Caribbean Immigrant Women in Educational Leadership
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CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: OVER HILLS AND VALLEYS TOO by Nadine L. Leblanc A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The College of Education In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL May 2019 Copyright 2019 by Nadine L. Leblanc ii CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: OVER HILLS AND VALLEYS TOO by Nadine L. Leblanc This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's dissertation advisor, Dr. Valerie C. Bryan, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Education and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. \ Robert Shoe ey, Ph.D. Chair, epartment of Educational Leader ip Research Methodology Valerie J. Bristor Dean, College o Khaled Sobhan, Ph.D. Interim Dean, Graduate College iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a “lickle, dry-head, pickney” (little, short haired, Black girl) born in the deep rural village of Sturge Town, St. Ann, Jamaica to an unwed, 17 year-old mother, there is absolutely no way that this doctoral degree could have been possible without a vibrant and active “village.” Profound gratitude to the “village” that molded, mentored, and motivated me. To the Most-High God, I honor you for blessing me beyond my wildest dreams. Your hand in my life is intriguing and constant. To the matriarchs in my family whose genes I share. My 101 year -old grandmother/Mama, Theresa Shaw, thank you for modeling the habit of reading that you are still doing it at 101 years old. Papa often said that if you were born in later times you would have been a teacher. Indeed, you have been my life’s most important teacher. To my late mother Clover Lawrence, your determination to push passed a prediction of doom because of your early pregnancy with me and to rise above the vicious cycle of poverty common to such a time and place is sheer heroic. Even in death, you challenge me to be my best. To my sister Heather Greene, thank you for being my “ride or die,” my best friend, confidante, cheerleader, and support. Thank you for annoyingly believing in my abilities even when I did not believe in them myself. Your constant presence and love in my life is one of God’s greatest gift to me. iv To my advisor, Dr. Valerie Bryan, thank you for accepting me into this program and being there each step of the way. Without your support and guidance, this journey would not have been possible. To Dr. John Hardman, thanks for helping me to fine-tune my research topic, methodology, and, more importantly, making me believe that this research is important work. To Dr. Morris for your valuable time, support, and guidance in this process. To Dr. Baxley for being an active mentor throughout the last stages of this journey. Thank you for the effort to ensure that the voices of the participants were illuminated. To the women in this narrative, thank you for engaging me in this process and being willing to share your stories. Your stories motivated me daily and reminded me that they are worth sharing. Without your stories, there would be no degree, so thank you. I trust that I was able to amplify your voices adequately. To my extended family, thank you for thinking that I could achieve this goal and being there for me in many ways. To my love-children/sistas/mentees/students, your constant love and support have lifted me up on many dark days. Thank you for modeling courage, and thus challenging me. I had no choice but to emulate you and be brave. To my mentoring group WOAM - Women on a Mission, you ladies are the original inspiration for this study. Thank you for trusting me with your journey. To my Mavericks family, thank you for creating the space to tap into my purpose and becoming lifelong friends and support. v To the “Sister Circle” mentoring group of Florida Atlantic University, thank you for being there with tips and support to help navigate this daunting process. To my friends, new and old, thank you for being present with love, encouragement, and support. Whether by text, WhatsApp, Facebook, or in person, your friendships have been of comfort and inspiration throughout this process. I knew I could depend on you to make me feel better on those difficult days. vi ABSTRACT Author: Nadine L. Leblanc Title: Caribbean Immigrant Women In Educational Leadership: Over Hills and Valleys Too Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Valerie C. Bryan Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2019 The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of college-educated, immigrant women from the Caribbean in their quest for professional advancement in educational leadership roles in the United States. There were six participants for this study who were selected based on convenience, purposeful, and criterion sampling. Each participant’s lived experience was explored through a triangulation of information provided from two in-depth face-to-face interviews, document analyses, and observation/field notes. The findings indicate that Caribbean immigrant women studied navigated hills and valleys that included acculturative stress. Furthermore, the participants are characterized with a militant motivation in their approach to achieving their goals; thus having an attitude of “by any means necessary” was essential to their success. To accomplish their goals and successfully navigate the hills and valleys, the participants vii shared the support of strong matriarchs in their family and with the added help of the village; they also engaged in adult learning practices in their efforts to excel. Additionally, a Caribbean identity was utilized as a source of resistance and high self- esteem bordering on ethnocentrism against prejudices to facilitate the journey to success. viii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the men in life: My late grandfather, Edward Shaw, who was illiterate and often joked that he “would eat his name on a bulla (cake) and not know it.” However, on your deathbed, you counseled me upon starting high school, “now that you have started, don’t stop.” I did not stop Papa, I went ALL the way! My father, Jasper Lawrence, who chose to love, teach, inspire, and motivate me. You gave me my first $100 for being at the top of my class as a second grader and education became my hustle. You gave up on your own dream of pursuing a doctoral degree to return home from the United States to care for us, then your young family. Here is YOUR PhD Daddy! My husband, Milton Leblanc, for believing in the value of a doctoral degree, setting the standard for academic excellence and holding me to this standard. Thanks for believing in my capabilities when I doubted it, creating the opportunity to make this pursuit happen efficiently, and supporting and cheering me along the way. I am thankful for the sacrifice. You have your Dr. wife, hubby! My brothers, Donwell and Kerry Lawrence, for always supporting me in everything I do and giving me nephews and a niece for whom I must prepare a table. Thank you my men. Your love at the critical stages of my life’s journey fortified me and gave me my wings; because of that love, I could. CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: OVER HILLS AND VALLEYS TOO LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Background of the Study .............................................................................................. 1 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................ 1 Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................... 3 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 3 Significance of Study .................................................................................................... 4 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 6 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 7 Delimitations ................................................................................................................. 7 Operational Definitions ................................................................................................. 8 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 12 Historical Overview of Caribbean Immigrant Women in the United States .............. 12 Caribbean Women and Immigration ..................................................................... 14 Caribbean Immigrants and Racial Inequality: Race Matters ................................ 15 History of Gender Inequality: Gender Matters ..................................................... 20 Intersectionality of Race and Gender