Congratulations to Luis Guerrerro-Reyes who on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation proposal. 

The title of Luis' dissertation is, "RAICES QUE RENACEN: EDUCATOR PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MODEL FOR IMIGRANT-ORIGIN STUDENTS IN NEW YORK STATE."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: New York State schools serve immigrant-origin students with academic and social-emotional needs shaped by pre-migration, migration and post migration experiences. Intake processes emphasize language assessment but may overlook trauma, belonging, family circumstances, and other needs. The community school model seeks to address these non-language needs during intake and throughout students' educational journey, however, its implementation remains limited across NYS schools.

Research Purpose: Using Latino Critical Theory, this study explores how school building leaders perceive the Community Schools Model's response to immigrant-origin students' academic and social-emotional needs and which practices support school adjustment.

Research Design: Qualitative interpretive inquiry guided by Latino Critical Theory and the four Community Schools pillars.

Sample: A purposive sample of school building leaders from urban and suburban New York State public community schools or districts whose student populations are at least 30% Hispanic.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data will come from approximately 60-minute, one-on-one semi-structured Zoom interviews.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Nora C. R. Broege

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Susan V. Iverson
Dr. Aurelia Henriquez

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The ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership is proud to recognize 10 newly minted doctoral alumni who defended dissertations in summer and were conferred their doctoral degree in August 2026.  Their completion brings the total alumni network to over 260 scholars and practitioners throughout the region and beyond. Our doctoral graduates investigate problems of practice affecting leaders across various educational contexts.  Dissertation research is a stamina test, no matter when it’s undertaken. For these doctoral alumni, they were "running the course" during turbulent times and conducting  important and timely topics. View their defense blogs and the slideshow of graduates for an overview of their Valiant doctoral research! 

Click on the links to learn more about their dissertations.

Dr. Christina Collins
Dissertation Title: A DESCRIPTIVE QUALITATIVE STUDY OF ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LIGHT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Dr. Alyssa Heller
Dissertation Title: NAVIGATING CHALLENGES TO ACHIEVING EQUITABLE GRADING: AN INTERPRETATIVE QUALITATIVE STUDY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN SUBURBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Dr. Jared High
Dissertation Title: TRAINING IN BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION AS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER (SET) ATTRITION: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Dr. Taylor Wilson Kennedy
Dissertation Title: DISCOVERING THE SECRET OF WHICH GAMES IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING:  A META-ANALYSIS

Dr. Erica E. Naughton
Dissertation Title: STORIES OF STRENGTH: BLACK WOMEN PRINCIPALS LEADING IN RACIALLY MINORITIZED SCHOOL COMMUNITIES

Dr. Herman Scriven
Dissertation Title: EXPLORING FOOTBALL COACHES’ PERCEPTIONS OF SUPPORTING THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Dr. Anibal Soler
Dissertation Title: THE ROLE OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS IN IMPROVING GRADUATION RATES IN NEW YORK SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Dr. Cheryl Lynn Spada
Dissertation Title: COLLECTIVELY MAKING THE SHIFT: TEACHING NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS AFTER PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE 

Dr. Garrette Carson Sutherland
Dissertation Title: LEADERSHIP ACROSS WORLDS: AN INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY INTO URBAN AND RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALSHIP IN BELIZE THROUGH A TRANSFORMATIONAL LENS

Dr. Gelaine Williams
Dissertation Title: COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAREER CENTER PRACTITIONERS’ INTERPRETATION OF THE NACE CAREER READINESS COMPETENCIES: AN INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY

Watch our Graduate Slideshow..

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The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

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Congratulations to Lisa M. Torres, who on Thursday, September 10, 2026, successfully defended her dissertation. 

The title of Lisa's dissertation is, "HOT COMBS AND HAIR JOURNEYS: CHRONICLING BLACK WOMEN'S LIVED EXPERIENCES OF HAIR DISCRIMINATION IN PREDOMINANTLY WHITE SCHOOLS."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Narratives of the lived experiences of Black young women in K-12 schools remain largely absent from educational scholarship; as their narratives are frequently ignored, Black young women are increasingly marginalized in school settings due to hair discrimination.

