Women in Educational Administration;
An Internship Rep ort
hy
Delores C lar ke-Geoge,
B.A~B.Ed.
Aninternship reportsubmittedto theSchoo lofGrad uateStudies in partial fulfillmentof thereq uireme nts forthe degreeof
Master of Education .
Facultyof Education Mem ori al Univers ityofNewfound land
Marcb 2000
ABSTRACT
Therole aCthefemale administratorisindeedachallengingandrnulti-facetedone.
Vari ousbarriersexist to femaleadmlnlstrar orsbeingadequatelyrepresentedinadministrative positionsbothat the schoolanddistrictlevels.Thisinternshipexaminedtherolesand respo nsibilitiesofthefemale schoo ladministratorandchroniclesthe challengesthe female administratorraces on a daily basis.Inaddition tochroniclingthoseexperiences at theschool level.thisreportalsoexamines theliteratureon womeninschooladministrationand whatit suggestsneedsto be doneinorder to increasefemalerepresenta tionineducationaladministnltion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express sincerethankstomy supervisor,Dr.Jerome Delaney, forhis continued encouragement, advice,and patience.
lowea great debt to the principal for her continued support and interestinmy success.
She gave me herfullcooperation and guidance.Without her, my experiencewould not have been as fulfilling or educational.Thestaffof the scbool also showed me much support and kindness and for thatIthankthem.
Special thanks to my parentsforalways encouraging meto succeed and to Bill for understanding my goals and lending his continued support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
p. ..
iii
ABSTRACT .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
...i ... ...0
CHAPTER ONE:OVERVIEW OF TIlE nrrERNSHIP I
RationaleforlntemshipOption 1
TheInternshipSetting . 1
On-siteSupervision 2
Internship ActivitiesIElCpenences.. .. . 2
Methodof SelfEvaluation. . 4
ResearchComponent. .. 4
I..imi.tationsoftheReport. OrganizationoftheReport
. 4
...5
CHAPtERTWO:WOMENINEDUCATIONALADMINISTRATION 6
Introduction. Historical perspective Statistics .
BarrierstoAdministration . OvercomingtheBurien .
. 6
... ...7
.. 12
. 14
. 16
WorklFamilyRelationship. . 18
GenderandLeadership . 20
Leadership . 21
Morale. . 22
iv
ConflictResolution Decision-making...
Student-TeacherPerfonnance __ 22
work Environment .23
... .__..24
..24
27 ... ...27 ChronologicalJournal.
Conclusion. ..__ __ IS
CHAPTER'IHR.EE: INTERNSlfiP EXPERIENCES:A CRITICAL REF1..ECTIVEJOURNAL
Conclusion . . 37
REFERENCES APPENDIX
CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW OF INTERNSHIP REPORT
Rationale for Intemship Option
Tocomplete the requirementsfor a Masterof Education degree (EducationalLeadership) I have chosen to do an internship.This route was selected for the purpose of allowing me to work sideby sidewithadministrationinan analysisof administrativeduties,whileatthe same time providing mewithsomevaluable practical experience.
Asa woman aspiring toachieve promotion intoan administration position, focusing my internship on thefemaleprincipalship was nota difficult decision.Beingawarethat the majority ofadministrativepositions are held bymales,I was interestedintryingto understand why.
I hadno experience as a high schoolprincipal and had been absentfrom thehighschool scene for approximately three years(wor king at the Collegelevel) .I was therefore concerned withre-famlliarizingmyselfwiththeschool environment whileat the same timegaining some invaluableexperiencethatwould provideafirsthandview of thedailylifeof'the female principal.
Choo sing the internship route for the completion ofa Master of Education programenabled me to achievethis practical experienceinan administrativesetting.
The Inte"rnsbipSetting
The settingchosen for the internship was a rural high school on theNo rthern Peninsula of Newfoundland.The schoolhas a population of222 students with 14 full time and 4 part time staffas wellas 2 student assistants.
The selection of this particular school was madeon the basis of acquiring sufficient knowledge and research information on my chosen topic.'Women in Educational
Administration"'.Theprincipalofthe schoolhadareputation forprofessionalismandwas well known in the area as a principal to beadmiredand emulat.ed.She bad been alead er in creating an effectivescbool.Theprincipalexpressedgreatinterestin mypro po salandwaswillingand eager- tohelpme undergoavaluable internship experience.
Oil-siteSupervisioD
The principaland vice-principal supervised me throughouttheperiodofthe internship. Theuniversity supervisor,Dr.Jerome Delaney,initiated ongoing discussionsbetween the three.
Much positive feedbackand encouragement wereprovidedbyall three individual s. [engaged in many telephone discussio nswithDr.Delaney,aswellas sendingfrequente-mailmessages.
Inte rn ship Activ itiesIE:lperieDcC'S
The interns hipfocusedonthe roleof thefemaleadministr ator and the challenge s shefaced whiletryingto gainanunderstand ing of this femaleadministra to r's extra responsibilitiesof maintaining a balance between career and family.The internship permitted meto achieve practical experiencebybecomingpanofthe administrativeteam and developinglea ders hip skills through observation of the interaction and cooperation betweenstaffandadministration, and administration and students., parents,andthe general public.Specifically,the internship involved the following activitiesle:q>eriences:
I. Tbe initialweek ofmy placementwasspentdevdopinga workingrelationship withthe staffand administrationof the school.Theprincip al introducedme to eachstaffmember and elCplainedthepurpose ofmyplacem ent atthe school.
2. Iaccompaniedtheprincipalas she progressed througheach day. This allowed me to become aware ofthemany roles and responsibilities of the principal and to observe how the principal effectively dealtwiththe dailyproblems/tas ks that arose.This close observatio nof the principalhelpedmerealize whatwas necessaryto becomean effectiveleader.
3. Iassisted administration in theplanningof staff meetin gs andtimetabling for thenew schoolyear.
4. I attendedallstaffmeetings.Through thesemeetings,Ibecame familiar with issuesof concerncommon to anyhighscbool.I observed howstaffand administrationworked together to developaplanof action and to solve problems.Ialso atten deddistrictprincipals"meetings scheduledby the scboolboardwithguest speaker,Dr.JeanBro wn.
5. Iattendedmanymeetin gs ofthe school councils andparticipated in discussionsrelated to thecreation and openingofa new schoolcomplexfor the year 2001.Thisnewschoolwill accommodate studentsfromKindergartento Levelill.
6. Observation oftheprincipalduring classroom instructionwas performed bi-weekly . 7. I closelyreviewed the detailed school profile, preparedbytheprincipal,inorderto acquire infonnation on the school'smission. goals,progress, and plans for the future.I also reviewed such documents as the school'sdisciplinepolicy,the board' snew teacherevaluationpolicy.and several documents relatedto the schoolcouncil and school committees.
8. I focused onhow the principal kept the linesof conununication open and how student participatio nwas encowaged.This was done through observingthe principalinaction dealing withthe various constituent groups such as teachers, parents,students andsupportstaff.
Met bo dofSelf Evaluatloa
During the internship,mymainobjectives weretoobserve and participat einthe afore mentionedexperiences .Iwas able togainaclearerunderstandingoftherole ofthefemale administratorandthemany cba11eogesandsacrificesof thosewhomust maimainabalance between career and family.Topersonallyevaluatemy progress,Ikept a weeklyjournalofwhat I learned,. experienced, and accomplished.Frequent discussions with the principal helped me remainfocusedandontask.
Rlt5esrchCompone nt
Theresearchcomponent requiredan examination oftheliteraturetodiscover whysofew womenhave advancedinto administrativepositions.Specifically.an examination ofwomen's place ineducational administrationwas conducted through a review ofwhat research reveal s aboutho wfar wom enhavecome,thebarrierstoadvancementandovercomingthesebarriers,the leadershi pstyleof women,andthe relationshi pbetweenwork andfamily.
