The Women in Educational Leadership Conference (WELC) was founded at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1987. The 28th conference was held in October 2014. A database related to the conference has been maintained throughout these years. Using these data, the following report includes the factors that have sustained the conference, the network…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of female superintendents as they relate to job satisfaction and retention. State department of education websites were consulted to obtain the number of women superintendents by state for 2015. From the list, 3,364 women superintendents were identified. The women represent 25% of U.S.…

The most promising sights of spring in Nebraska this year were two conferences for women. One event, sponsored by Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, was a Women's History Month Tea. A second conference was the meeting of the Nebraska Women in Higher Education. These two events suggest that there is a continuing interest in women's leadership…

There is constant reference to the "Old Boys Network" in the literature about access to administrative roles for women. Two books by Bob Greene capture a "Boys Network" both young and old. The first is "Be True To Your School: A Diary of 1964." It is Greene's journal of his high school years presented as a book. It chronicles his experiences as a…

Recently, serious questions have been raised about the efficacy of the traditional leadership model, which relies on rigid hierarchical structure, competition, and control. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the leadership practices of rural and urban female superintendents in the United States. The study was two-fold: (1) a…

Responses from 78 percent of 250 women certified as administrators but not practicing found that most did not apply for administrative positions because they preferred their present job. Some evidence was found of psychological acceptance of secondary roles and lack of socialization to administration. (SK)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the leadership practices of women superintendents to determine if their practices fit a new paradigm of administrative leadership. Data collection included: (1) telephone interviews with 30 rural and 21 urban female superintendents across the United States, and (2) completion of the Leadership…

Examines dissertation research about women in K-12 educational administration, profiling dissertations completed between 1957 and 1989 according to purpose, subjects, and research findings. This literature review discloses a need to investigate how prospective women administrators may be identified and supported when hired. (MLH)

The literature concerning the superintendency is based on the experiences of men. This paper presents findings of the two studies that examined women superintendents. The first, a pilot study, sought to determine whether women superintendents used leadership qualities that fit a new paradigm for leadership. It also sought to determine if…

During summer and fall of 1997, 21 women rural principals in Nebraska and New Mexico were interviewed to highlight their positive experiences as principals. During the telephone interviews, which lasted 30-45 minutes, the principals were asked eight open-ended questions concerning: (1) how they got their first principalship; (2) why they were…

Summarizes a study to identify the sources of job satisfaction, job benefits, sources of self-fulfillment, and personal strengths that women bring to the superintendency. Based on 51 interviews with urban and rural women superintendents, results showed that both groups have similar leadership characteristics befitting a new model that values…

This paper reports on the leadership qualities of rural and urban women superintendents. Telephone interviews with 51 randomly selected female superintendents in 29 states examined perceived sources of job satisfaction, the benefits accrued on the job, sense of self-fulfillment in the workplace, and personal strengths. The most frequent responses…