Date of Award

2026-05-01

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership and Administration

Advisor(s)

Rodolfo Rincones

Abstract

This autoethnographic study, Bridging Leadership: An Autoethnographic Inquiry into the Governance and Decision-Making Experience of a Latina Rural School Superintendent, examines how governance and leadership are experienced and enacted through the sustained relationship between a superintendent and a school board president in a rural border district along the U.S.-Mexico border, the study explores how power, trust, reciprocity, role expectations, and ethical tension evolve within this leadership partnership over time. Grounded in Relational Leadership Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Role Theory, the study conceptualizes leadership as a relational and contextually embedded process rather than a function of positional authority. Using autoethnography as both methodology and method, the study draws on eight years of lived experience as superintendent, incorporating narrative vignettes, reflexive analysis, and governance artifacts to examine leadership in a highly visible, relationally interconnected rural community. Findings indicate that governance is sustained primarily through relationships rather than formal structures. Four interrelated themes emerged: relational trust as governance capital, power as negotiated through interaction rather than position, role clarity as continuously constructed through relational boundary-setting, and ethical tension as a critical site for leadership development. The superintendent-board president relationship functioned as the central stabilizing mechanism supporting governance coherence and student-centered decision-making. This study contributes to literature by addressing a gap in superintendent-board governance research, which has largely emphasized dysfunction rather than sustained, trust-based partnerships, particularly in rural and border contexts. It also advances the use of autoethnography in educational leadership by offering an insider perspective on governance as lived practice.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

186 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Rosa Isela Vega-Barrio

Download

Share

COinS