Research Purpose1: Guided by Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2022) and Black Girlhood Studies (Brown, 2009), my study aimed to chronicle the personal stories of Black women who have experienced hair discrimination while attending predominantly White K-12 schools.

Research Design: Narrative, Interpretive Qualitative Inquiry

Sample: There were 21 participants in this study, aged 18 to 66, who attended predominantly White schools. Participants were required to self-identify as Black women, be 18 years old or older, and have experienced hair discrimination in K-12 predominantly White school settings to qualify for participation.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Creswell and Poth’s (2025) data analysis spiral approach guided my analysis, utilizing open coding to identify emergent patterns and themes.

Findings/Results: Five themes emerged, along with their corresponding subthemes. The overarching themes were The Spectacle of Black Women’s Hair, Representation and Belonging, The Struggle is Real, Identity Crisis, and Hyper-visibility and Invisibility.

Conclusions/Implications: This study chronicled Black women’s lived experiences of hair discrimination in predominantly White K-12 schools, illustrating that hair expression was far more than an aesthetic choice; Black girls’ hair was a focal point used to regulate and police their identities. Participants’ narratives showed that belonging required cultural affirmation, positive representation, and safety in expressing identity through hair. These findings highlight the need for culturally affirming policies, practices, and supports that reflect Black girls’ lived experiences. Listening to Black girls and acting to protect rather than punish them is essential for mitigating hair discrimination and fostering more nurturing and inclusive learning environments, where historically marginalized students are seen, valued, and supported. Recommendations were included for policymakers, school leaders, educators, and school-based mental health staff.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Samatha White
Dr. Sagrario Rudecindo-O'Neill

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The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

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Congratulations to Torsie Anderson Judkins, who on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation.

The title of Torsie's dissertation is, "COUNTER-NARRATIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCS IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS: A CRITICAL QUALITATIVE STUDY."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Independent schools often describe themselves as inclusive, values-driven communities, yet African American/Black students can experience belonging as uneven, conditional, and shaped by whiteness and elite institutional norms. Recent post-2020 racial reckonings intensified questions about how independent schools respond to race, student voice, and institutional accountability.

Research Purpose: Guided by Critical Race Theory, this study amplified the counter-narratives of African American/Black alumni of independent schools and examined how they made meaning of academic and social experiences related to belonging, identity negotiation, race, intersectionality, and institutional culture.

Research Design: This study used a critical qualitative design with semi-structured interviews. Participant narratives were treated as experiential knowledge and analyzed through an inductive first reading, in vivo coding, analytic memoing, and a second theory-based coding pass connected to CRT, belonging, intersectionality, and institutional culture.

Sample: The study included 14 African American/Black alumni, age 18 or older, whose independent-school experiences included K-8, K-12, high school, boarding, day-school, and multi-school pathways.

Data Collection and Analysis: Interviews were conducted via Zoom, transcribed, reviewed by participants, de-identified, and coded manually. An audit trail tracked recruitment, transcript review, coding, pseudonyms, and data-security decisions.

Findings: Three themes emerged: racialized belonging was conditional and space-based; students learned to fit, shift, and protect themselves; and 2020 exposed the gap between institutional language and Black student needs.

Conclusions/Implications: The findings suggest that access to independent schools is not the same as belonging. Independent schools must move beyond statements and generalized inclusion language toward sustained adult practice, curriculum accountability, affinity support, and structures that reduce the racial labor Black students are asked to carry.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Susan V. Iverson

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Nora C. R. Broege
Dr. Nicole Joseph 

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Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

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The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

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Congratulations to Laura Mitchell, who on Friday, September 4, 2026, successfully defended her dissertation.

The title of Laura's dissertation is, "PUBLIC MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS NAVIGATING BOOK CHALLENGES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Since 2021, a surge of book challenges and bans has thrust school librarians into the center of public scrutiny as they navigate growing pressures to remove or restrict materials that reflect diverse experiences and identities. Librarians are caught between their professional obligation to uphold intellectual freedom and external pressures to remove or restrict materials, leading them to make decisions that carry significant ethical, legal, and personal consequences.

