How to Order.vp

206 CRITICAL THEORY AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICES

Table 5. Percentage item analysis on the number of applications completed by the current

sample of female superintendents in search for their first superintendency N = 424.

Number of applications

Completed

Percent of participants

0 10%

1 45%

2 11%

3 11%

4 5%

5 5%

6 3%

7 1%

8 1%

9 1%

10 3%

11 or more 4%

by three professors teaching in the department of education administration at a New Jersey
university. Of the three undertaking the study, one had served as the first female
superintendent in two elementary rural/suburban New Jersey districts when women were a
novelty in the position, and as an assistant superintendent in a large pre-school-12 urban
district; a second researcher, an African American male, was perplexed by the plight of
African American colleagues during his superintendent tenure in Long Island, New York; the
third researcher was both principal and assistant superintendent intrigued by the statistics
involved in the study. As a result of their first-hand experiences, the researchers approached
the study with valuable insights in the position as well as board/superintendent relations, the
hiring process and the political/ public relations involved in surviving the superintendency.

The Women have Spoken

The study defined several critical areas where the participants shattered popularly held
perceptions of the female superintendent and clarified the discrimination and prejudice that
still permeate many boards of education and community members. A review of the data
revealed responses that were a shift from the beliefs held about women superintendents. Some
long held perceptions of why women were not entering the superintendency were dispelled
through the candid dialogue ignited by the voices of those women who succeeded in attaining
the position. The women’s perceptions regarding university preparation programs unraveled