This is primarily a study of the leadership behaviour of women principals in primary schools in the UAE. Differences between principal's views of their own behaviour and teacher's perceptions of the principals leadership behaviour were analysed. Data was collected through a demographic Questionnaire and the use of the Leader Behaviour Descriptive Questionnaire (LBDQ), Form XII. The sample consisted of 60 elementary school Principals and 425 teachers. Women principals face problems peculiar to their situation as working women in a deeply conservative society and this is put into the wider context of the educational system within which they work. The major findings and conclusions were that Principals perceived themselves as exhibiting leadership behaviour, in most of the 12 leadership behaviour categories, more often than their teaching staff. In particular Principals perceived their leadership behaviour to be significantly higher than did their teachers in the areas of : 1. Demand Reconciliation 2. Initiating Structure, 3. Tolerance of Freedom, 4. Role Assumption, 5. Production Emphasis and 6. Integration And lower than teachers in Predictive Accuracy. No significant differences existed in the other 5 dimensions. Principals' leadership behaviour was perceived by teachers to be more related to consideration of their staff, than to issues surrounding the initiating of structure in the school. There were significant differences between non-trained and trained Principals in leadership behaviour in the following areas : 1. Tolerance of Uncertainty and 2. Superior Orientation No significant differences were found between teacher's perceptions of their principals' behaviour regarding the demographic variables being investigation except for years of experience. However, significant differences were perceived in principals' leadership behaviour based on different school size, in terms of : 1. Persuasiveness and 2. Integration. Finally major recommendation and implication include: 1.The re-design of training programmes to improve principals' technical, human relations and conceptual skills. 2.The Ministry of Education should consider upgrading the criteria by which Principals are selected, and encourage higher education to participate more actively in preparing school administrators. Efforts to improve performance among the Principals starts with the recruitment, selection and training of both teachers and administrators. It is also hoped that in the future Principals and Administrators in schools will be given a greater role in the decision making process.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors contributing to scarcity of women principals in junior secondary schools of Mqanduli in Mthatha Education District in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This region is predominantly rural. The study focused on Secondary school principals. The study used a quantitative research design to elicit data from the respondents. Data were collected from 72 participants through the use of a questionnaire. 70 questionnaires were returned and the data were processed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in the analysis of the data. This study had covered the aspects of culture which prevailed in the education set up in the past and are still prevailing. The findings of the study revealed several factors contributing to the scarcity of women principals in Mqanduli District. These were the findings: the majority of the participants agreed that culture is a stumbling block to the appointment of women principals. Cultural aspects still influence the public opinion on the capability of women to lead. Selection procedures that are discrimatory on gender grounds prevent women from being appointed as principals. Poor implementation of affirmative action policies during selection of principals leads to exclusion of women from holding principals posts. Lack of support from the subordinates prevents women from holding principal posts Although discrimination and prejudice with respect to women ability to lead and manage is worldwide it is evident that the bill of human rights is beginning to impact positively on the stereotypes. Finally, recommendations and suggestions were made stating that the Department of Education needs to provide the necessary workshops on gender equity policies to upgrade SGBs with skills, knowledge and proper understanding of such policies.

First of all, South Africa‟s struggle against racial discrimination has received international exposure but the focus now is on gender disenfranchisement which is, however, eclipsed by the struggle for racial redress. In the current climate of redress, post Apartheid South Africa has pledged an unequivocal commitment to the promotion of a unitary, non-sexist, non-racist South Africa in all facets of life. Several enabling national policies have been legislated to promote equity and access to those previously excluded by virtue of race and gender, particularly in assuming leadership roles in key public domains. The catalyst for this study is encapsulated from historical trajectories of women lives, in apparent intractable patriarchal higher echelons, monolithic patriarchal South African school organizations and visible paucity of women in principalship positions of Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in Dutywa Education District. Significantly, this study actually refers to causality factors of gender imbalance in work places as a provocative factor leading to constant marginalization of women in leadership positions irrespective of sound and clear government policies. This is a principal subject of concern that has grounded this present researcher to undertake this study. Views and ideas applicable in addressing this phenomenon were invited from women teachers of Dutywa Education District and most crucially about the scarcity of women teachers in principalship positions of this District. Questionnaires were distributed to research sites of three sub-districts of concern. The population had been sampled from women teachers of Dutywa Education District, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Quantitative results show that organisational factors, culture, women‟s personalities and colonial legacies are obstacles challenging the effectiveness of females in school administration. Specifically, teachers' negative attitudes towards being a female, particularly female principal in schools are cited as the major impediments to women principals of high schools. The study implores governments to continue appointing more women to school leadership positions despite the identified challenges.

