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Case study: underrepresentation of women in high school principalships and challenges they face in the workplace

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Case study: underrepresentation of women in high school principalships and challenges they face in the workplace

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Content Running head: FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 1
CASE STUDY: UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN HIGH SCHOOL
PRINCIPALSHIPS AND CHALLENGES THEY FACE IN THE WORKPLACE

by

Nurnisa Kurban

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2014

Copyright 2014 Nurnisa Kurban
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 2
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my two beautiful daughters, Berna and Rana. Without their
exceptional love, patience and, understanding for why mommy had to spend Saturdays and
Sundays in front of the computer, this dissertation would not have been finished. I also dedicate
this dissertation to the memory of my beloved mother, Maryam, whose spirit always guides me
and helps me in my journey. Thank you for very short but very sweet memories Ana… I am
forever grateful that I was chosen to be a daughter of such a beautiful and gracious human being.

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Pedro Garcia,
(Dissertation chair), Dr. Rudy Castruita, and Dr. John Roach for their guidance and mentoring
during the dissertation process, which has been invaluable. I would also like to express my
profound gratitude to Dr. Garcia for letting me be in his group. It has been a dream come true.
Special thanks to Dr. Linda Fischer who selflessly spent countless hours on weekends to provide
feedback and support until the last page of my dissertation. I am also forever grateful for her
emotional support which helped me regain my confidence and strength that I somehow lost along
the way. I would also like to thank Dr. Guadalupe Montano for her exceptional work on editing.
I would like to acknowledge 45 district administrators and female high school principals who
provided me with their time, energy and invaluable information which brought my dissertation to
life. I am grateful for four exceptional women whose stories always reminded me why I chose
my dissertation topic in the first place.
To my special friend and my companion, you know who you are, thank you for
encouraging me move forward and teaching me to never give up on what you love. My father
Kurban Musa and my siblings Ferhad, Ghuncham, Ahmad, Mutallip and my Sisters in-law,
Gulzadem and Ayimgul, thank you for believing in me from the start. To my children’s father,
Nurmamet, thank you for being an exceptional father. I was able to focus on my study because I
knew my children were in good hands while I was not there. Special thanks to my friends Zoila
and Gerry, who helped take care of my little one when I needed without hesitation. I would also
like to thank my friends, Irene, Kristina, Rene, Steve, Jamie, and many more… Thank you for
your support.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3

LIST OF TABLES 6

ABSTRACT 7

CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 8

Statement of the Problem 11

Research Questions 13

Significance of this Study 13

Assumption 14

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study 14

Limitations 14

Delimitations 15

Definition of Terms 15

Organization of the Study 16

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 17

Conceptual Framework 18

Theme One: Stereotype/Perception 19

Role Conflict 24

Effective Leadership 28

Implications and Recommendations 33

Conclusion 35

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 37

Sample and Population 38

Instrumentation 40

Data Collection 41

Data Analysis 42

Validity and Ethical Consideration 43

Summary 44

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 45

Participants 46

Survey I Participants 46

Survey II Participants 46

Interview Participants 48

Results for Research Question One 52

Theme One 54

Theme Two 56

Theme Three 56

Research Question 1 Discussion 57

Results Research Question Two 58

Stereotype/Perception 58

Family Responsibilities 63

Internal Barriers 68

Discussion Research Question Two 70

Results Research Question Three 71

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 5
Theme One Challenges 72

Stereotype/Perception 75

Theme Two Overcoming Challenges 80

Discussion Research Question Three 92

Summary 93

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 94

Discussion of Findings 95

Implications 101

Recommendations for Future Research 102

REFERENCES 104

Appendix A 108

Appendix B 109

Appendix C 112

Appendix D 118

Appendix E 120

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 6
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Age of Female High School Principals 47

Table 2: Type of School Districts and Size of Schools that Female High School Principals Lead
47

Table 3: Years as High School Principals 48

Table 4: Demographics of Interview Respondents 49

Table 5” Rank of School Districts with Similar Percentage of Female High School Principals 56

