinten
dent inter
nship, an
d then be
came a s
uperinten
dent.

Marie

Marie is
45 years
old. Whe
n she wa
s young,
she liked
to role-
play as a
teacher.
Her

dream jo
b was pr
ofession
al, office,
or busine
ss orient
ed. She
was goo
d in sport
s and en
gaged in

leadershi
p roles in
sport tea
ms, such
as softba
ll, soccer,
and bask
etball. In
high sch
ool, she t
ook a

Spanish
class an
d went to
a bilingu
al school
to work i
n the cla
ssrooms.
This exp
erience
made he
r

want to b
ecome a
teacher.
When sh
e was 14
years old
, she told
the mana
ger that s
he was 1
6,

because
she want
ed to wor
k at a Dai
ry Queen
. She got
the job a
nd beca
me a nig
ht manag
er.

After she
graduate
d, she go
t her teac
hing posi
tion. She
started h
er role as
an educa
tional lea
der

when sh
e worked
as an as
sistant pr
inciple w
hen she
was 26.
Then, wh
en a new
school o
pened,

the princi
pal of the
school a
sked her
to help o
pen the n
ew scho
ol. Later,
she was
asked by
the

principal
of the sc
hool to ta
ke his pl
ace as pr
incipal. A
fter she
got her d
octoral d
egree in
99

educatio
n, she go
t a job off
er to be a
n assista
nt superi
ntendent,
and then
she beca
me a

superinte
ndent wh
en she w
as 40 ye
ars old.

Key The
mes

The follo
wing the
mes wer
e develo
ped from
the interv
iew trans
criptions
based on
the rese
arch

question
, “How d
o women
school s
uperinten
dents ma
ke meani
ng of thei
r leaders
hip devel
opment

experien
ces?” Th
ree pre-
defined t
hemes pr
ovided t
he found
ation for
the analy
sis of pa
rticipant
s’

narrative
s. First w
as the th
eme of c
areer de
velopme
nt, as su
ggested
by Super
’s (1990)
career

develop
ment the
ory. This
theme re
vealed th
e partici
pants’ le
adership
journeys
and care
er-

relevant
tasks ass
ociated
with the
participa
nts’ lead
ership. S
econd, fi
ndings r
elated to
Super’s

(1990) s
elf-
concept
explain t
he devel
opment
of partici
pants’ p
erceptio
ns of car
eer, bein
g a leade
r,

being an
educatio
nal leade
r, and cu
rrent self
. Third,
Mezirow
’s (1978)
critical r
eflection

illuminat
ed how
participa
nts learn
ed leade
rship trai
ts and sk
ills from t
heir life
or work
dilemma
s.

Besides t
hese pre
-
determin
ed theme
s, four ad
ditional t
hemes e
merged f
rom this
study thr
ough

inductive
analysis:
internal
motivatio
n, family
influence
, networ
k, and gl
ass ceili
ng. Tabl
e8

shows ca
tegories,
themes,
and exa
mple cod
es.
100

Table 8

Codes, Ca
tegories, a
nd Theme
s

E T
Gr C
ow
th,
ex
plo
rati
on,
est
abl
ish
me
nt,
rd
ev
(
coding, e.
g., fantasy
, interest,
capacity f
or
growth.)
Indi L
vid e
ual a
spo d
rt, t er
ea sh
ms ip
por ta
t, c sk
hor s
e
Teac S
her,
awye
r, rol
e-
play,
profe
ssion
al
ept
Te (
a
m
le
ad
er,
m
an
ag
er,
sp
ort
te
a
m
uc
tiv
manager
School
Educa
adminis
tional
trator,
leader
rincipal,
tempor
ary
leadership
role
C
Care C
er rit
emm ic
a, al
rson re
al fl
e dil e
emm ct
a io
n
R (d
ev ed
isi uct
n ive
g, )
ch
all
e
n
gi
n
g,
ev
al
u
ati
n
g
N L
e e
w a
w r
or n
ld i
vi n
e g
w,
ol
d
w
or
ld
vi
e
w
C Co
h mp
etit
ive
dri
ve
I
n
Desi (in
re du
cha cti
nge ve
the )
syst
em,
desi
re
make a gr
eater impa
ct
Father Fa
as mi
areer ly i
ole- nfl
model, ue
mothe nc
r as e

care (i
er n
e- d
mod u
el, cti
lative v
s as e)
a car
eer
role-
model
Instillin
Influe
g of nce o
dership
n lead
qualitie
ership
s, exa
mples
of subqual
code ities
re har
d-
workin
g, crea
tivity,
sense of c
ompetition
, organizat
ional skills
,
decision-
making sk
ills
Father
Influe
nfluenc
nce o
e, siblin
n care
g influe
er
nce,
ative
i
n
E
Tem Lea
pora der
ry le shi
ader p o
ship ppo
role, rtun
prin ity
cipal
,
assistant s
uperintend
ent, superi
ntendent
Ster Glas
eoty s cei
ping, ling
wag
e-
gap,
perc
eptio
n of

b
efemale su
perintende
nt
Bein Adv
g per ice f
siste or w
nt, om
king en
oppo
rtunit
y to
demonstra
te leaders
hip, taking
advantage
of women
’s leaders
hip styles
101

Theme 1:
Career D
evelopme
nt

The findi
ngs confir
m Super’s
(1957, 19
90) Life-
Span/Life-
Space the
ory that ca
reer

developm
ent is an o
ngoing de
velopment
process, n
ot a linear
process. S
uper’s (19
57, 1990)

career dev
elopment
stages an
d tasks pr
ovide guid
ance for u
nderstandi
ng how pa
rticipants’

activities h
elped sha
pe their le
adership t
raits or qu
alities.

Career de
velopmen
t: stages.
The partic
ipants’ ca
reer devel
opmental
stages are

displayed
in Tables
9 through
13. Altho
ugh Super
’s career
developm
ent stages
suggest u
seful

guidelines
for analyzi
ng vocatio
nal develo
pmental ta
sks sociall
y expecte
d of an ind
ividual, so
me

participant
s did not f
ollow the s
tages and
engage in
the sugge
sted tasks
(Candy, A
nn). Durin
g

the growth
stage, ther
e are thre
e sub-
stages: fa
ntasy, inte
rests, and
capacity,
which Sup
er

suggests
are vocati
onal devel
opment ta
sks, such
as role-
playing; m
aking basi
c career c
hoices,

based on l
ikes and d
islikes; an
d making
connectio
ns betwee
n skills an
d job requi
rements.
Ann

only enjoy
ed readin
g and nev
er did role
-play. She
recalled, “
I read a lo
t of books
. I had so
me

dolls that I
played wit
h and may
be that wo
uld be con
sidered rol
eplaying,
but I don’
t rememb
er

anything i
n particul
ar.”

Ann and C
andy had
no dream j
ob and ha
d no clear
idea about
career. Ca
ndy talked
about

how she a
lways thou
ght about
what she
would do i
n the futur
e, but she
never cam
e up with

anything i
n particul
ar:

I really di
dn’t have
an unders
tanding a
bout caree
r. But I re
ally wasn
’t thinkin
g of a dre
am

job… I’d
try to thin
k of what
I would b
e doing…
but it nev
er really fl
eshed out
what that

would loo
k like.
102

Ann had i
nterest in
whales in
her scienc
e class an
d was inte
rested in b
eing a mar
ine

biologist,
but she di
d not think
about it as
a job. She
explained,

I didn’t e
ven think
of it as a j
ob. I was
just intere
sted in th
at particul
ar thing. A
nd I think

grade tea
cher was
a very goo
d science
teacher. A
nd we had
different a
nimals in

the classr
oom. And
I think I ju
st became
interested
in that and
then I like
d whales.
103

Table 9

Individual
Career De
velopment
Stages: Li
sa

S
t
a
g
e
s
s
a
- Different
leading f
emale ro
les in loc
al drama
group.
 Leaders
hip qual
F ities: co
a mfortabl
n e to be
on stag
t e or spe
a ak in
s
y

front of m
any peopl
e or came
ra.
- Related
career wi
th educat
ion. Saw
educatio
n as a ke
y to
career suc
cess.
D
r
Gre
owt
I a
hn m
t j
(birth
toe o
r bs:
e14)
e pi
s lo
t t,
sa
st
r
o
n
a
u
t
(
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
o
f
e
n
vi
r
ot
nu w
m h
e e
n r
t e
a
l f
e
influe
w
nces,
living
n p
ka,e
hicho
as p
l
highe
st e
capita
n w
u en
m t
b )
e .
r
o
f
p
il
o
t
s
i
n
t
h
e
S
t
a
t
e
s
,
a
n
d
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
o
f
a
s
e
n
s
e
o
f
a
d
v
e
n
- Excelled
in individ
ual sport
s. Comp
eted cro
ss countr
y
skiing in t
he Nation
al Junior
Olympics.
 L
e
a
d
er
s
hi
p
q
u
al
iti
e
s
g
ai
n
e
d:
g
o
al
or
ie
nt
e
d,
th
e
dr
iv
e
to
p
u
s
h
h
challenges
.
- Parents f
ostered a
sense of
competiti
on.
- Career g
oal: go t
o the Air
Force Ac
ademy a
nd be an
Air
Force pilo
t.
- Did not
work dur
ing high
school.

S
t
T i
e l
n l
t d
a e
ti d
v i
e c
a
t
e
d
t
o
s
p
o
r
t
s
.

Experie
nces ga
ined by
helping
her fath
er shap
ed her
c
E l
x
( a
- Because
of her pr
oblem wi
th vision,
career g
oal shifte
d
 from
Cr bein
ys g a
tal pilot.
liz Purs
ued
ati a de
on gree
in pu
blic
spea
king
with
a minor in
English, t
hen got a
teaching c
ertificate.
 Earned
Span M.E
ecifd. in sp
icatecial ed
ionucation
and star
ted her
first
j
o
b
a
s
a
t
e
a
c
h
e
r
.

Was a
Esta
classro
blish
om tea
ment
Adcher at
vamiddle
ncschool
e and hig
mh scho
ol
en
t Earned
an adm
inistrat
ive cer
tificate
and M
 a
aster’
sd
ree
- Was ask
ed to be
a superin
tendent
when the
former
superinten
dent left th
e job. She
was 44 at
the time.
- No conc
ern abou
t gender
discrimi
nation: “
That tho
ught has
Main n
tena e
nce v
e
r
e
n
t
e
r
e
d
m
y
m
i
n
d
t
h
a
t
,
‘
O
h
,
I
’
m
a
w
o
m
a
n
i
n
t
his
ob.’
Until
other
peopl
e
ng
up.”
“It
s
er
oss
my
mind
as being a
barrier.”
- Concern
ed about
great res
ponsibiliti
es as a s
uperinten
dent.
“It felt lik
e I jumpe
d into the
deep end
of the poo
l.”
104

Table 10

Individual
Career De
velopment
Stages: M
idge

S
t
a
g
e
s
d
g
 Role-
played
F as a te
a acher.
n
t
a
s
y

- Related
career wi
th profes
sional ty
pe job, e
.g., lawy
er,
t
e
Grac
owh
th e
(birt
r
h (i
n
fl
u
e
n
c
e
d
b
y
t
h
e
c
a
r
e
e
r
s
o
f
f
a
m
il
y
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
)
.
Dre
am
j les, but
o engage
b d in act
: ivities t
n hat inst
o ill
lead
c ersh
l ip q
e uali
a ties;
r inv
i olv
d ed i
e n Jo
a b’s
Dau
a ght
b er,
o a se
u rvic
t e
 a
p
ac
ity
o
rinterperso
nal skills,
and learni
ng how to
read, inspi
re, and
persuade
people.
Career
 goal: a
T busines
e s owner
nt who run
at so ashop
phot
iv or
e
f
l
o
r
i
s
t
s
h
o
p
.

- Studied i
n the spe
ech lang
uage pat
hology fi
eld beca
use she
was not g
ood at mat
h and it w
as someth
ing she th
ought she
c
Explo
orati
u
onl
(agd
e
d
-24)
o
.

Work w
ith spe
cial-
needs
people
made h
er see
humani
ty in all
- Worked f
or group
home the
n becam
e a progr
am mana
ger and
the f
 oun
S ding
p adm
e inist
ci rato
r for
fi the f
c irst
at off-
io rese
n rvati
on
Nati
ve
A
- Passed
administr
ator certi
ficate wit
hout citat
ion.
- Changed
her plan
and want
ed to be
a pilot or
a Blue A
ngel.
 Took a
break a
nd work
ed at th
e health
food sto
re for a
while.
- Started s
ubstitute
teaching
in Alaska
, then be
came a t
eacher.
- Realized
she coul
d be a le
ader whe
n she fou
nd that h
er voice
and ide
Estabas matt
lishmered w
enthen sh
e work
Aded as a
parapro
vafession
ncal in
ema
ent
c
l
a
s
s
r
o
o
m
.

Go
ta
job
off
er t
ob
e
a
n
a
s
si
st
a
nt
s
u
p
er
in
te
n
d
e
nt
a
n
d
th
e
n
b
e
c
a
m
e
a
s
u
p
e
r
i
n
t
e
n
d
e
n
t
.
- Decided
to be a s
chool lea
der beca
use the f
ormer
superinten
dent left a
nd she wa
nted to fig
ht for the
projects
that the di
stricts had
at the time
.
Main No
Positiv
being
tena
 ncern
e
nceabout
ut
Cgende
or
n minati
on.
c
ef
r em
na
sl
e
105

Table 11

Individual
Career De
velopment
Stages: A
nn

S
t
a
g
e
s
n

 Didn’t
do any
F role-
a playing.
n Enjoye
t d readi
a ng.
s
y

H
Gra
owd
th
n
(birt
h o
c
l
e
a
r
i
d
e
a
a
b
o
u
t
c
a
r
e
e
r
.

Had no
dream j
ob, but
interest
ed in b
eing a
marine-
biologis
t
b
e
c
a
u
s
e
s
h
e
l
i o
k g
r
a
p
h
i
e
s
o
f
f
e
m
a
l
e
l
e
a
d
e
r
s
,
e
.
g
.,
p
r
e
s
i
d
e
n
ti
a
l
w
i
v
e
s
.
- Career g
oal: Did
not have
a clear g
oal but re
lated car
eer with
college de
gree.
 “…my
T father
e was a t
nt eacher
at when I
iv was old
e er. He
was in t
he
military an
d he had b
ecome a t
eacher, an
d at that ti
me that
w
Expla
orati
s
on
(agt
e h
e
-24)
o
n
l
y
c
a
r
e
e
r
I
k
n
e
w
I
d
i
d
n
’
t
w
a
n
t
t
o d in m
any hi
“Star
gh sch
tedool clu
o bs and
d studen
ys t coun
be cil;

managed
sport team
s.
- Earned a
B.A. in E
nglish as
she love
d readin
g.
 Took le
Spadershi
ecifp role a
icats a stor
ione mana
ger at N
ordstro
m, but d
id
not feel it
was fulfilli
ng.
- Working
in a dep
artment
store an
d just wo
rking wit
h clothes
was the tu
rning point
as she wa
nted to do
something
more
w
Estab
o
lishm
r
entt
h
w
h
i
l
e
.

Chang
ed her
career
goal to
educati
on field
just like
her fath
er.
Gt
o
Got a jo
 b offer
as a pri
Adv
ancncipal a
emfter the
entformer
principa
l had a
h
e
a
r
t
a
t
t
a
c
k
.
S
h
e
w
a
s
4
2
a
t
t
h
e
t
i
m
e
.

- Became
a superi
ntendent
when sh
e was ab
out 53. “
It was ju
st
tur
al
- pr
og
re
ssi
on
fro
m
on
being a fe
male is, y
ou know,
made it dif
ferent or
worse.
106

Table 12

Individual
Career De
velopment
Stages: C
andy

S
t
a
g
e
s
n
d
- Role-
played a
s a hous
e builder.
Qualities
gained: l
earned t
o
 F
a
n
t
a
s
y
l
i
w
(birth
toHad
o
n
clear
e idea a
14)
I bout c
n areer.
t H
ea
r d
e
n
so
t
sd
r
e
a
m
j
o
b
.

- Loved re
ading.
 Recalle
d no act
C ivities th
a at helpe
p d her ga
a in leade
ci rship
alities
qu
t
y

at this age
.
- Career g
oal: want
ed to wor
k outside
and want
ed to be
a
recreation
al leader o
r a recreat
ional prog
ram direct
or.
 Experie
T nces ga
e ined fro
nt m being
at the olde
iv st of six
e children
and
always m
ade decisi
ons for sib
lings, and
leading si
blings ma
de
her want t
o be in a l
eadership
position.
Loved
E to wor
( k outsi
de; th
erefor
e, wan
ted to
be a n
ational
f
o
r
e
s
t
o
r
a
f
o
r
e
s
t
p
e
r
s
o
n
.

Enrolle
d in a p
rogram
to stud
y to be
come c
ertified
in civil
 cultu
Cr re fo
yst ray
alli ear.
za Then
tio her c
n aree
r goa
l shif
ted fr
om b
ei ng a
forest pers
on to bein
g in an ed
ucational f
ield as sh
e missed
working w
ith childre
n.
- Pursued
a degree
in educat
ion.
 Started
peciher first
ficatjob as
iona teach
er
Was a c
 lassroo
m teach
er. Enjo
yed des
igning i
nstructi
onal
p
r
o
g
r
a
m
s
b
a
s
e
d
o
n
t
h
e
o
b
j
e
c
t
i
v
e
s
.

E -
s
E
a(age
25-Pursue
43)dtoral
a doc
de
gree m
ajoring
in educ
ational l
eaders
hip.
Want
ed to
purs
ue le
ader
ship
positi
ons
beca
use
of th
e bel
ief
she can m
ake an im
pact on a
greater nu
mber of st
udents.
- Acknow
ledged g
ender di
scrimina
tion; “It
is a chall
enge for
a
Main f
tena

nce m
is
c
o
n
c
e
p
ti
o
n
t
h
a
t
a
f
e
m
al
e
s
u
p
e
ri
n
tende
u
ntl
tough or a
s consiste
nt or as re
liable.”
107

Table 13

Individual
Career De
velopment
Stages: M
arie

S
t
a
g
e
s
r
i
 Role pl
ayed a
F s a tea
a cher.
n
t
a
s
y

- Related
career wi
th colleg
e degree
, academ
ic, execu
tive, or
p
r
o
f
e
s
s
i
o
(birth
to n
e a
l
14)
t
y
p
e
j
o
b
.

Dre
am j
ob:
prof
essi
onal
, offi
ce o
rien
ted,
busi
nes
s ori
ent
ed.
R
o
l
e
m
o
d
e
l
Took
leade
rship
roles
in
ort
ams:
capta
in
bask
etball
and
 s
o
c
Cc
a e
p r
a t
ci e
t a
y m
.

Leader
ship qu
alities: t
eam pla
yer and
leader,
the abili
ty to
motivate p
eople.
 Career
T goal: ge
e t teachi
nt ng degr
at ee and
iv be a tea
e cher.
- Working
in a clas
sroom in
a bilingu
al school
during S
panish
 class
Cr in hi
yst gh s
alli choo
za l con
tio firme
n d her
desir
e to
be in
acad
emic
field.
E Enjoye
x d leade
rship ro
les duri
ng her
part-
time jo
b when
she
w
S
peci
fi qual
c ities
at gain
io ed:
n peo
ple
skill
s, d
ecis
ion
mak
ing,
emo
tion
al
i
- Chose to
get teach
ing educ
ation in b
ilingual e
ndorsem
ent.
- Got a job
as a teac
her after
graduatio
n.
Became
 an assis
tant prin
cipal aft
er she e
arned a
n M.Ed.
in
P
u
b
l
i
c
S
c
h
o
o
l
A
d
m
i
n
i
s
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
.

Decide
Estab
d to be
lishm
a scho
entol lead
er beca
Aduse of t
vahe desi
ncre to m
emake
entc
h
a
n
g
e
se
l
i
n
s
c
h
o
o
l
s
o
r
i
n
c
l
a
s
s
r
o
o
m
s
.

G
o
t
a
j
o
b
o
f
f
e
r
a
s
a
p
r
i
n
c
i
p
a
l
a
t
a
n
- Got a job
offer as
a superi
ntendent
after the
former
superinten
dent pass
ed away.
She was 4
0 at the ti
me.
- No conc
ern abou
t gender
discrimi
nation, “
I don’t s
ee it as a
Main m
tena
 a
nce n
’
s
w
o
rl
d
t
h
a
t
I
h
a
d
t
o
b
r
e
a
k
i
n
t
o
”,
a
n
d
“
b
e
i
n
g
a
f
e
m
a
l
e
l
- Concern
ed about
great res
ponsibiliti
es as a s
uperinten
dent.
108

Career de
velopmen
t: leaders
hip tasks.
Besides s
uggesting
useful gui
delines for

analysis o
f vocation
al develop
mental tas
ks, Super’
s (1957, 1
990) vocat
ional stage
s and task
s

provide a
comprehe
nsive fram
ework that
helps reve
al activitie
s the wom
en leaders
had been

engaged i
n from the
ir childhoo
d. All parti
cipants re
vealed the
y engaged
in activitie
s that help
ed

shape thei
r leadershi
p traits or
qualities,
especially
in the gro
wth stage,
as present
ed in Tabl
e 14.

