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Struggling to make a difference
against the odds: a synthesis of
qualitative research on women
leading schools in Zimbabwe
Zvisinei Moyo and Juliet Perumal
Department of Education Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg,
Kingsway, South Africa, and
Philip Hallinger
College of Management, Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand and
Department of Education Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg,
Kingsway, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –This paper reports on results of a systematic research synthesis of 25 studies on women in
educational leadership and management in Zimbabwe. The aim of this systematic review of research was to
report conclusions drawn from a synthesis of findings from studies of gender and educational leadership in
Zimbabwe.
Design/methodology/approach –The review used systematic methods to identify 25 research studies that
examined women leading schools in Zimbabwe. Research synthesis methods used for qualitative research
studies were employed in order to identify three broad themes and related subthemes across the studies.
Findings –The review identified three themes: (1) barriers to women gaining access to management positions,
(2) female ways of leading, (3) context challenges for women leaders. Both barriers to gaining positions and
context challenges faced in enactment of the leadership role are described. These consist of an intertwined web
of personal, institutional and cultural challenges. Women’s ways of leading were characterized as collegial,
collaborative and caring.
Research limitations/implications –Three implications are identified. First is a need for better statistical
information on gender representation in Zimbabwe and other African countries. Second is a need to design and
implement training, mentoring and networking support programs for female leaders in Zimbabwe. Finally, the
authors recommend that future research move toward the use of mixed methods research designs capable of
achieving complementary research goals of gaining a broad perspective on the effects of female leadership and
in-depth understanding of how those are achieved.
Originality/value –Empirical studies of female leadership is especially urgent in Africa where particular
features embedded in the cultural context shape female access to leadership role and attitude towards efforts of
women to lead.
Keywords Institutional challenges, Zimbabwe, Social justice, Research synthesis, Cultural challenges, Female
educational leadership
Paper type Literature review
There has been long-standing interest among scholars in a constellation of issues revolving
around the roles and performance of women in educational leadership and management
(Eagly et al., 1992;Gross and Trask, 1964;Kr€
uger, 1996:Nogay and Beebe, 1995). Over the
past 20 years, however, international interest in this issue has both intensified and expanded
throughout the world (Collard, 2001;Cubillo and Brown, 2003;Grogan and Shakeshaft, 2010;
Research
synthesis on
women leading
schools
1577
Funding: This work is based on the research supported wholly by the National Research Foundation of
South Africa (Grant Number 116777) for Dr Zvisinei Moyo.
Received 9 January 2020
Revised 20 January 2020
4 May 2020
23 May 2020
22 June 2020
Accepted 28 June 2020
International Journal of
Educational Management
Vol. 34 No. 10, 2020
pp. 1577-1594
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0951-354X
DOI 10.1108/IJEM-01-2020-0015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0951-354X.htm
Kr€
uger, 2008). This has resulted from dual concerns for social justice and educational
effectiveness (Blackmore, 2009;Hallinger et al., 2016;Lumby, 2013).
This trend is also evident in Africa where particular features embedded in the cultural
context have motivated scholars to focus on female roles in school leadership. Thus,
throughout Africa researchers have documented cultural and institutional barriers that
impede the access of qualified women to management roles in education systems (e.g.
Aladejana and Aladejana, 2005;Sperandio and Kagoda, 2010;Steyn and Parsaloi, 2014;
Uwizeyimana and Mathevula, 2014). This research has also documented institutionally
embedded, often intense, patterns of employment discrimination and harassment of female
educators (Muzvidziwa, 2014b;Naidoo et al., 2016;Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009).
Given the emergence of a critical mass of female educational leadership literature across a
wide range of different African societies, a recent review of African literature in educational
leadership (Hallinger, 2018) recommended both national and cross-national reviews of African
research on the role of women in school leadership. The authors took note of this
recommendation and sought to apply it to the context of Zimbabwe where a significant body of
qualitative research has emerged over the past decade. Therefore, the current review makes a
significant contribution to the knowledge outside the traditional Anglo-American centers of
knowledge production by identifying signposts to guide future research while highlighting
what has been found by researchers to dateand identifying what research still needs to be done.
It seeks to map the knowledge terrain on gendered leadership in Zimbabwe. Given the
limitation of gendered leadership literature in sub-Saharan Africa, this synthesis substantially
advances knowledge in this field to provide systematic knowledge accumulation on how
women in educational leadership carry out their roles in a developing country.
One of the pressure points where the tension between tradition and change in the
Zimbabwean education system has been most acutely felt is female educational leadership
(Matope, 2012;Moyo and Perumal, 2020;Muzvidziwa, 2014b;Naidoo et al., 2016;Nkomoand
Ngambi, 2009). Zimbabwean female educational leaders play a leadership role in
communities where patriarchal attitudes are slow to change. Thus, female educational
leaders in Zimbabwe have had to overcome institutional barriers to attaining leadership
positions and sociocultural norms that question their legitimacy as they seek to “lead”change
in ways that depart from patriarchal norms (Muzvidziwa, 2012b,2013;Zikhali and Perumal,
2014a,2016). Thus, while the situation facing female educational leaders in Zimbabwe shares
some similarities with global counterparts, there are also features of this context that justify a
research synthesis.