Table 6: Family Status of Female High School Principals 65

Table 7: Age of Female High School Principals in this Study 65

Table 8: Years as High School Principal 66

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 7
ABSTRACT
This study utilized gender equity and education leadership as conceptual frameworks
under the scope of Stereotype/Perception, Role Conflict, and Effective Leadership. The purpose
of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of females as
high school principals, to identify the challenges female high school principals faced during their
years as high school principals, and to ascertain strategies they used to overcome the challenges.
The following research questions guided this study: 1) Are there enough applicants in application
pools for high school principal positions? 2) What are the factors that inhibit women from
progressing to the High School principal positions? 3) What are the challenges that high school
principals face in the work force and how do they overcome those challenges? Total of 25 of
the largest school districts in California, 44 participants, including 10 administrative personnel
and 30 high school principals, and 4 participants who had at least two years of experience as high
school principals participated in this study. The findings indicate there continues to be an
underrepresentation of women in the position of high school principal due to the lower number
of women applying for the position. Family responsibility was identified as the most important
indicator, which influenced the progression of women to the position of high school principal.
Consequently, balancing family responsibility with work demands, followed by
perception/stereotype, was identified as the major challenge for female high school principals.
The ability to manage work and family responsibilities, building trust and transparency, and
effective leadership styles as leaders were identified as essential strategies utilized by female
high school principals to overcome challenges. This study provides valuable information in
understandings issues with respect to the lack of representation females in high school principal
positions and strategies to promote gender equity in education leadership.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 8
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
The significantly low representation of women in public school administrative positions
is a problem persisting over time. Women have generally remained a minority in management
positions in education and in secondary schools in particular. Despite the implementation of
affirmative action and gender equality policies, women, in general, are underrepresented at the
secondary school leadership level. The lack of female representation in administration is a
hindering factor for the nation as it attempts to achieve excellence in schools (Mertz, 2002).
Although there has been an increase in the number of females who have completed the
educational requirements, the number of females who were recruited into high school principal
positions is still significantly lower than that of their male counterparts.
The lack of a reliable national database triggered challenges to documenting trends in the
status of women in school administration (Mertz, 2002). In his assessment of the impact of Title
IX on gender in school administration, Mertiz (2002) found that, within the thirty-year time
frame since Title IX was enacted, women have become the majority in elementary principalships
and assistant principalships. Men have remained the majority and even dominated in other
administration positions, including secondary principalships. In 2002, men remained the majority
in superintendencies (79.5%), deputy superintendencies (55%), and high school principalships
(59%)(Mertz, 2002). Almost a decade later, no significant changes have been reported in regards
to the employment status of women as education leaders. Considering the majority of teachers
both at the elementary and secondary levels were women, 84% at elementary level and 59% at
secondary level (NCES, 2010); the percentage of female secondary principals was significantly
lower than that of their male counterparts. According to the National Center for Education
Statistics, Institute of Education Services (NCES, 2010), from the 1999-2000 to the 2007–
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 9
2008academic terms, the percentage of principals who were female increased from 52% to 59 %
at public elementary schools and from 22% to 29 % at public secondary schools.
Research explains that the absence of women in leadership positions is a result of a
combination of sexism and stereotyping (Adkison, 1981). Early research findings support the
argument that gender stereotyping and the perceptions of society reduced the probability that
women will seek leadership positions. Organizations are also receptive to the stereotyping of
women. As a result of stereotyping of women by male dominated leadership, women were at a
disadvantage as a result of a lack of support, encouragement, formal preparation, and
administrative learning experiences (Goeller, 1995).
Consequently, women who were promoted to high school principal positions face
challenges that stem from cultural distinctions between men and women which are identified
with stereotypical masculinity (Coleman, 2003). As a result, female education leaders
experienced sexism in their workplace, and women leaders face pressure to overcome sexist
attitudes to prove themselves (Coleman, 2003). Due to the stereotyping of women as main
caregivers for their family, which would decrease their focus and commitment to being effective
school leaders, most women felt that they needed to work harder and live up to or even exceed
the performance of male leaders. In addition to the responsibility of jobs they need to fulfill,
female high school principals also face challenges in balancing their family lives with work.
Because of the lack of support and understanding, female principal’s experience higher scarifies
than men (Coleman, 2003).
Role conflict among female education leaders was also noted as a barrier for women’s
progressing into education leadership as well as during their leadership experiences. While both
male and female leaders experience role conflict due to the extreme time commitment, research
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 10
findings indicate that female high school principals expressed significantly higher level of role of
conflict in regards to balancing their work with social commitments, family responsibilities, and
other commitments (Eckman, 2004). Consequently, in respect to their age at their first
principalship, women tend to start their principalships at a later age and have more years of
teaching experience than do men in order to reduce the conflict between work and family
responsibilities (Eckman, 2004). It was also concluded that female educators delay attending to
any aspirations for the high school principal position as a result of trying to simultaneously
manage teaching, families, and through utilizing effective leadership strategies and integrating
their female and personal characteristics to strengthen their leadership styles. Instead of
struggling to adopt a masculine leadership style, research data showed that more women formed
their own leadership styles without denying feminine origins (Trinidad & Normore,
2005).Research findings also suggest that, while acknowledging that there are differences in the
leadership styles of male and female principals, there is no indication that male principals are
more effective than female principals. In other words, female principals are at least as effective
as their male counterparts (Coici, 1993).
It is also important to acknowledge that much literature regarding gender roles in
leadership is grounded in outdated stereotypes that are not reflective of progression of society
regarding perceptions of role. While it was noted that there has been a shift in gender role
perceptions that caused the differences in gender roles for men and women to become blurred,
those changes were not reflected in research studies (Coder & Spiller, 2013). This indicates that,
while acknowledging that barriers for women exist in their path to high school principal
positions, more attention must be focused on helping women who aspire to be secondary
principals, better understand the barriers, and supporting them overcoming those challenges
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 11
(Trinidad & Normore, 2005). Further, studies should expand the context from simply defining
leadership style as “masculine or feminine” to rather effective leadership styles that proved to be
effective regardless of gender differences.
Statement of the Problem
The leadership position in education is regarded as male dominated. Although the
number of female principals is increasing, there still is a lack of equality in employment between
men and women (Goeller, 1995). This is especially true at the secondary level, where the few
female principals are easily recognized and singled out as different. The literature shows that
women continue to be underrepresented at a leadership level in a field in which the majority of
professionals are women. Therefore, the reasons for the under representation of women in
secondary school principalships warrant investigation. Although women are beginning to move
into such ranks more frequently, line administrative positions continue to be dominated by
males, and few women hold the positions of high school principals and school district
superintendent, as these are positions which continue to be particularly resistant to the
advancement of females (Kelber, 2008).
Due to the stereotyping and societal perception of leadership, female high school
principals continue to face challenges in their workforce, which forced them to work hard to
overcome sexism and prove themselves as effective leaders. Research studies have also
suggested that societal and cultural perceptions affect the relationship between the gender of the
leader and the gender of the followers. In general, women are stereotyped as nurturing, caring,
kind, and soft. Men are stereotyped as aggressive, decisive, and firm (Coleman, 2003). As a
result, it is harder for women to overcome the stereotypes of being poorly suited to
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 12
administrative roles while it is easier for men to act on their aspiration to become school
administrators.
As research indicated, female high school principals struggled to balance their work with
their family lives. Because of the lack of support and understanding, female principals have
higher scarifies than men. Female principals are less likely to marry, have higher rates of broken
marriage, or have fewer children (Coleman, 2003). Due to the extreme time demands, female
secondary principals struggle to balance their personal and professional lives. Findings also
revealed that women entered secondary principalship later so that they could reduce the conflict
between their family and their careers.
Very few studies on women in educational leadership roles have been conducted despite
the societal and political pressure for job equality and women’s rights. Although there are many
research studies conducted in terms of defining certain characteristics necessary for effective
leadership, few studied the lack of representation of females in educational leadership. Even
though the number of women in leadership is growing, the idea of leadership is still identified
with men (Coleman, 2003). Many research findings supported the notion that leadership in
education is defined by the leadership styles associated with men, and women education leaders
are excluded from that picture. The literature reveals that there are many similarities in
experience and leadership styles of male and female principals, yet stereotyping creates barriers
and difficulties for women in leadership positions or seeking such positions (Coleman, 2003). It
is important that more research studies be conducted to examine the personality and leadership
style differences of male and female secondary principals. Case studies, or in-depth interviews,
could be instrumental to probe more deeply into the gender barriers for both men and women in
educational workplaces.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 13
This purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to
underrepresentation of women in high school principalships within the lens of gender equity in
education leadership. Furthermore, this study also focused on the experiences of current female
high school principals in larger school districts in California in terms of challenges they face and
overcoming those challenges.
Research Questions
1. Are there enough applicants in the application pool of these school districts?
2. What are the factors that inhibit women from progressing to the high school principal
positions?
3. What are the challenges that high school principals face in the work force and how do
they overcome those challenges?
Significance of this Study
The continued absence of females from line administrative positions, including building
principalships and district superintendents, and the persistent barriers to their advancement in
such positions needs to be investigated. This study provided further insights to issues that
contribute to the underrepresentation of females in high school principalships. Data collected in
this study focused on the employment status of females in high school principalships and on the
ratio of female and male high school principals in the largest school districts in California. Data
also identified qualified female candidates in the application pool and female candidates who
were interviewed for the high school principalships in the same school districts. Qualitative data
collected on both interviews and surveys from high school principals provided the insights of
respondents who participated in this study about the issues that triggered underrepresentation of
females in high school principalships. Data also provided the perspectives of female high school
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 14
principals in regards to the challenges stemmed from stereotyping and effective strategies and
practices they used in order to overcome those challenges.
This study provided a baseline for further study on addressing gender equality on high
school principalships. The findings in regards to disproportionate representation of females in
high school principal positions in the largest school districts in California could draw attention
from school districts and other institutions to reexamine their policies and practices and
implement new strategies to promote gender equity in their organizations. By exploring the
leadership styles of female secondary principals, this study adds an important piece for closing
the gender gap in leadership and increases the validity of studies on education leadership.
Assumption
This study assumed that the data collected through surveys and the interview processes
was accurate and that the survey respondents in regards to the employment status of women for
high school principalships were accurate. It also presumed that the interviewees were candid in
sharing their perspectives on the challenges they face and their leadership styles. This study
assumed that factors that affected the representation of females in high school principalships
could be identified and the experiences of participants of this study could be valid indicators for
addressing gender issues in high school principalships.
Limitations and Delimitations of the Study
Limitations
Data for this study was gathered by two sets of surveys and by interviews. It was
presumed that not all the surveys would be returned in timely manner. Due to the time
constrains, there was the possibility that not all expected respondents were willing to be
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 15
interviewed. Since the interview questions were developed for the purpose of gathering data
from interviewees’ perspectives and opinions, it might be difficult to generalize the findings.
Delimitations
In order to gather more objective results for the purpose of the study, only the largest
school districts were included in this study, assuming that those school districts have significant
number of high schools that could provide broader understanding in status of female high school
principals. The participants were chosen for both surveys and interviews in order to gather more
consistent and exclusive data in response to research questions. Participants for surveys included
district personnel who oversee the hiring process of school administrators and female high
school principals from the same districts.
Definition of Terms
A Female High Principal: refers to a woman who is the primary individual responsible for a
high school.
High Schools: refers to schools with the configuration of grades 9-12.
Superintendent: A person who over sees or directs some work, enterprise, establishment,
district, or organization.
Elementary School Principal: refers to the primary individual responsible for an elementary
school.
Public School: An institution sanctioned by a local education agency and governed by a school
board.
School District: A local education agency directed by an elected local board of education that
exists to operate public schools.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 16
Stereotypes: refers to a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special
meaning and held in common by members of a group.
Underrepresentation: refers to insufficient or disproportionately low representation.
Unified School District: refers to a school district, which generally includes and operates both
primary schools (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high schools (grades 9–
12) under the same district control.
Perception: the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the
mind; cognition; understanding.
Role Conflict: Emotional conflict arising when competing demands are made on an individual
in the fulfillment of his or her multiple social roles.
Organization of the Study
This study consists of five chapters. Chapter One described the problem of statement and
purpose of the study. Chapter two includes the literature review viewed through the lens of
gender equity in education leadership, which includes issues regarding factors contributing to the
underrepresentation of females in high school principalships and challenges that female high
school principals face in the workforce. The methodology used in this study is described in
chapter three, followed by chapter four with presentation of data gathered through the
methodology. Chapter five consists of a discussion of findings, implications, and
recommendations regarding closing the gender gap in high school principalships.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 17
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Historically, little consideration has been given to gender in education leadership.
Although women occupy more leadership positions than they did a decade ago, women who lead
schools at the secondary level or run school districts in the United States are still unusual (Young
& McLeod, 2001). Data indicates the number of women taking leadership positions in
elementary schools has increased significantly over the decade. According to the National Center
for Educational Statistics (NCES, 2005), between the1993–1994 and the 2003–2004 terms, the
percentage of female public school principals increased from 41% to 56% in elementary schools.
However, like superintendencies, the presence of female secondary school leaders remains
disproportionately low (Jean-Marie & Martinez, 2013). Research indicates that a growing
shortage of qualified candidates for the high school principalship has been reported in a majority
of school districts in the United States (Eckman, 2004). Due to the lack of documentation and
data, the reasons for the change in the number of qualified candidates for the high school
principalship over the years were not clear. Calabrese and Ellsworth (1989) pointed out that the
entry of women into the field of education leadership had been allowed grudgingly and not in
equitable numbers. They cautioned that, until this issue is addressed, "School organizations will
represent bastions of male domination."
The underrepresentation of females in school administration has been explained by some
as resulting from myths about women and perceived internal and external barriers (Calabrese &
Ellsworth, 1989). Prevailing myths about women revolve around the perception that women are
not capable of handling emotional stress and that they lack ambition and the intellectual capacity
for leadership (Calabrese & Ellsworth, 1989). Research shows that, due to stereotypes attached
to women and leadership, women do not have the same opportunities as men in administration
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 18
(Young & McLeod, 2001). Research indicated that female high school principals face challenges
in their workforce stemming from the societal perception about their ability to lead. Research
studies further find that female principals must encounter and deal with the perception that
females are less effective than men (Goeller, 1995). Especially, the gender-based discrimination
is common against women who are married and have children, which triggered a certain level of
role conflict among female high school principals as well aspiring female educators (Coleman,
2003). Although the issue of gender stereotypes and leadership characteristics has been a much
researched topic in the management literature, more research are needed in order to gain a
broader and objective understanding in regards to issues that contributed to the
underrepresentation of females in education leadership, including high school principal positions.
Conceptual Framework
The literature review focuses on understanding the issues related to underrepresentation
of women in high school principalships within the lens of gender equity in education leadership.
The literature review also explores challenges the female principals face and strategies and
leadership strategies they utilized to overcome those challenges under the framework of gender
equality in education leadership. The conceptual framework included three themes:
Stereotype/Perception, Role Conflict, and Effective Leadership. Theme one discusses the impact
of stereotype/perception on the underrepresentation of women in education leadership and
challenges they faced as a result of stereotypes in the workforce. Theme two explores how role
conflict affected women’s decision to pursue leadership and triggered internal and external
barriers. Theme three investigates the literature findings that discuss effective leadership
strategies utilized by secondary school principals.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 19
Theme One: Stereotype/Perception
Studies have suggested several explanations as to the underrepresentation of women in
school administration. One major explanation revolves around whether women are
underrepresented in school leadership due to the fact that they are discriminated against. By
using data from the national 1987/1988 Schools and Staffing Surveys of the National Center for
Education Statistics, Lois Joy (1998) tested the hypothesis that women face discrimination in
promotion into school administration and results showed that despite prerequisites are in place,
men are more likely than women to be selected for promotion. This phenomenon was explained
by the cultural belief that feminine attributes and traits are the cause for the underrepresentation
of women in education leadership. Some argued that the reason there are few females in
leadership positions in schools is not due to gender bias, but, rather, to the fact that there are very
few females who have completed the credentials and other requirements to be school principals.
However, research studies show that women are discouraged from pursuing principalships due to
the gender bias and lack of support. This underrepresentation of women in secondary
principalship could stem from the social perception of women as teachers but not as leaders
(Jean-Marie & Alex Martinez, 2013).The findings are supported by the study conducted by
Fishel (1977) which found that the criteria used to recruit and hire principals are influenced by
gender rather than ability. Young and McLeod (2001) pointed out that women do not have the
same opportunities as men in administration due to the stereotypes attached to women and
leadership stating that women are not as capable as men at holding leadership positions. Young
and McLeod (2001) argued that recruitment, selection, evaluation and norms and expectations of
schools and school districts are based on a notion of males being more fit for the leadership
position than are females in education. The study conducted by Joy (1998) indicated that
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 20
promotions into school administration could be considered discriminatory in that men were more
likely than women to be selected for promotion. However, this study also presented several non-
discriminatory possibilities that contributed to the underrepresentation of females in secondary
leadership positions. One possibility was that women may be less likely than men to desire
promotion. The second non-discriminatory factor was that women might not apply to as many
jobs as men.
Research explains the absence of women in leadership positions as a result of the
interaction of sexism and stereotyping (Adkison, 1981). Early research findings support the
arguments that gender role stereotyping and the perceptions of society and organizations reduce
the probability that women will seek leadership positions. In addition, organizations are receptive
to the stereotyping of women. Over the years, management and leadership have been associated
with masculinity. Leadership in education has reflected the notion that men are better fit than are
women for management and leadership. Education administration was defined as a profession by
men who strongly believed that masculine traits were essential for effective leaders and feminine
traits were important factors for nurturing and instructing children. Adkison (1981) pointed out
that gender role stereotyping and occupational stereotyping related to the marginalization and
rejection of women from holding managerial and administration positions in organizations as
well as in education. Calabrese and Ellsworth (1989) found that number of females who were
hired into top-level administrative positions, especially as school principals, was disproportionate
to their representation in most school organizations. From this finding, it was concluded that the
state and federal policies intended to increase opportunities for women in educational
administration are being ignored at the district level (Calabrese & Ellsworth, 1989).
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 21
Research studies have also suggested that societal and cultural perceptions affected the
relationship between the gender of the leader and the gender of the followers. Cioci (1993)
pointed out that male teachers feel less empowered by female principals in secondary education
than do female teachers. This can help define the effect of interactions between teachers’ and
principals’ gender on the underrepresentation of women in high school principalships. Based on
their findings, Lee, Smith, and Cioci (1993) suggested that it is harder for women to overcome
the stereotypes of being poorly suited to administrative roles while it is easier for men to act on
their aspiration to become school administrators. In addition, Cioci (1993) found that the
objective leadership styles of male and female principals differ in that women principals are
more invested in the details of daily occurrences in school and in the lives of their staff. Cioci
(1993) suggested that, while female teachers welcome the intimate involvement of female
principals, considering it supportive, male teachers most likely interpret the same behaviors as
intrusion. In order to address the issue of the perception of male teachers toward female
principals, this study suggests that change in subjective assessments of empowerment is
“contingent upon objective changes in the power structure in American Schools”. Therefore, this
study further suggests that the solution to diminishing gender differences in teacher' sense of
their own empowerment lies in making sure that men have exposure to more female leaders.
Another perception about the scarcity of women in education is that women, in general,
lack the aspiration to become school leaders. Underrepresentation of women in principalships
has brought attention to gender differences in principal leadership styles. Such differences, some
researchers argued, might be one of the barriers that women face in being selected to
principalships (Eagly, Karau, & Johnson, 1992). Research indicated that few women were hired
as high school principals despite the fact that 75% of the total teaching force in secondary level
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 22
was female, and this disproportionate representation of women in high school principal positions
was the perception of many school board members who do not perceive women as strong leaders
(Dowell & Larwin, 2013). One of the studies conducted by Calabrese and Ellsworth (1989)
suggested that internal barriers believed to affect women, such as “submissiveness, low self-
esteem, and high levels of emotion in conflict situations are more insidious since they are based
on social stereotypes and reinforce traditional biases” (Calabrese & Ellsworth, 1989). Similarly,
Goeller (1995) agreed that societal stereotyping of women as ill-fitted for leadership is the cause
of internal barriers that women struggle with, such as low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and
lack of motivation. In regards to the career aspirations, Young and McLeod (2013) found that
three factors significantly affected their decisions to enter administration: their administrative
role models, their exposure to transformative leadership styles and the endorsement or support
they receive. The initial aspiration of women in this study was to become teachers; they held the
belief that "teaching and leading were two distinct roles." (Young & McLeod, 2013). Overtime,
however, they realized that, in the position of principal, one could affect the education of many
more children that one could as a classroom teacher. Women in this study noted how important
their teaching background was to the leadership they provided. According to the Young and
McLeod (2013), for the women who participated in the study, administrative role models had a
profound effect on their understanding of educational leadership and on their decision to enter
administration.
Young and McLeod (2013) also found that women's aspirations are circumscribed by
traditional ideas of gender and gender roles and individualized by their particular life
experiences. The research further pointed out that, similarly, women tended to describe
secondary principalships and superintendencies as jobs requiring skills traditionally considered
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 23
masculine, such as physical plant expertise, discipline skills, and budgeting knowledge, whereas
they used traditionally feminine or gender-neutral terms to describe the skills needed for
elementary school leadership positions.
It was indicated that the impact of the “good old boy's network” still exists in that female
leadership continues to face the perception that there should be a man in the principal's office
(Eckman, 2003). Research studies suggest that, as a result of stereotyping, women experience
leadership roles differently than male principals do. Coleman (2003) pointed out that female
principals have to be conscious of sexism, and have to justify their position as women.
Overall, Coleman (2003) suggested that women are still at a disadvantage in terms of
becoming leaders. Coleman (2003) further argued that the sexism and stereotyping that women
leaders face pressures them to overcome the sexist attitudes to prove themselves. Research
studies further state that female principals must encounter and deal with the perception that
females are less effective than men (Goeller, 1995). Many research findings support the notion
that leadership in education is defined by the leadership styles of men and women education
leaders are excluded from that picture. In her in-depth study on gender and school leadership,
Coleman (2003) suggested that stereotypical leadership styles still exist which endorses
masculinity and male leaders. The literature reveals that there are many similarities in the
experiences and leadership styles of men and women principals, yet stereotyping in society
creates barriers and difficulties for women who are in leadership positions or seeking such
positions (Coleman, 2003). Cultural distinctions between men and women, such as women’s
being soft and caring and men’s being tough and masculine, have an impact on the experiences
of women in leadership positions which are identified with stereotypical masculinity (Coleman,
2003). Consequently, women who earned leadership positions feel that they are under constant
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 24
scrutiny and that they have to work harder than men in order to prove that they are worthy
(Coleman, 2003). Some research studies found the gender role of conflict of secondary school
principals was a barrier for women to pursue secondary principalship (Eckman, 2002). Further,
women enter administration late due to the responsibilities at home. Equally, some argued that
women in secondary principalships experience conflict because they do not fit in to the
masculine image associated with secondary principals (Eckman, 2002).
Female administrators tend to work harder than do their male counterparts (Giese, T.,
Slate, J., Brown, M., & Delgado, C. 2009). The literature findings point out that, due to the
stereotyping of women as main caregivers for their family, which would decrease their focus and
commitment to being effective school leaders, most women felt that they needed to work harder
and live up to or even exceed the performance of male leaders. “Identification of women with
domestic tasks and childcare seems to enhance the essential stereotype which places women as
'carers' rather than managers and leaders” (Coleman, 2003).
Research also shows that female education leaders experienced sexism in their
workplace. Gender-based discrimination is common against women who are married and have
children (Coleman, 2003). Also, women in leadership positions have experienced more sexism
while applying for leadership positions (Coleman, 2003). “Once established as principals, the
women were strongly aware that men found difficulty in dealing with female leaders.”(Coleman,
2003). Similarly, Goeller (1995) found that female principals view attitudes that females are less
effective than men to be an area for high concern.
Role Conflict
Research studies noted that balancing their personal lives with the demands of the
workplace was a top stressor for women in their careers (Goeller, 1995). Goeller (1995) pointed
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 25
out that, as a result of stereotyping of women by male-dominated leadership bodies, women were
at a disadvantage due to a lack of support, encouragement, formal preparation, and
administrative learning experiences. Research findings indicated that female high school
principals expressed a significantly higher level of role conflict in regards to balancing their
work with family responsibilities, and social and other commitments (Eckman, 2004). By
conducting a descriptive analysis of stress factors, Goeller (1995) found thatrole-based stress,
task-based stress, and conflict-mediating stress contributed to job-related gender barriers. Goeller
(1995) also pointed out that, due to the concern of participating in school activities at the expense
of personal time, female principals struggle with role conflict. Therefore, female principals
agreed that home and family responsibility was a top stressor in their career. Eckman (2004)
found that there are both similarities and differences between female and male high school
principals in terms of their personal and professional attributes as well as their experiences of
role conflict, role commitment, and job satisfaction. In respect to their age at their first
principalship, women tend to start their principalships in their later years and have more years of
teaching experience than do men (Eckman, 2004). It was also concluded that female educators
delay attending to any aspirations for the high school principal position as a result of trying to
simultaneously manage their teaching, their families, and their homes (Eckman, 2004).
Consequently, the late entrance of women to high school principalships could explain lower
aspiration of women in seeking higher positions, such as the superintendency (Eckman, 2003).
While family support was also identified as a major factor in terms of women’s being able to
progress into high school principalships, according to Eckman (2003), high school principals still
experienced conflicts between their personal and professional roles. Some respondents
commented that the role conflict was significant when their children were young. It was also
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 26
found that, for some participants, it was not just support from families, but also the perception
that men held of their wives’ working that affected the career paths that women followed
(Eckman, 2003).
According to research findings, there are more broken marriages among female principals
than among male principals. Coleman (2003) argues that this difference may be due to the fact
that women experience a greater strain in marriage than men. Male and female principals
