Women Superintendents in the Rural Midwest: Narratives of Challenges and Resistance

• In Event: Challenges and Resistance: Stories of Women in Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore, through the critical lens of intersectional feminist theory, the potential challenges to the public school district superintendency that women face in the rural Midwest, creating experiences, or “truth,” different than that of their male counterparts. This study can help women interested in pursuing careers as rural school district leaders to learn about those challenges and thus prepare themselves better to overcome them. This study also explored the effects that COVID-19 has had on these women’s experiences as rural superintendents. Finally, this study aims to promote gender equity in rural K-12 systems to support women serving in district-level leadership roles in providing leadership models for all students, especially those who identify as female.

Author

• Anne R. Strothman, Graham High School
  Presenting Author