The aim of this systematic review of research was to synthesize findings from studies of
gender and educational leadership in Zimbabwe. The authors synthesized findings from 25
research documents published in English authored between 2008 and 2018. These included
documents on female leadership in primary, secondary and tertiary education. This review is
located within the global literature on social justice where efforts to increase the number of
women in educational leadership positions represent a potentially powerful means of
modeling aimed at fostering positive social change in societies (Blackmore, 2009;Grogan and
Shakeshaft, 2010). This synthesis advances knowledge on how women in educational
leadership carry out their roles in a developing country in Africa.
Social justice has gained prominence as a means to transform critical organizations
such as the educational system because it is equated to civil rights for the historically
marginalized (Thornburg, 2014), in particular, women leading and managing in education.
Social justice is often a radical change in processes that require society to shift away from
traditional models of leadership (Bright, 2015). It advocates for ways to subvert systemic
oppression, viewed through a critical lens. Central to social justice is challenging
inequalities arising from disproportionate power hierarchies. Its distributive principle is
significant in the process of recognizing all members of society (Thornburg, 2014). The
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concept of social justice leadership is most suitable in this review because, as put forward
by Shields (2014), it goes beyond the traditional conception of leadership for school
improvement (Insana et al., 2014). Social justice leadership focuses on and responds to
creating education systems that seek to achieve equity and inclusion through emphasizing
moral values, including justice, respect, care and equity.
Contextual background of the Zimbabwean education system
This review focuses on Zimbabwe, a developing Southern African country that obtained
political independence in 1980 from its British colonial master. In 1980, Zimbabwe embarked
on a massive expansionary education policy initially targeting primary schools, then
secondary schools and more recently in the past 15 or so years, universities and other tertiary
education institutions (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), 2016). However,
the development of Zimbabwe’s education system has been severely handicapped since 1999
because of political and economic instability. Nonetheless, free primary school education and
heavily subsidized secondary education has increased access to education to every citizen
regardless of creed, race or color. The most recent statistics provided by the Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education (2019) show that number of has increased from 2401 to
6,288 since 1979, and the number of secondary schools from 177 to 2401 during the same
period. The report notes that out of a total of 2725970 primary school enrollments and 996,790
lower and 96,760 upper secondary school enrollments, females constitute 1,356,828 (49.77%),
5,39811 (49.87%), and 45,874 (47.41%), respectively. Thus, females constitute 48% of public
school enrolments across primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Although this
reflects a huge improvement in female access to formal education when compared to the
colonial era, numerous barriers continue to impede full access to education among female
students in Zimbabwe.
The aforementioned report further explains that of 72,512 primary school teachers, female
teachers constitute 64.54% (46,800). While 64.54% of the primary school teachers are females,
the percentage of females is much lower for senior positions of head and deputy head at
29.20% and 35.74%, respectively. The same is true for secondary schools where out of 46,160
teachers, 47.77% (22,051) are females but only 16.41% and 26.16% of head and deputy head
positions are occupied by females.
Seniority in terms of qualification and experience are basic eligibility criteria for acquiring
leadership positions and the report shows that female primary school senior teachers
constitute 63.16% and 49.56% in lower and upper secondary schools. Patriarchal values and
norms of behavior are abundantly evident in Zimbabwe’s education system where women
routinely suffer from social, political, economic and cultural discrimination (Wadesango and
Karima, 2016).
It is important to note that Zimbabwe’s process of decision-making in the Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education system is highly centralized. The Zimbabwean nation is
divided into ten provinces, 88 districts and 1958 wards and resources and services are
provided through these administrative divisions. For the purposes of education management,
at provincial level the divisions are the same but differ at district level, which is made up of 72
education districts (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, 2019). It is through this
managerial structure that teachers, department heads, senior teachers, deputy principals and
principals are appointed. Indeed, education leaders are strategically positioned to challenge
societal forces that propagate social inequalities so as to weaken them but with the needed
support.
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Method
This review of research employed research synthesis (Hallinger, 2013)to“make sense”of a
body of literature. The authors used systematic methods to identify relevant studies, extract
information and synthesize common findings. In this section of the paper, we describe the
methods used in the review.
Identification of sources
This review aimed at analyzing English-language, peer-reviewed journal publications, book
chapters and conference papers. The paper employed an “unbounded”(Hallinger, 2013,
p. 127) search strategy aimed at identifying all Zimbabwean English-language literature on
women leading schools in Zimbabwe regardless of the date of publication: Google Scholar,
Research Gate, UJoogle, Google using the following eligibility: peer-reviewed journal articles,
conference presentations and book chapters in the English language, available full text,
related to women’s educational leadership in Zimbabwe. Following a clearly defined criteria
minimizes bias in selection of studies. When it emerged that Zimbabwean women’s
educational literature became visible in 2008, we added dates from 2008 to 2018 to the criteria.
Sources deemed relevant were downloaded and saved together with the reference
information. The reference lists of all publications were also examined to identify other
potentially relevant studies. A total of 35 studies were identified, downloaded and reviewed.
Sources that were not explicitly related to women leading and managing education in
Zimbabwe were excluded. The 25 “eligible”documents were comprised of 20 peer-reviewed
journal articles, three book chapters and two conference papers published between 2008 and
2018. Although it was beyond the scope of this study to clarify methodological issues, it is
important to note that some included studies were duplicated, they were published on the
same data set.
Data analysis
Research synthesis was used to identify and analyze substantive trends in research findings
reported in the individual studies. Since the documents were comprised almost entirely of
qualitative studies, methods of “qualitative research synthesis”were employed (Barnett-Page
and Thomas, 2009;Sandelowski and Barroso, 2007). That is, while the researchers began with
an interest in understanding what has been learned about females leading education in
Zimbabwe, we did not know what the literature would “tell us.”Thus, themes emerged as a
result of a two-step synthesis of findings from the literature.
