The work of African American educators is historically and culturally important when dealing with or examining the experience of African American women principals in urban elementary schools. Examining the pathways of female principals working in public elementary schools will provide insight into this role in modern day. According to Tillman (2008), the tradition of excellent leadership in African American schools dates back to the 1860s, the period from which African American educators have been assisting in the building and operation of both public and private schools, not to mention the urban elementary schools (Jackson, 2012). Tillman (2008) adds that, since then, the African American educators have also participated significantly in securing funding and other necessary resources, worked in collaboration with the African American community, and served dual but complementary roles as educators and activists for the education of African American children. Allen (2015), Freeman (2010), Mule (2010) and Cowan Pitre (2014) have advanced a common narrative that African American educators, especially principals, have often reflected the collective belief of the African American communities that education is almost the only way through which they can enhance the life of their children (Tillman, 2008). In this respect, Jackson (2012) has noted that, by the second half of the twentieth century, African American teachers and principals were regarded as very important role models and respected leaders in their respective communities. This implies that they are the ones who had great influences on the lives of school-going children. Stanford (2010) has also noted that the African American educators and principals have been among the African American communitys middle class. The historical literature regarding African American school administrators can be divided into two main periods. The first period is the pre-Brown (Brown v Board of Education Topeka) era and the employment situations of the African American educators and school administrators. The second period begins immediately after the decision in the said case. In order to understand these periods, it is important to examine the issue pertaining to Brown. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 247 U. S. 483 (1954) is a case that radically changed the education sector of the United States. Klein (2014) has acknowledged the case as one of the greatest decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States in the 20th century. The court held unanimously that the racial segregation of children in public institutions of education was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The ruling in the case was a negation of the one that was made in the case of Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the case which legalized racial segregation in public schools; in this particular case, the judges had affirmed that segregated public facilities were within the confines of the Constitution to the extent that there was a distinct equality between the white and African American facilities. These two cases have been dealt with extensively in chapter 2. However, it is important to note that the periods before and after the Browns case are a defining factor in the experience of African American women principals in the urban elementary schools. The experience of African American principals in urban elementary schools has a history that is rooted in pervasive ethnic and racial disparities in education. Fuentes (2013) has established that the educational disparities in the United States have often mirrored ethnic and racial disparities in socioeconomic statuses, health outcomes, and health care. Hopson, Lee and Tang (2014) pointed out that such disparities were evident between the performance of African American students and their White counterparts. In this regard, it is important to note that there have been attempts to deal with racial disparities in education, especially in the post-Brown case period. With respect to the experience of African American women principals in urban elementary schools, Wilson and Roscigno (2010) and Jean-Maire (2013) have considered the influence of race and gender on leadership. According to them, even though there are a small number of African American women principals in predominantly white schools, their presence in such schools has revealed significant race and gender factors that could influence the field of educational leadership and, maybe, encourage more African Americans and the members of other minority groups to seek leadership positions as principals. This additional study will examine the experience of African American women principals in public elementary schools and thereby add to the knowledge of African American women principals and their pathways to the principalship. While addressing the issue of African American womens leadership, Milner and Lomotey (2013) have contended that, historically, the role of being a school principal has been held by whites, with the majority of teachers being white females. In this regard, the researchers have identified a number of issues that African American female principals in schools face. First, they argue that African American female principals have been encountering negative, ethnic and racial stereotypes, which have been directed against their authority and credibility. Milner and Lomotey (2013) add that the principals have also experienced a lack of support from other stakeholders of the schools, which they lead. Second, Milner and Lomotey (2013) have contended that the female African American administrators have often been left out of informal relationships with the majority of their colleagues, meaning that only whites and male African Americans constitute most of the informal relationships, leaving out most of their female African American counterparts. Last, Smith (2013) claims that African American principals have often been forced to enhance their performance and positions by manipulating their cultural backgrounds, a strategy that the researcher still claims that the principals have used to find links to mentors, managers and colleagues from whom they can learn and achieve personal developments. Therefore, it is evident that the experience of African American women principals, especially in the urban elementary schools, is shrouded within gender and racial disparities. Brooks (2012), who has posited that African American women principals are usually marginalized as