Choosing Our Viewpoints: The Experiences of Women in School Leadership in the Midwestern United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Research In Progress Roundtables Session 4
  In Invited Roundtable: Gender and Race in Education Leadership (Table 5)

Abstract

This research study is a phenomenology of the experiences of women who held K-12 school leadership positions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen participants from public and private schools in the Midwest took part in in-depth interviews, photo elicitation interviews, and artifact sharing. The study explores the multiple challenges, crises, and complexities the women faced as they led their schools and if there is a link between those experiences and their decisions to stay in or leave their leadership roles. Early results also show how COVID-19 crisis leadership had both positive and negative impacts on these women's lives.

Author

• Courtney Beth Cavellier, University of St. Thomas (MN)