26. Educational Leadership
Paper
School leadership for Gender Equality - emotions and resistance in an Age of Uncertainty
Eva Amundsdotter
Stockholm University, Sweden
Presenting Author: Amundsdotter, Eva
In a time of uncertainty and tension, a leadership for norms and values about equality and value-based leadership seems more important than ever. At the same time, fear and various expressions of resistance seem to hinder leadership for everyone's equal value.
The purpose is to examine principals' narratives about their leadership for gender equality, especially with regards to emotions and resistance, which seems to play a big role. What kind of leadership is needed to support willingness to learn and develop active norms that support values about equality?
Schools are here seen as organizations, especially connected to the “doing gender-perspective” with its first references to West and Zimmerman (1987). It includes an understanding that gender is created and meaning of gender is formed in different relational activities in an organization.
Previous studies have problematized how gender equality should be understood and what it "is" (Magnusson et al. 2008). Resistance in organizations to gender equality work is common, and expressions of resistance are numerous, as shown by various research studies. However, there is a lack of knowledge about different expressions of resistance in schools from a principal's perspective in the role of responsibility. From one perspective, gender equality work is in many ways similar to any change initiative, as changes within organizations often create tensions and expose power dynamics within them. Change can be perceived as encountering unwillingness, resistance to change, and difficulties in altering established routines and work methods. However, many researchers have argued that gender equality work is a particularly complex development effort that involves conflicts, dilemmas, and various difficulties requiring attention to power, interests, and spaces for action (Cockburn 1991, Pincus 1997, Wahl m.fl. 2011, Linghag et al 2016, Amundsdotter et al 2016,).
Several studies stresses the importance of active support from managers and leadership for increased gender equality is emphasized (Acker 2000, Pincus 1997).
Joan Ackers (1992) model for processes where gender plays a role and is integrated in other organizational processes, has served as an important contribution to different research and development projects, that aim to work with understanding how gender is affecting people in an organization and how one can work with change processes. The model points out how gender is intertwined with other processes in divisions, symbols, interaction and internal identity work (ibid).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedInteractive processes have been carried out with 120 principals each session, attending the National School Leadership Training Program in Sweden. These processes involve individual writings, reflective writing on how gender is addressed in one's own leadership context, individual reflections combined with written group work, organized according to different school forms.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsSome results from the joint work in the prinicpals groups shows that leadership weaknesses and challenges can be multifaceted and involve both a lack of knowledge and awareness. A clear difficulty is their own resistance, where leaders can stand in the way of change due to personal obstacles. It could be fear of pursuing equality issues, a lack of systematic work or difficulties in asking the right questions and problematizing. Understanding and leading an almost single-sex group can also be a challenge, including dealing with any power relations going on in the group.
Several women testify to the devaluation of "feminine" characteristics and the use of stereotypical images. A specific challenge is the image of "good girl", which can lead to self-pressure and pressure on other women in the organization. Examples are given where women invest more time and work in administrative systems compared to male colleagues.
Men in female-dominated environments reflect on their privileges, where they may perceive that they do not have to contribute as much and do not have to prepare in the same way as female colleagues. Their competence and value are more easily confirmed in interactions. Fear is a common denominator, both fear of threats and aggression from educators as well as from parents. Female leaders may also experience difficulties in being accepted as women and principals, especially in meetings with male parents.
ReferencesAcker, J (1992). Gendering Organizational Theory, In Mills, Albert & Tancred Peta (Eds.). Gendering Organizational Analysis. London: Sage Publications.
Acker, J. (2000) Gendered Contradictions in Organizational Equity
Projects. Organization, 7(4):625-32.
Amundsdotter, E. (2009). Att framkalla och förändra ordningen – aktionsorienterad genusforskning för jämställda organisationer. [To develop and alter the order – action-orientated gender research for gender equal organizations] Diss. Luleå:
Luleå tekniska universitet
Andersson, S. & Amundsdotter, E. (2012). Developing Innovative Organisations using Action-oriented Gender Research. In Andersson, S., Berglund, K., Gunnarsson, E. & Sundin, E. (Eds) (2012). Promoting innovations. Policies, Practices and Procedures. Stockholm: VINNOVA.
