Research that identifies and celebrates the positive attributes of women educational leaders advancing a social justice agenda in traditionally male-dominated, Sub-Saharan African (SSA) societies is sparse. Studying female educational leadership in SSA conceptually brings to the fore issues associated with the intersectionality of gender, leadership, pervasive abject poverty, and cultural mores from a critical theory lens that runs counter to the White, western, male conceptions of leadership underlying much of the existing literature in the field.
Purpose:
With a focus on Ethiopia, we sought to understand the way in which women educational leaders, as traditionally oppressed groups in a patriarchal society, utilize their past marginalization as they advance a social justice agenda to promote educational opportunities for traditionally underserved students, particularly females.
Research Design:
Using transformative leadership as our theoretical lens and semi-structured interviews as our methodology, we conducted a grounded phenomenological study of eight Ethiopian women who were in educational leadership positions ranging from assistant principal to regional supervisors. We recruited the women leaders through direct contact, reputational nomination, and leadership positions they held.
Findings/Results:
Our findings paint a portrait of these female leaders as tenacious and determined, with a strong sense of self-agency and moral courage, whose identities are born out of their humble beginning and multi-focal understanding of issues from being female, from poor communities, submersed in male-dominated culture. These identities drove the participants to work towards emancipatory policies to acknowledge and intervene in “power differences” that directly influence school performance for girls and women in Ethiopia.
Conclusions/Recommendations:
Increasing workforce diversity with respect to gender, recasting leadership preparation programs as equity-oriented institutions, and addressing key public policies to support women in leadership positions are foundational recommendations that can lead to gender equity in education in Ethiopia.
AmayahA.HaqueM. (2017). Experiences and challenges of women leaders in sub-Saharan Africa. African Journal of Management, 3(1), 99–127.
3.
AvantD. (2011). Unwrapping tradition: Shifting from traditional leadership to transformative action. In ShieldsC. (Ed.), Transformative leadership: A Reader (pp. 114–127). Peter Lang Publishing.
4.
BeamanL.DufloE.PandeR.TopalovaP. (2012). Female leadership raises aspirations and educational attainment for girls: A policy experiment in India. Science, 335(6068), 582–586.
CreswellJ. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design (2nd ed). Sage.
17.
EdgeK.DescoursK.OxleyL. (2017). Generation X leaders from London, New York and Toronto: Conceptions of social identity and the influence of city-based context. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(5), 863–883.
18.
GableS. (2013). Girls and income growth in Ethiopia. Girl Effect.
19.
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia [FDRE]. (1995). The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proc. No. 1/1995. FDRE.
20.
GlaserG. (2001). The ground theory perspective: Conceptualization contrasted with description. Sociology Press.
HagosH. (2014). Educate a girl, educate a society: Increasing gender equity in secondary and tertiary education in Ethiopia through structured mentoring. WHEAT Mentor Support Trust.
23.
HailuM. (2019). Examining the role of girl effect in contributing to positive education ideologies for girls in Ethiopia. Gender and Education, 31(8), 986–999.
24.
HancockA. M. (2007). When multiplication doesn’t equal quick addition: Examining intersectionality as a research paradigm. Perspectives on Politics, 5(1), 24–39.
25.
HofstedeG. (Autumn, 1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 14(2), 75–89.
26.
HydeK.BelayD.BeyeneA.BiazenA.KedirN. (2005). Taking stock of girls education in Ethiopia: Preparing for ESDP III. UNICEF, UNESCO, and Save the Children Alliance.
27.
KasaG.AbajobirA. (2020). The prevalence of violence against women in Ethiopia: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 21(3), 624–637.
28.
KedirA.AdmasachewL. (2010). Violence against women in Ethiopia. Gender, Place and Culture, 17(4), 437–452.
29.
LeeJ.RheeD.RudolphR. (2018). Teacher gender, student gender, and primary school achievement: Evidence from the francophone African countries. The Journal of Development Studies, 55(4), 661–679.
30.
LimJ.MeerJ. (2007). The impact of teacher-student gender matches: Random assignment evidence from South Korea. Journal of Human Resource, 52(4), 979–997.
LopezA. E.RuganoP. (2018). Educational leadership in post-colonial Kenya: What can we learn from the experiences of three female principals in Kenyan secondary schools?Education Sciences, 8(99), 1–15.
33.
LymanL.StrachanJ.LazaridouA. (2012). Shaping social justice leadership: Insight of women educators worldwide. Rowman & Littlefield.
34.
MerriamS. B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). Jossey- Bass.
MohanE. (2011). From cowardice to courage: Breaking the silence surrounding race in schools. In ShieldsC. (Ed.), Transformative leadership: A reader (pp. 53–62). Peter Lang Publishing.
MuralidharnK.ShethK. (2016). Bridging education gender gap in developing countries: The role of female teacher. The Journal of Human Resources, 51(2), 269–297.
40.
Nee-BenhamM.CooperJ. (1998). Let my spirit soar! Narratives of women in school leadership. Corwin Press.
41.
OngukoB.AbdallaM.WeberC. (2008). Mapping principal preparation in Kenya and Tanzania. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(6), 715–726.
42.
PattonM. Q. (2001). Qualitative research and evaluation and methods (3rd ed.). Sage.
43.
RayanM.HaslamA. (2007). The glass cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 549–572.
44.
RoachV.TekleselassieA. A.DalgiçG. (2016, April10). Does gender matter? A multinational study of women educational leaders [Paper presentation]. 2016 American Educational Research Association Conference, Washington D.C.
ShieldsC. (2011). Transformative leadership: An introduction. In ShieldsC. (Ed.), Transformative leadership: A reader (pp. 1–17). Peter Lang Publishing.
51.
SteeleC. M. (2010). Whistling Vivaldi: How stereotypes affect us and what we can do. W. W. Norton & Company.
TeferraS. (1986). The education of women in Ethiopia: A missing piece in the development puzzle. The Ethiopian Journal of Education, 10(1), 5–18.
55.
TekleselassieA.DeCuirA. (2019). School leadership in Ethiopia: Reinventing the principalship through locally responsive practices. In LitchkaP. (Ed.), Searching the globe for answers (pp. 39–57). Rowman & Littlefield.
56.
TrippD. (1992). Critical theory and educational research. Issues in Educational Research, 2(1), 13–23.
Webster-KogenI. (2013). Engendering homeland: Migration, diaspora and feminism in Ethiopian music. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 25(2), 183–196.
61.
WeinerE. (2003). Secretary Paulo Freire and the democratization of power: Toward a theory of transformative leadership. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(1), 89–106.
