Please join us in congratulating Leslie Diane Johnson who successfully defended her EdD Dissertation on September 16 of 2024.
Title:
The Caring Practices of Women in Higher Education Leadership: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Care
Abstract:
In both Canada and the United States, women are earning more university degrees than their male counterparts, including terminal degrees (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021; Universities Canada, 2019). Yet as the pathway proceeds towards senior leadership, the relative percentage of women occupying leadership positions decreases remarkably in both countries (Melidona et al., 2023; Universities Canada, 2019). While the reasons for this are complex, the literature regarding women and postsecondary administration exposes issues related to care as a point of tension and a barrier to leadership (e.g., Cardozo, 2017).
This study, informed by Joan Tronto’s (1993, 2010) theorizing of care ethics, sought to understand more about the experiences of women academic leaders in the United States and Canada. What meanings do women in postsecondary academic leadership positions give to the notion of care? What perspectives do women from traditionally excluded or marginalized populations have about care and caring in their professional lives?
Nine participants took part in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed before applying an interpretative phenomenological analysis. In keeping with the study’s aims to reposition emotional knowledge alongside intellectual knowledge (Jagger, 1989), found poems were constructed from the interview transcripts and shared with participants.
Five superordinate themes emerged as significant to help in our understanding of participants’ experiences and perspectives of care in their leadership practices: 1) Authenticity as a caring leader; 2) Performative optics of care leadership; 3) Caring for oneself; 4) Motherhood and leadership; and 5) Boundaries: establishing and/or maintaining physical and emotional limits. Each superordinate theme incorporated multiple sub-themes. The experiences and perspectives shared by participants confirmed the political and public nature of caring.
The study surfaced issues related to performative allyship, where institutions may engage in superficial demonstrations of care without meaningful action. It highlights the challenges and disincentives for authentically active allyship in academic institutions, particularly for leaders from marginalized groups. It also illuminates structural issues that contribute to tensions between caregiving responsibilities and the demands of academic leadership, which include the pressure to meet institutional expectations in a neoliberal context.
Chair of Examination Committee:
Dr. Sterett Mercer (Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education)
University Examiners:
Dr. Anne Phelan (Curriculum and Pedagogy)
Dr. Claudia Ruitenberg (Educational Studies)
External Examiner:
Dr. Catherine McGregor (University of Victoria)
Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Deirdre Kelly (Co-supervisor)
Dr. Alison Taylor (Co-supervisor)
Dr. Shauna Butterwick (Member)