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Magnusson, E, Rönnblom, M & Silius, H (red.) (2008). Critical studies
of gender equalities: Nordic dislocations, dilemmas and contradictions.
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Martin, P. Y. (2003). “Said and Done” Versus “Saying and Doing”, Gendering Practices, Practicing Gender. Gender & Society. 17:342-366
West, C, & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society 1, pp: 125-51.
West, C, & Zimmerman, D. (2009). Accounting for doing gender. Gender & Society. Vol, 23, No. 1. pp. 111-122
26. Educational Leadership
Paper
Leadership in Crisis; Exploring the Current Challenges in Educational Leadership, the Unintended Consequences and Opportunity for Leadership Development Through Mentoring.
Niamh Deignan, Manuela Heinz
University of Galway, Ireland
Presenting Author: Deignan, Niamh
This proposal draws upon findings from a doctoral research study that explores the ways in which leaders within second level education in Ireland are experiencing mentoring and coaching and in how far (and in what ways) it impacts their leadership identities and leadership practice. This research focuses on the increasing complexity of needs as identified by both newly appointed and experienced school principals, the response from national public authorities in providing support and training for principals in Ireland and the opportunities for developing supportive frameworks that include the potential for reimagining school leadership roles and responsibilities.
The growing global concern about the recruitment and retention of school leaders with notably fewer people applying for leadership roles (Hancock et al., 2019) have led to an acknowledgment that a crisis exists within education. While leadership training exists for all principal teachers in Ireland ongoing provisions that assist principals by incorporating the necessary practical supports and supportive frameworks in developing fundamental leadership ideologies within their school are frequently lacking (CSL Report, 2015) and often been regarded as ad-hoc, disjointed and lacking any system-wide framework. In an attempt to respond to the current leadership crisis, programmes for the induction of newly appointed principals and a developmental programme for school leadership teams are provided for principals which integrate previous professional learning support services into one body since September 2023. In spite of these developments principals are calling for more diverse supports undoubtedly compounded by the pace of change for school leaders and challenges that include the aftermath of a global pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, restrained leadership roles, positions and resources, school accountability and self-evaluation, curricular reform, addressing disadvantage, diversity within school communities and child wellbeing and welfare.
A growing need for providing educational organisations with a clear progressive educational leadership pathway has, in more recent times, become central in the practical preparation and development of individuals in leadership roles. Findings from this study explore in depth the impact that formal supports such as mentoring and coaching have on bridging the gap for newly appointed school leaders in Ireland to support them in dealing with the complexity and extensive nature of the expectations of their leadership roles. Furthermore, this study seeks to provide insights into the lived experiences of established school principals who have engaged with formal supportive networks and the ways in which these supports have impacted on their professional development while working in the role of principal.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis research uses mixed methods in order to corroborate the results from different methods and thus follows Greene et al.’s (1989) five major purposes’ for conducting mixed methods research, namely; triangulation, complementarity, initiation, development and expansion of research findings. Defined as a three phase exploratory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), this research began with a qualitative phase consisting of interview data and analysis that were further tested in a quantitative phase.
