URBAN EDUCATION / DECEMBER 2000Brunner, Peyton-Caire / SE KING REPRESENTATION SEEKING REPRESENTATION Supporting Black Female Graduate Students Who Aspire

It is clear that role models are important for all aspiring educational administra-tors. What, then, can be done when role models and representations of women of color are so difficult to find for female graduate students who aspire to the superin-tendency? This article examines the effect of representative literature on one Black female graduate student as she focuses her attention on the possibility of becom-ing a superintendent. What is it like to be a Black woman who aspires to the superinten-dency? Where and to whom does a Black woman look when con-sidering the position? Knowing the importance of role models, these questions plagued me as I, a White woman, worked with a few Black female graduate students in our vastly White Department of Educational Administration. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explore what can be learned from the reactions of an aspiring Black woman to the narrative data of one Black female superintendent to get some sense of the importance of representative literature. First in the article, three of the structural barriers facing women of color in educational administration programs are briefly dis-cussed: (a) narrow perspectives, (b) risky research and curriculum, and (c) lack of literature about Black female superintendents. Next, some of the literature that does exist is reviewed. Third, the design of the exploration and its participants are described. Fourth, a sec