Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

11-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Hoiwah Benny Fong

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Colleen Ramos

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Misty Resendez Woods

Abstract

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the experiences of Asian and Asian American women administrators’ career paths in U.S. higher education. The research fills a gap in the literature regarding the careers of Asian and Asian American women administrators. The recruitment process was completed between May 13 and July 9, 2024. Recruitment emails were sent to 25 potentially qualified participants, including a network of 17 people made up of mentors, professors, and colleagues, as well as eight professional associations and LinkedIn. The participants were six Asian and Asian American biologically female administrators at U.S. colleges and universities. These participants currently hold or have held administrative or leadership positions in U.S. higher education for more than 2 years or upwards of 20. For all interviews, informed consent forms were sent beforehand, and no interview was conducted until the qualified participants read and signed the forms. Triangulation was used to strengthen this phenomenological study’s credibility by using multiple data sources, Zoom interviews, field notes, and member checking. As a phenomenological study, thematic analysis was used by applying a homogeneity-focused approach and adopting Moustakas’s (1994) model: epoché, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and a synthesis of meaning and essence. Five main themes were formed with an additional four subthemes by using the same homogeneity-focused approach. The main themes included association & networking, family, discrimination, language, and mentor; additional themes were working experience, suggestion, education, and bicultural/multicultural.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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