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Educational leadership: An examination of issues and factors that promote and hinder utilization of African women in educational leadership positions
Abstract
The subject of "women in development" has received some attention from both the African governments and donor agencies, but the focus needs to shift to African women in educational leadership. While some work has been done, most of it has concentrated on women in agriculture, health, and primary education. African women in higher education and girls in secondary schools have received little, if any, attention. Education at these levels is highly competitive and not many women and girls attain it. Hence, few women have made it to top- and middle-level administrative management positions, while the majority continue to fill teaching and support staff positions. This study was designed to investigate issues and factors that affect African women in educational leadership positions. To better understand the phenomenon, it was necessary to explore what happens to girls while in school up to employment stage. The study was guided by research questions centered around: factors and issues affecting African women educational leaders, the role of education in promoting and hindering women's advancement, the African woman's role in the public domain, and strategies for planned change. Qualitative methods of inquiry were used, and data gathering techniques included literature review, interviews, observation and photography. Kurt Lewin's Forcefield Analysis was utilized to organize recurrent issues and factors. The findings included: a high drop out rate for girls due to social problems; that girls receive marginalized attention when parents have financial constraints; girls' educational attainment is lower than that of boys; the education system contributes to low levels of girls' and women's education and training through curricula and sitting arrangements that segregate girls from boys, and policy that perpetuates the problem of underrepresentation of girls. The study also found that girls' and women's success is dependent on such factors as the girls' and women's perception of their own future, their willingness to break the traditional barriers that are detrimental to women's success, support from people around them, ambition, and perseverence. The study concludes with some pertinent recommendations and an action plan. They include changing women's attitudes toward their roles, educating society on the value of educating girls and women, creating opportunities to enable more women to get further education and training, encouraging and preparing women with potential for leadership positions, providing enabling services such as day-care facilities, workshops, forums, summer institutes, organizing task forces, opening a women's center where women in education can begin to critically discuss women's issues, creating a roster for women in educational management, encouraging continued analysis of educational policy, inclusion of more women in policy-making positions and training of educational policy makers.
Subject Area
School administration|Womens studies|Minority & ethnic groups|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Nowa-Phiri, Meria Damalisy, "Educational leadership: An examination of issues and factors that promote and hinder utilization of African women in educational leadership positions" (1994). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9434516.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9434516