Congratulations to Isabella Zappa who on Monday, August 17, 2026 successfully defended her dissertation proposal.
The title of Isabella's dissertation is, "GENDERED INFLUENCES ON THE EXPERIENCES AND ASPIRATIONS OF FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINICIPALS."
The abstract of this study follows:
Overview of Problem: Although women continue to earn advanced degrees and assume educational leadership positions, they remain underrepresented high school principal roles. The high school assistant principalship serves as the primary pathway to the high school principalship; however, there is limited research that examines how women experience the high school assistant principal (AP) role and how those experiences shape their leadership aspirations and decisions to pursue the high school principalship.
Research Purpose1: The purpose of this qualitative inquiry study is to explore how women serving as high school APs describe their experiences in the role and how gendered organizational structures, practices, and norms shape those experiences. Acker’s Gendered Organizations Theory, will serve as the analytical lens for the study.
Research Design: An interpretive qualitative research design will be used to examine the lived experiences and aspirations of women serving as high school APs.
Sample: A purposive sample of female high school APs from US high schools will be selected. Participants must have served in the assistant principal role for a minimum of three years.
Data Collection: Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using inductive and deductive coding strategies.
Dissertation Chair:
Dr. Joanne Marien
Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Susan V. Iverson
Dr. Lynn Allen
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