Pushing the Limits

The Female Administrative Aspirant

By Sakre K. Edson

Subjects: Education Policy And Leadership
Series: SUNY series, Educational Leadership
Paperback : 9780887065576, 299 pages, January 1988
Hardcover : 9780887065569, 299 pages, February 1988

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Table of contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART ONE: STAGES

1 Deciding

2 Graduate School

3 Interviewing

4 Mobility

5 Role Models and Networks

6 Mentors

PART TWO: REFLECTIONS

7 Marriage and Families

8 Women in Administration

9 Men in Administration

PART THREE: SPECIAL CONCERNS

10 Affirmative Action

11 Minority Issues

12 Discrimination

13 Litigation

PART FOUR: LOOKING AHEAD

14 Goals and Expectations

15 Outcomes and Advice

Afterword

Notes

Index

Description

By providing new understanding and insights into the backgrounds and experiences of women pursuing administrative careers in education, Pushing the Limits fills a critical void in the existing literature. Sakre Edson's five-year investigation documents the accounts of 142 nonminority and minority women across the United States seeking administrative roles—an area of public school responsibility where women remain underrepresented.

Edson's book is unique in its focus on aspirants—those women currently preparing and competing for principalships and other top administrative positions—rather than on established female administrators or on women who have chosen not to aspire beyond the classroom. The female teachers, graduate students, and entry-level administrators quoted here give voice to the struggles would-be female school executives face, and their experiences and reflections not only question the impact of the women's movement and equity legislation upon employment practices, but serve to illuminate the problems of women and minorities excluded from managerial ranks in professions outside of education. Throughout the work one theme prevails: As they push the limits of this traditional male bastion, these women are confident in their abilities to succeed and even to excel in managing the nation's schools.

Dr. Sakre Kennington Edson has been researching the area of female aspirants in educational administration for ten years. She is a co-author of Sex Equity in Education published by Academic Press.

Reviews

"The voices of the women ring true, and the quotations provide fascinating data ... a good and important study." — Charol Shakeshaft, Hofstra University

"... a significant work, quite unlike anything else in the area of sex equity. Edson's data base is rich and revealing. The topics are timely and woven together well." — Daniel L. Duke, University of Virginia