The caring practices of women in higher education leadership : an interpretative phenomenological analysis of care
department or school: Education, Faculty of
department or school: Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Johnson, Leslie Diane
issued: 2024-10-03T21:12:36Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Doctor of Education - EdD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: 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 (Jaggar, 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 al…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/89331
note: THE CARING PRACTICES OF WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF CARE by Leslie Diane Johnson B.A., University of California, San Diego, 1995 M.S., San Diego State University 2004 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Educational Leadership and Policy) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2024 © Leslie Diane Johnson, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: The Caring Practices of Women in Higher Education Leadership: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Care submitted by Leslie Diane Johnson in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Examining Committee: Dr. Deirdre Kelly, Professor, Educational Studies, UBC Supervisor Dr. Alison Taylor, Professor, Educational Studies, UBC Co-supervisor Dr. Shauna Butterwick, Professor Emerita, Educational Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Anne Phelan, Professor, Curriculum & Pedagogy, UBC University Examiner Dr. Claudia Ruitenberg, Professor, Educational Studies, UBC University Examiner Dr. Catherine McGregor, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research, University of Victoria External Examiner iii 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 posts…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0445487
language: eng
degree discipline: Educational Leadership and Policy
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Kelly, Deirdre M.
contributor: Taylor, Alison, 1959-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89331