Table 14

Participa
nts’ Activi
ties durin
g Growth
Stage
A L
c e
-
Lis- indivi
a dual s
port: s
kiing, c
ross c
ountry
runnin
g fron
t of me
dia, pu
blic sp
eaking
- helpi- har
ng d wo
fatherrking
build , cre
and ativit
modely
house
Mid
ge
- readin
- lead
g biogr
ership
aphies
traits,
of fema
inspir
le lead
ation
ers
h as
An
n
pla
yer
- managin
g of sports
teams.
- -d
Can
ea eci
dydin sio
g nm
ibli aki
ng ng,
s buil
o din
he g
pa c
rks
or
in
a
mil
y
a
 - m
Mar -
ie
 - z
i

Lisa, Ann,
and Marie
reflected t
hat they g
ained lead
ership qu
alities fro
m their lei
sure activi
ties

and hobbi
es, like sp
orts.

Lisa revea
led she le
arned to b
e comforta
ble on sta
ge and to
speak in fr
ont of man
y people

or in front
of a came
ra becaus
e of her in
volvement
in a local
drama gro
up during
the growth

stage. Sh
e thought
that public
speaking
and being
in front of
many peo
ple could
be a diffic
ult

task for a
superinten
dent:

I feel very
comfortab
le in front
of the ca
mera, and
in front of
media. An
d I think it
started
then - whe
n you start
performin
g on stage
and in fron
t of audien
ces. So as
a
109

Superinte
ndent, you
have to be
comfortabl
e with the
media… I
sometime
s hear

Superinte
ndents sa
y that’s b
een the ha
rdest thin
g for the
m—being
in front of
people an
d

having to
speak to s
o many au
diences.

Lisa, Ann,
and Marie
learned le
adership q
ualities fro
m sports.
While Lisa
learned to
be a

goal-
driven per
son from i
ndividual
sports, lik
e skiing, a
sport in w
hich she c
ompeted
at the

national le
vel in the
National J
unior Oly
mpics, An
n and Mar
ie took lea
dership in
sports tea
ms

and learn
ed to work
in a team.
I think this
comes fro
m the pie
ce of-- Or
excelling
at an indiv
idual spor
t, it truly is
all

internal. O
n self - not
only motiv
ation, but
persevera
nce and o
vercoming
both physi
cal

and menta
l challeng
es. Push y
ourself - a
nd so pus
hing yours
elf to achi
eve. You s
et your

own goals
, and then
you work t
o achieve
them. (Lis
a)

…in high
school I d
id do a lot
of; I was i
n a lot of
clubs. I di
d a lot of
managing
of sports

teams. An
d I was in
the studen
t council.
So I do kn
ow that at
that time I
started to
find

ways to b
e very acti
ve in orga
nizations.
(Ann)

I was very
good in sp
orts and I
really took
leadership
roles on te
am; you k
now I was
team

captains
… I wasn
’t necessa
rily alway
s the best
person on
the team
but I was
the one w
ho

could get
people to
play toget
her, to wo
rk togethe
r … I did
have the a
vailability
or the

ability if y
ou will to j
ust you kn
ow be spir
ited and g
et a team
to work to
gether. (M
arie)

The findi
ngs provi
de eviden
ce that act
ivities wit
h family h
elped inst
ill particip
ants’

leadership
qualities (
Lisa, Can
dy, and M
arie). Lisa
learned to
be hardwo
rking and
creative fr
om

helping he
r father wi
th constru
ction work
. She expl
ained,
I have to a
ttribute a l
ot of my w
ork ethic t
o my dad.
Just, I me
an that he
, he-- Yea
h he

believed i
n hard wo
rk, he tho
ught his k
ids should
work hard
.” And “t
here’s a c
reativity
110

piece, and
I learned t
o apprecia
te that - be
cause he
designed i
t (the hous
e) himself,
and I

got to be t
here and
watch and
be part of
that.

Simple act
ivities, suc
h as maki
ng decisio
ns for sibli
ngs and le
ading the
m to the p
ark,

helped Ca
ndy learne
d to be a l
eader:

I’m the ol
dest of 6
children.
And so I t
hink by th
at time I
was really
much a ty
pical olde
st

child. And
making th
ose decisi
ons about
how to ha
ve; we ha
d really go
od parks i
n our

area and
we always
go down t
o the park
and play.
So leadin
g activities
with the fa
mily,
with my s
iblings…

Daily routi
nes, like o
rganizing
house and
chores du
ring the gr
owth stag
e, helped
Marie

learn orga
nizing skill
s. She tho
ught she
was viewe
d by her fa
mily mem
bers as a
person wh
o can

get things
done.

I did care
about mor
e things th
an my sib
lings you
know…
before my
parents go
t home

from work,
I want to
make sure
that we go
t all of our
chores do
ne so that
things wo
uld be

good and
I mean th
ey arrive .
. . You k
now I’m a
n adult no
w and the
y may all

laugh…
they knew
that I wou
ld be the
one to org
anize som
ething or g
et it done.

Besides s
ports and
family act
ivities, thi
s study’s f
indings re
veal other
activities t
hat

helped sh
ape leade
rship of pa
rticipants.
Charity w
ork helped
Midge lear
n people s
kills, and

reading bi
ographies
of female l
eaders ins
pired Ann
and helpe
d her lear
n leadersh
ip traits.

Theme 2:
Self-
concept

Although
many fact
ors influen
ce careers
and decisi
ons to pur
sue leader
ship positi
ons,

these findi
ngs confir
m the valu
e of self-
concept (
Super, 19
57, 1990).
Narratives
of all five

participant
s showed
their choic
es and de
cisions re
sulted fro
m self-
realization
and their s
elf-
111

concept e
volved ov
er time. S
elf-
concept of
career an
d leadersh
ip of partic
ipants are
explored i
n

the followi
ng section
s.

Self-
concept:
career. Fi
ndings pro
vide evide
nce that p
articipants
developed
self-

concepts
about care
er at a ver
y young a
ge. Some
participant
s develop
ed this co
ncept duri
ng the

growth sta
ge (Lisa,
Midge, Ma
rie). Altho
ugh their c
oncepts w
ere not cle
ar, narrati
ves show
ed

they relate
d educatio
n to being
successful
in a career
or professi
on. Lisa d
escribed s
he
understoo
d that edu
cation wa
s the key t
o success.
She recall
ed, “I was
thinking
more abo
ut

education
than I was
career…
this just w
as a famil
y value th
at an educ
ation was
going to b
e key

to getting
a successf
ul career.”

Midge ind
icated she
wanted to
be a profe
ssional be
cause her
family me
mbers wer
e

profession
als. They
had career
s as lawye
rs or teach
ers. She e
xplained,

I just assu
med that t
he whole
world was
full of thes
e professi
onals bec
ause that’
s what

everybody
in my worl
d was. Mo
stly lawye
rs and tea
chers. So
my definiti
on of care
er at
that time
was like la
wyer or a t
eacher . .
.

Marie als
o recalled
that she w
anted a pr
ofessional
type job. S
he did role
-play as a
person

who work
ed in the o
ffice. She
also relate
d career t
o educatio
n or colleg
e degree.
She explai
ned,

I get to se
e somethi
ng like yo
u know y
ou play of
fice until
I wasn’t r
eally a jo
b or credit

we would
think of th
at I was y
ou know I
would thin
k about dr
essing up
and in

professio
nal so I w
ouldn’t re
ally have
a name of
the job bu
t I knew t
hat it wou
ld be like

office ori
ented or b
usiness or
iented . . .
That’s w
hat you di
d when y
ou went t
o college
that when
you went t
o go as yo
u were the
n a profes
sional.
112

During the
growth sta
ge, Candy
and Ann s
till had not
identified t
heir drea
m jobs. C
andy

indicated
she “didn
’t have an
understan
ding abou
t career” a
nd “wasn’
t thinking
of dream j
ob.”

Ann also
said, “I ju
st didn’t h
ave a clea
r view of
what I wa
nted to do
.” Finding
s also sho
wed

evidence t
hat partici
pants who
might not
have ident
ified a dre
am job or
had no cle
ar idea of
what

they want
ed to do, d
eveloped
a concept
of what th
ey did not
want to be
. Ann, who
se father
was

military an
d became
a teacher,
had no ide
a of her fut
ure career
; however,
she recall
ed that sh
e

did not wa
nt to be in
the militar
y like her f
ather. She
said being
a teacher
was “the
only caree
rI

knew I di
dn’t want
to do.” Si
milarly,
Midge sta
ted she di
dn’t want
to be a tea
cher. She
stated, “I

didn’t wa
nt to be a
teacher, n
o matter
what.” Wi
thout kno
wing what
their futur
e careers
would

be, finding
s showed
two partici
pants did
role-play i
n roles of
their futur
e careers.
Midge an
d

Marie role
-played as
teachers.
Midge, wh
o indicate
d her care
er goal wa
s definitel
y not a tea
cher,

gave this r
ationale fo
r role-
playing a t
eacher:
In regards
to role pla
ying, I wa
s often th
e teacher i
n the situa
tion and i
n retrospe
ct I don’t

know if it
was beca
use I was
the oldest
but I also t
hink that I
got frustra
ted being t
he

student w
hen they
didn’t kno
w what to
do as a te
acher, and
it just got
frustratin
g to like

sit there a
nd have th
em not be
organized
and I coul
d kind of li
ke see ex
actly what
needed

to happen.

While Mid
ge expres
sed her fr
ustration o
f her role
as a teach
er, Marie
expressed
her joys: “
I did

that role-
play and a
lot of the
m was…
played tea
cher, and
I was the t
eacher yo
u know b
ut I
appreciate
d you kno
w setting
up classro
oms.”
113

Self-
concept: l
eader. Fin
dings sho
w that four
participant
s develop
ed their se
lf- concept

as a lead
er starting
from the
growth st
age (Ann,
Candy, M
arie, and
Lisa). Ca
ndy relate
d her

leadershi
p experie
nce with h
er experie
nce as an
oldest chil
d who led
family acti
vities and
led

siblings to
the park.
Ann and
Marie saw
themselve
s as leade
rs when th
ey took le
adership r
oles in

sports tea
ms at sch
ool. Ann w
as a team
manager,
and Marie
was a spo
rts team c
aptain. Lis
a was

not involv
ed in a tea
m sport, b
ut she sa
w herself
as a leade
r in the se
nse of so
meone wh
o wanted

to excel a
nd be the
best, starti
ng when s
he was ab
out 10 ye
ars old. S
he compe
ted in indi
vidual

sports, lik
e cross-
country s
kiing and
cross cou
ntry runni
ng. She e
xplained,
“I just ha
ve always

driven my
self to be
at the top
and be no
t only the
best I can
be, but ju
st to be th
e best. An
d so

that, that c
ompetitiv
e piece. . .
”

Midge eng
aged in m
any social
organizati
ons. She
engaged i
n a lot of c
harity wor
k and

school act
ivities, suc
h as being
a member
of the stud
ent counci
l, that insti
lled leader
ship skills
in

her, but sh
e did not r
ecall seein
g herself a
s a leader
during tho
se times.
She recall
ed,

I got stude
nt council
member o
f the year,
so I starte
d to see m
yself as th
e worker b
ee or

the perso
n who cou
ld do all th
e work tha
t everybod
y liked but
not the pe
rson they
saw as

the leader.

Participan
ts’ leaders
hip skills d
eveloped
over time.
Their lead
ership bec
ame more

concrete d
uring the e
xploration
stage, esp
ecially wh
en they en
gaged in a
ctivities th
at gave th
em

the opport
unities to
show their
abilities a
nd skills;
and when
their abiliti
es and ski
lls were

recognize
d, they sa
w themsel
ves as lea
ders. Duri
ng their hi
gh school
years, Ca
ndy and M
arie

took leade
rship roles
in their pa
rt-time job
s. They w
ere promo
ted to lead
ership role
s, and at t
hat

time, they
thought of
themselve
s as leade
rs. Candy
indicated t
hat her pa
rt-time job
during
114

summer br
eak was th
e first time
she saw h
erself as a
leader. Sh
e was pro
moted to b
e the head
of

a crew of
housekee
pers.

The sum
mer when
I was abo
ut 18 year
s old, 19
years old
…I was w
orking for
a Hills

resort. An
d so my fir
st time I w
as at Hills
Resort the
y put me i
n this posi
tion and I
did

everything
and kind o
f just start
taking the
initiative a
nd doing
other thin
gs. And th
en the

next sum
mer they g
ave me a
crew. And
they made
me respon
sible for a
crew to go

around an
d get thing
s done…
just mana
ging a cre
w of hous
ekeepers.
Marie indi
cated her
part-time j
ob as a ni
ght manag
er at Dairy
Queen wa
s the time
she

saw hersel
f as a lead
er. She be
came a m
anager at t
he age of
16.

I…. kind
of lied ab
out my ag
e, you kn
ow back t
hen I was
14, but I s
aid I was
16 just to

work, I me
an I just li
ke to work
and take c
are of thin
gs and m
ake sure t
hings flow
nicely.

But by th
e time I w
as 16, I w
as like a n
ight mana
ger you k
now…I ju
st worked
there for
2

years and
you know
you alway
s do the b
est you ca
n …you
wanted th
em to beli
eve that

you were
the best p
erson for t
hat… ther
e were pe
ople in th
eir twenti
es and thi
rties that

work there
but you kn
ow the yo
ungest per
son was
manager
but you kn
ow it was
an

experienc
e.

Two partic
ipants wh
o mention
ed no sign
ificant lea
dership ex
periences
during the
ir part-

time jobs,
took their l
eadership
roles after
high scho
ol during t
he explora
tion stage.
Midge

became a
program
manager,
then a fou
nding adm
inistrator o
f a group
home. An
n became
a store

manager a
t a depart
ment store
.

Midge, wh
o had alre
ady devel
oped her l
eadership
skills work
ing with s
ocial servi
ce
organizati
ons and o
n the stud
ent counci
l and who
never look
ed at hers
elf as a le
ader befor
e high
115

school, sta
ted she fir
st saw her
self as a le
ader when
she got a j
ob as an a
dministrati
ve position

when she
was prom
oted to be
a program
manager.

I worked i
n group h
omes with
adults wh
o tested I
Q of 11, w
hatever th
at is in so
mebody

with, you
know, sig
nificant ch
allenges a
nd I was a
staff. Noth
ing too fa
ncy. I bec
ame a

program
manager
pretty quic
kly but ab
out a year
and a half
after doin
g that, all
of sudden

they had a
need. I wa
s 24 years
old at the t
ime and th
ey had a n
eed for so
mebody to

open—be
the foundi
ng admini
strator for
the first of
f-
reservatio
n Native A
merican g
roup

home in t
he countr
y for adult
s with dev
elopment
al disabiliti
es. . . And
I was 24 y
ears old.

So that w
as the first
job that I r
ealized th
at I was. .
. I was goi
ng to be g
ood at this
and

that I had
leadership
.”

Ann’s lea
dership gr
adually de
veloped.
She menti
oned no si
gnificant l
eadership
role

during hig
h school,
but indicat
ed her lea
dership sk
ills were d
eveloped f
rom enga
ging in hig
h

school clu
bs and stu
dent coun
cils. She r
eflected t
hat she “s
tarted to f
ind ways t
o be very
active in

organizati
ons.” She
later start
ed her lea
dership rol
e as a stor
e manage
r at Nordst
rom.

In high sc
hool I did
do a lot of
; I was in
a lot of clu
bs. I did a
lot of man
aging of s
ports

teams. An
d I was in
the studen
t council.
So I do kn
ow that at
that time I
started to
find

ways to b
e very acti
ve in orga
nizations.

Self-
concept: f
emale lea
der . To ill
uminate t
heir perce
ptions on
being a fe
male

superinte
ndent, the
researcher
asked part
icipants to
think abo
ut a meta
phor to de
scribe “be
ing a

superinte
ndent” an
d later ask
ed them t
o think ab
out the m
etaphor a
gain to de
scribe “be
ing a
female su
perintend
ent.” The t
wo intervi
ew questi
ons used t
o elicit the
se percept
ions are:
116

1) Can yo
u describe
what it feel
s like to be
a superint
endent? Pl
ease use
a metapho
r to descri
be

your feeli
ng—for e
xample, b
eing a sup
erintende
nt feels li
ke….

2) Can yo
u describe
what it feel
s like to be
a female s
uperintend
ent? Pleas
e use a m
etaphor to

describe y
our feeling
—for exa
mple, bein
g a female
superinte
ndent feel
s like….

The two m
etaphors h
elped the r
esearcher
compare p
articipant
s’ percepti
ons of bei
ng a

leader and
being a fe
male lead
er, specifi
cally a sup
erintenden
t. Findings
revealed n
o significa
nt
difference
between g
eneral-
leader and
female-
leader met
aphors, an
d no negat
ive attitud
e was

found in th
e female s
uperintend
ent metap
hor.

Lisa and A
nn used th
e same m
etaphor, a
s they did
not see th
e differenc
e between
being a

superinten
dent and b
eing a fem
ale superi
ntendent.
Lisa indica
ted that be
ing a supe
rintendent
felt

like “jum
ping into t
he deep e
nd of the
pool” whe
reas Ann i
ndicated b
eing a sup
erintenden
t felt

like a “str
ucture.”

Midge, C
andy, and
Marie use
d differen
t metapho
rs to descr
ibe “being
a superint
endent”

and “a fe
male supe
rintendent
.” Their m
etaphors
did not refl
ect negati
ve attitude
s toward b
eing a

female su
perintend
ent. Whil
e Midge a
nd Candy
’s metaph
ors reflect
ed the uni
queness o
fa

female su
perintend
ent, Marie
’s metaph
or reflecte
d her posi
tive attitu
de toward
being a fe
male

superinten
dent. Mid
ge used a
metaphor
of a “ceda
r tree” to r
epresent s
trong, dur
able, stabl
e

qualities o
f a superi
ntendent a
nd a meta
phor of “l
ava lamp”
to represe
nt “the flo
w of the li
fe

force insi
de of a la
va lamp”
and the u
nique abili
ty of wom
en that w
omen kno
w how to
work

with this lif

e force an
d know ho
w to make
things hap
pen. She
also reflec
ted her id
ea of the

unseen po
wer of wo
men that
women po
wer was si
milar to th
e lava lam
p that nee
ded to be t
urned

on in orde
r to see th
e light.
117

Candy’s
metaphor
s also refle
ct the uniq
ueness of
being a fe
male supe
rintendent.
She

stated that
a successf
ul superin
tendent fe
els like a
“conducto
r at the or
chestra”
who can
make the

orchestra
play melo
dically wit
h feeling a
nd joy, wh
ile a femal
e superint
endent, fo
r her, feel
s like

a music in
structor. S
he indicat
ed the uni
que qualiti
es of a mu
sic instruct
or as persi
stence,

intelligenc
e, and ass
ertiveness
. She also
mentioned
that to be
a female s
uperintend
ent, wome
n

must be “
bossy” lik
e a music
instructor.
She expla
ined that
“being bo
ssy” mean
t, “You ha
ve to

have your
players do
ing their jo
b in order
for the ent
ire compo
sition to c
ome alive
.”

Marie use
d different
metaphors
for superin
tendent an
d female s
uperintend
ent. Her

metaphors
reflected h
er positive
feelings to
ward bein
g a female
superinten
dent, as s
he indicat
ed

that being
a female s
uperintend
ent felt “e
mpowerin
g.” She in
dicated th
at she “fe
el lucky to
be a

female su
perintende
nt.” Partic
ipants’ m
etaphors a
nd their d
escription
s follow i
n Table 1
5.