Research Purpose: Guided by critical librarianship, this study sought to understand how certified public middle school librarians across the United States experienced, navigated, and responded to book challenges and how professional values and systems of power shaped their decisions.

Research Design: A critical qualitative design examined librarians’ experiences within contexts of power, policy, and ideology.

Sample: The sample included 11 certified middle school librarians from U.S. public schools serving students in grades 6-8. Participants held a Master of Library Science (MLS) or equivalent certification and had experienced one or more book challenges, removals, or restrictions since 2020.

Data Collection: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted via Zoom; audio was transcribed. Data were analyzed using Yin’s (2014) five-step analytic process.

Findings: Theme 1, Vulnerability, revealed how the legislative and political climate created a sense of professional vulnerability that reshaped participants’ daily professional practice. Theme 2, Policy Paradox, captured tensions between established reconsideration policies and experiences with administrative authority, procedural bypass, and quiet censorship. Theme 3, Doing the Work, illustrated how participants enacted professional values through relationships, alternative pathways to access, and the preservation of representation. Across the themes, professional values remained central to how participants exercised professional agency within increasingly restrictive environments.

Conclusions/Implications: Despite increasing censorship efforts and professional vulnerability, participants continued to enact their professional values and exercise professional agency in service of students. This study demonstrated how vulnerability, policy implementation, advocacy, and resistance became embedded in everyday professional practice within systems of power. Ultimately, restrictive conditions changed the circumstances under which participants practiced, but not their understanding of what librarianship should be—creating opportunities for students to read, explore ideas, discover new perspectives, and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Susan V. Iverson

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Mary Coakley-Fields
Dr. Vikki Terrile

Take Your Career to the Next Level

Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

Learn More About the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Congratulations to Joe DeProssino who on Monday, August 31, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation proposal.

The title of Joe's proposal is, "STRENGTHENING CHARACTER AND SOCIAL BONDS THROUGH ATHLETICS: A QUALITATIVE INTERPRETIVE INQUIRY OF HIGH SCHOOL COACHES' PERCEPTIONS OF GOALS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Public high schools have long embraced the idea of balancing academic achievement with social-emotional, character, and civic development. Rigid curricular mandates, due to standardized testing requirements and political pressures, often hinder content area secondary teachers from integrating ethics into curricular instruction. However, school mission statements consistently prioritize character growth. Consequently, athletics serve as a vehicle for the achievement of these goals, with coaches playing a key role in fulfilling schools’ developmental missions.

Research Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative interpretive study is to explore how high school coaches perceive their role in building relationships that foster student-athletes’ social-emotional and moral development. The study will examine strategies high school coaches employ to use athletics as a vehicle to reinforce student-athletes’ commitment to school goals and community values. And finally, the study will try to understand how high school coaches communicate and model norms that promote civic responsibility, fairness, and rule adherence in athletic settings. Using Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory as a lens, the study will examine how coaches are strengthening the social bonds of attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.

Research Design: Interpretive qualitative design

Sample: Diverse group of 20 high school coaches with at least five years of experience.

Data Collection: Semi-structured interviews and document analysis.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Joe Durney
Dr. Brandon Beck

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Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

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Congratulations to Tanya L. Fuller who on Thursday, August 27, successfully defended her dissertation proposal.

The title Tanya's dissertation is, "TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE CONGESTION EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM IN K-6 CLASSROOMS."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, remains a significant educational concern. Beyond individual student outcomes, repeated absences may influence instructional flow, curriculum pacing, and classroom efficiency, and may lead teachers to adapt their instructional practices.

Research Purpose: This study explores teacher perceptions of the instructional challenges and congestion effects of chronic absenteeism and teachers' adaptations in response.

Research Design: Using an interpretive qualitative research design guided by Lazear’s (2001) Economic Theory of Education, the study will examine teachers’ experiences and perceptions.

