Female Superintendents and the Effects of Mentoring Relationships
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol3.iss10.452Keywords:
Career mentoring, psychosocial mentoring, women in leadershipAbstract
Women make up the majority of personnel in today’s school systems yet few are employed in the highest position-superintendent. In one southern state, the State Department of Education (2009) reported 22 % of superintendents were women. Nationwide, the percentage is 24.1% (Kowalski, McCord, Petersen, Young, & Ellerson, 2011). However, in comparison to the number of women who begin their careers in education, there is still a wide inequity between the percentages of those in the ranks and those in positions of superintendent (Katz, 2012). One of the reasons for the lack of women in upper level administration is the lack of mentoring, both formal and informal. Therefore, mentoring becomes an essential element in providing the guidance and support for women who aspire to be in a leadership position.
This study examined the effects of career and psychosocial mentoring functions on the careers of women superintendents currently serving in a southern state by exploring both informal and formal mentoring relationships and the way these relationships serve as effective tools on the position attained and career development. The results of this study showed that the career mentoring functions and psychosocial mentoring functions had a statistically significant impact on the careers of female superintendents. Findings from this research indicate that mentoring relationships have the potential for female administrators to make successful career advancement.
References
Alabama State Department of Education (2009). Alabama Education Directory. Retrieved, http://www.alsde.edu/general/SDE_Directory.pdf
Alston, J. A. (2000). Missing from Action Where are the Black Female School Superintendents?. Urban Education, 35(5), 525-531.Baranik, L. E., Roling, E. A., & Eby, L. T. (2010). Why does mentoring work? The role of perceived organizational support. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(3), 366-373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.07.004
Beckett, B. J. (2010). Mentorship Is Key to Career Success. Strategic Finance, 92(4), 21-22.
Beekley, C. (1999). Dancing in red shoes. Sacred dreams: Women and the superintendency, 161.
Beres, J. L., & Dixon, J. C. (2014). Exploring mentoring functions within the sport management academy: Perspectives of mentors and protégés. SMEJ, 8(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/smej.2012-0007
Brunner, C. (1999). Crawling through the window of a dream: surveying the terrain. Sacred Dreams: Women and the Superintendency, 7-8.
Colley, H. (2002). A rough guide to the history of mentoring from a Marxist feminist perspective. Journal of Education for Teaching: International research and pedagogy, 28(3), 257-273. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747022000021403
Davidson, M. N., & Foster-Johnson, L. (2001). Mentoring in the preparation of graduate researchers of color. Review of Educational Research, 71(4), 549-574. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071004549
Dunbar, D. P., & Kinnersley, R. T. (2011). Mentoring female administrators toward leadership success. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 77(3), 17-24.
Feistritzer, C. E., Griffin, S., & Linnajarvi, A. (2011). Profile of Teachers in the US, 2011. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Information.
Gardiner, M. E., Enomoto, E., & Grogan, M. (2000). Coloring outside the lines: Mentoring women into school leadership. Suny Press.
Gewertz, C. (2006). Race, Gender, and the Superintendency. Departures of Black Women Spark Frank Talk of Factors Making a Tough Job Harder. Education Week, 25(24), 1-22. 25(24), 1-24.
Giddis, R. (2003). The Mentoring Experience for Women Leaders in Florida's Community Colleges (Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida).
Gilmour, S. L., & Kinsella, M. P. (2009). Succeeding as a female superintendent: How to get there and stay there. Rowman & Littlefield.
Godshalk, V. M., & Sosik, J. J. (2000). Does mentor-protégé agreement on mentor leadership behavior influence the quality of a mentoring relationship?. Group & Organization Management, 25(3), 291-317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601100253005
Grogan, M. (2000). Laying the groundwork for a reconception of the superintendency from feminist postmodern perspectives. Educational Administration Quarterly, 36(1), 117-142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X00361005
Guillot, C. (2014). MENTORING that matters. Internal Auditor, 71(2), 46-50.
Hall, L. (2001). A regional study of gender differential perceptions of mentoring functions in accessing the superintendency. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern Mississippi).
Jacobson, S. L., Hickcox, E. S., & Stevenson, R. B. (Eds.). (1996). School administration: Persistent dilemmas in preparation and practice. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Jackson, J., & Shakeshaft, C. (2003). The Pool of African American Candidates for the Superintendency.