In the first phase, findings extracted from individual studies were identified and stored in
a brief format in an MS Excel file and in a longer format in a MS Word file. Then findings
drawn from each study in the Excel file were examined and broad themes were generated in
an iterative process. This process led to the identification of three broad themes within the 25
studies of female school leaders in Zimbabwe. These inductively derived themes then gave
rise to the research questions. Once the three themes were identified, all studies were coded
such that cross-study synthesis could be conducted.
Next a similar process was used to identify dimensions (subthemes) within each of the
broad themes. These were compiled into tables designed to show the extent to which the
dimensions within a theme were evident across different studies. Once this phase of the data
synthesis was completed, the authors went back to extracted descriptions stored in the word
file to elaborate on each of the themes and their composite dimensions.
Results
The results of the qualitative synthesis of findings from the 25 studies are presented in
Table 1. As noted earlier, three broad themes emerged from the synthesis: 1) barriers to
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women gaining access to management positions, 2) female ways of leading, 3) context
challenges for women leaders. Due to different research foci across the empirical studies, not
every theme was embodied in every study –some studies were listed under more than
one theme.
Furthermore, the chronological breakdown of the studies indicated a total of 15
publications from the period 2008–2013 and ten publications from 2014–2018. The highest
number of publications was in 2012 followed by 2014 with seven and six publications,
respectively. It is important to note that all the studies in this review were empirical
comprising 21 qualitative, one quantitative and three mixed methods. The single quantitative
study (Maposa and Mugabe, 2013) was informed by data from a survey of 115 participants
sampled from primary and secondary schools, one polytechnic college and one university.
Matope’s (2012) qualitative study sampled 120 participants consisting of both female and
male leaders from all levels of education, that is, primary school to university. In all of their
studies included in this review, Zikhali and Perumal (2012,2014a,b,2016) utilized a data set
Classification of studies on main themes
# Studies Barriers to gaining
management positions
Female ways of
leading
Contexts for women
leaders
1Chabaya et al. (2009) XX
2Chitiga (2008) X
3Hlatywayo and
Hlatywayo (2012)
XX
4Hlatywayo et al. (2014) XXX
5Makura and Shumba
(2009)
X
6Matope (2012) XX
7Muzvidziwa (2012a) X
8Makura (2012) X
9Mapolisa and Madziyire
(2012)
XXX
10 Mapolisa et al. (2013)X
11 Maposa and Mugabe
(2013)
XX
12 Zikhali and Perumal
(2012)
XXX
13 Zikhali and Perumal
(2014a)
XXX
14 Zikhali and Perumal
(2014b)
XXX
15 Zikhali and Perumal
(2016)
XXX
16 Muzvidziwa (2011) X
17 Muzvidziwa (2012b) XXX
18 Muzvidziwa (2013) XX
19 Mudau and Ncube (2017) XXX
20 Muzvidziwa (2014a) XX
21 Muzvidziwa (2010) X
22 Muzvidziwa (2014b) XX
23 Muzvidziwa (2015) XX
24 Shava and Ndebele (2014) XX
25 Wadesango and Karima
(2016)
XX
Table 1.
Classification of
themes by studies
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obtained from 12 female school leaders. Likewise, Muzvidziwa’s (2010,2011,2012b,2013,
2014a,2014b,2015) studies were informed by female school heads. Other studies that
sampled female participants only were Chabaya et al. (2009) –13 principals; Makura (2009)
19 principals; Makura and Shumba (2009) –seven principals; Mapolisa et al. (2013) –five
principals, five deputy principals and five departmental heads. Hlatywayo et al.’s (2014)
mixed methods study obtained data from ten female school leaders and 30 lecturers. Some
methodological flaws were noted in some studies where samples of participants were not
explicitly explained (Hlatywayo and Hlatywayo, 2012;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Shava and
Ndebele, 2014). Nonetheless, all three of the themes were represented in a sufficient number of
studies to warrant inclusion in this review.
As discussed in the prior section, these three broad themes were further analyzed in order
to identify “dimensions”or subthemes located within each of them. The dimensions that
emerged from the three broad themes are shown in Table 2.
Barriers to women gaining management positions
Fundamental to the exploration of leadership by women in any context begins with
documentation of patterns of access. Thus, it was not surprising to find this theme emerge
from the Zimbabwe studies. Our analysis of this theme yielded three relevant dimensions:
personal factors, institutional barriers and cultural barriers.
Personal factors. Hlatywayo et al. (2014),Matope (2012) and Muzvidziwa (2012a) found
that women tended to lack motivation to take up leadership positions. Mudau and Ncube
(2017) found that this sometimes stemmed from a lack of self-confidence. Shava and Ndebele
(2014) also noted a lack of self-efficacy among female participants in their research. Mudau
and Ncube (2017) reported that women perceived themselves as easily overwhelmed by their
emotions and becoming overly sensitive in dealing with interpersonal issues at work. “The
first time a woman received criticism or the first time she failed, she would code it as
inferiority and regret becoming a manager”Mudau and Ncube (2017, p. 10,605). Several
scholars asserted that low motivation to seek management positions stemmed, in part, from
the lack of role models of other successful women in leadership positions (Hlatywayo and
Hlatywayo, 2012;Mapolisa et al., 2013;Shava and Ndebele, 2014;Wadesango and Karima,
2016). Moreover, discussions around the reduced geographical mobility of female educators
surfaced an additional unanticipated factor in the Zimbabwean context. As one teacher
asserted, “I do not want to leave my husband especially these days with the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.”