The qualitative strand was identified as the most suitable for initial findings as a result of the absence of empirical research conducted in this area specific to the Irish context and post-primary leadership. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and reflective thematic analysis techniques were employed to identify and reflect on key themes (Braun and Clarke, 2021). Themes from the interviews guided questions for an online survey with cross-sectional design for second level principal teachers within Ireland, providing ‘the researcher with a consistent benchmark’ (Bryman, 2012, p.55) for gauging variation. The survey research complied with Bryman’s (2012, pp160-161) eleven-step process of quantitative research and provided greater insights into the current realities and norms of leadership experiences in post primary schools in Ireland and allowed participants a forum to discuss significant issues within their own leadership environments. In keeping with the overarching topic of educational leadership, this research pays special attention to the theme of education in an age of uncertainty with a particular focus on the ways in which formalised supports for school principals are cultivated in order to provide hope for the future undeterred by the current challenges faced within educational leadership.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsFindings from this mixed methods study are outlined under the following themes; training and supports for educational leaders, complexity of needs, impact of engagement with formal support structures and calling for change. Many of the described experiences indicate mentoring and coaching relationships as most supportive in responding to the Department of Education run framework “Looking at Our School 2022” (2024) and the four domains outlined; Leading learning and teaching, managing the organisation, leading school development, and building leadership capacity. Productive mentoring relationships described as collaborative were recognised as highly beneficial. They were seen to support the development of positive professional behaviours and directly linked to enhanced leadership effectiveness and identity. Furthermore professional knowledge, management expertise and administrative competencies were largely noted as having improved as a result of engagement with formal supports. Challenges noted administration as the most overbearing aspect to the role of principalship with ‘time’ a significant obstruction to engaging in productive professional networks. The absence of supports within the school community further impeded engagement in programmes such as mentoring thus hindering development of leadership identity, increased feelings of isolation and indicate additional consequences to newly appointed principals willingness to engage in alternative leadership support programmes thereafter.
ReferencesBraun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. London: Sage
CSL (2015) A Professional Learning Continuum for School Leadership in the Irish Context: Centre for School Leadership Report. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zY8v7ae4KAM_lmjlJ4j2eAGn8uMmRnDx/view (Accessed: 19 June 2019).
Department of Education (2024) Looking at our School 2022: ‘A Quality Framework for Post-Primary Schools’. Dublin: Department of Education.
Fletcher, S.J., and Mullen, C.A. (2012) The sage handbook of Mentoring and Coaching in Education. Thousand Oaks, C.A.: Sage Publications.
Hollingworth, L., Olsen, D., Asikin-Garmager, A. and Winn, K.M. (2018) ‘Initiating conversations and opening doors: How principals establish a positive building culture to sustain school improvement efforts’, Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 46(6), pp.1014-1034.
Irby, B.J. (2020) ‘Vision and mission of mentoring and coaching focused on school leaders’, Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 28(2), p.99-103.
Lackritz, A.D. (2019) ‘Leadership coaching: a multiple-case study of urban public charter school principal’s experiences’, Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 27(1), p.5-25.
Miscenko, D., Guenter, H. and Day, D.V. (2017) ‘Am I a leader? Examining leader identity development over time’, The Leadership Quarterly, 28(5), pp.605-620.
McMillan, D.J., McConnell, B. and O’Sullivan, H., (2014) ‘Continuing professional development – why bother? Perceptions and motivations of teachers in Ireland’, Professional Development in Education, 42(1), pp.150-167.
Parylo, O., Zepeda, S.J. and Bengtson, E. (2012) ‘The different faces of principal mentorship’, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 1(2), pp.120-135.
Qian, H., Walker, A. and Bryant, D.A. (2017) Global trends and issues in the development of educational leaders. In: Crow MDYGM (ed.) Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders. 2nd edn. New York, NY: Routledge.
Service, B., Dalgic, G.E. and Thornton, K. (2016) ‘Implications of a shadowing/mentoring programme for aspiring principals’, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching Education, 5(3), pp.253-271.
Silver, M., Lochmiller, C. R., Copland, M. A., & Tripps, A. M. (2009) ‘Supporting new school leaders: Findings from a university-based leadership coaching program for new administrators’, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17(3), pp.215-232.
Stander, A.S. and Stander, M.W. (2016) ‘Retention of Educators: The Role Of Leadership, Empowerment and Work Engagement’, International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 8(1), pp.1309-8036.
Sugrue, C. (2011) ‘Irish teachers’ experience of professional development: performative or transformative learning?’, Professional Development in Education, 37(5) pp.793-815.
Wise, D., & Cavazos, B. (2017) ‘Leadership coaching for principals: A national study’. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership In Learning, 25(2), pp.223-245.
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