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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Race, Representation, and Role: Why African American Females Run for School Board

Hawkins, Lillian Artene Hall
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1227647591

Abstract Details

2008, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
This dissertation answers the overarching research question: “How do African American female school board members understand their role as board members?” The subsidiary questions are: Why do African American female school board members choose to run? Who do African American female school board members believe they represent? To what extent does race affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? To what extent does gender affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? An interpretive qualitative case study methodology was utilized. The research design used was an embedded, multiple-case design. Fifty-two African American school board members in the state of Ohio were sent surveys. Twenty-one African American females completed the survey. Recorded interviews were conducted with eleven volunteer participants. The findings indicated that women run because they have a passion to help children and their school district. Some women were asked to run because others saw talent in them and because there was a desire to have African American representation on the school board. The school board members in this study believed that they represented all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, and saw their constituencies as the community at large, the tax payers, and the people who voted them into office. The women in this study seemed not to see race as a major factor in how they perceived their role, yet they were well aware that race was an issue as to how they were perceived. They were ever mindful of the ethnicity of their students, and felt compelled to represent the poor, the minority, and the socially disenfranchised. The African American female board members in this study acknowledged that women were different than men in how they interacted on the school board, but did not think they were handicapped by their gender. In fact, they thought that being female enabled them to be more nurturing to students, more organized, and to follow through on board actions, more so than their male counterparts.
Dr. Frances Fowler, PhD (Committee Chair)
Dr. Ellen Bueschel, PhD (Committee Member)
Dr. Michael Dantley, EdD (Committee Member)
Dr. Raymond Terrell, EdD (Committee Member)
Dr. Susan Mosley-Howard, PhD (Other)
138 p.
African Americans; Education; Gender; Minority and Ethnic Groups; School Administration; Social Structure; Teacher Education; Womens Studies
school boards; educational leadership; African American women; race; representation; feminism; gender

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hawkins, L. A. H. (2008). Race, Representation, and Role: Why African American Females Run for School Board [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1227647591

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hawkins, Lillian. Race, Representation, and Role: Why African American Females Run for School Board. 2008. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1227647591.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hawkins, Lillian. "Race, Representation, and Role: Why African American Females Run for School Board." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1227647591

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1227647591
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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.