Separate from these psychological factors is a set of more mundane personal
considerations. Several studies found that the expectations of other family members (e.g.
husband, relatives) made them wary of taking on management positions at work (Hlatywayo
et al., 2014;Makura, 2009;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;
Main themes Sub-themes
Barriers to gaining leadership positions Personal factors
Institutional barriers
Cultural barriers
Female ways of leading Caring and nurturance
Collaboration and power sharing
Context challenges of women leaders Role conflict
Institutional context
Cultural context
Table 2.
Synthesized themes
and subthemes
describing female
school leadership in
Zimbabwe
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Muzvidziwa, 2010). Sometimes these expectations reflected gender stereotypes, and
sometimes an unwillingness to reallocate responsibilities at home (Maposa and Mugabe,
2013;Muzvidziwa, 2012a,2014a;Shava and Ndebele, 2014;Wadesango and Karima, 2016). It
is possible that some women made a personal choice not to apply because relocation would
disrupt family life. Therefore, such a decision may not be a result of family expectations or
gender stereotypes. Together these conditions created a reluctance among some women to
apply for management positions.
Institutional barriers. In this context, the term “institutional”includes government,
education system and the school. The government has been blamed for failing to implement
gender equity policies, with a general lack of clear and explicit guidelines related to the
appointment of females, even when they fulfill the stated criteria (Hlatywayo et al., 2014;
Matope, 2012). Discrimination is built into organizational structure as well as in the attitudes
of those in authority (Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa,
2011;Zikhali and Perumal, 2014a). For example, in a study by Chabaya et al. (2009), one
participant asserted that, “panels of interviewers are almost always comprised entirely of
men and they are biased, those who appoint have a negative attitude towards females”
(Chabaya et al., 2009, p. 243).
Institutions involved in the appointment of school leaders are embedded in the broader
social structure. At every level, social norms influence power relations and patterns of
interaction. For example, in a study conducted by Zikhali and Perumal (2016), one participant
noted, “just seeing that there is a woman on the chair is enough to trigger negative attitudes
due to the conception of male as leader”(p. 9). Muzvidziwa (2012b, p. 134) takes this further
asserting that masculine models underlie bureaucratically legitimated conceptions of
educational leadership and management in terms of rational, logical and authoritarian
behaviors. This means that female attitudes toward and capacities for leading people may be
undervalued (Chitiga, 2008;Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Makura and Shumba, 2009;Muzvidziwa,
2013;Wadesango and Karima, 2016). This perceptual bias carries over to informal relations
that reduce opportunities for women educators to advance. Gender relations in Zimbabwean
society and schools make it less likely for male school leaders to identify females as potential
leaders and to develop mentoring relationships with them (Hlatywayo and Hlatywayo, 2012;
Mapolisa et al., 2013;Muzvidziwa, 2015;Zikhali and Perumal, 2016). Moreover, widespread
awareness of sexual harassment by “male mentors”leads women to feel wary when such
opportunities do arise (Chabaya et al., 2009;Muzvidziwa, 2014b;Maposa and Mugabe, 2013;
Shava and Ndebele, 2014).
Cultural barriers. As suggested earlier, African women are traditionally expected, first
and foremost, to look after their families (Mapolisa et al., 2013). African tradition also holds
that the husband/father makes decisions for the family that women are expected to follow
(Chabaya et al., 2009;Chitiga, 2008;Makura and Shumba, 2009). This was articulated by a
study participant who observed that, “Women feel these are men’s positions, culturally we
should be lower, women do not want to have higher positions than their husbands”(Chabaya
et al., 2009, p. 241). Both this and other studies found that it was common for female teachers
to obtain permission from their husbands before applying for a management position
(Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Maposa and Mugabe, 2013;Shava and Ndebele, 2014;
Wadesango and Karima, 2016;Zikhali and Perumal, 2012).
This traditional norm extends beyond the family and shapes expectations and responses
to women as formal leaders in schools and society (Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Makura, 2012;
Muzvidziwa, 2014a). For example, Zikhali and Perumal (2012, p. 158) reported the experience
of one female principal who said, “Some [educators] resented being led by a woman by not
doing delegated duties.”Likewise, Muzvidziwa (2014a, p. 807) reported the views of a
participant who asserted that, “we received a great deal of resistance and that was a big
challenge.”This norm is even more pervasive in, “in rural communities, [where] it is taboo to
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elect women into leadership positions”(Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012, p. 456). Thus, cultural
barriers are just as powerful and pervasive as institutional barriers since they shape the
beliefs held by female aspirants, their families, potential mentors and those who they would
lead in their schools.
Female ways of leading
Our synthesis of findings on the theme “female ways of leading”led to the identification of
four dimensions of leadership behavior: caring and nurturance, collaboration and power
sharing. We discuss each of these in turn, with reference to the dimensions that are: caring
and nurturance and collaboration and power sharing.
