University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Women of color: self-efficacy and sustainability as administrators in education

(USC Thesis Other)

Women of color: self-efficacy and sustainability as administrators in education

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Women of Color: Self-Efficacy and Sustainability as Administrators in Education
by
Sonja Nyennego Johnson
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
August, 2020

© Copyright by Sonja Nyennego Johnson 2020
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Sonja Nyenneo Johnson certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Dr. Lori Rayor
Dr. Anthony Maddox
Dr. Patricia Tobey, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2020
iv
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to explore the impact that the lack of sustainability had an
impact on the self-efficacy of six women of color who have all worked as administrators in
Timberlake Public School District. The study included an overview of the school district, it’s
history and work place culture and sought to answer the following questions: 1) How do the
unspoken work expectations for women of color play out in their sustainability and self-efficacy?
2) What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability as an administrator
who is a woman of color? 3) How does the lack of sustainability in the work place as a woman of
color impact self-efficacy? A qualitative study approach using case study design was appropriate
because the goal of the research was to explain the phenomenon by relying on the perception of
the women’s lived experiences within the school district. In person interviews were utilized by
the researcher. Data were collected, reviewed, and analyzed using the open coding method. The
findings revealed that there is a connection to sustainability and self-efficacy for women of color
who are administrators in Timberlake Public School District. The recommendation for future
research centers around how counter-narratives are used to inform hiring practices and leader
development at the district and school site levels. As previously stated, counter-narratives are
needed to create a work environment that position educators of color to thrive, be mentored into
leadership positions. Naturally, the narratives of the administrator of color cannot speak for all of
their race or community, however, they can offer important counter-narratives that are critical to
equity decisions that are made in upper management.

Keywords: administrator, self-efficacy, sustainability, women of color, counter-narratives

v
Dedication
To my family, I could not have achieved this without your love and support and a special
dedication to my mother and father, Pearline and Gabriel Johnson, you have made me who I am
today and I am forever grateful.

vi
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my village. They are the ones who have
supported me along this very long journey without question and always show up when I needed
them most. We have made it! Thank you for pushing me, giving me words of encouragement and
helping me see the bigger picture in order to continue moving forward. I would also like to
acknowledge Koffa Jacobs, Kpanah Johnson, William Johnson, Roxanne Ikner, Joaka Jacobs, Te
Youman, Delaina Simpson, Tianna Williams, ZseTaun Washington, Marcus Reynolds and
LaShawn Allen, thank you for being an amazing team. Thank you for all that you have done for
me during this journey, be it a listening ear or a work partner or the encouragement I needed to
make it to the finish line with pride and joy, I am thankful to have you all in my life.
I would like to thank the amazing women in this study who willingly shared their lived
experiences throughout this project. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your time with me,
I appreciate all that you have done to help me create change for women of color in education.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Tobey, Dr. Rayor and Dr. Maddox, thank you
for your support and believing in me. Thank you for your honest feedback, motivation and
encouragement.

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................1
Chapter One: Overview of the Study ...............................................................................................2
Organizational Context and Mission ...................................................................................3
Organizational Performance Status ......................................................................................6
Importance of a Promising Practice Project .........................................................................7
Organizational Performance Goal and Current Performance ..............................................8
Organizational Stakeholders ................................................................................................8
Stakeholders for the Study ...................................................................................................9
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ...................................................................9
Methodological Framework ...............................................................................................10
Definitions..........................................................................................................................10
Organization of the Project ................................................................................................11
Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................................12
Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................15
Critical Race Theory .....................................................................................................16
Identity Theory ..............................................................................................................20
Socialization Theory .....................................................................................................23
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................32
viii
Research Questions ............................................................................................................32
Methodology ......................................................................................................................32
Grounded Theory Methodology ....................................................................................33
Positionality .......................................................................................................................34
Study Participants ..............................................................................................................34
Inclusion Criteria ...............................................................................................................35
Data Collection and Instrumentation .................................................................................35
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................35
Open Coding .................................................................................................................36
Selective Coding ...........................................................................................................36
Theoretical Coding ........................................................................................................37
Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................................37
Summary ............................................................................................................................38
Chapter Four: Findings ..................................................................................................................39
Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................40
Research Questions ............................................................................................................41
Profile of Participants ........................................................................................................41
Findings Themes ................................................................................................................42
Findings..............................................................................................................................43
Research Question #1 ....................................................................................................43
Research Question #2 ....................................................................................................51
Research Question #3 ....................................................................................................59
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................67
ix
Chapter Five: Discussion ...............................................................................................................69
Findings..............................................................................................................................70
Research Question 1: Critical Race Theory Tenets Tenet of Permanence of Racism
and Identity Theory .......................................................................................................70
Research Question 2: Critical Race Theory Tenets of Permanence of Racism and
Counter-Narratives ........................................................................................................73
Research Question 3: Critical Race Theory Tenets of Counter-Narratives and Identity
Theory ...........................................................................................................................77
Limitations .........................................................................................................................81
Delimitations ......................................................................................................................82
Implications for Practice ....................................................................................................82
Future Research .................................................................................................................84
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................85
References ......................................................................................................................................88
Appendix A: Consent Form ...........................................................................................................92
Appendix B: Interview Protocol ....................................................................................................95
Appendix C: IRB Approval ...........................................................................................................97
Appendix D: Theoretical Alignment Matrix................................................................................100

x
List of Tables
Table 1: Inclusion Criteria 35
Table 2: The Participants 42

1
List of Figures
Figure 1 Theories Intersect in Professional and Personal Lives 16

2
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Women of color who work in administrative roles in education at the Timberlake Public
School District are becoming one of the fastest-going subgroups in the organization, for the
purposes of this study, Timberlake is the pseudonym that will be used throughout this body of
research when discussing the district. These women come from various social and educational
backgrounds. They come to this district to work at one of its nationally recognized middle or
high schools because they believe in the mission of helping to transform public education so all
students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life.
Timberlake is always challenging and pushing itself to increase academic outcomes for
all students. It is data-driven and research-based to ensure that all employees do is in service of
students and families. It is a charter management organization (CMO) that positions itself on the
cutting edge of education. It is an adaptive district and seeks to hire likeminded individuals with
a relentless pursuit of excellence who are change agents and effective and impactful leaders.
However, the level of excellence, either spoken or unspoken, that is required inspires leaders to
go above and beyond, so much so that it becomes the regular work pattern and workplace culture
within the organization.
In turn, this culture creates a performance problem in the organization that lies in the
sustainability of the daily work itself that is continued in overtime and is coupled with its effect
on the self-efficacy of women of color administrators and leads to their slowly growing attrition
rate. This poses a problem because the continued lack of sustainability will only increase the
attrition rate as these women become less self-efficacious in their roles as leaders. Without
district-wide systemic practices to address this need, stress, and burnout ensue, which becomes
harmful physically and emotionally. Additionally, the women’s confidence in their ability to
3
exert control over their own motivation, behavior, and social environment (Bandura, 1997) is
greatly minimized, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and unaccomplished, thus, causing them
to exit the organization because they have lost sight of who they are as educators and feel as if
they cannot meet the relentless pursuit of excellence prevalent at the organization.
Solving this problem should increase the retention of women of color in the organization
and grow that talent pool because one of the district’s goals is to ensure students see reflections
of themselves in leadership roles on their middle and high school campuses. Currently, women
of color comprise 28.5% of the administrators at the organization, yet their attrition rate is over
half, which inhibits the organization’s goal to retain 90% of its leaders year over year. If the
turnover rate continues to grow, it will not allow the organization to be consistent and grow in a
manner that is sustainable because leaders will always have to invest in training a new group of
administrators, which also creates slow strategic growth.
Organizational Context and Mission
Timberlake Public School District is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help
transform public education so all students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life.
This district is unique in the nation for a major non-profit charter management organization, yet
it is proving that it can achieve better student outcomes with the same student population and
lower per-pupil funding than surrounding and competing districts and has a unionized workforce.
The district was founded in direct response to the poor state of public high schools in the
Southern California area. The largest unified school district’s high schools were not graduating
over 50% of their students, and those who were completing high school were rarely prepared for
college. Therefore, the percentage of students who actually went to college was in the single
digits. The vast majority of the students failing out of the system were children from low-income
4
families and underserved communities. District founders had a vision of creating small,
successful charter schools that would reduce the number of students in the classroom so that
authentic relationships could be formed whereby students felted connected and knew that they
were seen and heard. Additionally, leaders would make sure that their schools had the resources
to not only address students’ academic needs and their social-emotional needs as well. By
creating small learning environments and providing the much-needed resources, district leaders
sought to demonstrate to the larger districts and the public at large that there was a more
effective way to provide public education to low-income, high-risk youth that was meaningful,
impactful, and provided a pipeline for more students to enter a 4-year college or university.
Timberlake opened its doors with just one 9th grade class of 140 students. Today, the
organization has grown to serve more than 11,000 students in communities across Southern
California, Louisiana, and Colorado. For the purposes of this research, the focus was on the
Southern California sector of the organization, as it is the founding district and the largest.
The U.S. Department of Education has featured the district as a national leader in school
turnarounds, as they are the only charter school operator in the country to lead the turnaround of
a 3,000-plus student high school. Its schools have been featured in “America’s Best High
Schools” by Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, and The Daily Beast.
In June 2013, Timberlake received authorization from the Louisiana School District to
turn around several middle and high schools in Louisiana, which started in August 2014. The
district reopened Clarke High School. In August 2015, the district reopened Wilson Middle
School as its first transformation middle school in Louisiana and Rise Middle School in
Colorado, the same year.
5
Timberlake saw success early on by opening five independent schools, aptly named the
founding five, prior to taking on transformation high schools and middle schools. Between 2000
and 2005, the district opened five start-up independent charter high schools in some of the most
underserved communities and neighborhoods in Southern California. All five had gone on to be
named in Newsweek’s annual ranking of the best high schools in the country and were medal
winners in the annual U.S. News and World Report list, placing them in the top 2.5% nationally.
In 2006, Timberlake opened a cluster of charter high schools to create a parent “zone of choice”
around Thomas Jefferson High School, at the time the lowest-performing school in the largest
competing district. Today, these schools are outperforming their peers as well as the surrounding
schools that students would have attended had they not had an alternative.
By 2007, the district had built 10 public charter schools in the Southern California area.
However, they were only serving 3,000 students within a district that was responsible for
700,000 students. In the spirit of relentless pursuit of results that change the outcomes for
students, their families, and the community, district leaders realized that continued growth of
independent charter schools at the rate at which it was progressing would only make a small dent
in the quest for positive change for students. Therefore, in 2008, it expanded its approach to
focus on turning around chronically low-performing schools and took on the transformation of
Key High School. Key was 15 times the size of their usual charter school launch and billed as
one of the worst high schools in California. Despite the obstacles and under Timberlake
management, Key High School had made great strides, as noted with a recent UCLA CRESST
study demonstrating that students attending Key High School are 1.5 times more likely to
graduate and 3.7 times more likely to graduate college-ready than students attending peer
neighborhood schools. In 2011, the district further solidified its position as a turnaround operator
6
with the Grant High School and Sky Vista Middle School transformations. With Grant and Sky
Vista, Timberlake assumed full transformations with an aggregate of more than 1,500 students in
a single year. After a single year of operating under the Timberlake management organization,
both schools have achieved measurable gains of 10% for Grant High School and 12% on the Sky
Vista campus when compared to the neighborhood schools with the same demographics, income,
and resources.
Timberlake Public School District works with families and communities who have been
deemed as historically underserved but who deserve better school options for their students.
District leaders strive to serve students who may fall through the cracks in the traditional school
system and teach them up so that they will be successful both academically and socioemotionally
through the lens of equity to prepare all students for college, leadership, and life.
Organizational Performance Status
Timberlake Public School District is currently underperforming in the areas of
sustainability, which lowers the retention of administrators who are women of color. The goal of
the organization is to have a 90% administrator retention. Currently, the administrator retention
rate at the Southern California district is 70%, with women of color making up 28.5% of that
number and losing over half of that percentage yearly. Thus, the organization is not meeting its
goal and will not meet its goal at the current rate. When exit interviews were conducted in 2016,
2017, and 2018, the common trend that connected the women of color who left the organization
as well as other administrators centered around the fact that the work was not sustainable and
that they could no longer afford to jeopardize their families, health, or themselves as a byproduct
of remaining in the district. When the data were disaggregated further to look specifically at
women of color, there was a parallel in response to the other exiting administrators. Women of
7
color also discussed the pressure of unspoken expectations of excellence in the district and
specifically at their respective school sites. These expectations led to an increase in their work
production and time, which ultimately led to stress and burnout as well as contemplating leaving
the organization and ultimately doing so. Therefore, for the organization’s continued growth and
success, it is paramount that leaders find a viable model that can be implemented for
administrator sustainability to reduce stress and burnout while increasing self-efficacy for
women of color.
Importance of a Promising Practice Project
It is important to examine this organization’s performance in relation to the performance
goal of retaining 90% of administrators by creating an atmosphere where they feel more
successful, appreciated, and empowered in their roles. As a result of spoken and unspoken work
expectations, the challenge to build schools whose models of leadership and academic excellence
can be replicated, it goes without saying that the workload this entails can be labor intensive both
mentally and physically, especially as a woman of color. Bronfenbrenner’s (2001) bioecological
approach to development emphasizes the complex interactions between multiple systems of
influence on an individuals’ development, ranging from biological to cultural as well as
historical forces that affect change over time. Therefore, studying promising practices that can be
implemented at the district level and that can be replicated at the school sites will play a key role
in building a structure of sustainability that supports administrators’ growth and self-efficacy to
support the organization’s goal and allow for women of color to be seen, heard, and valued as
they create change in Timberlake Public School District. Creating and implementing promising
practices can have great benefits for the organization as a whole.

8
Organizational Performance Goal and Current Performance
Since 2017, Timberlake Public School District’s goal has been to retain 90% of its
administrators across their portfolio of middle and high schools. This goal was established by the
organizational leadership team (OLT) as a progress monitoring measure to track performance
and satisfaction in meeting administrators’ needs. Progress monitoring toward this annual goal is
done through anecdotal, informal, and formal conversations with administrators as well as annual
evaluations by area superintendents. These multiple measures help the OLT determine who will
actually be returning, who will be requesting a transfer, and who is leaving the organization. The
hard data are gathered and measured annually through stakeholder feedback survey evaluations
and through the letter of intent (LOI) that all administrators must complete in the spring semester
of the school year stating their intentions to return, leave the district altogether, transfer to
another school within the district or remain that their current school. These data are gathered
annually and used to pinpoint possible vacancies at school sites and who will be best suited for
specific school populations as well as to determine why administrators are asking for transfers or
exiting the organization altogether. As previously stated, the organization is not meeting its
annual goal. In 2019, the retention rate was 70%. Although 28.5% were women of color, 18% of
women of color left the organization due to issues of sustainability within the district, which
made them feel as if they were not servicing students and families in a manner that created
opportunity, access, and choice.
Organizational Stakeholders
At Timberlake Public School District, the stakeholders are the teachers, students, and
administrators. Its school leaders are committed to providing a quality education to every
student, every day, no matter who they are, where they come from. In essence, the goal is every
9
student every day. The school administrators work to make sure that all students are successful
and go above and beyond to ensure that students, staff, and the community have access by
making the playing field equitable. When the levels of rigor and academic success are proven
and achieved, the community and families benefit from the efforts of the organization. The staff
will benefit from administrators who can provide them academic feedback and support on their
classroom practices and strategies to help them grow as educational leaders. Finally, the
administrators create the atmosphere for academic excellence by knowing curricular content,
progress monitoring growth, adhering to commitments of equity, access, opportunity, and choice.
Stakeholders for the Study
While the joint efforts of all stakeholders contribute to the achievement of the overall
organizational goal of having an annual retention rate of 90% of all administrators, it is important
to understand what is being done internally and structurally to reach the 90% annually and all of
the women of color encapsulated within the 90%. Therefore, the stakeholders of focus for this
case study of promising practices were the administrators who are women of color in the
Timberlake Public Schools, Southern California.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this research was to study the organization’s performance related to the
larger problem of practice. The analysis focused on the stakeholder assets in the area of
knowledge, skill and motivation, and organizational resources. While a complete study would
focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes, the stakeholders of focused in this analysis were
the administrators who are women of color within the district. The following research questions
were asked of the participants of this study:
10
1. How do the unspoken work expectations for women of color play out in their
sustainability and self-efficacy?
2. What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability as an
administrator who is a woman of color?
3. How does the lack of sustainability in the work place as a woman of color impact self-
efficacy.
Methodological Framework
A qualitative data gathering framework with a case study design with a focus on
grounded theory was used in this study. Data gathering and analysis were conducted to study
women of color who are administrators within Timberlake Public School District to assess the
areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources. The stakeholder’s assessments
were studied by using interviews, observations, and content analysis.
Definitions
Administrator: Principal or an assistant principal
ALT: Academic leadership team
CMO: Charter management organization
Counter-narratives: a method of telling a story that aims to cast doubt on the validity of accepted
premises or myths, especially ones held by the majority; majoritarian narratives are also
recognized as stories, and not assumed to be facts or the truth.
Instructional Leader: One who knows the content and context of the discipline, be it how school
works or in the realm of curriculum, and knows how to lead and build capacity in others.
LOI: Letter of intent
OLT: Organizational leadership team
11
Permanence of racism: racism, both conscious and unconscious is a permanent component of
American life.
Stakeholder Feedback: An annual survey given to the members of the organization to elicit
feedback from them
Women of Color: A woman belonging to a racial group not categorized as White.
Organization of the Project
Five chapters are used to organize this study. This chapter provided the reader with the
key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about retention, sustainability,
and self-efficacy for women of color in the Timberlake Public School District. It also presented
historical background knowledge along with the organization’s mission, goals, and stakeholders
as well as the review of the promising practice framework. Chapter Two provides a review of
current literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics of sustainability, race, self-efficacy,
identity, socialization, burnout, transformative leadership, and women of color in education will
be covered. Chapter Three details the methodology, which includes the selection of participants,
data collection, and analysis. In Chapter Four, the data and results will be described and
analyzed. Finally, Chapter Five will provide the discussion recommendations for practice, based
on data and literature as well as recommendations for outlined promising practices and
implications for future research.

