Article #5 of my analysis considers Chapter V, “Discussion,” in which the author discusses her findings but, as with her presentation of findings, continues to give much space to citations and observations from other researchers, limiting space given to her own original insights.
The following are my own analytically critical comments.
Gary Marvin Davison Comments
The way in which, “Different
expectations, double standards, questioning of their authority, acts of
resistance and aggression, and being treated as ‘clean-up’ women were barriers
to their leadership,” would make for interesting discussion and for follow-up
interview questions, neither of which are provided.
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Pages 82-83
Much of the above paragraph is repeated from earlier sections of the dissertation and should now be vigorously discussed, with Sayles-Adams providing fresh insights.
Sayles-Adams provides neither
the vigorous discussion nor the fresh insights.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 87
The above account from Paulette was repeated from earlier sections of the dissertation.
This matter of repetitiveness and filler material is a serious flaw of the Sayles-Adams dissertation.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 87
The citation, material, and observations given above are repeated from earlier sections of the dissertation.
Sayles-Adams should at this juncture of the dissertation conduct vigorous discussion of the tropes and issues raised, but she provides no such vigorous discussion.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 88
The feelings and perceptions of the interviewees should be pursued with much vigorous discussion and follow-up questions with interviewees, neither of which are provided.
Sayles-Adams should at this juncture of the dissertation conduct vigorous discussion of the tropes and issues raised, but she provides no such vigorous discussion.
There are many questions as to the motivations and goals of the interviewees that are never asked, so that the needed vigorous discussion cannot be conducted.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 90
Leaving previous principalships for other districts and assignments is an interesting action that bears follow-up questions and discussion.
If the succeeding assignments were more rewarding and entailed fewer barriers, what were the rewards and what barriers no longer existed that had been put before the principals in previous assignments?
If easier assignments proved more rewarding, why would a less demanding assignment be more rewarding than an assignment in which the opportunity to address chronic institutional and student academic performance issues existed?
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 90
The sentence, “Various traditions and disciplines inform CRT with most theorists agreeing on the following six tenants,” errantly renders what should be the word, “tenet,” as “tenant.”
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 91
The sentence, “The CRT tenant racism as ordinary represents the normalization of different expectations, double standards, questioning of authority, and acts of resistance and aggression as shared by the participants,” again renders what should be the word, “tenet,” as “tenant.”
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 93
Consider
the following three sentences that appear in succession, above:
”She [Beverly] described her journey to the principalship as affirming and full of support. There were mentors and caring staff that encouraged her and removed barriers as she sought her first leadership experience. Beverly described the collective disappointment of her support network on the positions she has been given access to:”
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Pages 93-94
A detailed exploration of the issues raised in the following sentence would interesting:
“During the interview, participants struggled to ascertain if their experiences were the result of their race, gender, or both.”
Sayles-Adams
should have asked pertinent follow-up questions and conducted vigorous
discussion
of the answers of the interviewees in this section of the dissertation.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 95
The difference between “marginalization” and “discrimination” bears discussion.
In what ways are African American women principals “marginalized,” as opposed to facing discriminative barriers?
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 96
Wouldn’t the noblest action for a principal of
any ethnicity be to seek the most challenging assignments for addressing
the needs of students who have demonstrated chronically low academic
performance?
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 97
Sayles-Adams writes that, “Some of the participants described the involvement of Human Resources to address their experiences, but I am left wondering about the additional support that may have been provided.
If Sayles-Adams wondered about the additional support that may have been provided, why did she not pose the pertinent follow-up question to the interviewees?
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Page 98
Sayles-Adams claims that “A
significant amount of progress was achieved at both schools, which took a toll
on me.”
What sort of progress is
claimed?
What is the evidence?
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 99
Sayles-Adams claims that “As a
seasoned principal, I leveraged my years of experience, expertise, and working
collaboratively with staff for the overall improvement of the school. The
school was in much better shape than I found it, and I left at the end of the
year for a placement as a middle school principal.”
What sort of improvement in
the elementary school of reference was achieved?
What is the evidence?
That the school from which Sayles-Adams departed was now highly well-functioning is doubtful. If the school still manifested the typical problems of an elementary school in the United States, and Sayles-Adams had been able to put the school on a more promising course, why did she leave?
The motivations and goals of public education professionals need detailed examination.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 100
In the sentence, “The previous
leader left in the middle of the year as I inherited the reigns from a retired
principal, “The word rendered as “reigns” should be spelled “reins.”
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Page 102
The sentence would be better
rendered as, “They are still yearning to break free of the negative identities with
which society has burdened them.”
The word, ”bestow,” most
frequently has positive connotations. The
word, “:burdened” more clearly conveys a negative connotation and should be
used instead.
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Gary Marvin Davison Comments
Pages 102-103
The sentence, ”Special
attention was given to the barriers and coping strategies the leaders used to
navigate their experiences of racism and sexism,” would be better rendered as
follows:
“Special attention was given to
the barriers that the leaders faced and the coping strategies that they used to
navigate their experiences of racism and sexism.”
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