Table 15

Participan
ts' Self-
Described
Metaphor
s
Bei Bei
ng ng
as a fe
upe mal
rint e su
end peri
ent nte
feel nde
s li nt f
ke eels
… like
…
Jumping i
nto the de
ep end of
the pool
“Kind of t
hat sports
situation t
hat sports
analogy.
There’s al
l these pe
ople arou
nd
watc
Sam
hing
Lisa e met
me.
Andapho
or r
e
re
xt
ar,
whic
h
uld
ave
een
he
ext
ouple
of
months an
d all of las
t year, wat
ching me,
if I was go
ing to swi
m or drow
n. And of
course, m
e being m
e, there w
as never a
question t
hat I woul
d swim.”
A
“Ce eally
dar stron
rees g, du
are
rabl “Bec
e, ause
a lav
a la
mp, i
t’s e
asy
not t
o see
the
stabl pow
e thi er of
ngs a fe
… male
It’s supe
alwa rinte
ys nden
rowi t wh
ng en th
p, e
Midg
alwa light’
eys s off
ying…
to becau
t se a
er, wom
ways an of
tryinmy a
g ge…I
to grew u
rove,p to b
alwaye a wif
s in e and
sencea mot
fightin
her an
g ford I
its reject
ot ed th
the at. An
arth d so,
… I nee
ut ded s
y’re omeb
ong, ody t
o
s t
t
118

power . . .
But yeah,
I also kno
w how to
work withi
n in and t
hat’s kind
of like the
flow of th
e life forc
e inside o
f a lava la
mp,
you learn
how to wo
rk with it a
nd how to
make thin
gs happen
.”
A structu
re
“As a sup
erintende
nt, it’s mo
re the peo
ple
are Sa
part me
of it me
. So ta
it’s ph
ike; or
I gu
ess
he
easie“Well
st I thin
y to k it’s
ok the sa
t is me. A
at laska’
u’res uniq
he ue
stru and
ctur I’ve
e. nev
Yo er fe
u’re lt th
a b at b
uild eing
ing; a fe
you mal
’re e is
a you
Ann k
n
o
w
m
ade
it
whatbeca
ever;use t
and hroug
ou’rehout
the my pr
ructuincip
re. alshi
nd p I m
et
the wit
thi hd
ng iffe
st ren
hat ts
are up
go eri
in nte
g nd
on ent
,y s. I
ou we
’re nt t
o
protecti
confe
ng that
rence
structu
s...
re to .”
eep
ngs
that peopl
e within th
e structur
e can do
what they
need to d
o.”
A music i
nstructor
“As a fem
ale superi
ntendent s
ometimes
you
i
T n
“ g
h
. i
s
Candw
y. o
. r
k
w i
h n
e g
n ;
s
e o
v feelin
e g bein
r g a su
y ccessf
t ul sup
h
erinte
havyo
ndent
e u
be;kn
feel
s n ow
ee so
eeginm
ningeti
ndu
youm
ctor
atneees
ed yo
be u
che
stra.
p h
F a
And
o v
the
r e
rche
s t
stra
so o
m b
ying
e e
melo
dicalki
lyp n
we do
o
p f
l b
e o
s
i s
n y
.
o B
r u
d t
e y
r o
t u
o k
n
b o
e w
that
a ’s o
kay
f . Li
e ke
m bei
a ng
l bos
e sy l
ike
s am
u usi
p c
er instru
in ctor y
te ou kn
n ow. Y
d ou ha
e ve to
nt have
your
players do
ing their jo
b in order
for the ent
ire
compositi
on to com
e alive.”
As light a
s a feathe
r and like
a heavy
weight at
the same
time
“It feels li
ke a heav
y weight b
ecause I
know I’m
so respon
sible for 1
8000 kids
in
2004 and t
hen about
20000 peo
ple that m
y
decisi Em
on aff pow
ects. erin
So g
eels
mm,
eally
Mari
so“Bei
e meng a
timfema
esle su
beperin
catend
usent d
e oes
is mak
uce
h you fe
greel em
at poweri
obng . . .
and I feel l
hen ucky t
feels
o be a
like
red
ulb
ometi
mes
whenfema
you le su
alize perin
he tend
ponsient.”
bilities
. So
day to da
y, I love it
but at nig
ht . . . if . .
.
um . . . yo
u know . .
. when I’
m thinkin
g
about bud
gets or pe
ople or thi
s or that, I
don’t slee
p because
a fact of h
ow big of
an
influence
it is.”
119

Self-
concept:
education
al leader.
Participant
s perceive
d themsel
ves as ed
ucational

leaders at
different p
oints in ti
me, mainl
y in the es
tablishme
nt and mai
ntenance
stages, an
d for

different r
easons. Li
sa, who is
a goal-
driven per
son, talke
d about th
e percepti
on of her l
eadership

that she al
ways want
ed to be th
e top and t
o be the b
est of anyt
hing she g
ot involve
d with;

therefore,
her thoug
hts about
being a le
ader starte
d “from th
e moment
I thought
about any
job

that I wan
ted to hav
e.” When
she starte
d her teac
hing caree
r, she wan
ted to be “
a terrific

teacher.”
And when
she took t
emporary
leadership
roles, she
thought a
bout bein
g a princi
pal.”

She said, t
hose thou
ghts bega
n,

When I st
arted to h
ave the o
pportunity
to spend ti
me down i
n the (ad
ministrativ
e) office.

Sort of te
mporary l
eadership
roles. And
I, then I k
new that I
wanted to
be a brillia
nt

principal a
nd beyond
that.

There is e
vidence th
at the reali
zation that
participant
s could m
ake a posi
tive impac
t drove

them to le
adership p
ositions.
Midge defi
ned the m
oment that
she looke
d at hersel
f as an

education
al leader a
s, “It was
during thi
s time wh
en I realiz
ed that m
y voice m
attered.”
She

realized th
at she cou
ld make c
hanges w
hen she s
uggested
creative pr
actices wh
ile she wor
ked as

a paraprof
essional i
n a teache
r’s room.
Candy ref
lected on
her desire
to be a lea
der that s
he

wanted to
have “an i
mpact on
a greater
number of
kids”:

The key q
uestion th
at provide
d the reas
on for me
to pause a
nd consid
er this is y
ou know

in a leader
ship positi
on I can h
ave an im
pact on a
greater nu
mber of ki
ds. . . So
metimes

you need t
o have pe
ople in po
sitions of
authority
who can
make goo
d decision
s for kids

for more
children.
And so th
at’s the q
uestion th
at prompt
ed me to
consider,
“Well yes
I

do make
good deci
sions for
kids so I c
an do this
.”
120

Similarly,
Marie talk
ed about t
he reason
she wante
d to pursu
e an M.Ed
. in Public
School

Administr
ation. She
wanted to
have “a bi
gger influ
ence.” Sh
e reflecte
d,

I started
my maste
r’s degree
to get a le
adership;
administr
ative lead
ership de
gree so th
at I

could be a
principal. I
f you are
a principal
though, y
ou could h
ave that e
ffect on lot
s of

people. Y
ou can hel
p lots of cl
asses, lot
s of teach
ers get be
tter . . . It
motivates.
In fact, it

is this ide
a that I co
uld help o
ut our sch
ool, I coul
d make th
e school b
etter if I c
ould be in
a leadersh
ip role an
d so you k
now I did
n’t go tell
people th
at but that
was in my
mind

you know
I just want
to have a
bigger infl
uence.

Besides t
he realizat
ion that th
ey could
make a gr
eater imp
act being
a leader, t
heir belief

in their ab
ilities and
skills was
one factor
that drove
them to s
eek leade
rship posi
tions. Wh
en

Ann was
asked wh
y she wan
ted to be
a principa
l, she me
ntioned h
er good o
rganizatio
nal and

collaborat
ion skills
as her str
engths, a
nd she be
lieved she
could perf
orm leade
rship func
tions

well, so it
was, to he
r, a natura
l fit. She e
xplained,
I felt like o
ne of my s
trengths w
as that I c
ould orga
nize thing
s very wel
l. When I

was teachi
ng I; whe
n you’re i
n a facult
y there ar
e differen
t events a
nd things
that happe
n

and I foun
d that I re
ally enjoy
ed organiz
ing things
and helpin
g people t
o do what
they

needed to
do in their
classroom
s. And I e
njoyed the
collaborati
on. So it j
ust seeme
d like a

natural fit
when the
principal l
eft that wh
en they as
ked me to
take over I
had those
skills

and I was
able to tak
eover.

Similarly,
when Lisa
was asked
about the
reasons s
he had for
stepping i
nto an

education
al leader p
osition, sh
e explaine
d that she
believed i
n her abilit
ies, that s
he felt con
fident

that she c
ould do th
e job, and
that she c
ould find a
different a
nd better
way to do
the job. S
he

said,
121

Certainly
I felt conf
ident that
I could do
the job. I
always sa
w ways…
I saw way
s where I

thought it
could be d
one differ
ently or b
etter. And
so-- But I
wanted to
do it, I wa
sn’t just

telling peo
ple how to
do it. I wa
nted to be
part of tha
t. And I ha
d a - I felt
comfortab
le

working
with peop
le, workin
g with ad
ults. And
I don’t kn
ow, I see
m to just
have - hav
e

an ability t
o (do the j
ob). . . .

Self-
concept:
current p
erception
of self. T
o illuminat
e the curr
ent conce
pt of self t
o

see how p
articipant’
s self-
concepts
developed
and how w
omen lead
ers percei
ved thems
elves, the

researche
r asked pa
rticipants t
o think ab
out the he
adline that
someone
would writ
e about th
em.

Findings r
eveal that
their head
lines refle
ct either t
heir traits
(Midge, A
nn, Candy
) or abilitie
s

(Lisa, Mar
ie). The tr
aits menti
oned wer
e being p
assionate,
hardworki
ng, honor
able, trust
worthy,

and being
people of
integrity.
Some hea
dlines refl
ected thei
r abilities,
which inc
luded “M
akes

sweeping
reforms”,
“What is
she doing
now?” So
me headli
nes includ
ed words
or a sente
nce that

reflected t
heir thoug
hts for the
future, like
reform, fut
ure, and “
What is s
he going t
o do?” (Li
sa,

Midge, M
arie). Eac
h particip
ant’s self-
described
headlines
follow in T
able16.

Table 16

Self-
Described
Headlines

Headline
Superinte
ndent wh
o makes
sweeping
reforms
Lisa
“Finds
opportu
nity in c
risis. Pu
lls scho
ol distric
t out of
a very d
ifferent
spot, an
d-
and make
s sweepin
g reforms.
” “Somet
hing alon
g those li
nes.”
Passionat
e advocat
e for our f
uture.
“I helped
people bl
ossom, no
t only stu
dents but
staff, that’
s really i
mportant
to me,
Midg
and
ealso
fami
lies.
Ally h
nonor
ded in
t the p
hroce
ass th
t at in
t this
hbureaucr
eatic syste
ym, accou
’ ntability a
r nd regula
etions and
r checkbox
ees that I
abring
humanity
to … And
I hope the
y also say
that I was
a strong a
dvocate fo
r public
education
and fought
for it and
that famil
ies alway
s felt welc
ome.”
A
Ann
h
a
r
d
w
o
r
k
i
n
g
w
o
m
a
n
.

“I look
more as
a facilit
ator rat
her than
a leader
. I look
at my jo
b as one
to make
sure
122

that the te
achers ha
ve what th
ey need s
o that they
can do the
best job fo
r our
students.”
“I don’t e
xpect peo
ple to foll
ow me; I
expect to
follow the
m.”
Ms…is h
onorable,
trustwort
hy, and c
onducts
her affair
s with int
egrity.
Candy “.
. . just in r
egards to
the positi
on and w
hat I do is
that, “Ms.
. . . is hon
orable,
trustworth
y and con
ducts her
affairs wit
h integrit
y”
What is s
he doing
now? Or
What is s
he going t
o do?
Mari
“. . . I lik
ee to do d
ifferent t
hings lik
e last ye
ar I shar
ed with a
staff and
like you
know
I learn
how to
jump
out of
an air
plane,
paairpla
ranes. T
chhis ye
utar I le
earned
off
how to wa
ke surf…I
just like t
o try som
ething ne
w and do
new thing
s.”

Theme 3:
Critical R
eflection

Findings
confirm t
he values
of Meziro
w’s (1978
) transfor
mative lea
rning mod
el, which

helped re
veal parti
cipants’ l
earning in
a natural
environm
ent. Narra
tives show
ed that all

participant
s faced cri
tical incide
nts in both
personal li
fe and car
eer at diff
erent stag
es. They

learned fr
om these i
ncidents a
nd gained
new world
views that
have help
ed them in
their

leadership
roles. Thei
r critical in
cidents in
cluded dil
emmas in
making ca
reer choic
es and in

leadership
decision-
making. T
hese incid
ents and t
he reflecti
on proces
s helped t
hem devel
op

leadership
traits and
skills and
helped the
m underst
and the im
permanen
ce of lead
ership and
the

intrinsic v
alue of th
eir work.

Lisa learn
ed to look
at a barrie
r as a chal
lenge. Tha
t gave her
the drive t
o overcom
e the

barrier by
reflecting
on the tim
e she com
peted in in
dividual s
ports whe
n she was
young.

Midge gai
ned knowl
edge from
overcomin
g her spee
ch impedi
ment, sinc
e she coul
d teach

herself or
to figure o
ut the syst
em of the j
ob or anyt
hing in wh
ich she w
as involve
d. She als
o

took a mo
ve in her l
eadership
position a
nd got rid
of the fear
of rejectio
n by reflec
ting on th
e

time she
went out t
o dance w
ith a popul
ar boy wh
o did not
want to go
out with h
er. She

evaluated
her fear of
rejection.
She then
understoo
d that acc
epting reje
ction or an
honest an
swer

is better th
an being w
here she
was not su
pposed to
be. She na
rrated, “In
leadership
you have t
o

be willing
to move,
you have t
o know w
hen it’s ti
me and w
hen it’s n
ot time.”
She also l
earned
123

the imper
manence
of leaders
hip by refl
ecting on t
he experie
nce when
she had to
leave the
board

of director
s because
she did no
t want to b
e associat
ed with th
e miscond
uct of one
director.

Ann learn
ed to rede
fine her se
lf-concept
and tried t
o understa
nd who sh
e was or
wanted

to be in rel
ation to w
ork values
and job sa
tisfaction
when she
worked as
a store ma
nager. As
she

reflected o
n her work
conditions
at the dep
artment st
ore, she g
ained a ne
w worldvie
w that wor
k

value is a
s critical a
s working
conditions
. Working
at a depar
tment stor
e and teac
hing are b
oth

hard work,
but teachi
ng would
bring her j
ob satisfa
ction as it
was a mor
e worthwh
ile and

fulfilling j
ob.

Candy lear
ned to ma
ke a caree
r choice b
ased on h
er true pas
sion. She
changed h
er career

goal from
being a for
est person
to a teach
er when s
he reflecte
d on her c
hildhood e
xperience
s.

She realiz
ed that sh
e enjoyed
working wi
th children
.

Marie lear
ned leader
ship traits
when she
was 16 by
challengin
g her old p
erception
about

leadership
and devel
oped a ne
w percepti
on of lead
ership. Sh
e learned t
hat leader
ship is not
about
having aut
hority, but
the author
ity given b
y team me
mbers. Le
adership i
s also abo
ut having t
he

availability
to perform
the tasks
or be ther
e for the t
eam. She
also recog
nized a le
ader-
follower

relationshi
p and und
erstood th
at leaders
hip is not
a standalo
ne positio
n.

The critica
l reflection
process ci
ted by par
ticipants i
ncluded c
omparing
previous

experienc
es with ne
w experie
nces (Lisa
), deciding
which acti
on to take
(Midge), r
evising th
e

meaning
of experie
nces (Mid
ge), self-
evaluating
(Midge), a
nd challen
ging their
old worldv
iews

(Ann, Mari
e, Candy).
Each parti
cipant des
cribed criti
cal reflecti
ons in Ta
ble 17.
124

Table 17

Participan
ts' Self-
Described
Critical R
eflections

C T
ri
ti
c
al
ei
r
Inc Pr
ide oc
nts es
s
Learn to l
ook at a b
arrier as
a challen
ge.
Co “In cr
mp oss co
arin untry
g skiing
when
the w
eather
’s
barri
really c
ersold. I
n mean it
’s a ch
allenge
. And I
have
jobalways
ith used th
oseose situ
ations t
o my ad
vantage
.
Like
I hav
Lis e fed
a off ot
her p
eople
’s per
ceptio
ns
of ba
rriers
, and
used
it to
my a
dvan
tage.
So I
just al
ways -
so yea
h, so if
anybo
dy els
e thre
w
up a
barri
er or
a ro
ad bl
ock
or ted t
su hat
perce
maybe
ption
I for so
of me reas
on shou
ldn’t be
where I
bar was o
rier r doin
is g wha
t I wa
s - th
at just
fed m
e. An
d
ch yeah,
all so it f
en ed m
ge. e in s
ports
and it
’s fed
me in
my career
.”
Learn to
be a self-
taught/
self-
directed
learner.
“. . . my p
arents act
ually thou
ght I was
developm
entally dis
abled. An
d so that f
act has
really influ
enced a l
ot of who
I am and
my own
Decidi
ng wh
at
action
to tak
Mide;
ge wheth
er to
be
vie
we
da
sa
disabl
ed chi
ld
o to h
r ow t
t hat
o exp
p erie
r nce
o help
v ed s
e hap
h e
m
e
a
s
a
le
a
d
er
is
th
at
Il
e
ar
n
e
d
th
at
I
c
o
ul
d
figure thin
gs out. I m
ean, what
toddler te
aches
themselve
s to read b
y lip readi
ng? . . . I
was
always fig
uring out t
he system
and I think
that’s som
ething tha
t’s carried
me throug
h and
was the e
arly start o
f some of
my leader
ship
traits.”
125

Learn t
2) o acce
n pt reje
kwar
ction o
d r an ho
nest
feelin
a an
g f s
o e w
a er
r .
o
f
to “I ask
anceed the
with popul
ar boy
to the
dance
that th
e
boy
who
wantAnd h
to e agre
withed to g
o with
me but
then w
as
r
with me a
nd I decid
ed at that
point I di
dn’t like
that feelin
g. And I n
ever want
ed to feel
that
again and
that actual
ly-- that fe
ar of rejec
tion or
that dislik
e for not
wanting t
o be wher
e I’m not
welcome .
. .”
“I look at
all of my
career mo
ves, there
are
many time
s in my ca
reer wher
e I take th
at
lesson tha
t I learned
at that tim
e and I’m
like
hey, you k
now what
? If what I
have to of
fer
isn’t what
you’re lo
oking for
? No hard
feelings . .
. I will go .
. . And so
that kind
of
was a big l
eadership
thing beca
use I think
in
leadership
you have t
o be willin
g to move
, you
3) have t
he o kno
ecisiw wh
on en it’
s time
and w
hen it
’s not
to time
ve and t
r hat’s
some
thing
I lear
ned d
uring
that
beca peri
use od o
he f ti
d me.
”
not want t
o be
“
T
leadership
and that s
ometimes
you have t
o do
what’s rig
ht for the
organizati
on and for
the
people in
volved.”
L
e
a
r
n
An
n t
o
r
e
d
e
f
i
n
e
h
e
r
s
e
l
f
-
c
o
n
c
e
p
t
a
n
d

rel
ate
d
wo
rk
val
ue
wit
hj
ob
sat
isf
act
io
n.
Her vi
ew cha
nged f
rom “I
didn’t
want t
o work
as ha
rd as
my d
a
d
di
d
as
a
te
a
c
h
er
”
to
“I
w
as
w
o
r
k
i
n
g
i
n
a
d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t
s
t
o
r
e
j
u
s
t
w
o
r
k
i
n
g

w
Learn to r
edefine h
er self-
concept a
nd make
career ch
oice base
d on her t
rue passi
on.
“I enrolle
d in a pro
gram to st
udy to be
come
ce
rti
Canfie
dy d i
n
ci
vil
cu
ltu
re
to
lo
ok
at
w
or
ki
n
g
outside
in the f
orest f
or the
U.S. D
epartm
ent of
Na
tur
al
Re
so
ur
ce
sa
nd
so
pr
ob
abl
y
we
nt
to
school
for a y
ear. B
ut the
n I ch
anged
my mi
nd
and starte
d somethi
ng differe
nt.” “I thi
nk what
I realized
is that I m
issed wor
king with
kids.”
She indica
ted that re
flecting ba
ck to the ti
me
126

she worke
d with her
siblings m
ade her re
alize
that she w
anted to w
ork in the
education
al
field. She
said, “I re
ally did e
njoy work
ing with
my siblin
gs.”
Learn a f
ollower-
leader rel
ationship
.
“I . . . kin
d of lied a
bout my a
ge, you k
now
back then
I was 14,
but I said I
was 16 ju
st to
work, I me
an I just li
ke to work
and take c
are
of things a
nd make s
ure things
flow nicely
. But
by the tim
e I was 16
, I was like
a night
manager
you know
.”

Challe
nged h
Marer
ie old vie
w abo
ut
le
a
d
e
r
influence
of power t
hat that pe
rson has,
but
when you
’re in the
leadership
job you k
now
that you’r
e only giv
en the ava
ilability t
o do
what you
want to do
if people g
ive you th
at
power . . .
You can l
ead if you
have
followers.
. . people
that belie
ve in wha
t you’re
doing and
so you ha
ve to take
care of . . .
that
they’ll tak
e your lea
dership.”

Theme 4:
Internal
Motivatio
n

One com
mon them
e among t
he five w
omen sup
erintende
nts’ narrat
ives is int
ernal

motivation
. All partic
ipants me
ntioned in
ternal mot
ivation in
pursuing l
eadership
positions.

These mo
tivations i
ncluded c
hallenge (
Lisa), desi
re to chan
ge the sys
tem (Midg
e), belief i
n

projects (
Midge), e
njoyment i
n helping
people (A
nn), and d
esire to m
ake an im
pact on st
udents

(Candy).

Lisa menti
oned chall
enge as m
otivation f
or her car
eer choice
s. She sai
d, “Teach
ing is a

challenge.
Special ed
ucation is
a challeng
e. And the
n the lead
ership ad
ministratio
n piece w
as a

huge chal
lenge, and
I just emb
raced it.”
127

Midge talk
ed about
her move
to differen
t positions
; she want
ed to be in
the right pl
ace

where her
skills and
abilities w
ere neede
d because
she could
then chan
ge the sys
tem. She s
tated,

It’s okay i
f I’m not t
he right le
ader for y
ou at this
point in ti
me. But
where I’m
right is

where I w
ant to be
because t
hat’s whe
n the syst
ems are g
oing to e
mbrace w
hat I have
and

I’m going
to really b
e able to c
hange a s
ystem. An
d that’s w
hat I want
to do, I w
ant to

change sy
stems.

The desire
to change
the syste
m was the
only intern
al motivati
on that sh
e had whe
n

accepting
the leader
ship positi
on. When
the previo
us superin
tendent lef
t her positi
on, Midge,

who was t
he assista
nt superint
endent at t
he time, re
flected on
her ration
ale in appl
ying for th
e

superinten
dent positi
on. She w
anted to c
ontinue to
work on th
e project s
he believe
d in. She

could not l
eave the p
roject, eve
n though s
he got a jo
b offer fro
m another
organizati
on .

Superinte
ndency w
as the onl
y job she
had to figh
t for becau
se she wa
s committ
ed to curr
ent

projects:

The superi
ntendent
was leavin
g . . . I had
to be supe
rintendent
because o
ur projects
were

multi-year
projects a
nd they ar
e good pr
ojects and
they woul
d all go a
way… Th
ere’s no

other peo
ple to kee
p things g
oing so if
we’re bot
h gone, w
e’re gone.
The proje
cts die an
d

I couldn’t
do that to
our projec
ts and I h
ad to fight
for the jo
b… that’s
saying so
mething

about the
projects th
at I believ
e in.

