Kerry Robinson

The Career Path of the Female Superintendent: Why She Leaves

This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to determine the reasons why women leave ... more This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to determine the reasons why women leave the superintendency. This study not only illustrated the different ways a woman can leave the position of superintendent but also the reasons she would choose to leave. These reasons can be either positive or negative, but they rarely are the sole cause for why a woman leaves the position. This interview study of 20 female participants who served as superintendent in the Commonwealth of Virginia identified four main themes as to why a woman chose to leave the superintendency. These included: (a) it wasn't the job I thought it would be; (b) the struggles with family; (c) taking care of herself; and (d) I'm not the right fit for the community. The study also identified the routes women take to leave the superintendency which include retirement, leaving for another superintendency, movement into another position within PK-12, opportunity in higher education, working as an educational consultant, or moving into a position outside of education.

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Toward Fidelity: Simulation-Based Learning for School Principal Preparation and Professional Development

Planning and changing, 2013

Transforming departmental culture: Empowering a department through Appreciative Inquiry

Fall, 2021

This article outlines an appreciative inquiry (AI) into a departmental professional development p... more This article outlines an appreciative inquiry (AI) into a departmental professional development process and describes the resulting implementation of an appreciative peer evaluation meeting as one part of the new professional development process. Using AI, a departmental faculty development committee sought to re-envision the professional development process. Also, the authors discuss how using AI can result in positive impacts for culture change and the model for peer evaluation can promote both individual and collective development of faculty.

Transforming departmental culture: Empowering a department through Appreciative Inquiry

Fall, 2021

This article outlines an appreciative inquiry (AI) into a departmental professional development p... more This article outlines an appreciative inquiry (AI) into a departmental professional development process and describes the resulting implementation of an appreciative peer evaluation meeting as one part of the new professional development process. Using AI, a departmental faculty development committee sought to re-envision the professional development process. Also, the authors discuss how using AI can result in positive impacts for culture change and the model for peer evaluation can promote both individual and collective development of faculty.

Reframing educator preparation to collaboratively prepare teachers and administrators: challenges and advantages

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 2021

Purpose This study examines reframing an organization that permitted three typically siloed unive... more Purpose This study examines reframing an organization that permitted three typically siloed university programs to collaborate around a shared experience focused on teaching, leadership, evaluation, and applied learning. Design Participants were seven faculty members who designed and implemented the shared experience. Data sources included participants’ responses to a feedback survey, meeting notes, and project documents. The data were coded and grouped based on themes. Findings Themes revealed challenges and advantages faculty experienced during the project. Challenges included creating shared expectations, technology, and continuity with student evaluators. Advantages included reflecting on teaching practices, frameworks, instructional strategies, and professional goals. Originality Despite the difficulty and rarity of cross-program collaborations, this study demonstrates how such efforts may incorporate best practices in preparing educators.

Cultural Leadership in Schools for the Deaf: Leadership for Cultural and Language Diversity in the Context of Schools for the Deaf

Journal of School Leadership, 2017

This study examined the variation in cultural competence among leaders in four different resident... more This study examined the variation in cultural competence among leaders in four different residential schools for the Deaf across the United States. The study explored where leaders fell on the cultural continuum, and how this was reflected in the schools in the way each perceived and validated Deaf culture as well as other cultures present in the schools. This qualitative multi-case ethnographic methodology utilized interviews as primary data sources which were video-taped in order to accurately transcribe them and to score concepts and themes for analysis by grounded theory methodology. The findings highlighted the complexities of culture and the ways that administrators embraced or knowingly or unknowingly overlooked the cultures that the students brought to the schools. Finally, the leadership decisions made by administrators were also tied to their own cultural proficiency.

