Semester of Graduation

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Educational Leadership (Ed.D)

Department

Educational Leadership

Committee Chair/First Advisor

Dr. Sheryl J. Croft, Professor of Educational Leadership

Second Advisor

Dr. Chinasa Elue, Professor of Educational Leadership

Third Advisor

Dr. Nichole Guillory, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

Abstract

Black women principals remain underrepresented in educational leadership, yet they are disproportionately assigned to PK-5 Title I schools, where complex academic, social, and political demands converge. Limited research examines what sustains these leaders over time, particularly in roles marked by intersecting oppressions of race and gender. Grounded in Black feminist thought and intersectionality, this qualitative phenomenographic study explored the sustaining motivations of six Black women who currently served or had served as principals in a PK-5 Title I school in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to describe the different ways these principals understood and experienced the internal and external factors that kept them engaged, motivated, and committed to their roles despite persistent systemic challenges.

Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants with at least 3 years of experience as PK-5 Title I principals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using iterative coding and phenomenographic techniques to develop descriptive categories and an outcome space that captured the range of participants’ conceptions of sustaining motivation. Findings revealed three interrelated ways of experiencing sustaining motivation: (a) faith-rooted, child-centered leadership practice anchored in spirituality and a sense of calling; (b) navigating Black womanhood in educational leadership through self-definition, counter- storytelling, and resistance to controlling images; and (c) justice-oriented action and sustainability that link personal resilience to collective advocacy, community uplift, and social change. These findings highlight how sustaining motivations are deeply personal and structurally situated, offering implications for leadership preparation, policy, and support structures designed to foster the retention and well-being of Black women principals in high-need school contexts.

Download

Share

COinS