12
Chapter Two: Literature Review
This study explored the experiences of women of color who are administrators in
education who work within the Timberlake Public School District. They are becoming one of the
fastest-going subgroups in the organization (Timberlake Public School District, 2018). These
women come from various backgrounds in education and come to this district to work at their
middle school or high school because they believe in the mission of helping to transform public
education so all students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life. The organization’s
performance problem is all-around sustainability and its connection to self-efficacy for women of
color who are administrators. Currently, there are no true organizational sustainability solutions
or practices used with fidelity to support a healthy work-life balance. This ultimately leads to
burnout and the minimized reflection of confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own
motivation, behavior, and social environment (Bandura, 1997). Ultimately, women will exit the
organization because they assume that they cannot meet the organization’s verbal and non-verbal
expectations.
At the end of the 2019 school year, school leaders, nine women of color who were
administrators, left the organization. All nine women left because “the work is not sustainable.”
Noah stated that, after having her baby, she found it hard to be present at school and fully present
at home given the demands of both. She felt as if she was letting her school family (staff,
students, families) down because she was not working the14-plus hours a day anymore, as she
had a new family. Additionally, she stated that her work production at home, for school, had
slowed because her husband and her baby needed her and, overall, she felt she was not doing
well in the role of mom or the role of administrator. Therefore, she chose to leave the
organization with the feeling of “not being able to do justice by each role.” She was not the first
13
woman of color who had to make a decision from the lens of sustainability that begins to wear on
one’s self-efficacy. However, the question becomes how the organization will increase the
retention rate for all administrators but especially for its growing population of women of color.
The construct of self-efficacy has a relatively brief history that began with Bandura’s
(1977) research. During the past few decades, self-efficacy beliefs have received increasing
attention in educational research, primality in the area of academic motivation (Pintrich &
Schunk, 1995). Self-efficacy deals with the role that self-beliefs play in motivating individuals as
a primary focus. This includes theories about self-concept, attributions of success and failure,
expectancy-value, goals, self-schemas, and possible selves. Self-beliefs specific to one’s
perceived competence, or expectancy beliefs, are also prominent in the area of academic
motivation.
This is key to note because the women in the Timberlake School District leave because
they begin to have negative connotations about their success as administrators, which may lower
their self-efficacy, primarily causing a lack of practical sustainability practices to support the
continued positive growth of self-beliefs. Self-efficacy and other expectancy beliefs have in
common that they are beliefs about one’s perceived capability; they differ in that self-efficacy is
defined in terms of individuals’ perceived capabilities to attain designated types of performances
and achieve specific results (Pajares, 1996). Thus, self-efficacy beliefs and judgements are both
more task- and situation-specific and, in that, individuals make use of these judgements in
reference to some type of goal (Bandura, 1986, 1989; Pintrich & Schunk, 1995).
Therefore, if women of color are experiencing low self-efficacy because of the pressures
to perform and meet the expected outcomes for their school sites and district, this can become
overwhelming. Part of being in education is to help change outcomes for students, and, if one
14
does not see oneself as playing a critical role in that movement, it can cause one to rethink why
one is in the position, whether they should continue in the position and the negative impact on
staff and students of an imbalance of work and life.
Conversely, if the administrator decides to remain in the organization and “push
through,” it can lead to a prolonged and incremental drop in one’s self-efficacy that is
continuously spurned by lack of sustainability. The situation then leads to burnout and, finally, a
disengagement from the organization altogether. Burnout is psychological. It consists of an
emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and sense of low personal accomplishment that can
occur among individuals who work with others in some capacity (Malach & Jackson, 1981).
Three identifiable dimensions that work together to contribute to burnout: emotional exhaustion,
which is the feeling of total mental and emotions loss; cynicism, or a mental distance toward
work and the people with whom one works (depersonalization); and lack of efficacy, or one’s
own perceived competence (Tomic & Tomic, 2008). The underlying syndrome of burnout is
stress, and stress can be both distressful or eustressful and can lead to feelings of anxiety and
lowered self-esteem, or it can provide an individual with the desire to achieve.
If the stress that women of color were experiencing were eustress, then one would expect
to see higher levels of retention across the organization or in data points such as student
outcomes, observation, evaluations, and school site district compliance. An increase in these
factors might ensue because of the drive and determination to exceed, excel, and achieve in spite
of the sustainability issues. However, I would argue that is not the current case. The research on
burnout in relation to principals found that the most frequent sources of burnout are issues such
as complying with organization rules and policies, excessively high self-imposed expectations, a
workload that feels too heavy, increased demands, role ambiguity, lack of recognition and
15
rewards, and decreasing autonomy (Freedman 1995; Sari, 2004; Whitaker, 1995; Whitehead,
2000). These issues cause principals to question whether they should remain in their positions.
From the lens of a woman of color, these findings ring true but do not take into account a social
and cultural identity that may also influence self-efficacy given the systemic racial structure in
which they live and work.
Theoretical Framework
Several theories are relevant to the lack of sustainability and self-efficacy for women of
color who work in Timberlake Public School District. Most prominent are critical race theory
(Bell, 1992, 2000), identity theory (Erikson, 1950; Josselson, 1996), and socialization theory
(Harkonen, 2007). The figure below shows how the three theories intersect within the
professional and personal lives of women of color who work to find balance within an
oppressive system, sustainability, as well as themselves in their roles as administrators in
Timberlake Public School District.