Limitationsoft be Re port
Thereflectivejournal, chapterthree.isaninformal recordofwhatwas experienced and learned dwing the internship.Participationin certainschooleventsallowedme accessto confidential lnformation. sometimesof a sensitive nature.The original agreement with the principal explicitlyacknowledgedmydutyto keepcertain issuesconfidential.Therefore, some experiences havebeenomitted.from thisreportforreasons ofanonymity andconfidentiality.
Throughjo b shadowingtheprincipal,.Igained invalua ble experiences.However,my presenceatthe schoolmayhaveinterfered withor alteredcertainsituatio ns.Asa participant observer,l am awarethatreactions to theprincipaland the principal'sreactions to certain situatio ns mayhavebeeninfluenced bymypresence
Orpoiutiooof theRrport
Throughoutthisreport.thereisa combinati onof theoryand practice.Chapter one providesanoverviewof the report andiswritteninthefirstperson.Chaptertwoisthelitera tu re reviewwhichexamines theresearch on womenineducationaladministratio n.It is written in the thirdperson although personalexperiencesgained throu ghout the internshipare integratedinto the textatcertainpoints.Chapter three isthe reflective journal and relates personalexperiences encountered onI.weddybasis.Itistherefore writteninthe first person point ofview.The journalhelpedmeremainfocusedand allowedan evalua tion of these experiences.
CllAPTER lWO
WOMENINEDUCAnONAL ADMIN1STRAnO N
IotroductioD
In1909 ,Ella AaggYoung,superintendentofCbicag opcblic schools,made herDOW famouspredicti on:
Inthe nearfutu.re.,weshall have more women than menin charge of the vast educational system.Itisawoman' snatu ral field. andshe isnolonger satisfiedto dothe larger part of theworkand yet bedeniedtheleadershi p (McGra th,1992,p.62).
However,ninetyyearslater, womenstillremainunderrepresented in administrative positions, even thoughteaching remainsapredominantlyfemaleprofession.Menstillremainincharge as the majordecisionmakersin the educatio nsystem (McGra th.1992).
Itappearsthatfortoomanyyears women'svoiceshave been silenced,oc notheard.
because ofthe presumptionthatwomen'sfivesandworkconsists of themundaneandthe ordinary.Since thelate19th century womenineducationhavedominat ed bysheer-numbers. but never inadministrativepositions (DunlapkSchmuck, 199 5).
Apopular rationalizati o n forhiringmen rather thanwomenasprincipals isthatmen are supposedlybetter suited tobe principals.However,studies conduct ed byFishdandPottker (1974) haveshown that thechara cteristics that make asuccessful leader arenotgender -linked.
Some chang ehas takenplacebut changeisdifficult andwomencontinueto fighttomo ve intohighermanagerialpositions.Anappro priate mottofor thewomen who have becomeschool
administratorsduring thelast century might wellbe"A wild patience has taken methisfar'(Rich.
cited in Shakeshaft. 1987,p.9).According to Shakesbaft(1987).itis only throughdedication.
persistence.andenergythatwomen haveadvanced in a worldthatoften undervalu es whatthey can contnlJute.Themyth offcmaleinferioritymust becomeshattered ifreal change is tooccur.
Hist oricalPenpectivt'
Historicallywomenhave beenignored as potential leaders.Until the earlytwentieth century,women'sgender was used todisqualify them from participatingin politicalaffairs.and foralongtimetheir abilitytocollabo rate forpolitical and socialacti o n was stifledbytheir own acceptanceofthe society' snarrowdefinitions of women'srolesand abilities (Burstyn.1980).
Educatio n was seen"as appropria teformales,particular lyupper-cl assmales,so theycould taketheir rightfulplace in thepublic sphere of society.Nofonnal education was seen as necessaryfor the femalewho se place was in the privat esphere of society(Schmuck, 1996).It wasnotuntilthe19thcentury that some formaleducationwasavailabl eto femalesin the United States andother" westernCOWIttiCS.Withtheriseofthelndustrial revolutio n and changescaused by industrialization,therewasaneedforamore educatedlabourforce.Schoolingbecamea popular thcme(Burstyn,198 0;Schmu cJc. I 996 ).
Between 1820and1830,growthinindustry andbusinesspro videdmale teachers with mor elucra tivejobopponunities.Itwasthe openi ngof thesenew employmentopportunitiesfor men,increased industrializationand urbanization,and populationgrowthin the UnitedSta tes that lea d both toa need for more teachers and to a shortageof maleteachers.Men nowusedtea chi ng as a stepping-stone toanoth er career.Schoo l teaching provided visibilitytomenwhoaspiredto
careersinlaw,commerce., or-the ministry.Young menoften taught for asbontimeonlyto acquire money needed for college (Shakesbaft. 1987).
Itwas during thistimethat women gained acceptanceinto teaching,not because their skills wererecognized.but becausethey were needed to meetthelabor shortage (Mahoney,1993;
Shakes haft, 19 87).The followingpassage from an 1838 issue oftheConn ecticut Common Schoo l Journal suppo rts this research;
How shallwe get good teachersfo rOUTdistrictschools, and enoughofthem?While we shouldencourage ouryoung men toenteruponthispatriotic,andIbadalmost said, missionary fiddofduty,and present much higher inducements to engage them to doso,Ibelieve...thatthereisbut littlehope of attaining thefunsupply.._fromthatsex.Thiswillalwaysbedifficult, solongasthereare somanyother avenuesopen inour country tothe accumulation ofproperty,and the attainingof distinction.
We muSl.. .loo k more tothe other sex for aidinthis emergency ...(GaIiudet, citedinShakeshaft,. 19 87,p.25).
Once womengainedaccep tanceintotheteaching profession,attempts weremadeat keepingthem in clas sroomteaching positio ns, possiblybecau setea ching was conside red onlya temporarystage inwo men's lives (Mahoney,1993).The idea was thatpreparing women tobe teachers wouldhelpthembecomeself-supportiveiftheywereunfortunateenough tolack the suppo rt ofhusbandsor fathers (SchrmJck, 1996) .Such lead en as CatharineBeecher and Erruna Willardbelievedthatteachingwasa pro perspherefo r a womanand thatitprepared herfor the work ofmarriage and motherhood.Women were seen as nurturen., usingtheir matemal instincts inanatural extensionfrom home to school andbackagain.Whatevertheirreasons,thesewom en setthe stagefor womentobecometeachers(Shakeshaft, 19 87).
Despite the fact thatwomenwere thoughttobe suited to enterthe teaching profession, fromthebeginning,they weretreatedless favorablythanwenmen teachersandworked under conditions of overt disaimination.Women were paid considerablylowerwages thanmen,they wen:registeredinpension plans inferiortothose ofmen.and they wen:obligedtoperform extra duties such as lunchroomsupervisio n, whilemen were not."wcmeewere identifiedbytheirsex.
whereas men were aclDowlcdged for the rolestheyplayed"(Shakeshaft. 1987,p.26).Despiteall
ofthis,.womenflock ed to teaching.Themost compelling reason was thatitwas better thanthe
alternative of completedependence ontheir families (Grambs, 1976;Mahoney,199 3;Shakeshaft, 1987).
Itwasduringthe earlyyears ofthe 19thcenturythatSusan B.Anthonyarguedthat female education sho uldnotonly serve tomake them betterwives andmo thers,butsho uld bethe forefrominbringing about women'sequalityinthe workplace.In 1904,Margaret Haley,founder of theAmerican Federation ofTeachers,arguedagainst theidea wherefemaleteachers were considered as mere puppetS tocarryout theordersof those in authority,primarily male (S_ I 9 9 6 ).
