Workplace Incivility as Experienced by Hispanic Female Teachers in a South Texas Public High School Led by a Hispanic Female Principal

Abstract

Workplace incivility is a recent phenomenon and, although much of the research conducted in this area to date has been in organizations other than public schools, incivility in the educational field has been identified as a challenge for teachers due to the mounting pressure experienced by educators. Several studies have shown that women who reach top-level positions are unhelpful to their subordinate female workers, presumably due to their desire to remain unique in their organization and due to the fear of competition. This type of behavior is called the “queen bee effect.” The goal of this qualitative study was to explore the existence of the queen bee syndrome in the public high school setting as displayed by the Hispanic female principal. This study also identified experiences and resiliency approaches employed by the Hispanic female teacher targets to cope with this behavior in the workplace.