Institute of Industry and Academic Research Incorporated
Register in
IJEMDS Cover Page
International Journal of Educational Management & Development Studies

ISSN 2719-0633 (Print) 2719-0641 (Online)

ICV: 77.25

h-index: 8

Preparing to lead schools: Leadership aspirations of Zimbabwean female teachers

Zvisinei Moyo
Volume 5 Issue 2, June 2024
Abstract

Over the past two decades, the topic of women leading and managing education has increased and intensified, shifting focus to roles and performance. Hence this study was conducted to investigate the leadership aspiration trends amongst female teachers in Zimbabwe. It is also located within the global literature on social justice putting effort to foster positive social change in societies. A sample survey research design was utilized leading to the sampling of 160 female teachers from two districts – Mberengwa and Zvishavane in the Midlands province in Zimbabwe. Descriptive statistics were calculated on the survey data. Findings indicated that although the female teachers advanced their qualifications and scored positive achievement aspirations, they were not willing to take up leadership positions. To a great extent, this study lays the groundwork for policymakers, researchers and practitioners and points toward the path of knowledge generation and accumulation.

Keywords: socio-cultural constraints, female teachers, Zimbabwe, leadership

References

Agezo, C.K., & Hope, W.C. (2011). Gender leadership in Cape Coast Municipality primary schools. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 14(2), 181-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2010.537448

Aladejana, F., & Aladejana, T.I. (2005). Leadership in education: the place of Nigerian women. International Studies in Educational Administration, 33(2), 6-12.

Brown, M. (1996). Barriers to women managers’ advancement in education in Uganda. International Journal of Educational Management, 10(6), 18-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513549610151668

Chabaya, O. Rembe, S. & Wadesango, N. (2009). The persistence of gender inequality in Zimbabwe: Factors that impede the advancement of women into leadership positions in primary schools. South African Journal of Education, 29(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v29n2a259

Chitiga, M.M. (2008). The major influences of the boundless-extended family system on the professional experiences of black Zimbabwean women leaders in higher education. Oxford: Forum on Public Policy.

Clarke, S. & O’Donoghue, T. (2016). Educational leadership and context: A rendering of an inseparable relationship. British Journal of Educational Studies, 1–16, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2016.1199772

Coleman, M. (2007). Gender and educational leadership in England: A comparison of secondary head teachers’ views over time. School Leadership & Management, 27(4), 383-399. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632430701562991

Coleman, M. 2002. Women as headteachers: Striking the balance. Stoke on Trent: Trentham.

Combat, V. F. (2014). Women aspiring to administrative positions in Kenya municipal primary schools. International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, 6(7), 119-130.

Cubillo, L., & Brown, M. (2003). Women into educational leadership and management: international differences? Journal of Educational Administration, 41(3), 278-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230310474421

Dady, N.P. (2014). Analyzing gender difference in leadership styles and behavior of heads of schools in Tanzania. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(9), 156-165.

Eagly, A. H., Karau, S., & Johnson, B. (1992). Gender and leadership style among school principals: A meta-analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 28(1) 76-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X92028001004

Earley, P. & Weindling, D. (2007). Do school leaders have a shelf life? Career stages and head teacher performance. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 35(1): 73-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143207071386

Eyal, O., & Berkovich, I. (2010). National challenges, educational reforms, and their influence on school management: The Israeli case. Educational Planning, 19(3), 44-63.

Flessa, J., Bramwell, D., Fernandez, M., & Weinstein, J. (2018). School leadership in Latin America 2000–2016. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 46(2), 182-206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143217717277

Grant, C. (2005). Teacher leadership: Gendered responses and interpretations. Agenda, 19(65), 44-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2005.9674620

Gregor, M. A., & O’Brien, K. M. (2015). Promoting career aspirations among young women: Improving instrumentation. The Journal of Career Assessment10, 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072715599537

Greyling, S. C. M., & Steyn, G. M. (2015). The challenges facing women aspiring for school leadership positions in South African primary schools. Gender & Behaviour, 13(1), 6607.

Grogan, M., & C. Shakeshaft. (2011). Women and Educational Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gudhlanga, E., Chirimuuta, C. & Bhikuvhani, C. (2012). Towards a Gender Inclusive Curriculum in Zimbabwe. Gender and Behaviour, 10(1), 4533-4545.

Hallinger, P. (2016). Bringing context out of the shadows of leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 46(1), 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143216670652

Hallinger, P., (2018). Surfacing a hidden literature: A systematic review of research on educational leadership and management in Africa. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 46(3), pp.362-384. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143217694895

Herrera, L. (2003). Participation in school upgrading: gender, class and (in) action in Egypt. International Journal of Educational Development, 23(2), 187-199.

