Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair for Rhodena Townsell, PhD Proposal Defense

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RURAL AFRICAN AMERICAN ADMINISTRATORCAREER TRAJECTORIES

A Dissertation Proposal by

Rhodena Townsell

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD ± Dissertation Chair

Presented toWhitlowe Radcliffe Green College of Education

Ph.D. Program in Educational LeadershipPrairie View A&M

In partial requirement of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

June 2008



Chapter IIntroduction

African Americans administrators are actively recruitedand groomed to fill leadership positions in some urbanand inner city schools (McCray & Beachum, 2004;Buxton, 2007; Gewertz, 2006; Scott, 1980).

Studies reveal that some African Americanadministrators prefer to work with the students in those

schools (Bates, 2007).

However, that is not true for all African Americanadministrators (Laub, 2007).



Chapter IStatement of the Problem

Literature related to educational

Leadership does not adequately reflectthe work of rural African Americanadministrators.



Chapter I

Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of this study will be to describe factorsthat influence the career trajectories of rural African

American administrators. These administrators are

role models to many individuals (Nganga &Kambutu, 2005). Literature suggests that aspiringschool leaders may gain insight from theexperiences of others that will result in a better understanding of the diverse career pathways

toward successful school leadership (Crenshaw,2004).



Research Questions

W hat academic and work experiences influence the career pathwaystaken by rural African American administrators?

What encouragements found in the work place and in thesurrounding community influence the career pathways of rural

African American administrators?

W hat barriers found in the workplace and in the surroundingcommunity influence the career pathways of rural African Americanadministrators?

W hat characteristics of rural African American administrators appear to influence their career pathways?



Conceptual FrameworkThe conceptual framework for this researchstudy will be based The Career Choice Model of Betz and Fitzgerald (Manuel &Slate, 2003), portions of Thedore Kowalski¶sresearch on minority administrators (2003), and

Premises from Critical Race Theory (Delgado &

Stefanic,2000).



Conceptual FrameworkThe Career Choice Model ± Experiences and Encouragements

Theodore Kowalski ± Minority Administrators ± Barriers and Characteristics

Critical Race Theory (CRT) ± Racism in America is normal ± Stories, words and silence construct beliefs ± A. A. Success is cultivated and tolerated for a price



Conceptual FrameworkTraditional models in leadership aredeveloped by using mostly Caucasianmales and should not be generalized for other groups of individuals (Kezar &Moriarty, 2000).Other individuals experience the socialworld in their own unique way (Valverde& Brown cited in Kowalski, 2003).



Significance of the StudyData gathered in this study will add information to thebody of knowledge in educational leadership

The data may be informative to teachers who desireto become rural administratorsThe conceptual framework of this study may be usedto study similar populations



Before Brown v. the Board of Education(1954) 82,000 African Americanteachers were employed to teachapproximately eight million African

American students (Toppo, 2004)

A frican A mericans andPublic Schools



A frican A mericans and

Public Schools After Brown v. the Board of Educationapproximately 38,000 African American

teachers and administrators in manySoutheastern states lost their jobs (Echols,2007).

As many as 90% of African Americanprincipals were dismissed (Toppo, 2004). Approximately 5000 uncertified Caucasianteachers were hired in Texas (Toppo, 2004).



Rural School Challenges

School boards

Lower Salaries

Social, Cultural and ProfessionalIsolation



Rural School Challenges

Rural educators may have to work asteachers in their school districts for many years before an administrativeopportunity becomes available(Townsell & Kritsonis, 2006).

Rural administrators may have to wear ³many hats´ (Benson, 2006).



Ex periences

(A cademic and Work)

Most held undergraduate degrees at HBCUs andgraduate degrees from Colleges or Universitiespredominately attended by Caucasian students(Echols, 2007).Childhood Memories (Turner, 2004)Department Chairs (Kezar & Moriarty , 2000)Default, tenure, or mentor suggestion (Turner, 2004)



Encouragements

Family Members (Bush, et al, 2005; Turner,2004)

Mentors (Manuel & Slate, 2003; Turner,2004)Themselves (Manuel and Slate, 2003).

Colleagues (Manuel and Slate, 2003).God (Echols, 2007; Turner, 2004).

³Just a Matter of Luck´ (Bush, et al, 2005).