Between 1820 and 1900,a handfulofwomen servedinadministrativepositions.Inthe firstdecadeof the twentiethcentury, alargernumberofwomen begantomoveinto administration.Between1900and19 30,women primarily occupied theprincipalshipin elementaryschools.However , gains that weremade by womeninadministrationduring the first threedecades ofthis centurywerenot sustained after 19 30.The number(Ifwome n in administration began todecline.Theidea ofmale dominance createdbeliefsabout womenthat both men andwomenaccepted.Negative attitudes toward women were a constan t barrier.
10
.Women were thou ghttobe incapableofdiscipline and order, primarily becauseof theirsizeand supposedlac k ofstrength. Also,women usuallyleftteac hing formarriage and were lookedupo n unprofessionallybecause of this,despite the factthatlawsinmany communitiesforbade married wo menfromcontinuingto teach (Shakeshaft,.1987).
Patri cia A Schmuck (1996)and Cham! Sbakeshaft:(1987)attempted to discoverwhy female representationinschooladministration so significantly decreased between 1920 and 1970.
They attnbuted the decline to several important socialevents:
t. The19thamendm entgranting women'ssuffiage sawmany womenswitch from the Federatio nofWomen'sClubs,an organizationwithfeminist goals, tothe League of Women voters, a groupthatwas notidentifiedwithwomen 's issues.Thissignalledthe end ofa strong women'smovementand a strong force of supportforwomeninadministrationthusvanished.
The second women'smovement didnot startuntilthe1960 s, andin educationnotuntilthe 1970 s.
2. The GI Bill,.passed afterWo rldWarIl,providedmen with funds fortheir education Many men, whootherwise wouldnot havepursued a college degree. becametea chers in an effort to move across class lines.Onceagain,a socialclass distinctionarose betweenmenand women educa tors. low e r-class menbecametea ch ers.joining themiddl eandupper- middle class women alreadythere.Teaching became amobility ladderfor men; forwomenit was oneof thefew occupationsavailable.
3. Urbanizationof society led to school consolidatio n.The19 505saw several smallschool systemsconso lidat ed into onelarge one.Thispracti ceresult ed in womenadministratorslosing their positions to men in the new structure.
II
4. The literature ofleadership that emerged saw educationaladministration established as a separate domain from teaching. Thefocus ofleadership studies was on men who were chief executive officersinbusiness, industry, and the militaJy."M en manage and women teach"(Tyack
&Hansot, citedinSchmuck, 19%,p.342) became an accepted philosophyineducation.
By 1975,women administratorsinpublic schools were on their way out.
Womenbeganto recognize their under-representationinthe management of a field they dominated by numbers.Bythe early 1970s, the second women'smovement wasinfullswing. Gender equity becameimportant and pressurewas put on the American Congress to deal with genderinequityinpublic education and Title IX became the outcome.Itwaswiththe passage of TitleIXthat the women'smovement began to take on strength.Research on women in administration began to take fonn (Schmuck, 1996; Schmuck, 1995).
Financial supportbythe Women'sEducational Equity Act Project (WEEA),begun in 1976,and project AWARE (Assisting Women in Research and Education),under the Ford Foundation,. provided seed money for many women organizations to begin.Because of their combined efforts and the effons of other advocacy groups,support for women in administration grew and the vanishing woman in educational administration took on personal meaning for many women educators who actively worked to shift the balance [Schmuck, 1995; Schmuck, 1996;
Tinsley,1986).
Researchindicatesthatwhile some changehadtaken place,women still did not have an equalplace as decision makers in the education system (Mahoney,1993). Yet, the number of women in administration had increased since the second Women's Liberation movement (beginning in the 196Os)but one could still see an under-representation offemales in
12
administrativepositions.The percentageof womeninschooladministrationtodayisstillfarless tban thatofmen (Clarke,1998).
St.-tOOa
BasedonStatisticsCanada data for 1995-96, the percentageof administrativepositions. includingprincipals, viceprincipals,and department head s heldby womenvariedsignificantly bothbylevel and by provinceor territory.Administra tive positions held by womenin elementary-secondaryeducation ranged from 41.8 percentinthe NorthwestTerrito riesto 26 percentinNewfoundl and.Asshownin ChartA.,as wellasinTable1(seeAppen dix),the percent age of womenin administrative positionsat the elementarylevel was muc h higherthan those atthesecondary lev elinallprovinces andterrit ories forwhichdatawere available.Onecan see a similar patte rnwhen lookin g atthe represen tatio nof womeninteac hingpositions.Women held 17.5percentofteaching positionsatthe elementarylevel comparedto only 45.6percentat the secondary leve l forCanada as a whole,excludingQuebec (Take another loo k at ourschoo ls, 1999 ).
Asshown in Chart B (see Append ix) the majorityoffemaleelementary-secondary educatorsare teachers.Theprop ortion of female full-time elementary-secondaryeducators employed as principalswas only2.4 percent in 1995.96,well below the 8A percent ofmale educators employedas principals.Also,4.1 percent ofall femalefull-timeelementary -secondary educatorsweredepanment heads comparedto 10.4 percentofmales,and2.2 percent offemale full-timeeducatorswere vice-principals comparedto 4.9percentof male educator s.Women educatorsarestillholdinglessthanhalfoftheadministra tive positio ns(Takeanother lookatour schools, 1999).
13
When examining Chart C (seeApp endix),itis evidentthatthereis room forimprovement infemalerepresentationinadministrativepositions, especiallyat thesecondary level and for the position of principal Only 34 percent of theprincipal positions atthe elemen tarylevelwer e held by womenin1995-96,withjust19percent oftbis same positionattheseco ndary level h.e1d by women.Although women accounted forhalfof the viceprincipalpositions attheelementary level,they heldonly29.1percent of these positions at the secondary levelSimilarly, 63.5per ce nt ofdepartment heads positions were heldbywomen at the elementarylevelcompared to 36.6 percent of that same positionatthe secondary level.It isclearthat female representationinthe three examinedpositionsfalls sho rtof the share of teachingpositions accounted for bywomenat boththe elementaryandsecondarylevel. Mencontinueto contro l the majorityof manageme nt positions in a female dominatedprofession(Takeanother lookat ourschools,1999).
InNewfoundland alone.in1996-97.only 25.5percentofthe administrativepositionswere heldbyfemales when60 percent of classroom teacherswere female(Clarke.1997).Table 2 (see Appendix)clearly showsthat,in 1997-98.femalesheld themajo rity ofteac hlng positionsbut fell shortinadministrativepositio ns.Only93femalesheld thepositionof principal as compared to 295males with0 female directorsas comparedtotomales.Wo menre main under-representedin school administrativepositions.even thoughtheyare the majorityinthis profession(Clarke, 1998).
What has caused thisimbalance and what has kept womenfrom taking their equalplaceas administratorsand decisionmaker sinthe educatio nsystem?I willattemptananswer to these questions bythoroughlyexamining the barriers faced bywomeninthepast, as well asintoday's society.
14
Blirriprsto Adminis... tion
As historicalrecord bassho wn,women have always beenseco ndchoiceinthe selection of school leaders.The barriers today are not much different than the barriersthat kept women from becomingschool administrators in the past (Shakeshaft, 1987).
Anabundanceof literatureindicates that the socialization process offemalesdoes not prepare themto aspire to attain management careen (Clement,1980; Mahoney, 1993). Elaine Slauenwhiteand Richard Skok,ina 1991 article in'The Canadian SchoolExecutive",said women have beensocialized not to pursue a higher education,sincesociety tends to believethey do not require ashighan education as men.They continue,"T ext books, the nature of teacher-studentinteraction, andthe differenttreatmentthat girls receive in comparison to boys_ allcondition women to becooperative,nurturing,.and dependent.This stereotype is approvedby society,anditis difficultfora woman notto conform" (cited in Mahoney,199 3,p.11).Women seldomreceivefeedback throughouttheir early schoo lingthat isrelatedto task performance in contrast totask-orientedfeedback receivedby boys.Women receive whatis described as person-centredfeedback, comments about their lo o ksor their personality(Clement, 1980) .
