CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: EXPERIENCES FROM A DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE. DR SHAVA [NWU POTCHEFSTROOM] MRS L SIBANDA[NUST ZIM]

INTRODUCTION School leadership is not a simple exercise Requires multiple strategies and abilities, whether assumed by men or women. Education systems are ever changing and these changes demand for visionary school leaders.

INTRODUCTION CONTD Leadership is the process of persuasion by which an individual or leadership team induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader (Gardner, 1990). Leadership involves inducing followers to act towards achieving goals that represent the values, motivations, wants, needs and the aspirations of both the leader and followers.

BACKGROUND Worldwide, women face many challenges that stand in their way in their effort to provide for successful leadership. Studies globally have found that women are grossly underrepresented in education management with men outnumbering women at about five to one at middle management level (UNESCO as cited in Ramsey, 2000). women on the other hand have limited ambitions, lack of confidence in themselves and their work is affected by discontinuity in the work place (Abu-Khdair, 2012).

BACKGROUND CONTD The government of Zimbabwe responded to several national and international gender declarations and conventions which included 1965 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD); the 1979 United Nations Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (Chabaya et al., 2009).

BACKGROUND CONTD Responding to the conventions, several policy initiatives were put in place in Zimbabwe, e.g. the gender affirmative action policy of 1992, Public Service Commission Circular No. 11 of 1992; Public Service Commission Circular No. 22 of 1996 and National Gender Policy of 2004 (Chabaya, 2009). In all these policy and circular initiatives, the key issues were on the elimination of negative economic, social, political, cultural and structural practices that impede equality and equity of sexes and the promotion of equal opportunities for both men and women in leadership positions.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of the study was to understand the major challenges faced by women in school leadership positions with specific reference to a District in Zimbabwe.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the major challenges facing women in school leadership positions? How do cultural and structural entrenchments affect the leadership of women in schools? What are the common leadership styles adopted by women in school leadership positions?

METHODOLOGY A qualitative research methodology, which is exploratory, descriptive and interpretive was used to understand the meaning the participants made of their world and their experience (Charmaz, 2006; Creswell, 2007; Berge, 2009; Silverman, 2014). Purpose sampling for information rich cases facilitated identification of appropriate participating schools. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the school heads and focus group discussions with purposively selected teachers. The responses of all participants were recorded using a voice recorder. Participants were identified as follows: SSH1-SSH3 = Secondary School Heads; PSH1-PSH3 = Primary School Heads; FG1-FG6 = Focus Group for teachers.

DATA ANALYSIS In this study, data was systematically built through recording proceedings during semi- structured interviews and focus group discussions. The qualitative data was coded systematically according to specific themes and then analysed to address the research questions. The data was reported using thick description and verbatim quotations.

RESULTS CONTD Major challenges faced by female school heads The participants’ responses indicated that women in school leadership positions faced challenges related to: Negative attitudes of school community towards women as school heads. Family attachment and family roles. Social cultural barriers in the school environment. Gender stereotypes against women. Patriarchal leadership structures in society.

RESULTS CONTD For instance, participant SSH2 during interview confirmed : Most of us lady teachers do not want to move away from our families. The finding is consistent with Dorsey’s (1996) view that from an early stage of child development girls are groomed towards their marriage roles of wife, mother and family caretaker.

RESULTS CONTD Cultural factors affecting women in school leadership positions Collectively, participants highlighted that culture reflected in the set of beliefs, norms, values and practices in the schools and the local communities affect women’s execution of leadership roles. PSH2 affirmed: We have challenges especially when the community associates the position of school head with men and especially when the school has been operating with male heads for a long time.

RESULTS CONTD The finding is in agreement with Shava and Ndebele (2014) who assert that to most men, a woman cannot be the head of an organisation unless in the absence of a man. Structural factors and their effects on women in school leadership positions Evidence from the findings indicate that female school heads experienced resistance from their teachers, especially male teachers.

RESULTS CONTD PSH4 revealed: I don’t know if Mr Mpofu (pseudonym) was really not feeling well because he did not attend our staff meeting yesterday yet he was seen playing soccer with learners at the sports ground. It also came out that structural factors impacted negatively on female school heads.

RESULTS CONTD Major differences in leadership styles between men and women The participants pointed out the differences in leadership styles between men and women as follows: Women are more sociable, while men are less socially sensitive and men are more focused on rational, practical and commercial aspect. Women encourage personal development. However, the findings contradict with revelations from literature that there is no significant difference between the leadership styles of successful men and women leaders in organisations (Hymowitz, 2006; White, 2011; Avilio, 2010).

CONCLUSION The study found that challenges faced by women school leaders embraced structural and cultural entrenchments in society and schools in particular. We recommend that: there should be a course on gender in teacher education colleges to empower teachers on gender issues. gender issues should be included in the school curriculum to minimize gender stereotype.