Metaphorical Descriptions of the Role of Women School Superintendents

Abstract

Carter and Cunningham (1997) emphasize the importance of the superintendency stating, American school superintendent is being called upon to take up the challenge of totally rethinking and fundamentally improving American education 242). Superintendents are asked not only to be the chief executive officers of districts spending millions of dollars, but also to be leaders, change makers, and lobbyists for the cause of education (Blumberg, 1985; Brunner, 1999, Patterson, Purkey & Parker, 1986). Since 1982, many more of these school district leaders are women. As more women prepare themselves to be school leaders, it is of interest to explore the position of superintendent of schools as a career goal for women administrators. According to the latest ten year study of the American school superintendency (Glass, Bjork, & Brunner, 2000), women are in charge of about 13% of school districts in the United States. The percentage of women superintendents of schools has increased from 1.2% reported in 1982, approximately 4% reported by Shakeshaft (1989) and 6.7% reported by Glassin 1992. Almost all school superintendents come from the teaching profession (Glass, 1992). Eighty-three percent of elementary teachers and 54% of high school teachers (Shakeshaft, 1989) are women. Women earned 54.9% of doctoral degrees in Educational Administration in 1986-1987 (Snyder, 1989). Knowledge of the role of superintendent as experienced by women, the satisfaction of the position and the problems associated with being a superintendent, can assist women in determining whether their aspirations should include becoming a superintendent of schools. Blumberg (1985) and Carter and Cunningham (1997) have written about the complex role of modern superintendents. Blumberg included only one woman in his study. Carter and Cunningham's list of active study participants numbered 42 people, including nine women. Other investigators have explored how women's experiences impact their leadership styles. Helgesen (1995), in her study of women executives, examined how women's inclusive style of leadership transformed organizations. The emphasis on connectedness and relationships within systems, often exhibited by women administrators, has been explored by other researchers examining leadership styles exhibited in modern organizations (Aburdene & Naisbitt, 1992; Covey, 1990; Fennell; 1999; Helgesen, 1995; Senge, 1990; & Wheatley, 1992). The present study explored how women superintendents expressed their leadership experiences using metaphors. Gilligan (1982) explored women's socialization into an ethic of care and a need for interconnectedness. Deborah Tannen (1994) discussed women's need for connectedness in communication in the workplace. Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986) investigated development of voice as women grew in knowledge of self. The purpose of this study is to use metaphors written by women superintendents to investigate how they perceive their role. In The American Heritage Dictionary (p. 825), a metaphor is defined as A figure of speech in which a term is transferred from the object it ordinarily designates to an object it may designate only by implicit comparison or analogy ... Metaphors are used in this paper to explore the way women superintendents envision their roles. Gareth Morgan explores the use of metaphor in Images of Organizations (1986, p. 12-13) stating, Metaphor is often just regarded as a device for embellishing discourse, but its significance is much greater than this. For the use of metaphor implies a way of thinking and a way of seeing that pervade how we understand our world generally. As Morgan uses metaphors to help us understand the complex and paradoxical character of organizational life (p. 8), metaphors from this study help us understand the role of women superintendents by picturing their world through their words. Method Purpose This study investigated how female superintendents perceived the role of superintendent of schools. …