Kathryn Whitaker and Kenneth Lane,ina1990article in'''The EducationDigest",suggest thatsociety'sattitudetowardsappropriate maleand female rolesis an obstacle. "M en are socialized to persevereandseek professionalsuccess while women aresocialized to nunure and support othersas they assumethe traditional role of mother and caretaker of thehome"(cited in Mahoney,199 3,p.11).
Ponderand Fagan (1984),inresponse to this issue ofsocialization, havesaid that Newfoundland has traditionally been a male-dominated society and there may indeed havebeen
IS
someform ofsocia1izarionwhich makesit inappropriatefor women to applyfor senior administrativ e positions.Thepercentageof women enroUedingraduate studieshasdramatically increased but theirnumhersinadministrative positionsremainlow.Attnbuted to this socialization process offemales has been the creationof such psychologicalbarriers as low self-image,lack ofconfidenceintheir qualifications and experience.and lackof motivationor aspiration(Mahoney,1993;Shakeshaft,.1987).
The roleconflict of motherhoodand career has also been identified as a barrierto women's entryinto administrativepositions.Women who chose to have children are often pursuingtenure during the peakof their childbearingyears.Therefore,theyinte rru pt their teaching careers tohave familiesand thisresultsinthem having less seniority on average than their male counterparts.This may account forwhywomentaketwototenyears longe rthan men toachieve promotionandtenure.Thecareerpath of a man, however,isseldominterrupted by familycommitm ent s and responsibility,thus enablinghimto moveintoadministrationearlier in his career {Hensel, 199 1;Mahoney,199 3;Ponder&Fagan,1984).
Gender discriminationremains a realityfacedby women.Althoughemploymentequity programs have beenputinplace,hiring practices still tendto be highly subjectiv eanddirected at those whoappearto fit into the'old boys'network.When largely male selection boards and superintend entshave to choose betweenaman and a woman, bothequallyqualifiedand competent, itismorelikelythemanwillbechosen. Studie steU usthat people tend tohire those like themselves.Thus, maleshiremales(Sbak csh aft, 1987 ;Mahoney,l99 3;McGrath,1992).
Despite changesin thelaw and the recent effons to promote equityissues.thepresenceof genderdiscriminationisstilI documented(Shakeshaft,1987;McGrath., 1992).Cheryl
16
Kristjanson. in a 1992 article in the MTS "EqualityinEducationJourn al",re mark sthat while institutions can be mandated to hire women, they cannot be mandated to accept them (Mahoney.
1993).
Most school people do not consciouslydiscriminate.Shakeshaft (1987) however,would arguethat there is evidence that gender discrimination operatesona subconscious level. For instance.he says thatresearch bas shown that women have traditionally had littlesupport, encouragement, or counseling from family,peers,superordinates, orrep resen t atives of educational institutions to pursue careers in administration.
Statistics clearly show that whenwomen do obtain administrative positions., they aremo st often astea ching principals or principals of small elementary schools.An examination afthe EducationSystemDirectory,1998-99,for Newfoundland and Labrador schoolsconfirmsthis position in thispro vince.Women have made small gains in their movement into administrative positions atthe intermediateorhighschoollevel.
What this research suggests is that women's under-representationineducational administration is not attributable to a single factor.Rather,itappearstobea complex, multi-faceted pheno meno n.
Oven::orningtheBarriers
Womenarestillexperiencing discrimination andnumerous difficultiesintheir attempt to securelea der ship positionsinwhich they makemajo r decisions.Advocacy gro ups, legislatio n, and affinnative action planshave helpedbut gender discriminarion stillexists. Researchershave pointedout anumber ofkey aspectsthat need to be in placeifgenderisto becomeirrelevant in the selectionof school administration (Mahoney,1993;Shakeshaft, 1987).
17
One of the mostimportantfact orsinovercomingthe barriersto administratio nis to become fullytrainedand preparedfor theroleas principal.Universitytraining at the graduate level is a must.womenmust developleadership skills, theymust have a definite careerplan, they mustacquiregoodinterpersonalskills,they mustdevelop communicationskills sothey can handle thems elve sin themo st difficultof situa tions,theymust be flexibleandtheymust have solid academic credentials(Mahoney,1993 ;Shakeshaft, 1987).It has also been suggested that mentoringisimportant.Women need mentorsasrole modelsand advisors.The number of women administrative professorsat theuniversity level still remains small (Mahoney,199 3;
Shakeshaft. 1987) .
Someresearchers suggestthatthere needs to be a system ofnetworking wherewomen can competewiththe'old boys 'network and that it is time forwomen to begin an'old girls' networkwhere a large systemof contacts can learn aboutjob availabilityand learn abouthow oth er women handlesimilar administrativesituations.Such groupsas the National Council for AdministrativeWomeninEducationand the NorthwestCoalitio n of Educational LeadersInc.
(NCEL)in the United States,have provided women with bothsuppo rt and a network.develo ping jobsharing newsletter s,as well as systemsfor findingout about districtsin which there are job opening s (Mahon ey,199 3 ; Shak eshaft,1987).
Tinsley(1986) suggests that women can onlybe moved intoadministrative positionswith thecommitment and activeinvolvementofgoverningboards .He professes thatonly when those inpositionsofautho rity actually makethe appointmentsinto manag ementwillthe number of women in administrativepositions increase.Those in positions of powermust make publictheir commitm ent tothe advancementofwomen .Tinsleynot es that womenmust also make a
18
commitmenttoadvancement.They mustbave the willingness to punue graduate studies and to takerisks.
Maho ocy (1993) expresses the coocemthataUwomendoto gain administrative positions maywellbeinvainifnegative attitudes toward womenremainunchanged.Manyfeelthat the best place to begintochange these attitudesisinthe school.Tcachersand administrators must be made aware ofsexistattitudes.teaching materials.,and teaching strategiesthatlimit:female students and students must beallowed to learnandgrowinan educatio nalenvironmentthatis non-sexist(Shakeshaft. 1987)
Finally,women mustbeallowed toattainleadership rolesand theymustlearn tousetheir strengthstoenhancetheireffecti vene ss(Mahoney,1993).We continuetohopethatallwillcome torealize and acceptthe contribu tions womencan makeinleadership positions.
Wo rklFamilyRelalioDShip
Little research has been devoted to the subjectof womenadministratorswhoalso have major home/familyresponsibilities.Studies have confirmed that career women increasingly are married women and mothers.However.they oftenwartuntillatc intheirlives for marriage and a family,and often many a fellow professional (Villadsen&Tack. 1986).
HavingacareerisDOteasy for somewomenwho arebothwives and mothers.Wo rlcing mothers are nothing newbutwhatisnew are motherswho work ata career awayfromthe home. Havingacareer requiresaninvestment of emotional andintcUcctu al energy over alon gperiod of timeandthis investmen t often createsconflict betweena woman'smarried/familyroleandherjob rol e(Bogdan, 1980;Villadsen&Tack.1986 ).
19
The career woman'sdecision to have childrendoesnotfollowthe typical pattern. The arrival of a child has a major effect onthepro fe ssional woman.Therefore, she is often reluctant to have children atallandifshedoes, she will wait untilher late twenties or early thinies (Villadsen&Tack, 1986).Nearly one-half of the women whostayinacademe remain either single or childless(Hensel,1991).