Caring and nurturance. Our data suggested distinctive differences in the leadership
reportedly enacted by male and female principals. Males principals in Zimbabwe tend to rely
on their formal authority and display competitive, autocratic (masculine) leadership styles
that rely on one-way communication (Makura, 2012;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mudau
and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2014b;Zikhali and Perumal, 2014a). The studies established
that female leaders used nurturance, kindness and sensitivity (Hlatywayo et al., 2014;
Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2012a;Zikhali and
Perumal, 2012) to raise the morale of everyone they lead (Makura, 2012 Muzvidziwa, 2014b;
Makura and Shumba, 2009). For example, Muzvidziwa (2013) describes a female principal
who reported that, “I move around passing on encouraging comments and sharing
information”(p. 251). Traits of motherliness, tolerance, honesty and emotional character
influence their leadership styles (Hlatywayo et al.,2014;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;
Muzvidziwa, 2011;Zikhali and Perumal, 2016). This emphasis on caring leadership did not
go unnoticed by teachers (Chitiga, 2008;Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Makura, 2012;Muzvidziwa,
2014b,2015). Despite the positives perceived by teachers (and students and parents), this
caring approach was sometimes interpreted as “weakness”by stakeholders who were
accustomed to the “firm rules-based leadership”exercised by male principals (Mapolisa and
Madziyire, 2012;Maposa and Mugabe, 2013;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2015).
In the eyes of the female leaders who participated in these studies, “caring”was also
demonstrated in very practical terms such as seeking donations for the school and mobilizing
resources to transform not only the school, but also its community (Chitiga, 2008;Makura,
2012;Makura and Shumba, 2009;Muzvidziwa, 2011;Zikhali and Perumal , 2014b). As one
female principal explained, “A caring ethic and people centeredness are what characterise my
view of leadership”(Muzvidziwa, 2014b, p. 216).Thus, caring went beyond interpersonal
relations and even beyond the borders of the school.
Collaboration and power sharing. As suggested earlier, the female school leaders who
participated in these studies tended to adopt collaborative and participatory leadership styles
(Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Makura, 2012;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Muzvidziwa, 2014b;
Zikhali and Perumal, 2012). In addition, they were observed to exercise relation-oriented
versus task-oriented leadership strategies aimed at positive change in their schools and
school environments (Makura and Shumba, 2009;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mudau and
Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2010;Zikhali and Perumal, 2012). For example, Makura described
a principal who asserted that she, “believe[s] in collective decision-making ...a partnership
type of style......with different committees led by teachers”(2009, p. 284).
The studies often highlighted examples of how women leaders applied shared decision-
making as a means of gaining greater staff and parent commitment in school environments
with a shortage of human and material resources (Makura, 2012;Makura and Shumba, 2009;
Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2014a;Wadesango and Karima, 2016;Zikhali and
Perumal, 2012,2016). Many of these women principals tended to believe that everyone should
be included in identifying and solving problems and contributing to school improvement.
This was reflected in empowering practices such as sharing of duties, listening to colleagues,
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and incorporating others’ideas (Makura and Shumba, 2009;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Zikhali
and Perumal, 2016). For example, a principal in Muzvidziwa’s study (2015, p. 122) asserted, “I
encourage them to participate in the discussions that we make and let them to suggest what
we can do to improve and how they want us to operate as a school”(p. 122).
Context challenges for women leaders
Our synthesis of the challenges faced by female school leaders in Zimbabwe surfaced
constraints that arose from the same contexts that were described earlier under barriers to
gaining management positions. However, in this case, the challenges acted as constraints on
how they led in their institutions (Chabaya et al., 2009;Chitiga, 2008;Hlatywayo and
Hlatywayo, 2012;Makura, 2009,2012;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2011;Zikhali
and Perumal, 2016).
Personal context. The studies highlighted that female principals experienced a continuous
stream of challenges as they sought to juggle familial and professional roles (Chabaya et al.,
2009;Chitiga, 2008;Makura, 2009;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Mapolisa et al., 2012;
Maposa and Mugabe, 2013;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;Muzvidziwa, 2010,2013,2014a;Shava
and Ndebele, 2014). These challenges emanated from the traditional socially constructed
gender roles that predominate in Zimbabwe. Thus, Chitiga (2008) observed that gaining
permission from husbands to apply for a management position was only the start of a
continuing series of personal challenges. For example, Chitiga (2008) gave voice to one
participant who observed that, “My biggest family responsibilities are looking after my
children and my elderly in-laws, manage the home and family environments”(p. 11). Thus,
Chitiga concluded that “The lack of support from husbands in executing family
responsibilities places a heavy burden on female professionals who neither have time to
relax or catch up on their reading nor time to do some of their work that they inevitably have
to carry home”(2008, p. 8). For example, one participant commented, “For women in
management positions, there is role conflict between being a leader, housewife and mother at
the same time, this comes with pressure leading to poor execution of tasks and poor decision
making”(Mudau and Ncube, 2017, p. 10,604).
Institutional and cultural contexts. Although institutions hold different beliefs and ascribe to
a variety of cultures, they are not independent of the larger societal structures influencing the
power relations. Given their subtlties and natural appearance, stereotypes that influence
gender-role attitudes are pervasive both within the society and in learning institutions. While
Zimbabwean society readily accepts men as legitimate leaders, it tends to question the
legitimacy of women as leaders. One female principal noted, “Just seeing that there is a woman
on the chair is enough to trigger negative attitudes due to the [predominate] conception of male
as leader”(Zikhali and Perumal, 2016,p.9).