16
Figure 1
Theories Intersect in Professional and Personal Lives

Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory (CRT) is a movement (Crenshaw et al., 1995; Matsuda, 2002; West,
1992, 1993), and, from its inception in the early 1970s, was formed to assist in the analysis of
how “race and racism fit into the subordination role of people of color” (Torres, 2012, p. ?).
CRT, although thematically rooted in racism, is based on premises founded in critical theory by
legal scholars of color to critique societal norms relative to oppression (Closson, 2010a, 2010b).
CRT is a viable analysis tool in education. The basic tenets of CRT can be complex depending
on whose perspective of CRT is being reviewed. For example, according to Ladson-Billings and
Tate (1995), the five components of CRT are a central focus on race and racism, a direct and
17
overt challenge to hegemonic discourse, a commitment to social justice, an honoring of the
experiential base of marginalized people, and a multifaceted disciplinary viewpoint.
The elements that characterize critical race theory are difficult to reduce to discrete
descriptions, largely because critical race theorists are attempting to integrate their experiential
knowledge into moral and situational analysis of the law. Delgado (1990) argued that people of
color in our society speak from experience framed by racism. This framework gives their stories
a common structure warranting the term voice. For the critical race theorist, social reality is
constructed by the creation and exchange of stories about individual situations (Bell, 1989;
Matsuda, 1989; Williams, 1991). Much of the critical race theory literature tracks between
situated narrative and more sweeping analysis of the law. Many of the arguments found in
critical race theory are best described as an enactment of hybridity in their texts that is
scholarship that depicts the legal scholar as minimally bicultural in terms of belonging to both
the world of legal research and the world of everyday experience. Barnes (1990) stated,
Minority perspectives make explicit the need for fundamental change in the ways we
think and construct knowledge…Exposing how minority cultural viewpoints differ from
White cultural viewpoints requires a delineation of the complex set of social interactions
through which minority consciousness has developed. Distinguishing the consciousness
of racial minorities requires acknowledgement of the feelings and intangible modes of
perception unique to those who have historically been socially, structurally, and
intellectually marginalized in the United States. (p. 1864)
The notion of voice in the critical race literature and the form of legal analysis associated with
this scholarship have implications for the organization and the women of color within it because
their voice is the connection between sustainability and self-efficacy. To understand the critical
18
race theory literature, it is important to understand the voice of a particular contributor within the
critical race conversation.
Thus, three legal scholars who employ critical race theory methods are Derrick Bell,
Richard Delgado, and Kimberly Crenshaw. Each of these scholars has made a significant
contribution to the critical race theory literature. Furthermore, their scholarship uniquely
intersects with important issues raised in debates of race and the politics of education. Bell’s
work (1992a, 1992b, 1993, 2000) is key to understanding the critical race theory movement
because, within this group of scholars, Bell is arguably the most influential source of thought
critical of traditional civil rights discourse and critical race theory. Bell’s critique of civil rights
laws and efforts to implement them was stimulated by a recognition of their importance and a
challenge to rethink dominant liberal and conservative positions on these matters.
Bell’s (1984) description of the goal of his work provides insight into the purpose of his
scholarship.: It is, though, not Bell’s goal to provide a social formula that would solve either all
or any of the racial issues that beset the country. Rather, the goal is to review those issues in all
their political and economic dimensions and, from that vantage point, enable lawyers and
laypeople to determine where we might go from here: “the goal for us, as it was for all those
back to the slavery era who labored and sacrificed for freedom, was not to guarantee an end to
racism, but to work forcefully toward that end” (p. 14). Bell’s (1984) remark reveals the dual
purpose of his scholarship. His first purpose has been to contribute to intellectual discussions
concerning race in American society. However, unlike many mainstream legal scholars who
often have declared that certain aspects of a legal problem are not relevant, such as particular
stories of individuals, Bell (1987, 1995 has sought to use allegory to examine legal discourse in
19
an ironically situated fashion. In his critique of narrative and law, specifically the scholarship of
Derrick Bell, Winter (1989) posited,
The attraction of narrative is that it corresponds more closely to the manner in which the
human mind makes sense of experience than does the conventional, abstracted rhetoric of
law. The basic thrust of the cognitive process is to employ imagination to make meaning
out of the embodied experience of the human organism in the world. In its prototypical
sense as storytelling, narrative, too, proceeds from the ground up. In narrative, we take
experience and configure it in a conventional and comprehensible form. This is what
gives narrative its communicative power; it is what makes narrative a powerful tool of
persuasion and therefore, a potential transformative device for the disempowered. (p.
2228)
A second purpose of Bell’s (1987, 1989, 1992, 1994) scholarship has been to promote
political activism to achieve racial justice. This goal can be found throughout his chain of
inquiry. For instance, about one of his works, Bell (1994) stated,
This book does not aim to convince readers that a passive response to harassment and ill
treatment is always wrong, a confrontational one always appropriate. Few, if any, of us
could survive in modern society by challenging every slight, every unfairness we
experience or witness. I do believe, though, that most people are too ready to accept
unwarranted and even outrageous treatment as part of the price of working, of getting
along, even of living. (p. 12)
After warning the reader about the difficulty of a protester’s life, Bell (1994) remarked, “Of
course, I will be pleased if my experiences encourage readers to consider openly confronting
wrongs that afflict their lives, and the lives of others” (p. xi). Many scholars associated with
20
critical race theory have attributed Bell’s scholarly methods, political activism, and mentorship
as pivotal to the movement’s development (Barnes, 1990; Calmore, 1992; Crenshaw, 1988;
Delgado, 1991). His work provides a model and a standard by which to discuss critical race
theory.
Identity Theory
Who am I? What do I stand for? What is my positionality in the world? Do I or can I
make an impact? Are questions one tends to ask oneself at the intersection of race, class, and
gender as one goes through life. Individual answers range the in scope depending on situation,
circumstance, environment, experiences, beliefs, and values (Rosemblum & Travis, 2012). Just
as CRT plays a role in giving voice to the minority perspective, identity theory narrows the focus
to the individual and how one’s identity shapes who one is and how that foundation shapes one’s
existence. Individuality, identity theory, and ethnic identity development (DeCuir-Gunby, 2009)
may also contribute to the sociological, psychological, and structural factors that further delve
into the impact of sustainability and self-efficacy of women of color on their effectiveness as
administrators in urban educational settings.
Josselson (1990) conducted several studies that focused on individuality, identity, and
ethnic and gender development. Josselson’s studies “were based on Marcia’s (1966) identity
status research that had begun three decades earlier and were similar to Kegan’s (1982) identity
formation process” (Curry, 2000, pp. 22–23). The studies differed in Josselson’s identity
formation process, which is presented as a subconscious process while Kegan’s and Marcia’s
formation of identity occurs over the lifetime of an individual. It is viewed as a continuously
evolving progression (Curry, 2000). Identity was defined by Josselson (1987) as follows:
21
The stable, consistent, and reliable sense of who one is and what one stands for in the
world. It integrates one’s meaning to one self and one’s meaning to others; it provides a
match between what one regards as central to oneself and how one is viewed by
significant other’s in one’s life…identity is also a way or preserving the continuity of
self, linking the past and the present…in its essence, identity becomes a means by which
people organize and understand their experiences and share their meaning systems with
others. What we choose to value and deprecate in our systems of ethics—these form the
core of our sense of identity. (pp.10–11)
Identity is complicated even in its simplicity (Erikson, 1959; Josselson 2012). Therefore,
women of color in education and specifically within the Timberlake Public School District are
trying to hold true to who they are as individuals as well as carve out their work identity in a
manner that is balanced, measured and continues to represent who they are and what they stand
for as human beings. Identity is the integration of self-image, self-reflection, individuality, and
self-esteem with the perception of future development and includes an awareness of group
membership, expectations, social responsibilities, and privileges according to group membership
(Spencer, 1988; Thomas & Speight, 1999; Weinreich & Saunderson, 2003). If there is confusion
as to a person’s group membership, there will be issues relative to indoctrination, adaptation,
allegiance, and the formation of alliances (Cross, 1994, 2001). The pressure to conform to
spoken and unspoken norms of the organization (being available at all times via email, text, or
phone call or working relentlessly in pursuit of excellence at your school site) causes individuals
to lose themselves, leading to burnout and, in most cases, leaving the organization.
Historically, an African American slave got his or her identity from the slave owner’s
name, a particular gift they possessed, their trade or occupation, or a unique identifier that set
22
them apart from other slaves or whatever name decided upon by the slave owner (Ani, 1996,
McKissick & McKissick, 2004). This enforced choice and European worldview (Ani, 1996,
1997) is a leftover construct from the slavery era that has continued to blur the lines of self-
identity for African Americans and African American women specifically (hooks, 1996, 2013)
because, as explained, every world view generates a set of metaphysical definitions and can only
be explained or understood using those definitions as reference points. Gross distortions and
misconceptions result when alien metaphysical conceptions are injected into a cross-cultural
analysis of a given world view. Unity, harmony, spirituality, and organic interrelationships make
up the Afrocentric world view, while the European world view is much more compartmentalized
into control (power relationships), conflict (tension), materialism, and mechanical relationship
(Ani, 1997). These are opposing viewpoints of the world which result in contradictory
predicaments in the workplace and other settings.
African Americans have experienced feelings of social ineptness, depression, and identity
confusion because they live and work in a society that is extremely different from what they
know or have been raised to know culturally and historically. Women of color have always had
to make identity choices outside of the home in order to assimilate to the norms of society and
continue to add to the narrative of having to “code switch” or “be different.” In essence, women
of color live two lives within the constructs of society. There is a level of socialization that
happens to women of color from a young age that furthers shapes their identity that leads to the
duality of life.
Since race and gender are a central component of one’s identity, being African American
is an important aspect of one’s identity. Therefore, having to maneuver through an unfriendly
atmosphere with little or no support, isolated, and marginalized, African American women must
23
develop viable means to coordinate their hectic work schedules with family activities and
provide time to meet their individual and personal needs.
Socialization Theory
Weidman’s (1989) undergraduate socialization theory is based on the “viewpoint of
sociology, the study of the processes, purposes, and effects of human interaction” (p. 14).
Weidman (1989) believed that students only became what they were socialized to become based
only on what they were exposed to during their social experiences, be it educationally or
environmentally. Herein lies the multitude of problems encountered by African American
women in education. Historically, African American boys and girls are not inherently socialized
to interact with White boys and girls, which leads to less socialization as adults (Cross &
Vandiver, 1998; Cross & Strauss, 2001; hooks, 1984, 1990a, 2000; Johnson-Bailey, 2010;
Weidman, 1989; Weidman et al., 2001; Welch & Hodges, 1997). Johnson-Bailey (2010) is still
haunted today by the dismantling of her friendship with Diane, a White girl from her first grade
class. Diane’s mother decided to abruptly end their “play dates because school-age children
could not have friendships that crossed racial lines, so when we began first grade, we could only
watch each other from the vantage of our respective porches” (p. 9). As a child, Johnson-Bailey
(2010) felt the helplessness of the situation but was even more dismayed at the realization “that
there were racist systems in place that the Black adults who ruled my world were powerless to
challenge or change” (p. 11). Existing, although somewhat invisibly (DuBois, 1903; Ellison,
1952; Tuitt, 2003; Reid, 2012), within a society as socially inept as this (Bell, 1992a; Cross,
1971, 1995), many African American women have distrust and wariness where White women
are concerned (Dace, 2012b; Torres, 2012).
24
Strained relationships date to the slavery era when Black boys and girls were given to
White children of their slave masters (Gates, 2011) as “play pretties” (Angelou, 1970, p. 51) or
toys and later were abused as sex objects and/or beaten by the same children who were once their
playmates. A mammy who once nursed a child can eventually be either a whipping post or a bed
warmer. Thus, confusion exists relative to identity issues and socialization. Why would I
socialize with my abuser, the person who wields power over my body and mind? Sandler (1992)
determined that women in general are bombarded with external environmental, structural,
psychological, and sociological factors. These adverse influences, when coupled with societal
exclusion and devaluation, can impede the attainment of personal goals as well as the self-
efficacy of African American women in administration (Henry & Glenn, 2009).
Environmental constraints for the most part cannot be controlled, such as the people one
must come into contact with to achieve personal goals, the quantity of time spent with others, the
quality of the interactions, and the time necessary to complete tasks (Sandler, 1992). When
looking at social interactions relative to work, Sandler (1992) included structural factors on
mentoring, such as work values, environmental constraints, the goals and objectives of the
organization, and how it is manifested in the top-down management of the populace employed.
Cross and Strauss (1998) theorized that social identities of Blacks changed based on their
“everyday functions prompted by the role of stigma that must be managed” in their lives daily
(pp. 267–268). In Nigrescence Theory, it is acknowledged that a Black identity is multi-leveled
and can include multiple races and ethnicities, gender and sexual issues, religious concerns,
disability, and class. Although Whites can also possess most of these social identity issues, being
Black, presumed incompetent yet entertaining, criminal yet trusting of Whites, or viewed as a
highly sexual being is not one of them (Cross & Vandiver, 2001; Anthony, 2012; Yancy, 2008,
25
2012). With the dubious, conflicting, and multiple layers of identity, it is seemingly improbable
if not impossible to effectively socialize children in a society when the parent has not had the
opportunity to become a valued component of the world in which he or she lives and works
(Harris, 1993; Johnson-Bailey, 2010).
To further understand the plight of African American women, one must start at the
beginning: the family unit from which she came. Gender socialization originates within the first
social institution: the family (Thomas & Speight, 1999; Weidman, 1989). From slavery,
colonialism, and current ideology, socialization of African American females has been wrought
with conflict, since they were not brought to the United States as part of a family unit to remain a
family unit (Gates, 2011). African American women were forced into slavery only to work and
for their bodies to be used as sex objects and to produce more workers (Gates, 2011; Rankin,
1998; Yancy, 2008). Since it was illegal to teach slaves to read, attending school was not a part
of their workday (Gates, 2011). Parents are ultimately charged with socializing their children in
regards to gender and race in hopes of acclimating them into the society in which they live
(Thomas & Speight, 1999). It is the most important component of the early development of a
child’s concept of I-ness and self-ness (Josselson & Harway, 2012; Thomas & Speight, 1999).
Racial and gender socialization must occur in order for individuals to develop positive views of
who they are, their value in society, and the contribution of which they are capable. This
socialization is also necessary to effectively nourish their physical, spiritual, and emotional being
in a hegemonic environment that places them on the bottom (Bell, 1992a; Lee, 2002; Sanders
Thompson, 1994; Thomas & Speight, 1999).
African American parents have the task of racially socializing their children to teach
them about racism. Some African American parents transmit messages that espouse a
26
Eurocentric worldview where everyone can live and work together, even though they are aware
that this is not the belief of the dominant culture (Thomas & Speight, 1999). Other African
American parents relay messages to their children that borders on passive/aggressive (i.e., we
live here let’s just make the most of it; there’s nothing we can do; Johnson-Bailey, 2010). Some
African American parents are even at the point of denial. To them, it is better to exist as if racism
and sexism do not exist, even while living within an oppressive environment (Thomas &
Speight, 1999). Then, there is another group of African American parents who racially socialize
their children to be strictly a part of the Black experience: the Afrocentric worldview (Ani, 1996,
1997). African American parents who are confronting issues relative to racial socialization may
have little time to deal with gender socialization within their homes. If African American parents
were not racially and/or gender socialized, the task of providing racial and gender socialization
to their children may, in fact, be problematic (Thomas & Speight, 1999).
Family interactions usually set the stage for gender roles early in the development of
children that follows them throughout their life cycle to adulthood (Erikson & Erikson, 1997;
Josselson & Harway, 2012; Lakoff, 2004). Mothers are often in a more submissive role while the
fathers are seen as disciplinarians and the persons with the power (Lakoff, 2004). The girl
follows the steps outlined by the mother, and the son follows the father’s role. In many families,
the wife and daughter cook, clean, and cater to the father and the male children (Lakoff, 2004).
Daughters are taught to be submissive and exude a “nonforceful style” (Lakoff, 2004, pp. 216).
Tannen (2003) stated that children, especially male children, expect their mothers to comply
when making a request, but use a different inquiry tone, mode, and method when dealing with
their fathers. Unfortunately, relative to African American parents and parental roles within the
family, the findings are inconclusive due to lack of adequate research (Thomas & Speight, 1999).
27
Studies regarding African American single women family structures and racial and gender
socialization are even more scarce just as there is a lack of studies on the language used by
women to racially and gender socialize their children.
Black males are gendered and racially socialized about self-preservation on how to
respond when stopped by police officers. Black females are either encouraged to practice docility
to attract a mate equal to her status (mainly in middle class African American households) or
hostility (to survive in an urban, lower socioeconomic environment; Kunjufu, 1984; Narcisse,
1999). An old African American adage, “Black mothers love their sons and raise their
daughters,” is still seen as prevalent in Black households today relative to rearing children
(Kunjufu, 1984; Mandara et al., 2010).
A study conducted by Mandara et al. (2010) concluded that latter-born Black males were
socialized distinctly different from early-born Black males and females within the African
American household. The latter-born males were more aggressive, confronted their mother more
than the other siblings, earned lower grades, and had less responsibility than their siblings did at
the same age. Two scholars, hooks (1981) and Pinderhughes (1986), wrote of the “protective
stance that many African American women take toward the men in their lives (brother, father,
husband and son)” (McAdoo & Younge, 2009, p. 109). Black women fail to hold Black males
accountable to the family due to institutional racism and extra barriers they encounter daily
(McAdoo, 2007; McAdoo & Younge, 2009). Black parents may set higher performance goals for
their daughters and place more confidence and self-reliance in them than their sons (McAdoo,
2007; McAdoo & Younge, 2009). Additionally, some Black parents believe that their daughters
might fare better in a society that does not support competence in Black males and, subsequently,
have lower expectations for their sons (McAdoo, 2007; McAdoo & Younge, 2009). They take
28
this stance thinking that their daughters will be more acceptable to the dominant culture but fail
to take into account the double bind and the triple threat she has stacked against her even more so
than their sons (Silverstein, Auerbach, & Levant, 2002).
Other African American families engage in gender and role equality with no preferential
treatment for their daughters or sons. The sons cooked and cleaned as did the daughters, and the
daughters took out the garbage and completed yard tasks alongside the males in the family (Hill,
2002). These parents wanted to instill a sense of pride in their children that they were as good as
anyone else even though the society they lived in denigrated the Black males and perceived the
Black females as being ugly, “unfeminine and emasculating” (Lawrence-Webb et al., 2004, p.
626). Yet, Lakoff (2004), Ochs and Taylor (1995), and Tannen (2003) found that gender-related
dialogue was similar to that of White families. Ochs and Taylor (1995) theorized that parents’
language narrative begins with an unequal societal role which yields differential gender
socialization. The mother acts as a mediator or liaison and tries to draw the father into the
conversation with the children. The children are to speak to him as the “Father knows best”
power figure who is the problem solver and judge (Tannen, 2003). Children raised in these
family structures tend to either have less respect for their mother or are closer to her, depending
on individual power or solidarity dimensions within the family unit (Tannen, 1990, 2003).
Lee and Ahn (2013) and Neblett, Banks, Cooper, and Smalls-Glover (2013) determined
that ethnic/ racial identity and racial socialization had a significant impact on feelings of ethnic
and racial pride, depression, and low self-esteem of African American female and male college
students. If their parents, peers, or social environments provided 102 instances of positive racial
socialization, their response to negative and depressive situations on campus or in their personal
lives was met with a positive racial identity (Neblett et al., 2013). The opposite occurred with
29
students who did not receive positive racial socialization from their parents, peers, or social
environments. This caused depression, stress, and mental anguish (Lee & Ahn, 2013). African
American parents sharing positive image messages with their children and/or exhibiting racial
pride behaviors that fostered wellbeing bolstered their racial identity and prepared them to cope
with racism (Neblett et al., 2013).
In essence, African American women were never meant to be a part of the educational
landscape, especially not as administrators in education. They were not socially bred to be
included in education, voting, employment, or any of the civil rights listed in the Declaration of
Independence and the United States Constitution. Due to race and gender inequities and societal
norms relative to beliefs, African American women were not only excluded from entering the
educational realm at the lowest levels, but they had to create methods to access learning and
acquire the basic tenets of knowledge while literally trying to stay alive and connected to their
families. Basically, African Americans, especially African American women, were socialized to
neither be seen nor heard. The critical race issues that were perpetuated legally through an
oppressive society did little to grow a cohesive and shared relationship between African
Americans and Whites whether male or female. However, in some instances, Whites used their
connections, influence, and finances to assist in the securing of freedom and education for
African Americans during the slavery era to the point of losing their resources and lives.
Currently, there are some Whites who still exert those same assets to support various
causes relative to the uplifting and unification of society. Yet, these actions have not made a
significant change in the good ol’ boy machine that still denies African American women an all-
access pass to the ivory tower of education administration that includes peer support, financial
equality, exchange of knowledge, resources and access to informal and formal mentoring,
30
networks, and peer-related activities. Critical race theory writings assert that racism is inherent
and salient to the everyday life of Whites and are not isolated incidents as some would have one
believe. Critical race theory advocates were skeptical about social changes allowing “historically
excluded groups to achieve and maintain a valued place in American life” (Asch, 2001, p. 1).
If the dominant power structure would not benefit from the changes, the changes would
not take effect because “social institutions and human-made environments were created without
taking into account the characteristics of all people” (Asch, 2001, p. 3). This can be said relative
to African Americans and African American women being “denied access to vote, education,
employment, housing, transportation” (Asch, 2001, p. 3) and access to social privileges enjoyed
by non-Blacks. Since there were no obvious benefits to Whites to allow these options to be
shared by all citizens, these civil rights were vehemently opposed even after the passage of
appropriate legislation to enforce the new laws. Women’s rights groups felt that there were no
differences regarding access to vote and education for women and failed to realize that African
American women did not participate in this civil liberty until more than 40 years after their
White counterparts, and then under the threat of violence. African American women who have
managed to acquire senior level positions of authority within education have had to confront
several unique challenges to maintain the status quo. These challenges include attacks on their
intelligence, race, gender, and ethical identity.
Confronting threats to one’s ethnicity, gender, and gender identity on a daily basis
requires the use of significant and differing techniques. Functioning within an oppressed society
in an oppressive power structure day in and day out take a toll on individuals’ perspectives of
who they are and their value in society in which they live and work.
31
Chapter three will detail the methodology used in this research study. It will explain what
was done, the tools used and allow space to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research.
Finally, the chapter will provide the rationale for choosing these methods.

32
Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the research methodology for this qualitative
grounded theory study regarding the self-efficacy and sustainability of women of color who are
administrators in the Timberlake Public School District. This approach will allow for a deeper
understanding of women in this category and help to develop theory from the data to understand
the connection between sustainability and self-efficacy of women of color in educational
administration. The applicability of grounded theory and a constructivist approach will be
discussed in this in this chapter. The research plan, including the methodology, study
participants, procedures, analysis, method, and ethical concerns are also primary components of
this chapter.
Research Questions
This study sought to build a theory in answering the following research questions:
1. How do the unspoken work expectations for women of color play out in their
sustainability and self-efficacy?
2. What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability as an
administrator who is a woman of color?
3. How does the lack of sustainability in the workplace as a woman of color impact self-
efficacy?
Methodology
A qualitative study approach using case study design is appropriate when the goal of the
research is to explain a phenomenon by relying on the perception of a person’s experience in a
given situation (Stake, 2010). As outlined by Creswell (2003), a quantitative approach is
appropriate when a researcher seeks to understand relationships between variables. Because the
33
purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of women of color who are
administrators at the district, a qualitative approach is the appropriate choice.
Grounded Theory Methodology
This study was performed using grounded theory methodology. “Grounded theory is a
respected qualitative way of moving from individual knowledge to collective knowledge” (Stake,
2010, p. 17). Introduced to the research community in the 1960s, grounded theory is “the
discovery of theory from data” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 1). Glaser and Strauss (1967) created
this methodology where theory could emerge by methodically coding interviews with terms that
succinctly and conceptually summarize each phrase, line, or word.
Charmaz (2006) explained that “grounded theory contains both positivist and
constructivist inclinations” (p. 127). Birks and Mills (2011) and Charmaz described the positivist
philosophical positions as a view that comes from the human experience with complete
objectivity, understanding a human’s perception is imperfect. Birks and Mills and Charmaz
described the constructivist philosophical position as a view that comes from the human
experience relative to their paradigm, influenced by society, culture, or other external influences.
This study was conducted using grounded theory with a constructivist approach.
Interpretive grounded theory, of which the constructivist tradition is a part, aims to
“conceptualize the studied phenomenon to understand it in abstract terms, articulate theoretical
claims acknowledge subjectivity in theorizing and offer an imaginative interpretation” (Charmaz,
2006, p.127). This study sought to conceptualize the phenomenon of each participant’s
experience, to understand in abstract terms built through coding the data from interviews and
build a theory based on the interpretation of their shared experiences.
34
The emphasis is on the phenomenon and the reflective nature of the research as the
theory evolves (Charmaz, 2006). Reflecting on the evolving theory throughout the research will
be important in guiding changes in interview questions during the study to uncover more details
of the theories that emerge. The work of Bryant and Charmaz (2007) formed the basis for this
study, outlining the tenets of grounded theory methodology that were used in this study. Bryant
and Charmaz outlined tenets such as coding, generating memos, analyzing data as it is generated
to build theory, selecting core categories from coding, and generating theory. Together, the
procedural steps used in applied grounded theory methodology helped the researcher to
continually see the data through a fresh lens to foster the potential for new theory to emerge from
the data (Charmaz, 2006).
Positionality
The researcher has worked in education for 18 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in
English, a Master of Arts in Human Development, and a Master of Arts in Educational
Leadership. As an African American woman who is an administrator and have worked in some
of the more difficult educational settings and have felt the pressure to perform in a manner that is
impactful for students, families, the community and the districts that I have worked with.
Additionally, no participant had a direct relationship with the researcher that would present a
conflict of interest. The researcher is trained in the skills necessary to carry out the study as
designed.
Study Participants
The sample was drawn from a population of women of color who work or worked as
principals or assistant principals in the Timberlake Public School District. Participants were
recruited through the researcher’s existing professional networks. Purposive sampling (Merriam,
35
2009; Patton, 1990, 2002) was used to identify the research participants. This type of sampling
allows subjective selection by the researcher to obtain a sample that is representative of the
population.
Inclusion Criteria
Table 1
Inclusion Criteria
Women of color:
• 30 years or older
• Administrators (principal or assistant principal)
• Work in Timberlake Public Schools for two years or more as administrators
• Previously worked in Timberlake Public School
• Have a master’s degree or higher
• Who have been in education for seven years or more