Ann share
d her moti
vation to
be in a lea
dership p
osition; s
he “enjoy
ed organi
zing thing
s

and helpin
g people t
o do what
they need
ed to do i
n their cla
ssrooms.”
Candy in
dicated th
at she

wanted to
make an i
mpact on
students.
She reflect
ed, “The
key questi
on that pr
ovided th
e reason

for me to
pause and
consider t
his is you
know in a l
eadership
position I
can have
an impact
on a

greater nu
mber of k
ids.”
128

Theme 5:
Family In
fluence

Another th
eme emer
ged from
participan
ts’ reflecti
on on thei
r career d
evelopme
ntal

stages. Fi
ndings sh
owed evid
ence that f
amily had
a strong in
fluence on
various as
pects of th
eir

career pat
hs, includi
ng influen
ce on their
self-
concept, t
heir leade
rship quali
ties, and t
heir caree
r

choices.

Family inf
luence: s
elf-
concept.
Findings s
howed tha
t family ha
d a strong
influence
on

participan
ts’ concep
t of career
during gr
owth stag
e. Lisa di
d not thin
k about a
ny careers
in

particular,
but mentio
ned her fa
mily value
s and her
mother as
a person
who was t
he stronge
st

role model
as a colleg
e educate
d woman.
She said,

This just w
as a famil
y value th
at an educ
ation was
going to b
e key to g
etting a su
ccessful

career. An
d probably
my mother
was the st
rongest rol
e model in
that, that s
he was

college ed
ucated.

Similar to
Lisa, Mari
e develop
ed no clea
r understa
nding abo
ut career
at that sta
ge and did

not think a
bout any j
ob she wa
nted to ha
ve, but sh
e indicate
d that she
wanted to
be a profe
ssional
because o
f the influe
nce from h
er parents
. Her pare
nts were b
lue collar.
She indica
ted that he
r

family was
in the mid
dle class.
Her father
was a me
chanic an
d made go
od money,
but her

parents al
ways want
ed her to g
o to colleg
e so she c
ould beco
me a profe
ssional.

Unlike Lis
a and Mar
ie, Midge
and Ann d
id not wan
t to have t
he same c
areer as t
heir

parents. A
nn mentio
ned that h
er father w
as a milita
ry membe
r who bec
ame a tea
cher. Fro
m her

experienc
e observin
g her fathe
r, she perc
eived teac
hing jobs
as hard w
ork. She s
aid that a

teacher w
as “the on
ly career I
knew I di
dn’t want
to do.”
129

Midge dev
eloped he
r understa
nding abo
ut career
self-
concept fr
om her fa
mily mem
bers

who are pr
ofessional,
mostly law
yers and t
eachers, b
ut she indi
cated she
did not wa
nt to be a

teacher, li
ke her fem
ale relativ
es or her
mother. S
he looked
at teachin
g as a sid
e job, not
as a

career, be
cause she
thought all
of her fem
ale relativ
es becam
e teachers
for financi
al reasons
and

were not c
ommitted t
o teaching
. They usu
ally quit th
eir job afte
r they had
children.
She gave
this

rationale:

All of the t
eachers w
ere femal
es and my
mom, my
grandma,
my two au
nts, and th
ey all

quit worki
ng as soo
n as they
had kids,
or they onl
y worked t
o put my d
ad or my
grandpa,

whatever,
through c
ollege and
then they
stopped w
orking. So
my definiti
on of care
er at

that time
was like l
awyer or
a teacher
and I didn
’t want to
be a teach
er no matt
er what . .
.

Because
all the fem
ales that
were in m
y life who
were teac
hers were
not commi
tted to

being a te
acher. It w
as a side j
ob that ma
de some
money tha
t got them
to go to co
llege

where the
y met thei
r spouse b
ut it wasn
’t a passio
n and a ca
reer.
Siblings
were an i
nfluence i
n Candy’s
career cho
ice. She c
hanged he
r career g
oal as she

realized s
he missed
the time w
hen she pl
ayed with
her sibling
s. She exp
ressed her
joy in leadi
ng

their activi
ties and le
ading the
m to the p
ark occasi
onally. Sh
e emphasi
zed she “r
eally did
enjoy

working
with my s
iblings.”
She descri
bed the p
oint wher
e she cha
nged her
career goa
l:

I think wh
at I realiz
ed is that
I missed
working w
ith kids. S
o then I w
as thinkin
g about

having a c
areer goal
in educati
on. So the
n I went a
head and
started my
undergrad
uate

work.
Family inf
luence: le
adership
qualities.
Findings s
howed evi
dence tha
t activities
with

family du
ring parti
cipants’ g
rowth sta
ge shaped
their lead
ership qu
alities. Th
ese activiti
es were
130

helping a f
ather build
and remo
del a hous
e (Lisa), p
articipatin
g in sports
(Lisa), goi
ng to chur
ch

(Ann), lea
ding famil
y activities
(Candy),
and organ
izing the h
ouse (Mar
ie). The q
ualities ga
ined

included a
work ethic
, creativity
, a sense
of competi
tion, the w
illingness
and the a
vailability t
o

work, cap
ability to
make deci
sions, and
organizati
onal skills
. Participa
nts’ narrat
ives and t
he

leadership
qualities g
ained are
presented
in Table 1
8.

Table 18

Leadershi
p Qualitie
s Gained f
rom Famil
y Activitie
s
L
N
 “I have
Hard
to attrib
- ute a lot
worki
of my w
ngork ethi
c to my
dad. Jus
t, I mea
n he,
h
e
-
-
Y
e
a
h
h
e
b
e
l
i
e
v
e
d
i
n
h
a
r
d
w
o
r
k
,

Talking to
and helpi
ng her da
d build an
d remodel
houses: “
There’s a
Lis creati
a vity pi
ece, a
nd I le
arned
to app
reciat
e that
- beca
use h
e desi
gned
it himself .
. . I think t
hat instille
d a chara
cteristic in
me.
Se “My
ns paren
e ts cer
of tainly
supp
orted
me.
They
also
– the
y fost
ered
a sen
se
comof co
petitimpeti
on tion.”
“They
Willi(my p
ngnarents
ess) are d
a evoted
Cathol
ics an
d they
didn’t
do a l
ot in
the chu
rch . . .
I did se
e them
taking
not so
much l
eaders
hip role
s but
Anthey
things.
n ere
And th
ways
at’s pr
etty
willing
to
p
nd
do much
he what I
wordo. I ju
k st had
opport
unities
open u
p for m
e beca
use I w
as
so
will
ing
to j
ust
do t
h ther
i sm
n ay
g not
s hav
t ew
h ant
a ed t
t od
o o.”
Made dec
isions for
siblings: “
I’m the ol
dest of 6
children.
And so I
think by th
at time I w
as really
much a ty
pical olde
st child. A
nd
m
Can ak
dy
i
n
g
t
h
o
s
e
d
e
c
i
s
i
o
n
s
.
.
.
”

Talke
d abo
ut lei
sure a
ctiviti
es ass
ociat
ed wi
th her
leade
rship:
“I ess
those leis
ure activiti
es . . . goi
ng back to
leading gr
oups in th
e park or
leading si
blings.
Talked
Mari
about h
e er organ
izationa
l skills:
“Syste
ms of or
der reall
y came
f
r
o
m
m
y
m
o
m
.
”

Family inf
luence: c
areer cho
ice. Findin
gs also sh
owed the
direct and
indirect

influence
of family i
n leading
participant
s toward c
areer choi
ces in the
education
al field.

Although
Ann resist
ed being a
teacher lik
e her fath
er as she
did not wa
nt to work
as hard as
he
did, she la
ter realize
d what he
did was w
orthwhile
and more
fulfilling. S
he recalle
d,
131

When we
came bac
k from Sp
ain, we ha
d a son an
d at that ti
me, I wen
t back to
work at

Nordstro
m’s. And
I found th
at I could
do the job
but I was
n’t fulfilli
ng. And s
o then I

started thi
nking abo
ut educati
on and wh
at my dad
did.

Family ha
d an indir
ect influe
nce on Ca
ndy’s care
er choice.
She share
d the point
that

when she
decided to
change he
r career go
al, it was b
ecause sh
e missed t
he time wh
en she

worked wi
th her sibli
ngs. She r
ealized he
r love for
working w
ith childre
n came fr
om home.
She

said, “I re
ally think
a lot from
home. I re
ally did e
njoy work
ing with
my siblin
gs.” Fami
ly also

had an in
direct infl
uence in
Lisa’s car
eer choice
and leade
rship. She
never real
ized this i
nfluence

until she r
eflected o
n her exp
erience du
ring the int
erview. Sh
e said,

My grand
mother ha
d been in
education.
She was t
he first fe
male Dea
n at Orego
n Institute

of Technol
ogy. My m
om was a
teacher a
nd was th
e first fem
ale Princip
al at her s
chool.

So I mean
all these t
hings now
make sen
se, but at t
he time I j
ust did not
want to be
in

education.

Theme 6:
Network
Besides fa
mily influ
ence, find
ings show
ed eviden
ce that pa
rticipants’
networks
had an

influence
on either t
heir educa
tion or thei
r career. T
hree parti
cipants in
dicated th
eir networ
ks

encourage
d them to
advance i
n their edu
cation, an
d four part
icipants in
dicated th
eir leaders
hip

opportuniti
es came fr
om their n
etworks. T
able 19 su
mmarizes
what resul
ted from t
he suppor
t

that partici
pants rec
eived fro
m their ne
tworks.
132

Table 19

Network I
nfluence

E
- Temp
- Admi
orary a
nistrati
ssistan
ve t princi
ificate
pal role
-
A
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
p
r
i
n
c
i
p
a
l

Lisin -
a -S
up
eri
nte
nd
ent

-
M E
- Assistant
superinten
dent
P
D
Cand
y
-
Deg- Ass
Mari
ree istant
e in supe
ublirinte
c nden
hoot
l -
a
Network:
educatio
n. Lisa, C
andy, and
Marie wer
e advised
by their su
pportive n
etworks

to advanc
e their edu
cation. Th
ey mentio
ned that th
eir networ
ks made t
hose sugg
estions be
cause

they saw t
hat the pa
rticipants
had the qu
alities and
the abilitie
s to be in
particular l
eadership

positions.

After she
helped th
e Principa
l and the
Assistant
Principal i
n the offic
e while th
ey were

absent for
a while, th
ey encour
aged Lisa
to apply fo
r an admi
nistrative
certificate.
She said,

“They bot
h, after a f
ew experi
ences wit
h that, enc
ouraged
me to app
ly for my
administr
ative
certificate
. So then I
got a seco
nd Master
’s degree
in admini
stration.”

Candy an
d Marie ha
d similar e
xperience
s. They ha
d supporti
ve networ
ks whose
members

saw their
abilities an
d encoura
ged them t
o advance
their educ
ation in th
e educatio
nal leader
ship

and admi
nistrative f
ields. In th
eir own w
ords:
133

Initially I s
tarted my
graduate
work agai
n in Early
Childhood
Education
. But then
after

visiting wit
h a buildin
g administ
rator they
recomme
nded that
I would go
into educa
tional

leadership
because o
f my abili
ty. So I di
d. And I h
aven’t loo
ked back.
(Candy)

I had a ve
ry supporti
ve princip
al at the ti
me who e
ncourage
d me, said
you know
. . . you

have the q
ualities yo
u should d
o that (pur
suing a M
aster degr
ee in educ
ation with
a major

in public s
chool ad
ministrati
on). (Mari
e)

Network:
leadershi
p opportu
nities. In
addition to
getting the
suggestio
ns to adva
nce in

their educ
ation, net
works wer
e found to
be a sour
ce of opp
ortunities f
or particip
ants. Lisa,
Midge,

Ann, and
Marie refl
ected that
they were
given lead
ership pos
itions by t
heir super
visors. Lis
a was

given opp
ortunities t
o be in all
of the ad
ministrativ
e position
s, includin
g the tem
porary as
sistant

principal r
ole, assist
ant princip
al, princip
al, and su
perintend
ent by her
network.
She state
d,

Every ad
ministrativ
e position
- I’ve nev
er intervie
wed for a
n adminis
trator posi
tion. They

have all, I
’ve been i
n the right
place at th
e right ti
me, and I’
ve been a
sked to m
ove up an
d

fill in.

Midge got
many lead
ership pos
itions thro
ugh her n
etwork. So
me examp
les of thes
e

positions i
nclude a f
ounding a
dminister
at a group
home, an
executive
director fo
r two grou
p

homes, an
d an assist
ant superi
ntendent.
She menti
oned that t
hroughout
her leader
ship

experienc
es, she ne
ver had to
apply for
a job. She
said that i
t was as if
she would
“rise up i
n

leadership
positions.
”

Ann got of
fers to be
a principal
and superi
ntendent.
She explai
ned that t
he transiti
on from
one positi
on to anot
her seeme
d like “a n
atural pro
gression f
rom one t
ask to ano
ther.” She

explained
when she
got into p
rincipalsh
ip, “The p
rincipal I
was worki
ng for had
a heart att
ack. . .
134

He left me
in charge
of the buil
ding. And
after that t
hey asked
me to take
over for hi
m becaus
e

he did not
return.”
When she
worked as
a principa
l, her duti
es were in
creased e
very year
by the

district, so
later, she
was asked
to be a su
perintende
nt.

Marie was
asked to s
tep into a l
eadership
position b
y her netw
ork. She w
as asked t
o

apply for t
he princip
al position
. She said
, “I becam
e a princi
pal of my
own scho
ol probabl
y when

I was abo
ut 33, 34 a
bout that s
ame time.
I never re
ally applie
d for a job
and I was
always as
ked
to apply.”

Marie was
also asked
by the sup
erintenden
t to be an
assistant s
uperintend
ent, and la
ter

was asked
by the boa
rd to be a
superinten
dent when
the former
superinten
dent pass
ed away.

These opp
ortunities
were not j
ust given
because o
f personal
preferenc
es. Their a
bilities

and skills
had been
demonstr
ated in the
ir jobs and
were reco
gnized by
their supe
rvisors. All

participant
s noted th
at their net
works gav
e them the
opportuniti
es becaus
e of their a
bilities and

skills. The
y were go
od at what
they were
doing and
were trust
ed to be in
the leader
ship positi
ons.

Lisa gave
the ration
ale for the
job offer s
he got, sa
ying she g
ave “tons
of suggest
ions

about ho
w they (th
e current l
eaders) sh
ould be d
oing their
jobs,” and
she got “a
lot of posi
tive

feedback
all along t
he way” a
bout her s
kills and a
bilities. S
he also m
entioned t
hat leader
ship is

about buil
ding credi
bility over
time. She
said,

There is n
o circumv
enting or
shortcut i
n credibilit
y. You ha
ve to buil
d credibilit
y. And I

think that’
s why I’v
e been su
ccessful i
n this dist
rict. Beca
use I’ve b
uilt credib
ility in

every posi
tion up to
this point.

Midge me
ntioned, “
I have bee
n thrust in
to leaders
hip positi
ons.” Ann
gave this
rationale

for her jo
b offer: “
Any tasks
they gave
me I was
able to do
.” Marie i
ndicated t
hat she wa
s asked

to apply fo
r many lea
dership po
sitions. Sh
e explaine
d, “I was
very good
at activiti
es and
135

organizati
on and m
aking. Yo
u know I
worked ha
rd. I work
hard at ge
tting on th
e school t
o be

noticed an
d just hav
e the goo
d things h
appening.
”

Theme 7:
Glass Cei
ling

All particip
ants ackn
owledged
that superi
ntendent i
s a male-
dominated
position,

especially
in Alaska,
where ther
e are man
y male su
perintende
nts. Some
participant
s recogniz
ed

gender bia
ses, and
most parti
cipants th
ought bein
g female
was a barr
ier in step
ping into t
he

superinten
dent positi
on.
Gender di
scriminat
ion. Gend
er biases
are expect
ed when
women w
ork in a m
ale-

dominated
profession
(Brunner,
2000a). M
idge and
Candy we
re the two
participant
s who

experienc
ed gender
biases. Th
ey also ex
perienced
prejudicial
gender ste
reotyping,
which is

prevalent i
n the relati
onship of
women sc
hool super
intendents
to their su
bordinates
, colleagu
es,

peers, an
d board (
Witmer, 2
006).

Midge ex
perienced
a gender
wage gap,
and a ster
eotypical
belief abo
ut women
’s

capabilitie
s in leader
ship positi
ons. She
explained,

I also thin
k that it’s
a bit of a
glass bub
ble in that
everybod
y looks at
you (wom
en)

because n
obody real
ly thinks y
ou can do
it . . . the f
act that I g
ot less mo
ney than t
hey

would hav
e paid for
the male,
and they
would hav
e paid mo
ving expe
nses for th
e male,

and they r
equired th
at even th
ough I hav
e a doctor
ate, no su
perintende
nt has had
a

doctorate
before, th
ey require
d that I ge
t an endor
sement in
two years,
even thou
gh it’s

not requir
ed by the
state. But
because I’
m a wom
an, they d
idn’t have
confidenc
e in me.

So it is a li
ttle bit of t
hat glass
ceiling tha
t you have
to burst a
nd at time
s I feel lik
e you
have to bu
rst it.
136

Candy tal
ked about
prejudicial
female ste
reotyping,
saying,

There’s a
mispercep
tion that f
emale sup
erintende
nts would
not be as t
ough or a
s

consistent
or as relia
ble. And a
ctually it’
s - they’re
just as int
elligent, j
ust as co
mmitted,

and just a
s proficien
t.

Although t
wo partici
pants conf
irmed that
a glass ce
iling exists
, the narra
tives of th
e other

participant
s did not a
lign with t
he literatu
re about t
he glass c
eiling and
gender bi
as. Findin
gs did

not suppo
rt the idea
in the liter
ature that
women w
ho are wel
l-qualified
for admini
strative
positions c
annot adv
ance to le
adership p
ositions d
ue to the g
lass ceilin
g (Scanlo
n, 1997).
Marie,

Ann, and
Lisa did n
ot experie
nce the gl
ass ceiling
or face ba
rriers of b
eing femal
e in steppi
ng

into the le
adership p
osition. M
arie menti
oned that
she did no
t see that
superinten
dency is “
a

man’s wo
rld that I
had to bre
ak into.”
She thoug
ht that the
difference
of being a
women w
as an

advantage
. She expl
ained,

I don’t se
e it as a m
an’s worl
d that I ha
d to break
into. I see
it as, you
know, I a
m

different i
n a man’s
work and
then what
we do is n
oticed mo
re becaus
e of the di
fferences.

So I never
feel like it
’s a bad t
hing or th
at I’m hel
d back or
I just thin
k I can do
more

because o
f being a f
emale sup
erintenden
t.

Ann ackn
owledged
that superi
ntendency
is a male-
dominated
position in
Alaska. S
he

stated, “A
laska is u
nique,” b
ut she did
not think t
hat being
female wa
s a barrier
. She note
d, “I’ve

never felt
that being
a female i
s you kno
w made it
different o
r worse.”
She menti
oned that

having a n
etwork in t
he field m
ay have h
elped her
with the b
arrier issu
es becaus
e she alre
ady

knew mos
t superint
endents b
efore she
became a
superinte
ndent: “W
hen I beca
me a

superinten
dent I alre
ady knew
most of th
e superint
endents. S
o it didn’t
have any
real effect
being

a woman.
Yeah I do
n’t see an
y differen
ce.”
137

Similar to
Ann, Lisa
was well a
ware that
superinte
ndency is
a male-
dominate
d position
in

Alaska. S
he said, “I
t is a goo
d old boy
superinte
ndent, sor
t of cultur
e in Alask
a.” Howe
ver, Lisa

stated she
did not ex
perience g
ender disc
riminatio
n. She sai
d people “
never exp
licitly ask
ed me

about gen
der.” She
also indic
ated, “It h
as never c
rossed my
mind as b
eing a bar
rier.”

Lisa noted
that the fa
ct people
were fasci
nated with
her being
a superint
endent wh
o is

single and
young mig
ht link her
situation t
o the gend
er issue. S
he shared
her experi
ences that

people al
ways said
to her she
was “so y
oung,” an
d she won
dered whe
ther a ma
n would b
e asked

the same
question a
bout his a
ge. She sa
id,

They all s
aid, at eve
ry step of
leadership
, “You’re
so young,
” but I sus
pect that a
ctually

that age q
uestion is
also linke
d to gend
er, becaus
e I don’t
know that
a man wo
uld get th
at

question.

She also s
uspected
her marital
status coul
d be anoth
er factor th
at led to h
er persona
l life

being scru
tinized. S
he said, “I
don’t kno
w if my p
ersonal lif
e is scruti
nized mor
e than a
man
would be
and the fa
ct that I a
m single, I
think, mak
es me that
much mor
e fascinati
ng to som
e

people.”

Advice fo
r women.
The partici
pants, reg
ardless of
their opini
ons of the
glass ceili
ng, had

specific ad
vice for w
omen purs
uing caree
rs in educ
ational lea
dership. M
idge thoug
ht the bala
nce

of men an
d women i
n superint
endency
was critica
l because
there are r
oles for bo
th men an
d

women. S
he said,

My advice
is that the
population
is about s
plit male/
female an
d yet the n
umber of f
emale

superinte
ndents are
quite sma
ll…So I
would say
to women
that we ne
ed to have
a

balance (t
he numbe
r of male
and femal
e superint
endents).
There’s a
role for m
ale
138

superinte
ndents, th
ere’s a rol
e for fema
le superin
tendents a
nd the rig
ht person
needs to b
e

in the role
at the righ
t time for t
he district,
depending
on what th
ey need.

