Management challenges facing female secondary school principals in the rural North West Province : a feminist perspective

Abstract

School management has become a topical issue, and with the implementation of the Affirmative Action policies, the emancipation of women into management and leadership positions has become prominent in the South African context. The education spectrum is not exempt to this. The study sought to explore the challenges female school principals face due to the gendered nature of the rural communities they operate in, where patriarchy is eminent and extreme gender stereotypes are experienced and evident. The main research question that underpinned the study is, 'what are the management challenges secondary school female principals face in the rural North-West Province?' The methodology that is underwriting the study is the qualitative research methodology. This study adopted the liberal feminism as the theoretical framework underpinning it. The target population for the study is focused on female secondary school principals in selected schools of the North-West Province, South Africa. It was from this population where a total sample size of three female secondary school principals is purposefully sampled for data collection using semi-structured interviews together with six DHs having focus groups. The data analysis process followed a thematic approach. Among the significant findings of the study was that challenges of female school principals generally emanated from the school, the immediate schooling community, and the entire school ecology. These challenges included non-verbal and unwritten barriers towards school management, physical strength as a barometer of leadership, lack of leadership mentoring, qualifications and lastly being inadequately groomed for leadership. One facet that underpinned the varied challenges was that families of female school principals lose out on the parental figures because secondary school management requires extensive hours of work, constant monitoring, and supervision and all these activities erode on family time. The conclusion is that there is a dire need for the rural school communities to take the government's gender sensitivity initiatives seriously if women leaders are to succeed in their roles as managers in virtually all social institutions. The study therefore recommends that the school quality teaching and learning campaign (SQLTC) should be effectively implemented and used as this is one platform that brings all the school's stakeholders under one roof to enhance the overall development of the school. The study concludes that the upskilling of qualifications of teachers, promoting the effectiveness of the SQLTC and support and forums for newly appointed principals.