This study focuses on the conununication strategies of women principals in secondary schools. It highlights
the role of conununication in management by examining the purpose of conununication, communication
process, barriers to effective communication and the types of communication, which are verbal and nonverbal
communication.
The study, further highlights that communication in management may be affected by the differences in
communication styles of women and men. It further shows that while differences in communicative styles
can be attributed to many factors, socialisation into gender positions is a major factor that leads to gender
communication differences.
Though socialisation is one of the factors shaping communication of men and women, post-structuralists
also argue that children who are socialised are not just passive recipients. During socialisation each person
is active in taking up discourses through which she or he is shaped. The socialisation, starts at home, then
to school and also the community. Children develop sex-appropriate speech in different communities.
A single case study explored the conununication strategies of a woman principal in the Northern Province,
South Africa. Reputational sampling was used for the selection of the participants and site. Data gathering
was done by means of interviews [with the principal and six teachers], observation and document analysis.
Findings suggest that a woman principal's communication is shaped by the context in which she is a
woman, mother, wife, African, educational manager and as an individual with her own unique personality.
Women managers in rural contexts experience cultural barriers to communication as women are not
expected to talk much and should appear to know little in the presence of men. Women are also not
supposed to conununicate non-verbally by keeping eye contact, using more space and using facial
expression. In this study, a woman manager emerges as a good communicator who overcomes cultural
barriers by even practicing what is not traditionally acceptable.
The woman principal prefers personal encounters as channels of communication and as an African, she
overcomes language barriers by using mother-tongue when speaking with staff and students. In general.
this study found that the woman principal preferred human-oriented communication strategies, and
endeavoured to conquer cultural barriers to communication. / Educational Leadership and Management / D.Ed. (Educational Management)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/16184 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Thakhathi, Tshilidzi |
| Contributors | Lemmer, Eleanor M. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xiv, 222 leaves) |
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