January, K. (2006). A study of the impact of mentoring relationships and influences on the careers of African American women superintendents. (Doctoral dissertation, Howard University).
Johnson, W. B. (2007). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410614063
Kao, K. Y., Rogers, A., Spitzmueller, C., Lin, M. T., & Lin, C. H. (2014). Who should serve as my mentor? The effects of mentor's gender and supervisory status on resilience in mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(2), 191-203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.07.004
Katz, S. J. (2012). Border Crossing: A Black Woman Superintendent Builds Democratic Community in Unfamiliar Territory. Journal of School Leadership, 22(4), 771-788. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461202200405
Kay, F. M., Hagan, J., & Parker, P. (2009). Principals in Practice: The Importance of Mentorship in the Early Stages of Career Development. Law & Policy, 31(1), 69-110. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9930.2008.00285.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9930.2008.00285.x
Kinnersley, R. T. (2009). Mentoring relationships of female administrators in Tennessee higher education. Tennessee State University.Kovnatska, O. (2014). Say yes to mentoring!. Strategic Finance, 96(5), 47-51.
Kowalski, T. J., McCord, R. S., Peterson, G. J., Young, P. I., & Ellerson, N. M. (2011). The American school superintendent: 2010 decennial study. R&L Education.
Kram, K. (1985). Mentoring at work: developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.
Mason, C., & Bailey, E. (2003). Benefits and pitfalls of mentoring. In Annual Conference-Society for Technical Communication (Vol. 50, pp. 6-10).
McClellan, R., Ivory, G., & Domínguez, R. (2008). Distribution of influence, communication, and relational mentoring in the US superintendency. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 16(3), 346-358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260802233514
McDowall-Long, K. (2004). Mentoring relationships: Implications for practitioners and suggestions for future research. Human Resource Development International, 7(4), 519-534. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1367886042000299816
Moir, E. (2009). Accelerating Teacher Effectiveness: Lessons Learned from Two Decades of New Teacher Induction: Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170909100204
Packard, B. W. L., Walsh, L., & Seidenberg, S. (2004). Will that be one mentor or two? A cross‐sectional study of women's mentoring during college. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 12(1), 71-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1361126042000183039
Parker, P., Hall, D. T., & Kram, K. E. (2008). Peer coaching: A relational process for accelerating career learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7(4), 487-503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2008.35882189
Patton, L. D. (2009). My sister's keeper: A qualitative examination of mentoring experiences among African American women in graduate and professional schools. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(5), 510-537. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779030
Skrla, L. (2000). The social construction of gender in the superintendency. Journal of Education Policy, 15(3), 293-316. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02680930050030446
Smith, E. R. (2011). Faculty mentors in teacher induction: Developing a cross-institutional identity. The Journal of Educational Research, 104(5), 316-329. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2010.482948
Stamm, M., & Buddeberg-Fischer, B. (2011). The impact of mentoring during postgraduate training on doctors' career success. Medical Education, 45(5), 488-496. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03857.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03857.x
Steiner, J. F. (2014). Promoting Mentorship in Translational Research: Should We Hope for Athena or Train Mentor? Academic Medicine, 89(5), 702-704. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000205
Tareef, A. B. (2013). The Relationship between mentoring and career development of higher education faculty members. College Student Journal, 47(4), 703.
van Eck Peluchette, J., & Jeanquart, S. (2000). Professionals' use of different mentor sources at various career stages: Implications for career success. The Journal of Social Psychology, 140(5), 549-564. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224540009600495
Walker, K., & Carr-Stewart, S. (2006). Beginning principals: Experiences and images of success. International Studies in Educational Administration, 34(3), 17-36.
Wesley, C. (1997). Mentoring in the superintendency: gender, race/ethnicity, and position on career and psychosocial functions. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati).
Young, C. Y., & Wright, J. V. (2001). Mentoring: The components for success. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 28(3), 202.
Zerzan, J. T., Hess, R., Schur, E., Phillips, R. S., & Rigotti, N. (2009). Making the most of mentors: a guide for mentees. Academic Medicine, 84(1), 140-144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181906e8f
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Yvette P. Bynum, Clara Young
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyrights for articles published in IJIER journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author for more visit Copyright & License.
How to Cite