experience different responsibilities at work and home. Coleman (2003) pointed out that male
principals had wives or partners who delayed their careers to handle domestic responsibilities,
but female principals did not have that support. Further, Coleman (2003) explained that the
tension involved with work and domestic responsibilities triggered guilt feelings about not
putting enough time into to family responsibilities. Female principals who married at younger
ages seemed to share responsibilities with their husbands. Older female principals take on the
main responsibility at home (Coleman, 2003). Research shows that balancing work and life seem
more challenging for women than men. Because of a lack of support and understanding, female
principals have higher levels of sacrifice than do men. Female principals are less likely to marry,
have higher rates of broken marriage, or have fewer children (Coleman, 2003).
In addition, few female high school principals had children at home compared to male
high school principals. Eckman (2004) explained that women with children at home did not
apply for the positions or, if they did, they were not hired. Eckman (2004) further suggested that
significant differences between male and female high school principals with children may be the
result of societal expectations of a wife and mother might influence the choices female educators
made regarding their career aspirations to be high school principals. In addition, this study also
suggested that, despite the fact that male high school principals start their careers as high school
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 27
principals earlier than do their female counterparts, there was no significant difference between
male and female principals in terms of their overall level of job satisfaction (Eckman, 2004).
The role conflict of women leaders was reflected in the conflict they encountered during
the transition from classroom teacher to an administrator (Loder & Spillane, 2005). This type of
transition was difficult for women who had formerly enjoyed the intimacy of the classroom
which allowed them to get to know their students personally. Similarly, Loder and Spillane
(2005) reported that female administrators experienced different relationships with teachers than
they did when they were teachers. This type of shift was especially difficult for participants who
became administrators in the same school where they taught and had established long-standing
relationships with other teachers.
Several possible solutions were suggested in order to address underrepresentation of
females in education leadership and help current female leaders overcome challenges. Research
indicates that providing support, mentoring, and encouragement is essential to influence
women’s career in education leadership. Findings from Eckman (2003) were consistent with
previous studies which indicated that women benefit from having women as their mentors. The
women in this study “were mentored by women and in turn were actively mentoring other
women for positions in educational administrations” (Eckman, 2003). Further, women pointed
out that they would never have considered high school principalships if they had not been
recruited and encouraged by educational administrators. The participants also agreed that it was
their responsibility to encourage women to become administrators in order to address the
continued underrepresentation of women in the position. In addition, the researcher reported that
encouragement from university professors and leadership programs were also essential for
recruiting more women into education leadership positions (Eckman, 2003).
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 28
Effective Leadership
Needless to say, leadership research shows that leadership has been intimately linked to
the effective functioning of any type of organization, including education settings (Manzano,
2006). Taking the complex nature of an organization into consideration, the research led to the
conclusion that leaders and leadership are crucial but complex components of any organization.
In other words, there is no simple definition of leadership. However, as Northouse (2010)
pointed out, the following components of leadership can be identified: (a) leadership is a process;
(b) leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs in groups, and (d) leadership involves
common goals.
Research studies indicate that men and women in comparable positions are more alike
than they are different (Bowman, 1991). It further suggests that female administrators who
participated in the study rated higher than men did in the structural, political, and symbolic
frames. Although there are very limited studies conducted within the context of Bolman and
Deal’s (1991, 1997) theory on the effects of gender on leadership, evidence suggests that there
were no significant differences in any of the variables between men and women in leadership
styles (Thomson, 2000). The studies further suggested that “Both men and women performed a
variety of leadership functions that overlapped stereotypic gender usage, forming a balance of
leadership traits used to achieve organizational goals” (Thomson, 2000, pg.975). In terms of
leadership and gender, Thomson (2000) points that perceived effectiveness of the leader and
satisfaction of the subordinates were entirely dependent upon leadership style and behavior, and
had no relation to the gender of the leader. Further, Bolman and Deal (1991) asserted that men
and women are more alike than different in leadership orientations within the context of their
four-frame leadership orientation theory.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 29
A variety of conceptual leadership models have been studied and employed over the
years in educational leadership. Those instructional leadership and transformational leadership
studies have drawn more attention in regards to effective school leadership. In his study on the
practice of instructional and transformational leadership, Philip Hallinger (2003) explained that
transformational leadership focuses on developing the organization’s capacity to innovate, select
its proposals, and to support the development of changes in the practices of teaching and
learning. Further, Hallinger (2003) pointed out that transformational leadership focuses on
developing a shared vision and shared commitment to school change.
Hallinger (2003) summarizes the characteristics of instructional leadership as a style that
“focuses on the role of school principals in defining the school’s mission, managing the
instructional program, and promoting a positive school-learning climate” (pg332). From research
on instructional leadership, Hallinger (2003) concludes instructional leadership of school
principals focuses on school effectiveness and student achievement indirectly through the actions
they take to influence what happens in classrooms. Hallinger (2003) describes instructional
leaders as hands-on principals, “hip-deep” in curriculum and instruction and unafraid of working
with teachers on improvement to teaching and learning. He also asserted that instructional
leaders are goal-oriented, focusing on the improvement of student academic outcomes, and
sought to create an academic press that fosters high expectations and standards for students, as
well as for teachers. Similarly, female administrators were described as supportive,
approachable, sensitive, understanding (Adams & Hambright, 2004).
Research indicated that female high school principals perceived that supporting their
staff, helping their staff develop skills, and managing conflict and team building were important
in their positions as high school principals (Giese, Slate, Brown, & Delgado, 2009).Further, most
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 30
participants in this study rated motivating and inspiring employees highly in their leadership.
Research studies showed that female secondary principals demonstrate many characteristics of
transformational and instructional leadership, which shape the characteristics of an effective
leader. Research results disagree with the notion that stereotyping women in their ability to be
efficient leaders reflects reality. Research indicates that women demonstrate somewhat different
administrative behavior from men as principals. However, in terms of efficiency, their
performance is as, if not more, effective in school leadership. Adkison (1981) contends that,
although women in school administration exhibit behaviors consistent with the adult gender role
stereotype, the women's behaviors are appropriate to leadership in schools. Research studies
further demonstrate that female principals are more likely to be involved in instructional
supervision. They demonstrate democratic leadership style, concerned with student achievement,
and seek more family and community involvement (Adkison, 1981). The significant difference
in the perception of leadership behavior based on gender was also detected in the study
conducted by Nogay and Beebe (1997). In regards to framing school goals, this study found that
teachers of both genders ranked female high school principals higher in framing the school's
goals than they did male principals. Female principals were perceived by teachers as more
effective at communicating school goals than were male principals. However, in regards to
supervising and evaluating instruction, female principals were evaluated by male teachers as
more effective than male principals. The same study also reported that female principals were
ranked higher than their male counterparts at coordinating curriculum. Female principals were
also perceived as more effective at providing incentives for teachers than were male principals.
Teachers ranked female principals as more effective at maintaining visibility than male
principals.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 31
Cultural differentiation and stereotyping affect the perceptions of the leadership styles of
men and women. In general, women are stereotyped as nurturing, caring, kind, and soft. The men
are stereotyped as aggressive, decisive, and firm (Coleman, 2003). Research findings show that
male and female principals share similar leadership qualities and leadership styles. For instance,
more men than women identified themselves as caring and tolerant, qualities perceived as
feminine. More women than men identify themselves as disciplined (Coleman, 2003). Research
findings also point out that, although more men than women identify themselves as having
masculine qualities, both men and women prefer feminine qualities. Further, both men and
women favored a collaborative and people-oriented style, which is perceived as feminine.
Research findings also suggest that, while acknowledging that there are differences in the
leadership styles of male and female principals, there is no indication that male principals are
more effective than are female principals. In other words, female principals are at least as
effective as their male counterparts (Coici, 1993).
Traditionally, the relationship between gender roles and leadership styles has been
associated with masculinity and femininity. The increasing presence of women in leadership
positions changed the definition of leadership style. Instead of struggling to adopt a masculine
leadership style, research data showed that more women formed their own leadership styles
without denying feminine origins (Trinidad & Normore, 2005). Studies show that female
principals define their job satisfaction with teachers and students. In a study on female high
school principals, Eckman (2002) found that respondents described their work with teachers and
students as sources of job satisfaction. Eckman (2002) pointed out that these elements should be
highlighted as important factors to being effective principals and should be used as criteria to
attract more women educators to secondary school principalship roles. Scholars argued that
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 32
feminine leadership styles are not better or worse than traditional male oriented leadership styles;
they are just different. Trinidad and Normore (2005) state “Recognizing that women’s styles of
leadership represents an important approach to equality as long as they are not stereotyped as
“the” ways women lead but as “other” ways of leading"(pg.575). They suggest that an intrinsic
need and a moral responsibility to make a difference in the lives of students are among the
factors that motivate female teachers to consider leadership preparation (Normore & Jean-Marie,
2007). With the same motivation, female principals promote discourse through their leadership
practices about various aspects of social justice. Normore and Jean-Marie (2007) also pointed out
that female leaders are more aware of their own personal values and assumptions regarding the
formal role of female secondary school leader, and they constantly reflect on their ethical
stances, spiritual development and connections, and commitment to their profession.
Research has also showed that female principals operate under the transformational
leadership style, which supports social justice (Normore, & Jean-Marie, 2008). In their
leadership roles, these women pay close attention to underperforming and underrepresented
students and fight to their voices heard while equally serving privileged students. Women in
school leadership roles have very strong beliefs and a commitment to equal education and social
justice, and they were guided by a vision for students that focused on developing students’ full
potential to contribute to society (Normore, & Jean-Marie, 2008). Strong beliefs for social justice
and equal opportunity are found to be factors that motivate female principals to consider
leadership roles in education. The research findings further support that women who moved into
educational leadership roles were committed to making a difference in the lives of students and
to have an impact on the education system to promote equality (Normore, & Jean-Marie, 2008).
However, there has been no systematic research on the leadership styles of men and women and
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 33
their outcomes. With meta-analysis, Eagly and Johnson (1990) concluded that female principals
have a tendency to lead in a more democratic and less autocratic style than do male principals. In
other words, female principals are more likely to treat teachers and others as colleagues and
include them in the decision-making process.
In terms of a task-oriented leadership style, Eagly and Johnson (1992) reported a
relatively significant difference between women and men in those female principals were more
task-oriented than were male principals. Eagly and Johnson (1992) defined task-oriented
leadership as “Inducing teachers and other school personnel to follow rules and procedures,
maintaining high standards for performance, and making principal and teacher roles explicit”
(pg. 91).
Implications and Recommendations
Gender issues in leadership development have been discussed in many research studies.
Gender role stereotype, in particular, was one of the major areas heavily researched since the
early 1970s (Coder & Spiller, 2013). Much literature on gender role in leadership is grounded in
outdated stereotypes that do not include the changes in characteristics of effective leadership,
which include traits associated with men and embraced by women and vice versa. According to
Coder and Spiller(2013), there has been shift in gender role perceptions that caused the
differences in gender roles for men and women to become blurred. However, those changes were
not reflected in research studies. Therefore, other factors that contribute to the disproportionate
representation of women in education leadership should be considered.
Acknowledging that barriers for women exist in their path to high school principal
positions, more attention must be focused on helping women who aspire to be secondary
principals better understand the barriers and on supporting them in overcoming those challenges
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 34
(Trinidad & Normore, 2005). Studies should expand the context from simply defining leadership
style as “masculine or feminine” to leadership styles that prove to be effective regardless of
gender differences.
In order to attract women to leadership positions, Eckman (2002) argued that school
boards, district administrators, and the community must understand the conflicts of women.
Research studies suggested that institutions should examine professional development programs
offered to aspiring leaders and develop activities in order to help women become more
successful in educational leadership (Trinidad & Normore, 2005). There should be a discussion
among board members addressing the gender gap in educational leadership positions and change
any discriminatory policies that hinder the hiring of qualified female candidates in leadership
positions (Trinidad & Normore, 2005).
It is important that more research be conducted to examine personality and leadership
style differences of male and female secondary principals. Goeller (1995) recommended that
case studies, or in-depth interviews, could be instrumental to probe more deeply into gender
barriers in the educational workplace. Providing support for female teachers and recruiting
talented teachers to administrative positions is essential to address the issue of
underrepresentation of women in secondary principalships.
In addition, research shows the importance of mentors to provide support,
encouragement, and opportunities for networking in education administration. In one study,
Eckman (2002) found that most of the female secondary principals had female mentors who had
encouraged them to apply for administrative positions. Goeller (1995) also recommended that
superintendents should hire more females in order to alleviate the negative attitudes and bias
toward female administrators.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 35
In conclusion, there should be an open and honest discussion about gender roles and
stereotyping of women as not fit for leadership. There is a continued need for research
exclusively on experiences and challenges of women in secondary school principalships. The
differences between male and female principals in leadership style and effectiveness in high
school settings must be studied in order to break gender discrimination and help others
understand that the characteristics of female principals are at least as effective, if not more, as
male secondary principals in secondary school principalships.
Conclusion
The absence of women in education leadership is evident despite the fact that more
women are filling the administration positions than they did decades ago. Underrepresentation of
females in high school principal positions is one of the examples of disproportionate
representation of women in leadership. Also, several factors were identified and discussed in the
literature in regards to lack of representation of women in education leadership. More attention
was given to stereotypes/perception about women and their leadership ability. It is also important
to acknowledge that there has been a clear focus on integrating leadership development
opportunities, which include critical reflection about issues of inclusions, social justice, diversity,
and expansion of the opportunities for diverse leadership styles, among educational institutions
(Normore & Jean-Marie, 2007).
Due to the lack of information, it was unknown whether the impact of societal perception
still exists in education settings, hiring practices, and other policies in districts. It is important to
conduct more objective and exclusive studies to address concerns with respect to gender equity
in education leadership. Such a shift will open the window to better understanding of challenges
females face, provide opportunities for leadership roles for women (Trinidad & Normore, 2005),
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 36
and promote healthy gender equity in education settings. Therefore, in order to address the
underrepresentation of women in secondary principalships, the gender issue has to be on the
table and should be openly discussed.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 37
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Underrepresentation of women in education leadership is still significant despite the
progress in promoting more women to various leadership positions. In schools, although the
number of female principals is increasing, there still is a lack of equality in employment between
men and women (Goeller, 1995). Although women are beginning to move into such ranks more
frequently, line administrative positions continue to be dominated by males, and few women
become high school principals and school district superintendent, as these positions continue to
be particularly resistant to the advancement of females (Kelber, 2008). However, limited studies
are available in response to the factors triggered by the lack of representation of women in
education leadership. Therefore, it is important that more attention be given to the issues that
contribute to the underrepresentation of females in education leadership, including high school
principal positions.
This purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to
underrepresentation of women in high school principal positions. Furthermore, this study also
focused on the experiences of female high school principals in larger school districts in
California in terms of challenges they face and ways in which they overcame those challenges.
This study includes both quantitative and qualitative data collection, which was used to answer
the following research questions:
1. Are there enough applicants in the application pool of the school districts?
2. What are the factors that inhibit women from progressing to the high school principal
positions?
3. What are the challenges that high school principals face in the work force and how do they
overcome those challenges?
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 38
In terms of designing a qualitative study, Maxwell (2009) suggests a model that includes
goals, conceptual framework, research questions, methods, and validity. With its complexity
being described as “umbrella” (Merriam, 2009), qualitative research encompasses a number of
philosophical orientations and approaches. In other words, qualitative research provides
researchers with a variety of tools that best fit the purpose of the research questions they want to
investigate. Although there are many types of qualitative research designs, narrative research,
case studies, grounded theory, phenomenology, participatory, and action research are considered
to be the most popular (Creswell, 2012). Decisions about research methods depend on the issues
studied and the specific context of the research as well as on the other components of the
research (Maxwell, 2009). After carefully analyzing the purpose and research questions of this
study, it was determined that a qualitative approach was most appropriate.
The characteristics of qualitative research are that it focuses on meaning and
understanding, uses research as a primary instrument, and is an inductive process (Merriam,
2009). Creswell (2012) stated, “many case studies focus on issues with the case (individual,
multiple individuals, program, or activity) selected to provide insight” (p.245).Research
questions chosen for this study were descriptive questions, aiming to understand the factors
contributing to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions, challenges
that female high school principals face and their strategies to overcome those challenges.
Sample and Population
In qualitative research, purposeful sampling is widely used as an appropriate method for
selecting settings and individuals. In this strategy, particular settings, person, or activities are
selected to provide information that is particularly relevant to the research questions and goals of
the study (Maxwell, 2013). Purposeful sampling was used to understand the factors contributing
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 39
to the underrepresentation of women in high school principal positions, the issues and challenges
high school female principals face, and strategies they used to overcome those challenges. Based
on the research questions above, the unit of study consisted of the25 largest school district in
California, female high school principals in those school districts, and four female candidates
who had at least two years of experiences as high school principals.
The first step in selecting the sample was a review of documentation regarding the
characteristics of school districts in California. The documentation was retrieved from the
California Department of Education (2013), which provided information about demographics of
school districts. The second step consisted of selecting 25 school districts with a higher than
25,000 student population and 5 or more high schools which would provide potential data that
were essential for the purpose of this study (Merriam, 2009). A review of documents was
conducted to generate a complete list of district personnel who oversee the hiring process of
certified management positions in those school districts. Then, Survey I, which was designed to
collect data in response to research question one, was distributed to the personnel on the list.
The second layer of sampling, for narrowing the selection of candidates to be surveyed,
consisted typical purposeful sampling (Merriam, 2009) from a list of female high school
principals from those 25 school districts in order to provide in-depth understanding of topics
discussed in this study. The district and school websites were used as the primary source for a
complete list of current female high school principals. The list of 60 female high school
principals and their email addresses in 25 school districts was established.
The third layer of sampling, for the selection of candidates to be interviewed, consisted of
purposeful selection of a sample large enough to be credible and small enough to permit
adequate depth and detail for the study (Patton, 1987). Snowball or network sampling (Merriam,
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 40
2009) was used to select 4 candidates who were females and worked as a high school principals
for at least two years.
Instrumentation
Surveys and semi-structured interviews were used as instruments in this study. For
surveys, SurveyMonkey.com was used as an online survey tool for gathering data in response to
research questions. The purpose of the survey instrument was to generalize a sample to a
population so that inferences could be made regarding a population with similar characteristics.
Several advantages of surveys, such as economy in survey design and quick turnaround in data
collection (Creswell, 2013), were considered in using surveys in this study. Two sets of
modified surveys were developed using SurveyMonkey. The questionnaires were developed
based on the characteristics of the study and information needed for to answer the research
questions (Creswell, 2013). For Survey I (Appendix B), ten sets of questioners were developed
in order to gather information concerning the status of females in the application pool for high
school principal positions. The survey, with the cover letter, was distributed to 25 participants
via email. Survey II (Appendix C) was also developed by using 15 questionnaires aiming to
identify the demographics of the participants as well as their perceptions regarding challenges
they face as high school principals. Survey II was distributed to 60 female high school principals
on that list, along with the cover letter, and 30 responses were used as the source for data
analysis.
The interview protocol (Appendix D) was developed according to guidelines suggested
by Robert Weiss (1994). The interview questions were designed to gather data in response to
research questions. Less structured and more open-ended questions were developed to conduct
semi-structured interviews. The characteristics of each type of interview questions described by
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 41
Merriam (2009) were carefully studied and the researcher concluded that semi-structured
interview questions were a better fit for the purpose of the study. As Merriam (2009) points out,
in qualitative research where interviews are the main instrument of gathering data, locating the
right respondents who can contribute to the study by providing insight is crucial. Asking the right
questions was equally important to gathering useful data. A consent letter was developed in
order to inform the interviewees about the purpose, procedure, and anticipated time required for
the interview. The consent form also included assurance of the anonymity of survey respondents
and the interviewees.
Data Collection
Data were collected through two sets of surveys and in-depth interviews conducted with
four female high school principals. Permission from the University of Southern California’s
Institutional Review Board was granted to the researcher to conduct this study. The participants
were contacted through an email describing the purpose of the study and asking their permission
to conduct the surveys and the interview.
The protocol for the surveys included cover a cover letter informing participants of the
purpose of this study and ensuring the confidentiality of the survey. Survey I, with the cover
letter, was distributed to 25 participants between November 2013 and January 2014 via
SurveyMonkey websites by using a list of the participants’ email addresses. . In order to ensure a
high response rate, the survey was sent again to participants along with a reminder email. During
the time period, 10 survey responses were considered to be sufficient for gathering information
in response to the research questions. The same procedure was conducted in collecting data
through Survey II. The survey was distributed along with the cover letter, to 60 participants
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 42
between November 2013 and January, 2014. As Creswell (2013) suggested, reminding notes
were sent out to non-respondents to receive a maximum response rate.
The interview guideline was established based on suggestions presented by Merriam
(2009) and Weiss (1994) on asking good questions and establishing interviewer and respondent
interactions. The same protocol and interview questions were used for all interviews. Four
female participants who had at least two years of working experience as high school principals
were contacted via email and presented with background information and an invitation to
participate. An interview date was set and a face-to-face interview was conducted with each
participant at a location of the participant’s choice. Semi-structured and generally open-ended
questions were used during the interview with the aim of eliciting views and opinions from the
participants (Creswell, 2013).
With permission from each participant, a tape recorder was used during interviews in
order to assure quality recording of information (Creswell, 2013). The recordings were
transcribed to a Word document for data analysis.
Data Analysis
Data collected from online surveys and interviews were separately documented before
the triangulation process. Responses were analyzed and compared with the literature review and
within the conceptual frame. Findings were determined in response to research questions.
For Survey I, the response rate was 66% (10 out of 25). Since it was considered that the
25 largest school districts in California would provide sufficient data for this study, in order to
supplement data needed for this study, the documents from the California Department of
Education (CDE, 2013) and districts websites were used to gather statistical data, including the
demographics of the school districts, the number of high schools, and the ratio of male to female
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 43
high school principals in each district. Data, then, was organized in a table (Appendix A). The
data in Appendix A was also used to compare the employment status of female high school
principals among districts.
In regards to data gathered through Survey II, the response rate was 50% (30 out of 60)
which was considered to be sufficient for scholarly research as Creswell (2013) suggested. Data,
organized by participant demographics and responses to close ended questions, were triangulated
with data collected from semi-constructed interviews in order to address research questions two
and three.
Open-ended interviews were transcribed from the recorder to a Microsoft word
document. As Creswell (2013) recommended, the transcribed data was read several times in
order to obtain a general sense of the information and to reflect on its overall meaning. Detailed
analysis was conducted by combining data from Survey II and the interviews, based on themes
and categories that correspond to the research questions (Merriam, 2009). Finally, the findings
were presented within the framework of gender equity in education leadership.
Validity and Ethical Consideration
The goal of this study was to produce valid and reliable knowledge through true research
results and conducting research in an ethical manner (Merriam, 2009). In order to ensure the
validity of the research findings, the researcher followed policies and guidelines during the
study. The protection of participants, the right to privacy, and the notion of informed consent
were considered and communicated to the participants ahead of time. All participants in the
study were referred to by pseudonyms to protect their identity and in consideration for their
position.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 44
Summary
The methodology included research design, instrumentation, data collection, data
analysis, validity and reliability, and ethical considerations. This study used a mixed-methods
approach, triangulating data from two sets of online surveys and interview questions. The results
of this study were analyzed by organizing data into themes and categories in order to provide in-
depth understanding of issues related to the underrepresentation of females in high school
principal positions. Findings in response to the research questions are presented in chapter four.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 45
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
Over the years, the number of females in education leadership has increased significantly.
However, research indicates that, although women are beginning to move into such ranks more
frequently, the line of administrative positions continues to be dominated by males (Nogay &
Beebe, 2008). This trend was persistent at secondary level schools as well. Regardless of equity
legislation dating back five decades and the increasing numbers of females receiving advanced
degrees, females are not transitioning from educational leadership programs to secondary
principal positions. Considering the majority of teachers both at the elementary and secondary
levels were women, 84 % at elementary level and 59 % at secondary level (NCES, 2010) the
percentage of female secondary principals was significantly lower than that of their male counter
parts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Services
(NCES, 2010), from the 1999 - 2000 to the 2007 – 08 academic terms, the percentage of
principals who were female increased from 52% to 59 % at public elementary schools and from
22% to 29 % at public secondary schools.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the
underrepresentation of women in high school principal positions. Furthermore, this study also
focused on the experiences of former and current female high school principals in larger school
districts in California in terms of challenges they faced and strategies they used to overcome
those challenges. This chapter begins with an induction to different participants included in this
study. The chapter then describes findings based on the research questions. Data for each
research question were presented based on themes and are followed by the conclusion.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 46
Participants
Survey I Participants
For the purpose of the study, the 25 largest school districts were chosen to investigate the
employment status of females as high school principals and the status of females in the
application pool (Appendix A). The first set of surveys (Survey I, See PPENDIX B-2) was
distributed to assistant superintendents of Human Resources and directors of 25 school districts,
and ten survey results were completed. The school districts were considered the largest school
districts in California (CDE, 2013) in relation to their student population (600,000 – 25,000). The
majority of the school districts were characterized as urban/suburban school districts. The
number of high schools in each school district ranged from 360 to 6. Majority of school districts
were unified school districts (24). The high schools included in this study were considered
traditional high schools (9
th
-12
th
grade), and the student populations ranged from 500 – 3000.
Survey II Participants
The second set of surveys (Survey II, See APPENDIX C) was distributed to 60 female
high school principals in 25 school districts, and 30 participants returned the surveys. The
majority of female high school principals who responded to the survey were 36 to 60 years old
(Table 1). Only 5.6 % were between the ages of 30 and 35, and 43 % were between the ages of
36 and 50. Another 43 percent of female principals were between the ages of 51 and 60. The
percentage of female high school principals who were between the ages of 61 and 65 were made
up about 6.67% of the sample. The majority of respondents were married (63 %), 23 % were
single, and 14 % were divorced. The survey results also indicated that 70% of the respondents
had children.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 47
Table 1
Age of Female High School Principals
Age
a
f %