Hlatywayo, L. & Hlatywayo, S. & Muranda, Z.A. (2014). The extent to which females occupy leadership positions in Zimbabwean teachers’ colleges. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(9), 28-36.

Ikoya, P. O. (2009). Gender difference in the application of preventive discipline practices among principals of secondary schools in Nigeria. Journal of Social Science, 20(1), 49-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2009.11892720

Irechukwu, N. E. (2010). School management positions and women empowerment: A Rwandan case. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(6), 180. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v5n6p180

Juma, K., Simatwa, E., & Ayodo, T. (2011). Assessment of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among female principals in public secondary schools in Kenya: a case study of Rachuonyo North and South Districts. Educational Research2(12), 1810-1820.

Keter, R. C. (2013). Factors influencing female teachers’ progression into leadership positions in public secondary schools in Trans-nzoia east district, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).

Kraemer, H. C. (1991). Without increasing sample size. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 27(3-4), 217.

Krüger, M. L. (1996). Gender issues in school headship: Quality versus power? European Journal of Education, 31(4), 447-461. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1503358

Krüger, M. L. (2008). School leadership, sex and gender: Welcome to difference. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 11(2), 155-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603120701576266

Kwadzo, A.C. (2010). Female leadership and school effectiveness in junior high schools in Ghana. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(6), 689-703. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011079557

Lumby, J. & Azaola, C. (2014). Women principals in South Africa: Gender mothering and leadership. British Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 30–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24464004

Makura, A.H. & Shumba, A. (2009). Management of child sexual abuse cases by female school heads in Zimbabwe. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 19(1), 90-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2009.10820264

Makura, A.H. (2012). Leadership styles of female educational leaders: in search of gender inclusive leadership theory. Journal of Social Sciences, 31(3), 279-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2012.11893037

Mapolisa, T. & Madziyire, N. (2012). female leadership dilemmas in primary schools: A case study of 18 primary schools in Kambuzuma, Warren Park and Kuwadzana areas of Harare Province in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Social Science & Education, 2(3), 447-460.

Mapolisa, T., Mhlanga, E., Chabvonga, N. & Chimhwadzwa, Z. (2013). Female leadership dilemmas in primary schools: a case study of primary schools in Harare province in Zimbabwe. University of Zimbabwe Social Sciences Research, 25(2), 261-277.

Maposa, A. & Mugabe, M. J. (2013). “To Be or Not to Be”: The Plight of Female Educational Leaders in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 4(4), 1-15.

McKillop, E., & Moorosi, P. (2017). Career development of English female head-teachers: influences, decisions and perceptions. School Leadership & Management37(4), 334-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2017.1338682

McMillan, J. H. & Schumacher, S. (2010). Research in Education. Evidence-Based Inquiry. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Mestry, R. & Schmidt, M. (2012). A feminist postcolonial examination of female principals’ experiences in South African secondary schools. Gender and Education, 24(5), 535–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2011.628926

Mogadime, D. Mentz, P.K., Armstrong, D.E. & Holtam, B. (2010). Constructing self as leader: Case studies of women who are change agents in South Africa. Urban Education, 45(6), 797-821. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085910384203

Moorosi, P. (2010). South African female principals’ career paths: Understanding the gender gap in secondary school management. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 38(5), 547–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143210373741

Morgan, S. E., Reichert, T. & Harrison, T. R. (2016). From numbers to words. Reporting statistical results for the social sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.

Moyo, Z. & Perumal, J. (2019). Disadvantaged school context and female school leadership in Zimbabwe. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies -Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity, 14(1), 83-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/18186874.2019.1610900

Moyo, Z. & Perumal, J. (2020). A systematic review of research on women leading and managing education in Zimbabwe. Gender and Behaviour, 18(2), 15688-15697

Moyo, Z. (2022). Confronting gender inequalities in educational leadership: A case of Zimbabwe. Gender Questions, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-8457/7218

Moyo, Z. (2021) Significance of cultural context in shaping female school leadership and management in Zimbabwe. African Identities, 19(4), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2021.1994853

Moyo, Z., Perumal, J. & Hallinger, P. (2020). Struggling to make a difference against the odds: A synthesis of qualitative research on women leading schools in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(10), 1577-1594. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-01-2020-0015

Msila, V. (2012). School management and the struggle for effective schools. http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raer20

Mudau, T.J. & Ncube, D. (2017). Leadership qualities of women in educational management positions: Stakeholders’ perceptions of selected schools in Matabeleland south region in Zimbabwe. Gender & Behaviour, 15(4), 10595-10608.

