African American women in educational leadership: An examination of their characteristics, attitudes, leadership styles, self-images, and perceptions

The focus of this dissertation was to examine African American women in educational leadership positions. A qualitative case study research method was used. This investigation emphasized how they were recruited, the impact of being mentored, their achievements, leadership styles, self-images, success, and explored the factors that influenced them to seek their positions. The research on women in educational administration was not yet plentiful because most of the early research compared men administrators to women administrators or with the barriers to women's advancement. This study explored African American women in educational leadership as well as sought to add to the current literature. African American women who are currently in educational leadership positions were interviewed and African American women who aspire to be administrators were surveyed. The results of the study indicated that African American women in educational leadership need to be mentored. The administrators as well as the non-administrators believed more efforts in recruitment would encourage more African American women to seek higher positions in the realm of education. This study also revealed that more administrators need to groom potential administrators and allow them to have opportunities to grow.