<30 0 0
31 -40 2 6
41-50 13 44
51-60 13 44
61-65 2 6
>66 0 0
a
n = 30
In terms of ethnicity, 62 % of the high school principals participating in this study were
White, 14 % were Hispanic, 14 % were Black/African American, 7% were Asian, and 3% were
other ethnic groups including Pilipino and mixed race. As to the educational background, 67
percent of the participants hold master’s degrees, 23 % of the respondents hold doctorate degrees
(Ed.D.), and 10 % of the participants are currently in graduate schools working toward their
doctorates. In regards to the type of school districts (Table 2), 70% of the survey respondents
were from urban school districts and 27% of the respondents worked at the suburban school
districts. In terms school population, 10% of respondents worked at schools with 500 to 1000
students, 40% of the respondents worked at schools with 1000 to 2000 students, 27% of the
respondents worked at schools with 2000 to 3000 students, and 10 % of the students worked at
school with populations larger than 3000 students.
Table 2
Type of School Districts and Size of Schools that Female High School Principals Lead
District Type f % # of Students f %
Urban 22 72.3 300 - 1000 4 12.3
Suburban 8 26.7 1000 - 2000 12 40
Rural 0 0 2000 - 3000 8 26.7
>3000 3 10
a
n = 30
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 48
In regards to the duration of their current position, almost half of the respondents (46.7%)
were in their current position for 1 to 3 years (Table 3). Among them, 26.7% of the respondents
were serving as principals for 4 to 6 years, 16.7 percent of the respondents were holding high
school principal positions for 7 to 9 years, 3.3 %of the respondents were in high school principal
positions for 10 to 12 years, and 6.7 percent of the respondents were in their position for more
than 13 years.
In terms of the professional pathways they took before they became high school
principals, the average years the survey respondents spent as teachers were between 1 and 25
years. Prior to the high school principal positions, 70% of the respondents worked at three or
more positions before they were promoted to high school principal. Among them, 36.7% held
counselor positions for 2 to 20 years, and 40 % of the respondents held positions in the districts
office for 1 to 4 years. All survey respondents held assistant/vice principal positions for 1 to 20
years before they were promoted to high school principal.
Table 3
Years as High School Principals
# of Years As High School
Principals
a
f %
1 -3 14 46.7
4 - 6 8 26.7
7 - 9 5 16.7
10 - 12 1 3.3
>13 2 6.7
a
n = 30
Interview Participants
Four interview participants were purposefully selected for information-rich cases in order
to provide a depth of understanding on the research questions. These five interview participants
were given fictitious names in this study.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 49
Table 4