leaders in the education sector by being placed in poor and failing schools, also supports the same notion. According to Brooks (2012), the principals are expected to discipline students and enhance the students academic achievements, based on relevant standards and legislations. In this respect, the principals are tasked with many critical responsibilities, if necessary reforms are carried out and proper administration is done to enhance the quality of education (Queen, Peel & Shipman, 2013). The work of a principal in an urban elementary school is crucial because elementary school children are in the formative stages of their education (Queen, Peel & Shipman, 2013). Therefore, ensuring a quality education requires focused principals who are able to operate the urban schools effectively. The process represents a significant reform strategy that can be used to ensure the participation of more African American women principals in the running of urban elementary schools. Given the challenges that the principals have always faced in their work, it is important to conduct a research study that will explore the pathways to their principalship careers. Therefore, this research study will study pathways to the public elementary school principalship, with a focus on African American females in public elementary schools. Researchers have concerned themselves with leadership in various school levels within the United States. However, womens leadership, especially African American womens leadership, needs additional attention from researchers and policy makers, as noted by Dowden-White (2011) and Hamilton-Honey (2013). Williams (2014) has noted that, generally, the contributions of women leaders in educational institutions have been eclipsed by the kind of a system that leans toward patriarchy, which has largely been perceived as oppressive to women and their leadership. Accordingly, this research study will be based on the pathways to the elementary principalship, with a focus on African American female principals working in public elementary schools. The purpose of this research will be to study pathways to the elementary principalship, with a focus on African American women principals working in public urban elementary schools. What experiences have influenced the career pathways of African American females who have become elementary school principals? What support systems have influenced the career paths of African American female principals? What perceived barriers have in influenced the career paths of African American female principals? How have educational institutions, communities, and professional organizations helped to support the career paths of African American female principals? The study will be significant in a number of ways. First, it will enable the understanding of the experiences that have influenced the career pathways of African American females who have become elementary school principals. Second, the study will also show how educational institutions, communities, and professional organizations have helped to support the career paths of African American female principals in public elementary schools. Third, the study will also reveal the support systems that African American female principals in public elementary schools use to counteract perceived barriers to the principalship position. Fourth, the information that will be generated from the study will be important for policy makers and school district stakeholders as to the advancement of African American female educators in the position of principalship. Fifth, the study will also contribute to the growing body of literature about the pathways of African American females toward elementary principalship positions. Finally, the findings of the study will be important to future researchers, who may use them as foundations for further studies. Career path: Means the process through which an elementary school teacher becomes a principal. Cultural background: Refers to religious, racial and ethnic origins. Elementary school: The first years of compulsory education in the United States. Principal: Refers to a school administrator at the elementary level. Race: Has been used in this case to mean either African-Americans or Whites. Scholars: Has been used interchangeably with researchers. The career path of African American women principals is significantly influenced by race and gender factors, with much of the emphasis being on the effects of racial discriminations. In order to understand the racial dynamics that affect or influence the pathways to elementary principalship among African American female principals in public elementary schools, the critical race theory will be used as a the most appropriate theoretical framework. The theory is discussed in detail in Chapter 2 of the study. This research study is divided into five main chapters. Chapter 1, which is the introduction of the research process, has been presented above. The chapter has provided the background of the study, the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, the significance of the study, definition of significant terms, theoretical framework, and the summary of the chapter. In this respect, chapter 1 has introduced the study, set the focus, and specified the direction that the study will take. Chapter 2 is the literature review section of the study. The chapter presents a study of what has already been done by other researchers with respect to the various themes regarding school leadership, especially among African American women working in elementary schools. The chapter also identifies the research gaps that previous researchers have left with respect to the subject of this study. Finally, chapter 2 provides a discussion of the theoretical framework within which this study will be done. Chapter 3 presents the methodology of the study. The methodology is one of the most important chapters of a research study, because it explains the strategies, approaches and methods that will be used in attaining the objectives of the study. The next will be chapter 4, which presents the results of the study. The chapter has been written after data have been collected and analyzed. Chapter 4 provides a discussion of the findings of the study. The discussion relates to the findings of this research with the findings that are presented in the literature review. Finally, Chapter 5 contains the conclusion and recommendations of the study. The concluding section is based on the entire process of the study. It