Womenwho are managing a career and family are aware that conflicts exist and often experiencestress intryingto balanceboth. This isunderstood when one realizes thatwomenwho work outsideof thehome continuetoretainmany of the household responsibilities.Ifwomen are to manage both, they must developcoping strategies.Through a study conductedby Villadsen and Tack (1986),anum ber of coping strategiesdeveloped by women for managingtheir home/familylifeand careers were identified.
Compartmentalization of their time was foundto be essential.The women attempt to ensure that theirworkresponsibilitiesdonot infringeon their homelife and viceversa.The key to maintainingbalance was said tobe organization and basic to organizationwas delegation. Shared responsibilitymusttak e place between all and dutiesmust be disbursed tohusbands, children, extended familymembers,househ old helpers,and sitters.Most women interviewed indicated that whoevergothomefirstorwho had the most time atte nded to househo ldchores (Vdladsen&Tack,19 86 )
The women studied indicated that theirhou seholdstandards had to belowered;there simply wasnotenoughtime to beconcern ed with such trivial issues as having everythingspotless.
Less priorityhad to be given to househo ldchoresin ordertodealwith matters of more pressing concern(Villadsen&Tack, 1986).
20
Wo menalso indicatedthattheymustmake sacrificesiftheywereto cope withtheirdual roles.Writing for publicati o nsandcontinuingeducationwere often delayed.Women settheir prioritiesandwerewillingto sacrifice professional developmentinorder to copewiththe other demandsoftbeirtime-Goodfiieodsbi.psand socialcontaeu were oftensacrificed.Wo men stated that theydidnothave time to entertainandatt endsocialfunctions (VUladsen&.Tack. 1986)
Educationaladministratorswhoaremarriedwithchildrenmustfindthe energy,the fortitude, and the justification formaintainingthebalance between beingwife.moth er.
housek eeper, and profess ionalwoman.Inmaintainingthis balance,theyneedto develop coping strategies and continuallyhaveto make sacrifices. Married womenwith childrencan be success ful ifgiven theopportunity.Accord ing toVI11adsen andTack (1986) ,qualifiedwomenare multi-talentedandsocietycan onlybenefitfrom their leader ship.
~D dcrandLudersh ip
Although males continueto dominate school administration. females have graduallybut steadily moved into administration positions inthe past twenty years.Since about1990.ther ehas been a rapidlygrowingdebateaboutwbethcf"fema1es and maleslea d diffe«:ndy(Martz &.
McNeely,1998;Owens,I99 S).
Thereis literature that suggests women leaden behaveinthe same ways as men leaders, thatlher-eare little.ifany differences betweentheways females andmaleslead.Ho wever.ithas been arguedthatthislner aturedo es not extenditself beyondthe world oCthewhite male,thatthis literatu re looks at theways men manageand thenasks. "Do womendothese~,too ?" Not surprisingly,they do.The se studies have only viewedwomen within a maleframework and
21
therefore,itis no wonder that few differences between male and female school administrators are discovered (Shakeshaft, 1987).
However,there is also an abundance ofliteraturethat bas presented research which does find gender differences.Thisliterature on differences focuses on such aspects as leadership, morale, student-teacher performance,work environment, conflict resolution, and decision making. A review of the literature indicates that women are better suited for leadershipineducational administration (Shakeshaft:, 1987).
Leadership
Researchhas shown that women principals use democratic practices more frequently than do men. Eagly,Karan, and Johnson (1992) reviewed fifty studies and found that women principals tend toleadina more democratic and less autocratic stylethanmale principals and tend tobemore task oriented thantheir male counterparts.Similarly,Grobman and Hines (citedin Ponder&Fagan, 1984) foundthat femaleprincipalsemployed democratic leadership behaviors twenty-twopercent more oftenthanmale principalsdid.Kobayashi (1974) and Morsink (1970) (cited in Ponder&Fagan. 1984) also perceived female principals to be significantly more task oriented than the male principals.
Thisdemocratic leadership,which "involves the group in policy-making decisions. allows for individual or group creativity and initiative, demonstratesrespect forthe dignity of the individual or the group,and fosterstwo-way conununication between leader and the group"
(Hare,cited in Tibbetts,1986.p.177) is considered by many to be theway organizations should be lead (Grobman&Hines.1956;Hare,1966; Lupini cited in Tibbetts,1986;Aburdene&
22
Naisbitt.1992;Chase.199 5;Helg eson, 1991;Pounder.1990;Shakeshaft.1987;Tannen. citedin Monz&.McNeely,1998).
MonJe
AccordingtoShakesbaft (1987)"womee spend moretime with people,communicate more, care moreaboutindividualdifferences.areconcernedmore with teachers and marginal students. andmotivate mor c".lbe:fd'ore.,"staffiof womenadministratorsrate womenhigher,are moreprodu ctive,andhavehighermorale.Stud entsinschoolswithwomenprinci pals also have highermorale. ."(p.197).Fisheland Pottk er (197 3 ) andGrohman andHines(citedin Tibbetts., 1986)alsosuggestthatbothtea cherand studentmorale are bett erinschoolsheadedby
Student-Teac her Perfonnance
Dat aindicatethat. on the average,students andteache rs performatahigher caliberin schoolsadministeredbywomenrather thanmen(Gross&.Trask. citedinGrambs, 1976;Clement.
etal.,citedinTibbetts.1986).Shakes.haft, 1987.reportsthatteachingandlearning arethe major fociof women administrators and therefore., academi cachievement is highel"in schools and districtsin which women are administrators.Itisarguedthat womenadministrators,notonly emphasize achievement.but coordinateinstructi onal pro gramsand evaluatestudentprogress.In knowingtheacademicpro gr essoftheir students, helpingnew teach ersandsupervisingallstaff, womencreateanenvironmen tmore conduci ve to learning,onethatis orderly . safe,mdquiet (Shakeshaft.198 7).
23
WorkEnviro nment
StudiesODmales and femalesfindthatwomen conduct more unscheduledmccrings.
monitor less. takefewertrips away from thebuilding,andobserve teachers more often.They have better and closer communication with theteach ers andmaintaina more closelyknit organization(Tibbetts,1986;Shakeshaft.,1987).
Notonly dowomenadministra to rsinteractmore frequently than men withteac hers , parents, andwomen. they also exhibit a different styleofintenction, onewhich islessformal (Shakeshaft, 1987).Helgesen(cited in Riehl&.Lee.1996),inobserving womenlead en, found that women placed • high priority on maintainingpositive relationshipsamong workers, andthey werelikelytofindways to share informationwithothen in their organization and beyond.
Fauth (citedinShakeshaft. 198 7)bas foundthatwomenviewthc job of principal asthat of a master-teacher or educationalleader,whereasmen moreoften view the job froma manageri al- industrial perspective.Wom en aremoreconcernedabout theindividuaJ student, aboutthe academicachievementof students,andmoreknow ledgeab le abo ut curriculum. and tend tovaluethe productivity oftheir teachers (Shakeshaft.19 87).Women appear tofavor people-oriented projectsmore than men and derive more satisfactionfrom supervisinginstruction, whereas men derivegreater satisfaction fromadministrativetasks (Gross&Trask. citedin Shakeshaft.1987).
Itwasfoundthatparen ts looked more favorablyon schoolswith womenprincipals,.were more invo lved in schoolaffairs, andapproved mo re often of thelearni ng activities and outcomes in the schoolsheaded bywomen(Tibbetts,1986).
24
ConOid Resolution
Studiesofwomenand men findthatwomenapproachconflict resolu tio nsomewhat differentlythan men. Marshall and Mitchell(cited inRiehl&Lee, 1996) ,suggestthatwomen demonstrate a greaterabilitytoresolve conflicts andtobe somewhat less likely toinvoke .hierarchy and dominancein solvingconflictswithstud ents.Wo men are more likelytowithdraw
from conflict or usecollaborative strategies.whereas menuse authoritarianresponsesmo reoften.