Sociocultural factors also become impediments to the professional advancement of female
education leaders (Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Muzvidziwa, 2014a;
Shava and Ndebele, 2014;Wadesango and Karima, 2016;Zikhali and Perumal, 2014a). The
sentiment that equates males with the breadwinner role remains deeply entrenched in
Zimbabwe and continues to influence promotion norms and procedures (Chabaya et al., 2009;
Hlatywayo and Hlatywayo, 2012;Mapolisa et al., 2013;Maposa and Mugabe, 2013;
Muzvidziwa, 2015;Wadesango and Karima, 2016). Muzvidziwa (2014a, p. 808) reported a
female principal who recalled that, “The School Development Committee wrote to the
Ministry of Education complaining that they did not want a female head but a male ... [and
then] discussed school issues with the male deputy without informing me.”
These norms shape how female leaders perform their duties, that is, their leadership
strategies and largely what they can and cannot do (Mapolisa et al., 2013). The often taken for
granted cultural capital within the learning institution shapes the reproductive process of a
hierarchical society and its institutions. This was reflected in (Muzvidziwa, 2012b, p. 139)
Research
synthesis on
women leading
schools
1585
one study participant’s comments: “On our arrival, as deputy heads, both the acting deputy
heads and the heads did not like it.”There is also little in the way of formal or informal
support for females taking on these challenging roles. One principal observed, “There was no
proper hand-over, I did not know where to start”(Zikhali and Perumal, 2014a, p. 5,716).
Moreover, as newcomers, female education leaders are predominately located in the most
challenging contexts (Chabaya et al., 2009;Chitiga, 2008;Muzvidziwa, 2010;Wadesango and
Karima, 2016;Zikhali and Perumal, 2016). Muzvidziwa (2015) described the lack of
infrastructure new female principals face: “Everything was in shambles, the school was
dysfunctional everything in disorder, water taps were locked, electricity disconnected”(p.
119). Out of a total of 6,288 primary schools and 2,871 secondary schools, 84.46% and 78.86%
are located in rural areas, respectively (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, 2019).
Rural areas are mostly characterized by low economic status, lack of infrastructure (roads
and communication networks, electricity, running water, recreational facilities), long
distances to urban centers and minimal health supplies. Upon promotion, new principals
and deputy principals are typically deployed to rural areas. Thus, female education leaders
are expected to prove their competency in the most challenging contexts, while receiving the
least support at home and in their learning institutions and communities (Hlatywayo and
Hlatywayo, 2012;Mapolisa et al., 2013;Mudau and Ncube, 2017). When female leaders
succeed, it is against all of the odds (Makura, 2012;Makura and Shumba, 2009;Wadesango
and Karima, 2016). When they do not, it becomes an affirmation that women do not make
good leaders (Makura, 2009;Muzvidziwa, 2014b).
Discussion
This research synthesis responded to a gap in the African EDLM literature (Hallinger, 2018)
by focusing a “synthetic lens”on studies of female education leadership conducted in
Zimbabwe between 2008 and 2018. In this closing section of the paper, the authors highlight
limitations of the review and then offer our interpretation of the findings.
This analysis showed that the majority of studies reported challenges encountered by
female leaders, raising questions about social justice in Zimbabwean society. At this point,
institutions of learning, like in other developed nations, could be used to transform society.
Through their ways of leading, female leaders could redesign institutional environments to
decrease gender-based alienation. These leaders are strategically positioned to challenge
social inequalities that have accumulated over time in educational institutions and supported
by the larger society. Additionally, as per the orientations of social justice, leaders have a
responsibility to create cultures that promote fairness and equity (Blackmore, 2009).
Limitations
The main limitations of this review arise from the methodology and features of the literature
itself. First, we acknowledge that the 25 published documents included in this review do not
comprise the entire Zimbabwean literature on this topic. More specifically, we note the omission
of master theses and doctoral dissertations, and unpublished conference papers. Although
methodological analysis was beyond the scope of this review, we noted some poor quality of
journals, for instance, studies were double published on the same data sets leading to
overrepresentation of the same studies. Similarly, the findings from this review are not limited to
primary and secondary school leadership but to all levels of education in Zimbabwe, because the
aim was to gain insight into hindrances working against women’s advancement and the
distinctive approaches they adopted to deal with institutional and cultural contextual factors.
Additionally, while our findings may resonate and have broader relevance in other African
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societies, they only reflect results reported in studies conducted in Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, we
believe that this review of refereed documents represents a useful starting point in focusing
attention on this literature locally in Zimbabwe, in Africa and globally.
Another limitation follows from our method of qualitative research synthesis. Thus, our
own synthesis reflected the qualitative methods of data collection and reporting embodied in
the studies themselves. While we do not consider this a “weakness,”it is a limitation in the
sense that we cannot draw definitive conclusions with respect to findings concerning the role
and effects of women leading education in Zimbabwe.
Interpretation of findings
The studies included in this review highlighted the efforts of female education leaders to
untangle knots of oppression, deprivation and conflict in educational institutions that had
become twisted over time as Zimbabwe society has sought a path forward. The studies
yielded a distinctive pattern of female leadership characterized by caring, two-way
communication, collaboration and power sharing. These findings are consistent with
findings from broader research on “caring school leadership”that have emerged from the
United States (Louis et al., 2016). Female education leaders in Zimbabwe were reported to rely
on a relationship-oriented leadership style aimed at reducing resistance to change and which
enabled them to engage stakeholders in collective efforts at improving their institutions. This
broad approach to relational leadership finds support in both the African (e.g. Grant, 2005;
Kwadzo, 2010;Lumby and Azaola, 2014;Mestry and Schmidt, 2012;Morojele et al., 2013;
Moyo and Perumal, 2019,2020;Smit, 2014;Steyn and Parsaloi, 2014) and international
literatures on educational leadership (Blackmore, 2009;Collard, 2001;Cubillo and Brown,
2003;Eagly et al., 1992;Kr€
uger, 2008;Louis et al., 2016;Regan and Brooks, 1995;Riley and
Louis, 2000). More specifically, scholars have concluded that collegial leadership approaches
yield promising results for change (Louis et al., 2016;Nguni et al., 2006;Regan and Brooks,
1995;Riley and Louis, 2000).