B arriers

School Board Agendas (Bates, 2007; Laub,2007 Kowalski, 2003; Ortiz, 2000; W illie &W illie, 2005)Politics (Adell, 2004; Kerka, 1998)Beliefs of Society (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000;Kerka, 1998; Kowalski, 2003)Discrimination (Bush, et al, 2005; Delgado &Stefanic, 2000; Echols, 2007; Turner, 2004)Lack of Mentoring and Role Models (Kerka,1998; Turner, 2004 )



Characteristics(B ush, et al, 2005)

ResiliencePersonal determination, courage,

confidence, and hard work (Kowalski,2003). W illingness to understand and respect other

cultures and to build positive relationshipsThe professionalism to maintain composureand keep control in adverse situations.



T hemes from the Literature

(A

dell, 2004;B

enson, 2006)Personal Motivation (Adell & Benson)Multimodal Communication (Adell)Thirst for Knowledge (Adell)Mentoring Relationships (Adell & Benson)Support (Adell & Benson)Understanding Politics (Adell)Breaking New Ground (Benson)Size (Benson)

Areas of Expertise (Benson)Outsider versus Insider Job Preparation (Benson)



R esearch Design

This will be a qualitative descriptive studyData will be collected in the form of structured

personal interviews from rural African American administratorsThe interview scripts will be coded for theemerging and contrasting themes

The review of literature will be used as abasis for preliminary theme identification



Population & Sample

The target population for this study will be African American administrators working at Texas publicschools.

W hy Texas? More children attend rural schools in Texas than inany other state (The Rural School and Community TrustOrganization, 2007)

Snowball Sampling will be utilized to obtain the participation of six African American administrators. These administrators will

be nominated by the officials of the 20 Texas Education ServiceCenters. and the officers of the Texas Alliance of Black SchoolEducators (TABSE)



Instrumentation and

Pilot StudyPermission was obtained from Dr. Dorothy Benson to

use the questionnaire from her dissertation entitled,

Small Missouri Public School Female Superintendent Career Stories: An Exploration of Guiding Compasses(2006).

A pilot study will be performed to determine if

the modifications made to the questionnaire areappropriate for this study.



Data Collection

Collection Format ± Personal Interviews ± Field Journal ± Participants will be given the opportunity to

review their responses to the interview

questions



Data A nalysis

R esearch Question OneW hat academic and work experiences influence the career pathways taken by rural African American administrators?

Interview Questions 1-2:1. W ould you tell me about your educational background?Literature Themes- 1.1 Personal motivation, 1.2 Thirst for knowledge, 1.3 Ground Breaking, 1.4 Job Preparation, and 1.5Size of School2. How long have you been in the education field? How long asan administrator? Literature Themes- 2.1 Areas of Expertiseand 2.2 Multimodal Communicators



Data A nalysis

R esearch Question T woW hat encouragements found in the workplace and inthe surrounding community influence the career pathsof rural African American administrators?

Interview Questions 3-4:3. W hat motivated you to want to become anadministrator? Literature Theme- 3.1 Personalmotivation4. W hat pathways or guiding compasses did you taketo obtain your position? Literature Themes- 4.1Sponsorship and Support



Data A nalysis

R esearch Question T hreeW hat barriers found in the workplace and in the

surrounding community influence the career paths of rural African American administrators?Interview Question 5:

5. In seeking an administrative position, do you thinkthere were or are race specific career pathways or guiding compasses? Literature Themes- 5.1Understanding Politics and 5.2 Outsider VersusInsider



Data A nalysisR esearch Question Four

W hat characteristics of rural African Americanadministrators appear to influence their career Pathways?

Interview Question 6-7:6. Do you have any recommendations for aspiringrural African American administrators about thecareer pathways or guiding compasses they need totake to obtain an administrative position in a ruralTexas public school?7. Is there any other information that you would like toadd?



Summary

The purpose of this study will be to describe the career trajectories of rural African American administrators. Datadescribing the influences that affect their career pathways will

be collected, analyzed and coded for recurring themes.The results of the study will add information to the body of knowledge in educational leadership about a population of individuals that has not received enough attention in theliterature.

This study may benefit African Americans enrolled inleadership training programs to better prepare for administrative positions in rural area schools

The conceptual framework may be used to study similar populations.



M y E ncouragement

for Your Questions

³I¶m wide awake and full of fun, scared todeath but I won¶t run! (Grandpa EthridgeTownsell)´

Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair for Rhodena Townsell, PhD Proposal Defense

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