Demographics of Interview Respondents

Name a Age District Type School Size Number of Years as High
School Principal
Angela 30 - 35 Urban 600 2
Brenda 35 -40 Urban 2000 - 3000 2.5
Carolyn 40 - 45 Suburban 2000 - 3000 3
Debra 55 - 58 Suburban 2000 -3000 2
a
n = 4
All four women fit into the category of working as high school principals for at least two
years. Among them, three participants have been promoted to district level positions, including
one superintendent. Two of the participants are serving as secondary female principals. Among
five interviewees, three of them were white, one interview respondent was Asian/Indian, and one
respondent was Hispanic.
Angela. Angela, white, was a second-year principal at an alternative high school. Raised
by mother who was a teacher, Angela knew that she would be an English teacher one day.
Interestingly, Angela was home schooled while in high school, and she did not experience a
traditional high school as a student. She went to a private school for her undergraduate degree in
English with the aspiration of becoming an English professor. With the influence of her mother
and her aunts who were teachers, Angela decided to teach high school and found her passion.
While she was working as an English teacher, Angela was also involved in different committees
and with innovative technology use, which inspired her to pursue her masters in educational
technology. With her passion and knowledge in integration of technology in education, Angela
was hired for an administrative California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP) in a county of
education office. During that period, Angela was involved in curriculum development and
technology and worked as a literacy coach later on. Driven by her next career goal, Angela came
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 50
back to the school site as a high school assistant principal. She worked closely with the
administrators, staff, and professional learning communities in different avenues to help all
students succeed. Angela’s initial goal was to become an assistant superintendent, which led her
to pursue doctoral program:
From there, I started my doctoral program. And I had set my goal of being an assistant
superintendent for curriculum instruction of education services. During my journey in
doctoral program, by learning a lot of things, I said to myself. Wow! I could be a
superintendent. And the doctoral program I was involved had produced more than fifty
percent of superintendents in California. That was one of the reasons why I picked the
Ed.D. Program at that school. May be I don’t have to limit myself, maybe I can be
superintendent.
With a new set of goals, Angela sought the high school principal position, which was
considered a prerequisite for superintendency. In her last year in the doctorate program, Angela
was offered a position in the district, which provided her an opportunity to receive great
coaching, feedback, and mentoring from some of the decision-makers from the district. The
expertise and skills she developed during her involvement in the district level helped her
successfully earn a high school principal position
Brenda. Brenda, Asian/Indian, was born and raised in California and had been married
for 7 years. She had two children. She started her teaching career at a middle school. With the
aspiration to be an educational leader, Brenda decided to transition into an administration
position and went back to school to earn her administration credential. One year later, she was
promoted to an assistant principal position at a middle school. She described her transition from
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 51
a middle school assistant principal to a high school assistant principal as “an accident” during the
interview.
With encouragement and support from her husband, Brenda took the assistant principal job.
During that time, Brenda was also in an Ed.D. Program and was expecting a child. Due to the
sudden change in administration, she was recommended to the Principal position and was
promoted to the high school principal. Later, she was assigned as a middle school principal and
worked there for a year. Now, she was promoted to a director of secondary education at a school
district.
Carolyn. Carolyn, white, just celebrated her twentieth year in education. After five years
of teaching at the high school level, Carolyn became an assistant principal at the 6
th
– 12
th
grade
level. She came to a different school district as an assistant principal and worked there for two
years. During her time as an assistant principal, she became in charge of master scheduling and
discipline in addition to her other duties. Her dedication for her work and her achievements led
her to a principal position at a middle school. Two years after her principal positions, Carolyn
was promoted to her current position as a senior director of human resources. While she was an
associate principal, Carolyn decided to enroll in the doctorate program with the aspiration of
becoming an effective and influential educational leader, and she successfully completed the
program.
Debra. Debra, white, was a superintendent at a suburban school district. She started her
administrative work as an assistant principal. During that period, Debra learned about the role
and a vision of a principal. She realized that the principal position would be more of a match for
her skills and her vision. With aspirations to be a visionary and inspirational leader, Debra
worked as an elementary principal for eight years. From there, she became a high school
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 52
principal and was the first female high school principal in her district. She described her
experiences as a high school principal as “the best job in the world:”
I think that principal position is one of the best positions that you could have. I have been
a superintendent for 13 years, and I still miss it. And I go on to high school campus, and I
am envious of the relationships high school principals have with their students, very
intimate relationships. If you are great teacher and you love teaching, it might be one of
the reasons that you might want to go into administration because you not only impact 30
kids in one period, get to impact 2000 kids.
In her third year as a high school principal, Debra was promoted to a directorship and
superintendency one year later. This year, Debra celebrated her 13
th
year as a superintendent.
Results for Research Question One
Research Question One asked, “Is there a qualified applicant pool of females in school
districts for the high school principal position?” The aim of the study was to investigate the
factors that contributed to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions.
The other important focus of this study was to explore the challenges the high school principals
face and strategies they used to overcome those challenges. Although the number of female
principals is increasing, between men and women, employment inequality still exists (Eckman,
2003; Goeller, 1995). This gender gap in employment is more significant in high school
positions. One of the arguments made in regards to lack of representation of women in
education leadership is that there are not enough female applicants who applied for high school
principal positions. However, despite the increased number of females who fulfilled the
requirements for leadership positions including high school principal positions, they were given
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 53
fewer opportunities and faced discrimination based on the notion that males were better equipped
for the leadership position than females in education (Young, 2001).
Research question 1 aimed to test the previous research findings discussed above in
regards to status of employment of female high school principals and status of females in the
applicant pool. Three themes emerged in this section regarding the status of current and
prospective female high school principals in the 25 largest school districts in California. The first
theme was the employment status of women as high school principals. Data collected in this
study was used to find whether the underrepresentation of females in high school principal
positions was evident in the 25 largest school districts in California. It was assumed that lack of
representation of female principals in high schools would be evident considering the
characteristics of school districts included in this study. The second theme focused on
employment opportunity in the districts in regards to the availability of high school principal
position for the past two years. This area of concern was based on the assumption that most of
the school districts would have started to recover from the economic impact of the past two
years. The third theme addresses the status of females in the application pool of the school
districts that reported high school principal position employment opportunities in their districts
for the past two years. In this area of concern, two possible outcomes were predicted. One of the
possible outcomes was that there would be fewer female applicants than male applicants that
contributed to lack of representation of women in high school positions. The other possible
outcome would be that there were equal or more female qualified applicants in applicant pool,
yet lack of representation of females still occurred.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 54
Theme One
Theme one pertained to the employment status of females as high school principals in 25
school districts in California. Those 25 school districts were considered the largest school
districts (CDE, 2013) based on their student population (30,000 – 600,000, CDE). Among those
school districts, 24 were unified school districts and one was high school district. Most of those
school districts were urban school districts and included a total of 571 high schools which made
up 43.9% of the total high schools in California.
As shown on Chart 1, data indicated that among those schools, 430 high schools were led
by males, and 141 high schools were led by females. Overall, the total percentage of female high
school principals in those 25 school districts, which was 24.5 %, was significantly lower than the
national average of female high school principals, which is 29% (NCES, 2010). Surprisingly,
most of the female high school principals (70%) worked in urban high schools with student
populations of 1000 and more. This finding was contrary to the previous research findings that
women were promoted to high school principal positions at smaller schools with smaller
populations (Eckman, 2003).
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 55

Most notable was that the ratio of male to female high school principals was different
from district to district (Table 5). The percentage of female high school principals in 14 school
districts was 10% to 29%, which was lower than the national average, and two school districts
had no female high principals in their districts (Table 4).Contrary to previous findings, the
percentage of female high school principals in five school districts was between 50% and 65 %,
which was significantly higher than the national average (29%, NCES, 2010). Similarly, the
percentage of female high school principals in four schools districts was between 40% and 49%,
and the percentage of female high school principals in another three districts was 30% to 39%.
Most notable was there was no connection between the size or the number of high schools and
the number of female high school principals in each district.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 56
Table 5
Rank of School Districts with Similar Percentage of Female High School Principals