Data Collection and Instrumentation
The study used an interview protocol as well as observations where both the interviewer
and the interview questions and observational field notes were the instruments used. Memos
were used to capture the researcher’s thoughts during and after each interview. The interviews
were recorded electronically using an iPhone. Although the interview protocol was followed, the
researcher also collected documents that pertain to the participants, such as curriculum vitae,
publications, and other related materials.
Data Analysis
The researcher coded the transcripts in the order of the interviews conducted, which
allowed the researcher to reflect and edit the interview questions as theories began to emerge
from the data. The researcher also used narrative analysis to capture and preserve the personal
lived stories of the women interviewed. Coding was also used to aid the researcher in
understanding the perspectives of the participants and in analyzing their combined experiences.
36
Codes were created during the research process, based on the data for the purposes of analyzing
the data, and coding was conducted manually.
The process of analyzing, reanalyzing, and comparing new data to existing data is known
as constant comparison (Birks & Mills, 2011; Urquhart, 2013). As each phase of coding began, it
was important to continue reviewing the data in previous phases so that connections were
constantly being made until saturation occurred. Coding terminology used for this dissertation
was adopted from Urquhart (2013) who termed the three phases of coding as open, selective, and
theoretical.
Open Coding
Open coding is the phase when transcribed interview text is coded line by line (Urquhart,
2013). Line-by-line coding is a critical part of grounded theory methods (Birks & Mills, 2011;
Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Urquhart, 2013). It is what its name reflects in that each
line of the transcribed interviews was coded by using a few words to describe the data, as
suggested by Urquhart (2013), Birks and Mills (2011), and Charmaz (2006). This method of
coding helped the researcher focus in depth on every interview. This method also helped instill
the discipline of grounded theory where the theory emerged from the data itself. Coding line by
line in open coding typically results in many codes (Birks & Mills, 2011; Urquhart, 2013).
Selective Coding
Selective coding begins to occur when there are no new open codes or when codes relate
only to the core categories that begin to emerge (Urquhart, 2013). In general, the terms
categories and constructs are interchangeable across the grounded theory methods (Birks &
Mills, 2011; Urquhart, 2013). Some selective codes may emerge more often than others.
37
Sometimes, a single selective code becomes a prominent theme, or a theoretical code (Birks &
Mills, 2011; Urquhart, 2013).
In selective coding, the researcher strives to find categories emerging but will, hopefully,
not have as many selective codes as open codes. Urguhart (2013) suggested revisiting the
selective code categories if too many selective codes emerged from the original coding.
Reinforcing that coding is an iterative process, Urguhart suggested that the researcher review
selective codes to see if selective code names best represent the open codes or selective codes
identified. Urguhart also suggested that looking at the selective code attributes and potential
relationships can help the researcher distinguish between open, selective, and theoretical codes.
Theoretical Coding
Division among grounded theorists exists regarding when exactly theoretical sampling
begins. Charmaz (2006) asserted that theoretical sampling begins after categories emerge. Birks
and Mills (2011) argued that theoretical sampling can begin during open coding, as the initial
data starts to reveal concepts that begin to signal potential theories or explanations of
phenomena. Theoretical coding occurs when the codes and categories that emerged during open
coding and selective coding are compared and relationships are found between the codes or
categories (Urquhart, 2013). The theory or phenomenon emerges from these relationships. All of
the coding is iterative. New codes should be constantly compared to existing data to determine if
new categories emerge and whether these new categories are densifying. Memos are important to
the theoretical coding process and should be included in constant comparative analysis.
Ethical Considerations
The researcher ensured that ethics would remain a priority throughout the study.
Following the methods as outlined in this chapter was paramount to ensuring the study’s validity
38
and reliability. There was an informed consent form read to each participant prior to the
interview. The letter of informed consent follows U.S. federal guidelines, as outlined by
Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias (2008), including “a fair explanation of procedures,
description of risks reasonably to be expected, a description of benefits reasonably to be
expected, an offer of inquiry regarding the procedures, and an instruction that the person is free
to withdraw” (p. 75). The risks to human subjects associated with this study were minimal. All
participants were over 18 years of age, and did not demonstrate any impaired mental capacity, as
determined by their ability to perform the positions they hold in the workplace. Meeting these
criteria qualified them as participants in this study. Additionally, all recorded materials will be
erased after 5 years, following final approval by the research committee, minimizing any future
risks related to confidentiality.
Summary
The goal of this chapter was to outline the research method used to answer the research
questions. A discussion of the procedure, study participants, data collection, instrumentation and
ethical considerations outlined the specifics of how the study was conducted and who
participated in the study. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to develop
theory on self-efficacy and sustainability as it relates to women of color who are administrators
in urban educational settings leading to promising practices that can be used in the organization.
All study participants will contribute to this theory by sharing their experiences in the workplace
and their perspectives of what helped them stay motivated to increase their self-efficacy and
sustainability in the workplace.

39
Chapter Four: Findings
This qualitative study was conducted to explore the experiences of women of color who
are administrators in education and who are current or former employees of the Timberlake
Public School District. This case study recognized the fact that women of color are becoming
one of the fastest-going subgroups in the organization. These women come from various
backgrounds in education and come to the district to work at either their middle school or high
school because they believe in the mission of helping to transform public education so all
students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life. The organization’s performance
problem surrounds the idea of sustainability and its connection to self-efficacy for women of
color who are administrators. Does a lack of sustainability have a direct negative impact on one’s
self-efficacy, or does sustainability have no bearing on one’s self-efficacy? This is a problem
because, currently, there are no true sustainability solutions or practices used organizationally to
support the growth of women of color. This ultimately leads to burnout, and, ultimately, women
who exit the organization because they assume they cannot meet the verbal and non-verbal
expectations set forth in the organization.
Finding a solution to this problem will increase the retention of women of color in the
organization and possibly grow that talent pool. Women of color make up 28.5% of
administrators within the organization. This problem hinders the organization’s goal to retain
90% of its leaders and does not allow the organization to grow and be a sustainable management
organization for leaders who want to be in the Timberlake School District to work toward the
mission in service of all students.

40
Theoretical Framework
The findings of this research center around the theoretical framework of critical race
theory (Bell 1992, 2000) and identity theory (Erikson, 1950, Josselson, 1996). CRT is a
movement (Crenshaw et al., 1995; Matsuda, 2002; West, 1992, 1993) that was formed to assist
in the analysis of how “race and racism fit into the subordination role of people of color” (Torres,
2012, p. 121). Critical race theory, although thematically rooted in racism, is based on the
premises founded in critical theory by legal scholars of color to critique societal norms relative to
oppression (Closson, 2010a, 2010b). Critical race theory is a viable analysis tool in education.
Just as critical race theory plays a role in giving voice to the minority perspective, identity theory
narrows the focus to the individual and how one’s identity shapes who one is and how that
foundation shapes one’s existence. Individuality, identity theory, and ethnic identity
development (DeCuir-Gunby, 2009) may also contribute to the sociological, psychological, and
structural factors that further delve into the impact of sustainability and self-efficacy of women
of color on their effectiveness as administrators in urban educational settings. Therefore, the
findings were examined through the lens of critical race theory and identity theory as
foundational frameworks.
Finally, the participants in this study were selected based on specific criteria. The
researcher conducted the study to identify the relationship between self-efficacy and
sustainability of women of color who work in the Timberlake Public School District. The study
included (a) the self-identity and individual lived experiences of the six administrators who are
women of color, (b) the educational background of the women, (c) the supports provided to them
as they worked in the district, and (d) whether there was a connection or a disconnection between
their self-efficacy and sustainability within their work as administrators.
41
Research Questions
There were three guiding research questions: (a) How does the unspoken work
expectation for women of color play out in their sustainability and self-efficacy? (b) How does
the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability impact the work of an
administrator who is a woman of color? (c) How does the lack of sustainability in the workplace
as a woman of color impact self-efficacy? This research will serve as an informative blueprint to
current and future women of color who are administrators and provide baseline resources for
developing and designing a more structured and cohesive way to bring work-life balance and a
culture of reflective practice to reduce burnout, stress, and an early exit from the district in
addition to strengthening the bond between self-efficacy and sustainability.
Profile of Participants
To provide a more complete picture of each participant, a detailed description is provided
in this chapter. Each profile includes personal data such as age, educational background and
ethnicity, current employment status as it relates to the organization, marital status and gender
identity. Of the six participants, four have left the district and the remaining are still in the
district. Of the four women who left the district, two have remained in Southern California and
the other two moved away: one to Boston, Massachusetts and the other Northern California. The
two remaining women have been a part of the organization an average of 10 years. The other
women have an average of nine years in the organization. The table below provides a snapshot of
the participants.

42
Table 2
The Participants
Name Age Marital
Status
Ethnicity Gender
Identity
Educational
Background
Employment Status
Noah 40 M AA female M.A. No longer with org.
Davis 41 S LA female M.B.A (Ed.D.
candidate)
No longer with org.
Christian 38 M LA female M.A (Ph.D.
candidate)
No longer with org.
Anderson 39 M AM female M.A No longer with org
Williams 38 S AA female M.A. In the org.
Peters 43 S AA female M.A (Ph.D.
candidate)
In the org.

