Unfolding women's lives : social factors that shape the leadership approaches of women school principals in Kenya

This study constructs an account of the leadership approaches of five women school principals and relates these to their social contexts and social experiences. The study examines the experiences of the principals as young girls, teachers and principals. The theoretical and analytical framework for the study is derived from Bourdieu's theory. Within a life history design, data was collected using structured interviews that were tape recorded and transcribed. The analysis of the narratives focuses on the relationship between the leadership approaches of women principals and their leadership dispositions and positions in the field. This narrative analysis suggests that the women principals in this study adopted multiple leadership approaches that appear to be shaped by seven major factors, namely, their androgynous leadership dispositions, valued gendered attributes, patriarchal interests, competing interests in the field, their social capital, the economic capital of their schools, and their emotional capital. The contribution of this study is to explore the potential of a particular theoretical and methodological approach to deliver an explanatory account of leadership practices within a particular historical and social context. The analysis of the narrative of the five women principals in this study instantiate this approach.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Education

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Kariuki, Caroline Wanjiru

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jacklin, Heather

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11657

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11657