explains whether the study has achieved its objectives, whether it shall have answered the research questions, and how the methodological approaches used will have played a role in the achievements. The last section of the chapter will rely on the findings of the study to provide pertinent suggestions as to the pathways to the elementary principalship for African American women. The recommendations touch on what stakeholders can do to deal with the unique challenges that African American women encounter on their career pathways to elementary school principalship. This final part of the study includes a compilation of the various resources and materials that have been used to complete this research study. The resources and materials includes journals, books, credible websites, and other periodicals. This research study is meant to examine the pathways to the elementary principalship, with a focus on African American women principals working in public urban elementary schools. Therefore, this chapter has set the background and stage of the research study. It has provided the details of the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the research questions to be answered, the significance of the study, the theoretical framework to be used, and the organization of the study. The next chapter deals with critical literature reviews. ?? ?? Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter presents a study of what has already been done by other researchers with respect to the various themes regarding school leadership, especially among African American women working in elementary schools. The chapter also identifies additional research with respect to the subject of this study. Finally, chapter two provides a discussion of the theoretical framework which guides this study. In attempting to understand the experience of African American female school principals generally, researchers have been concerned with their career paths. One of the researchers who has examined the career paths of female school leaders is Herring (2007). According to Herring (2007), school districts commenced hiring women teachers around the mid nineteenth century. The hiring of women as teachers motivated women to invest in education, with many of them choosing education-related careers. Herring (2007) has further argued that the pursuit of a career in education has enabled women to be ready for public leadership and influence, especially with respect to school superintendence. However, notably, Bogotch and Shields (2013) have revealed that school leaderships positions are still dominated by men. According to Ortiz (Quoted in Gales-Johnson, 2013), most career paths of African American female educational leaders follow from a teacher, to principal, to central office, to the superintendent. Fuller, Young and Orr (2007) also tracked the routes that principals followed right from their teaching to leadership positions, especially in schools. In the process, Fuller, Young and Orr (2007) discovered that the career paths for both male and females significantly differed, with women aspiring to become school principals. Women aspiring to become principals were required to have an experience of ten years as compared to men; which means women would take longer than men would to qualify for principalship positions. The researchers also noted that more than 85% of school principals had at one time been teachers. This finding means that most of the school principals were promoted from being teachers to being principals. Evidently, teachers who wanted to become principals were better placed to become principals as compared with those who did not have experience as teachers. Whether this scenario is true to the African American female public elementary school principals is a matter that requires a further investigation. According to the study that was done by Fuller, Young and Orr (2007) in North Carolina, the number of women principals was significantly below the number of women teachers, despite the sharp increase in the number of women administrators between 1990 and 2000; there was 26% of women principals in 1990, with the number rising to 47% in 2000. With respect to stability, Fuller, Young and Orr (2007) found out that less than 50% of the newly recruited principals stayed in their positions as principals after six years. Further, according to the findings of the researchers, only about 18% remained at the same school for six years, meaning that over 82% of the principals in the state had moved on to other schools after six years. However, Fuller, Young and Orr (2007) have contended that, even though a number of studies related to career paths of school principals have been done, there is only limited information on career pathways. They have argued that little is still known as to the mobility of leaders once they have joined a profession. Loder (2005) also examined the career path of female African Americans who opted to become school principals. According to Loder (2005), once the doors had been opened to provide African American females with the opportunity to become school principals, ??most were not interested in taking up the positions. In his finding, Loder (2005) has argued that the reluctance of African American women to take up the positions persisted even after the retiring African American women principals who had provided them with training and responsibilities implored them to do so. According to one of Loders (2005) findings, one African American woman who had been a teacher for more than 30 years was increasingly given leadership responsibilities until she was finally promoted to the position of an assistant principal. Not long after that, she was promoted to the position of a principal. This shows that the pathways to principalship may begin with being a teacher, to an assistant principalship, and then to the principalship. While adding to the debate, Ramsey (2008) has argued that, in some cases, the career paths of an African American woman to principalship begins with the existing woman principal having confidence in her as she performs administrative tasks assigned to her. In this regard, the argument is that as an existing principal is promoted to another level, she is likely to recommend a teacher in whom she has confidence in the position remaining vacant. In many cases, such a principal often grooms a teacher, who possibly becomes an assistant principal, and who is finally promoted to the position of principal. While engaging in the