A feminist postcolonial examination of female principals' experiences in South African secondary schools

A central theme that dominates most studies on gender and leadership in education is the emerging tendency towards mitigating pervasive forms of discrimination against females. Yet, women still remain, for the most part, a minority within leadership positions in education. Despite policy initiatives...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gender and education 2012-08, Vol.24 (5), p.535-551
Main Authors: Mestry, Raj, Schmidt, Michele
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barriers
Constraints
Decolonization
Education administration
educational administration
Educational leadership
Equity
Females
Feminism
Foreign Countries
Gender
Gender Discrimination
Gender equity
Gender roles
Leadership
Politics
postcolonial feminism
Postcolonialism
Principals
Qualitative Research
School principals
Secondary Schools
Sex
Sex discrimination
Sex Fairness
Sex Stereotypes
Sexism
Social structure
South Africa
Women Administrators
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Summary:A central theme that dominates most studies on gender and leadership in education is the emerging tendency towards mitigating pervasive forms of discrimination against females. Yet, women still remain, for the most part, a minority within leadership positions in education. Despite policy initiatives emphasising gender equity, discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping continue to perpetuate the myth of women's submissiveness and remain a redoubtable barrier for impeding women in acquiring leadership positions. The awareness of gender politics combined with challenges related to gender equity in organisations remain a thorny concern in education circles. This paper examines the barriers South African women experience. A qualitative approach was employed using a post-colonial feminist perspective. Findings indicate that stereotypes concerning female inadequacy as leaders persist and act to distort perceptions of male and female performance and potential.
ISSN:0954-0253
1360-0516
DOI:10.1080/09540253.2011.628926