Midge als
o thought
women do
not have t
he same s
kill set tha
t men do.
Although
not all fem
ale

superinten
dents hav
e these sk
ills, Midge
thought sk
ills such a
s an intuiti
ve nature
and peopl
e

skills, are
women’s
strengths,
and wom
en should
look at th
ese charac
teristics a
s their str
engths.

Lisa thoug
ht the stre
ngth of wo
men lies i
n the fem
ale leader
ship style,
i.e., the
collaborati
ve leaders
hip style.
Lisa thoug
ht that wo
men pay a
ttention to
relationshi
ps among

people. Sh
e explaine
d,

I think the
strength in
female lea
dership st
yle is - is
exactly th
at. I mean
the things
that

perhaps g
ender lend
themselve
s to in ter
ms of us b
eing peopl
e based.
Relationsh
ip, the

importanc
e of relati
onship in t
he workpl
ace . . .

For the ad
vice for w
omen who
want to st
ep up into
superinten
dent positi
ons, Lisa
and

Marie em
phasized t
aking opp
ortunities
and buildi
ng credibil
ity with pe
ople they
work with.

Marie expl
ained that
even the t
asks or ad
ditional job
s as a tea
cher can b
e a way to
show

leadership
. She said,

Although t
hey seem
like tasks
or addition
al jobs, to
me it was
a way to s
how that I
can

lead. And
so set you
rself up an
d take the
opportuniti
es that are
provided t
o you to

demonstra
te leaders
hip . . . of
course al
ways prep
are yourse
lf to self-
education.

Marie also
suggested
that besid
es taking
opportuniti
es to dem
onstrate le
adership,
women

needed to
prepare fo
r the oppo
rtunities b
y being ed
ucated. Sh
e said,

Always pr
epare you
rself to sel
f-
education
like to rea
d read rea
d read jou
rnals, go t
o
school lea
rn what y
ou can be
prepared
because it
’s not abo
ut someb
ody givin
g you a jo
b

or an opp
ortunity, i
t’s really
about you
preparing
for the op
portunity
that’s goi
ng to com
e
139

to your do
or and, yo
u know, is
I think we
’re in char
ge of it I
don’t thin
k anybod
y can you

know is g
oing to hol
d me back
or push m
e through
unless I d
o what I n
eed to do
first.

Candy sug
gested tha
t women n
eeded to b
e goal-
oriented, t
o be persi
stent in pu
rsuing

their goals
, and not t
o be distra
cted by ge
nder discri
mination a
nd person
al accusati
ons. She s
aid,

You have
a clear go
al; I’m ve
ry goal or
iented. I h
ad a plan
and I kne
w what I
wanted to

do. I mean
so you ca
nnot be s
wayed if s
omeone is
going to d
enigrate y
our gende
r. You
cannot ha
ve someb
ody make
an influen
ce upon y
ou becaus
e they are
going to m
ake a

personal a
ccusation,
which of c
ourse is to
tally found
less. You j
ust need t
o make su
re that

they (wom
en) are tru
e advocat
es; that th
ey have a
clear purp
ose. And t
hat they ar
e

persistent
in pursuin
g it [a lead
ership pos
ition].

Chapter
4 Summa
ry

This chapt
er present
ed finding
s from lea
dership de
velopment
in relation
to the car
eer

developm
ent narrati
ves of five
participant
s who ans
wered the
research q
uestion: H
ow do wo
men

school su
perintende
nts make
meaning o
f their lead
ership dev
elopment
experienc
es? Conte
nt was

deductivel
y analyze
d to deter
mine the p
resence of
the pre-
defined el
ements of
Super’s (1
957,

1990) care
er develo
pment the
ory and
Mezirow’
s (1978) tr
ansformat
ive learnin
g theory.
The pre-

determine
d themes
were care
er develop
ment, self-
concept, a
nd critical
reflection.
Inductive

analysis w
as also co
nducted a
nd reveale
d seven th
emes from
the narrati
ves: caree
r develop
ment,

self-
concept, c
ritical refle
ction, inte
rnal motiv
ation, fam
ily influen
ce, netwo
rks, and g
lass ceilin
g.

The findi
ngs from t
his study
support S
uper’s (19
57, 1990)
career dev
elopment t
heory

that career
developm
ent is an o
ngoing, lif
elong pro
cess. Alth
ough Sup
er’s (1957
, 1990) ca
reer

developm
ent stages
propose u
seful guid
elines for
vocational
developm
ental task
s that are

socially ex
pected of
an individ
ual, some
participant
s did not f
ollow all st
ages; for
example,
some
140

participant
s did not d
evelop the
ir self-
concept in
the growth
stage and
some did
not engag
e in the

typical tas
ks.

Findings s
howed tha
t all partici
pants face
d critical i
ncidents i
n both per
sonal life
and

career at d
ifferent sta
ges. They
learned fro
m these in
cidents an
d gained n
ew knowle
dge that h
as

helped th
em in thei
r leadersh
ip. Their c
ritical inci
dents incl
uded dile
mmas in
making ca
reer

choices a
nd in lead
ership dec
ision-
making. T
hese incid
ents and t
he reflecti
on proces
s helped

them learn
leadership
traits and
skills, und
erstand th
e imperma
nence of l
eadership,
and see th
e

intrinsic v
alue of th
eir work.

Internal m
otivation e
merged a
s one com
mon them
e. All parti
cipants m
entioned i
nternal

motivation
as an influ
ential fact
or in purs
uing leade
rship posit
ions. Thes
e motivati
ons includ
ed

challenge
(Lisa), de
sire to cha
nge the sy
stem (Mid
ge), belief
in specific
projects (
Midge),

enjoyment
in helping
people (A
nn), and a
desire to
make an i
mpact on
students (
Candy).

Other influ
ential fact
ors of car
eer choice
and decisi
on to purs
ue leaders
hip positio
n are

revealed i
n this stud
y. Finding
s confirme
d the valu
e of self-
concept.
Narratives
of all five

participant
s showed
that their c
hoices an
d decision
s resulted
from self-
realization
and that th
eir

self-
concept e
volved ov
er time. A
nother the
me, famil
y, emerge
d from pa
rticipants’
reflection
on

their caree
r develop
mental sta
ges. Findi
ngs show
ed eviden
ce that fa
mily had a
strong infl
uence

on the ind
ividuals’
career pat
hs in diffe
rent ways,
including
influence
on their s
elf-
concept, o
n

their leade
rship quali
ties, and o
n their car
eer choice
s. Further
more, findi
ngs show
ed eviden
ce
that partic
ipants’ ne
tworks ha
d an influ
ence on ei
ther their
education
or their ca
reer. Four

participant
s indicate
d that thei
r leadershi
p opportu
nities cam
e from the
ir network
s. These

opportuniti
es were n
ot given b
ecause of
personal p
references
. All partici
pants note
d that peo
ple

in their net
works gav
e them op
portunities
because t
he people
saw their
abilities an
d skills an
d
141

trusted tha
t they coul
d do the jo
bs. One p
articipant
mentioned
that leader
ship was a
bout buildi
ng

credibility
over time.

Although
participant
s acknowl
edged tha
t superinte
ndency is
a male-
dominated
position,

not all tho

ught gend
er is a bar
rier. One p
articipant
mentioned
that no on
e asked h
er about g
ender,

but instea
d, they ask
ed questio
ns about h
er age and
her marital
status. Sh
e suspecte
d that peo
ple

might hav
e paid atte
ntion to he
r young ag
e and sing
le status b
ecause sh
e was a w
oman. Thr
ee

participant
s did not s
ee gender
as a barrie
r. One par
ticipant m
entioned h
aving a go
od networ
k or

building a
network a
s a way to
prevent g
ender disc
rimination,
and one p
articipant t
hought ge
nder

difference
was good
for a work
place and
that being
female wa
s an adva
ntage.

All particip
ants also
gave advi
ce for wo
men who
want to st
ep up to le
adership p
ositions.

Some part
icipants th
ought that
women ha
ve differen
t skills and
leadership
styles that
differ from

men’s, an
d women
should us
e these sk
ills and le
adership s
tyles as th
eir strengt
hs. Some

participant
s suggest
ed women
must take
additional
tasks or ro
les as opp
ortunities t
o gain

experienc
e, demons
trate their l
eadership,
and establ
ish credibil
ity among
colleague
s. One

participant
stated wo
men need
ed to be g
oal oriente
d and pers
istent and
not to let o
thers or ge
nder

influence t
heir decisi
on to purs
ue leaders
hip positio
ns. A sum
mary of ch
apter 4 is
presented
in

Table 20.
142

Table 19

Participa
nts’ Lead
ership Jo
urney Su
mmaries
n
d
L y
i
s
a
- sports te
am
captain
Lead -
ershi m
p a
act n
ivit a
ies g
d er
u at
r Dai
i ry
n Qu
g een
-
g s
r i
o b
w l
t i
h n
g
s
i
n

orga
nizin
g the
house and
chores
- sp
orts
S tea
e m
l c
f (
- - part
-time
con job
cep a
t: m
l a
e n
a a
d g
e e
r r

when she
ation
al
S l
 w
re
al
iz
startee
d d
en s
sh h
e e
w could
as make
a the
t scho
ol be
tter if
sh
ec
oul
dg
et
i
lead
ershi
p rol
e

position
- personal
C
rit wor
ic k di
al lem
refl ma
ecti
on

dilemma
-
In h
te av
r e
n a
al n
moti impa
vatio ct on
n a
t g
o nu
b mb
e er
of
a k

l
e
a
d
e
r
F pare
a nts
m blue
il -
y collar
influ work
enc ers
e
143

- gr
Net adu
wo ate
rk d
influ e
enc g
e r
e
e

- as
sist
ant
- s
- u
s p
e
ri
nt
e
n
d
e
nt
-
su
pe
rin
te
nd
en
t

- ge
nde
r no
G ta
la bar
s rier
s as
cei she
lin h
g a
d
al
re
a
d
y
built
a net
work
befor
e she
took
lead
ershi
p rol
e
-
xp
eri
en
ce
d
p
t
h
a
t
w
o
m
e
n

a
to
ug
h
as
m
en
144

CHAPTE
R 5: INT
ERPRET
ATIONS,
CONCL
USIONS,
AND RE
COMME
NDATIO
NS

This docto
ral thesis
aimed to e
xplore lea
dership jo
urneys of
women su
perintende
nts in

the state o
f Alaska.
Specificall
y, it sough
t to under
stand mea
ning-
making of
their leade
rship

developm
ent experi
ences. Th
e study e
mployed
Mezirow’
s (1978) t
ransforma
tive learni
ng theory

and Super
’s (1957,
1990) car
eer develo
pment the
ory in exa
mining m
eaning-
making of
female

leaders in
each of th
eir career
developm
ent stages
. The main
research q
uestion wa
s: How do

women sc
hool super
intendents
make mea
ning of the
ir leadersh
ip develop
ment expe
riences?

This study
was qualit
ative by n
ature of th
e research
question.
A narrativ
e research
study

was used.
The sampl
ing metho
d was a p
urposeful
sample of
five superi
ntendents
who have
been

in their rol
e for a mi
nimum of
three year
s. The res
earcher c
onducted
an initial 1
5-minute
call to

schedule t
he one-
on-one int
erview an
d go over
the intervi
ew questi
ons, follo
wed by in-
depth

interviews
within one
week afte
r the initial
interview.
This study
had limitat
ions beca
use of its
constructi
vist view, i
nterpretiv
e framew
ork, resea
rch site, a
nd small n
umber of
participant
s. In

addition, t
he finding
s represe
nt only the
subjective
meaning o
f a few wo
men scho
ol

superinten
dents in Al
aska and
cannot be
transferre
d to other
contexts.
The persp
ectives we
re

from small
-midsize s
chool distr
icts in the
remote ge
ographic r
egion of U
.S (Alaska
). Female

superinten
dents in th
is setting
may differ
from US st
ate Superi
ntendents
because A
laska is m
ore

"frontier" a
nd "indep
endent." T
his chapte
r covers th
e current
study, as
well as int
erpretatio
ns and

conclusio
ns of the fi
ndings. It
includes r
ecommen
dations for
applicatio
n and futu
re researc
h.

Leadershi
p theories
informed
the resear
cher abou
t leaders’
traits, styl
es, and be
haviors.

Although l
eadership
theories a
nd literatu
re on lead
ership dev
elopment
provided u
seful

informatio
n, they do
not provid
e insights
on how on
e become
s a leader.
While the l
eadership

developm
ent literatu
re focuses
on the dev
elopment
of leaders
hip compe
tencies, c
areer
145

developm
ent literatu
re provide
s richer inf
ormation
on occupa
tional path
s and choi
ces. In the

search for
how one l
earns to b
e a leader,
adult theor
ies and ca
reer devel
opment th
eories are

explored.
The literat
ure reveal
ed that cu
rrent view
s of both a
dult learni
ng and ca
reer

developm
ent are co
ngruent. B
oth are m
oving tow
ard a cons
tructivist vi
ew and pa
y attention
to

the uniqu
e reflectiv
e meanin
g-making
of an indiv
idual. A w
ell-known
constructi
vist theory
is

Mezirow’
s (1978) tr
ansformat
ive learnin
g theory.
Mezirow (
1978) pro
vides a co
mprehens
ive

framework
used as a
framework
in this stu
dy. The th
eory helps
explain th
e learning
or meanin
g-

making pr
ocess of a
dults. Car
eer develo
pment the
ories also
shed light
on career
paths and

choices.
Among th
ese career
developm
ent theori
es, Super’
s (1957, 1
990) mod
el provide
sa

comprehe
nsive list o
f career d
evelopme
ntal stage
s used in t
his study t
o investig
ate the car
eer

developm
ent of wo
men scho
ol superint
endents.

Literature
on wome
n’s leader
ship revea
led wome
n are unde
rrepresent
ed in top l
eadership

roles in pu
blic educa
tion in the
U.S. (Skar
la, 1999),
and superi
ntendency
is the mos
t male-

dominate
d executiv
e position
of any pro
fession in
the United
States (Bj
ork, 2000;
Dobie &

Hummel,
2001; Skrl
a et al., 2
000; Skrla
, 2000a; S
krla, 2000
b). In light
of this

underrepr
esentation
of women
in the sup
erintenden
cy, many
studies ha
ve been c
onducted t
o

investigat
e how wo
men beco
me superi
ntendents
(FeKula &
Roberts, 2
005; Grog
an & Brun
ner,

2005; Mai
enza, 198
6; McDad
e & Drake
, 1982; M
uñoz et al.
, 2014). T
hese studi
es pay att
ention

to the exte
rnal forces
that influe
nce career
decision-
making of
female lea
ders, but n
ot the

learning pr
ocess of t
heir leader
ship-
relevant e
xperience
s.

Findings fr
om leader
ship devel
opment in
relation to
the career
developm
ent narrati
ves of

the five pa
rticipants i
n this stud
y revealed
answers t
o the ques
tion: How
do women
school

superinten
dents mak
e meaning
of their lea
dership de
velopment
experienc
es? Conte
nt was
146

deductivel
y analyze
d to deter
mine the p
resence of
the pre-
defined el
ements of
Super’s (1
990)

career dev
elopment
theory an
d Meziro
w’s (1978
) transfor
mative lea
rning theo
ry. The pr
e-

determine
d themes
were care
er develop
ment, self-
concept, a
nd critical
reflection.
Inductive

analysis w
as also co
nducted. F
our theme
s emerged
from the n
arratives: i
nternal mo
tivation,

family infl
uence, ne
twork, an
d glass ce
iling.

Interpreta
tion and
Conclusi
on

Seven co
nclusions
emerged f
rom the fi
ndings of t
his study
on meanin
g-making i
n career

developm
ent tasks
of five wo
men scho
ol superint
endents. T
he eviden
ce to supp
ort these

conclusio
ns came d
irectly fro
m stories t
old by the
five partici
pants abo
ut their lea
dership

developm
ent experi
ences. Co
nclusions
were linke
d to the co
nceptual fr
amework,
theories, a
nd

research t
hat inform
ed this stu
dy.

First, by u
sing Supe
r’s (1990)
career dev
elopment t
heory as a
framework
, this stud
y

revealed e
xperience
s and acti
vities asso
ciated with
leadership
and occur
in non-
formal sett
ings

were impo
rtant for le
adership d
evelopme
nt of these
women sc
hool super
intendents
. Second,

experienc
es that ga
ve wome
n school s
uperinten
dents’ op
portunitie
s to show
leadership
and the

recognitio
n of their l
eadership
by others
helped bui
ld their sel
f-concept
of being a
leader.

Third, me
aning mak
ing is a pa
rt of leade
rship learn
ing of wo
men scho
ol superint
endents,

which can
occur in n
on-formal
settings a
nd can be
gin in earl
y childhoo
d. Fourth,
family

influenced
the develo
pment of l
eadership
qualities o
f women s
chool sup
erintende
nts startin
g

from the g
rowth stag
e. Fifth, th
e self-
concept of
being an e
ducational
leader wh
o can mak
ea

positive im
pact or ca
n perform
leadership
tasks, dro
ve women
school su
perintende
nts to take

education
al leaders
hip positio
ns. These
self-
concepts r
eflected th
at internal
motivation
was one
147

of the influ
ential fact
ors in the
decision t
o step into
leadership
positions.
These mo
tivations

included c
hallenges
(Lisa), a d
esire to ch
ange the s
ystem (Mi
dge), a be
lief in ong
oing proje
cts

(Midge), e
njoyment i
n helping
people (A
nn), and a
desire to a
ffect stude
nts (Cand
y). Sixth,

women sc
hool super
intendents
have supp
ortive net
works bec
ause of th
e credibilit
y they buil
t

over time.
Seventh,
women sc
hool super
intendents
have posit
ive attitud
es toward
being fem
ale

superinten
dents.

Leadershi
p Develop
ment acro
ss Life Sp
an

Findings fr
om this st
udy show
ed leaders
hip develo
pment is a
n ongoing
process th
at can

occur in n
on-formal
settings. S
uper’s (19
90) career
developm
ent theory
was adapt
ed to use
a

guide for
leadership
developm
ent experi
ences in t
his study.
By using
Super’s (1
990) care
er

developm
ent stages
and tasks
as a frame
work to ex
plore mea
ning-
making of
leadership

developm
ent experi
ences of
women le
aders, find
ings revea
led non-
formal sett
ings can p
rovide

opportuniti
es for the
ongoing pr
ocess of l
eadership
developm
ent and le
adership d
evelopme
nt is

not a linea
r process.
This findi
ng aligne
d with Su
per’s care
er develo
pment the
ory (Supe
r, 1990).

Super’s (1
957) deve
lopmental
stages we
re propos
ed accord
ing to chr
onologica
l age. His
model

explains h
ow indivi
duals’ sel
f-concepts
evolve thr
ough enga
gement in
career dev
elopment

stages an
d tasks. H
owever, in
1990, he r
ecognized
the develo
pment sta
ges are no
t a linear

process. N
ot every in
dividual fol
lows these
stages, an
d the deve
lopmental
process d
oes not

merely de
pend upo
n the chro
nological
age, but r
ather on t
he individ
ual’s pers
onality an
d life
circumsta
nces (Sm
art & Pete
rson, 199
7). Findin
gs of this
study also
confirmed
this premi
se.

Participan
ts’ career
developm
ent was a
n ongoing
process st
arting fro
m the gro
wth stage.

Participant
s had idea
s of what t
hey wante
d to be or
did not wa
nt to be. T
hree partic
ipants
148

reflected o
n their car
eer aspirat
ion to be t
eachers or
to hold oth
er professi
onal jobs
during this

stage, whil
e two parti
cipants di
d not have
concrete i
deas abou
t career u
ntil the ex
ploration s
tage.

After the
growth an
d explorat
ion stages
, participa
nts’ caree
r develop
ment conti
nued over
time.

The devel
opment w
as not a li
near proc
ess. Not a
ll participa
nts follow
ed the dev
elopmenta
l

stages an
d sub-
stages. An
n and Can
dy had no
dream job
or a clear i
dea about
career duri
ng the

growth sta
ge. Midge
changed h
er career
goal and t
ook a brea
k from pro
fessional j
obs during
the

establish
ment stag
e, during
which time
individuals
are expect
ed to settl
e down an
d make us
e of

their abiliti
es and pa
st training.
No partici
pants sho
wed conc
erns abou
t maintaini
ng presen
t

status and
competitio
n from you
nger work
ers in the
maintenan
ce stage.

Super’s (1
990) care
er develop
ment fram
ework als
o helped r
eveal lead
ership dev
elopment

was an on
going proc
ess. In co
ntrast with
the moder
n concept
s of leader
ship devel
opment ov
er

the past 2
0 years, w
hich emph
asize only
adult learn
ing and for
mal classr
oom leade
rship
developm
ent (Hern
ez-
Broome &
Hughes, 2
004), it wa
s evident f
rom the fi
ndings of t
his study

that leader
ship devel
opment of
women le
aders is a
n ongoing
process th
at may oc
cur in non-

formal set
tings. By
using Sup
er’s (1990
) suggeste
d career d
evelopme
nt tasks as
guidelines
to

track parti
cipants’ a
ctivities r
elated to t
heir leade
rship, find
ings of thi
s study sh
owed thes
e

women le
aders enc
ountered
many exp
eriences a
ssociated
with their l
eadership.
These acti
vities

helped sh
ape and in
still their le
adership tr
aits and q
ualities. T
hey encou
ntered the
se activitie
s
during an
d after the
ir early chi
ldhood.