discussion about administrators of educational institutions, many researchers, have explored the obstacles that African American women principals experience in their career paths. Prescott-Hutchins (2002) conducted a research study, whose focus was on the career path experiences of some fourteen African American women principals within Georgia. The study was meant to assess the lived experiences of the principals as to the challenges and obstacles that they encountered while on their career path to principalship. The results of the study revealed that the principals faced challenges that tended to hinder their vertical mobility. Further, according to the outcomes of the research study, the women principals faced obstacles such as difficulties with regard to requisite degrees, satisfying certification conditions, and unfair performance evaluations, which slowed their progressions along chosen career paths, specifically to principalship. Prescott-Hutchins (2002) further established that the women principals experienced discriminations that were meant to slow them along their path to principalship. However, it is not yet established whether African American women principals working in urban public elementary schools have had similar experiences. In order to establish this, there is a need for a further study to confirm whether the foregoing results are applicable in the situation of the women principals. A study that was conducted by Humphrey (2007) to understand the career paths and development of African American male principals of high schools revealed that personal background, professional background, and the role of learning factors influenced the career paths. Drawing from that research, one can conclude that aspiring to become a principal and having confidence in ones ability to become a school principal were key to starting a career path to principalship. However, Humphrey did not specifically study whether the principals encountered some challenges and, if so, how they dealt or coped with those challenges. London and Greller (Quoted in Humphrey, 2007) argued that, even though studies on womens career path were small, the research focus that had been done on the career paths of African American female principals tended to have stopped in the 1970s without any valid explanation. Humphrey (2007) reviewed bodies of literature and found that there was a resurgence of such studies in the 1990s. During the literature survey, Humphrey (2007) established a study that revealed that the aspirations of African Americans to develop their careers were three times more than the ones of their white counterparts, though the study did not focus specifically on African American women who aspired to pursue careers of principalship. Therefore, further research studies are needed to bridge the gap. Humphrey (2012) also undertook another research the focus of which was the lived experienced of African American women who followed the career pathway of student affairs to presidents of community colleges. In this case, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews of ten participants. The outcome of the study showed that the lived experience of the women leaders was influenced by such factors as personal pillars, advice from mentors, profession-related factors, the pathways of student affairs chosen, and challenges. However, Humphrey (2012) did not explore each of the factors in detail. Hence, it is not easy to determine the extent to which the factors influenced the womens career pathways to their positions without conducting further study. Theories Apart from the various studies that have been conducted to explore the career paths of African American women to principalship, there are theories that have been advanced and can be used to explain the factors that influence career paths of individuals. One of the theories is John L. Hollands theory of vocational personalities and work environments. The central identity of the theory is the role of counseling psychology in the career decisions of individuals (Nauta, 2010). The proponents of the theory have argued that most people resemble a combination of six types of personalities: enterprising, conventional, social, realistic, investigative and artistic (Nauta, 2010). According to the proponents, each type is associated with an assemblage of personal interests, abilities, preferred activities, values, and characteristics (Stitt-Gohdes, 1997). Stitt-Gohdes (1997) has explained that Holland intended that individuals could be evaluated using the personalities in order to determine their career paths. The implication of this theory is that career counselors can use the types of personalities to advise individuals on what career paths to pursue. Another theory is Parsons theory. Frank Parsons has been considered the pioneer of the vocational guidance movement. Parson came up with a talent-matching approach that later transformed into the Trait Factor Theory of Occupational Choice. The central tenet of this theory is the concept of matching (Careernz, 2015). According to the theory, occupational decisions are made when individuals have achieved certain characteristics (Careernz, 2015). First, a person must have a precise understanding of their personal character traits, such as interests, capabilities and attitudes; second, an individual must have the knowledge of the labor market and of the type of jobs that are available; last, an individuals are also required to have sensible and objective judgments of the link between their personal character traits and the labor market (Careernz, 2015). Notably, there are many other theories that have been advanced to explain the factors affecting the choice of ones career path, such socioeconomic theory, Supers theory and decision-making theory, among others. Therefore, this research study will seek to provide an understanding of the career pathways for African American women who have been principals in public elementary schools. Different researchers and authors have examined the role of principals in urban elementary schools. White-Smith (2012) has acknowledged that principals in urban elementary schools play significant roles in terms of running such schools. White-Smith (2012) further notes that there are many reasons for any given school to be less or more successful in educating students. In the case of students, the researcher has singled out the school principals as playing a major role, which implies that the success of schools depends on how