Abstract
There is paucity in the literature on the influence of mentoring on African American women in senior-level leadership positions in P-16 education (primary/secondary education and higher education). Prior research has focused on the role of mentoring Black women in doctoral programs, pursuing faculty positions at predominantly white institutions, and the leadership development of people of color. This qualitative narrative dissertation in practice explored and describes how mentoring, or a lack thereof, influenced African American women in attaining senior-level positions in P-16 education. The study used the transformative worldview and intersectionality lenses to examine and understand leadership, the barriers of ascending to senior-level positions, and the influence of mentoring on African American women's advancement. A homogenous purposeful sampling technique was used to identify two African American women who held senior-level leadership positions in P-16 education. Eight themes emerged from the stories shared by the participants and are retold by the researcher to answer the research question, "What do the stories of African American women who have ascended into senior-level positions in educational institutions tell us about how mentoring influenced their advancement?" Recommendations and suggested promising practices are derived from the participant’s stories and the literature.
Keywords: African American women, mentoring, p-16 educational leaders, intersectionality, concrete ceiling