The Dynamics of Educational Leadership Roles for Asian-American Women as Contrasted to Their Global Counterparts

Research efforts within the United States focusing on educational leadership have largely excluded the perspectives of women and minorities. As American school-age populations become increasingly diverse, the need for educational leaders from diverse backgrounds also increases. However, the research data show that females and ethnic minorities are under-represented in American educational leadership positions. This paper briefly examines global educational leadership studies which focused on gender and Asian educational leaders. The dynamics of Asian-American student populations and Asian-American educators were examined and the findings from two studies were used to identify how the roles of Asian-American women differed from their global counterparts with respect to achieving the goal of an educational leadership position. The findings from two studies were presented to show how generational issues shaped societal perceptions of the American educational enterprise and how Asian-American females are able to overcome their proportionally under-representation in educational leadership roles