Lisa believ
ed she wa
s comforta
ble in front
of media d
uring her s
uperintend
ency beca
use

she was tr
ained to b
e comforta
ble on sta
ge and in f
ront of the
camera w
hen she jo
ined the lo
cal

drama gro
up during
her growt
h stage. S
he mentio
ned that jo
ining the d
rama club
helped bui
ld

her confid
ence in fr
ont of me
dia and b
uild her co
nfidence i
n public s
peaking.
Midge beli
eved
149

participati
on in man
y social se
rvices, suc
h as charit
y work, he
lped shap
e her pers
uasion skil
ls

and peopl
e skills. A
nn and Ma
rie mentio
ned mana
ging scho
ol sports t
eams as e
xperience
s that

helped the
m learn de
cision mak
ing and ho
w to be a
good team
player. Ca
ndy menti
oned simp
le

activities li
ke leading
family acti
vities, org
anizing th
e house,
and taking
siblings to
the park,
as

experienc
es that bui
lt her orga
nizing and
decision-
making sk
ills.

This study
uncovered
childhood
activities t
hat helped
shape and
instill lead
ership
qualities a
nd traits of
five wome
n leaders.
These acti
vities inclu
ded joinin
g a drama
group;

engaging i
n individu
al sports; l
eading tea
m sports;
engaging i
n family a
ctivities, s
uch as hel
ping

father rem
odel and b
uild house
s; leading
family acti
vities, suc
h as organ
izing hous
es and lea
ding

sibling act
ivities; par
ticipating i
n charity
work; part
icipating i
n student
council; a
nd readin
g

biographie
s of femal
e leaders
such as th
e presiden
tial wives.
A summar
y of these
activities a
nd

leadership
qualities g
ained from
these acti
vities was
presented
in Table 1
2. One co
nclusion w
as
drawn fro
m the care
er develop
ment them
e.

Conclusi
on One: E
xperience
s and Act
ivities As
sociated
with Lead
ership an
d Occur i
n Non-

Formal S
ettings W
ere Impor
tant for L
eadershi
p Develo
pment of
These W
omen Sc
hool

Superinte
ndents

Self-
concept o
f being a l
eader. It
was evide
nt that self
-concept o
f being a l
eader star
ting

to develop
in the gro
wth stage,
but partici
pants did
not see th
emselves
as leaders
until their

leadership
was recog
nized by o
thers. Fou
r participa
nts mentio
ned the gr
owth stag
e as the ti
me
when they
started to
develop th
eir leaders
hip qualiti
es (Ann,
Candy, M
arie, and
Lisa). Can
dy

mentione
d being a
n oldest c
hild who l
ed family
activities
and led si
blings to t
he park a
s the first

time she r
ecalled be
ing a lead
er, wherea
s Ann and
Marie eng
aged in le
adership a
ctivities w
hen
150

they took l
eadership
roles in sp
orts teams
at school.
Ann was a
team man
ager, and
Marie was
a

sports tea
m captain.
Ann also
mentioned
gaining le
adership e
xperience
s by joinin
g high sch
ool

clubs and
the studen
t council.
She thoug
ht it was
when she
“started to
find ways
to be very
active

in organiz
ations.” L
isa was n
ot involve
d in a tea
m sport, b
ut she saw
herself as
a leader in
the

sense of s
omeone w
ho wanted
to excel a
nd be the
best in an
individual
sport, start
ing when s
he

was about
10 years o
ld. Midge
engaged i
n a lot of
work and
school acti
vities, suc
h as being
a

member o
f the stud
ent counci
l, which in
stilled lea
dership sk
ills in her.
Although
participant
s

engaged i
n activities
that helpe
d them gai
n leadersh
ip qualitie
s beginnin
g from the
growth sta
ge,

they did n
ot see the
mselves a
s leaders
until their l
eadership
was recog
nized, mo
stly during

exploratio
n stage. D
uring the e
xploration
stage, part
icipants m
entioned t
hey saw t
hemselve
s as

leaders w
hen they e
ngaged in
activities t
hat gave t
hem the o
pportunitie
s to show
their leade
rship

abilities a
nd skills a
nd when t
heir abiliti
es and ski
lls were re
cognized.
Two partic
ipants sa
w

themselve
s as leade
rs when th
ey worked
part-time
during thei
r high sch
ool years,
whereas t
wo

other parti
cipants sa
w themsel
ves as lea
ders after t
hey gradu
ated. Can
dy and Ma
rie took

leadership
roles in th
eir part-
time jobs.
They were
promoted
to leaders
hip roles,
and at tha
t time,

they thoug
ht of them
selves as l
eaders. C
andy was
promoted t
o be the h
ead of a cr
ew of

housekee
pers, and
Marie was
promoted t
o be a nig
ht manage
r at the ag
e of 16.

Two partic
ipants, wh
o mention
ed no sign
ificant lea
dership ex
periences
during the
ir part-
time jobs,
took their l
eadership
roles durin
g the expl
oration sta
ge. Ann s
aw herself
as a leade
r

when she
was prom
oted to be
a store ma
nager at a
departmen
t store. Mi
dge, who
had alread
y

developed
her leader
ship skills
working wi
th social s
ervice org
anizations
and on th
e student

council an
d never lo
oked at he
rself as a l
eader befo
re high sc
hool, state
d she first
saw hersel
f as
151

a leader w
hen she g
ot a job off
er to take
an admini
strative po
sition after
she got pr
omoted to
be a

program
manager.

Participan
ts’ experi
ences ass
ociated wi
th leaders
hip contra
sted with
Super’s id
ea of self-

concept,
which ex
plains that
individual
s’ self-
concepts
evolve thr
ough enga
gement in
career

developm
ent tasks b
ecause pa
rticipants’
self-
concepts
of being a
leader do
not depen
d only on

self-
realization
or self-
recognitio
n. Finding
s provided
evidence t
o support
the idea in
the

literature, i
ntroduced
in Chapter
2, that car
eer choice
and devel
opment ar
e not mer
ely produc
ts

of self-
realization
, but a ne
gotiation o
f self and t
he enviro
nment in
which one
belongs (
Leung &

Chen, 200
9).

Two concl
usions ca
n be draw
n from the
se two su
b-themes:
self-
concept of
career an
d

self-
concept of
being a le
ader.

Conclusi
on Two:
Experien
ces that
Gave Wo
men Sch
ool Super
intendent
s Opport
unities to

Show Lea
dership a
nd the Re
cognition
of Their L
eadershi
p by Othe
rs Helped
Build The
ir

Self-
concept o
f Being a
Leader
Critical re
flection a
nd leader
ship lear
ning. This
study sup
ported the
idea from

Mezirow’
s (1978, 1
991) trans
formative l
earning th
eory that
meaning
making wi
thin the cri
tical

reflection
process is
a part of k
nowledge
creation.
All particip
ants faced
dilemmas
in making

career cho
ices and in
making le
adership d
ecisions. T
hese dile
mmas hel
ped them l
earn leade
rship

skills and
acquire le
adership t
raits. The
y employe
d different
strategies
in the criti
cal reflecti
on

process.

Meaning-
making ha
s been wi
dely used
to examin
e the learn
ing of edu
cational le
aders
that takes
place in tr
aditional c
lassroom
settings, f
or exampl
e, in pre-
service ad
ministrator
s
152

training (B
rown, 200
5), gradua
te progra
ms design
ed to prep
are teache
r leaders (
Ross et al.
,

2011), tea
cher leade
rship prog
rams (Har
ris et al., 2
008), year
-long lead
ership pro
grams for

women (L
afreniere
& Longma
n, 2008),
and gradu
ate leader
ship cours
es (Sulliva
n & Palme
r,

2014). Onl
y one stud
y investig
ated mea
ning-
making of
education
al leaders
that took p
lace in

informal s
ettings. T
hat study
explored
meaning-
making of
23 school
principals
’ professi
onal

learning (
McGough,
2003). Fin
dings of th
e current
study add
to the curr
ent literatu
re by

exploring
meaning-
making of
women sc
hool super
intendents
across the
ir life span
in informal

settings. F
indings su
pported
McGough
’s (2003)
study pres
ented in C
hapter 2 t
hat meani
ng-

making is
a part of p
rofessiona
l learning,
which can
occur in a
non-
formal sett
ing and ca
n take

place begi
nning in e
arly childh
ood.

The mean
ing-
making pr
ocess of p
articipants
of the curr
ent study
aligned wi
th Meziro
w’s

(1978) crit
ical reflect
ion proce
ss, which
involve ol
d worldvie
ws, critica
l incidents
, critical

reflection
or meanin
g-making
process, a
nd new w
orldviews.
The findin
gs of this
study sup
port

this premi
se, as part
icipants fa
ced both p
ersonal an
d work dil
emmas an
d these dil
emmas

stimulated
the meani
ng-
making pr
ocess of p
articipants
. The findi
ngs also a
lign with t
he major

theme in l
eadership
developm
ent, i.e., t
he change
of one’s
worldvie
w increas
es self-
awareness
as

part of lea
dership d
evelopme
nt (Allen,
2007).

Findings
show part
icipants’ c
ritical inci
dents incl
uded the
dilemmas
of making
career

choices a
nd leaders
hip decisio
n-making.
These inci
dents and
the reflecti
on proces
s helped t
hem
learn lead
ership skill
s and acq
uire leader
ship traits,
see the im
permanen
ce of lead
ership, an
d

understan
d the valu
es of their
leadership
roles. Lisa
made me
aning of h
er career
difficulties
by

reflecting
on the tim
e she com
peted in in
dividual sp
orts when
she was y
oung. She
changed h
er

old views
of looking
at career
difficulties
as barrier
s to seein
g them as
challenge
s. Midge t
ook a
153

move in h
er leaders
hip positio
n and got
rid of the f
ear of reje
ction by re
flecting on
the time s
he

went out t
o dance w
ith a popul
ar boy, wh
o did not
want to go
out with h
er. She ev
aluated he
r

fear of rej
ection. Sh
e then und
erstood th
at accepti
ng rejectio
n or an ho
nest answ
er is better
than

being whe
re she wa
s not supp
osed to be
. Ann face
d a critical
juncture w
hen she m
ade her ca
reer

choice. Sh
e learned t
o redefine
her self-
concept a
nd tried to
understan
d who she
was or wa
nted

to be in rel
ation to w
ork values
and job sa
tisfaction
when she
worked as
a store ma
nager. As
she

reflected o
n her work
conditions
at the dep
artment st
ore, she g
ained a ne
w worldvie
w that wor
k

value is a
s critical a
s working
conditions
. Working
at a depar
tment stor
e and teac
hing are b
oth

hard work,
but teachi
ng would
bring her j
ob satisfa
ction, as it
was a mor
e worthwh
ile and

fulfilling jo
b. Candy
made a ca
reer choic
e based o
n her true
passion. S
he change
d her care
er goal

from being
a forest pe
rson to a t
eacher wh
en she refl
ected on h
er childho
od experie
nces. She

realized s
he enjoye
d working
with childr
en. Marie l
earned le
adership t
raits when
she was 1
6 by

challengin
g her old p
erception
about lead
ership and
arriving at
new perce
ptions abo
ut leaders
hip.

She learn
ed that lea
dership w
as not abo
ut having
authority,
but about
having the
capability
to

perform th
e tasks, a
nd then th
e power w
as given.
She also r
ecognized
a leader-
follower

relationshi
p and und
erstood le
adership
was not a
standalon
e position.

The reflec
tion proce
ss cited b
y participa
nts includ
ed compa
ring previo
us experie
nce with

the new e
xperience
(Lisa), dec
iding whic
h action to
take (Midg
e), revisin
g the mea
ning of

experienc
e (Midge),
self-
evaluating
(Midge), a
nd challen
ging their
old worldv
iews (Ann
, Marie,

Candy). E
ach partici
pant self-
described
critical refl
ections w
ere prese
nted in Ta
ble 14.

From the f
indings of
the curren
t study, a
conclusio
n can be
drawn fro
m the criti
cal

reflection t
heme.
154

Conclusi
on Three:
Meaning
Making is
a Part of
Leadersh
ip Learni
ng of Wo
men Sch
ool

Superinte
ndents, w
hich Can
Occur in
Non-
Formal S
ettings a
nd Can B
egin in E
arly

Childhoo
d

Family inf
luence an
d the dev
elopment
of leaders
hip. Partic
ipants’ na
rratives pr
ovided

evidence t
hat family
had a stro
ng influen
ce on part
icipants’ s
elf-
concept, c
areer choi
ces in the

education
al field, an
d leaders
hip qualiti
es. The in
fluence of
family on
self-
concept d
uring the

growth sta
ge include
d a percep
tion of bei
ng a colle
ge gradua
te like her
mother (Li
sa), being
a

profession
al like her
parents (
Marie), or
being som
eone who
works with
children b
ecause sh
e

enjoyed l
eading sib
lings’ acti
vities (Ca
ndy). So
me partici
pants indi
cated wha
t they did
not want

to be beca
use of fam
ily influenc
e; for exa
mple, Mid
ge and An
n did not
want to ha
ve the sa
me

career as t
heir parent
s. Ann did
not want t
o be a tea
cher like h
er father b
ecause sh
e perceive
d

teaching a
s a job tha
t required
lots of har
d work. S
he indicat
ed that a t
eacher wa
s “the onl
y

career I k
new I did
n’t want t
o do.” Si
milarly,
Midge lea
rned from
her experi
ence obse
rving

career pat
hs of her f
emale rela
tives and
decided, a
t a very yo
ung age, s
he did not
want to be
a

teacher. S
he develo
ped negati
ve percept
ions about
being a te
acher bec
ause she l
earned at
a very

young age
that her fe
male relati
ves beca
me teache
rs for finan
cial reaso
ns and we
re not

committed
to teachin
g. Her rela
tives quit t
heir teachi
ng jobs aft
er they go
t married
and had

children.
She said,
“It was a
side job t
hat made
some mo
ney that g
ot them to
go to colle
ge where

they met t
heir spous
e, but it w
asn’t a pa
ssion and
a career.”
During the
exploratio
n stage, f
amily

was found
to have b
oth direct
and indire
ct influen
ces on par
ticipants’
career cho
ices in the

education
al field. Alt
hough An
n resisted
being a te
acher, like
her father,
as she did
not want t
o

work as h
ard as he
did, she la
ter realize
d that wha
t he did w
as a worth
while and
fulfilling ca
reer.
155

When she
was not s
atisfied w
orking as
a store ma
nager, she
recalled h
er father’s
teaching j
ob as

a job that
could be h
er potenti
al life wor
k. She the
n decided
to work in
the educa
tional field
.

Candy ma
de her car
eer choice
based on t
he memor
able time
she had wi
th her sibli
ngs. She

changed h
er career
goal and d
ecided to
be a teach
er becaus
e she miss
ed workin
g with chil
dren.

Lisa admit
ted that, al
though sh
e did not
want to be
a teacher l
ike her fe
male relati
ves, being

surrounde
d by these
relatives h
ad subcon
sciously in
fluenced h
er decisio
n to be a t
eacher.

Findings a
lso reveal
ed family
had an infl
uence in i
nstilling a
nd shapin
g particip
ants’ lead
ership

qualities b
eginning
with the gr
owth stag
e. It was e
vident fro
m the inte
rviews tha
t activities
with

family in
informal s
ettings he
lped devel
op partici
pants’ lea
dership q
ualities. P
articipant
s learned

leadership
qualities, l
ike a stron
g work eth
ic, creativi
ty, sense
of competi
tion, willin
gness and
the

availabilit
y to do th
e work, d
ecision-
making, a
nd organi
zational s
kills, from
casual act
ivities,

including
helping a f
ather buil
d and rem
odel hous
es (Lisa),
participati
ng in spor
ts (Lisa),
going

to church
(Ann), lea
ding famil
y activitie
s (Candy)
, and orga
nizing the
house (M
arie).

Participan
ts’ narrati
ves and le
adership q
ualities ga
ined are pr
esented in
Table 14.
The evide
nce

of family i
nfluence,
on meani
ng-
making of
participan
ts’ self-
concept, c
areer choi
ce in the

education
al field, a
nd leaders
hip qualiti
es support
ed learnin
g theory,
specificall
y Bandura
’s

(1997) so
cial learni
ng theory
in Chapter
2. Accordi
ng to this t
heory, lea
rning is no
t merely a

mental pr
ocess; lea
rning is th
e interacti
on betwee
n the indiv
idual and t
he environ
ment.
Leadershi
p develop
ment dep
ends on e
nvironmen
t (Allen, 2
007). The
findings s
upported t
he

premise t
hat enviro
nment inf
luenced p
articipant
s’ meanin
g-making
of self, car
eer, and le
adership

qualities.
They lear
ned from
observing
others an
d through
modeling
(Allen, 20
07). A con
clusion

can be dr
awn from t
he theme
of family i
nfluence.
156

Conclusi
on Four:
Family H
ad Influe
nce on th
e Develo
pment of
Leadersh
ip Qualiti
es of

Women S
chool Su
perintend
ents Start
ing from t
he Growt
h Stage

The decis
ion to be
a leader.
Findings r
evealed th
at the reali
zation the
participant
was

someone
who can
make a po
sitive impa
ct or can p
erform lea
dership ta
sks drove
them to ta
ke

education
al leaders
hip positio
ns. The fin
dings add
to the liter
ature that
internal m
otivation i
s one

of the influ
ential fact
ors for wo
men purs
uing super
intendent
positions.
Current st
udies on
underrepr
esentation
of women
school su
perintende
nts shed li
ght on ho
w women
become

superinte
ndents (F
eKula & R
oberts, 20
05; Groga
n & Brunn
er, 2005;
Maienza,
1986; Mc
Dade &

Drake, 19
82; Muñoz
et al., 201
4). It was r
eported th
at women
have been
less likely
than men t
o

pursue su
perintende
nt position
s because
of influenti
al factors
such as g
ender and
having chil
dren

(FeKula &
Roberts, 2
005). Fin
dings of th
is study pr
ovided evi
dence tha
t, while fa
mily was
an

influence
in particip
ants’ self-
concept of
career, car
eer choice
s, and dev
eloping le
adership

qualities, i
nternal m
otivation
was an inf
luential fa
ctor in the
decision t
o step into
leadership

positions.
All particip
ants menti
oned inter
nal motiva
tion in pur
suing lead
ership pos
itions. The
se

motivation
s included
being chal
lenged (Li
sa), the d
esire to ch
ange the s
ystem (Mi
dge), belie
f in

the value
of ongoing
projects (
Midge), e
njoyment i
n helping
people (A
nn), and t
he desire t
o

make an i
mpact on
students (
Candy). Li
sa stated l
eadership
was “a hu
ge challen
ge” for he
r, and

she wante
d to “chan
ge the sys
tem.” Mid
ge talked
about her
move into
a leadersh
ip position

saying tha
t she want
ed to “cha
nge the sy
stem.” Sh
e added th
e desire to
continue t
o work on
the

projects s
he believe
d in drove
her to app
ly for the s
uperinten
dent positi
on. Ann m
entioned t
hat

her motiv
ation to b
e in leade
rship posi
tion was t
hat she “e
njoyed or
ganizing t
hings and
helping

people to
do what t
hey neede
d to do in
their class
rooms,”
while Can
dy wanted
to “have a
n

impact on
a greater
number of
kids.” The
findings w
ere consis
tent with l
eadership
theory
157

presented
in Chapter
2. Leader
ship theor
y explains
definitions
of leaders
hip as inv
olving an

intentiona
l process
of leaders
who want
to “guide,
structure,
and facilit
ate activit
ies and

relationsh
ips in a gr
oup or or
ganizatio
n” (Yukl,
2010, p.3)
. The find
ings also
aligned w
ith the

trait appro
ach, which
explains p
hysical ch
aracteristi
cs and per
sonal trait
s of leader
s. Finding
s

supported
the idea fo
und in the
literature t
hat one co
mmon trai
t of leader
s was the
ability to h
elp

the group
to achieve
its goals (
Stogdill, 1
948). A co
nclusion c
an be dra
wn from th
e two the
mes

of self-
concept of
being an e
ducational
leader an
d internal
motivation
.

Conclusi
on Five:
The Self-
concept
of Being
an Educa
tional Lea
der Who
Can Make
a

Positive I
mpact or
Can Perf
orm Lead
ership Ta
sks Drov
e Women
School S
uperinten
dents

to Take E
ducation
al Leader
ship Posi
tions

Network
and leade
rship opp
ortunity.
It is evide
nt women
school su
perintende
nts have

supportive
networks.
The study
supported
a recent st
udy that s
howed not
all women
lack

profession
al network
s, and so
me wome
n know ho
w to take
advantage
of these n
etworks

(Isernhag
en & Bulki
n, 2013).
Participan
ts’ networ
ks were th
eir source
of educati
onal and

leadership
opportuniti
es. Findin
gs also re
vealed the
se opportu
nities wer
e not give
n to the

participant
s because
of persona
l preferenc
es, but rat
her becau
se of the c
redibility t
hey built o
ver

time.

Lisa, Can
dy, and M
arie were
advised b
y their sup
portive net
works to a
dvance th
eir

education.
Lisa pursu
ed an adm
inistrative
certificate
and a deg
ree in adm
inistration,
Candy

pursued a
degree in
education
al leaders
hip, and M
arie pursu
ed a degre
e in public
school

administra
tion. They
all mentio
ned that p
eople in th
eir networ
ks made t
hose sugg
estions be
cause

they saw t
he particip
ants had t
he qualitie
s and the
abilities to
be in a lea
dership po
sition.
158

Similarly,
because o
f participa
nts’ abiliti
es and ski
lls, partici
pants wer
e offered t
he

leadership
positions.
Four parti
cipants in
dicated th
ey were gi
ven leader
ship positi
ons by the
ir

supervisor
s (Lisa, Mi
dge, Ann,
and Marie
). People i
n Lisa’s n
etwork ga
ve her op
portunitie
s to be

in all of th
e administ
rative posi
tions, incl
uding a te
mporary a
ssistant pr
incipal rol
e, assista
nt

principal,
principal,
and super
intendent.
Midge wa
s offered
many posi
tions inclu
ding a fou
nding

administer
at a group
home, an
executive
director fo
r two grou
p homes,
and an as
sistant

superinten
dent. Ann
got offers t
o be a prin
cipal and
superinten
dent. She
was asked
to apply fo
r

positions a
s principal,
assistant s
uperintend
ent, and s
uperintend
ent.