This body of mostly qualitative literature further suggests that female education leaders
in Zimbabwe have tended to adopt a democratic style that contrasts with the autocratic style
traditionally adopted by male counterparts (e.g. Dady, 2014;Hallinger et al., 2016). Using this
approach, the female education leaders were able to nurture flexible channels of
communication with stakeholders and build relationships that increased commitment to
the achievement of shared goals. Using practices associated with transformational leadership
(Nguni et al., 2006;Singh and Lokotsch, 2005;Smit, 2014), they were able to build trust by
acknowledging and building on individual differences among teachers rather than enforcing
a“one size fits all”approach to leadership and policy implementation (Wadesango and
Karima, 2016). This contrasts, again with the reliance on patriarchal values, unitary decision-
making and formal authority reportedly used by male education leaders in this and other
African societies (Hlatywayo et al., 2014;Makura, 2012;Matope, 2012;Mestry and Schmidt,
2012;Morojele et al., 2013;Steyn and Parsaloi, 2014).
These “female ways of leading”support a broader effort to promote social justice in
African learning institutions (Naidoo et al., 2016;Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009). As has been
described in other African societies (e.g. Kwadzo, 2010;Mestry and Schmidt, 2012;Panigrahi,
2013;Parsaloi and Steyn, 2013), the female leaders described in these reports were intent on
reducing the negative effects associated with rigid hierarchies that institutionalize
sociocultural values of inequality (e.g. Chabaya et al., 2009;Wadesango and Karima, 2016;
Zikhai and Perumal, 2014b). Given the highly centralized bureaucratic system of the
Zimbabwean education, scholars have proposed that female leaders are uniquely positioned
to bring about organic change from within schools and their communities (Barth, 1990;Moyo
and Perumal, 2019;Mestry and Schmidt, 2012).
Research
synthesis on
women leading
schools
1587
Nonetheless, our review also highlighted a wide range of challenges facing women leading
in education in Zimbabwe and other African societies (see also Naidoo et al., 2016;Nkomoand
Ngambi, 2009). Upon reflection, one of the signal findings of this review lies in identification of
the intertwined nature of the constraints that operate to limit opportunities for female
educators to gain, advance and enact leadership roles in Zimbabwe. Although the authors
presented personal, institutional and cultural constraints as separate constraints or barriers,
in the real world they are intertwined, pervasive and mutually reinforcing. This is what
makes them so difficult to change. Socialized attitudes of individual women and men intersect
with institutional policies and cultural norms to reduce opportunities and create both formal
and hidden barriers (e.g. Matope, 2012;Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009). This was evident in
findings that clearly elaborated how cultural norms of the society continue to assume that
males lead and women follow. Thus, we found multiple forces in Zimbabwe society that
militate against the advancement and support of women in education leadership.
This finding has potent implications with respect to the role of women educational leaders
in advancing social change in Zimbabwe and other African societies (Naidoo et al., 2016;
Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009). One could argue that the lack of female education leaders in the
lives of young Zimbabwe females (and males) implicitly fosters continuation of the traditional
belief system concerning male and female roles in the society. Thus, one of the lessons we
draw from the experiences of these female education leaders is that every single female
education leader in Zimbabwe makes a difference simply by being “in the role”. That is, their
very presence in a leadership role –of any type –offers a powerful alternative model of life
opportunity for young girls (and boys) attending their institutions. This kind of modeling
reorients the hidden curriculum (Rosenbaum, 1976) of their institutions, with the potential to
change future values and attitudes of learners concerning gender roles at work and at home.
The studies also found that when women do attain a management position, it is often in
highly disadvantaged, rural schools (Mapolisa and Madziyire, 2012;Muzvidziwa, 2013;
Netshitangani and Msila, 2014). This presents dual challenges. First, novice women leaders
must prove themselves as leaders in the most challenging schools, under the most difficult
circumstances, and with little or no formal or informal support. Failure to “succeed”(however
defined in the eyes of stakeholders) reinforces stereotypes of women as weak, ineffective
leaders held by prediminantly male system leaders as well colleagues in their schools.
Second, novice women leaders must lead schools located in rural communities that tend to
be the most traditional in their attitudes toward gender roles and expectations for “leaders.”
For example, the caring, collegial leadership style often adopted by these female principals
tends to depart from the “values and autocratic leadership style that stakeholders have been
socialized to expect in these communities (Chabaya et al., 2009;Mudau and Ncube, 2017;
Muzvidziwa, 2014a;Shava and Ndebele, 2014;Wadesango and Karima, 2016). Women who
lead in ways that run counter to these norms can be perceived as “deviant and publicly
labeled as “weak leaders.”This has led to some communities to reject female leaders as
incompetent, further reinforcing existing stereotypes. The persistence of these negative
attitudes toward female educational leaders shows that deep-rooted cultural norms take time
to change (Hlatywayo and Hlatywayo, 2012;Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009;Steyn and
Parsaloi, 2014).
