Mentoring Experiences of Black Female Public Secondary School Administrators in Southern Ontario, Canada

Abstract This study investigated the mentoring relationships experienced by Black female public secondary school principals and vice principals. I interviewed eight principals and eight vice principals from four school districts in Southern Ontario to obtain data on this topic. The data revealed that the participants’ mentoring experiences are varied and complex. Some participants’ mentoring experiences are positive, while others’ are not. The participants’ mentoring experiences vary partly due to the fact that most school districts do not provide systemic mentorship programmes for school administrators. Furthermore, as protégées, some participants in this study encountered additional challenges in comparison to those faced by female public secondary school administrators. Some of the challenges Black female administrators face are related to their low numbers within Southern Ontario school districts and the difficulty of finding homophilic mentors. Other challenges such as racial microaggressions occur due to their racialized identities within their school districts. For these challenges participants develop coping mechanisms such as assuming double consciousness as they navigate their working environments. The findings from this study shed light on the mentorship experiences of Black female public secondary school administrators, an area that has not been previously studied in Ontario. The findings will also add to the scarce extant literature on the mentorship of female public secondary school administrators. The data from this study generated some recommendations for mentorship of female public secondary school administrators and scope for future research.Ed.D