Influence of Mentorship Experiences in the Development of Women Superintendents in Texas as Transformational Leaders

Ten women superintendents in Texas were interviewed for this phenomenological narrative study to understand their mentoring experiences framed within transformational leadership theory. The research used a guided protocol to conduct face-to-face interviews. In this study, authors sought to answer questions about the influence of mentorship experiences on the development of women superintendents through intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence. These experiences were then interpreted through a phenomenological approach and retold through narrative. We found that mentorship experiences contribute to the development of women superintendents as transformational leaders and also expose the need to align mentorship experiences of aspiring superintendents to established leadership theory.