Rurality is perceived by many to be a deficit or challenge when it comes to teacher recruitment and retention. However, recently, some have argued that moving away from a deficit model and treating rurality as an asset may hold promise for teacher staffing. Drawing on Person-organization (P-O) fit theory, we extend this argument in our study by investigating the perceptions of teachers from the rural Lowcountry of South Carolina, a region with documented severe teacher shortages, concerning rural teaching advantages and challenges. These reflections provide the data necessary to develop realistic job previews (RJP) that can be highlighted in the teacher staffing process at their schools. To obtain the data, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 rural teachers and one principal (n=12). Several common themes emerged, which we used to develop a sample web-based RJP content for demonstration purposes.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, women are still grappling with white male dominance, abuses of power, and normalized tolerance of racism or discrimination. White male dominance is also prevalent in America’s education ecosystems as women are still underrepresented in academic leadership. Academic leaders who are women of color face a double bind of both gender and racial biases, both systemically and institutionally. The ways in which women of color navigate these institutional leadership pathways, the hurdles they overcome, and microaggressive behaviors they traverse are not extensively articulated in the literature. Using narrative inquiry, this study examined the lived experiences of women of color leading community colleges and revealed how their resilient attitudes, motivations, and intentions toward transforming the community college presidency upstaged the cloak of white privilege in academia. The national resurgence in women’s rights and anti-discrimination dovetails with calls from the American Council on Education and other national organizations to dramatically increase the representation of women (and women of color) as chief executives of universities. With such lofty goals, the findings of this study have implications on recruitment and retention of women of color faculty and administrators and leadership succession planning in higher education.
Black women leaders in higher education face a double bind of gender and racial disparity and biases within the education workforce and their institutions. The literature does not fully articulate Black women's considerations when pursuing community college presidencies and the strategies they use to overcome the hurdles and discrimination they encounter. This research expands the literature by using critical race and Black feminist thought as theoretical frameworks to examine the ascension and succession of eight Black women leading community colleges and how they circumvented barriers associated with the male-dominated position. Findings reveal how three elements of resiliency—emotional intelligence, authenticity, and agility—contest and challenge the oppressive nature of White male privilege in gendered organizations. This newfound perspective has implications for the recruitment, retention, and persistence of faculty and administrators, leadership development programs, and succession planning at community colleges across the United States.
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