Gender plays an important role in all facets of human life and although great strides have been made against the gender discrimination, still the progress is gradual and slow. More specifically, in the field of educational management and leadership women’s attempt to gain equal groundwork with men is quite evident but the former still face gender related barriers that hamper their progress. The current research focuses on investigating the role and perceptions of women principals in the field of educational management and leadership and on drawing comparisons between their role in upper secondary education in Greece and Sweden. Therefore, the investigation takes place in the municipality of Thessaloniki and Stockholm with female principals from upper secondary schools to take part in the study. Ten from each city respond to the questionnaire, which is specially designed in their native language. The present findings provide an insight about women’s motivation to become upper secondary school principals, the reasons for their under-representation, the variations in managerial qualities and styles as part of their feminine identity, the difficulties they face towards identifying a position and ways to augment their involvement in the field. Drawing on the evidence of the survey conducted in Thessaloniki, despite the great progress that has been achieved in Greece in the field of educational management and leadership in terms of gender, women are greatly under-represented in upper secondary school management positions and significantly face sociocultural constraints and discrimination in their career path. However, the results of the study in Stockholm disclose that women progressively possess the managerial field in education currently outnumbering their male superintendents.

This study seeks to understand how policy and practice enables or disables women's aspirations for secondary school leadership. The study focuses on women deputy principals and woman principal who have applied for principalship and details their accounts of the resonances and dissonances of policy and practice. This qualitative study uses a narrative design. The data collected from three female deputy principals, one of whom was acting as a principal and one a newly appointed principal at the time of the interviews. The main form of data collection was a series of interviews with each participant. The findings confirm that the policy environment is favourable for women, but in its implementation, there are factors that constrain the aspirations of women for secondary school leadership. Gender stereotypical perceptions of women by the school governing bodies and a patriarchal social context are seen as significant constraints for women seeking leadership positions. It was also evident that prevailing school leadership frequently works with school governing bodies to undermine and thwart the ambitions of female deputy principals and those unions rarely play a supportive role to potential women leaders. Data is analysed using the Capabilities Approach. In this study, the Capabilities Approach suggests that environmental and social conversion factors seem to be obstacles affecting women's agency to achieve the desired outcome of becoming a principal. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Prior to 1989, in New Zealand, very few women were represented in senior leadership positions in schools, especially co-educational secondary schools. Following the 1989 Education Act, commonly referred to as the 'Tomorrow's Schools' legislation, women began to be appointed in increasing numbers to school principalships. In New Zealand, as in other western democracies where New Right ideologies have impacted on educational policy, the role of the school principal has become more demanding and complex. If principals are to be supported in this role, it is considered important that the knowledge and experiences which influence their professional practice are better understood so that professional development programmes are targeted appropriately. This study builds on previous studies of women's experiences of leadership in education (Neville, 1988; Shakeshaft, 1989, 1995; Strachan, 1991, 1997; Court, 1992; Ozga & Walker, 1995; Hall, 1996; Coleman, 1996, 2000; Ah Nee-Benham & Cooper, 1998; Henderson-Kelly & Pamphilon, 2000; McCarthy, 2001; McLay & Brown, 2001) but has as its focus, the sources of influence on five women principals' practice. It has a complementary focus to McLay's and Brown's (2001) study of women headteachers in UK independent secondary schools. They investigated the women's formal training but also sought to find out what life experiences might have prepared them for the role of leading a school. Ah Nee-Benham's and Cooper's (1998) narratives of minority women in school leadership positions in the United States provided the inspiration for this study of five New Zealand principals. While the women in this study are not 'voices from the margins' as are the women in Ah Nee-Benham's and Cooper's study, through the use of narrative and other qualitative methods, their individual accounts capture the voice of experience which is too often missing from the educational leadership literature (Ah Nee-Benham & Cooper, 1998; Heck & Hallinger, 1999; Southworth, 2001). The women's stories add collectively to an emerging literature base which seeks to unravel how leaders actually think and work. This study specifically examines five women principals' personal