Although the educational settings in which the participants worked were
demographically similar, the participants themselves, their backgrounds, and their career
paths varied widely. The participants included three African American females, two
African American males, three White females, and two White males. All of the African
American participants grew up in or near a large city whereas all of the White
participants grew up in either what they described as “small towns” or “middle-class
suburbs.” Two participants talked about wanting to be teachers from childhood (i.e.,
“That was a no-brainer”), while the remaining participants spoke of other career interests
and went into education only after their interest in other career fields waned. Just one
participant spoke of going into education with the intention of becoming a principal. The
path to the principalship for the remaining nine participants, as well as at what point in
their career they chose to become a principal, also varied. Some principals taught as few
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as five years before becoming a principal while others taught fifteen or more years before
making the transition into administration.