Although the women in this research project share several common traits, for the
purposes of this research, they have very different lived experiences as educators that ultimately
led them to Timberlake Public School District. Once in the district, their experiences were still
varied. Nonetheless, there were many common threads in their stories, as the findings highlight.
There are persistent and pertinent nuances that can only be heard in their individual and
collective voices through this research.
Findings Themes
Throughout this research, the interviews, and the coding and disaggregation of data, the
following themes surfaced, and they will be discussed in correlation and connection to the
research questions. The overall themes are diversity, sustainability. and value. All three of these
themes were discussed through the lens of being elements that are lacking in the organization for
women of color. Finally, when synthesizing and coding the data, a secondary theme emerged
that pertains specifically to African American women who are administrators in the organization.
It centered around the idea that Black women are inherently better equipped to work with
African American students, are seen as able to “take more” than their non-Black counterparts
43
when it comes to the workload on campuses, and being described as “linchpins” on their campus
by certain members of the academic leadership team. This secondary theme was almost always
connected to the research questions when distilled down, and the focus was solely on African
American women. The major and minor themes were definitive in the data and shown via the
participants’ narratives and lived experiences as expressed during the interviews.
Findings
The findings of this research will be organized by and presented through the research
questions that were stated above with the secondary theme as a connector to the research
questions that apply specifically to the participants. The first exploration of the findings is
through the question of expectations and sustainability.
Research Question #1
The first research question asked, “How do the unspoken work expectations for women
of color play out in their sustainability and self-efficacy?”
Theme: Lack of Sustainability
The women’s approach to this question centered around the organization’s workplace
culture. In general, Timberlake is run by and consists of people who are invested in providing
and creating positive outcomes for the students they serve. As the district grows, there was a
general thought that this continues to be the driving force behind the way the district evaluates its
effectiveness and refines its systems over time. From their experience and/or observation,
women of color were often placed in the transformation schools, which was the case most often
for African American women. Transformation schools, sometimes referred to as turnaround
schools, are public schools once operated by a school district that are now operated by public
charter schools and continue to serve students who live within the attendance boundary. There
44
are unique challenges to “turning a school around,” as these schools require much more time,
energy, and effort, thus making the work difficult because there are many moving pieces. An
administrative team is essentially charged with creating change within old systems and structures
(instructional and cultural) that were deemed less successful in the past. This charge is coupled
with the fact that change is occurring with the remaining teachers and staff members whose
school was taken over. There are feelings of loss, hurt and not being good enough, and that is
why the district made such a drastic move.
All of the women in this study were placed at either one of the two transformation
schools in the district or an independent school that was low-performing with the charge to make
gains. Though the women were excited to effect change on these campuses, they imagined that
they would work more, but they did not know how unsustainable the work was going to be and
what they were expected to accomplish at their school sites. Though Timberlake was a very
driven school district, little mind is paid to the sustainability of the job. However, the participants
all believed that sustainability is valued in the district but not practiced due to the amount of
tasks that need to be completed, which often leads to being overwhelmed. Christian stated,
I worked so hard every single day, and I loved being an assistant principal and being on
my campus with the kiddos, but, man, it was really hard to get everything done, and I left
campus daily feeling like a failure. Not meeting expectations really eats away at your
self-efficacy.
Christian found it hard to balance all of the moving pieces with the fact that she had a principal
who expected her admin team to be on call nights and weekends. Although that level of
availability is not a part of the job, it was an unspoken expectation that she quickly learned
45
because she wound up behind and barely meeting last-minute deadlines, all at the expense of her
personal wellbeing.
Timberlake Public Schools District prides itself on an intensive professional development
strategy, as it is known for continuous research-based learning strategies that will improve
student outcomes. For instance, once per month, principals and assistant principals attend all-day
professional development sessions where sustainability is addressed. There was discussion about
how to make the work sustainable and what that would actually look like on a campus. Anderson
said,
I think the district was trying to do the right thing because they knew we were all burnt
out, but they also had no idea what that would look like, so we talked about it, gave
possible suggestions, but nothing much became of it, and we all kept working.
There was no formal strategic action plan that came from the talks at the professional
development sessions. Small things happened at the monthly professional development sessions,
like starting at 8:30 am as opposed to 8:00 am or taking a mindful moment during the
professional development day. Though well-intentioned, those actions did not address the
workload demands expected of all administrators. It seemed as if the organization wanted to be
on par with other districts and say that there is a plan for sustainability, but it did not have
tangible skills or next steps that went beyond the discussions at the monthly professional
development sessions. Given this fact, it was difficult for any of the participants to take the
sustainability in the professional development setting seriously because it had no direct impact
for change in their day-to-day lives as administrators on their campuses.
Because Timberlake is very results-driven, people worked countless hours to “make it
happen” or to “get it right” for the students and their families. Noah and Davis both stated that
46
“We all worked hard, stayed late, missed engagements with our families and friends in the
pursuit of making our schools better places for our students.” This meant, working an average of
70 hours per week at home, staying late at their school sites to catch up on work, or staying for
after school events and meeting with parents and teachers to ensure they were being fully
supportive as administrators. Another phenomenon the women spoke about was Timberlake not
being a family-friendly place to work, which leads to attrition added to the fact that work was not
sustainable for women of color. One woman talked about how sustainability was a possibility at
the beginning of her tenure and then grew slowly out of reach in stages based on where one was
in one’s life. Peters commented,
Essentially, being single with no children is ideal in the organization because it allows
you to work numerous hours, be the one who is the last to leave during school events, and
allows you to really get things done. Conversely, when that person gets married, there are
times when jokes are made, such as, “Wow, I guess you won’t be pulling all-nighters
anymore,” or “I guess you’ll be leaving early.”
She went on to explain that, once the person has a child, it changes everything, as that individual
begins to create their own boundaries for their life so that they can be with their family. Another
woman described it as a constant pull and push to do what is right for your own family and what
is right for the students with whom you work on a daily basis as well as showing the organization
that your personal circumstances do not affect your productivity and success as an administrator.
However, there were two results: neglect of personal family or neglect of school family. Either
one leads to a sense of helplessness because the district does not have an answer to bring balance
to the sustainability issue. Therefore, most women of color end up leaving the organization or
47
they end up divorcing their partner, though the latter happens less often than the former.
Christian lamented,
What are you supposed to do? How do you live, how do you breathe, how do you feel
good about the work that you do when you can’t balance it all? It is very depressing
because you’re losing all the way around.
African American Women ’s Perspective
When it comes to African American women in the organization, four women mentioned
the legacy of racism and White supremacy still exists within the educational system and can be
seen in some of the actions of the Timberlake Public School District. A previously stated,
women of color are placed at some of the toughest schools in the district. African American
women are specifically placed at transformation schools because they are seen as connectors to
the culture and to the students. They are called upon to work with higher numbers of parents of
African American students because, as Noah stated,
As a Black woman, I must know how to connect or can relate to another Black woman.
Never mind the fact that we probably had different upbringings and life experiences and
the only connection is that we are both Black and women.
The African American administrators knew that their team members put them in positions to
interact with the community and parents solely because of race. This becomes an added
unspoken expectation placed on Black women. Not only are they at a school that has a more
challenging environment, but, more often than not, they are called to be the Black face on
campus to deal with students and parents who share their race identification. On top of this, there
is more time and effort spent building and creating meaningful systems to work within because
there is generally a higher turnover rate and there is no historical handoff to build upon. Many
48
things are created from scratch. Therefore, working late and on weekends is a given because it is
perceived that “we will go above and beyond for kids that look like us because we know and
understand what is at stake for Black children,” Williams stated with disdain. This ultimately
made the women feel as if the success of Black children at their school sites is dependent on their
presence, involvement, and a certain unnamed skill set that they have to meet the needs of
students. This rhetoric feeds into the unspoken work expectations, especially for Black women,
because they are placed in high-stakes situations and are expected to be successful, often times
with little coaching from their direct manager because they are seen as having the ability to be
successful because of their positionality within the African American culture. In the end, this
subgroup of women either rises to the challenge, which is unsustainable in the long run, or, met
with pockets of success, they leave the organization feeling as though they did not do enough.
They may also feel they were seen as incapable of handling the job, and, in turn, sought
employment elsewhere to meet their work-life balance needs.
Summary
In short, the unspoken work expectations for women of color at Timberlake Public
School District, as the research shows, is not sustainable and is damning to their self-efficacy.
They recounted stories that outline how unsustainable their work is on a daily basis. These
women work on average of 70 hours per week and have found that, as they grow in life as
partners and parents, the work at the school site becomes even more unsustainable, and they
struggle to balance work and home. Given that the organization is extremely mission- and
vision-driven, one is thrust into an environment where working relentlessly for the pursuit of
positive student outcomes is essential for success, and women of color are central drivers, which
is the unspoken push of the district.
49
People are celebrated for their “do whatever it takes” approach that aligns with the
district’s unspoken rule. However, the participants in this study stated in multiple ways that this
unsustainable work expectation weighs heavily on their self-efficacy. With that, the women
experienced feelings of self-doubt, depression, and not being strong enough to handle the
workload and balance their personal lives. They begin to second guess themselves as they
engage in various tasks at their school sites: “Can I do this?” “Is this right?” “What are the clear
next steps?” The research found that lack of sustainability impedes one’s self-efficacy because
all of these women are goal-oriented and desire to reach their goals, but, as one participant
stated, “I could never keep up with the demands, so it became demoralizing and/or depressing.”
Conversely, this unspoken work expectation is much more intense for African American
women based on who they are racially and culturally in addition to the school in which they are
placed during their tenure as administrators. Given this reality, African American women feel an
additional pressure to be relentless and excel in all they do at their schools because it feels as if
much is riding on their success. All of the participants agree that they entered Timberlake Public
School District with a very strong sense of self-efficacy. However, there was a shift over time,
holes being bored into their self-efficacy as they worked more, pushed harder, and suffered loss
in other areas of their lives or fell short of the results expected.
In sum, these findings suggest the district will continue to lose women of color from the
administrative ranks, and the ones who do stay will experience a level of burnout that is not
healthy personally or professionally. They will experience a decrease in their self-efficacy over
time. District leaders must address issues of sustainability at the workplace, put into practice
strategic plans, and continue to refine the system through progress monitoring. These efforts
would greatly reduce the feelings of not being good enough because doing it all is not the goal.
50
There should be clear boundaries for work expectations and supports from the district office
when needed. The load cannot be carried alone, and women of color should not have to feel the
weight of the organization on their shoulders via unspoken work expectations. These findings
suggest there is a bigger issue at large connected to value and diversity. Women of color are in
leadership positions at their school sites and at the district office. There is very little
representation of Latinx women and Asian women, yet, it exists, but, this representation is absent
for Black women, thereby leaving no one to advocate on their behalf when decisions are made
and school assignments are given/decided upon. This only helps to perpetuate the cycle of
attrition when it comes to sustainability as it connects to self-efficacy.
Models of female leaders of color are not common, and many of the leadership books do
not address the complexities of identity and leadership. The often-shared examples are of
successful leaders who come from the dominant culture and, therefore, have fewer reasons to
question whether they belong in leadership roles. The women in this research did not have
mentors who had had experiences similar to theirs. There was no one to really help them explore
the relationship between their identities and their leadership, causing them to feel pushed to the
side and marginalized and ultimately not seen or validated for the work they were doing and
successes they achieved on their school sites. Thereby, they felt forced to either leave the
organization because they felt demoralized and/or depressed or to rely on friends and family
outside of the organization to help rebuild their self-efficacy so that they could continue the work
for students, families, and the community and remain in the organization.
Being a woman of color in a leadership role in our society is not easy, but it is important
that we develop more of them as we work to disrupt the status quo and create a more equitable
society. Representation matters and, when Timberlake Public School District can have more
51
women of color in leadership positions at both the school site and district level, it will provide
more opportunities for multiple perspectives to be heard and leverage their diverse assets to grow
stronger together in service of students, families, and community.
Research Question #2
The second research question asked, “What is the symbiotic relationship between self-
efficacy and sustainability as an administrator who is a woman of color?” In connection to the
unspoken work expectations for women of color and their imprint on sustainability and self-
efficacy, the second research question sought to explore and unpack interdependent relationship
between sustainability and self-efficacy from the perspective of a woman of color. The findings
pertaining to this question unpack this relationship as the women explored this question through
their interviews.
Theme: Lack of Sustainability
A symbiotic relationship is largely recognized as one that is mutually interdependent, be
it good or bad. There are three types of symbiotic relationships. The first is mutualism. In this
relationship, there is benefit to both parties involved. It can be seen as a win-win. The second
type of relationship is commensalism. There is a shift in this type of relationship where only one
of the parties involved benefits from the relationship, but the other person is not affected and
remain neutral. Finally, the third type of symbiotic relationship is parasitism. Unlike the previous
two types of relationships, this is one in which one person benefits while the other is harmed.
These explanations of the types of symbiotic relationships are key because, almost always, the
women in this study describe Timberlake Public Schools as a parasitic host.
52
As each participant dug into this question and dissected it from the lens of a woman of
color and an administrator, it became evident that there is a symbiotic relationship between self-
efficacy and sustainability, and the identified host is the district. Noah stated,
If you really look at things, Timberlake is the parasitic host that harms women of color
because of their unrealistic demands of us, which pokes holes in our self-efficacy because
the work is unsustainable. You can never meet your district goals, let alone your
individual growth goals.
Thus, it ends up becoming a brutal cycle. The theme of lack of sustainability was a resounding
force throughout the entirety of this research, as it was front and center in all of the women’s
responses and seen as damaging to their self-efficacy.
All of the women felt highly self-efficacious upon entering the organization, yet, over
time, realized that it changed as the work became unsustainable and was coupled with doubting
themselves and their ability to be successful. When we circled back to goal setting during the
interview, it was noted that, in order to do the work and do it well, one should only do their
assigned tasks in order to see the light at the end of the unsustainable tunnel. Davis said,
It often seems like doing the required items is the only way to make the work sustainable,
but that doesn’t feel good, make you feel like a value-add to the team, and, sometimes,
they don’t make you feel that like you are when you work like that. It almost feels
embarrassing in this organization because it seems as if you can’t handle all of the tasks
set before you and then some, and it is definitely not a good look in the organization.
What recourse does a person have in these instances when Timberlake Public School District is
the harmful host? The women really enjoyed being in the organization and the work they were
doing. That is why they remained in the district for upwards of 10 years, and what they were
53
looking for was a change in practice so that they could remain for the long haul. Anderson
asserted, “Timberlake is a place where you go through the cycle of learn, grow, burnout, move
on. That’s the common story in the administrator ranks.” In that burnout phase is where self-
efficacy takes the most abuse. They are constantly racing against the clock to meet the needs of
their campus, the district, and their own personal goals only to feel as if they are not moving the
needle in any of the categories. Williams reflected,
It is tough but rewarding work, but, man, I can’t tell you the number of times in a week
that I question myself about my ability to be able to do this and be good at it. I have one
more year left, and I will have to go. I can’t keep feeling this way. I need more bright
spots.
Given these preliminary accounts, the findings suggest that the symbiotic relationship between is
strong as sustainability is tied to work completion that feeds into goal completion.
All of the women claimed to have high sustainability and high self-efficacy in previous
roles. Though there were spikes in what felt like unsustainable workloads, they only lasted for a
period of time, were manageable, and did not affect their relational connection to self-efficacy.
However, there was a drastic change, albeit a relatively slow change. Most women said that,
within six months to a year of working at a Timberlake school, they felt the difference ,and there
were holes that were plaguing their self-efficacy and their job sustainability. Noah said, “The
host wants and needs a lot from us to look and be solvent, to be successful, so that, when we are
at board meetings, we can be above reproach. They glow, and we die to make it happen.”
Noah’s sentiments were touched upon by all women in this study: the idea of the district
being a parasitic host in a symbiotic relationship that is unhealthy and, whether one walks away
or stays, the result is the same: a damaged sense of self. Davis left the organization after seven
54
years because she and her husband chose to expand their family, and, during the time of her
pregnancy, she put in the same number of hours, if not more, to prove she could keep up and still
have an impact and get things done. Even within that unrealistic scenario, if she missed a
deadline, she was sent a reminder email from her principal informing her that the standards and
expectations remained the same even if her life had shifted/changed. Davis asserted,
[I] began to second guess everything that I did. I didn’t want to be the one to let the team
down and I certainly didn’t want people to assume that it was because I was an expectant
mother. That rhetoric is okay if you’re White but not okay if you’re a woman of color. I
had to have the same results.
Davis admitted that some of the pressure was self-inflicted, but she also knew the water cooler
talk about women who had children, and she did not want to be on that side of the conversation.
This is one example of how the break begins to happen in the relationship of positive and strong
self-efficacy and sustainability. Instead of having spikes of unsustainable workload over time,
those spikes become much more frequent and then continuous. There is no break nor time to
recoup or reorganize and reflect on what works well in these instances and what does not so that
growth in skills continues to happen in a manner that positively affects one’s self-efficacy.
Theme: Value
In connection, value was another point that was resoundingly raised when the women in
this project discussed the break in the self-efficacy and sustainability relationship. Christian and
Peters agreed in their interviews that they were not valued employees or change agents on their
campuses. For example, Christian stated,
There are individuals who were not women of color who had been promoted into the
organization’s management positions despite having some of the worst student data in the
55
organization. These promotions have occurred over women of color whose data had been
significantly better.
While not every woman was looking for a promotion to management, they were looking for
acknowledgement or recognition for the on-the-ground tangible results they were achieving at
their school sites. They felt unseen and unheard, but the opposite was very apparent if they did
not meet Timberlake's expectations when it came to positive student outcomes. Anderson
expressed,
They don’t see me or the work that I do. They want more of the same, but it certainly
changes if we are not always firing on all cylinders. I cried a lot. I felt as if I was never
good enough or working smart enough. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t true. I was really
just looking for a reason because the district never gave me one.
This ultimately led to her leave the organization because she could not continue in the negative
cycle of unsustainable work, not meeting goals, and not being valued that made her feel as if she
was not in the right space to contribute to changing the face of education for the students she
worked with on a daily basis. When she left the district, she took some time off to reevaluate and
reflect on what she wanted to do next in education and where she wanted to be geographically.
She and her husband moved back home to the East Coast where she began working as an
assistant principal at a high school. Her self-efficacy is on the mend, and she is doing well. The
work is sustainable, and there are measures in place to evaluate, give feedback, and celebrate
successes.
African American Women ’s Perspective
The African American women in this study have responses similar to those of their
counterparts when it came to the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability.
56
They also described Timberlake School District as parasitic in this relationship that is harmful to
their growth, sustainability, and self-efficacy as administrators. However, in the Black woman’s
experience in the organization, there is a sense that Black women do not have as much room for
error as their counterparts when it comes to opportunities for upward mobility. Williams stated,
Women of other backgrounds are often promoted in spite of their flaws or in spite of
mistakes that they have made throughout their career, whereas flaws or mistakes of the
same degree tend to be held against Black women, even when those flaws are coachable
or those mistakes are correctable.
This becomes a question mark for Black women, as they do not understand what they need to do
in the eyes of the district to be recognized or seen. Thus, they tend to work harder and feel less
self-efficacious as they try to prove themselves by continuously going above and beyond to be
seen, heard and valued.
The idea of being valued in this case was also linked to not being seen or heard in the
district. Even though African American women are not moving past the ranks of principal, they
are expected to be game-changers on their campuses even when they have already proven to
have changed the game on their campuses and have the data to support that claim. This, in turn,
continues the cycle of an unsustainable workspace and environment that further disrupts self-
efficacy in a way that is detrimental to Black women. They end up feeling there really is no
space for them within the district and that they are only needed to be the backbone for the school,
the worker, the Black face on an administrative team, a diversity hire, if you will, only to be seen
through the lens of Blackness and not through the lens of equity.
The final point that was specifically raised by African American women in relation to the
second research question was connected to diversity. At the district office, on the educational
57
team, there were no African American women. The educational team is comprised of the CEO,
the chief academic officer, the vice president of schools, the senior area superintendent, and the
six area superintendents. The purpose of the ed team is to drive the instructional and academic
focus for the district. The area superintendents work with a cluster of schools in their portfolio
and directly coach and support the schools’ principals to run effective schools that will grow and
achieve positive outcomes for all students. When reflecting on this composition, the Black
women noted there was no seat at the table that was representative or reflective of them.
This lack of diversity often yields gaps in decision making, partnerships, measures of
performance and effectiveness as well as relational trust. Though women of color who are non-
Black left the organization due to being unsustainable in its atomic make-up, Black women leave
the organization more often than their counterparts not only because of issues of sustainability
and self-efficacy but also because of lack of diversity. Williams stated, “There are a lot of things
that Timberlake gets right, but they have always missed the mark when it comes to the African
American administrators in this organization. We are overlooked.”
Given the fact that there is no advocate in the room during educational team meetings and
planning measures, the women discussed taking matters into their own hands by reaching out
and connecting with other Black administrators in the organization. At the time, there were only
two African American principals and only six African American assistant principals, and they
began to connect with one another. Because these numbers were small, they would go to dinner,
share lived experiences, and provide input as well as solutions to their existing issues. They
discussed how to address microaggressions from a colleague, looked at African American
student data holistically and by grade level, and thought through tangible next steps to move the
needle for the students on their campus. In essence, they ended up doing what they had always
58
done as Black women within the district by creating a way for themselves to exist in the
organization and be successful in spite of the fact that there was no leadership at the top to
advocate for them or their students or be a source of mentorship.
Summary
As the women who were currently in the district and those who had left reflected on the
network they created, they all agreed that, though it was hugely impactful, it was not enough and
there should be diversity. More pointedly, there should be an African American person on the
educational team for all of the reasons previously stated. Having representation at the site level is
a step in the right direction, but the district level is where the path is created for all stakeholders.
The women felt they had to fend for themselves and connect with and build a network of African
American leaders outside of the organization to seek the support that was needed from a
mentorship perspective as a leader. Often times, those relationships helped the African American
women in the organization navigate their intense workplace environment. The African American
leaders, both past and present, shared, “ the work was still unsustainable, but I began to feel a bit
more self-efficacious when we began meeting with one another.” There is no doubt that joining a
group that you can identify within the professional setting is one of the keys to success in the
constant fight for work/life balance as it connects to the sustainability and self-efficacy cycle.
Conclusion
Finally, in relation to the question of the symbiotic relationship of self-efficacy and
sustainability, the findings suggest there is a correlation, as one affects the other whether
intentionally or not. All of the women attested to the fact that being in this district is a rewarding
experience from the student impact point of view and that they had and continue to learn a great
deal in their role as either assistant principal or principal. However, there are blind spots when it
59
comes to being valued and in the area of diversity. Additionally, the toll that being in the
organization has taken on their lives, both personal and professional, was difficult to endure.
Thus, the findings were that there is a symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and
sustainability, but that relationship is heavily based on the sustainability part of the relationship.
Thus, as Timberlake is being looked upon as parasitic, they are the ones who set the standard and
tone for sustainability across the district. Once this is done in a manner that has measurable
results to meet the goal of sustainability the relationship will shift to one that is mutual between
the participants and the district. Until then, the attrition rate of women of color will remain the
same or possibly increase due to the fractured relationship between sustainability and self-
efficacy.
Research Question #3
Theme: Value
As the interviews came to an end at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and school
closures, the women expressed they knew that these uncertain times would be coupled with an
increase in workload and sustainability would be fleeting at best. Christian, who has since left
the organization, stated during the close of her interview, “I do not envy those ladies during this
time. Timberlake is going to pull out the all-hands-on deck-bat signal to prepare for what is next
in this somewhat unknown. They will be working and hard.” Her sentiments were matched as the
women who remained in the organization alluded to the fact that there would be more work and
planning to ensure schools and students are safe and still learning. The final research question of
this study relates to the lack of sustainability of the work environment and its impact on self-
efficacy as a woman of color. Specifically, the participants were asked, “How does the lack of
sustainability in the workplace as a woman of color impact self-efficacy?” The aim of this
60
question was to explore variables that might come into play or if the participants adjusted their
view of themselves and their work knowing that the work they were engaging in lacked
sustainability.
Lack of Sustainability and Value: School Site vs. District
With that, the findings as related to this question were interesting to stay the least. When
reacting to this question, a delineation was made between sustainability and self-efficacy and
their lived experiences at their school sites versus their lived experience at the district level.
Overall, the participants were uniform in their response when it came to a lack of sustainability.
However, when lack of sustainability and its impact on self-efficacy was broken down by school
site versus the district as a whole, the findings point to lack of sustainability at the school site
being more tolerable based on the leader of the school, the norms and expectations that he or she
set with their administrative team, and what that leader valued when ensuring the team could
function at as high a level as possible to meet students’ needs. Noah noted,
I had a strong principal who was not a woman of color but was very conscious and a
social justice advocate, so I was able to flourish at my school site, even though the work
was still unsustainable, I was able to make gains and meet certain goals.
This was interesting in that her self-efficacy was strongest when on her campus working with
that specific leader even in the midst of the work not being sustainable. Williams also stated,
At the school site level, working at one of the schools in the district with a larger
population of African American students and staff, I’ve largely felt affirmed as a leader at
my site and empowered to not only advocate for all students but also to call out issues
specifically and/or disproportionately affecting African American students.
61
Again, like Noah, Williams stated that the work was still unsustainable because too much was
required and everything was or is considered a high priority with the expectation of getting it
right for all stakeholders, but the participants’ self-efficacy at their school sites remained high.
The two participants who remained in the organization continued to have the same
experiences: higher self-efficacy in the midst of work that is unsustainable on many levels. They
all pointed to the characteristics of the leader of the school and how they ran and supported their
team. Peters, who is a principal, she agreed with the sentiment and stated,
I made the choice to be the buffer and provide a space for my assistant principals to be
able to breathe and grow. The work and the expectations in the district are what they are,
but I believe, as a leader at my school, I am charged with lifting the burden—whatever
that looks like—in support of the leaders under me.
This stance was not taken by all leaders in the organization, but the leaders the participants
worked with knew the power of retention and what that means for the growth of their school
over time in hopes that sustained consistency would decrease unsustainability at the school site
and continue to bolster self-efficacy and grow the school.
Value and Sustainability at the School Site
The principals of the schools where the women currently and formerly worked were
individuals who had vision and clear structures and systems in place, from instruction to culture.
They also knew the power of consistency and retention on a school campus, and that included
teachers, staff, and administration. Those were the foundational pieces on the road to
sustainability, and, without this, there would be high turnover because the school’s system as a
whole was unsustainable, leaving them to start over anew every few years, sometimes with less
staff and administration. Though the participants had not reached that level of sustainability on
62
their campuses, the leaders of their schools helped them to remain in the district or on their
campuses longer than expected. They did so by caring about them, asking them how they were
doing, making them take a day off, and creating an early-out schedule where they rotated leaving
15 minutes before the end-of-day bell rang, so they could go home and take care of themselves
and their families. The small things had a large impact on the assistant principals, and the
principal in this group saw a change on her campus. This shed light on the reason the women felt
more self-efficacious on their own school site versus the district because of the leadership,
shared values, and space to make the unsustainable less burdensome.
Value and Sustainability at the District Level
Conversely, when it came to the district, the lack of sustainability is heavily felt. As
previously stated, the district is extremely mission- and vision-driven. The organization is
committed to growing, learning, and adjusting course to meet the needs of the students and to
improve their academic outcomes. However, this continuous and relentless pursuit of results
takes a toll on employees in the form of lack of sustainability, especially at the school site level.
District leaders believe in the mission and vision, but the demands of the job coupled with the
expectations that lie within it leave much to be said about the shallow to non-existent
infrastructure of sustainability on the district level. Thus, the women of color in the organization,
specifically four of the women who participated in this research, left the district for various
reasons connected to lack of sustainability.
The Timberlake culture is one of “get it right,” meaning do whatever it takes. Therefore,
people work countless hours trying to do just that as the district creates new priorities based on
new and historical data. Anderson noted,
63
Everything in the district is a priority. Everything has a sense of urgency. It makes it hard
to prioritize, or your prioritization may not be in alignment with the district. Focus is
needed. We work ourselves into a frenzy over everything.
Anderson thought she was high-functioning and high-performing until she came to Timberlake
and realized that everything that she was doing would possibly never be good enough because so
much was expected.
At the district level, cumulative school site results are shared annually at the
administrators’ summer professional development meeting. Everyone sits with their school site,
there are different data presentations by district staff members, and all school sites are present.
This presentation is done in the name of transparency. For example, if your school had negative
or positive growth on state testing, it was shown and discussed district-wide. When you are new
to the organization, this can embarrassing if your school did not do well. Christian recalled her
first summer professional development session when her school had not done well on state
testing. She “distinctly remember[s] the room going silent and everyone looking at the projected
results and then trying not to look at our table. It was so humiliating and embarrassing.” She
recalled that, when it was time to discuss the results, it was from a deficit perspective:
essentially, what steps were missed by the administrative team, perhaps in coaching teachers or
school site professional development that led to the results. In more cases than not, they were
seeing the data for the first time during, which added to embarrassment if the results were less
than favorable.
This is an example of the workplace culture that contributes to the decrease in self-
efficacy for women of color at the district level. One is meant to feel as if the countless hours and
personal sacrifice are neither appreciated nor valued and that their energies were allocated to the
64
wrong places with the expectation of a strategic plan to address the gaps for better results in the
upcoming year. Thus, women’s self-efficacy suffers over time because there is no validation in
the work they do, like there is at their school sites. The women, in various ways, said the lack of
sustainability started to lower their self-efficacy because they felt as if they could never keep up
with the district’s demands.
When asked what was different between how they viewed their self-efficacy at the school
site level versus the district level as it relates to unsustainability, the women stated that the
district did not seem to consider schools’ differing needs. All schools were treated the same
regardless of budget, size, location, or student demographics. There was a specific school model
that all Timberlake schools adhered to, which did not necessarily align with the needs of the
school. This made it difficult to meet district goals. Christian worked at a transformation high
school where the needs of the campus and students were different from those of the founding
five high schools. The level of restructuring needed was based on low staff and administrator
retention rates and kept the campus in a perpetual state of starting over. Thus, the campus lacked
the consistency of an independent high school with a high retention rate. Even though the
differences were talked about at the district level, and those concerns were voiced at the school
site, not much changed. The expectations were still held. When asked why she thought this was,
Christian stated,
The district didn’t want it to be perceived that standards are being lowered for certain
schools and not others, but this is an issue of equity amongst schools in the district. They
didn’t see that. Results were always at the forefront.
It is critical to note that, even though this participant tried to reach the level of standard with her
school team, where she felt valued, she still believed her ability to complete tasks and meet
65
bigger network goals was lowered. Ultimately, she decided to leave the organization for a myriad
of reasons, but one was that she did not see light at the end of tunnel and could no longer fathom
how she could balance all that was asked of her and not feel like a failure on a daily basis. For
her mental and physical health and safety, she decided to leave the organization completely.
African American Women ’s Perspective
Similarly, the African American participants largely affirmed that there was a noticeable
difference between self-efficacy at the school site level and the district level. At the school site,
they felt more empowered and sure of themselves and the decisions they collectively and
individually made based on the needs of their students and families in relation to the resources
they had, their goals, and their vision for their school. At the district level, they saw themselves
as commodities for the cause in the pursuit of excellence paradigm and not for the humanity that
lived within the professional. At the school site and under their principals, the goals and demands
seemed attainable, and they felt that they were more than just a diversity hire or someone who
was put on a team to relate to African American students and families. Williams said, “On my
campus, I truly felt a part of my team and that my contributions were a value-add and
appreciated.” In spite of being affirmed at the school site, she agreed that the work was still
unsustainable. What is of interest is that the women all stated that, when there was a team in who
worked in unison with shared goals for the campus and a leader who checked in on them
mentally and emotionally and provided space to breathe, one could see the immediate or short-
term outcomes of their work in a much more positive manner, which kept their self-efficacy
high.
Conversely, when it came to their self-efficacy in relation to the district level, they
discussed how being in all-district meetings or even being at the district office for one-off
66
professional development sessions was nerve-wracking. They were aware of the unspoken
expectation of improved African American student data at their school site based on
positionality, which made them feel small and not successful when that level of success was not
attained. Therefore, being at the district office could prove difficult to navigate because there
were statements made such as, “I know you’ll create a strategic plan to help African American
students be successful on your campus,” as Noah shared. This individual’s comment negated the
fact that the success of all students, from planning to execution, was a team effort and did not
rest solely on one person. However, this statement was something that the women felt on a
regular basis when in district spaces. In addition, there was an expectation of success for African
American students because of who they were are racially and culturally.
Finally, the African American women in this study summed up their lived experiences at
the district office as pleasant because people were nice. However, the conversations that took
place around them or within earshot demonstrated a lack of sensitivity to race and reflected the
critical race theory tenet permanence of racism that exists within the Timberlake structure. Peters
asserts,
It runs the gamut from being mistaken for other Black school leaders whose only shared
trait is our Blackness, to being accused of making it difficult for team members to
connect with our Black students at my school site because they connect with me more, to
overhearing actual racist jokes in the district office when I was a resident administrator. I
regularly encounter individuals who clearly do not have a nuanced understanding of what
it is to be a woman of color in America, or, at least, in predominantly non-Black settings.
In totality, the words and actions described by the African American women in this study create
an added layer of stress and burnout, which leads to diminished self-efficacy and ultimately, in
67
some cases, exiting the organization when all of these variables are combined. Therefore, it was
not only the lack of sustainability that impacted their self-efficacy but also, who they are in
relation to the systemic structures of racism that are very much pervasive in society and hold
space in sectors such as education.
Summary
As the findings suggest the lack of sustainability in the workplace as a woman of color
lowers self-efficacy. The difference is how much it is affected based on setting over time. There
are two competing entities: the district and the school. As long as the women in this study were
on their school sites, they felt more efficacious, even though there was a lack of sustainability.
Having a leader to buffer the impact and truly see them for who they are and the work they were
doing increased the feeling of success. However, this changed when work shifted to the district
level and in professional development sessions and meetings with the education team, as the
women did not think they had opportunities or ability to cultivate themselves with upper
management. Without that relational trust, one’s best experience was dictated by one’s school
site leader.
Conclusion
In summation, the aim of this research was to explore the connection of self-efficacy as
related to sustainability. The focus participants were women of color who currently work or have
worked in Timberlake Public School District. Due to the attrition rate of women of color in the
district, it was paramount to explore why and what can be done to reduce the number of women
of color leaving the organization. The findings of this research revealed that there is a connection
to one’s self-efficacy based on the level of sustainability within the district. Chapter five will
68
provide a discussion and summary of the findings through the lens of the theoretical frameworks
of CRT and identity theory along with promising practices as related to this research topic.