Implications for practice and future research
The first implication that emerged from this research synthesis arises from our
documentation of the institutional–cultural barriers that impede women from attaining
and advancing in education leadership roles (Naidoo et al., 2016;Nkomo and Ngambi, 2009). It
is high time that education systems in Africa acknowledge the critically important role that
female leaders can play in the improvement of education systems. System leaders must be
challenged to increase the number of women in education leadership roles in Zimbabwe and
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other African countries (e.g. Panigrahi, 2013;Netshitangani and Msila, 2014;Shava and
Ndebele, 2014;Wadesango and Karima, 2016). Social justice cannot be implemented in the
absence of policies that aimed to transform institutional structures and processes that restrict
equity. Research should evaluate and question policies and procedures including labor
contracts, managerial directives and job descriptions.
As a case in point, when conducting this review, the authors found the proportion of
females to males was abysmally low in management positions in Zimbabwean schools. For
head and deputy head positions in primary schools, females are at 29.20% and 35.74%,
respectively. The same situation plays out at secondary schools where females constitute
16.41% and 26.16% of head and deputy head positions, respectively. This shows that
progress towards gender equity in school leadership in Zimbabwe has a long way to go. Lack
of awareness of this basic social justice issue in Zimbabwe’s educational system runs directly
counter to sustainable development goals accepted globally (Unterhalter, 2005). If the
education system is not dedicated to set the stage for social change, it suggests rather
strongly that fostering gender equity in education institutions and society is not a priority.
Therefore, research should look into traditional stereotypes of leadership, that is, dominance
and centralized decision-making, because social justice is concerned about the societal
contexts within which educational institutions are located. Research should explore
leadership strategies to establish social justice and promote practitioner-oriented endeavors.
National education systems throughout Africa should also be encouraged to provide
current, accurate, widely accessible statistics on the percentages of men and women in
leadership roles so that transparent cross-national comparisons can be made, and
improvements over time. This should begin with the demand for policymakers to make
data on the gender breakdown of education leaders public. Doing so will highlight this issue
and create accountability for system leaders who might prefer to hide behind an opaque
curtain of ignorance.
Female school leaders have the potential to promote social justice in the education system
through redesigning school environments to reduce marginalization and create opportunities
for female students. In this way, social inequalities that have been and are being transmitted
through education will be discouraged. At the same time, relational leadership strategies
have potential to create cultures that promote fairness and equity. Future research should
continue to investigate female education leaders’experiences through social justice values
and foreground how aspects working against the advancement of women can be obliterated.
Research should examine success stories of female education leaders and also document
quantitatively the effectiveness of their ways of leading.
A second implication arises from the multifaceted challenges that bear upon female
education leaders in the Zimbabwean context. Rather than being “thrown to the wolves,”their
special circumstances should be acknowledged and accepted as barriers to success. Instead of
setting women up to fail, their potential as leaders in Zimbabwe’s society should be honored
and nurtured as it will benefit future generations. With this goal in mind, purpose-built
leadership development, including mentoring and support programs, should be designed and
implemented that address the personal and context constraints identified in these studies.
Program designs that incorporate systematic mentoring and support networks have been
shown to be successful in building productive leadership capacity (e.g. Bush et al., 2011;
Leithwood and Azah, 2016;Walker and Dimmock, 2012).
The fact that the majority of studies analyzed in this review highlighted challenges
encountered by female school leaders raises questions about the social justice orientation of
the educational system at large. Further research should investigate how changes in system
policies impact gender equity at the school level. Research should evaluate implementation of
affirmative action and related policies that bear upon social justice leadership in Zimbabwean
schools. Policymakers, practitioners and decision-makers should take into consideration the
Research
synthesis on
women leading
schools
1589
benefits of decentralizing the education system. Effective transformation of masculine
structures can be achieved through stringent national policies. For instance, surfacing of
studies on women leading and managing education from 2008 onward with the backdrop of
disproportionate numbers of males and females leading schools warrants further research.
Finally, we observe that only qualitative research could have offered the level of detail
needed to establish the presence and elaborate on dimensions of the challenges facing female
education leaders in Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, we agree with Hallinger’s (2018)
recommendation that the broad program of African research on female education
leadership will best advance through mixed methods studies capable of providing broad
and deep descriptions of leadership practices, challenges and effects. These studies will enable
scholars to link the social justice literature on female education leaders more clearly to the
broader literature on productive female education leadership (e.g. Eagly et al., 1992;Hallinger
et al., 2016;Kr€
uger, 2008).
In conclusion, this review has revealed how culture, gender stereotypes and social values
intersect to form barriers to attainment and advancement in management roles, as well as
shaping how females lead. The female ways of leading documented in this review are helping
to gradually shift –one leader at a time –expectations away from traditional autocratic ways
of leading toward new possibilities. Challenges faced by female leaders can be reduced by
adopting policy frameworks that are favorable for social justice and equality. These can
enhance access to leadership, challenge patriarchal traditions, overcome embedded
sociocultural norms and affirm female ways of leading.
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About the authors
Dr. Zvisinei Moyo is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Educational Leadership and
Management in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Her research
focuses on women leaders, gender and social justice issues in education. Zvisinei Moyo is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at: zvisinei.moyo@gmail.com
Dr. Juliet Perumal is an associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership andManagement
in the Faculty of Education in the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Her research interests are
in female leadership in education, social justice and feminist research methods.
Dr. Philip Hallinger is the Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation Chair Professor of
Leadership in the College of Management, Mahidol University (Thailand) and Distinguished Visiting
Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg
(South Africa). His research interests include instructional leadership, sustainable leadership, leadership
effects and international educational leadership.
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