The partic
ipants’ ca
reer adva
ncement c
an be expl
ained as t
hey “rise
up in lead
ership

positions”
(Midge).
However,
narratives
showed th
at they re
ceived su
ch opport
unities no
t

because o
f the perso
nal prefere
nce of thei
r supervis
ors. They
were offer
ed the pos
itions beca
use

they had d
emonstrat
ed their q
ualities, a
bilities, an
d skills in t
he job and
were trust
ed enoug
h to
deserve to
be in the l
eadership
positions.
With regar
d to her p
ath to lead
ership pos
itions, Lisa

concluded
that leade
rship is ab
out buildin
g credibilit
y over tim
e. Narrativ
es reveale
d that

participant
s were go
od at what
they were
doing. Th
eir abilitie
s and lead
ership wer
e recogniz
ed,

and when
the leader
ship oppor
tunities ca
me, they
were sele
cted to ap
ply for the
positions.
Midge

mentioned
that she h
ad been th
rust into l
eadership
positions.
Participan
ts’ superv
isors were

confident t
hat they c
ould perfo
rm the tas
ks becaus
e the parti
cipants ha
d built cre
dibility in e
very

position th
ey had. A
nn gave th
e rationale
for the job
offer she
got, sayin
g that she
could perf
orm

any task h
er supervi
sors gave
her. Marie
indicated t
hat she w
orked har
d and was
good at

organizing
. She then
got a job o
ffer becau
se her qua
lities were
noticed by
her superv
isors.

A conclusi
on can be
drawn fro
m the net
work them
e.
159

Conclusi
on Six: W
omen Sch
ool Super
intendent
s Have Su
pportive
Networks
Because
of the

Credibilit
y They B
uilt Over
Time

Glass ceil
ing and A
ttitudes o
f Women
Leaders.
This study
supported
the claim t
hat

women ar
e underre
presented
in top lead
ership role
s in public
education
in the U.S.
(Skarla,

1999), par
ticularly in
the superi
ntendent
position (
Bjork, 200
0). Some
participant
s experien
ced

discrimina
tory practi
ces, but al
l participa
nts have p
ositive atti
tudes tow
ard being
female

superinten
dents.
A review o
f the literat
ure sugge
sts that ge
nder biase
s are expe
cted when
women w
ork in

a male-
dominated
profession
(Brunner,
2000a). P
articipants
acknowled
ged that s
uperintend
ency

is a male-
dominated
position, a
nd some p
articipants
experienc
ed gender
biases. Mi
dge and

Candy wer
e the two
participant
s who exp
erienced g
ender bias
es. Midge
experienc
ed a gend
er

wage gap
and a ster
eotypical
belief abo
ut women
’s capabili
ties in lea
dership p
ositions.
She

explained
that the bo
ard did not
have confi
dence in h
er in the s
uperintend
ent positio
n, even

though sh
e had earn
ed a docto
ral degree,
when no p
revious su
perintende
nt in the di
strict had

earned a
doctorate.
The board
also requir
ed her to
get an end
orsement
within two
years whe
n it

was not a
requireme
nt by the s
tate. Cand
y faced pr
ejudicial fe
male stere
otyping th
at women

superinten
dents wou
ld not be a
s tough, a
s consiste
nt, or as r
eliable as
men. Whil
e Midge a
nd

Candy ex
perienced
gender bi
ases, Mari
e, Ann, an
d Lisa did
not experi
ence discr
imination.

Regardles
s of partic
ipants’ ge
nder discr
imination
experienc
es, partici
pants’ nar
ratives di
d

not show
negativity
toward bei
ng female
superinten
dents. Ma
rie did not
perceive

superinte
ndency as
“a man’s
world that
I had to b
reak into.
” She did
not think
she was “
held

back” bec
ause of he
r gender. I
nstead, sh
e thought
that being
a woman
was an ad
vantage f
or this
160

position, a
nd she co
uld do mo
re as a wo
man. Ann
did not thi
nk being a
female ma
de it differ
ent

or worse.

When the
participant
s were as
ked to co
me up wit
h a metap
hor to des
cribe the f
eeling of

“being a s
uperinten
dent” and
“being a f
emale sup
erintende
nt,” partic
ipants’ m
etaphors d
id not

show neg
ative perc
eptions to
ward bein
g a female
superinten
dent. Ann
and Lisa u
se the sa
me

metaphors
to describ
e the feeli
ng of “bei
ng a super
intendent
” and “bei
ng a fema
le

superinten
dent.” Lis
a indicate
d that bei
ng a super
intendent
felt like “j
umping in
to the dee
p end

of the poo
l” wherea
s Ann ind
icated bei
ng a super
intendent
felt like a
“structure
.”

Midge, Ca
ndy, and
Marie use
d differen
t metapho
rs to descr
ibe “being
a superint
endent”

and “a fe
male supe
rintendent
.” Their m
etaphors
did not refl
ect negati
ve attitude
s toward b
eing a

female su
perintend
ent. Whil
e Midge a
nd Candy
’s metaph
ors reflect
ed the uni
queness o
fa

female su
perintend
ent, Marie
’s metaph
or reflecte
d her posi
tive attitu
de toward
a female

superinten
dent. Mari
e indicate
d that bei
ng a fema
le superin
tendent fe
lt “empo
wering.”

The sum
mary of p
articipant
s’ percept
ion of gen
der discri
mination i
ssues and
metaphors

are summ
arized in T
able 21.
161

Table 20

Participa
nts’ Perce
ptions on
Gender D
iscriminat
ion Towa
rd Superi
ntendency
and Meta
phors

Sup
G M
Perc
erint
e et
eptio
ende
n ap
nsntd h
ae or
r of
i be
s in
a g
a
mal s
e- u
do p
min er
ate in
d te
n
d
e
nt
a
n
d
j b
o ei
n
g
a
fe
m
al
e

S
D
- st - Fe
ere male
oty supe
pin rinte
g nden
ts
- ga
w p
a
g
e
h qu
av ea
e bilit
u ies
ni
S
- was scru
tinized
about age,
marital
status
D
- st - Fe
ere male
oty supe
pin rinte
g nden
ts
have uniq
ue abilitie
s
D
- It is emp
owering to
be a
female su
perintende
nt

A conclusi
on can be
drawn fro
m the glas
s ceiling th
eme and t
he self-
concept: f
emale lea
der

theme.

Conclusi
on Seven:
Women S
chool Su
perintend
ents Have
Positive
Attitudes
Toward B
eing

Female S
uperinten
dents.

Implicati
ons for P
ractice
The concl
usion can
be drawn f
rom the fi
ndings of t
his study t
hat leader
ship devel
opment

is an ongo
ing proces
s that can
occur in n
on-formal
settings. T
he summa
ry of this d
evelopme
nt is

presented
in Figure 3
.
162

Figure 3.
Summary
of Partici
pants’ Le
adership
Develop
ment

Findings r
evealed le
adership d
evelopme
nt, which
occurs in
natural set
tings, invo
lves

influence
of family a
nd engag
ement in l
eadership
activities
during the
growth an
d explorati
on

stage. Oth
er influenc
es can be
internal m
otivation, l
eadership
opportuniti
es, suppor
tive netwo
rk,
and critica
l reflection
during est
ablishmen
t and main
tenance st
age.

During the
growth an
d explorati
on stages,
family infl
uenced d
evelopme
nt with reg
ard to

leadership
qualities.
Leisure ac
tivities, as
well as act
ivities with
family, als
o helped s
hape

leadership
qualities.
Findings o
f this stud
y suggest
samples o
f leisure a
ctivities an
d activities

with family
that can h
elp shape
the leader
ship qualit
ies of you
ng girls. T
hese activ
ities includ
ed

joining a d
rama grou
p; engagi
ng in indiv
idual sport
s or leadin
g team sp
orts; enga
ging in fa
mily

activities s
uch as hel
ping her f
ather rem
odel and b
uild house
s; leading
family acti
vities such
as

organizin
g houses,
leading si
bling activ
ities; or p
articipatin
g in charit
y work. P
articipatin
g in

student co
uncil and r
eading bio
graphies o
f female le
aders suc
h as the pr
esidential
wives, als
o

contribute
to leaders
hip qualiti
es. The su
mmary of t
hese activi
ties and le
adership q
ualities gai
ned

from these
activities
were pres
ented in C
hapter 5.
163

The implic
ation for p
ractice fro
m this con
clusion is
that mean
s of leade
rship deve
lopment

should not
be limited
to formal
classroom
training or
other adul
t learning
activities s
uch as

coaching,
mentoring
, action le
arning, an
d 360-
degree fe
edback (H
ernez-
Broome &
Hughes,

2004). Th
ese findin
gs provide
useful info
rmation fo
r parents,
educators
and couns
elors; and

show that
waiting un
til young g
irls are gr
own up an
d providin
g leaders
hip trainin
g to them
only

as grown
women m
ay not be
enough to
increase t
he number
of female l
eaders. Fa
milies can
and

should tak
e an activ
e role in d
eveloping
leadership
qualities in
young girl
s because
leadership

can be de
veloped fr
om a youn
g age.

During the
exploratio
n and mai
ntenance
stages, fin
dings reve
aled the d
evelopme
nt of

leadership
involves i
nternal m
otivation, l
eadership
opportunit
ies, suppo
rtive netw
ork, and c
ritical

reflection
as part of l
eadership
learning.
Findings i
ndicate th
at the beli
ef that bei
ng a leade
r gave

participant
s opportun
ities to ch
ange or m
ake a posi
tive impac
t on a gre
ater numb
er of peopl
e

drove the
m to take l
eadership
positions.
The findin
gs inform
educators
and traine
rs in the fi
eld of

leadership
developm
ent that in
ternal mot
ivations h
ave a stro
ng influen
ce on peo
ple’s deci
sions to

take leade
rship posit
ions. In th
e educatio
nal field, b
esides skil
ls, traits, a
ttributes, a
nd leaders
hip

competen
cies, buildi
ng internal
motivation
can be a p
art of lead
ership trai
ning. Sho
wing wom
en

the benefit
s of leader
ship positi
ons can b
e used as
a strategy
in building
motivation
for women
to

pursue lea
dership po
sitions. Gi
ven the ra
tionale for
why wom
en should
step into l
eadership

positions a
nd how ta
king leade
rship roles
can chang
e the educ
ational sys
tem or hav
e a greate
r

impact on
a greater
number of
students, t
eachers, a
nd schools
may enco
urage wo
men to ste
p into

education
al leaders
hip positio
ns, particu
larly that o
f superinte
ndent.

In addition
to knowle
dge about
why wom
en should
be leaders
and how
women le
aders

could mak
e changes
or impact t
he educati
onal syste
m, this stu
dy reveale
d that the
belief they
164

could perf
orm leade
rship task
s influenc
ed wome
n’s decisi
on to step
into leader
ship positi
ons.

The oppor
tunities to
demonstr
ate leader
ship abiliti
es and the
recognitio
n of these
abilities h
elp

women bu
ild the self
-concept o
f being a l
eader. Par
ticipants’
self-
concept of
being a le
ader

became m
ore concre
te when th
ey engage
d in activiti
es to dem
onstrate th
eir leaders
hip abilitie
s,

such as ta
king leade
rship roles
in part-
time jobs
where thei
r leadershi
p was rec
ognized. T
his

finding inf
orms pare
nts and e
ducators t
hat, in ad
dition to e
ncouragin
g young gi
rls to parti
cipate

in activitie
s that help
shape thei
r leadershi
p qualities
, giving th
em opport
unities to
show their

leadership
abilities a
nd skills,
and the re
cognition
of these a
bilities an
d skills, ar
e critical i
n

building a
young gir
l’s self-
concept of
being a le
ader. This
finding als
o informs l
eadership

educators
and super
visors of w
omen that
offering w
omen lead
ership tas
ks, such a
s tempora
ry

leadership
roles, to d
emonstrat
e leadersh
ip abilities
and skills
and the re
cognition
of these

abilities a
nd skills,
help build
their self-
concept of
being a le
ader.
Opportunit
ies to dem
onstrate le
adership a
bilities ca
me from t
he suppor
tive netwo
rks of

participant
s. Networ
ks were fo
und to be
a source o
f educatio
nal and le
adership o
pportunitie
s for

these wo
men. Thes
e opportu
nities wer
e not give
n to the pa
rticipants
because o
f personal

preferenc
es, but rat
her becau
se of the c
redibility t
hey built o
ver time.
This findin
g provides

incentive f
or educato
rs and trai
ners, who
develop le
adership d
evelopme
nt progra
ms, to incl
ude

in those pr
ograms kn
owledge a
bout how t
o create a
supportive
network. ,
besides cr
eating

networks,
building cr
edibility in
their curre
nt roles is
as import
ant for wo
men as le
adership

competen
cy training
. It is usef
ul for the
educators
and traine
rs to infor
m women
they build

credibility
by being r
esponsibl
e and goo
d at what t
hey are d
oing in the
ir current
position. T
he

practical i
mplication
for wome
n, who wa
nt to step i
nto leader
ship positi
ons, is the
y should p
ay

attention t
o building
a supporti
ve networ
k and cre
ating cred
ibility in th
eir job.
165

Critical ref
lection wa
s found to
be a part
of the kno
wledge cr
eation of
participant
s.

Participan
ts used cri
tical reflec
tion in lea
dership d
ecision m
aking. Thi
s finding
may be us
eful for

educators
and traine
rs, who de
velop lead
ership-
training pr
ograms, w
hich inclu
de critical

reflection
activities,
such as c
omparing
previous e
xperience
with new
experienc
e (Lisa),

deciding
which acti
on to take
(Midge), r
evising th
e meanin
g of exper
ience (Mid
ge), self-

evaluation
(Midge), a
nd challen
ging their
old worldv
iews (Ann
, Marie, C
andy).
Although i
t is eviden
t from this
study that
gender di
scriminati
on does e
xists, it is i
mportant f
or

educators
and traine
rs, who de
velop lead
ership trai
ning for w
omen, to i
nform wo
men that

women le
aders hav
e positive
attitudes t
oward bei
ng women
. During cr
itical refle
ction traini
ng,

educators
and traine
rs may pro
vide exam
ples of su
ccessful w
omen lead
ers who d
o not let

discrimina
tory practi
ces limit t
hem from
advancing
to leaders
hip positio
ns. Traini
ng women
to

have the ri
ght attitud
es and pr
oviding th
em with th
e strategie
s to deal
with gend
er discrimi
nation

may be us
eful for wo
men who
want to ad
vance into
leadership
roles. This
study sug
gests that

building cr
edibility a
nd creatin
g network
s can help
alleviate d
iscriminati
on encou
ntered alo
ng

the way to
leadership
positions.

This study
provides r
ecommen
dations at
five levels;
policy leve
l, state lev
el, school

district lev
el, school
level, and
family lev
el. At the
policy lev
el, it is rec
ommende
d to integr
ate

leadership
developm
ent curric
ulum into
career de
velopment
curriculum
and provi
de curricul
um

that integr
ates activit
ies that su
pport lead
ership dev
elopment,
e.g., leade
rship roles
in school
activities, r
eading bio
graphies o
f female le
aders, sta
ge perfor
mance, an
d public s
peaking. P
olicy

should fos
ter suppor
tive netwo
rks for wo
men and s
upport lon
g-term lea
dership de
velopment

program f
or women.
States sh
ould provi
de funding
for school
s that inte
grate lead
ership acti
vities

in the curri
culum. W
omen sho
uld be pro
vided with
leadership
developm
ent progra
ms that he
lp
166

build inter
nal motiva
tion, positi
ve attitude
toward bei
ng female
, and critic
al reflectio
n. Fundin
g

for outrea
ch progra
ms that ed
ucate par
ents about
leadership
developm
ent of thei
r children
will

help devel
op future
women le
aders. Sc
hools and
school dis
tricts can f
ind ways t
o monitor

leadership
developm
ent throug
h curriculu
m, progra
m, and sc
hool activi
ties. Scho
ols should
set

up a cultur
e, where e
veryone c
an be a le
ader, inclu
ding teach
er leaders
and stude
nt leaders,
in

order to fo
ster leade
rship skills
.
Providing
students
with oppor
tunities to
be in lead
ership rol
es will fost
er a self-
concept of
being

a leader.
Families c
an adopt
a holistic
approach
by fosterin
g leadersh
ip develop
ment of ch
ildren

through a
ctivities wi
th family a
nd leader
ship roles
at home,
and partici
pating in o
utreach

programs,
which info
rm parent
s about le
adership d
evelopme
nt of childr
en.

Recomm
endations
for Future
Research

Leadershi
p has bee
n widely e
xamined,
and there
have been
several att
empts at d
efining

leadership
and its co
ncepts (B
ass & Sto
gdill, 1990
), but lead
ership is s
till the leas
t understo
od

phenomen
on (Rost,
1991). An
understan
ding about
leadership
has evolv
ed overtim
e. Literatu
re

about lead
ership star
ted from a
n understa
nding of l
eaders’ ch
aracteristi
c or their
personal t
raits.

Then, atte
ntion shift
ed to lead
ers’ behav
iors or wh
at they do
. Later, un
derstandi
ng how

leadership
is exercise
d was exte
nsively ex
amined. T
here were
attempts t
o understa
nd how

leaders inf
luence foll
owers and
how leade
rship can
be distribu
ted. Leade
rship studi
es then

moved fro
m post-
heroic lea
dership to
shared or
distributed
leadership
(Pepper, 2
010). In th
e past
20 years, t
he focus o
f leadershi
p has bee
n on the d
evelopme
nt of meth
ods for lea
dership tra
ining.

There are
various ty
pes of lea
dership tr
aining, par
ticularly fo
rmal class
room lead
ership trai
ning

(Hernez-
Broome &
Hughes, 2
004). Fro
m a revie
w of the lit
erature, th
e focus of
leadership
167

developm
ent is limit
ed to the l
earning of
adults and
leadership
learning in
formal sett
ings. The

evolution
of leaders
hip literatu
re is prese
nted in Fig
ure 4.

Figure 4.
The Evolu
tion of Lea
dership Lit
erature an
d Recom
mendation
s
The gend
er aspect
of leaders
hip was br
ought to li
ght begin
ning with t
he civil rig
hts

movement
, which ai
med to eli
minate ba
rriers and
discrimina
tion again
st minoriti
es and wo
men

who attem
pted to ad
vance to l
eadership
positions.
In the edu
cational fi
eld, wome
n are sixty
times

less likely
than men
to advanc
e from the
teaching p
osition to t
he top lea
dership rol
e in a sch
ool

district (S
karla, 199
9). Superi
ntendent,
in particul
ar, is the
most male
-
dominate
d position
in the
168

United St
ates (Bjor
k, 2000; D
obie & Hu
mmel, 20
01; Skrla
et al., 200
0; Skrla, 2
000a; Skrl
a,

2000b). W
ith regard
to the und
erreprese
ntation of
women a
mong sch
ool superi
ntendents,
this

study cont
ributed to
the literatu
re on the
developm
ent of lead
ership, sp
ecifically l
eadership
of

women as
school su
perintende
nts, by ad
ding to the
body of re
search an
alternative
way of

viewing le
adership d
evelopme
nt: an ong
oing devel
opmental
process th
at occurs i
n informal

settings.

This study
used care
er develop
ment task
s, guided
by career
developm
ent theory
(Super,

1990) to tr
ack activiti
es, startin
g from chil
dhood, as
sociated
with leade
rship of w
omen sch
ool

superinte
ndents in
Alaska; th
is study al
so used M
ezirow’s (
1978) criti
cal reflecti
on theory
as a

framework
to look at
meaning t
hat partici
pants mad
e from tho
se activitie
s. Study r
esults rev
ealed

activities, t
asks, and
factors out
side of the
classroom
that affect
leadership
developm
ent of

women le
aders. Ho
wever, the
results of t
he study a
re not gen
eralizable
because o
f the small

number of
participant
s.

Regarding
efforts for
advancing
women int
o superint
endent po
sitions, fut
ure resear
ch

should be
conducted
with a larg
er number
of women
school su
perintende
nts, using
a quantitat
ive

research d
esign to b
etter unde
rstand the
phenomen
on. Future
research c
ould furthe
r examine
the

ongoing d
evelopme
ntal proce
sses of le
adership d
evelopme
nt of femal
e leaders.
Considera
tion

should be
given to c
omparing
difference
s and simi
larities of
women le
aders’ exp
eriences s
tarting

from child
hood to id
entify acti
vities and
factors as
sociated
with leade
rship deve
lopment o
f

young girl
s and wo
men outsi
de of clas
sroom sett
ings. Cons
ideration s
hould also
be given t
o

linkages in
volving sel
f-concept,
career dev
elopment t
asks, and
leadership
developm
ent. Such

research c
ould provi
de useful i
nsights an
d implicati
ons for lea
dership de
velopment
programs
for
169

young girl
s and wo
men and
might sug
gest activi
ties releva
nt to the d
evelopme
nt of wom
en at

different li
fe stages.

Chapter
5 Summa
ry

This study
presented
seven con
clusions r
elative to l
eadership
of five wo
men scho
ol

superinten
dents in Al
aska. Lea
dership de
velopment
of the parti
cipants wa
s found to
be an

ongoing p
rocess tha
t can occu
r in non-
formal sett
ings.