69
Chapter Five: Discussion
The research examined women of color who are administrators at the Timberlake Public
School District. This subgroup has become one of the fastest-going subgroups in the
organization. These women come from various backgrounds in education and come to this
district to work at one of their middle school or high school because they believe in the mission
of helping to transform public education so all students graduate prepared for college, leadership,
and life. The organization’s performance problem centers around sustainability and its
connection to self-efficacy. There is a high attrition rate for women of color because the balance
between work and home is greatly misaligned, as the research has highlighted. This is an
ongoing problem, as the organization loses talented leaders every year because there are no true
and lasting sustainability measures to retain these leaders. Over time, their self-efficacy dissolves
to the point that they feel there is no choice but to leave the organization. Should they stay, they
remain insular and build small cohorts of support who affirm who they are and their value to
their campus and the organization as a whole. In short, they become withdrawn in order to
protect their self-efficacy.
This research project involved six women of color who either work in the organization or
have since left it due to issues of sustainability. The reasons for leaving, or staying, vary, but all
agreed that, though they loved the work they were doing, it came with the price of lowered self-
efficacy because of the pervasive lack of sustainability in the organization. Three research
questions were explored: How do the unspoken work expectations for women of color play out
in their sustainability and self-efficacy? What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy
and sustainability as an administrator who is a woman of color? How does the lack of
sustainability in the workplace as a woman of color impact self-efficacy?
70
The methodology used was grounded theory with a constructivist approach, which
allowed for the research to move from individual knowledge to collective knowledge. The
format helps one see that the individual lived experiences of the women are not a one-off
experience but a common theme for all participants. Finally, this research examined the practices
within the Timberlake Public School District as it relates to sustainability and self-efficacy in
relation to the participants in this project. Throughout this discussion, the findings will be
connected with the central tenets of CRT that apply to educational leadership.
Findings
Research Question 1: Critical Race Theory Tenets Tenet of Permanence of Racism and
Identity Theory
The first research question asked of participants was, “How do the unspoken work
expectations for women of color play out in their sustainability and self-efficacy?” The findings
were that women of color in the district are often placed in much more challenging schools.
These are schools that require more time, energy, resources, and effort, thus making it difficult to
complete tasks and meet goals. In turn, the participants' self-efficacy was lowered.
The unspoken work expectations are coupled with the “get it right” attitude and the
relentless pursuit of results for all students. Administrators, principals and assistant principals in
this instance, are charged with being change agents and are expected to do all within their power
to change the face of education for all students, even at their own sacrifice, both mentally and
physically. This charge feeds into the growing attrition rate of women of color in the
organization because the women knew that the district did not have a viable and tangible plan to
combat the lack of sustainability, let alone that of a workplace culture that is intense, high
energy, and results-driven at all cost to meet organizational big goals.
71
The idea of working without end and the do-whatever-it-takes attitude is one that
damages one’s self-efficacy and identity. As defined by Josselson (1987) identity is “the stable,
consistent, and reliable sense of who one is and what one stands for in the world. It integrates
one’s meaning to oneself and one’s meaning to others” (p. 24). The foundation of one’s identity
is also shaken when you lose your sense of self and what you stand for in order to meet the
workplace expectations. This loss contributes to the negative perception of self-efficacy that the
women in this study expressed about themselves.
The lack of sustainability that is woven into the fabric of this school district creates
unintended consequences that present as mental exhaustion, which is a stepping stone to burnout.
When one’s mental state reflects a reduction of confidence in one’s ability to exert control over
one’s motivation, behavior, and social environment (Bandura, 1997), one has to make a choice.
As Christian stated, “I had to choose myself at the end of the day. I needed to be healthy, go to
bed at a decent hour, and not feel embarrassed because it was actually too much all of the time.”
Ultimately, the women exited the organization because they assumed they could not meet the
organization’s verbal and non-verbal expectations. The damage lowered participants’ self-
efficacy because there were many unknown variables detailed in the work at their school sites
and at the district level. For example, working after hours and weekends was an unpleasant work
expectation, as shared by the participants. It was understood that, if they did not answer emails,
text messages or phone calls, they could miss out on important information that would shape the
upcoming week, and they would then have to spend time on Monday catching up in order to
organize and set goals for the week.
These expectations feed into the lack of sustainability that has a stronghold on the
district. A question that arises is why this continues to happen and what would change if those
72
emails waited until the next day or week. Would the outcome be damaging to the district or the
school site? These questions are left unanswered, but emotional exhaustion, depersonalization,
and sense of low personal accomplishment (Malach & Jackson, 1981) and low self-efficacy play
a role in decisions to leave the organization for women of color.
As Black women in the organization, mental and emotional fatigue was pulled to the
forefront by the participants who were African American because of the school sites at which
they were placed and the unspoken reasons for the placement. In short, the Black women in this
study were almost always placed at schools with larger African American student populations,
with traditionally higher staff and administrative turnover, and that lacked the resources to make
a difference on campus. Therefore, they worked harder and pushed more to make their schools
successful in light of the circumstances.
The mindset that leads to the district’s leaders making school site placement decision
points to the critical race theory tenet called permanence of racism. This tenet espouses that,
rather than viewing racism as random, infrequent, isolated, or out of the ordinary events (López,
2003, pp. 81–82), it should be viewed as something that has always been and always will be
endemic and pervasive in society. Therefore, placing African American women in schools with a
myriad of moving pieces because of their positionality in the community and students and are
asked to create change with limited resources speaks to the permanence of racism. These
decisions are made either consciously or unconsciously, yet they speak to a larger systemic issue
within the district, education, and society as a whole. This pervasiveness of racism exists even
though educational leaders may have addressed their own racist assumptions and beliefs or
participated in diversity training (Evans, 2007). It should be understood that working against
73
racism is a lifelong process, personally and organizationally, that has continuous and last impact
that can be felt and seen across the district (Theoharis & Haddix, 2011).
Confronting one’s own biases and racist actions is uncomfortable, it is the
acknowledgement and examination of one’s privilege, thoughts, and even how one was raised to
think about another culture and race of individuals. It can be unsettling but this is the continuous
work that needs to take place in order to disrupt the systems of racism within school systems and
education as a whole. Therefore, once Timberlake Public School District begins to examine their
practices through the lens of CRT tenet permanence of racism, one can begin is disrupt the cycle
of lack of sustainability that leads to a reduction in self-efficacy that feeds into reexamining
one’s identity as a leader and their impact which all causes burnout and ultimately, the attrition
of women of color in the organization.
Research Question 2: Critical Race Theory Tenets of Permanence of Racism and Counter-
Narratives
In connection with lack of sustainability, the second question the women in this study
were given to react to read as follows: What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy
and sustainability as an administrator who is a woman of color? The purpose of this question was
to examine how sustainability and self-efficacy influenced and impacted one another. One could
work in an unstainable environment and have there be no impact on self-efficacy, as in the
symbiotic relationship of commensalism where one of the parties benefits from the relationship
and the other is not affected. However, this is not the case for the women in this study. The
relationship they had with the district was toxic and parasitic. Timberlake Public Schools was
seen as the party that was always in need and expected everyone to give more, to improve the
outcomes for students, thereby creating an unhealthy relationship from the district perspective.
74
Williams, who is currently employed in the organization stated, “The saying, ‘don’t embarrass
the family’ is so real in Timberlake Public School District. The number of times I heard that
saying was unreal.” The saying speaks to the fact that administrators must show progressive
growth both inside of and outside the district. Williams discussed the fact that this phrase might
be said when one was representing the organization in outside events, conferences, and district
level meetings. The notion was that one should make no mistakes or take no missteps that could
make the organization look bad within a room of its peers. This type of pressure pushes the
narrative of lack of sustainability because there are numerous factors in success at the district
level that rest on work at the school site. The participants felt this pressure in all aspects of their
work from the district perspective which contributed to not feeling self-efficacious in these
spaces and feed into the workload increase within an already unsustainable culture of
performance.
Tomic and Tomic (2008) assert that the underlying syndrome of burnout is stress that can
lead to feelings of anxiety and lowered self-esteem. This is the experience participants had,
which led to a negative impact on their self-efficacy. Conversely, Tomic and Tomic also stated
that stress can lead to burnout or provide an individual with the desire to achieve. The findings in
connection to this research question support this assertion. The participants all made distinctions
where their self-efficacy was affected as related to the symbiotic relationship between it and
sustainability. They noted they felt more self-efficacious at their own school site, even though
the sustainability of their jobs was still lacking. The difference was in the relational trust, vision,
and value that the leader of the school had for the team who then created systems and structures
on campus as means to this end. Therefore, the research reflected the women felt valued on their
campuses in the midst of unsustainability.
75
A school leader is on the ground, engaging in the day-to-day actions and tasks of the
campus and has the job of creating consistency. From staff to students, their work is rooted in
making sure there are reliable systems in place that can run even in their absence. This entails
making sure the people who are in the work with you are supported, seen, and valued. This
connection becomes the energy between a school leader and the support staff, who then enter
into a space of vulnerability where they can give and receive without judgement and where they
will derive sustenance and strength (Brown, 2013). It is this connection that is missing from the
district level and why the women in this study were more sure of themselves and the work that
was done on campus because they were heard, seen, and valued. The question becomes how that
connection can be pushed from the school site upward to the district level so that the impact is
not only on individual school sites based on the leader but also district-wide, as that connection
becomes a common thread that dismantles unsustainability and helps to increase self-efficacy.
The critical race theory tenet of acknowledging the pervasiveness of racism in society
that shows itself in the educational sector (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) is widely recognized
as having lasting effects and goes beyond a single diversity training or school-wide professional
development session. It is a constant practice and a lens through which the organization must
work. When it comes to the school site level and the women in this study feeling more self-
efficacious, this directly supports the critical race theory tenet called counter-storytelling and
majoritarian narratives. This method of telling a story aims to cast doubt on the validity of
accepted premises or myths, especially ones held by the majority. Additionally, the majoritarian
narratives are also recognized as stories and not assumed to be facts or the truth (Solórzano &
Yosso, 2001). Given the foundation of systemic racism on which the educational system is built,
we have only heard the majoritarian narratives about people of color. This tenet addresses the
76
importance of personal experience shared via the narratives of people of color (Ladson-Billings
& Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Bernal, 2001; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). This study’s narratives are
positioned as counter-stories to the White norm at the individual, institutional, societal and
epistemological levels (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, Tate, 1997) and make visible the daily
microaggressions and societal and institutional racism that people of color experience.
Therefore, participants felt more efficacious at their school site with leaders who were not
people of color because they were given the platform to tell their story, and the person listening
had the ability to create change on campus that recognized the lived experiences that had an
impact on who they were, how they led and what they believed in. It was the women’s why
story, as it pertained to their educational experiences as students, teachers and, now,
administrators. A shift happens in the workplace when your voice and experience is valued. This
is what happened to the women of in this study. They all discussed this change at the school site,
and this points to the level of impact a school leader can have on her campus. It changes the
outcomes not only for the students, families, and community but also for the staff and
administrators.
This is why the women stayed in the district as long as they had, as the burden of
unsustainability had little to no impact on their self-efficacy, though it was recognized that the
relationship they had with the district in its entirety was toxic and ultimately unhealthy. Noah
stated, “I had a wonderful non-Black principal and assistant principal who modeled leadership
for me as a teacher.” When she became an assistant principal within the Timberlake Public
School District, she “had a strong principal who was not a woman of color but was very
conscious and a social justice advocate so I was able to flourish and it seemed that my self-
efficacy was cultivated and honored at my school site.” It is important to note that, even though
77
Noah was at a school led by someone who was not a person of color, she was able to grow in her
competency and know that she was supported because of the relational trust built between them
over time which enabled her to take the risk to share her counter-narratives that had an impact at
the school site.
In reflection, the relationship the women had with the district was not healthy. There was
a distinct change in their self-efficacy based on their sustained interactions specifically at the
district level versus the school site level. Being valued, seen, and heard and the subsequent action
taken from that point made the difference in how they created impact on their campuses that led
to feelings of success even in the face of unsustainable measures at the district level. The work of
education will never be easy, and it should not be, given the inequities that plague the system,
district, and the nation. However, under the right circumstances and leadership, the work can be
sustainable and, with that, systems can be put in place to make schools high-performing.
Research Question 3: Critical Race Theory Tenets of Counter-Narratives and Identity
Theory
The final question in the research project asked the women to look within and examine,
through reflection, how the lack of sustainability in the workplace affected their self-efficacy as
women of color. All of the questions in this project required a level of practical reflection in
order to share their lived experiences. However, this question required them to not just share
their narrative but to look at how their work inside of the organization shaped who they were as
leaders and their belief in their abilities to create real change within the district when there is an
imbalance of work and personal needs, both mentally and physically. Additionally, it caused the
participants to think about what they needed as professionals to move the needle of progress not
only for themselves but for future women of color who enter this district.
78
Though there were many points during the interviews where some, if not all, of the
participants experienced an emotional moment where they cried, these occurred most during the
response to this question. They had been sharing their thoughts and feelings through their stories,
but, this question caused them to think about the parts of themselves that had been lost. Even
though their work was rewarding in many aspects, it took a toll on who they were as individuals.
Those who left the organization had decided to choose a path away from the one they exited.
Christian said, “When I left the district, I had purposely chosen to go somewhere that is
perceived as easier coming from Timberlake, but, man, the guilt surrounding that decision was
so real.” This question, at its essence, asked the women to examine how leaving or staying in the
district affected their self-efficacy. Conversely, Peters, who is still in the organization, realized,
I am not ready to leave Timberlake. It could be because of comfort or because I have
unfinished business here, but I am still here, running my school, but, now, I protect my
sanity by surrounding myself with a strong support group and giving myself grace when I
don’t meet goals. I am learning to forgive myself.
These are powerful and reflective testimonies. The choice to stay or leave a certain
workspace can be difficult, and staying or leaving made the difference in self-efficacy and across
the board. Participants reported that their self-efficacy increased once they made a decision, be it
how they were going to stay to make the workplace as sustainable as possible or leave because
they saw no other way to reclaim who they are and their purpose. The lack of sustainability in
the workplace changed their perspective on their own self-efficacy and caused them to make a
choice for change for themselves.
The term “enmeshment” can be used to describe a situation where the boundaries between
people become blurred and individual identities lose importance (Koretz, 2019). Enmeshment
79
prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. These women had become
enmeshed with their jobs. They did not know who they were outside of their jobs. They had made
friends in the organization and generally spent time with them where they mainly talked about work
or worked. Their career was who they had become, and, when they were not at work, they slept,
trying to make up for the missed hours during the week. This learned behavior fueled the cycle of
unsustainability and reduction of self-efficacy. Moving out and past this cycle took reflection, but
that reflection and subsequent change came at the price of losing one’s partner, missing the events
of friends and family who were outside of the district, or putting off starting a family because they
could not add a baby to the organized chaos. These realities explain the increased attrition rate of
women of color. Through a tearful explanation, Davis said, “There is no way that you can do this
and be okay in the long run. It broke my heart to leave my school and my kids, but it was breaking
me.” She was leaving to find her way back to herself and to be more than just an assistant principal:
a wife, sister, friend, scholar, educational advocate and, hopefully one day, a mother.
Regarding the critical race theory tenet of counter-narratives and acknowledgement of
majoritarian narratives, there is a layered approach to this tenet that includes decision making.
Therefore, to counter the eruption and strengthening of the majoritarian narratives, the tenet of
counter-narratives suggests that leaders working to eliminate racism need to ensure that individuals
and communities of color are authentically included in democratic decision making about strategies
and plans to eliminate racial inequities. Leaders must seek the perspectives of students, families, and
communities of color and make public their stories, views, and examples of how the current system
is not working for them (Knaus, 2014). This can also be applied to the educational leadership at
Timberlake Public School District.
80
One of the issues that emerged when answering this research question was that of diversity
on the academic side of senior managers at the district level. It was noted that the organization has
blind spots that created persistent issues in the culture at the district level. I would argue that the
blind spots are mostly due to a lack of diversity in leadership, which yields gaps in decision making,
partnerships, measures of performance and effectiveness as well as relational trust. Although the
district is committed to learning and growing in order to prepare all students for college, leadership,
and life, there are very few women of color who have a seat at the upper management table and that
seat is non-existent for an African American woman. Thus, in the spirit of the critical race theory
tenet permanence of racism, it is important for Timberlake Public School District to under the
enormity and pervasiveness of the structural, political, economic embeddedness of racism
throughout the history of and currently within the United States (Horsford, 2010a) and how it is
amplified throughout applications to education and educational leadership (Ladson-Billings, 1998;
Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995).
The lack of sustainability cost the women in this project on a personal level, and all agree it
had a negative impact on their self-efficacy. It has taken time to rebuild what was lost over time, but
where do they go from here? How do they move past this experience and use it to create change in
their current or next roles as administrators? The answer lies in the use of counter-narratives, raising
their stories to the top, and advocating for what they need to be successful. It will be important for
Timberlake to expose aspiring leaders to multiple perspectives of leadership through the sharing of
lived professional experiences and through exposure to diverse leadership philosophies, styles, and
practices that have proven effective with administrators at schools in communities of color.
This critical race theory tenet of counter-narratives and decision making plays a key role in
the findings related to this question because, without a seat at the table, or no one there to advocate
81
for them, the participants felt as if they had to create their own way to work-life balance, which
resulted in them leaving or becoming insular. Both outcomes had a negative impact on their self-
efficacy because sustainability did not seem plausible within the work environment. Hiring or
promoting educators of color, especially Black women, and creating working conditions for them to
thrive and to be genuinely mentored as leaders will move the needle toward a balance of
sustainability and self-efficacy in the work place. Although participants cannot speak for all of their
race or community, they offer important counter-narratives that are critical to equity decisions.
Limitations
The limitations of this student center around the sample size and time. This study consisted
of six participants. Though there was a mix of representation of women of color in Timberlake
Public School District, this research would have benefited from at least two more participants and
one of them being from upper management. Given the fact that the women in this organization carry
a hefty workload, other participants were not able to carve out time for an interview that would
allow for the researcher to meet the deadline, nor for the participant to be available for follow-up
questions should that be needed. The final limitation of this project is centered around time. Though
the interviews were detailed, they were scheduled in time increments. For example, I had to
schedule multiple sittings to complete the full interview for many of the women due to time
constraints on their part due to their hectic schedules.
The final limitation is connected to the timing of the study. The interviews were conducted
in late January, February, and March of 2020, which was at the beginning of the COVID-19
pandemic. The women in this study experienced school closures on March 13, 2020. Though all of
the interviews were completed, there was a second round of follow-up interviews scheduled that
bled into the school closures. These follow-ups would have dug deeper into the themes of value and
82
diversity that surfaced during the initial interviews. Given the uncertainty of the times, it was
understandable that tensions and emotions were running high because of the state of affairs across
the country and the additional round of follow-ups did not occur.
Delimitations
The delimitations of this study were put into place to make sure that the goal of this research
did not become impossibly large to complete. Therefore, boundaries were set so that a finite set of
data were collected in order to meet tangible outcomes for this project. The delimitations included in
this study were the research questions as they pertained to a specific group of individuals whose
lived experiences had a direct correlation and connection to the purpose of the study. Secondly, the
participants of the study and shared commonalities, they were women of color who were past and
current administrators within Timberlake Public School District and who were in education for
roughly the same about of years in total but had been in Timberlake for more than two years as an
administrator. This criteria helped to further narrow the focus when it came to creating research
boundaries for achieving the goals of this project.
Implications for Practice
The results of this research can be used in the K-12 education sector to help create
sustainable systems within the district setting for administrators. The proposed practices will have a
multi-tiered effect on changing the workplace climate, which will ultimately create a sustainable
system of success for administrators.
The first two implications for practice are connected to the critical race theory tenet that
speaks to the permanence of racism. Timberlake Public Schools District’s educational leaders must
develop an anti-racist identity which evolves through a series of stages and is ongoing. To date, the
educational leadership has traditionally focused on preparation, but more work needs to be done on
83
how leaders can further develop an anti-racist identity for themselves and help their staff and
students develop anti-racist identities. Gooden and Dantley (2012) offers suggestions for anti-racist
identity development based on his analysis of African American administrators, including future
administrators who need to understand individual, societal, and institutional racism. For example,
the district can have its leaders move through a series of stages: racial literacy, racial realism, racial
reconstructions, and racial reconciliation. They can also have their leaders engage in the activity of
writing their racial autobiographies and then analyze them using the racial identity development
models. Developing an anti-racist identity goes beyond attending one workshop or engaging in
readings on White racism. This identity will only occur as a result of leaders being committed to
lifelong work on their own authentic relationships with people of color and their experiences.
Secondly, in connection to developing an anti-racist identity, the educational leaders need to engage
in informal, individual conversations with their administrators. These conversations should also be
done whole-group during professional development week as well as be revisited during the monthly
administrators’ meetings.
The critical race theory tenet of counter-narratives reiterates the importance of hiring
educators of color and creating a workplace culture that allows them to thrive and grow in their
practice as leaders. Therefore, Timberlake Public School District has to ensure that decision-making
teams are racially diverse and representative of both their school communities and their
administrators. Thus, the counter-narratives will work against the majoritarian stories by non-people
of color that mask as the only truth in opposition to equity work.
Finally, these results can be used to design and provide an opportunity for mentorship for
women of color who are administrators in the district. The modules can also be used to train current
administration on methods to identify and adapt to the needs of women of color new to the district.
84
The use of counter-narratives can be a foundational piece in this design framework. The mentoring
modules can be centralized with human resources, and an administrator of color can be matched
with another woman of color in the organization upon hire so that they work together to create
sustainability. Prior to the match, the new hire would complete a survey or questionnaire to ensure
the best possible match with an administrator. The district can also build partnerships with
institutions of higher education to build connections with aspiring leaders who are women of color
to create a pipeline for hire for the district. This long-term mentoring concept must also involve
progress monitoring that includes a space for upward feedback from the mentees to the mentors and
the administrative leadership team to strengthen the program for the best outcomes for all women of
color who enter the district.
Future Research
The recommendation for future research centers on using counter-narratives to inform hiring
practices and leader development at the district and school site levels. As previously stated, counter-
narratives are needed to create a work environment that positions educators of color to thrive and be
mentored into leadership positions. Naturally, the narratives of the administrators of color cannot
speak for all of their race or community, but they offer important counter-narratives that are critical
to upper management’s equity decisions. McCray, Wright, and Beachum (2007) analyzed the hiring
practices of African American principals in one state and found African American principals were
most likely to be hired in majority African American schools. It is important to note that those
schools were also under-resourced and had high turnover rates. Conversely, White principals were
hired for majority African American, diverse, and majority White schools. Though having an
African American role model at the school site is important for students to see, African American
principals should also have the opportunity to lead diverse and White-majority schools. Therefore,
85
equity leaders should consider two points when inviting and integrating counter-stories from
individuals of color: (a) the ways in which White privilege and majoritarian narratives act upon and
have socialized administrators of color and (b) racial essentialism. These points are related to the
CRT tenet that speaks to the endemic nature of racism. Thus, hiring managers and administrators
must analyze and anticipate how their staff may react against equity work. Therefore, leaders will
need to do the pre-work of educating staff in ways that undo the dominant majoritarian narratives
(Aleman, 2009; Gooden & Dantley, 2012; Khalifa et al., 2014).
Conclusion
Timberlake Public School District is a force among school districts with the same student
demographics and size. The work is truly changing outcomes for students. They are a group of
individuals who are invested in improving outcomes for the students they serve and truly a change
agent in the market. Leaders come to the district because, overwhelmingly, they identify with its
vision and mission. The leaders find likeminded individuals who work hard to change the face of
public education for all students. It is an organization that is committed to learning, growing, and
doing things differently to achieve student success. The principles and ideas that stoke the fires of
greatness at the district are wrapped around the BIG goals, progress monitoring and assessment, and
making sure that everyone “on the bus” is going in the right direction. It is an organization that
prides itself on getting it right and making good on the promises that were made to families to
provide their students with a quality education that prepares them for college, leadership, and life.
All districts have lofty goals, but there is something different that makes Timberlake special
as they work relentlessly to achieve their goals. They are mission-driven and vision-aligned, and
that is how they continue to move forward in the work. The purpose of this research was to examine
what happens when the intense drive of the organization creates an unsustainable work environment
86
and, further, how that lack of sustainability affects the self-efficacy of women of color who work in
the district as administrators? How do they cope and survive, and what happens to their identity and
sense of self? The results of this study confirm that lack of sustainability has a negative impact on
their self-efficacy, and this is why the attrition rate of women of color is slowly on the rise: their
personal judgement is impaired, and they feel as if they can no longer execute courses of action
required to deal with prospective situations (Bandura, 1997) on their campuses or in the district.
They are at a loss and choose to either leave the organization or stay and become insular in order to
make the moves necessary to operate on a day-to-day basis at their school sites. The research further
found that the lack of sustainability leads to stress and burnout as well to grappling with one’s
identity: “Who am I outside of work?” Or, as Noah had stated, “Who have I become because of
work.”
At the end of the day, the great work being done with students, their families and the
community through Timberlake Public School District is the same work that is unraveling the
administrative staff of women of color and makes them leave or remain in conditions they placed on
themselves, ultimately leading to burnout and low self-efficacy. One way to combat this change is
to acknowledge that the system is broken and begin to address the breaks with all administrators in
mind, from hiring practices to lack of diversity in upper management to lack of sustainability. Only
then will the district see a change in the attrition rate of women of color because their self-efficacy
will be affirmed in a manner that speaks to who they are and what they need via shared counter-
narratives that effect change in the district. The road to change begins with a mirror up to the face of
the organization; to make ensure all students are prepared for college, leadership, and life, women of
color at the forefront of this movement must be able to work within a sustainable system that will
87
allow them to meet the end of service of the students, families, and communities with whom they
work to create change from within.