Sample: Approximately 12–15 purposively selected K–6 general education teachers employed in a suburban New York State school district. Eligible participants will have at least three years of teaching experience and experience with chronic absenteeism.

Data Collection: Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom or in person for, 45–60 minutes. With participants’ consent, interviews will be audio recorded, transcribed, coded, categorized, and developed into themes.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Joanne Marien
Dr. Joseph Phillips

Take Your Career to the Next Level

Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

Learn More About the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Congratulations to Joshua Culwell-Block, who on Friday, August 28, 2026, successfully defended his dissertation.

The title of Joshua's dissertation is, "POLICY INTO PRACTICE: A POLICY IMPLEMENTATION STUDY OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMPUTER SCIENCE AND DIGITAL FLUENCY STANDARDS."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: New York State adopted the Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards to address the growing importance of computational thinking, cybersecurity, and digital literacy. Although districts are expected to implement the standards across Grades K–12, the state has not established formal accountability structures or statewide assessments to monitor implementation. At the local level, responsibility may be distributed across educators, departments, and administrators without clearly defined ownership. Consequently, the extent of implementation in Grades 4–6 remains unclear.

Research Purpose: Guided by Implementation Science Theory and a Standards Implementation Framework, this study examined the implementation of the New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards in Grades 4–6. It investigated changes in instructional exposure, curriculum alignment, and differences across district contexts.

Research Design: This study used a quantitative, nonexperimental ex post facto design.

Sample: The study included 55 valid responses from curriculum leaders, instructional coaches, and Grades 4–6 educators in New York State public school districts. The curriculum-alignment sample included 31 artifacts: four participant-submitted documents, 16 publicly available New York State Smart Start Grant artifacts, and 11 commercial curricula identified by respondents.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected through a structured survey and curriculum documents. Descriptive statistics summarized participant and district characteristics, implementation patterns, instructional exposure, and curriculum alignment. Paired-samples ttests examined changes in reported instructional exposure before and after implementation. Curriculum documents were evaluated using a structured alignment rubric. Welch’s ANOVA examined whether changes in instructional exposure differed across New York State Education Department Need/Resource Capacity categories. Curriculum alignment could not be compared statistically across categories because too few participating districts submitted documents.

Findings/Results: Reported exposure to computational thinking and cybersecurity increased following implementation, with the strongest and most consistent increases occurring in the number of instructional weeks. Exposure remained limited, particularly for cybersecurity. Curriculum alignment was generally moderate to high and stronger for computational thinking than cybersecurity. Most instructional-exposure outcomes did not differ significantly across Need/Resource Capacity categories.

Conclusions/Implications: Standards adoption alone did not ensure comprehensive or consistent implementation. Districts need clearly assigned responsibility, sequenced curricula, curriculum maps, sustained professional learning, and processes for monitoring implementation. State agencies, BOCES, and district leaders should strengthen accountability and implementation support, particularly for cybersecurity instruction.

Dissertation Committee Chair: 
Dr. Nora C. R. Broege

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Gerald Ardito
Dr. Jennifer Harriton-Wilson

Take Your Career to the Next Level

Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

Learn More About the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Congratulations to Laura F. Cahill, who on Friday, August 28, 2026, successfully defended her dissertation.

The title of Laura's dissertation is, "EVALUATING TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF ICT PREPAREDNESS AND TRAINING IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: Information and communication technologies (ICT) have been instrumental in increasing academic standards. Many countries use ICT as one tool that might help with increasing the effectiveness and caliber of the educational process. Educators’ technology competence and self-efficacy are crucial for employing technology to improve teaching and learning. The administration of school culture, particularly the shift to information technology, is a crucial responsibility of educational leadership.

Research Purpose: Using a conceptual framework grounded in the construct of technology leadership competency—which encompasses a principal’s capacity to lead strategic technology integration, support instructional transformation, and foster a schoolwide culture of innovation—and the theoretical framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge learning theory, this quantitative study examined how specific demographic factors, namely age group, gender identity, and years of leadership experience, influence the technology leadership skills of elementary school principals in New York state.