principals, in collaborations with teaching staffs, handle academic issues, especially in light of the fact that each student has his or her own unique educational needs. According to White-Smith (2012), effective and competent principals are responsible for creating a school-wide vision of commitment to high standards and ensuring the educational success of all students enrolled in their schools. What this argument means is that, primarily, a school principal must be concerned with the performance of students. While contributing to the discourse, Greenhalgh and Lowry (2011) have argued that career success has become very important in the global economy, which depends strongly on education. The researchers acknowledge that for all sectors in the United States to be able to compete fairly, the significant disparities in the academic achievements between the privileged and the unprivileged students must be narrowed. In this respect, Chambers and Huggins (2014) have contended that it has become the responsibility of school principals to reduce the disparities. In support of this argument, Tate (2012) posit, in order to reduce the disparities, a school principal must emphasize the notion of academic success for all students. Available research literatures that have been published by researchers such as Reed (2014) and Terzi (2010) have shown that setting high expectations for all students is one of the most important strategies for reducing the disparities between the advantaged and the disadvantaged students. Reed (2014) has also contended that principals play a very significant role in the creation of an environment that is hospitable to education. The researcher believes that the role of school principals is to ensure that there exists in schools the kind of an environment that enables elementary children to consider learning as the primary business of their daily activities. Hardman, Drew and Egan (2013) describe such an environment as one where there is safety and organization. Wilson (2013) adds that such an environment should be one in which teachers and other stakeholders have responsive and supportive attitudes toward children in school. The foregoing arguments imply that principals, as leaders of the schools, are the ones who are charged with the responsibility of creating an environment in which all the necessary conditions for successful learning are available. Sergiovani (2012) has stated that the role of a principal in a school is not complete without the principals working in collaboration with parents and the surrounding communities. In this respect, the researcher states that many school principals or administrators, including those working in urban areas, engage parents, guardians, and other external, immediate school communities in order to run their schools successfully. In this respect, the role of the principals is not delimited to the performance of students in class; it also includes working together with other stakeholders, such as parents and other members of the local communities. Sharp and Walter (2012) have argued that the United States can only have excellent schools because of excellent leaders. In this respect, different researchers such as Sharp and Walter (2012) have recognized that principals play a very crucial role in creating and maintaining successful schools. Sharp and Walter (2012) have further added to the discourse by arguing that, among the roles of an urban school principal, principals supervise staff members, interact with students, preside over the disciplining of students, and work in collaboration with families and the local community members. According to Tomal and Schilling (2013), principals also manage school facilities, help in curriculum development, and administer the school budgets. Moos, Johansson and Day (2011) have emphasized that principals perform the mentioned roles and, therefore, support the foregoing claims. Based on the foregoing facts, it is apparent that many researchers recognize principals as an important factor that can be used as a predictor of the successful implementation of school reforms, specifically reforms that are related to the development of the careers of African American female principals in public elementary schools. Furthermore, the role of a principal in an urban elementary school has been captured in qualitative studies that were done by Hochbein and Cunningham (2013), Ediger (2014) and Dean et al. (2012). These studies have revealed that greater principal turnovers in elementary schools are related to more diverse racial or ethnic populations and greater student transiency. In this regard, the studies have shown that parents and students of schools whose principals were changed often reported a state of disorder and a lack of discipline among students. However, no study has explained whether this scenario has any relationship with principals career pathways, which may have an impact on school performances. Nonetheless, Dukakis and Portz (2015) have concurred that principals are the most senior leaders in their schools. Given this claim, the researchers contend that principals cultivate leadership in others and are accountable for educational standards in the schools that they head. There is a long standing consensus in the leadership theory that leaders in all types of organizations, including urban elementary schools, must depend on others in order to achieve the missions and visions of their organization; they also motivate the development of leadership within an entire organization (Wilson, 2013). Likewise, Okafor (2012) and Reynolds et al. (2014) have conducted studies in which they have discovered that principals who get positive remarks from teachers for ensuring a conducive environment for teaching also get positive appraisals for creating and enhancing leadership in their schools. African American women in schools, especially public elementary schools have been involved in educational leadership, despite the challenges they have been facing. Before the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were largely not allowed to obtain education and their paths to becoming literates were significantly hampered, as noted by Becks-Moody (2004). However, Becks-Moody (2004) has noted that, despite the challenges of achieving education and literacy, individuals like Mary McLeod Buthune and W. Dubois moved against all odds to educate both themselves and others. According to Becks-Moody (2004), a
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