Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Ryan Donlan

Second Advisor

Steve Gruenert

Third Advisor

Tonya Balch

Abstract

Queen Bee Syndrome (QBS) has historically been used to describe women who distance themselves from other women and hinder the advancement of female peers (Staines et al., 1974). While early explanations framed QBS as rooted in individual competitiveness, more recent scholarship suggests it may reflect responses to gender discrimination and organizational context (Derks, 2017). In K–12 education, women comprise the majority of the workforce, yet remain underrepresented in upper leadership roles, particularly the superintendency. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of Queen Bee Syndrome behaviors among female leaders in K–12 educational settings and to explore how internal motivators—needs for achievement, affiliation, and power—relate to perceived QBS behaviors and professional outcomes, including job satisfaction and career advancement. This study employed a non-experimental, quantitative design. Participants were certified K–12 educators in the United States who had worked under the supervision of a female leader (e.g., superintendent, principal, assistant principal, director, department chair, or coach). Data were collected using the Leadership Motives and Queen Bee Syndrome Perception Survey, a composite instrument integrating validated measures of perceived QBS behaviors, internal leadership motives, and professional outcomes. Analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, multiple regression, and hierarchical multiple regression to examine relationships and test predictive patterns among variables. Descriptive findings suggested Queen Bee behaviors were not evident for all respondents; however, a substantial subset of educators reported elevated experiences, indicating that these perceptions may be concentrated in contexts rather than evenly distributed. Correlational analyses showed that higher internal motivators and stronger professional outcomes tended to occur together, while higher perceived QBS behaviors were consistently associated with lower motivators and lower outcomes. Affiliation emerged as the strongest factor in relation to lower perceived QBS behaviors, suggesting relationally oriented climates may be incompatible with Queen Bee perceptions, whereas power was associated with higher perceived behaviors. Since correlations test two variables at a time, regression analyses were used to test whether perceived QBS behaviors uniquely predicted outcomes after accounting for internal motivators. Results indicated internal motivators were more informative about professional outcomes than perceived QBS behaviors. Overall, findings reinforce that leadership is experienced through relationships and that perceptions of Queen Bee behaviors are closely tied to how leaders make others feel. Implications emphasize leveraging relational leadership, normalizing mentoring and sponsorship, shifting from labels to observable behaviors, increasing transparency and access to opportunities, and clarifying reporting and response pathways. Future research should recruit more robust subgroups and incorporate qualitative approaches to better understand contextual conditions that shape these perceptions.

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