Theme Two
The second area of concern was whether there had been any job openings for the high school
principal position over the past two years. According to the results from Survey I, distributed to
those who oversee the hiring of administrators, 20% of respondents reported that there had been
no vacancy for the high school principal position in their districts. The majority of survey
respondents (80 %) reported that there had been vacancies for high school principals in their
districts over the past two years. The number openings ranged from 2 to 4. This reflects that the
majority of school districts had an opportunity to select from the pool of applicants for the
position. Therefore, it was expected that those districts had qualified applicants in their
application pool.
Theme Three
The third area of concern was the status of females who applied for the high school
principal position in the districts that had openings for such positions over the past two years.
When the survey respondents were asked about the ratio of males to females who applied for
high school principal position, all respondents answered that there were more male applicants
than female applicants. Consequently, all survey respondents reported that less than one third of
qualified applicants who were interviewed for the high school principal positions were females.
Number of School Districts % of Female Principals
5 65 – 50
4 49 -40
3 39 -30
7 29 - 20
4 19 -10
2 9- 0
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 57
In regards to the factors that contributed to a lack of female qualified candidates in the
application pool, the survey respondents reported that their districts did not have enough female
applicants who were interested in high school principal positions. Consequently, not enough
qualified female candidates applied for the position. This reflects that one of the arguments for
the lack of representation of women in high school principal positions in districts with openings
was lack of qualified female applicants in the pool.
Research Question 1 Discussion
The total number of female high school principals was significantly lower than the total
number of male high school principals in the 25 largest school districts in California. Overall, the
percentage of female high school principals was 24.5 %, which was slightly lower than the
national average of female high school principals of 29%, (NCES, 2010).Therefore, the
underrepresentation of females in high school principals was evident in those school districts
included in this study. Interestingly, in some districts, the female high school principals
outnumbered the male high school principals, ranging from 50% to 67 %, which was
significantly higher than the national average. This suggests there has been some progress in
terms of closing the gender gap in high school principal positions. Regarding openings in the
districts, the majority of the school districts that responded to the survey had openings over the
past two years. The results indicated the lack of representation of females in high school
principal positions in the districts with openings was due to the fact that there were few females
who applied for the high school principal position. As a result, 30 % of the qualified applicants
who were interviewed for the high school principal position were females. It was not known;
however, how many of the qualified applicants who were interviewed for the position were
females. There is one finding in response to research question one. While there is some success
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 58
in a few school districts, overall, there continues to be an underrepresentation of women in the
position of high school principal due to the lower number of women applying for the position.
Results Research Question Two
Researches Question 2 asked, “What are the factors that contributed to the
underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions?” The aim of this part of the
study was to identify the major factors that contributed the underrepresentation of females in
high school principal positions in the 25 school districts included in this study. Several factors
were identified from the literature, including, stereotyping, family responsibility, lack of support,
lack of aspiration, and confidences, and gender discrimination, and the practices of organizations
in selection and hiring processes. Among those, three factors emerged as the major contributors
to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions: 1)
Stereotype/Perception, 2) Family Responsibility, and 3) Lack of Aspiration.
Stereotype/Perception
Mixed findings from both Survey II and interviews identified in regards to the impact of
stereotyping/perception in underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions.
From the findings from Survey II, four major areas of concern emerged. The first area of concern
was whether the stereotype/perception was the major factor for the underrepresentation of
females in high school principal positions. The second area of concern was the perception of
respondents in regards to whether the impact of stereotype/perception will continue to be the
major factor that inhibits women from progressing into high school principal positions.
In order to investigate whether the stereotype/perception about women and their
leadership abilities is still the major factor for the slow progress in closing gender gap,
respondents were asked if stereotyping was one of the factors for the lack of representation of
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 59
women in high school principal positions in Survey II. Less than half (43.7%) of the survey
respondents believed that stereotyping against women was one of the reasons women were not
considered fit to lead the larger high schools. This was consistent with previous research result
presented by Lois Joy (1998) that women had faced discrimination during the hiring process
despite the fact that they fulfilled the prerequisites to high school principal positions. However,
the percentage of respondents who believed that the stereotyping was the major factor for the
underrepresentation of females was significantly lower than previous research studies pointed
out. Some survey respondents confirmed their beliefs on stereotyping against women by further
commenting on the issue. One of the survey participants expressed that high school principals
were still a “Good old boys club”. Another participant stated that, “Stereotyping and
discrimination still exist, but it varies from district to district.” Similarly, one of the respondents
pointed out that equal representation of males and females depends on the hiring practices of the
district.
In contrast to findings above, the majority of survey respondents (56%) did not believe
that stereotyping of women was the major factor that contributed to their underrepresentation.
Several comments made by survey respondents further explained their perspectives that
discrimination and stereotyping were not the driving force for the hiring practices of the districts.
One of the respondents expressed that she was not aware of any discrimination or stereotyping.
However, the context of the environment she was referring to was not evident. Another
respondent addressed her disagreement with the argument that stereotype was the major factor
for the underrepresentation. She stated, “In my district, there are a number of female high school
principals.”
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 60
When respondents were asked if women still face discrimination during the hiring
process, less than half (46.7%) believed that women do still face discrimination. These results
suggest the similar number of respondents who perceived that stereotyping of women was the
factor that caused the also believed that women still suffer discrimination during the hiring and
promotion process. Consequently, a significant number of survey respondents (30%) believed
that women did not face discrimination and, 23.3 % of respondents did not know if such
practices still exist. These results revealed that more than half of the survey respondents (56%)
who did not believe stereotyping against women was the major factor also did not believe it was
a major barrier that prevented women from being promoted to high school principal positions.
Similar findings emerged from the interviews in regards to the impact of
stereotype/perception for the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions.
Findings revealed that most of the interview respondents agreed that stereotyping of women as
not fitting high school principal positions still exists despite the fact that that definition of school
leadership has extended to instructional leadership. The findings further indicated that some
interview respondents personally experienced stereotyping throughout their transition from
teaching to high school principal positions.
In terms of the impact of stereotypes, five interview respondents discussed their
perspectives in regards to stereotyping of women based on their own experiences or the
experiences of others. Angela suggested that the perception about the ability of a woman running
a traditional high school stemmed from the nature of the high schools with more management
and athletics. It was perceived that those characteristics of high schools could only be managed
by a male. In comparison to her male counterparts, Angela pointed out that her male counterparts
often were coaches for sports before they were promoted to administration level. “They may or
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 61
may not be instructional leaders. They may or may not ground in curriculum but they got the
culture and community. There was only one female principal. With her, she did her time. She
was AP for ten years. I think people have doubts. And they say a she is still a female. It is still is
a good old boys club.” As for the changing dynamics in education leadership, Angela also
acknowledged that there has been an increase in the number of women being hired as high
school principals over the years. Angela suggested that the increase of females in high school
principal level was as the result of the changing dynamics of high schools, where there has been
more emphasis on the importance of instructional leadership.
Brenda believed that lack of representation of women in education leadership stemmed
from the perception that females do not run large high schools in urban settings. She further
stated, “The perception that we (women) cannot do it. We should be doing other things. Or we
don’t have the operational background. What I mean by that is that ‘How do you talk to the plant
manager? Or how do you run the athletics?’” Brenda pointed out that people often forget that
women were also smart enough to delegate and hold people accountable for their expertise,
including operations, plant management, and sports:
People often forget to realize that we also smart enough to delegate and when give
duties out to people. It is not about what do you know but how you apply what you
know. I would be honest. I never used stripping and waxing machine. But I can still
talk to my plant manager and hold him accountable to wax. If I talked to male
principals, I am sure half of them never used that machine either. But it was just
assumed that they know.
Similar to Angela and Brenda’s opinion, Carolyn also thought that athletics and
operations would be major indicators for the stereotyping of women as not being to be high
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 62
school principals. She also believed that societal perception about women has changed over the
years. Using her own school district as an example, she stated, “In our school district, there are
three comprehensive high schools and all three principals are females. When I started here they
were all male. I think it is really the changing culture, I think you see more female principals in
future.” She also cautioned that the changes she witnessed her school district were unique. She
acknowledged that many districts had not shown improvements in regards to closing the gender
gap in high school principal position.
Based on her experiences as a high school principal and a superintendent, Debra pointed
out that lack of representation of females in the superintendency as well as in high school
principal positions was due to the whole aspects of stereotypes. She acknowledged that the
district where she started her education career as a teacher, an administrator, and now a
superintendent, was used to be a “very much good old boy’s network and very much coaches
nets”. She pointed out that the history of female leadership in high schools that of being
perceived as sensitive, weak, without stamina, without the courage to run a high school as a
principal. As the first female high school principal in her district, Debra experienced stereotyping
herself several times in the past:
I certainly experienced the stereotyping myself. I remember I had a board member once
said to me, “We just want you to be more of a boss.” My response back was that “Can
you give me one time and one example when I did not make the decision that was not
best interest of the organization?” This particular board member could not answer. What I
understood from the comment was “we never see you plant a fist on the table, we never
hear you raising your voice, and we never see you get mad or angry, and aggressive...” I
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 63
think that the stereotype of what the boss needs to look like is very different than the boss
who still gets the job done, always in a nurturing, caring, and humanistic way.
Debra was pleased that the stereotypical perception of female education leaders changed
significantly over time. She believed that the real change came from the redefinition of
leadership, which is more inclusive and representative of both male and female leadership styles.
She further stated there will be more and more females coming to the rank of high school
principal:
I think because we have recognized the leadership really requires those who are really
skilled at relationship building, who were skilled with connectivity, at motivation, at
inspiration, and nurturing at organization, which tend to be female characteristics. But
also I think at the same time female leaders can also be one who is extremely courageous,
but extremely strong but perhaps displaying different line of strength, which was
historically different from the traditional definition of strength.
Overall, there were two major findings identified both from the interview and Survey II
data in regards to the impact of stereotype/perception for the representation of females in high
school principal positions. First, the perception about the impact of stereotype/perception as the
major factor for the underrepresentation of females was equally divided among respondents.
Second, the respondents were also equally divided in terms of the future impact of stereotype on
the progression of females to high school principal positions.
Family Responsibilities
Findings from Survey II and interviews identified women’s family responsibilities as one
of the major factors that contributed to the underrepresentation of females in high school
principal positions. Findings included the impact of family responsibilities in women’s decision
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 64
to seek these positions, the ways in which these responsibilities shaped the characteristics of
female high school principals, and the advice that helps aspiring female high school principals
reduce the conflict between their career aspirations and their personal lives.
From the Survey Results, family responsibility was identified as the major factor for the
underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions. Most of the survey
respondents (78.9%) thought that women’s family responsibilities were a major barrier that
prevented women from progressing in their career. Interestingly, the percentage of respondents
for this particular area was significantly higher than this study previously predicted. Similarly,
the percentage of respondents who ranked family responsibilities as a major factor in the lack of
female representation was significantly higher than the percentage of females who perceived
stereotype as the main factor. This reflects perceptions of women’s family responsibilities and
those of stereotypes varied. For some respondents, both factors were equally the cause for the
lack of female representation. However, it was not known whether the respondents perceived
that these two factors were related as cause and effect. A significantly higher percentage of
females ranked family responsibilities as the major factor for female underrepresentation (Table
6). According to the data from the survey in regards to the personal information of the
respondents (Table 6), most of the female respondents were married (63.3 %) or divorced (13.3
%). This finding was consistent with the percentage (78.9%) of women who believed family
responsibility was the major factor for women’s lack of advancement to the high school principal
position
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 65
Table 6

Family Status of Female High School Principals
Status Number of Female High
School Principals
Percentage of Female High
School Principals
%
Single 7 23.3
Divorce 4 13.3
Married 19 63.3
Have Children Living at
Home
9 30
Children Not Living at Home 12 40
No Children 9 40

According to the survey results, the average age of female high school principals was
48.5 (Table 7), which was consistent with the national average age of high school principals of
49 (NCES, 2013). However, the percentage of female high school principals who were younger
than 45 was significantly lower than the national average of 36.7% (NCES, 2013). The
percentage of female high school principals (44%) who were between 45 and 54 was higher than
the national average (35.5 %).
Table 7
Age of Female High School Principals in this Study
Percent by Age Category Female High School
Principals in this Study
%
High School Principals
Nationwide (2011-2012,
NCES, 2013)
Less than 45 years 26.7 36.5
45 – 54 years 44 35.5
55 years or more 26.7 27.8

Therefore, it could be concluded that family responsibilities of women might be an
indicator for late entrance of the majority of women into the position of high school principal.
This conclusion was further confirmed by a survey respondent who commented, “I purposely
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 66
waited until my child was out of high school to become an administrator. I would feel guilty and
that I was doing a disservice to my family had I become an administrator earlier in my career.”
This suggests that most possibly decided to enter into high school principals in their later years in
order to reduce the conflict between their personal and career choices.
Consistent with the findings and conclusions above, survey results also indicated that the
majority of female principals (73.4 %) had been high school principals between 1 and 6 years
(Table 8). Similar to the previous conclusion, females who aspired to be principals most likely
started the job at age 45 or older (Table 6).
Table 8
Years as High School Principal
Number of Years as High
School Principal
Number of Female High
School Principals
Percentage of Female High
School Principals
%
1 - 3 14 46.7
4 -6 8 26.7
7- 9 5 16.7
10 -12 1 3.3
13 and more 2 6.7

