Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
9-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Abstract
The problem addressed through this study was the underrepresentation of African American women superintendents in the public-school districts of Texas, despite women making up a majority of the public-school workforce. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of African American women superintendents regarding the support and barriers they encountered as they navigated their journeys to the position of public school district superintendent in Texas. The study was grounded in the Black feminist thought framework. Five semistructured interviews were conducted with currently serving African American women superintendents in Texas. The participants had been in the role of superintendent for various amounts of time, one completing her first year and another who has been a superintendent for more than a decade. Data analysis proceeded through the thorough two-cycle coding process. The in vivo codes that emerged in the first cycle kept participants' language and cultural context intact, which was of particular importance through a lens of Black feminist thought. Research Question 1 examined African American women superintendents’ perspectives in Texas on their support and experiences in their journey to the superintendency. The themes uncovered from Research Question 1 involved the importance of supportive mentors, professional organization support, spiritual grounding, and cultural support. Research Question 2 revealed some of the hurdles African American women superintendents encountered while pursuing their journey to educational leadership. The themes uncovered from Research Question 2 were around resilience through identity and purpose-driven leadership; racialized and gendered leadership expectations; systemic barriers; empowered visibility; transformational leadership that builds systems, trust, and opportunities; intentional and reflective leadership; and student-centered purpose and relational leadership. Superintendents who are African American women contribute unique and powerful lenses to educational leadership. Their shared experiences reveal a life of triumph and challenge and underscore that inequities around access to leadership positions continue to persist in public education. Despite external challenges that have developed over time, their personal confidence, reflective practices, and student-focused vision can serve as models for transformative leadership.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wyllie, Shani, "Underrepresentation of African American Women Superintendents in the Public Schools of Texas: Descriptions of Their Lived Experiences" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 955.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/955