4.2 Data presentation and discussion of findings
4.2.6 Management styles
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The perceptions of women subordinate to men still existed irrespective of whatever good they could do. This position corresponds with a position earlier held by Madlala (2007) who argued that communities have no faith in females and their expectations of women as leaders were very low. Similarly, a female HOD-B highlighted a case of parents outside the school to which the male HOD-B also referred to as community at large. She maintained that they undermined women ability to lead. She highlighted that they showed a lack of trust in women leadership, and they therefore put the blame on the principal for any wrong thing that took place at school.
HOD-B reported:
If a child misbehaved you can hear them saying that it was better when Mr X was a principal [referring to the previous male principal].
Another challenge mentioned by one female HOD-B was that P-B was from the same community. Parents knew that P-B was soft, and therefore they could not imagine her being able to manage such a huge school particularly high school. On the basis of the above responses, it was clear that the P-B was expected to work hard in order to prove to the community that she could lead the school effectively.
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DP-A reported:
At no point the principal introduces things without consulting us as SMT. She comes up with ideas on issues that surround the problem and allow us to contribute.
In a related development, DP-A agreed that not only one management style was perfect at all times, hence the principal happened to be autocratic thereby, giving direction depending on the issue at that point of time.
Still on the issue of the principal’s management style, the male HOD-A described P-A as an open and a transparent person. He also revealed that she did not hold on to power. The female HOD-A concurred with that view by stating the principal shared the leadership with everybody at school. This brings us to the conclusion that participative management style was displayed in P-A leadership.
HOD-A said:
The principal does not impose but at the very same time have control over the execution of duties.
HOD-A went on to say that during meetings, P-A ensured that all educators were involved actively and everybody took part in decisions about what was going on at school. Therefore all educators at school access resources without any discrimination according to post levels.
She further disclosed that the principal ensured that work was properly done. There are clear categories and procedures in terms of discipline. Some cases were treated at the class level by the class teachers, the head of the departments and the deputy principals. It was only on serious offences that the principal got personally involved. This was confirmed when viewing school policy where clear procedures and guidelines on how disciplinary procedures should be followed. The code of conduct specified how cases should be treated, by whom and, when a case must be referred to the immediate senior. The principal also delegated some duties to other staff members. And the female head of department rated her principal’s management style as being very effective.
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The School-B principal described her management style as democratic but did not deny that she sometimes used other harsher style. She mentioned that she tried her best to make everybody feel part of the school life by allowing suggestions and ideas from others and use them if they were good. But she also stated that at times, she had to use the style where she had to give instructions and expected them to take them they were. When I probed for examples of such cases, she said that, if a teacher did not go to the class during his/her periods, such cases were not negotiable therefore, and that educator had to comply. Otherwise in her point of view those styles made her work manageable
The male HOD-B and DP-B also shared similar responses of the principal’s management style being democratic. According to DP-B’s judgment it was effective because everyone was allowed to present ideas to the principal.
The female HOD-B mentioned that everyone got a platform if he/she wanted to share or sell an idea to the school management team and the staff. If they saw that it would take the school forward they applied it. Even post level 1educators were allowed to come forward with their ideas, therefore everybody at school felt that they were part and parcel of the school because their opinions and contributions were respected. DP-B reported: “If they were good she was not afraid to buy in that idea”. On the basis of responses from participants in School-B on may deduce that distributed leadership was displayed in P-B.
The responses from all participants from both schools indicate that democratic management style was dominant in both women principals. This is in line with Eagly and Johannesen- Schmidt (2001) when submit that male and female leadership styles researchers have documented that women tend to behave in more participative and democratic ways than men.
In the similar development, Oplatka and Hertz-Lazarowitz (2006) point out that democratic style of management is evident in female managers, whereas, authoritarianism is common among males’ managers.
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