[xiii], 326 leaves. Advisor: Catherine Gillespie.The problem: 10.5% of the superintendents and 71 % of teachers in lowa are
female. The problem for this study was to identify barriers that women face in
accessing the superintendency and the attributes needed to overcome those
barriers, in order to answer the question: What does it take to for a woman to
become a superintendent in lowa?
Procedure: A survey was electronically mailed to all 37 2003-2004 lowa female
superintendents, with 37 randomly selected male superintendents from an lowa
Department of Education list. The response rate to this survey was 97.2% for
males and 75.6% for females. Frequency response tables and data analysis,
primarily the Wilcoxon/Mann-Whitney/U Test, were used to determine significant
differences between the groups. Qualitative interviews were conducted with three
female superintendents and representatives of the three major superintendent
search firms in the state. Qualitative data were analyzed using iterations of the
constant comparative method. Stories were represented using characteristics of
the testimonio genre.
Findings: Quantitative: Significant differences included: Female superintendents
accessed the superintendency at older ages than males, were less likely to be
married, were more likely to be employed in schools of less than 3,000 students,
and 55% earned less than the average superintendent salary for the state.
Approximately 26% of female superintendents felt they received low support from
recruiters. Qualitative: Search consultants and school board presidents were the
gatekeepers in the selection process. Mentors and networking were critical to
women's career advancement. Women must exhibit perseverance, business
acumen, and "grit" in order to access a superintendency. Overt and covert
discrimination against women still exists which inhibits the advancement of more
women to positions of school leadership. The field of education demonstrated a
hegemonic and androcentric system which does not favor women in leadership.
Recommendations: (1) The disparity between the number of females certified in
lowa and those practicing as superintendents. (2) Perceptions of school boards,
especially school board presidents about hiring women as superintendents. (3)
Female superintendents' career stories, particularly about how they accessed the
superintendency. (4) Occurrences of bullying and mobbing in school
administration