Anangry femalewasevaluatedasmoreeffectivethan anangry malein resolvingconflicrual situ atio ns (Shakeshaft,198 7).Studies haveled to thespeculation that schoolswith femaleleaders tendtohavelessdisciplinaryproblemsandless violence(Maho ney,199 3;Shakeshaft..1981).
Dec ision- making
Anumber of researcher shave foundthatwomenarepercei ved asbeing moredemocr atic and participatorythanaremenin their approach to decisionmaking.They use more cooperative planningstrategiesinmeetingsand.much morethanmen,use coalitions toreachtheirdes ired goals.They encourage participa tionfromaUinthe decision making process.Womenlead en allow everyone'svoicetobe heard and are less concerned with theformalhienll"Chyinthe decisioo-makingprocess(Shak eshaft, 1987).
Literature onthe subjectofgender-and leadershipindicatesthatmanywomenpoS5eSS numerous qualitiesthataremo st effectiveindev elopin g good, soundlead ershipinschools.
Terms such asnurturing.sensitive,empathetic. intuitiv e, compromising,caring,. cooperative,and accommodatingareoftenused when referri ng towomenadministrat o rs,andint erestingly,these also tendto betheterms that areincreasinglyassociatedwitheffectiveadministration(Maho ney, 199 3).
25
Tibbetts (1986) argues that women often make superior- principals because of such factors (1)Women principals havefarmore teaching experience than do male principals and (2) in order togetan administrative positioninthefirstplace, a woman has tobeso much betterthana
However,whatone needs torealizeis that men can sometimes be superior to women.
especiallyinfieldswhere they havedo minat ed. and that in the field of education, women's
"climbing scars endow them a richness of experience few men can match" (Collins. citedin Tibbetts, 1986,p.19).
CondusioQ
Through careful review of the literature. it becomes apparent that gender is an influencing factorinwomen'smovement into educational administration.Traditional deterrents tohiring women ashighschoolprincipaland superintendent still apply.Concern about women principals handlingdiscipline still exists. Likewise,doubts about the woman's ability to managecontinue to be perceived as barriers to employment of womeninhigher administration.A majorobstac le of women comes from role stereotyping
Real change will only take placewithlong-term commitment.Good leadership is not gender specific and thequalities.skills.and expertise ofall.regardless of gender. must be appreciated.Changing attitudes toward women is an important task and this attitude change must firstbeginwithinourselves (Logan&Scollay,1999).Information, awareness.organization, political pressure, and the demands for change can alter the social biases about the valued attributes of our educational leaders.Ifgender is no longer a criterion, perhaps competencewill become the valued attribute (Schmuck, 1980).
26
Educational administration faculties must step forwardinthe advancement of gender
equitythroughtrainingandinfluencewiththe publicand withthepersonswho hireprincipalsand superintendents.Theycanbeastrongforcethatpromotesattitude change outsideasweDas insidetheuniversity setting(Logan&:ScoDay,1999 ).
Tmgley (citedin Logan &Sccllay,1999) statesthat"Clearly,wehaveecrdrawn educationalleadenhip thusfarfromthewidestnnksof'tbe bestandthebrightest(p.12 1).The point shemakes isthatthe searchforschoo ladministratorsis"carried out with tunnelvisionthat seesonly whitemalesasviable candidatesforthesepositions"(Logan&:Srollay,1999,p.121).
Tosolvethe problemsof today'5schoolswillrequire the brightest andbestof our profession.
Thissearch must notbe limitedto gender stereotyping."To find thebestleaders for ourschoo ls
andschooldistrictsrequires asearch that mustbeequallyinclusiveofalleducatcrs , womenas wellasmen"(Logan&Scollay,1999,p.122).This canonlyhappenwhen thoseselectingour schoolleadersrealizethatleadershipisnotgender-specific.
27
CHAPTERTHREE
INTERNSHIP EXPERIEN-cES:A CRITICAL, REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Chronological Journal
Thefollowing journalisaninWlrmal recordafmy experiences and activities as an intern.
Thejournal allowed forpersonalevaluationwhereby each week'seltperieoces wereanalyzed.It enabledme toremainfocused and direcred my attentionina positive manner.Evalua tingeach week'sevents enabledmeto judgem:lr'success ataccom plishing myinitialgoals and objectives.
Thisjournalwritinghas proventobeQgreatmeans of selfevaluationanda taskthatallow sfor sclf impro vemem.
week I (Ap ril 12·16 , 1999)
Thisfirstweek gavemeanoPlPOnunity tofamiliarizemyselfwiththe principal's schedule as a teachingadministrator.Wediscuased herrole as supervisor/mento randwhatIhadhopedto accomplishduringmy tenwee ks.The principalclo sely reviewed mypro posaland wediscussed thegoalsandobjectives ofmyintemsbip.as well aswhatactivitiesIwouldbecome involvedin overthenext ten weeks.We discussec1 certain issuesof concern and any clwtges that needed to bemade
Havingknowntheprincipalfo.-many years.Iimmediatelyfelt comfonableand welcomed into theschool.Earlyintheweek.theprincipal.familiarizedmewithsuchimportantdocumen ts asthe School PolicyandProcedureHandbook,.Board Policies,andtheSchool Profile.
Throughoutmy internship,Ibecameq1Uitcfamiliarwith eachofthesedocuments. The principal also gave me anumberofinteresting eaticlesrelated to the femaleprincipal.Ispent thelatt erpart of thisweek readingthrough thesearti-cjesandfamiliarizingmyselfwith schoolpolicies.
28
ItdidDOttake lon g before Isoonrealizedtherange of' tbe principal' sresponsibilities.Sbe wascoostantIydealingwith issuesrangingfrom.sendingmemostostafftodealingwith problems relatedtoprogramming to planningthe GradeXII graduatio n.She wasalsoinvolved in aJWmber- of committees (Liaison,. Student Council. Graduation,. Sunshine Club,etc.)which tookup alot of her evenings.She was quitevisiblethroughout theschooland certainlyhadeverythingunder contro l
Week %(April19-23,1999)
During thisweek.preparations fortheGrade12graduationwereinfull swing.Seating arrangementsbad tobe made,. caps andgOWD$arrivedand hadto be fitted, selectionand rehearsal ofhynms for Church needed to be done,andmuchmore.[was asked tohelpwiththe many preparationsand spent mucharmytimeattendingmeetingswith the graduation committeeto discussandfinalizedetails.
Amajor issue this weekwas teacher allocations.Theprincipalwasinf~bythe school board,thattheschool wouldlose0.5timeDistanceEducation Chemistry and0.25 Challenging NeedsC.Thiswould cause only minor disrupti onintheplanning for nextyear.Due to the retirement of one staff member,noreg ular staffwould belost.The principaldiscussed withme the issue of teacherallocations and howthi5could cause chaos withina schooland the community.Examples fromprevio us yeanwere discussed.
Thisweekalso found mecoveringafew classes foranabsentstaffmemberwhenno substi tuteteacherwasavailable.Thisisanothcl" ofthe manyduties oftileprincipal .1volunt eered tohelp andintumobtained somevaluab le classroom experience.
29
Week3 (April%6-30,1999 )
Top priority this weekwasthe Grade 12graduatio nonFriday.Theprincipal andIspent muchof the week attending to finalpreparatio ns.The schoolwas invo lvedinthe safegrad (drugs andalco bol free)program. The celeb rations/ceremony took placeinthe school gymnasiumand games and activities were arranged until 6:00am, whena big breakfast was served to everyone.
Parents,teach ers, and studen tsparticipatedinthe games and everyone had afuntime.