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Women Superintendents Who Leave: Stress and Health Factors

Planning and changing, 2015

Necessary but Not Sufficient: The Continuing Inequality between Men and Women in Educational Leadership, Findings from the American Association of School Administrators Mid-Decade Survey

Frontiers in Education

The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristi... more The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristics of workplace. There is additional evidence that men and women are appointed or elected to lead different kinds of educational jurisdictions. Even if those differences did not exist, equitable access to leadership positions for people of different backgrounds would make this an important issue. This article reports gender-related findings from the American Association of School Administrators 2015 Mid-Decade Survey. Findings confirm many of the trends in research on the superintendency over the past 15 years. The profiles of women superintendents are becoming more like their male counterparts. Both men and women appear to be less mobile than in the past. Men and women are spending about the same time as teachers before becoming superintendents, women and men appear to experience stress similarly, and women are receiving mentoring much more than in the past. There are few data to support the beliefs that women superintendents, more than men, are limited by family circumstance although this survey sheds no light on perspectives of women aspirants. This survey also confirms that there are a variety of paths to the position providing opportunities for women who have not necessarily had the typical teacher/principal/central office administrator trajectory. Nevertheless, significant differences still exist. Most important is that men are still four times more likely than women to serve in the most powerful position in education, and both women and men of color are still grossly underrepresented.

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What Have We Learned from the Departures of Female Superintendents

The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answ... more The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answer: (1) What factors cause women superintendents to move and/or leave the superintendency? and (2) How do the women construct the story of their moving or leaving? Thematic analysis of the interview narratives revealed four major themes in the stories of the women: (1) Expectations of job duties; (2) Exhaustion as Superwoman; (3) Conflict with stakeholders; and (4) Departure on their own terms and timelines. The study findings contribute to the research on women in the superintendency and suggest implications for research, policy, and practice.

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What Have We Learned from the Departures of Female Superintendents

The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answ... more The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answer: (1) What factors cause women superintendents to move and/or leave the superintendency? and (2) How do the women construct the story of their moving or What Have We Learned from the Departure of Female Superintendents? 2 leaving? Thematic analysis of the interview narratives revealed four major themes in the stories of the women: (1) Expectations of job duties; (2) Exhaustion as Superwoman; (3) Conflict with stakeholders; and (4) Departure on their own terms and timelines. The study findings contribute to the research on women in the superintendency and suggest implications for research, policy, and practice. What Have We Learned from the Departure of Female Superintendents? 3

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Shaping the Supervision Narrative: Innovating Teaching and Leading to Improve STEM Instruction

Journal of Educational Supervision

This paper offers a model of supervisory collaboration that brings teacher and administrator prog... more This paper offers a model of supervisory collaboration that brings teacher and administrator programs together through a lens of formative evaluation. The roles of teacher and principal must be collaborative to sustain student success, yet the preparation models for those respective positions are often isolated from each other, as varying university departments and focus areas exist in silos. Preparation programs must maximize the clinical experiences of teacher education and administrator preparation programs, with a focus on practical teaching strategies and authentic feedback to pre-service educators and their instructors for reflection and change. This paper overviews a collaborative supervision model and incorporates case study vignettes focused on reflective supervisory practices in a STEM instructional environment.

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Introduction to Special Issue

Research in Educational Administration & Leadership

[PDF]The Career Path of the Female Superintendent: Why She

This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to determine the reasons why women leave ... more This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to determine the reasons why women leave the superintendency. This study not only illustrated the different ways a woman can leave the position of superintendent but also the reasons she would choose to leave. These reasons can be either positive or negative, but they rarely are the sole cause for why a woman leaves the position. This interview study of 20 female participants who served as superintendent in the Commonwealth of Virginia identified four main themes as to why a woman chose to leave the superintendency. These included: (a) it wasn't the job I thought it would be; (b) the struggles with family; (c) taking care of herself; and (d) I'm not the right fit for the community. The study also identified the routes women take to leave the superintendency which include retirement, leaving for another superintendency, movement into another position within PK-12, opportunity in higher education, working as an educational consultant, or moving into a position outside of education.

