Award Date

12-15-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

Steven Nelson

Second Committee Member

Megan Griffard

Third Committee Member

Ung-Sang Lee

Fourth Committee Member

Tiffany Nyachae

Fifth Committee Member

Benita Brooks

Number of Pages

169

Abstract

This study explored the challenges that Black women face when pursuing leadership roles in K–12 education, specifically in middle schools. Despite being prepared and eager to lead, Black women are often overlooked and made to feel invisible. Still, we persevere, navigating barriers with determination, faith, and purpose, and continue to support those who follow. Guided by Black Feminist Thought, Endarkened Feminism, and Structural Intersectionality, this study centers Black women’s lived experiences as valid sources of knowledge. It highlights how leadership is shaped by overlapping systems of oppression and resistance, and how it is sustained by prayer, faith in God, and ancestral wisdom. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, participants were invited to engage in two semi-structured virtual interviews and create a sketchnote, a visual reflection of a moment when they felt undervalued or invisible. These narrative and visual approaches allowed a deeper understanding of how Black women make meaning of their leadership journeys. Four major themes emerged: (a) being qualified but consistently questioned; (b) resisting marginalization both boldly and quietly; (c) caring for self as survival and leadership; and (d) holding a vision for what it takes to stay and be sustained in leadership. Findings affirm that Black women lead with community, self-knowledge, and spiritual grounding. This research calls on leadership programs to move beyond performative equity and build structures that support, mentor, and affirm Black women in leadership, not just in theory, but in practice.

Keywords

Assistant Principals; Black Women; Educational Leadership; Overcoming inequities and Microaggressions; Perseverance; Resiliency

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

File Format

PDF

File Size

1417 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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