Some survey respondents also shared that other factors, such as district policies,
educational policies, and district practices, lead to underrepresentation of females in their
districts. One survey respondent also stated not having enough role models in principal and
higher positions to make them think the effort is worth it was a major factor.
Overall, family responsibilities were identified the major factor that contributed to the
underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions by the majority of the
participants. This finding was further supported by statistics about women who participated in
this study, indicating that most participants were married, the majority of women had children,
and the same percentage of women entered into the high school principal positions in their later
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 67
years. In addition, the findings about their years of service as high school principals could be an
indicator of the late entrance of women into the job due to the family responsibilities.
From the interview, two major indicators emerged in regards to family responsibility
being identified as the major factor for the underrepresentation of. Two out of three interview
respondents strongly pointed out the impact of family responsibilities on the decision that an
aspiring female high school principal makes.
First, in regards to family responsibilities as a major barrier for women, Carolyn stressed
that, due the complexity and time demands, women tend to struggle to choose whether to move
forward to pursue a high school principal position. She stated, “Absolutely, there are barriers,
especially, if the woman wants to get married and have children. It is very difficult to juggle and
be a mom and a high school principal.” Carolyn advised that it is very important for women with
families and children, who pursue the position, to have very supportive family and friends who
could understand what it would take to be a high school principal. She asserted, “I think it is
more about your personality, balancing your whole life those are largest barrier. Because most of
the female principals I know are not married. Don’t have children.”
Second, several recommendations by the interview respondents were identified in this
study in regards to reducing the conflict between family responsibilities and career enhancement.
One of the recommendations given by Debra was that, before a person decides to pursue a high
school principal position, she must consider that the job not only fits her professionally, but also
fits her personally. She pointed out the high school principal positions as one of the best
positions in education. She also warned that it was very difficult and time consuming. Debra
further stated:
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 68
So my advice, again, to some who wants to be a high school principal “have you
really thought about what it takes because it is going to take a lot of time, energy,
and people around you have to be prepared.” So, and I believe that, personally, for
the superintendent it is even worse. Or better, however you look at it. But high
school principals “they were” booked.
Overall, both interview and survey results identified family responsibilities as a major
factor for the lack of representation of females by a significantly high percentage of responses
(56%). This finding was further supported by data in regards to the trend of the age, family
status, and years as high school principals of participants.
Internal Barriers
Besides the two major findings discussed above, several barriers emerged from both
Survey II and the interviews. Those findings include lack of aspiration, lack of self -confidence,
lack of support from family. Of these lack of aspiration and lack of self-esteem were the
predominant factors which emerged from the data.
From the survey, some internal barriers, such as lack of aspiration and lack of self-
esteem, were identified as factors which contributed to the lack of representation of females in
education leadership, including leadership in a high school. According to the data from Survey
II, only 23% of the survey respondents suggested that lack of aspiration of women for leadership
positions was the major internal barrier for women seeking high school principal positions. The
percentage of women who chose “lack of aspiration” as a factor was significantly lower than that
of women who believed that stereotyping as a factor in the lack of representation. It can be
concluded that more women believed lack of aspiration was no longer the factor for women
pursuing leadership.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 69
From the interview results, it was suggested that internal barriers, such as lack of
aspiration and lack of confidence, could be factors contributing to the underrepresentation of
females in high school principal positions. Angela agreed that, sometimes, female teachers limit
themselves from pursuing these positions due to the athletics and discipline. She also pointed out
that, because athletics and discipline are perceived to be only run by “big old boy network,”
female teachers tend to see non-academic operations as a main part of high school leadership. As
a mentor for aspiring male and female high school principals, Angela helped teachers build
confidence and skills needed for effective leadership. She stated, “Self confidence is a big one.
That is why I intentionally mentor on that perspective. I mentor both males and females that I
often seek out and encourage them to move forward.”
Carolyn pointed out that self-confidence was also very important for women to take on a
leadership role in a high school:
I think you also have to be a very strong person. You have to learn let a light slide
off your back and not do your job with your emotion and doing what is right for
students. And not being afraid of hard conversation and knowing that you are
going to be challenged and criticized are also very crucial (Carolyn).
Debra also acknowledged that lack of aspiration and self-confidence of women could
prevent them from seeking high school principal positions. However, she insisted that those
internal barriers were the result of stereotypes. She pointed out that societal perceptions about
women and questioning their ability to manage football games and make tough decisions on staff
relations and student discipline could affect the self-efficacy of female teachers seeking
educational leadership. Debra stated that the practices and policies of an organization could
impose or alleviate internal barriers of women in their career path. “I think that, oftentimes, the
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 70
female leader is encouraged to go to elementary role. Again, there is a preconceived notion
where women should and should not be and the organization could lead the women in the ways
that the organization determines where she should be.”
Also, internal barriers, such as lack of aspiration and self-confidence, were identified as
factors that contributed to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions.
The impact was perceived to be significantly low compared to that of stereotyping and family
responsibilities. It could be more women believed there were significant numbers of women with
aspirations of becoming education leaders, and they were confident that they had the knowledge,
strengths, and leadership skills to lead high schools with complex structures.
Discussion Research Question Two
In response to research question two, there were three major indicators in regards to
barriers that contributed to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions.
Among them, family responsibility was ranked as a top indicator, followed by
stereotype/perception. Finally, lack of aspirations was ranked as the lowest stressor compared to
other factors such as family support and self-esteem.
Surprisingly, the majority of survey respondents (76%) and half of the interview
respondents (2) agreed that family responsibility was the major barrier preventing women from
seeking high school principal positions. This could be explained by several results which
emerged from this study: the higher percentage (44 %) of female high school principals who
were between the ages of 46 and 55 could indicate that women enter the position late due to the
family responsibilities. Further, nearly all of the survey respondents and all interview
respondents were married, and 70% of them had children, which demonstrates the impact of
family responsibility on the progression of women to high school positions. The finding is that
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 71
family responsibility was the most important influence on the progression of women to the
position of high school principal.
Stereotyping was identified as one of the indicators from both the survey and interviews.
However, the percentage of survey respondents (43.7%) who chose stereotyping as a main factor
that kept women from progressing to high school principal was less than half of the total. This
could indicate that societal perceptions about women’s ability to lead has changed over the years
and the majority of women in this study believed that stereotyping of women was no longer a
barrier for their progression. It could also be assumed that the majority of female high school
principals in this study did not experience hostility and barriers during their transition from
teacher to principal due to their gender. However, considering that almost half of the female
respondents (43.7%) believed that stereotyping was the major factor in the underrepresentation,
this represents a major issue that still warrants consideration.
The finding in response to research question two is that, while stereotype/perception and
aspirations are important indicators that still warrant consideration, family responsibility was the
most influential factor affecting career progression to the position of high school principal.
Results Research Question Three
Research Question Three asked, “What are the challenges that female high school
principals schools face in the workforce and how did they overcome those challenges? Like their
male counterparts, female high school principals face challenges associated with the
characteristics of high schools. However, female high school principals experience their
leadership role differently than do male high school principals due to stereotyping (Coleman,
2003). The aim of this part of this study was to explore the challenges female high school
principals faced in the workforce within the context of perception and stereotyping of women
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 72
and their leadership role. It also focused on identifying strategies they utilized in order to
overcome those challenges. Data from both Survey II and interviews were used to identify
findings under two major themes: challenges and overcoming those Challenges.
Theme One Challenges
Several findings were identified from Survey II and the interviews in regards to the
challenges female high school principals face in the workforce. Those findings include family
responsibilities, staff perception, athletics, parents and community. Results showed that family
responsibilities and staff perception were the major challenges for female high school principals,
followed by athletics and.
According to survey and interview results, balancing work and family responsibilities
were identified as the major challenge. More than 70% of survey respondents reported ever
experiencing a personal struggle or feeling of guilt in relation to their professional and personal
lives at some point in their careers. Survey respondents commented that they felt guilty when
there was child at home and they were not able spend enough there. Some respondents reported
that they purposely delayed their plan to be principal until their children got older. Similarly, one
respondent commented, “Very early in my administrative career, when I still had my daughter at
home, I felt guilt that I could not always be present at her events.” Another respondent shared her
decision in regards to balancing work and personal life, “I have sacrificed my personal life so I
can dedicate my time to my school and children. I chose not to remarry so I can have time for my
children. I felt guilty when I wasn't with my children especially when I would spend 10+ hours
in school.” Other responses were similar:
I am always struggling to balance work with my family responsibilities (staying home
with a sick child, leaving early to take a child to an appointments).
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 73
Not married and no children. I feel that my career had interfered in the development of
my personal life.
Both my husband and I work and try to share family responsibilities but I still feel more
of the need to make meals and coordinate social gatherings etc.
Yes, daily. I have 3 boys under the age of 8. It's horrible when I can't go on field trips,
class parties, etc.
For some respondents, the personal guilt persisted even though their families were
supportive of their work demands. One respondent stated, “Just the time demands of the job
sometimes affect family time or function, but my family is very supportive and they do not give
me a hard time about it. It's more of a personal struggle for me.” With similar perspective, one
respondent suggested that all women struggle to balance their work and personal lives,
I think all women (and, to some degree, all men) in all professions continue to struggle
with “work-life balance” especially in situations where there are children living in the
home. That is actually the topic of my own dissertation. The conclusion I have reached is
that life does not provide many solutions and work-life balance is whatever we develop
and accept . . . but is never 50-50. Acceptance of the reality of inequities is the key to
saving our sanity.
Some respondents believed, due to the complexity of their job demands, there were times they
felt a sense of guilt for different chapters of their lives. One respondent shared that “When my
children were small, I felt guilty for the time I spent at school when they were home. Now, as a
grandparent, I have similar feelings of guilt when I am not able to participate in their activities
and events because of hours at the high school.”
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 74
Similar results were identified from the interviews in regards to family responsibilities of
female high school principals. Due to the complexity and time demand, all four acknowledged
that the time commitments for their jobs and family responsibility have been a major challenge
for them. For Angela, multitasking, keeping up with everything, and prioritizing were her biggest
challenges. As a working mother, it was hard for Carolyn to spend equal amounts of time for
both work and for the family. Reflecting on her career as an educator and leader, Debra
expressed that, if there were one do-over in her career as a high school principal, it would be
“one do over was that I would do less of work and be more at home with my husband and my
girls when they were little. You cannot see when you were in the middle of it. You think ‘wow,
how did that happened?’ I spend my career taking care of other people’s kids. I still do. And as a
result, my own children I think suffered a bit.” Debra further stated that due to her high
expectations for the job she did, she spent numerous Sunday afternoons at the school site:
And now tell my principals and I am so pleased to have the luxury to be in the place
where I said to my principals, “Absolutely, I do not want you to be at the school site on
Sundays. As a matter of fact, if you are, it is concern to me. I want you to be home with
your family on Sunday.” Because I was there, I was a kind of person. So, it is kind of
nice to look back and say, “Okay I have done some things I would not repeat.” That
would be first one. Balance is hard, very hard. To be principals and have a young family
is very, very difficult. If I did not have my mother, my sister, and brother, and supportive
husband, I could not do that.
Overall, from the results, balancing work and family life was identified as the major
challenge that female high school principals face. It reflects that, due to the complexity of high
schools and the time demands for extra hours and activities, female high school principals were
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 75
forced to make adjustments in their personal commitments in order to fulfill their
responsibilities.
Stereotype/Perception
Survey results showed that, in regards to the challenges that female high school principals
face in the workplace, 47.8% of the survey respondents agreed that some of the challenges they
face were related to stereotypes about the ability of women to run high schools. 60% of
respondents expressed that they have been challenged by staff and other stakeholders due to the
stereotyping. One survey respondent commented that, “Most staff members are very
professional, but I still encounter some, every now and then, who make it perfectly clear that
they have strong opinions about having a female boss. It is rare, but it still happens, and it still
surprises me.” Some respondents pointed out they were challenged by the attitude of staff
members toward their leadership. One of the survey respondents expressed that she was
questioned excessively by her staff in regards to the decisions she made due to the perception of
weakness among her staff. “I think my male APs and some teachers don't follow deadlines
because I'm nice and work with people and don't get angry…Employees have tried to get away
with insubordinate activity and challenged my authority.”
In contrast, the majority of survey respondents (53.3%) reported that they did not believe
that some challenges they face in the workforce were related to their gender. Similarly, 47.8% of
survey respondents also reported that they had never been challenged by their staff because of
their gender. Further, one of the survey respondents pointed out that the challenges are the same
regardless of gender.
Overall, the results from Survey II indicated that almost half the survey respondents
(47.3%) believed that some challenges were related stereotype/perception. Among those,
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 76
52.2%identified staff perception as the major challenge female high school principals face. It
could be concluded that the serotype/perception still exists. Equally, stereotype/perception was
not considered a factor in the challenges high school principals face. A similar percentage of
women (47.8%) reported that the challenges they face were not related to stereotype/perception.
This result indicated that, for the majority of the participants, gender bias and perception was not
the cause of the challenges they face at work. It could also suggest that both the participants and
their stakeholders value the leadership performance more so than gender in a person’s ability to
lead.
Similar responses were collected from the interview respondents in regards to the
challenges that stemmed from stereotype/perception. Among four interviewees, three expressed
that stereotype/perception was the major factor some of the challenges they face in their work.
They also shared that they were challenged by their staff at some point due to the questioning
their ability to lead high schools.
Angela described interactions with male colleagues she supervised. “I think it is mostly
due to like testing how I will handle the things: will I hold in line, how much I would tolerate…
Nothing horrible. But it can also be challenging.” Similarly, Brenda suggested that one of her
biggest challenges she faced when she became a high school principal was staff taking her
seriously. She further stated that due to her characteristics as a young minority woman, the staff
expressed their doubts about her ability to run a high school when she was interviewed for that
job:
Before I got the high school principal position, the school staff preferred their male
assistant principal. Their rationale was that the assistant principal was male, and he was
familiar with the culture of this school. They argued that the assistant principal knew the
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 77
operation. I also heard that they needed a strong principal. Really? Those rationales were
always gender related.
Debra pointed out that gender-related challenges were linked to doubts of staff regarding
the ability of women: Is she strong enough? Does she have what it takes, and “I was always
questioned and I remember saying to our board of trustees that I thought my sensitivity was my
greatest strength, which sometimes felt like being treated as a weakness. I thought that that I am
as a woman probably a greatest strength as a leader by any means.” She stated that gaining the
trust of staff and community members was challenging for female high school principals. In
particular, at larger high schools with athletics and larger operations, it would be difficult for
female high school principals to operate without feeling the resistance from coaches and parents
of athletes:
I believe that strongly those coaches have just as much responsibilities to treat our kids
with kindness and respect. On a football and they do in a math classroom. That is always
been my mantra and that is a challenge because there are coaches in the football field,
particularly, they think that the F word is absolutely proscriptively in their use, I
completely disagree. Things like that is a challenge to overcome. My perspective is not
because I am naive and I don’t understand football. My perspective is that I am a woman
and I really ever value, appreciate, allow our students to be treated in any way other than
extreme respect.
In contrast, some interview respondents found female stereotyping as beneficial in certain
situations. At some schools previously run by male principals, the female staff was accepting of
female principals. Angela shared her experience during her first year as a high school principal:
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 78
When I took this position, I followed a principal who had been a male. He designed the
school and opened the school. Some people really liked him, and some of them had really
difficulty with him. Some of the difficulties were something to do with his gender. So
they were thrilled that I was a female. Female teachers think that I would be more
understanding and sympathetic. It can be beneficial with the stereotyping female
principals.
In regards to the relationship of staff perception, Carolyn had different experiences than
other interview respondents. While acknowledging that stereotype among staff still exists,
Carolyn expressed that staff had never challenged her because of her gender. She stated, “I never
felt that people judge me because I am a woman verses a male principals. I think it was a lot
about making my priority.”
Data from Survey II also showed that parent perception/attitude was one the challenges
that female principals faced due to the gender bias. According to the survey results, 40%
reported that they had been challenged by parents. This finding was supported by comments
made by some of the survey respondents who pointed out that they had been challenged by
parents, especially by male parents who perceived that females do not qualify for running high
schools with athletics. One of the respondents stated, “Male parents seem to feel they can bully
me when arguing their position. Often, male parents think you can be intimidated.”
According to the survey results, most of the respondents (97%) worked at urban/
suburban high schools and the majority of respondents (77%) worked at high schools with
student populations of 1000 to 3000. It can be assumed that athletics were the significant part of
the high school management. Consequently, results showed that athletics was also identified as
one of the challenges female principals face in the workforce by both survey and interview
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 79
results. According to the survey, 40% of the respondents reported that dealing and managing
athletics was challenging for them.
Results from the interviews also showed that athletics was one of the challenges they
faced. Some interview respondents acknowledged that athletics and operations were also
challenges they faced. They shared their experiences by pointing out that they spent a significant
amount of time in the beginning of their work as high school principals trying to learn about a
variety of sports, maintenance, and operations. In her first year as a high school principal,
Carolyn had to learn almost every step and procedure about athletics:
I know nothing about athletics, coaches, and sports. I did not know anything about
maintenance or facilities. I think those were very gender specific. I just didn’t
know facilities or the athletics. That was the challenges that I have to learn all of
that. The instructional piece I have no problem, cultural piece that building
relationships with staff I had no trouble with. It was really learning athletics.
Debra suggested that it is also important that the organization give attention to other
services in order to ensure students’ well being. “I have barriers that district support was not in
sync or with alignment with what I thought needed to be done at our high school verses what had
traditionally been done. School campuses have been very sport - oriented and athletic oriented,
and I think it still is in many aspects. I think my goals were that the arts department, the music
department, and other venues were also important.”
Overall, from both survey and interview results, it was indicated that half of the
participants believed stereotype/perception among staff exists and, as a result, they experienced
challenges from staff due to their gender. It could be concluded stereotype/perception was the
major indicator of the challenges female high schools principals face. It can be concluded that,
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 80
due to the increased presence of women in education leadership, more women demonstrated their
ability to run high schools as effectively as their male counterparts. One interesting note was that
staff perception was beneficial for some female high school principals. Being female and
possibly having children might play an important role in regards to building relationships with
female staff members and staff members with families. The other two factors equally identified
as challenges for female high school principals were parents and athletics. Challenges from
parents, especially males, most likely stemmed from societal stereotypes that females cannot run
high schools. In regards to athletics, only 40% of the respondents’ found athletics were a
challenge, which indicates that the majority of respondents could manage athletic programs at
their schools.
Theme Two Overcoming Challenges
Results from the interviews were used to identify strategies that helped respondents
overcome challenges such as stereotype, family and work while they were high school
principals. From the results, several indicators emerged in response to question two. The
indicators include balancing work and family, building trust, effective leadership, family support,
district support, and networking. Among those, balancing work and family life, effective
leadership, building trust, and family support were identified as the major indicators for
overcoming challenges for female high school principals.
Regarding balancing work and family life, according to the interviews, each interview
respondent adopted strategies and work habits to mitigate the conflict between the work demand
and personal lives. For Angela, “balancing” meant finding some time with her family and friends
while working hard. She believed that this was her time to work very hard at work since she was
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 81
in her early years as a high school principal. From Angela’s perspective, a person should know
him or herself in order to find a balance between work and personal responsibilities. She stated:
My balance is to know myself. I also know that I am not an evening person. I know I am
not night person. I usually go home five or six o’clock. So I go home have dinner with
my husband and watch television show and good night sleep. That is how I balance. I
work 4 hours on a weekend.
Brenda suggested that it is not balancing work and personal life; it is really about learning
how to coexist between work demands and family life. She strongly believed that a person must
love what he or she does:
You are not balancing these two, but you are learning to coexist between these two. It
was about setting the priority. My family knew I have Friday night football games. I have
ten months old at home. My husband knew on Friday night she had to go. They knew that
we have home coming games, proms, those are things that I had to be there.
Debra also pointed out that she was open with her staff about her personal
responsibilities. Her staff was aware that she had ten-month old child at home. The staff
members know that she had to compromise her work time with her personal schedule when
possible.
With the same right, they also learned that I was accessible to my staff for twenty
four seven. They also knew I was real person, I was a mom and that I need my time.
They did not see me on Thursday afternoon because I went to day care to pick up
my daughter, they say yeah. Because they knew that I had to be there on Friday, so
she is going to pick up her daughter early today. So it goes back to building that
trust.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 82
As a working mother, Carolyn acknowledged that it was hard to spend equal amount of
time both for work and for the family. She insisted that it was very important for her to prioritize
her responsibilities. “If I did not have a night event to go to school, I left work every day at five.
Even if my to do list were not complete that day, I still leave and go home. If I did have a night
event that went until 7 or 8 then I will go home and I never just stay at work. If I have an event
that started at 7:00 pomp at night I live close enough and l would live at 4 go home and have
dinner and come back for 7:00 meeting.” Carolyn further stated that she made a priority that she
spent Saturdays and Sundays with her family.
I have a lot of friends who would stay at work until 7 or 8 o’clock at night just to because
there is so much work to do. I would tell you that you couldn’t scarify your family
because it is not healthy. You need to go home. I worked for superintendent who puts
family first. He wanted to find that time which is also important.
In terms of balancing family life with work, Debra pointed out that it was not always
“balancing your life so that it could work for you; it was about balancing your life so that it
would work for people around you.” She explained her perspective by sharing a story:
I told the story many times. I was a principal, was a superintendent. My daughters were
in high school at that time. By looking at my calendar, I would say to my husband like “I
was going to be out for next 22 nights” Because, as a superintendent, there is always
something going on weekends that was crazy. My husband said to me that it would not
work him. Very quietly, “Excuse me, I am superintendent. He said, “Do it what you need
to do, but that is not going to work for me.” So, I remember, my girls were home and
they said, “Hello, you are not getting this?” I went back and looked at my calendar and
said, “Okay, I will be out five nights. I am not going to those four events, and I will be
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 83
out for four nights, and I am not going to do these two” And he said, “Oh, that will work
for me.” So, that was the reminder to me that it is not all about me and what is going to
work for me. It is about what is going to work for my family.”
All four respondents shared that they were strongly supported by their family members.
They spoke highly about their spouses for understanding the time commitment of their jobs. All
interviewees expressed that they received overwhelming support from their family members to
pursue high school principal positions. Angela pointed out that her husband has different
interests and was very supportive of her in terms of working and finishing her graduate program.
Her husband understood that she needed to sacrifice some weekends to complete her work
responsibilities and did not make her feel guilty. Brenda shared her gratitude for her husband
who encouraged her to take the high school principal position and supported her along the way
by taking more family responsibilities, such as taking care of ten-month-old child. She stated
that, “My family knew I have Friday night football games. I have a ten-month-old at home. My
husband knew, on Friday night, she had to go. And they knew that we have homecoming games,
proms. Those are things that I had to be there.”
Carolyn stated that she was fortunate that her husband is very supportive of her work
demands. As a mother of younger children, Carolyn shared that family support was crucial for
her job. “…Morning is worse at my house getting everyone ready in the morning and making me
ready is very hard at home. I always made a priority to never work on Saturday and Sundays.
Those are family time. I was fortunate that my husband is very supportive that he knows that, if I
have a night event, I had to go to them. I had to pick up the slack at home.”
Debra felt fortunate that she lived in the community where she worked and so did her two
sisters, her brother, and her mother. She stated:
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I had an extended family around me when I was a young leader with children at
home. Obviously, my girls are gone, grown, and have kids on their own. That was
important to me and very helpful. And I also have incredibly supportive husband
who was always willing to allow me to just do what I have to do. So it was much
shared partnership in terms of raising our children, householder responsibilities.
Overall, data indicated balancing work and personal life by utilizing strategies, such as
prioritizing, using time effectively, being transparent, and being considerate of others, proved to
be effective for female high school principals. Family support was identified as the most
important factor for balancing their family responsibilities with their work. This finding was
consistent with previous findings including family responsibility as the major factor for the
underrepresentation of women as high school.
Building trust with staff, students, and parents was perceived to be crucial for success by
the participants. Results also showed that respondents experienced different strategies in regards
to building trust and relationships with their staff in their first year as high school principal.
For Angela, building trust meant building the vision and mission of the school with staff
and other stakeholders and work together to achieve those goals. Reflecting on her experience as
a high school principal, she shared that she started her first year as a principal by analyzing data
from the survey conducted by the district in order to identify the needs of the school. Along with
understanding the school and listening to staff, Angela used the survey results as an outline to
make a change that a majority of staff members thought necessary. As a result, she got a positive
response from the staff because changes she made directly related to the survey results. Angela
also pointed out that one of the things she respected the most in leaders and tried to emulate her
was transparency and integrity. Comparing the working environment where transparency was
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valued and leadership that allowed decisions made by hidden agenda and personal interests,
Angela stressed that she always wanted to be transparent”.
I hate secrets. I can’t keep it, and I don’t want to keep secret. I want to be transparent, I
would say let us check the facts and move forward…As they got to know me, they
understood me more and more. They would come and steal some candy from my table,
and say, “oh, I am trying something new today, or I am struggling with this today” Those
were informal conversations, but so much of this was built based on relationships, so by
listening is so critical, and going slow or go fast. If you don’t have that trust, then you
can’t have those real conversations, that instructional leadership.
Brenda pointed out her first-year experiences earning the trust of staff and letting them
know that she was here to work with them and support them. One strategy she used in order to
gain the trust of her staff was to have honest conversations with them:
Walking the walk, not only talk, doing the work, being at the football game and actually
seeing me, and being in the community. First, they say you cannot walk on the big street
doing the supervision. I could and I did. I was walking up the street and doing things to
keep the kids safe. People were realizing that I was investing in the community and
investing in the school. I was the safety net for the students and I was the safety net for
the staff. We were going to make a change.
Brenda also pointed out that gaining the trust from people principals work for, work with,
and under and above was most important as was being transparent. “If you kind of hide stuff, and
trying to swizzle people into doing things then you never will be able to gain that trust and you
will never be an effective leader.”
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Carolyn shared that, during her first year as a high school principal, she spent most of her
time observing, learning, and building relationships.
So, I would spend a lot of time during snack and lunch down in the coaches’ office with
all the men and listen to them about their concerns, such as scheduling, and logistics. We
are part of the pacific league. I learned by going to the pacific league meetings, learning
and asking questions, and being able to say, I don’t know or teach me this. Make them
realize that that’s our role to teach her and I never felt like people resent me.
Debra stated:
You overcome those challenges by letting people see who you really are, by always
modeling your values and your actions, by being consistent. You earn their trust by
giving results, by allowing people to see that people don’t need to be screamed and yelled
at. I don’t mean to insinuate the men do that it is just certainly not my style. So, during
my years as a high school principal and superintendent, I have overcome barriers,
prejudices, serotypes by walking, talking, and showing actions and then ultimately
showing that our organization is strong and super healthy as the result of the leadership in
this case.
Effective leadership was one of the major strategies the interview respondents used in
order to overcome challenges through their careers. All of four interview respondents pointed out
that they overcome challenges by utilizing effective leadership styles. Respondents believed that,
regardless of gender differences, their success was as a result of effective leadership styles that
they practiced throughout their careers.
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Reflecting on her characteristics as a leader, Angela waived herself toward management,
originations, and human resources. She stressed that being transformative and collaborative were
also very important to her:
Transformational and collaborative leaderships are very important to me. Rather than
making decisions in the vacuum, I am always running my ideas by my staff and using
them as my sounding board. Our leadership team consists of four teachers, my counselor,
and one assistant principal. So seven of us, we meet weekly we sit down and discuss what
is going on in the school, we talk about staff morale, we talk about different things we are
doing, our college and career readiness initiative… we run through together and we
brainstorm how we best and most effectively run out to the staff, and they take leadership
components too.
Angela pointed out that she was a strong believer of leading by example and serving
leadership. “I am here to listen what we do we all think, what will take our school into next level
and make sure we get it done. Whatever support, whatever resources, whatever I can do to help,
make sure we go there because we set the vision together.” Sharing her experiences on practicing
reflective coaching methodology, Angela asserted that she had been successful in implementing
the coaching techniques to help her staff guide through the evaluation process by helping them
setting a goal and utilizing strategies that help them reach their goals.
It is not like perfect, and not everybody would buy into it, but it is my approach,
and it is genuine. I think that is genuinely where I am coming from and it is that
understood, and received well, and they see me as a support not a like “I am going
to find something bad and bang you for it.” They know that I am really coming
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into their classrooms to give them credit and kudos for what they are doing, how I
can support.
Brenda also pointed out that, to be an effective leader, one must be a good communicator. She
asserted that an effective skill of a good leader is to be able to communicate the right
information. Another quality of an effective leader she described was “to build leaders around
you.” She elaborated her point of view by sharing her experience as a high school principal:
As a school principal of 4000 students and 200 teachers, let alone classified staff and
myself, about 275, there was no way I would be an effective leader if I did not have
effective leaders around me. I realized that I needed to hire assistant principals and
leaders who complement the work I do. The leadership team and your staff know you are
good leader, but I could walk away from the school site, and the school site would
continue on. What I mean by that is, although I was the face of the school and leader of
the school, this system, the process, and the leaders that are grown, should be able to
carry that mission.
Carolyn shared that she always reflected on herself in terms of her strengths and areas
that she needed to focus on. Reflecting on her leadership style, Carolyn suggested that her
strength as a leader was building relationships and bringing people together. “To me, as a leader,
it is all about relationships then modeling good leadership skills; listening, observing, being a
visible force, having a good sense of humor while still having hard conservations.”
Carolyn also pointed out that good leadership was about doing the job with integrity,
letting staff know her non- negotiable items from day one and always making decisions based on
what is right for students. She stated:
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As a principal, my main role was being an instructional leader, getting into the
classrooms, and realigning my school resources to provide time for teachers to work on
instructional issues. I did not focus on managing my school but rather, I focused on
leading my school. I let my assistant principals handle the discipline, maintenance and
all of the day-to-day management issues. Of course, I would get involved and knew what
was going on, but I never micro-managed. I spent all of my time walking around, doing
PR and having my hand directly involved in the instructional side of the school.
Carolyn shared that she used the four frames of Bolman and Deal throughout her years as
a high school principal. She also had a firm belief in the power of relationship. “If you do not
build the relationship piece with your staff and stakeholders in the first 90 days, there could be
trouble.” Carolyn used the frame of Bolman and Deal (1993) as a guideline for reflecting on her
leadership, especially on issues that she struggled with. “I think decently struggle, I had issues
that I struggled with, because I wanted to be problem solver all the time. When people could not
fix it, I was ready to go and fix it, so I had trouble with wait time. I really think Bolman and
Deal’s four frames are what helped me keep everything into a perspective for me. When I
wanted to move faster than everyone else, I would go back and reflect on them to slow myself.”
Building positive relationships was also an important part of Debra’s leadership practice.
Her leadership style was to completely focus on relationships and focus on respect. She stressed
that building relationships was the foundation of kindness, meaning it needs to be inclusive,
collaborative, soft on people, and hard on facts. Debra also stressed that her leadership was one
that “I tend to go really slow, don’t make quick decision, I don’t make irrational decisions, and I
don’t make any decisions without the knowledge and input of people around me.”
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Overall, the results indicate that effective leadership strategies that respondents
implemented based on their beliefs and characteristics were determined to be effective in
overcoming challenges the respondents face in the workplace. This suggests women in
leadership roles demonstrate the characteristics of effective leadership perceived by some as the
characteristics of male leadership.
A support system emerged from responses of interview respondents as important for their
leadership role as high school principals. Those support systems included family support, district
support, and informal networking. Among those, family support and districts support were
identified as major factors that help interview respondents overcome challenges.
All interview respondents shared that support from colleagues, districts, and, supervisors
were instrumental for their success. Angela expressed her satisfaction with the support she
received during her transition to the high school principal position. According to Angela, the
district hired a consultant firm to help new principals. The new principals would meet once a
month to go over coaching, sharing their experiences, and discussing research articles. She
stated, “It was helpful realizing that I am not alone and this is what we all experienced” In
addition, Angela pointed out that the district office was designed to assist school sites:
So I can call the district office, or directors to get help on any situation. Whether it
is a minor HR thing, or whether it is a bigger thing, I call my evaluator. I can call
for one on one section as needed. I have their cell phone numbers. I don’t take
over advantage of that but I do take advantage of that.
Some respondents pointed out that the support system in the district worked well when
they were proactive in seeking help from the right group. Brenda pointed out that the support
system set up by the districts could give general support. However, for the personal help, the
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person had to have people whom she could trust. She further stated, “Sometimes sitting at the
district meeting and principal’s professional development, you cannot honestly say you are
messed up. You are not going to share openly.” Brenda shared that the biggest support she got
was from the network she built during her graduation work: her professors, classmates, and her
friends:
It was a release getting a real tips from people who actually done the job. Maybe
they did those twenty years ago. But they’ve done it. I was not being judged. They
will tell me this how to fix it. It was very comfortable environment. You meet real
people who have done the job and they can provide that support.
The experiences of Carolyn were similar to those of other interview respondents in
regards to the support system that she was provided from the district. In addition, she pointed out
that having a supervisor who shared the same values was crucial for her success as an effective
principal. She expressed her gratitude toward her supervisor, “So we have a superintendent who
values the family. He would say if it is five o’clock and you have nothing pressing, go home and
be with your family. You were not expected to be here until seven o’clock here.” Carolyn also
stressed having a group of friends with same experiences who could understand the situation.
She stated:
One of my best friends was a former high school principal, and she works at district
office. So, we would go to the events together and talk every day, or night bounces our
ideas off. She is my number one person if I have ever had a problem. She is my best
friend, she was a principal, she knows the chairs I sit in, and it is finding that board of
directors, per se, you can call any time for help.
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As a current superintendent, Debra strongly believed that it was essential that the
superintendent is directly involved with the school site to ensure that the needs of schools are
met. During her 13 years of superintendency, she supervised all 27 principals:
As a result of that, I was intimately involved in all twenty seven principals, plus adult ed,
that I am able provide a level of support, very direct, rather that indirect. By my
relationships with the principals, I know exactly whether they need direct services or they
need that budget and finance person, or they need purchasing to get on it. I kind of
orchestrate what they need versus having someone else do that me over here hearing
about what they need. There are a lot of superintendents thinking that that is a crazy idea
because that is a huge amount of work. But, personally, I think that is probably most
important work I do in regards to impacts of site level by being just very connected and
closely involved.
Discussion Research Question Three
Several findings emerged from the results collected from Survey II and interviews in
response to research question three. Findings include major indicators in regards to the
challenges that female high school principals face and strategies that they implement in order to
overcome those challenges.
First, in regards to the challenges, balancing family responsibilities with work demands
was identified as the major challenge. Due to the characteristics of a high school, principals have
many responsibilities, including supervising extracurricular activities that require evening and
weekend commitments. Since most of the respondents were married and/or had children,
balancing work and family commitments was the major challenge for the majority of them.
Another major finding in regards to the challenges was the stereotype/perception of staff and
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 93
parents toward their ability to lead high schools. Female high school principals still face
discrimination among their staff even after they earned high school principal position.
Second, in terms of overcoming the challenges discussed above, several strategies
emerged from interview results. Those strategies include balancing family and work, building
trust, transparency as a leader, and receiving support from family and the districts. Although all
strategies were significant in regards to overcoming challenges, balancing work and family
support was identified as the major strategy. Second, building trust and transparency were major
strategies for female high school principals to overcome challenges triggered by the
characteristics of high schools well as the challenges caused by perceptions of staff and other
stakeholders.
Summary
Several major findings emerged from surveys and interviews in this chapter in response
to the research questions. There is one finding in response to research question one. While there
is some success in a few school districts, overall, there continues to be an underrepresentation of
women in the position of high school principal due to the lower number of women applying for
the position. The finding in response to research question two is that family responsibility was
the most important indicator which influenced the progression of women to the position. Four
findings were identified in response to research question number three. First, balancing family
responsibilities with work demands was identified as the major challenge for female high school
principals. Second, these principals still face discrimination among their staff even after they
earned the position. Third, the ability to manage work and family responsibilities was identified
as the major strategy for overcoming challenges. Fourth, building trust and transparency were
essential for these principals to overcome challenges.
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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Historically, the gender gap in leadership has been persistent despite the fact that the
number of females in leadership positions increased significantly. Although the implementation
of laws and policies to promote equity have been in place for several decades, the gender
discrepancy between teacher and administrators is significant in high school principal positions
and the superintendency. The absence of women in education leadership positions was explained
by some as the result of historical and societal perceptions that women were not capable of
handling emotional stress or of a lack of ambition and intellectual capacity for leadership
(Calabrese & Ellsworth, 1989). It was also reported that female high school principals continue
to encounter challenges stemming from stereotype/perception in the workforce. Consequently,
female principals must encounter and deal with the perception that females are less effective than
men (Goeller, 1995). However, there was not enough attention given from both research
institutes and educational institutions to investigate whether such perceptions still find their way
in an education system supposed to enforce gender equity and influence other sectors of society
to promote equality.
While dealing with issues related to stereotype and perception, female high school
principals also experience role conflict in balancing their work with family responsibilities. This
was identified as one of the factors that affect women's decision to pursue high school principal
positions (Eckman, 2003). This could be an important indicator for the underrepresentation of
women in high school principal positions, which indicates that it is important to reach out to
more female high school principals, study their experiences in overcoming stereotypes and
inspire more women to participate in leadership roles.
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The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the
underrepresentation of females as high school principals. This study also focused on identifying
the challenges the female high school principals faced during their years as high school
principals and strategies that they used to overcome the challenges. The following research
questions guided this study:
1. Are there enough applicants in application pools for high school principal positions?
2. What are the factors that inhibit women from progressing to the high school principal
positions?
3. What are the challenges that high school principals face in the work force and how do
they overcome those challenges?
Discussion of Findings
There were six findings in response to the research questions. There was one finding in
response to research question one. The finding is that there continues to be an
underrepresentation of women in the position of high school principal due to the lower number
of women applying for the position. For research question two, family responsibility was
identified as the most important indicator which influenced the progression of women to the
position of high school principal. Four key findings were identified in response to research
question three. First, balancing family responsibility with work demands was identified as the
major challenge for female high school principals. Second, perception/stereotype was also
identified as a major challenge for female high school principals. Third, the ability to manage
work and family responsibilities was identified as one of the important strategies to overcome
challenges. Fourth, building trust and transparency as leaders was identified as essential
strategies utilized by female high school principals to overcome challenges triggered by the
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 96
characteristics of a high school principal as well as the challenges caused by perceptions of staff
and other stakeholders.
The key finding in response to research question one was there were not enough qualified
female applicants in the application pool in the school districts that participated in this study. The
districts with openings reported that that there were fewer female applicants than male applicants
in the application pool. Consequently, more male candidates were interviewed for the open
positions. This reveals the need to encourage more women to apply for the open positions. If
the potential candidates were aware of the low application numbers, they may, in fact, apply for
the position. This finding could also indicate that school districts included in this study should
reexamine their organizational culture and practices in regards to promoting gender equity
throughout their organizations.
The majority of the participants identified family responsibility as the major factor that
contributed to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions. This
demonstrates a shift from that of stereotype or perception as the major obstacle for career
progression. This finding was also consistent with findings by Eckman (2003) in that, “The
participants recognized that the struggle over role commitment was a factor contributing to
whether or not women pursued the high school principalships.” This finding was further
supported by results in this study, indicating that most participants were married, the majority of
women had children, and the same percentage of women entered into the high school principal
positions in their later years. Therefore, results concerning their years of service as high school
principals could be an indicator of the late entrance of women into the job due to family
responsibilities. While late entrance of women to high school principal positions was considered
a barrier, it might also have its own positive contributions. If women entered into the high school
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 97
principal positions later due to their personal choices, they might experiences less struggle in
their longer experiences in teaching, and life experiences, such as raising children, could help
them connect with families, staff, and communities and make better choices in addressing the
needs of students.
While stereotype/perception was not considered the major factor for the lack of
representation of women in high school principal positions, it was still significant considering the
fact that almost half of the survey respondents and the majority of interview respondents
perceived that stereotyping was the main factor that prevented women’s progress into the high
school principal position. This was consistent with previous research results presented by Lois
Joy (1998) that women faced discrimination during the hiring process despite the fact that they
fulfilled the prerequisites to high school principal position. As Young and McLeod (2001)
argued, the perception of participants in regards to the impact of stereotype in the hiring
processes of the districts could indicate that, despite the implementation of policies and
regulations, some districts still struggle to disseminate the gender bias against women and their
ability lead high schools. Further, some women who were qualified for the high school principal
positions may not be promoted due to stereotypes attached to women and leadership (Young &
McLeod, 2001). Therefore, while stereotype/perception was not considered a major factor in the
lack of representation of women in high school principal positions, it warrants consideration.
Consistent with the findings in response to family responsibility, this study found that
balancing family life and work demands makeup the major challenge for the majority of
participants in this study. Some research findings indicate that female high school principals
expressed a significantly higher level of role conflict in regards to balancing their work with
family responsibilities and social and other commitments (Eckman, 2004). Therefore, the
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 98
majority of participants experienced a personal struggle or feeling of guilt in relation to their
professional and personal lives at some point in their careers because they were not able spend
enough time at home. Due to the complexity of high schools and the time demands for extra
hours and activities, female high school principals were forced to make adjustments in their
personal commitments in order to fulfill their responsibilities.
Equally important, stereotype/perception imposed by staff and stakeholders created a
significant challenge for the many female high school principals. This finding reflects research
that identified interaction of sexism and stereotyping as the major challenge that female
secondary principals face (Coleman, 2003; Eckman, 2004; Young & McLeod, 2001). While the
number of females in leadership roles in education has increased significantly, leadership is a
trait associated with men. Because of stereotyping, women experience leadership roles
differently than do male principals (Coleman, 2003). It is also important to note that an equal
number of survey respondents did not face challenges due to the stereotyping, which suggests
that, because of the strong emphasis on equal employment, embracing diversity at work, in
society, and in educational institutions, more staff, especially men, become acceptable to leaders.
In regards to overcoming challenges in balancing family responsibilities with work
demands, participants adopted different strategies to balance their personal lives with their work.
One of the strategies used was to find some time with families and friends, while acknowledging
that it would be very difficult to find equal time for both personal life and work. For some
respondents, balancing work and personal life was to learn how to coexist. For them prioritizing
responsibilities was very important to overcoming these challenges. This study also found that
female high school principals who had families with children learned that balancing life with
work did not necessarily mean balancing their lives so that it would work for them, but also
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 99
balancing their lives and work so that it worked for the people around them. This finding reflects
that, although family responsibilities can be a challenge for female high school principals, they
could be addressed with the right strategies and support from people involved in their personal
and professional lives. The strategies utilized by these participants could be used as resources for
female high school principals with similar situations to address their concerns in balancing
personal lives with their work demands.
This study found that female principals highly valued the building of trust with staff,
students, and parents. They stressed that earning the trust of people around them in the first few
years as high school principals was crucial for their success as effective leaders. This finding
compliments previous research findings which showed, that because of stereotyping, women
experience leadership roles differently than do male principals. Female principals have to be
conscious of sexism and have to justify their positions as women who earned leadership
positions (Coleman, 2003). The significantly high ranking of building trust among participants
could indicate that female education leaders experienced sexism in their workplace (Coleman,
2003), and they were particularly aware that they needed to build trust among staff members and
prove to them that they could deal with unique challenges of high schools with their abilities as
effective leaders.
Effective Leadership strategies utilized by the female high school principals were the
most essential tools that helped them become successful leaders. Those strategies include
building relationships, being transparent, persistence, team building, and shared vision. These
characteristics of female high school principals aligned with the literature which described
female education leaders, including high school principals, as supportive, approachable,
sensitive, understanding (Adams & Hambright, 2004). As described by some research studies,
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 100
this study also found female high school principals perceived that supporting their staff, helping
their staff develop skills, and managing conflict and team building were important in their
positions as high school principals (Giese, Slate, Brown & Delgado, 2009). Participants
embracing their feminine characteristics, such as being caring, sensitive, and gentle, as their
greatest strengths in their leadership position was consistent with literature studies which
suggested that feminine leadership styles are not better or worse than traditional male oriented
leadership styles. They are just different (Trinidad & Normore, 2005). Those findings are
significant in regards to addressing misconceptions about women and their leadership styles that
triggered barriers for their advancing to administrative positions. In particular, broader inclusion
of women and their leadership characteristics can help educational institutions and other
organizations close the gender gap and help others understand that the characteristics of female
educational leaders are at least as effective, if not more, as their male counterparts.
In addition to those listed in chapter one, several limitations were found in this study. In
regards to the employment status of females as high school principals, no state and national data
were found to compare the trend of female high school principals over the years. Therefore, it
was challenging to generalize data collected in this study to other school districts in California or
to districts in other states. Due to the sensitivity of context of this research, some districts were
reluctant to share their data in terms of the number of females in the application pool, the number
of females who were interviewed for the high school positions, and the number of female
candidates who were offered high school principal positions. Therefore, the percentage of
districts responded to the survey was less than 50%, which might be insufficient to generalize the
findings in broader extent.
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Implications
Findings presented in this study have many implications for the practices of educational
institutions. This study could be replicated in different states in order to investigate the
employment status of women as high school principals. Findings in regards to the factors that
contribute to the underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions could be used
as references in studying the hiring processes and policies of school districts. Data gathered in
this study could help districts involved in this study to reexamine their organizational culture and
practices in regards to promoting gender equity throughout their organizations. The identification
of the districts with a significant number of female high school principals can be used as a model
for the districts and educational organizations which were struggling to implement effective
strategies to promote gender equality in their organizations.
Challenges identified in this study have a particular implication for districts to design
effective support systems and mentorship programs to help principals, including female high
school principals to overcome those challenges. By promoting a diverse culture in their
leadership teams in the district offices, as well as school sites, the districts could create a positive
environment to increase staff participation, motivation, and morale, which will ultimately
increase student learning.
The experiences of female high school principals who used effective strategies to
overcome challenges may help women in education who aspire to be high school principals
alleviate anxiety and uncertainty about the impact of their career choices to their personal lives.
Their exceptional abilities to embrace their individual characteristics as women, wives mothers
in their leadership roles in larger high schools can encourage more women to overcome their
internal and external barriers and pursue leadership positions.
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Recommendations for Future Research
While the employment status of females in high school principal positions identified in
this study was important, more studies are needed. This study could be extended to investigate
the hiring practices of different districts in regards to the protocols, criteria, and qualification
requirements for high school principal positions. This study also can help identify best practices
of school districts which successfully promoted significant numbers of female high school
principals in their high schools.
The finding of this study, which identified family responsibilities as a major barrier for
women, can be extended into more high schools and districts. It would also be interesting to
explore the experiences of female high school principals who decided to delay their entrance into
the position and evaluate whether their experiences as working parents and more years as
classroom teachers made a positive contribution to their leadership approach.
The study in regards to the leadership characteristics of female high school principals
should be continued in order to address issues stemming from the misconception about women
and their ability to lead. This study can also include both male and female high school principals
in order to compare their characteristics and effectiveness their leadership styles.
Conclusion
The growing number of women in leadership roles has become significant over the years.
This trend has been reflected in education sectors, including school districts. However, the
employment status of women in higher leadership positions is still lower than that of their male
counterparts. Underrepresentation of females in high school principal positions was one of the
examples of the gender gap that still exists in education. In order to close the gender gap, it is
important that the factors that triggered the underrepresentation of females in high school
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 103
principal positions continue to be studied, the findings shared, and issues addressed. Educational
organizations, including school districts, might benefit from the findings of this and similar
studies to raise awareness in regards to stereotyping of women in the workforce and address this
issue by modeling best practices to promote equity. There is no doubt the stories of exceptional
women who participated in this study will be an inspiration to women in different educational
sectors who aspire to be not only leaders, but leaders with passion, vision, styles, and unique
characteristics.
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 104
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FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 108
Appendix A
The Ratio Female and Male Principals in Twenty Five Largest School Districts in
California
District

