Boys will be superintendents

Abstract

Even though the teaching profession is dominated by women, men hold more superintendent positions. The authors examine the pipeline that leads to the principalship and the superintendency and how it has evolved over time. They note school boards are more likely to perceive high school principals and athletic coaches as plausible superintendents, in contrast to elementary principals and curriculum specialists. In addition, elementary education majors, mostly women, tend to be more conservative and thus may choose family over advancement to a more demanding position. They discuss why having more women in high-level leadership is valuable and ways to reform the gendered career track.

The roles of Black women principals: evidence from two national surveys

“…Considering that 36 percent of principals in the entire sample had prior coaching experience, this is a large difference. Given the leadership roles of coaches in United States schools generally, where they sometimes prioritize athletic missions and staff (Maranto et al, 2018a), we believe this could hint at the broader servant leadership orientations noted by Bass (2009Bass ( , 2012 and the broad review by Lomotey (2019), though to repeat, this is at best an indirect measure of behavior.…”

“…4 It is important to account for differences in these school-level characteristics as the distribution of principals by gender and race is not random. For instance, females tend to be principals in elementary schools, while males tend to be principals in middle and high schools (Maranto et al, 2018a). About 61 percent of elementary school principals are female, and about 72 percent of high school principals are male, according to SASS data.…”

“…Considerable research indicates that these patterns persist, and indeed, that school boards and many public educators are comfortable with gendered workplace norms. Related work indicates that while teachers are overwhelmingly female, secondary principalships, which are the dominant paths to superintendent, remain overwhelmingly male (Maranto et al, 2018a). Males are promoted more quickly than females.…”

Reopening America’s Schools: A Descriptive Look at How States and Large School Districts are Navigating Fall 2020

“…On the other hand, athletics can detract from academics. Most male administrators are former athletic coaches, and may prioritize athletics over academics (Maranto, Carroll, Cheng, & Teodoro, 2018). In one of our states, it is widely believed that a key reason for reopening schools was the desire to have a fall football season, even though contact sports place students in closer proximity to one another than most classroom activities.…”

Editor’s Welcome to Volume 13: Can We Do Better than “Professional” Bureaucracy?

“…As one who serves on a school board and spends considerable time in public schools and at venues like American Educational Research Association, bureaucracy seems the very warp and woof of public education. Public school systems are very hierarchical, with teachers viewed as factory workers, reflecting the best of 1910 business management thought, in which male principals and superintendents oversee female teachers who lack status and discretion (Maranto, Carroll, Cheng, & Teodoro, 2018;Rousemaniere, 2013). Indeed, official training urges school board members to limit contact with teachers as "outside the chain of command."…”