Women’s Role in Educational Leadership: Opportunities, Barriers and Strategies for Success at Primary School

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore the opportunities available for women in higher positions in educational institutions, to understand the challenges they face, and to examine the strategies they have adopted to become successful leaders. In which data was collected from four head teachers using purposive sampling, including three government head teachers and one private head teacher. The purpose of this research is to explore the challenges women face in reaching higher positions in educational institutions, such as social expectations, gender discrimination, limited decision-making authority, harassment, balancing work and household responsibilities, restrictions on doing jobs, and lower salaries compared to men. It’s a qualitative research,Data was collected from head teachers through interviews using a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions. All head teachers agreed that they face challenges in maintaining discipline in schools, dealing with gender discrimination, having limited decision-making authority as female leaders, and most importantly, balancing job and household responsibilities. In addition, they also agreed that men are paid higher salaries than women, not in the government sector but in the private sector. In the government sector, men and women receive equal salaries. The study suggests that educational institutions hold additional workshops to improve teachers' pedagogical understanding and communication abilities in context with these findings. We also came to the conclusion that women’s are capable of becoming successful leaders, but the system does not fully support them. The research suggests that training opportunities should be expanded, gender discrimination should be eliminated, and women should be supported so that they can effectively manage both household and job responsibilities and emerge as successful female leaders.