The Recruitment and Retention of African American Women as Public School Superintendents

Abstract

This qualitative study was based on a phenomenological narrative design that specifically addresses the issues of recruitment and retention of African American women in the public school superintendency. The narratives of eight African American women participants identified common similarities and differences about race, gender, and social politics as applied to recruitment and retention of public school superintendents. When African American women are hired for and able to maintain the public school superintendency, they in fact are learning, teaching, and modeling how to overcome racism, sexism, and oppressive sociopolitics. This is not to say that every African American woman hired as a public school superintendent has the capacity to become a transformative leader within a school district, but rather their mere presence in the position demonstrates their individual ability to transcend the challenges presented throughout this study.