Ordered Chaos: The Implications Of Childrearing In The Underrepresentation Of Women In Educational Leadership Positions

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the intersection of the roles of motherhood and educational leadership. The primary focus of this feminist research was to explore how women maintain dual roles as mothers of young children and senior-level educational leaders in public schools, community colleges, and universities. More specifically, this research examined how women who maintain these dual roles describe maneuvering through the personal and professional dimensions of their lives and the perceptions they develop of themselves along the way. The results of this research are intended to contribute to theory that helps explicate the dual meanings held by women attempting to straddle the social categories of "mother" and "professional," specifically mothers caring for young children who also maintain high-level positions in educational leadership.