Women principals in small schools in South Africa
Women principals in small schools in South Africa
South Africa presents a distinctive and varied context in which to explore the experience of women principals. The article draws on a larger dataset to explore the interplay of gender and school size in seven schools with 200 learners or fewer. From this study, we conclude that gender remains a potent influence on the career and experience of women, but that it is influenced by other factors such as poverty, race, language and the size of the school. Small schools offer women a less competitive path to the principalship, but may also maroon them in a low-paid, low-status and extremely challenging role. In this context some women attempt to neutralise gender by denying its impact; others try to unsettle it by creating social capital from female attributes stereotypically viewed as limiting, such as a maternal approach to leadership. They may thereby only embed further the negative view of women’s leadership capacity.
73-85
Azaola, Marta Cristina
9ac43b18-a969-4877-a1b8-62bb4541da82
January 2011
Azaola, Marta Cristina
9ac43b18-a969-4877-a1b8-62bb4541da82
Lumby, Jacky and Azaola, Marta Cristina
(2011)
Women principals in small schools in South Africa.
Australian Journal of Education, 55 (1), .
Abstract
South Africa presents a distinctive and varied context in which to explore the experience of women principals. The article draws on a larger dataset to explore the interplay of gender and school size in seven schools with 200 learners or fewer. From this study, we conclude that gender remains a potent influence on the career and experience of women, but that it is influenced by other factors such as poverty, race, language and the size of the school. Small schools offer women a less competitive path to the principalship, but may also maroon them in a low-paid, low-status and extremely challenging role. In this context some women attempt to neutralise gender by denying its impact; others try to unsettle it by creating social capital from female attributes stereotypically viewed as limiting, such as a maternal approach to leadership. They may thereby only embed further the negative view of women’s leadership capacity.
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Published date: January 2011
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 180535
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/180535
ISSN: 0004-9441
PURE UUID: a6aba09d-f7cb-4763-a24d-25f6e686d49c
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Date deposited: 14 Apr 2011 15:40
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:56
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Author:
Jacky Lumby
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