88
References
Aleman, E., Jr. (2009). LatCrit educational leadership and advocacy: Struggling over Whiteness
as a property in Texas school finance. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(2), 183–201.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680902744246
Angelou, M. (1970). I know why the caged bird sings. Random House, Ballantine Books.
Ani, M. (1996). Marimba Ani: Afrikan & Euro worldviews. http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/
open-forum/12708-marimba-aniafrikan-euro-worldviews.html
Ani, M. (1997). Let the circle be unbroken: The implications of African spirituality in the
diaspora. Nkonimfo.
Anthony, C. G. (2012). The Port Hueneme of my mind: The geography of working class
consciousness in one academic career. In G. Gutierrez y Muhs, Y. Niemann, C.
González, & A. Harris. (Eds.), Presumed incompetent: The intersections of race and
class for women in academia (pp. 300-312). University Press of Colorado.
Asch, A. (2001). Critical race theory, feminism, and disability: Reflections on social justice and
personal identity. Ohio State Law Journal, 62, 1–17.
Bell, D. (1987). And we are not saved. The elusive quest for racial justice. Basic Books.
Bell, D. (1992a). Race, racism and American law (3rd ed.). Little Brown.
Bell, D. (1992b). Racial realism. Connecticut Law Review, 24, 363–379.
Bell, D. (1993). Remembrances of racism past: Getting beyond the civil rights decline. In H. Hill
& J. E. Jones (Eds.), Race in America: The struggle for equality (pp. 73–82). University
of Wisconsin Press.
89
Bell, D. (2000). Property rights in Whiteness: Their legal legacy, their economic costs. In R.
Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.), Critical race theory: The cutting edge (2nd ed., pp. 71–
79). Temple University Press.
Bell, D., & The Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma. (1980). Brown v.
Board of Education and the interest convergence dilemma. Harvard Law Review, 93(3),
518–533. https://doi.org/10.2307/1340546
Brown, B. (2013). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live,
love, parent and lead. Penguin Random House.
Closson, R. B. (2010b). An exploration of critical race theory. In V. Sheared, J. Johnson-Bailey,
S. Colin, III, E. Peterson, S. Brookfield, & Associates (Eds.), The handbook of race and
adult education (pp. 173–185). Jossey-Bass.
Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., & Thomas, K. (Eds.). (1995). Critical race theory: The
key writings that formed the movement. New Press.
Curry, B. K. (2000). Women in power: Pathways to leadership in education. Teachers College
Press.
Gooden, M. A., & Dantley, M. (2012). Centering race in a framework for leadership preparation.
Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 7(2), 237–253.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775112455266
Horsford, S. D. (2010a). Mixed feeling about mixed schools: Superintendents on the complex
legacy of school desegregation. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(3), 287–321.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X10365825
Khalifa, M. A., Jennings, M. E., Briscoe, F., Oleszweski, M., & Abdi, N. (2014). Racism?
Administrative and community perspectives in data-driven decision making: Systemic
90
perspectives versus technical-rational perspectives. Urban Education, 49(2), 147–181.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085913475635
Knaus, C. B. (2014). Seeing what they want to see: Racism and leadership development in urban
schools. The Urban Review, 46, 420–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-014-0299-0
Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what’s it doing in a nice field
like education? International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education : QSE, 11(1),
7–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236863
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers
College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
López, G. R. (2003). The (racially neutral) politics of education: A critical race theory
perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(1), 68–94.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X02239761
Malach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). MBI: Malach Burnout Inventory: Manual research edition
(2nd ed.). University of California, Consulting Psychologists Press.
McCray, C. R., Wright, J. V., & Beachum, F. D. (2007). Beyond Brown: Examining the
perplexing plight of African American principals. Journal of Instructional Psychology,
34(4), 247–255.
Sari, H. (2004). An analysis of burnout and job satisfaction among Turkish special school head
teachers and teachers, and the factors affecting their burnout and job satisfaction.
Educational Studies, 30(3), 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305569042000224233
Tate, W. F., IV. (1997). Critical Race theory and education: History, theory, and implications.
Review of Research in Education, 22, 195–247 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1167376
91
Theoharis, G., & Haddix, M. (2011). Undermining racism and a Whiteness ideology: White
principals living a commitment to equitable and excellent schools. Urban Education,
46(6), 1332–1351. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085911416012
Tomic, W., & Tomic, E. (2008). Existential fulfillment and burnout among principals and
teachers. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 29(1), 11–27.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13617670801928191
Whitaker, K. S. (1995). Principal burnout: Implications for professional development. Journal of
Personnel Evaluation in Education, 9(3), 287–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00972643
Whitehead, A. (2000). Burnout among New Zealand primary school teachers. New Zealand
Journal of Psychology, 29(2), 52–60.