Leadershi
p qualities
and self-
concept of
a leader c
an start as
early as th
e growth s
tage.

Family an
d leisure a
ctivities
were an i
nfluence i
n the deve
lopment o
f participa
nts’ leade
rship

qualities d
uring the g
rowth and
exploratio
n stages.
This study
described
samples o
f leisure

activities
and activit
ies with fa
mily that c
an help sh
ape leade
rship quali
ties of you
ng girls an
d

provided u
seful infor
mation for
parents, e
ducators,
and couns
elors how
leadership
can be

developed
from early
childhood
by encour
aging girls
to particip
ate in suc
h activitie
s.

The explor
ation and
maintenan
ce stages
are the tim
es when p
articipants
started to

develop th
eir self-
concept of
being a le
ader. Opp
ortunities t
o demonst
rate leade
rship abilit
ies,

such as ta
king leade
rship roles
in part-
time jobs,
and the re
cognition
of these a
bilities hel
ped

shape part
icipants’ c
oncepts of
a leader.
This findin
g informs
parents an
d educator
s that, bes
ides

encouragi
ng young
girls to par
ticipate in
activities r
elevant to
leadership
developm
ent, giving

young girl
s opportu
nities to s
how their l
eadership
abilities a
nd skills a
nd the rec
ognition of
these

abilities a
nd skills,
are critica
l in buildi
ng a youn
g girl’s se
lf-concept
of a leade
r.

As for the
decision t
o advance
to leaders
hip positio
ns, finding
s revealed
the two fa
ctors
that drove
participant
s to take l
eadership
positions
were: a) th
e belief th
at being a
leader giv
es

participant
s opportun
ities to ch
ange or h
ave positiv
e impact o
n a greate
r number
of people,
and
170

b) the beli
ef that on
e can perf
orm leade
rship task
s. The imp
lication for
educators
and traine
rs in

leadership
developm
ent of wo
men is tha
t leadershi
p develop
ment shou
ld include
building

internal m
otivation f
or women
to take lea
dership ro
les. This i
nternal m
otivation c
an be built
by

providing
women th
e rationale
for why w
omen sho
uld step u
p into lead
ership pos
itions and

informatio
n about ho
w leaders
hip roles c
an change
the educat
ional syste
m or make
a greater

impact on
a greater
number of
students, t
eachers, a
nd schools
. In additio
n, this stu
dy also
informs ed
ucators in
the field of
leadership
developm
ent of wo
men and t
he supervi
sors of

women th
at offering
women le
adership t
asks such
as tempor
ary leader
ship roles
to demons
trate

leadership
abilities a
nd skills,
and the re
cognition
of these a
bilities an
d skills hel
p build the
ir

self-
concept of
being a le
ader.

Findings a
lso reveal
ed that the
opportuniti
es to dem
onstrate le
adership a
bilities ca
me

from the
participan
ts’ suppor
tive netw
orks and t
hat their n
etworks p
rovided th
em with s
uch

opportuniti
es becaus
e of their
abilities a
nd skills.
Participan
ts emphas
ized the i
mportanc
e of

building cr
edibility o
ver time.
The implic
ation for
women, w
ho want t
o advanc
e in leade
rship

positions, i
s that they
need to be
good at an
y tasks the
y are give
n. The stu
dy also su
ggests tha
t

educators
and traine
rs, who de
velop lead
ership dev
elopment
programs
for women
, should te
ach

that leade
rship invol
ves buildi
ng credibil
ity over ti
me and th
at providi
ng wome
n with trai
ning to

help them
better perf
orm in the
ir current
positions i
s equally
good as p
roviding th
em with

leadership
training.

The study
also sugg
ests that e
ducators a
nd trainers
, who dev
elop leade
rship-
training

programs,
should inc
lude critic
al reflectio
n activities
, such as
comparing
previous e
xperience

with the n
ew experi
ence, deci
ding whic
h action to
take, revis
ing the me
aning of e
xperience,
self-

evaluating
, and chall
enging th
eir old wor
ldviews in
those pro
grams.
171

Most impo
rtantly, thi
s study re
veals, alth
ough gen
der discri
mination e
xists, wo
men’s

attitudes t
oward dis
criminatio
n need no
t be negati
ve. It is ev
ident from
the finding
s, regardl
ess of

their expe
riences wi
th discrimi
nation pra
ctices, par
ticipants i
n this stud
y had posi
tive attitud
es

toward bei
ng women
, and they
did not let
discrimina
tory practi
ces limit t
hem from
stepping i
nto

leadership
positions.
This findin
g provides
useful info
rmation fo
r women a
nd educat
ors on the

importanc
e of positi
ve attitude
s toward g
ender disc
rimination.
In the last
section of
this chapt
er, the res
earcher pr
ovided rec
ommendat
ions for fut
ure

research.
Although t
he current
study prov
ides usefu
l informati
on about
an ongoin
g

developm
ental proc
ess releva
nt to parti
cipants’ l
eadership,
the study
was explo
ratory, qu
alitative

research,
which is li
mited by t
he small n
umber of
participant
s. The res
ults of this
study can
not be

generalize
d. A quant
itative app
roach is s
uggested f
or future r
esearch to
compare d
ifferences
and

similaritie
s of wom
en leaders
’ experien
ces startin
g from ch
ildhood s
o that it m
ight be po
ssible to

identify ge
neralizabl
e activities
and factor
s associat
ed with le
adership d
evelopme
nt of youn
g

girls and
women ou
tside of cl
assroom s
ettings an
d generali
zable link
ages invol
ving self-
concept,

career dev
elopment t
asks, and l
eadership
developm
ent.
172

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Appendix
A

Email to
Potential
Participa
nts

My name i
s Malisa K
omolthiti. I
am a stud
ent at Nor
theastern
University
, College
of

Professio
nal Studie
s, where I
am compl
eting requi
rements f
or a Docto
r of Educa
tion majori
ng in

Organizati
onal Lead
ership. I a
m seeking
participant
s for my q
ualitative
study of le
adership

journey of
women sc
hool super
intendents
. Specifica
lly, the pur
pose of m
y research
is to explo
re

your exper
iences in r
elations to
the career
and leader
ship starti
ng from yo
ur childho
od. As a
female wh
o wants to
advance i
n a career
, this topic
is of perso
nal and pr
ofessional
interest to
me.

The main r
esearch q
uestion wa
s: How do
women sc
hool super
intendents
make mea
ning

of their lea
dership de
velopment
experienc
es?

Participati
on in this
study will
be in the f
orm of tw
o intervie
ws. The fi
rst intervi
ew is

preliminar
y, up to 1
5 minutes
in duratio
n by telep
hone. Thi
s will be o
ur opportu
nity to get
to

know eac
h other bri
efly and to
establish
your unde
rstanding
about part
icipation. I
will answe
r

any questi
ons you m
ight have,
ask demo
graphic inf
ormation,
and ask if
you feel c
omfortabl
e in

telling you
r career-
relevant a
nd leader
ship-
relevant e
xperience
s. Another
interview
will follow;

this intervi
ew will las
t approxi
mately for
ty minute
s. If availa
ble, it is v
oluntary t
o provide
your

resume pr
ior to the i
nterview.
The interv
iew will be
recorded.
The recor
ding will b
e transcri
bed

by profess
ional trans
cription se
rvice

accuracy
of transcri
ption will
be via em
ail.

Participati
on is volu
ntary, con
fidential, a
nd there
will be no
personally
identifying

informatio
n about y
ou in the s
tudy. Eve
n if you ag
ree to part
icipate, yo
u may wit
hdraw at
any

time. If yo
u decide t
o participa
te, please
send an e
mail to me
at . If you
have any
questions
about
192

my study
or would li
ke further
informatio
n, please
do not he
sitate to c
ontact me
. I look for
ward

to hearing
from you,

Sincerely
Yours,

Malisa Ko
molthiti

Email:

Telephon
e: 562-
265-8222
193

Appendix
B

Informed
Consent t
o Particip
ate in a R
esearch
Study

Institutio
n: Northe
astern Uni
versity, C
ollege of
Professio
nal Studie
s

Investigat
ors: Malis
a Komolth
iti - Docto
ral Candi
date, Dr.
Margaret
Gorman
Kirchoff -

Principal I
nvestigat
or

Title of P
roject: Le
adership J
ourneys:
A Narrativ
e Researc
h Study E
xploring
Women S
chool

Superinte
ndents’ M
eaning-
making of
Leadershi
p Develop
ment Exp
eriences

I invite yo
u to take
part in a q
ualitative r
esearch st
udy. The
object of t
his study i
s to

explore le
adership j
ourneys of
women sc
hool super
intendents
. Specifica
lly, this stu
dy aims to

explore yo
ur experie
nces in rel
ation to th
e develop
mental pat
h to a lead
ership pos
ition starti
ng

from your
childhood
.

Participat
ion proce
ss:

This letter
will explai
n what pa
rticipation
in the stud
y means,
but if you
have furth
er

questions,
please as
k. Your pa
rticipation
is voluntar
y and you
do not hav
e to partici
pate if you
do

not want t
o. After yo
u have rea
d this doc
ument, an
d made a
decision,
please ad
vise me. If
you
choose to
participate
, I will ask
you to sig
n this stat
ement. I w
ill provide
you a sign
ed copy fo
r

your recor
ds.

I am askin
g you to b
e in this st
udy becau
se you me
et the follo
wing criter
ia:

You are
female.

You are
currently
a superin
tendent i
n a publi
c school
system i
n Alaska.

If you deci
de to take
part in thi
s study, I
will ask yo
u to partic
ipate in a
40-minute
oral

interview,
conducted
either in p
erson, via
a teleconf
erencing
medium u
sing video
and audio

elements (
e.g. Skyp
e, Face-
Time), or
via a stan
dard telep
hone inter
view. If we
are meeti
ng face-
194

to-face, th
e intervie
w will take
place at a
public me
eting locat
ion that is
comfortab
le for you.
If

by telecon
ference or
telephone,
I will ask y
ou to choo
se a quiet
location,
where you
are

comfortab
le and can
speak fre
ely and un
interrupte
d during t
he intervie
w. If avail
able, it is

voluntary
to provide
your resu
me prior t
o the inter
view. The
interview
will be rec
orded. Th
e

recording
will be tra
nscribed b
y professi
onal trans
cription se
rvice

Once a te
xt transcri
pt is made
of the rec
orded inte
rview, I wil
l provide a
copy to yo
u so
you may r
eview and
add any a
dditional c
omments.

The follo
wing actio
ns will ma
intain con
fidentiality
of your re
sponses:

Pseudon
yms will
be used.

The inter
view rec
ordings a
nd transc
ription wil
l be save
d in a pa
ssword p
rotected
(secure)

USB flas
h drive in
locked ca
binet at re
searcher’s
home

A separa
te, locke
d file cab
inet (in a
different
location)
will hold
the list o
f particip
ants’

names, th
eir pseudo
nyms, and
their signe
d consent
forms.

At the co
nclusion
of the stu
dy, all di
gital reco
rdings of
the interv
iews will
be destr
oyed.
The possi
ble risk, h
arm, disco
mfort, or i
nconvenie
nce to you
from parti
cipating in
this

study is m
inimal. Pe
rsonal refl
ection, wh
en thinkin
g about a
nd answer
ing intervi
ew questi
ons

about the
career-
relevant a
nd leaders
hip-
relevant e
xperience
s may cau
se some s
light disco
mfort.

Your pers
onal identi
ty as a pa
rticipant in
this study
protected.
Your part i
n this stud
y will be

confidenti
al, and onl
y the rese
archer on
this study
will see th
e informati
on about y
ou. No rep
orts

or publica
tions will
use infor
mation th
at can ide
ntify you i
n any way
.

Your parti
cipation in
this resea
rch is volu
ntary. You
do not ha
ve to parti
cipate if y
ou do

not want t
o. Even if
you begin
the study,
you may q
uit at any t
ime. You
may refus
e to answ
er

any questi
on. There
will be no
direct ben
efit to you
for taking
part in the
study; ho
wever, the
195

informatio
n learned
from this
study may
provide v
aluable inf
ormation f
or women
who want
to

become s
uperinten
dents and
may provi
de insight
s for the D
epartment
of Educati
on in deve
loping

gender-
diversity a
mong sup
erintenden
ts. The res
ults of the
study may
also expa
nd and

strengthen
existing re
search reg
arding the
inequitabl
e represe
ntation of
women in
superinten
dent

positions.

If you hav
e question
s or probl
ems, plea
se contact
Malisa Ko
molthiti at
562-265-
8222

(voice mai
l is confid
ential) or
by email a
t
Margaret
Gorman
Kirchoff at

If you hav
e any que
stions abo
ut your rig
hts in this
research,
you may c
ontact Na
n C.

Regina, Di
rector, Hu
man Subj
ect Resea
rch Protec
tion, 960
Renaissan
ce Park, N
ortheaster
n

University
, Boston,
MA 0211
5. Tel: 61
7-373-
4588, em
ail:

anonymo
usly if you
wish.

Sincerely
Yours,

Malisa Ko
molthiti
196

If you agr
ee to parti
cipate in t
his study,
please re
ad, initial
directly be
low, and s
ign at the
bottom

of the pag
e.

Documen
tation of I
nformed
Consent

Read the
statement
s that follo
w and pla
ce your ini
tials in the
box to the
right of th
e stateme
nt,

then proce
ed to the s
ignature ar
ea further
below

I understa
nd the info
rmation pr
esented o
n this form
.

I have dis
cussed thi
s study, it
s risks an
d potential
benefits, a
nd other o
ptions wit
h

the resear
cher, Mali
sa Komolt
hiti.
I have rec
eived ans
wers to th
e question
s I have a
sked up to
this point.

My signat
ure below
indicates
my willin
gness to
participat
e in this s
tudy. My
signature

below affi
rms my u
nderstan
ding that
I can with
draw fro
m the stu
dy at any
time.

_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
_____
____

S
________
________
________
________
________
____

Printed n
ame of pe
rson abov
e

_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
____
_____
_____
____

S D
________
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Printed n
ame of pe
rson abov
e
197

Appendix
C

Interview
Guide

The resea
rcher will i
ntroduce
herself, th
ank the pa
rticipant fo
r agreeing
to take pa
rt in the st
udy,

and then a
sk the part
icipant to
choose a
pseudony
m to use f
or the stud
y.

Script

My name i
s Malisa K
omolthiti. I
am a doct
oral candi
date in th
e Doctor o
f Educatio
n program
at

Northeast
ern Unive
rsity.

Thank you
for agreei
ng to parti
cipate in t
his doctor
al thesis r
esearch.
The purpo
se of my

research i
s to explor
e the lead
ership jour
neys of w
omen sch
ool superi
ntendents.
Specificall
y, this

study will f
ocus on y
our experi
ences in r
elation to t
he develo
pmental p
ath to a le
adership

position st
arting fro
m your ch
ildhood. I
am hopin
g the stud
y will prov
ide me gr
eater insi
ght into

how wom
en learn to
be leaders
.

All inform
ation is (a
nd will be
kept) ano
nymous a
nd confid
ential, wit
h no pers
onally

identifying
informatio
n used. T
hroughout
the intervi
ews, I will
refer to yo
u by your
chosen

pseudony
m. Your p
articipatio
n is volunt
ary and y
ou may wi
thdraw at
any time.
With your

permissio
n, I will re
cord this s
ession. Af
terward, I
will provid
e you a c
opy of the
transcript
for

your revie
w. May I p
roceed?

After obta
ining the
participan
t’s agree
ment to co
ntinue, the
researcher
will addres
s the

participant
by his or h
er pseudo
nym, begi
nning the
formal int
erview pro
cess as fo
llows:

Backgrou
nd Questi
ons:

We will no
t start the
actual inte
rview just
yet; howe
ver, I woul
d like to st
art by aski
ng you for

some bac
kground in
formation
that will h
elp me un
derstand y
our experi
ences. Thi
s part sho
uld
198

take no m
ore than 5
minutes, s
o please p
rovide brie
f answers.

Would yo
u tell me
briefly ab
out your
educatio
nal back
ground a
nd profe
ssional

backgroun
d?

How lon
g have y
ou been i
n your p
osition?

What is
your rac
e/
ethnicity
?

What is
your cou
ntry of bi
rth?

What is
your first
languag
e?

What is
your mar
ital statu
s?

After aski
ng the ba
ckground
(warm-up)
questions,
the resear
cher will b
egin the f
ormal inte
rview,

Interview
Question
s

The intervi
ew questi
ons aim to
answer th
e main res
earch que
stion:

How do w
omen sch
ool superi
ntendents
make mea
ning of the
ir leadersh
ip develop
ment

experienc
es?

The intervi
ew questi
ons seek t
o elicit me
aning-
making of
women sc
hool super
intendents
during

each care
er develop
ment stag
e leading t
o their lea
dership po
sitions. Th
e table bel
ow shows
the

alignment
of the inte
rview que
stions to l
eadership
developm
ent experi
ences that
may occur
in
each care
er develop
mental sta
ge.
199

Interview
Question
s to obtai
n
meaning-
making o
n each le
adership
developm
ent experi
ences
Part 1: Gr
owth Sta
ge (Birth-
14 years
of Age)
1) When
you were
a child ab
out 10 yea
rs old or y
ounger, di
d you ever
role-play?
Who
were you?
What skill
s did you l
earn in rel
ation to le
adership?
2) Think
back whe
n you wer
e about 1
1 or 12 ye
ars old. W
hat was y
our under
standing
about care
er?
3) What
was your
dream job
? Why?
4) Where
you were
about 13-
14 years o
ld, what di
d you like
to do? Wh
at were yo
u good
at doing?
5) What
were the l
eadership
qualities (i
f any) that
you gain fr
om these
activities?
Part 2: Ex
ploration
Stage (14
-24 years
old)
6) When
you were
about 15-
17 years o
ld, what w
ere your c
areer goal
s?
7) Descri
be key ex
periences
from scho
ol activitie
s, leisure
activities,
or part-
time work
that are as
sociated w
ith your le
adership a
nd may le
ad you to
your decis
ion to purs
ue a
leadership
position.
8) When
you were
about 18-
21 years o
ld? Did yo
u still have
the same
career go
als?
9) Did yo
u have an
y career p
lans? Did
you follow
your plan
?
10) What
was the fi
eld or stud
y did you
choose?
Did you e
ngage in a
ny types o
f career
training?
Describe t
he key ex
periences
from the c
areer train
ing or edu
cation in r
elations
to leaders
hip.
11) After y
ou gradua
ted, what
was the fir
st job that
makes yo
u feel that
could be y
our
potential li
fe work?
Did experi
ences gai
n from this
job enhan
ce your le
adership
qualities?
Part 3: Es
tablishme
nt Stage (
Age 25-
43)
12) When
you were
about 25-
30 years o
ld, did you
change yo
ur career
goals and
plans?
13) Descri
be key ex
periences
that alter/
support yo
ur goals a
nd plans.
14) What
was your j
ob when y
ou were a
bout 31-
34? What
are signifi
cant exper
iences,
work relat
ed or othe
rwise— th
at influenc
ed your de
cision to p
ursue a le
adership
position?
15) From t
he reflecti
on on you
r career d
evelopme
nt today,
when did t
hink you s
tart seeing
yourself a
s leaders?
16) When
did you st
art your ca
reer as a s
uperintend
ent?
Part 4: M
aintenan
ce Stage
(Age 44-
59)
17) Can y
ou describ
e what it f
elt like to b
e a superi
ntendent?
Please us
e a metap
hor to
describe y
our feeling
—for exa
mple, bein
g a superi
ntendent f
eels like
….
18) Can y
ou describ
e what it f
elt like to b
e a female
superinten
dent? Plea
se use a
metaphor
to describ
e your feel
ing
19) Look h
ead 5-10
years fro
m now, if
someone
wrote abo
ut you, wh
at would t
he headlin
e
200

be?
20) What
advice do
you have f
or women
who want
to become
superinten
dents? W
hy do
you want t
o give the
m such ad
vice?

Thank yo
u for your
participati
on. I will c
ontact yo
u afterwar
d to obtai
n addition
al informa
tion as

needed. I
will also s
end you t
he transcr
iption of th
is intervie
w and veri
fy the acc
uracy of t
he

informatio
n.

Malisa Ko
molthiti
201

Appendix
D

Thank Yo
u Email t
o Partici
pants

(to be sen
t within 24
hours afte
r the inter
view)

Dear ____
_____

Thank you
for sharin
g your exp
eriences
with me o
n _____. I
appreciate
your takin
g the time
to

do so. If y
ou may pr
ovide me
with any a
dditional t
houghts, i
deas, or r
eflections
you have
had

since we c
onducted t
he intervie
w, please
do not hes
itate to co
ntact me.

You may r
espond to
this email
or call me,
whichever
you prefer
. My email
address is
, and my

phone nu
mber is 56
2-265-
8222.

Sincerely
Yours,

Malisa Ko
molthiti
202

Appendix
E

Follow-
Up Email
to Partici
pants
Dear ____
___

Thank yo
u for parti
cipating in
my study.
I apprecia
te the tim
e you spe
nt with me
talking ab
out

your lead
ership jou
rney and
your expe
riences. A
ttached to
the email
you will fin
d the

transcripti
on of your
interview s
ession. Pl
ease revie
w the atta
ched for it
s accurac
y and cont
act

me with a
ny additio
nal though
ts, ideas,
or reflectio
ns you ma
y have.

Please res
pond via e
mail to me
at or call
me at 562
-265-
8222.

Sincerely
Yours,

Malisa Ko
molthiti