Muzvidziwa, I. (2010). Reflections on a phenomenological inquiry into Zimbabwean women’s stories of managing schools. International Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 33-58. http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1145

Muzvidziwa, I. (2012). Women managing change in Zimbabwean schools. In V. Chikoko & K. Molbjerg-Jorgensen (eds), Educational leadership, management and governance in South Africa. New York. Nova Science Publishers, pp. 125-142.

Muzvidziwa, I. (2013). Gender, culture and exclusion of women in educational leadership. Alternation 20(2), 236 – 256.

Muzvidziwa, I. (2014). Zimbabwean women primary school heads. In I. Bogotch, & C.M. Shields, (eds.). International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Social (In) Justice. London, Springer, pp. 799-817.

Muzvidziwa, I. (2015). Quality and equitable education in primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 30(2), 111-128.

Naidoo, L., Muthukrishna, N., & Hobden, S. (2012). The leadership behavior of the school principal: An exploratory study in five special schools in KwaZulu-Natal. Gender & Behaviour, 10(2), 4883.

Netshitangani, T., & Msila, V.T. (2014). When the headmaster is female: women’s access to education management positions in a rural setting. Pensee, 76(10), 19-25.

Ng, F. S. D., Nguyen, T. D., Wong, K. S. B., & Choy, K. W. W. (2015). Instructional leadership practices in Singapore. School Leadership & Management, 35(4), 388-407.

Nkomo, S.M. & Ngambi, H. (2009). African women in leadership: current knowledge and a framework for future studies. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, 4(1), 49-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/18186870903102014

Omboko, F., & Oyoo, S. O. (2011). Being a female head teacher: The Tanzanian experience. International Journal of Learning, 17(12). DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v17i12/47374

Onyene, V. (2007). Evaluation of job involvement potency of Nigerian male and female managers in education: implications for balancing gender gap in employment. Ahfad Journal, 24(1), 34-59.

Oplatka, I., & Arar, K. H, (2017). The research on educational leadership and management in the Arab world since the 1990s: A systematic review. Review of Education, 1-41. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3095

Panigrahi, M.R. (2013). Perception of secondary school stakeholders towards women representation in educational leadership in Harari region of Ethiopia. International Women Online Journal of Distance Education, 2(1), 27-43.

Parsaloi, M. W., & Steyn, G. M. (2013). The experiences of female head teachers in rural primary schools in Kenya. Gender & Behaviour, 11(1), 5064.

Pheko, B. C. (2002). A gender gap in educational management in secondary schools in Botswana. Mosenodi, 10(1), 55-65.

Richardson, M. S., & Schaeffer, C. (2013). Expanding the discourse: A dual model of working for women’s (and men’s) lives. In Conceptualising women’s working lives (pp. 23-49). Brill.

Shava, G. N. & Ndebele, C. (2014) Challenges and opportunities for women in distance education management positions: Experiences from the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU). Journal of Social Sciences, 40(3), 359-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2014.11893331  

Smit, B. (2013). Female leadership in a rural school: A feminist perspective. Studies of Tribes and Tribals, 11(1), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/0972639X.2013.11886670

Sperandio, J., & Kagoda, A.M. (2010). Women teachers’ aspirations to school leadership in Uganda. International Journal of Educational Management, 24(1), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541011013024

Steyn, G.M. & Parsaloi, M.W. (2014). Moving towards gender equality: the case of female head teachers in Kenya. Gender and Behaviour, 12(1), 5980-5993. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC154680

Uwizeyimana, D. E., & Mathevula, N. S. (2014). Promotion of female educators into school management positions: A gendered perspective. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 1203. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p1203

Visser, P. S., Krosnick, J. A., & Lavrakas, P. J. (2000). Survey approach. London, Cambridge University Press

Wadesango, N. & Karima, R. (2016). Issues and challenges around low representation of women in administrative posts in schools. Journal of Social Science, 48(1, 2), 25-32.  https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2016.11893567

Wambura, N.F. (2010). Lessons in spiritual leadership from Kenyan women. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(6), 755-768. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011079601

Zimbabwe Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (2022). 2022 Primary and Secondary Education Statistics Report. Harare, Zimbabwe, MoPSE.

Cite this article:

Moyo, Z. (2024). Preparing to lead schools: Leadership aspirations of Zimbabwean female teachers. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 5 (2), 96-119. https://doi.org/10.53378/353060

License:

ai generated, holographic, interface-8578468.jpg
library, people, study-2245807.jpg
bookshelf, books, library-2907964.jpg
Scroll to Top