Dissertation writing help - Role of spirituality in the work of African-American women principals in urban schools

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The purpose of this study was to examine the role of spirituality in the work of African-American women principals in urban schools. Seven strands of literature framed the study: (a) African-American feminism; (b) African-American women and spirituality; (c) definitions of spirituality; (d) educational administration and spirituality; (e) educational leadership and social justice; leadership, social justice, and spirituality; and (f) African-American women/feminists and leadership. I used Hill Collins' (1991) four contours of Afrocentric feminist epistemology for my conceptual framework: (a) concrete experience as a criterion of meaning; (b) the use of dialogue in assessing knowledge claims; (c) the ethic of caring and (d) the ethic of personal accountability. I addressed the following research questions:

1. How do African-American female principals conceptualize spirituality?

2. How does spirituality influence their leadership behaviors or decision-making?

3. What role does social justice play in their leadership and how is this influenced by their spirituality?

To elicit and present the participant's stories, I used a combination of narrative inquiry, oral history, and case study methods, all recognized forms of inquiry within qualitative methodology. I used a combination of snowball and purposive sampling to select and interview six participants from diverse urban schools in Milwaukee. The principals were selected based on their willingness to discuss how the topic of spirituality influenced their leadership. Six interrelated themes emerged from how the principals conceptualized and practiced their spirituality: (a) They all acknowledged a power outside themselves, (b) they used different names to refer to God, (d) their relationship with a Higher Being guided them in every aspect of their life, (e) they noted a difference between spirituality and religion, (f) they believed God directly answers prayers, and (g) they practiced their spirituality in a variety of ways. Spirituality also influenced (a) their choice to become a principal, (b) their work as a principal, (c) their decision making, (d) the ways they made their spirituality visible in the school, and (e) their views on leadership. For these principals, social justice and spirituality were one in the same. From the cross-case analysis, I reconceptualized Hill-Collins' four contours to: (a) experience of God, (b) dialogue with God, (c) receive and pass on God's care, and (d) accountability to God. From this, I developed a theory of African American women principals' spiritual leadership.