theories and beliefs about leadership and investigates how their personal histories and career experiences have influenced their professional knowledge and practice. The research methods reflect a commitment to understanding the women's experiences from their perspectives and their stories are seen as providing a window into what they know. Methods such as concept mapping, open-ended unstructured interviews and annals (snake diagrams) help unpack their personal theories about leadership as well as assist understanding of the influence of their personal histories and professional experiences. The educational leadership literature provides a useful starting point to analyse the first part of the research question regarding the women's conceptions of leadership. The literature acknowledges various approaches to leadership, three of which may be called 'moral/critical', 'people-centred' and 'corporate managerial'. Respectively, they each have 'world-views' which emphasise 'ideals', 'people' and 'efficiency'. In this study, I aim to identify what 'world-views' underpin the women's conceptions of leadership but also how they have constructed these concepts. The different needs of each of their schools in association with the principals' own backgrounds and values systems have strongly influenced their varying conceptions of leadership. While on one level their beliefs are unique, on another, they reveal some common themes. The principals are people-focussed but this commitment is underpinned by deeply held ideals about the purpose of schools enriching lives. Efficient management systems are seen as important supporting concepts to assisting people and accomplishing ideals. In order to answer the second part of the research question regarding how the women's personal histories and professional experiences have influenced their professional knowledge and practice, this study drew on the findings of an Australian study which investigated the sources of influence on teacher knowledge in action (McMeniman, Cumming, Wilson, Stevenson & Sim, 2000). It provided the platform and focus for the current study of women principals. A key finding of this study is that the women's beliefs and practices have been influenced by both their personal histories and various career experiences which have assisted them to grow professionally. Central to their learning from these experiences, however, is the way in which the individual interprets or filters experience and actively constructs meaning. Principals' knowledge bases are socially constructed but mediated by their personal theories. Learning from experiences in the workplace has a critical influence especially if it is scaffolded by experts (Billett, 2001) or if there is a community of practice (Wenger, 1998, 2000) encouraging participation. When this learning is augmented by various research access points (McMeniman et al., 2000) such as critical dialogue with peers, in-service education and formal postgraduate studies, it potentially has a direct and daily influence on principals' practice. Although this study is limited to an analysis of five women principals, the commonalities in the sources of influence on their practice, lead one to suggest that the findings may have relevance for other principals, both male and female, and possibly other practitioners.

No description available.

Regardless of the promotion structures employed within the different educational systems of this country, men dominate the position of Principal of secondary schools. Despite legislation seeking to provide equality of opportunity and the apparent breaking down of deeply entrenched societal attitudes of women being the servers or followers, there still exist factors that give rise to the under-representation of women in Principal positions of secondary schools. This thesis was designed to investigate issues associated with the apparent gender imbalance in Principal positions in Victoria's government secondary schools. It will attempt to identify elements that have militated against women gaining such positions. The research methodology employed to investigate the problem is a case study approach. The study centered on a girl's school, Gilmore College for Girls, which has had a succession of female Principals. The research involved inviting women who were Principals of Gilmore College for Girls to participate in an interview. Within that format structured interviews were used to seek the women Principals' perceptions as to factors leading to this under-representation of women as Principals. The findings from this study are then interpreted in the light of factors by which the literature explains the problem. Various reasons emerged to explain the lower number of women Principals. It seemed to stem from perceptions about their roles, which limited the level of their involvement in schools: for instance once women teachers were married with children they were less likely to advance in their careers and to apply for Principal positions. The workload of the Principal was also identified as one of the factors inhibiting women from applying for Principal positions. It was seen to make marriage and child rearing almost impossible. Therefore most women were content to be classroom teachers and only apply for positions that suited their interests and allowed them to meet family, home and social commitments. It is suggested that further related investigations be pursued of women in Principal positions of our secondary schools.