On Tuesdaymorning.Iparticipatedina forum onyouth violence(attendedby the entire school).The presenter was a police officer fromTor onto andhe discussed gangsand youth crime,withtheuse of some graphicvideos. Stud entbehaviorwas superb.I noticed that the principaldidnot once sit down but continuallywalkedaroundthe gymnasium to make her presence known tothe students. Completecontrolwasmaintained.ThisreinforceswhatIhave clearlyseeninmyshanthree weekshere,andthat is a successfulprincipalmust be visible throughout the schoolatalltimes.
Itwas du ringthis weekthatIobserved my first principal-student meeting.Theprincipal had to dealwith three studentswho were involvedinbullying andusing inappropriate language.
The students involvedwere called toher office for discussion- Iwas able to sit in on these discussions.Shedealt directly withthe issues and made it quiteclear that their behaviorwas not acceptedatthis particularschool.She letthe studentsknow exactly how shefeltabout their behavior.The principallet nothing go unnoticed,no matterho w trivial,Shefaced everyproblem head onand this, I feel,is whybehavior probl emsatthe schoolwere at aminimum.
30
Week4 (May 3-7, 1999 )
This was quite an interestingweek. To start, the principalhadto deal with the problem of a 'cherry bomb'.These bombs are home made contraptionsconstructedwiththumb tacks and caps.One such bomb «Went off' on a school bus.The child was reprimanded, the parents were contacted, and a local RCMP officer was notified.WIth the permission of the parents, the RCMP officer spoke with the child and explained the seriousness of such an act.Alett er wasalsosentto parents/guardiansinfonning them of whathadhappenedand asking them to explain totheir children the seriousness of making such bombs.
Ontheevening ofMay4, I attended apublic school council meeting.To prepare for this meeting,Ireviewed what was known aboutthenew schoolcomplex.The agenda includedstaff allocations and the new school complex for September2001. Approximatelytwenty-two people were presentwithno schoolboard membersinattendance.The public were infonned of the lossesincurred by the schooland that these losses would not negativelyaffect theschoolbeing able to offer the same academic program in September. Parentswere content with this fact.
Theirmajor concernwas issues regarding the new school complex (e.g.catchmentarea, configuration ofschool. physical site,etc.).The area of disputewas the proposed size of the new school.According to measurements, the classrooms and hallways would be smaller than those in the present school. The public also pushed the issuethatthere were no allowances made for in-migration. There was a consensus on location for allagreedthat the new school shou ldbe loca ted near the present site.These concerns would now be taken by the chair andpresented at the schoolboardmeeting on May12.
Themiddle ofthe week saw the principaltake a childto the hospitalfor x-rays on hisleg.
The resultsshowed thatthe student had two brokenbones.Theparen ts were immediatelycalled
31
upontheinitialreporting ofthe childhurting hisleg. Theywereinformedthat the childwoul dbe takentothehospital1bcpriocipalleft the hospitalandreturned to schoolonly after she had spokenwiththe parentsinformingthemofwhatwashappening.During herabsence.Icovered theoffice and anycallsthatwerereceived.
Themajordistwbanceofthcweek was rumors ofdrugs (oil and weed)aroundtheschool.
Thisallcame about from an incidentwhere a student informed theprincipal thatshe could smell smoke in the girls'washroom. Uponinvestigation. theissueofstudents smoking drugsaround theschoolarose.Two studentsanonymously suppliedthe principalwithnames ofthosewho were involved.Shewas very disappointedand hurtbythis information butimmediatelydealtwith theproblem.Shecalledanemergency staffmeeting at3:00pm whereshe informed staff;.andshe then calledtheRCMPofficer,andinformedthe school board.The schoolboar d informedher of herlegal rights as princi palofthe schoolto do a search afthe property.Shewas concerned that she had noevidencebutwas toldthatall sheneeded was suspicion.After a visitwith theofficer, sheconducteda searchofsix students'lockers,joggers,and jackets.Nothing was found.
Parentswerethennotified of the search andshereceived full suppon. An informationlett erwas alsoprepared and sem toparentsandguardians.Itwas believedthatthese actionswoulddeter studenufrombringingany drugs on school property.
Thisweekwascertainlyalearning experience.Ibecameaware oftheprocess of notificatio nandinclusio nin timeswhentheprincipal mustacton a very delicatematter.llearned of the manytalents needed tobe a successfuladministrator andof themany differentrolesplayed.
Ialso saw,firsthand, how exhausting the jobcanbe.Iwasgratefu l tohavebeen involvedin discu ssion swith theofficer ,pare nts,and theschool boardfor[ learn edhowtoaddressparents
32
Week5(May1~14.1999)
As a foUow-upto last weeks episode withthe search of six lockers.the officerwas invited into the schoolto giveapresentation on the physical.emotional. social,andlegal consequencesofusing drugs.He completed apresentationwith eachhomeroom.. The school's effonswithrespectto maintainingsdrug freeeducational environment were ongoing.
The principaland I tookafewminutesatthe beginning of the week to discuss whatit reallymeantto be a principal.Ibadseen.inmy shantimethere.the everydaychalleng es shehad to face and how shedealt withnumerous issuesona daily basis.Iwas givenalistof principal duties,accordingto the SchoolsAct.andshecertainlywentaboveandbeyo ndwhat was expect ed.Ihaveseen that thingshad tobedealtwithimmedia tely,thattherewasnotimefo r procrastinatio n.
On Wednesdayevening.Iaccompani ed theprincipal toa Joint Schoo lCouncil Meetin g.
TheDirect o r.Assistant Director of Finance andAdministration, and three councilsre presen ting threelocal schoolswere present.The purpose of this meetingwas to again discuss the new School Complex proposed for September2001.Thethree councils presentedissuesthathad been of concern.atthelast publiccouncilmeeting.Thecommonconcern wasthe proposed size ofclassrooms.ballways,andschoolingeneral.Therewasalso concern regardingbusing primary/elemen tary studentswith highschoolstudents.Parents were adamantabout keeping busingseparate.Thiscommittee would nowforwardwhathad been presen ted tothe board and this information wouldbeusedtomake decisions regar ding thenew school.
JJ
W~k6(M ay 17-Zl,1999)
This week began withme accompanying the principalto a SchoolComplex Comminee meeting.Inattendance wereschoolboard members,localprincipals.and the Comminee Executive.The purpose ofthemeetingwas tohavesub-committ ees disperseingroupsand discusssuch issues asprogramrequirements,specialprovisions.learnin garea requirements.
auxiliaryarearequirements.and general requirementsinrelationto the new school These sub-committ ees,chosenonthegroundsofhavingrepresentati onforprimary/elementary classrooms.junior highfsenior high/distanceeducation classrooms,student support, and tec hnology.werethentoreport backtothe committee.I.of course,followedtheprin cipalinto the sub-committeewhichwasto dealwithconcernsforjunio r high/seniorhighfdistanceeducati o n classrooms.Oursub-committeewas quite prod uctive.It was decidedthatthenew schoolshould havea minimum of seventeen classrooms.The minimum acceptable sizeand other concerns such aslunc hscheduling werealsodiscussed.
Thenextday theprincipalwrote aletterinformingparen ts/ guardians ofwhathad been discussedatlastnight'smeetingandinformedthemof thedate when thenext:meetingwouldbe held.Shewasconstantlykeepingallconcerned parties infonncdafmehappeningsinandaround tbe scbcol.
Duringthisweek.Ilearned howdifficultprogramschedulingcould become.Theschool wascurrentlyrunningon a fourt eendaycyclewithliveone hourperiodsper day.Tberewasan enormousamountofwark tobedonebefore programmingcould befinalized.
