School Leadership Frames: The Case of Two Female Primary School Principals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preferred leadership frame of two female primary school principals. A mixed method study design was employed sequentially. The quantitative method informed the qualitative method. Fifty-two teachers (70.8%) were involved in the quantitative part of the study and seven others (one female principal, two department heads, two teachers, and two vice-principals) were involved in the qualitative part of the study. Leadership Orientations Questionnaire (LOQ) developed by Bolman and Deal (1991), Semi-structured interview, and observation were instruments of data collection. The data were analyzed using percentages, mean, SD and independent sample t-test with the help of SPSS. The results showed that Muuxannoo school female principal was multi-frame by orientation to a higher extent (structural, human resources, political and Symbolic) whereas Daawoo school principal was moderate in using all the four leadership frames. When respondents were compared by sex on how they perceive their female principal, male teacher respondents rated higher whereas the female teacher respondents rated them moderate in all the four frames. Among the recommendations, the single frame female principal and others having similar behavior and action needed to size up their lenses so that they understand the complex school environment and meet their requirements.