Women's aspirations for the high school principalship: a heuristic phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

In the United States the teaching profession is primarily comprised of female teachers. However, men continually hold a disproportionality large percentage of the high school principalships. This qualitative study explores the experiences women in a Midwestern metropolitan area encounter in their professional and personal lives, and how those experiences inform their aspirations regarding their procuring and holding the principalship. An internet survey was completed by 68 female participants, and from there eight co-researchers were chosen to represent a continuum of work experience and became co-researchers in the exploration. Through demographic data collection, narrative writing, and in-depth interviews, the essence of meaning women make of their experiences was explored.