Duringmidweek,Iassistedtheprinci palinpreparingfora staffmeeting.We planned whatsteps needed to be taken sothe meeting wouldbekept ontask.I preparedtheroomforthe meeting and made sure that necessary itemswerewritt en onthe board.The purpose ofthe
34
meetingwas toaddresschallengesracedbystudemsandstaffinDistri ct #2.The staffwere asked to prioritize aspectsunder each challenge.Theendresults would show r.beprioriti es/ con cernsof the staffwithregardsto such chaUenges as leadership issues,.teacherandstudentissues,finances, and suuctural/pbysicaVdemograpruc issues.Themeeting ran smoothlyandeverythingwas accomplishedin approximately onehour.
Ialsospem:thisweek helpingtheyearbookcommittee getpicturesofall
teams.
committees, 5lafI;and coaches taken.Organization and cooperation proved to bethekeyto successful completio nofthis particulartask,
W~k7 (May 25-23.1999)
This week.Iwasintroduced10programming .The princi pal briefedmeon what was requir edto develop a course sched uleforthe 1999-2000 schoolyear.Much strategi cplanningis required forallstudentsmust be ableto register forrequired coursesandall musthave a~in eachslot for whichtheycan register.Iworkedwiththeprinci pal.meetingwithseniorhigh students, and pre-registeringthem(tentatively )fortheupco mingschoolyear.Certainscheduling problems did arisesowewentbacktowork andmade changes,We continued.tomeetwith stud entsuntil thecourseschedulewas finalized,This took quitea bitof maneuveringcoursesand staff.The majorprob lemIsaw was thatthe school was understaffed.Mor cteacherswere requiredifa variety ofcourses wereto be offered andifceruin courses were to be offered in diffuent slots .However.this iswhatour schools have todeal with.Wenolonger offerArt.
Music.Home Economics,IndumialArts,and many schoolshave losttheirPhysicalEducation tea cher.nus isunfortunatefo rallstudentsareDotmathematical lyorscientifi callyinclined and these stude ntsshoul dbe givenequalopportunity toincreasetheir skil lswhether that isinAnor
35
Music or other non-academic courses.Itwouldappearthatstudents arc the losersin gOVc:mmeDt' sgnatplans for refonn andschoolimprovement.
Gradesixorientation alsotook place this week.Administrationwelcomedthemtothe schooland introduced them to the rules and e:xpecwions of the school.The students remained in the school, attending regular gradeseven classes for the entire day.I stayed close bytohelpwith anyproblems that arose.Thingswent verywell
Week8(May31·Jupc4,1999 )
Thiswasabigweek formc.Iaccompaniedtheprinci paltoDistrict Principal s'meetings andagain saw the manyexpectations of theprincipal IappreciatedtheSch ool Board' s pennission toaneed.The meetingsran two fulldays from8;30am to5:00pmandmany impo rtant issueswerecovered.
Theagenda fordayone wasthe District Education Plan.Dr.JeanBrown presc:m:eda reviewofthe processandalso engagedall to participateinan education activity called the
"Chan ge Game".Thisbrou ghttothe forefro nt thereal ity and difficultyof tryingtoimplement change.The«New Accountability Act"(whichisbeinglegislatedbygovernment)was mentioned and principlesto govern strategicplanningwere discussed.Principalsworked ingroups noting theirindividualstaffmcetin gonChallenge priorities.Priorities wererankedandsubmitt ed to the Board.I learned•greatdealaboutthedistrict'splansforthe future.
Day twobeganwith a presentationondistrictfinances,.and personneland program issues.
No thing new surfaced.Asusual.moneywas shott and no new moneywas availablefor substitute teac hers and variousotherreso urces.Thiscaused aheated discussion about whatour schoo ls neededand aboutthe small budgetunderwhich ourschoo ls were expect ed to ope rate.Briefings
36
from programspecialistsalso tookplace.Theday endedwiththe director bidding farewellto alI asbe bad accepted • new position with anotherschool board.
Thesemeetingswerevery educationaland myattendance provided me with an invaluable learningexperieocc.Ibecame awareof the various issuesof concern for principalsandofwhat changes they would liketo seetakeplace.Principals oftengrewfrustratedbythingsbeyond their contro l[eg.lack ofresourcesandfunds)butcontinued to work andfigh tvery hard for the succe ss of their schools.
W~9 (June7·11.1999)
ManydifferentissueswereOD the tablethis week.A newstudent inquiredabout enrolling for September.Arepononstudentswhowouldbeex.c:mptfrom final exams had tobe comp leted. Students had tobe matched withteacherswhowould act astheir advisorsfor the upcomingyear.Administration worked onthe SchoolReport for 1998 -1999.
Duringthis week,Iagainaccompaniedtheprincipaltoanothernew SchoolComplex Committee meeting.Therewere so many committ ees workingon thisnew schoo l that I could hardly keep themstraight.We broke into oursub-committeesand discussedwhatwas needed in thenew schoo lwithregards tospace. scienceequipment,the specialneedsroom, andsoon.We thenrepo n edbad:totheentiregroup.Thiswouldbe thefinal meetingofcommittees relatedto thenewSchoolComplex forthisyear.Theprincipal'stimehad certainlybeentaken upwith all these committee meetings and many evenings had beenlost duringabusytimeof theyear.
Thebigevent of thisweek and ofthe schoolyearwas "RecognitionDay"and thistook placeon Friday.The purpose of thisdaywas to acknow ledge allsportsandclubs.coaches and sponsors, and toacknowledgethose who hadwonawardsinwritingand mathcompeti tions. Athletesof theyear awards (juniorgirl and boy,seniorgirland boy)werealso presented.When
37
recognized.allbad to proceedon andoff thestage Abigdinnerfollowed(planned bythe school council)andeverythingwentwonderfully.Studentattendancewasnearlyone hundr edpercent andthey thoroughly enjoyedtheday.Thisisthe first timethatIbadseen or experienced such an event andIthoughtitwasabrilliantIdee,Students achievementsandparticipation (whetherin sports oracademics)wererecognized and ccacbesaeacber sponsors were appreciated fortheir volunteer time.Everyo newasgiven a momentoftbanksand recognized for their accomplishments.
Week 10(June14-18, 1999)
This was mylastweekat the school and I can certainly say that myexperience therewas mostexhilarating.Iwasvery luckytohavehadsuch a greatprincipalto workwithand such an encouragin gand supportiveperson.Timewent rather quicklyand I wasinvolvedinmany expectedandunexpectedexperiences.Thiswasexam weekat the schoolandI helped to supervise examsinthe gymnasium.TheprincipalandIalso spentmuchof theweekwo rkingon thetimetable for next year.Seniorhighwas relativelyeasy for we bad completedthis previously butslottin g junior high courses was quite thetask.We had tomake sure that no onetea cherwas teaching two coursesinthe sametimeslotandthateachtimeslot had scheduled classes. Thiswas a new experience formeandwasnoteasy.Ibadseen theslotboard before buthadno ideahow itworked orbowto organizeitso thatitaccommodatesallstudents andstaff.
Concl ustoD
Aftercompletingmyinternship,Ispentsome timereflectin g on thepastten wee ks , thinkingabout my research, experience s,and how I could relateallI had learnedinmyreport.I realizedthatthis was an impossibletask for I had learned morethan Icould haveimagined and morethan Icould ever put into words.I canonly saythat my internshipexperience wasvery
3.
successful.fulfilling,.educational. and excellent byallstandards.Igainedpractical experience and developed professional skillsthat can only enhance my career.Havingbadsuch an exceptional principalto work with has allowed me to make mental notes of how to successfully deal with delicatematters.I am aware that leadership is not a science andthatI can not copy my supervisor's actions or reactions.Ido knowthat knowledge,however.ispowerand the more I [earn about dealing with situations thebetter principal I can become .
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