MANAGEMENT STYLES

Management Styles Of Female Head Teachers

Management Styles Of Female Head Teachers

Introduction

Gender is a cultural term that describes the characteristics we ascribe to people because of their sex. The ways we believe they behave are based upon our cultural expectations of what is considered male and female (Shakeshaft 2005:59). In this vein, gender is an important aspect of the complexity of daily interactions that make up life in school and has a tremendous influence on one's behaviours and perceptions (Shakeshaft 2005; Hall 2009:74). It follows that gender expectations may partially determine the management style school head-teachers employ in their roles. However, the concept of management style needs more clarification and explanation here.

Ball gave the following definition: A style is a form of social accomplishment, a particular way of realising and enacting the authority of headship. It is eminently an individual accomplishment, but at the same time it is essentially a form of joint action. (Ball 2007: 83)

It follows from Ball's definition that heads manage their schools in different ways and enact diverse levels of control and authority. Their relationships with staff range from participative, non-directive relationships to autocratic-directive ones. Overall, a style of management, as Evetts (2004) commented, 'is a manner of working, an approach, a feeling, a method and a way' (Evetts 2004:160). The term seems to comprise cognitive, emotional and behavioural elements.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the management styles of female head teachers and find if there skills and management styles can be easily transferred to male head teachers, based on the comparison of the two articles. Firstly “Faculty and Staff Members' Perceptions of Effective Leadership: Are There Differences Between Women And Men Leaders?”, by Vicki J. Rosser (2003). Secondly, “Women into Educational Management”, by Anne Gold (1996).

Many of the head-teachers in the survey reported on their experience of resentment, on the part of males and some females, at being subject to female leadership. However, the majority also identify ways in which being a woman leader frees them from the stereotypes of male leadership. Both of these factors exemplify the differences in the context within which male and female head-teachers operate, indicating the relevance of gender to the study of leadership and management. (Shakeshaft 2005; Hall 2009:74)

The research strongly endorses the view that most women manage their schools in a way that can clearly be identified as consultative and people orientated. The majority of the head-teachers, particularly those under 50, chose adjectives that identified them as collaborative and caring. The choices also endorsed the importance placed on teamwork and on 'power to' rather than 'power over'. However, they do not claim to be democratic, rather they say that the final responsibility for decisions rests with them. In reviewing effective management in schools, Anne (1996) commented that the head-teacher of an effective school 'has consultative "listening" style; is decisive and forceful but not dictatorial; is open to other people's ideas; and is easily accessible to staff' (Anne ...