Research Design: A quantitative descriptive research design was used for the investigation.

Sample: Sixty-nine New York state public school elementary principals were retained for PTLA-based analyses, and 59 respondents with complete analytic demographic data were included in the demographic comparison and inferential analyses.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected through a SurveyMonkey questionnaire containing demographic questions and the 35-item Principals Technology Leadership Assessment (PTLA). Following response screening and the study’s missing-data criteria, descriptive statistics addressed RQ1, mean comparisons across gender, age, and leadership experience addressed RQ2, and one-way analyses of variance with multivariate omnibus checks addressed RQ3 and its subquestions.

Findings/Results: The findings underscore the need to prepare principals to lead technology integration as part of school improvement. Effective technology leadership requires connecting technological knowledge with pedagogy, content, policy, and organizational leadership. While elementary principals demonstrate meaningful technology-related strengths, continued preparation and support are needed to translate these strengths into sustained, schoolwide technology leadership.

Conclusions/Implications: The findings suggest that principal preparation and district professional development should strengthen strategic technology leadership through ongoing coaching, technology planning, assessment, policy, resource management, and stakeholder engagement. While principals demonstrated strengths in productivity and communication, greater support is needed to connect technology use to instructional goals, school improvement, and responsible implementation. These opportunities should be broadly available and tailored to school context rather than demographic characteristics.

Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Yiping Wan

Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Nora Broege
Dr. Martin M. Fitzgerald

Take Your Career to the Next Level

Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

Learn More About the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Congratulations to Melissa A. Barrow, who on Thursday, August 27^th 2026, successfully defended her dissertation.

The title of Melissa's dissertation is, "CHALLENGING GENDERED AND RACIALIZED NORMS: BLACK AND HISPANIC WOMEN IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY."

The abstract of this study follows:

Overview of Problem: This qualitative interpretive inquiry explored the lived experiences of Black and Hispanic female public school superintendents in the United States, including race- and gender-based barriers encountered during their ascent to and experiences within the superintendency and how they navigated these barriers. Acker’s (1990, 2006) Theory of Gendered and Racialized Organizations served as the theoretical framework.

Research Purpose: This qualitative interpretive inquiry explored the lived experiences of Black and Hispanic female public school superintendents in the United States, including encountering barriers based on gender and race during their ascent to and experiences within the superintendency and how they navigated these barriers. Acker’s (1990, 2006) Theory of Gendered and Racialized Organizations served as the theoretical framework.

Research Design: Qualitative interpretive inquiry using semi-structured individual interviews.

Sample: Twelve Black and Hispanic female public school superintendents serving diverse school districts across the United States.

Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s (2018) five-phase qualitative data analysis process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. The research questions, conceptual framework, and theoretical framework guided interpretation of participants’ experiences.

Findings/Results: Three themes emerged: “We’re Not Used to This”: When Race and Gender Disrupt Organizational Norms; “Anchored in Relationships”: Building Trust and Sustaining Leadership; and “I Took the Power Back”: Knowing Your Purpose in the Face of Resistance. Participants experienced leadership stereotypes, expectations of conformity, heightened scrutiny, discriminatory organizational practices, and recurring challenges to their authority and legitimacy. Relationships, mentors, executive coaches, professional networks, family, faith, and a strong sense of purpose helped participants sustain their leadership and resist inequitable practices.

Conclusions/Implications: Findings indicate that although participants encountered gendered and racialized barriers, they continually navigated and resisted recurring inequities. Therefore, increasing representation requires educational organizations to examine and transform the policies, practices, and leadership expectations that perpetuate inequity and compel Black and Hispanic women to continually prove their legitimacy as educational leaders.

Dissertation Committee Chair: 
Dr. Susan V. Iverson

Dissertation Committee Members: 
Dr. Nicole Joseph
Dr. Sagrario Rudecindo-O'Neill

Take Your Career to the Next Level

Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.  

Learn to Inspire Change

The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.   

Learn More About the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership