published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This thesis examines South African policies addressing gender inequality in education management, and interrogates whether or not these policies made a difference to the career route of women principals of secondary schools. The under-representation of women in education management has been a long observed problem in many countries including South Africa. A number of initiatives have been put in place to address this issue but little improvement is seen in the South African situation in education management. The purpose was to understand why women are still under represented in school management and to learn from their experiences. The study used data from three sources. Firstly, policy documents and practices were analysed in terms of their symbolic, regulative and procedural functions. Secondly, the personal accounts of 28 women principals in KwaZulu-Natal who had been appointed after 1994 were collected through the use of extended interviews, and thirdly, interviews were conducted with key officials and members of School Governing Bodies that had participated in the selection of principals. The data generated were analysed at two levels in order to understand the factors constraining the participation of women in education management. At the micro level, I use the 'management route model' as an analytical framework that identifies the three phases women principals go through in their career route, namely anticipation, acquisition and performance (van Eck and Volman, 1996). The model reveals that factors influencing women's career paths into management are very complex and based firstly on the individual agency where women grapple with more internal issues such as professional qualifications and experience, aspirations, lack of ambition and family responsibilities. Secondly, these factors are at the organisational level where women suffer discrimination at the recruitment and selection processes, and lack of institutional support through mentoring and sponsorship. Thirdly, it is the social level, which involves the cultural discourses in which women operate. These discourses include sex role stereotypes that inform the social expectations about the role of men and women in society. On the macro level, I use feminist theory to interpret and understand the women's experiences and findings in general. The findings reveal that policy interventions put in place since 1994 to close the gender gap were mostly informed by liberal feminism that focused on affirming women in order to gain access into the school management without tackling the social practices that are defined by sex role socialisation and which therefore continue to work subtly and insidiously towards the discrimination of women. I conclude that although the liberal feminist interventions that have been put in place have been useful to some extent, the problems impeding women's full participation in education management cannot only be tackled at a policy level because this attempt leaves the most problematic social practices intact. However, I argue for policy and legal intervention as a starting point to combat the gender crisis in a society that has inherited so much inequality. While I acknowledge that women of all races in South Africa have all been negatively impacted upon by the historical and traditional values and expectations on the role of women and men in society, I argue that the situation has been worse for women of the Black African race, who suffered dual oppression in terms of gender and race. The study proposes the need to look beyond provision of legal and democratic reforms and more into social practices that prevent legal reforms from reaching the desired goals. Social structures and cultural practices that hamper the greater representation of women should be dealt with in order to allow women freedom to participate in discourses where their choice is not informed by gender subordination. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

'Gender imbalances in the school governance' was studied in two schools and amongst community members of Umbumbulu, a rural area, and 60 kilometres from Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Data collected from the study reveal that governance structures of the studied schools are male dominated with men holding highest positions and women in middle or lower ranks. The status quo in the two schools is found to be reflective of the Umbumbulu community's cultural beliefs. There are entrenched beliefs regarding which gender should hold management positions, rather than what constitutes and is required for good leadership. The study found that although there are other factors that lead to gender imbalances, the overriding one is the fact that the culture and beliefs that the community subscribes to is highly gendered and stereotypical. In turn policies formulated e.g. selection and hiring policies reflect a low regard for women and practically discriminate against them. It is found that the trend leads to problems, which affect the entire schooling system. Most respondents are aware of the imbalances and are not content with them but do not commit in bringing about change. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

For the past thirty years, leadership theories have focused on the importance of the individual within the school organisation. The shared assumptions and beliefs of the individuals working in the same organisation shape the school’s organisational culture, and organisational culture is a salient factor which should be considered when understanding educational leadership. The focus of my study is to explore the relationship between organisational culture and leadership. In the same context, new approaches to the study of leadership have explored the issue of gender in leadership. Female leadership studies - the second focus of this study - seek not only to restore the place of the individual but also argue a place for women in educational leadership. Based in the interpretive paradigm, this is a case study of a Catholic all-girl secondary school called the Loreto Convent School of Pretoria. Historically, the Loreto schools have aimed at promoting and empowering girls’ education and female leadership. It was therefore an appropriate site in which to explore organisational culture and its relationship with leadership, particularly female leadership. I purposefully chose three of the school’s female leaders - the school’s principal, the High school Head of Department and the High school head girl - focusing on their perceptions and experiences of their leadership and the school’s culture. My research findings show that an understanding of the relationship between organisational culture and leadership cannot be complete without acknowledging the importance of the leader as an individual, with his/her personal background and values, taking into account gender as well as the multiple roles that the individual has in society. Furthermore, the ‘humane’ characteristic of educational leadership leads to an understanding that the leader is often confronted with conflicting situations where he/she is caught between personal/organisational values and the need to achieve the task. Finally, my findings show that contemporary leaders are now called upon to work and participate in the promotion of social justice in order to fight against society’s socio-economic inequality and improve the quality of education and life.

The question of gender in leadership continues to be a contentious and poorly understood phenomenon. There seems general agreement that women do lead differently from men, and this study begins from that premise, focusing on a case in which leadership has traditionally been the domain of females. The case was chosen for its uniqueness, the assumption being that in these circumstances leadership may have developed particular characteristics. Following a qualitative approach (drawing on phenomenology), the study seeks to investigate how women leaders experience their roles as leaders. In-depth interviews made it possible for me to capture the perceptions and experiences of the three women leaders I interviewed. The study reveals that women are more inclined to use interactive styles of leadership. Women use leadership that is more participative, negotiative, cooperative, shared and collaborative. These characteristics are in line with the features of transformational leadership which differs from the more traditional transactional leadership that is more controlled and directive. The study has also shown that leadership develops from within the person of the leader as the leader is the one who spearheads the organization through vision, ideas, beliefs andassumptions. The findings of this study suggest thus that unless women are given chances to prove how they can lead, this new approach of leadership within them and that is required by modern organizations would be lost and leadership would remain relatively unchanged and undesirable. In the context of Namibia, this study should be of potential significance because of the rapid change that is taking place in the inclusion of women in leadership and management positions in education.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MEDEM / Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Management

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

M.Ed. / The problem in this research lies in the absence of women in management positions and women being poorly represented in decision-making in Soweto Schools. The purpose of this research is to argue for the increased number of women in educational management and to discuss the problems that women encounter in management positions in the Gauteng Department of Education. This is a qualitative research. The researcher interviewed, observed and recorded four school principals, five heads of Department and SADTU gender president. The findings are that the legacy of women discrimination still prevails from the apartheid era and male colleagues enjoy seniority. The researcher's recommendation is that no person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly against an employee in any employment policy or practice on one or more grounds including gender, race, sex, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, political opinion, marital status and culture. There should be no harassment of employees.

MGS / Institute for Gender and Youth Studies