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Superintendent Stress and Superintendent Health: A National Study

Journal of Education and Human Development, 2016

Descriptions of the superintendency often highlight the pressure involved with being CEO of a com... more

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Making Sense of It All: Values, Relationships and a Way Forward

Research in Educational Administration & Leadership

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Superintendent Stress and Superintendent Health: A National Study

by Charol Shakeshaft and Kerry Robinson

Journal of Education and Human Development, 2016

Descriptions of the superintendency often highlight the pressure involved with being CEO of a com... more

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Necessary but not Sufficient: The Continuing Inequality between Men and Women in Educational Leadership, Findings from the AASA Mid-Decade Survey

by Charol Shakeshaft and Kerry Robinson

Chapman University Digital Commons, 2017

The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristi... more The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristics of workplace. There is additional evidence that men and women are appointed or elected to lead different kinds of educational jurisdictions. Even if those differences did not exist, equitable access to leadership positions for people of different backgrounds would make this an important issue. This article reports gender-related findings from the American Association of School Administrators 2015 Mid-Decade Survey. Findings confirm many of the trends in research on the superintendency over the past 15 years. The profiles of women superintendents are becoming more like their male counterparts. Both men and women appear to be less mobile than in the past. Men and women are spending about the same time as teachers before becoming superintendents, women and men appear to experience stress similarly, and women are receiving mentoring much more than in the past. There are few data to support the beliefs that women superintendents, more than men, are limited by family circumstance although this survey sheds no light on perspectives of women aspirants. This survey also confirms that there are a variety of paths to the position providing opportunities for women who have not necessarily had the typical teacher/principal/central office administrator trajectory. Nevertheless, significant differences still exist. Most important is that men are still four times more likely than women to serve in the most powerful position in education, and both women and men of color are still grossly underrepresented.

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necessary but not sufficient: The continuing inequality between Men and Women in educational leadership, Findings from the american association of school administrators Mid-Decade survey

by Kerry Robinson and Margaret Grogan

The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristi... more The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristics of workplace. There is additional evidence that men and women are appointed or elected to lead different kinds of educational jurisdictions. Even if those differences did not exist, equitable access to leadership positions for people of different backgrounds would make this an important issue. This article reports gender-related findings from the American Association of School Administrators 2015 Mid-Decade Survey. Findings confirm many of the trends in research on the superintendency over the past 15 years. The profiles of women superintendents are becoming more like their male counterparts. Both men and women appear to be less mobile than in the past. Men and women are spending about the same time as teachers before becoming superintendents , women and men appear to experience stress similarly, and women are receiving mentoring much more than in the past. There are few data to support the beliefs that women superintendents, more than men, are limited by family circumstance although this survey sheds no light on perspectives of women aspirants. This survey also confirms that there are a variety of paths to the position providing opportunities for women who have not necessarily had the typical teacher/principal/central office administrator trajec-tory. Nevertheless, significant differences still exist. Most important is that men are still four times more likely than women to serve in the most powerful position in education, and both women and men of color are still grossly underrepresented.

Download

What Have We Learned from the Departures of Female Superintendents

The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answ... more The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answer: (1) What factors cause women superintendents to move and/or leave the superintendency? and (2) How do the women construct the story of their moving or leaving? Thematic analysis of the interview narratives revealed four major themes in the stories of the women: (1) Expectations of job duties; (2) Exhaustion as Superwoman; (3) Conflict with stakeholders; and (4) Departure on their own terms and timelines. The study findings contribute to the research on women in the superintendency and suggest implications for research, policy, and practice.

Download

Superintendent Stress and Superintendent Health: A National Study

Descriptions of the superintendency often highlight the pressure involved with being CEO of a com... more Descriptions of the superintendency often highlight the pressure involved with being CEO of a complicated enterprise, responsible for millions of dollars, and multitudes of employees, at a time when districts are under added scrutiny. Stress has been proven repeatedly to effect worker health (Beehr & Newman, 1978; Cheng, et al., 2012; Hobson, Delunas, & Kesic, 2001). While there has been considerable research highlighting job-related stress in the public sector (Bacchus, 2008; Galanakis, et al., 2009; Monesh & Patil, 2012; Snapp, 1990), fewer studies have focused on education in general. The purpose of this study was to conduct a national survey in order to expand on previous research on stress in the superintendency by addressing the link between the superintendents' levels of stress and their health and well-being.

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