Number
of
High

Schools

Number
of
Female

Principals

Percentage

%

District
1

316
56
18

District
2

24
12
50

District
3

11 5
45

District
4

12
3
25

District
5

9
3
33

District
6

9
6
66

District
7

19
4
21

District
8

8
1
12

District
9

9
2
22

District
10

9
1
11

District
11

11
5
45

District
12

13
3
23

District
13

11
4
36

District
14

15
5
33

District
15

8
2
25

District
16

14
6
43

District
17

5
2
40

District
18

5
3
60

District
19

5
0
0

District
20

28
8
29

District

21

5
3
60

District
22

6
0
0

District
23

5
1
20

District
24

8
5
62.50

District
25

6
1
17

Total

571
141

24%

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 109
Appendix B
Survey Letter

Dear Assistant/Deputy Superintendent,

I am a currently doctoral student working on my dissertation. I am pursuing an Ed.D. degree in
the K -12 leadership at the University of Southern California, chaired by Dr. Pedro Garcia.

My study focuses on the factors that contribute to underrepresentation of females in high school
principalships and challenges that high school female principals face. The purpose of this survey
is to investigate if there are enough female candidates who are aspired to be high school
principals.

You have been identified as an administrator who oversees the hiring process in your district.
Your input would be invaluable for my research.

I am very aware of your time constraints and composed a short survey that I hope you will be
able to complete. The survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

This research study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Southern California
Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research. The IRB believes that the research
procedures safeguard your privacy, welfare, civil liberties, anonymity, and rights. Please be
assured that your participation and answers will be kept confidential and anonymous. In no way
will any data be presented in any manner where any individual can be identified. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me.

Please click the following link to take the survey at your earliest convenience. Thank you very
much for your time and kind assistance. If you have any further questions regarding my study, I
can be reached via email at nkurban@usc.edu or via phone at (818) 370-5506.

Sincerely,

Nurnisa Kurban
Doctoral Candidate
Rosier School of Education
University of Southern California

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 110
Instrument One (Survey I)

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 111

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 112
Appendix C
Survey II Cover Letter
Dear Ms.

I am a currently doctoral student working on my dissertation. I am pursuing an Ed.D. degree in
the K -12 leadership at the University of Southern California, chaired by Dr. Pedro Garcia.

My study focuses on the factors that contribute to underrepresentation of females in high school
principalships and challenges that high school female principals face. You have been identified a
female high school principal who have successfully lead a high school for at least two years.

Your input would be invaluable. Gathering data from high school principals like you, who have
demonstrated highly effective leadership skills will be an essential part in the success of my
research.

I am very aware of your time constraints and composed a short survey that I hope you will be
able to complete. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

This research study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Southern California
Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research. The IRB believes that the research
procedures safeguard your privacy, welfare, civil liberties, anonymity, and rights. Please be
assured that your participation and answers will be kept confidential and anonymous. In no way
will any data be presented in any manner where any individual can be identified. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me.

Please click the following link to take the survey at your earliest convenience. Thank you very
much for your time and kind assistance.

Sincerely,

Nurnisa Kurban

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 113
Survey Instrument Two (Survey II)

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 114

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 115

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 116

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 117

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 118

Appendix D
INTERVIEW LETTER

Date

(Principal Name),

Address:

Re: Request for Interview

Dear (Principal Name),

My name is Nurnisa Kurban and I am a doctoral student in the Rossier School of Education at
the University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study as part of my
dissertation, under the guidance of Dr. Garcia. My study focuses on the underrepresentation of
females in high school principals and challenges they face in the workforce.

You have been identified as an outstanding female secondary principal of a large, urban high
school. Your well-known achievements with your leadership style are ideal for my study.
Participation in this study would require one interview with a length of approximately one hour.

Participation in this is entirely voluntary. Your Identity as a participant will remain confidential
during and after the study. All interviews will take place in a private location of your choice.

Please let me know if you are willing to participate or if you have any further questions
regarding my study. I can be reached via email at nkurban@usc.edu or via phone at (818) 370-
5506.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Nurnisa Kurban
Doctoral Candidate
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 119
RESEARCH QUESTION/INSTRUMENT CONNECTION

1. Why was your aspiration to be a principal?
2. According to the literature and studies, there are fewer female principals in secondary
schools that male principals, what is your rational on that?
3. Do you perceive that there are barriers that prevent more females from pursuing
secondary principalships? If so, what are they?
4. What are the challenges you face in your work as a principal?
5. Have you experienced adversity? How were you able to be resilient?
6. What kinds of support systems are available for you through the district or your
organization?
7. Do you feel supported by the staff and other stakeholders at school?
8. How do you balance your work with your personal life?
9. How do you describe the characteristics of an effective leader?
10. How do you envision a positive working and learning environment?
11. How do you describe yourself in terms of your beliefs and your leadership style?
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 120
Appendix E
ALIGNMENT OF INSTRUMENT AND PROTOCOL TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research Questions Survey Questions Interview Questions
1. Is there enough applicants
in the pool for high school
principal positions in the
districts
Survey I: 1-6
2. What are the factors
contributed to the
underrepresentation of
females in high school
principal positions?
Survey II: 1-6 1. Why was your aspiration
to be a principal?
2. According to the
literature and studies,
there are fewer female
principals in secondary
schools that male
principals, what is your
rational on that?
3. Do you perceive that
there are barriers that
prevent more females
from pursuing secondary
principalships? If so,
what are they?

3. What are the challenges
the female high school
principals face and How do
they overcome those
challenges?
Survey II: 7-11 4. What are the challenges
you face in your work as
a principal?
5. Have you experienced
adversity? How were
you able to be resilient?
6. What kinds of support
systems are available for
you through the district
or your organization?
7. 7. Do you feel supported
by the staff and other
stakeholders at school?
8. How do you balance
your work with your
personal life?
9. How do you describe the
characteristics of an
effective leader?
10. How do you envision a
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 121
positive working and
learning environment?
11. How do you describe
yourself in terms of your
beliefs and your
leadership style?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study utilized gender equity and education leadership as conceptual frameworks under the scope of Stereotype/Perception, Role Conflict, and Effective Leadership. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of females as high school principals, to identify the challenges female high school principals faced during their years as high school principals, and to ascertain strategies they used to overcome the challenges. The following research questions guided this study: 1) Are there enough applicants in application pools for high school principal positions? 2) What are the factors that inhibit women from progressing to the High School principal positions? 3) What are the challenges that high school principals face in the work force and how do they overcome those challenges? Total of 25 of the largest school districts in California, 44 participants, including 10 administrative personnel and 30 high school principals, and 4 participants who had at least two years of experience as high school principals participated in this study. The findings indicate there continues to be an underrepresentation of women in the position of high school principal due to the lower number of women applying for the position. Family responsibility was identified as the most important indicator, which influenced the progression of women to the position of high school principal. Consequently, balancing family responsibility with work demands, followed by perception/stereotype, was identified as the major challenge for female high school principals. The ability to manage work and family responsibilities, building trust and transparency, and effective leadership styles as leaders were identified as essential strategies utilized by female high school principals to overcome challenges. This study provides valuable information in understandings issues with respect to the lack of representation females in high school principal positions and strategies to promote gender equity in education leadership.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Kurban, Nurnisa (author)

Core Title Case study: underrepresentation of women in high school principalships and challenges they face in the workplace

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/10/2014

Defense Date 05/06/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag challenges,education leadership,high school principals,OAI-PMH Harvest,strategies,underrepresentation of women

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Garcia, Pedro E. (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy Max (committee member), Roach, John A. (committee member)

Creator Email nurnisak@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-434483

Unique identifier UC11286980

Identifier etd-KurbanNurn-2647.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-434483 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-KurbanNurn-2647.pdf

Dmrecord 434483

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Kurban, Nurnisa

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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