92
Appendix A: Consent Form
Informed Consent to Participate in a Research Study

Title of Research Project: Women of Color: Self-Efficacy and Sustainability as Administrators in
Education
Name of Principal investigator: Sonja Johnson
Phone Number of Principal Investigator: (xxx).xxx.xxxx

A. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
Sonja Johnson in affiliation with University of Southern California is conducting a qualitative
study. The purpose of my research is to explore the self-efficacy and its connection to
sustainability as it relates to women of color who are administrators in Timberlake Public School
District. There is a growing attrition rate in the district amongst women of color who are
administrators and my theory is that the attrition rate of women of color is connected to the lack
of sustainability within the district and it negatively impacts their self-efficacy. The purpose of
your participation in this research is to help the researcher uncover this phenomenon. You were
selected as a possible participant in this study because you meet the criteria of this research
study.
B. PROCEDURES
If you agree to participate in this research study, the following will occur: I will call you to set up
an appointment to meet for the interview. During the interview, I will be taking notes as well as
using audio to record our conversation. For your information, only researchers on the project will
be privy to the tapes which will be eventually destroyed after they are transcribed. In addition,
you must sign a form devised to meet our human subject requirements. Essentially, this
document states that: (1) all information will be held confidential, (2) your participation is
voluntary, and you may stop at any time if you feel uncomfortable, and (3) we do not intend to
inflict any harm. Thank you for your agreeing to participate.
I have planned this interview to last no longer than 90 minutes. During this time, I have several
questions that will cover your background as an educator, your demographics, and questions
about your sustainability and self-efficacy as an administrator within the Timberlake Public
School District. If time begins to run short, it may be necessary to interrupt you in order to push
ahead and complete this line of questioning. You might be contacted for a follow up interview
which will take roughly 60 minutes.

93

C. RISKS
The risks associated with this research are being uncomfortable speaking about the organization.
D. CONFIDENTIALITY
The records from this study will be kept as confidential as possible. No individual identities will
be used in any reports or publications resulting from the study. All tape recordings, written
transcriptions and summaries will be given codes and stored separately from any names or other
direct identification of participants. Research information will be kept in locked files at all times.
Only research personnel will have access to the files and only those with an essential need to see
names or other identifying information will have access to that particular file. After the study is
completed, data will be stored for at least five years after final publication and will be destroyed
after that time.
E. BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
There will be no direct benefit to you from participating in this research study. The anticipated
benefit of your participation in this study is helping the researcher explore this topic.
F. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION
Your decision whether or not to participate in this study is voluntary and will not affect your
relationship with the researcher or the University of Southern California. If you choose to
participate in this study, you can withdraw your consent and discontinue participation at any time
without prejudice.
G. QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about the study, please contact Sonja Johnson by calling
626.808.7366. You can also contact irb@usc.edu with any questions about the rights of research
participants or research related concerns.

94
CONSENT
YOU ARE MAKING A DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN A
RESEARCH STUDY. YOUR SIGNATURE BELOW INDICATES THAT YOU HAVE
DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY AFTER READING ALL OF THE
INFORMATION ABOVE AND YOU UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION IN THIS
FORM, HAVE HAD ANY QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND HAVE RECEIVED A COPY OF
THIS FORM FOR YOU TO KEEP.

Signature ________________________________ Date ________________
Research Participant

Signature ________________________________ Date ________________
Interviewer

95
Appendix B: Interview Protocol
Introduction
The purpose of my research is to explore the self-efficacy and its connection to sustainability as
it relates to women of color who are administrators in Timberlake Public School District. There
is a growing attrition rate in the district amongst women of color who are administrators and my
theory is that the attrition rate of women of color is connected to the lack of sustainability within
the district and it negatively impacts their self-efficacy.
To facilitate my notetaking, I would also like to audio tape our conversations today. Please sign
the release form. For your information, only researchers on the project will be privy to the tapes
which will be eventually destroyed after they are transcribed. In addition, you must sign a form
devised to meet our human subject requirements. Essentially, this document states that: (1) all
information will be held confidential, (2) your participation is voluntary, and you may stop at
any time if you feel uncomfortable, and (3) we do not intend to inflict any harm. Thank you for
your agreeing to participate.
I have planned this interview to last no longer than 90 minutes. During this time, I have several
questions that I would like to cover. If time begins to run short, it may be necessary to interrupt
you in order to push ahead and complete this line of questioning.

Research Questions

1. How do the unspoken work expectations for women of color play out in their
sustainability and self-efficacy?
2. What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability as an
administrator who is a woman of color?
3. How does the lack of sustainability in the work place as a woman of color impact
self-efficacy.

Interview Questions
Educational Background experience:
1. How long have you been in education?

2. How had that experience prepared your for being an administrator?

3. What brought you to Green Dot Public School District?
96
a. Follow up question: In what role did you come to the district? (teacher, counselor, admin,
etc)
b. Follow up question: when did you become an administrator?
5. Talk to me about the workplace culture of the organization.
Probe: What do you think has caused this type of culture?

6. What workplace culture factors do you feel have contributed to the increase in the
attrition rate among women of color?

7. What has been your experience within the district or at your school as a woman of color?
8. Talk about your work experience within the district as it relates to being an administrator.
a. Follow up question: How many hours do you work per day/week?
b. Is working __________ hours per day/week sustainable? Yes? No? Talk to me about
your thoughts?

9. What do you know about self-efficacy?

. Follow up question: how does being an administrator GPS play a role in your self-
efficacy?
a. Follow up question: do you see that as relational? If so/If not, tell me more.

10. Are the work expectations as a women of color equitable?

11. What barriers, if any, do you feel are impacting women of color who are in
administration?

12. What factors do you perceive would have (or had) an influence in you leaving the
organization?

13. Do you have any suggested next steps/thoughts for the organization as it relates to this
topic?

14. Would you like to share any final thoughts?

97
Appendix C: IRB Approval
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board
1640 Marengo Street, Suite 700
Los Angeles, California 90033-9269
Telephone: (323) 442-0114
Fax: (323) 224-8389
Email: irb@usc.edu

Date: Jan 23, 2020, 12:53pm
Action Taken: Approve
Principal
Investigator:
Sonja Johnson,
ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Faculty
Advisor:
Patricia Tobey
OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
Co-
Investigator(s):

Project Title: Self Efficacy as it Connects to Sustainability in Education
Study ID: UP-19-00727
Funding:

The University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (IRB) designee reviewed
your iStar application and attachments on 1/23/2020.

Based on the information submitted for review, this study is determined to be exempt from 45
CFR 46 according to §46.104(d) as category (2).

As research which is considered exempt according to §46.104(d), this project is not subject to
requirements for continuing review. You are authorized to conduct this research as approved.

If there are significant changes that increase the risk to subjects or if the funding has
changed, you must submit an amendment to the IRB for review and approval. For other
revisions to the application, use the “Send Message to IRB” link.

The materials submitted and considered for review of this project included:
1. iStar application dated 1/23/2020
2. Interview Questions for, uploaded 11/04/2019
3. Updated Interview Questions, uploaded 11/17/2019
4. Data collection and instrumentation, uploaded 11/04/2019

98
NOTES to PI:
Per USC Policy, someone may not collect data about people he or she oversees in a professional
capacity. Please ensure that someone on the study (represented in 2.1, with the required human
subjects certification) is able to serve as an independent data collector. Further, data must be
stripped of any identifying information before being provided to people who have the
supervisory relationship in order to protect the confidentiality of the participant responses.

INFORMATION SHEET

Consent and recruitment documents are not required to be uploaded for exempt studies;
however, researchers are reminded that USC follows the principles of the Belmont Report,
which requires all potential participants to be informed of the research study, their rights as a
participant, confidentiality of their data, etc. Therefore, please utilize the Information Sheet
Template available on the IRB website (http://oprs.usc.edu) and revise the language to be
specific to your study. This document will not be reviewed by the IRB. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to make sure the document is consistent with the study procedures listed in the
application.

SITE PERMISSIONS

The principal investigator for this study is responsible for obtaining site permissions. IRB
approval does not convey approval to commence research in the event that other requirements
have not been satisfied.

Funding source(s): N/A – no funding source listed
Attachments:
Information-Sheet-for-Exempt-Studies-07-27-2019.doc
2019-10-31_guidance-for-recruitment-tool-final.pdf

Social-behavioral health-related interventions or health-outcome studies must register
with clinicaltrials.gov or other International Community of Medical Journal Editors
(ICMJE) approved registries in order to be published in an ICJME journal. The
ICMJE will not accept studies for publication unless the studies are registered prior to
enrollment, despite the fact that these studies are not applicable “clinical trials” as
defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For support with registration,
go to www.clinicaltrials.gov or contact Jean Chan (jeanbcha@usc.edu, 323-442-
2825).
Important
The principal investigator for this study is responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals before
commencing research. Please be sure that you have satisfied applicable requirements, for example conflicts of
interest, bio safety, radiation safety, biorepositories, credentialing, data security, sponsor
approval, clinicaltrials.gov or school approval. IRB approval does not convey approval to commence research
in the event that other requirements have not been satisfied.
99

This is an auto-generated email. Please do not respond directly to this message using the "reply"
address. A response sent in this manner cannot be answered. If you have further questions, please
contact iStar Support at (323) 276-2238 or istar@usc.edu.
The contents of this email are confidential and intended for the specified recipients only. If you
have received this email in error, please notify istar@usc.edu and delete this message.

100
Appendix D: Theoretical Alignment Matrix

Research Question Theoretical Framework Data Instrument Questions

1. How do the unspoken
work expectations of women
of color play out in their
sustainability and self-
efficacy?

Critical Race Theory
(Crenshaw et at., 1995)

Socialization Theory
(Curry, 2000, pp 22-23)

Interview Questions: 4, 6, 9,
7

2. What is the symbiotic
relationship between self-
efficacy and sustainability
as an administrator who is a
woman of color?

Critical Race Theory
(Crenshaw, et al., 1995)

Identity Theory
(Josselson, 1990)

Interview Questions: 6, 8,
10,11

3. How does that lack of
sustainability in the work
place as a woman of color
impact self-efficacy?

Identity Theory
Rosemblum & Travis, 2012)

Critical Race Theory
(Matsuda, 2002)

Interview Questions: 4-10
Demographic Questions Interview Questions: 1-3 a, b

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this research was to explore the impact that the lack of sustainability had an impact on the self-efficacy of six women of color who have all worked as administrators in Timberlake Public School District. The study included an overview of the school district, it’s history and work place culture and sought to answer the following questions: 1) How do the unspoken work expectations for women of color play out in their sustainability and self-efficacy? 2) What is the symbiotic relationship between self-efficacy and sustainability as an administrator who is a woman of color? 3) How does the lack of sustainability in the work place as a woman of color impact self-efficacy? A qualitative study approach using case study design was appropriate because the goal of the research was to explain the phenomenon by relying on the perception of the women’s lived experiences within the school district. In person interviews were utilized by the researcher. Data were collected, reviewed, and analyzed using the open coding method. The findings revealed that there is a connection to sustainability and self-efficacy for women of color who are administrators in Timberlake Public School District. The recommendation for future research centers around how counter-narratives are used to inform hiring practices and leader development at the district and school site levels. As previously stated, counter-narratives are needed to create a work environment that position educators of color to thrive, be mentored into leadership positions. Naturally, the narratives of the administrator of color cannot speak for all of their race or community, however, they can offer important counter-narratives that are critical to equity decisions that are made in upper management.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Black middle school girls' self-efficacy for science

PDF

Women in STEM: self-efficacy and its contributors in women in engineering within community college

PDF

Women's self-efficacy perceptions in mathematics and science: investigating USC-MESA students

PDF

Impact of participation in STEM organizations and authentic learning experiences on women of color engineering students

PDF

Latinas’ self-efficacy in computer science and potential factors undergirding their perspective

PDF

Institutional diversity's impact on Latinx students' self-efficacy and sense of belonging

PDF

Leadership and implementation of 1:1 technology: considering teacher self-efficacy in the implementation process

PDF

High school single-gender science classrooms, minority females, and perceptions of self-efficacy

PDF

The tracking effect: tracking and the impact on self-efficacy in middle school students

PDF

Teacher self-efficacy and instructional coaching in California public K-12 schools: effective instructional coaching programs across elementary, middle, and high schools and the impact on teacher...

PDF

The impact of the mindful method Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES!) on students' self-efficacy, self-regulation, and academic performance for becoming college- and career-ready

PDF

An exploration of principal self-efficacy beliefs about transformational leadership behaviors

PDF

Professional learning communities: the role of school principals, district directors, assistant superintendents, and superintendents in developing collective efficacy in public secondary school...

PDF

The effect on teacher career choices: exploring teacher perceptions on the impact of non‐instructional workload on self‐efficacy and self‐determination

PDF

Examining the impact of continuation high schools on students' self-efficacy

PDF

Big hoop energy: Latinas in higher education administration

PDF

Professional learning communities: secondary site and district leaders’ role in developing collective efficacy in public schools in southern California

PDF

Empowering Black women: Navigating breast cancer care and survivorship

PDF

Exploring primary teachers' self-efficacy and technology integration in early reading instruction

PDF

Musical self-efficacy of graduate students in South Korea and the United States

Asset Metadata

Creator Johnson, Sonja Nyennego (author)

Core Title Women of color: self-efficacy and sustainability as administrators in education

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/30/2020

Defense Date 07/07/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag administrator,counter-narratives,OAI-PMH Harvest,self-efficacy,sustainability,women of color

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tobey, Patricia (committee chair), Maddox, Anthony (committee member), Rayor, Lori (committee member)

Creator Email sonjaj@usc.edu,sonjaj3@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-355623

Unique identifier UC11663926

Identifier etd-JohnsonSon-8828.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-355623 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-JohnsonSon-8828.pdf

Dmrecord 355623

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Johnson, Sonja Nyennego

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA