Mthembu hereby declares that this dissertation is my property and that all sources I have used or cited are indicated and acknowledged by full references. In understanding the lived experiences of these female primary school principals from the UMgungundlovu district, six themes emerged. The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of many special people.
To my mom, thank you for taking care of the family while I was obsessing over this dissertation. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues who were caught up in my obsession with this thesis. Therefore, great appreciation and great thanks are due to her, because without her understanding this thesis would never have been completed, thank you.
INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY
Therefore, the phenomenological findings are limited to the experiences of the individuals employed in the study, who were female principals in Umgungundlovu district in 2013. The researcher believed that the responses of the female principals regarding their lived experiences would be honest in the interviews. phenomenological. The thematic literature review of the core themes presented in the literature was discussed.
A school is an extended body of the community; therefore, cultural beliefs manifest in the school setting (Khumalo, 2006). A review of the literature shows that there are many factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of women on school boards. Prior to the interview process, the researcher should compare his/her own experiences with those of the participants.
The researcher addressed the validity, reliability and rigor of the research acknowledging that the study was qualitative phenomenological research. Confidentiality was maintained by using pseudonyms to protect the identity of participants and schools. Apparently, none of the participants planned to be principals in their careers before the positions became available in their schools.
All the participants shared their experiences of the trials they faced in their leading positions. This is attributed to the fact that the role of director and mother take time. This they believed was the result of the resistance they faced from the staff because they are women in management positions.
In this chapter, the findings of the phenomenological study for primary school principals are presented. Their study found that the roles that women had were not only caring for children, but also caring for the elderly. Barriers to leadership opportunities for women and resilience factors will be examined to help describe some of the reasons why women continue to be underrepresented in the role of principal.
It is also possible that articles and presentations may be the result of the study. How do women principals cope with the demands that come with the role of school principal.
LITERATURE REVIEW
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents and discusses the research design and methodology developed to explore and understand the phenomenon of the study. First, he claims that phenomenology is the study of the life world - the world as we immediately experience it. It aims to gain a deeper understanding of the nature, or meaning, of our everyday experiences.
Phenomenology is the universal attempt to "discover and describe structures, the inner meaning of structures, of lived experiences". The main advantage of interviewing is that it allowed a clear focus on the personal experience of the researcher combined with those of the participants (Marshall & Rossman, 2011). The real experiences in this study highlight the importance of people's individual experiences as conscious human beings.
As phenomenology it sought to understand the nature of the phenomenon and what makes it what it is and not what it could be (Van Manen in Patton, 2002). Each participant was informed of the nature of the study and encouraged to participate in the study on an equal basis with the researcher (Moustakas, 1994). This study used purposive sampling, which means that sample selection was based on personal knowledge of the population.
If the term can be classified, it is considered and called "a horizon of experience" (Moustakas, 1994, p. 121). Fourth, the researcher wrote a description of the meaning based on the individuals' experience; this process is called textural description (Creswell, 2007). This integrates all individual textural-structural descriptions into a universal description of the experience; represents the group as a whole” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 122).
Qualitative validity was also determined through the use of strategies to check the accuracy of the findings.
PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
Her philosophy is to simply get on with life and deal with the events of the day. Jane stated that her theme is that you are special and stated that she always lets people know that they are special. She further stated that her role is not to protect people, but to lead them.
Iris describes her philosophy as that actions speak louder than words and that she leads by example. This has been her principle in relation to progressing in the teaching profession since she started her career. She further stated that she is passionate about teaching and leading; as well as the needs of each child placed in her hands.
By examining the phenomenological analysis of the interview data and the description of the participants' lived experiences, as discussed in chapter three, the researcher listed all significant statements relevant to the topic. The researcher then described what has been experienced, which discussed the participants' experiences; this process is called textural description. Finally, the researcher wrote a composite description that presented the essence of the phenomenon called essential invariant structure or essence (Creswell, 2007).
What are the leadership experiences of female primary school principals in leading their schools in UMgungundlovu Districting in relation to gender.
After examining the participants' lived experiences of becoming principals, this study presents how the women described their leadership styles. Older people think they know better, younger people can't tell them anything. Rose had a different experience as she was supported by most of the staff members.
The day he left here he said mom I'm leaving you here to wait for the end of year results and that was it. I recognized the strengths in each member of staff, pupils and SGB members and drew on this to help me progress. In addition to using their maternal style as part of the way they perform their roles, female principals also mentioned using a collaborative leadership style.
When they indicated that they used a collaborative leadership style, two stated that they sometimes had to use an autocratic leadership style. One of the principals remarked: You have to set the rules and the tone once, that's the way it's done and there's no other way. I think the biggest thing is to get our children's lives.
Although the participants achieved things that they embrace, they also had to deal with the many challenges. So that was one of the challenges, because now he wants to be seen as still a leader even if he is not in the office, that was one of the challenges. While the participants viewed resistance as a challenge, they indicated that they could use it to their advantage.
While sharing their experiences about their challenges, they mentioned that resistance from staff members is one of the common challenges they face in the schools.
Although networking is important, participants felt that time is always a factor, as all principals are busy with the demands of the day (Rose). The final chapter of this dissertation consists of an overview of the study, a discussion of how it relates to the literature reviewed and the conclusions drawn from the study. Eddy (2008) revealed that several of the women did not initially have ambitions to become college leaders.
When they shared their experiences about their problems, they said that resistance from staff members was one of the most frequent challenges they faced at the schools. Although this is the case, data revealed that no induction or training was provided to support female principals and the previous principal did not hand over or communicate the various requirements of the position to the new individual. Another participant indicated that one of the challenges she faced with the general assistants was that when she had to address problems, for example being late, it was difficult as she had no previous experience of this problem while she was deputy head.
In other words, being a deputy principal does not necessarily prepare one for principalship due to the lack of direct leadership experience (Harris et al., 2003; Peters, 2010). If they display feminine characteristics, they are also faced with challenges as they do not fit the role of the leader (Eagly & Karau, 2002). On that note, it then appeared that being selected as prospective principals was by default due to the principal retiring or transitioning.
Spirituality has also emerged as an important coping strategy for women to deal with the challenges and demands that come with being a director and a woman. This may include mentoring as part of principals' roles so that they can mentor and guide vice-principals for future principalships. I am studying Masters of Education (Education, Leadership and Management) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and this research is part of the degree.
I have read the Participant Information Sheet for this study and the details of the study have been explained to me. I also agree that the information is used for the writing of the thesis, the publication of the articles and conference presentations. Brief explanation of the study purpose, confidentiality of the process and expectations, use of a tape recorder.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
