Background to the Research
- Data
have been previously been collected on the number of men and women in
senior education posts but there had been no definitive study into the
reasons for the under-representation of women in these posts, and why
in many cases women do not apply for senior positions.
- The overall
objective of this study was therefore to identify the barriers - actual
or perceived - to women's progression to higher posts, including posts
attracting responsibility points, so that the employing authorities
can devise appropriate action plans for change.
Research Approach
- Quantitative and Qualitative methods were combined to obtain data as
follows:
- a
confidential survey questionnaire of 3,500 teachers at all levels
(male and female)
- eleven
focus group discussions (7 female and 4 male) comprising principals,
vice principals and assistant teachers
- twelve
work diaries, completed by principals and vice principals (male
and female) over a 4 week period
- ten
in-depth Case Study interviews with women principals with varying
levels of experience
- a
confidential survey questionnaire to a sub-sample of 585 School
Governors
- a
Story Completion exercise distributed to a random sub-sample of
the School Governors in which they were asked to complete imaginary
scenarios in which equal opportunities were a key factor
- consultations
with a wide range of individuals in the education sector
Main
Findings
The Role
of the Principal
- The Principal's
role has changed since the advent of Local Management of Schools and
now involves a greater degree of financial management, staff motivation
and marketing of the school.
- Principals
state that a large proportion of their time is spent on routine administration
and that much of this is carried out home.
- Over
60% of teachers believe that the Principals role is 'very stressful'
yet few are able to define the competences required to carry out the
role successfully.
Working
Time and Patterns
- Around
92% of teachers work longer than their contractural hours, with the
average working week equating to 43 hours.
- Women
are more likely than men to carry out their additional work at home
rather than at school.
Work
and Domestic Responsibilities
- Over
a third of women spend over 21 hours a week on domestic responsibilities
(compared to 12% of men) and this can lead to difficulties in balancing
work and home.
- Almost
half of women believe that taking a career break jeopardises promotion
prospects, there is a widely held view that job-sharing is not appropriate
in the education sector, and many teachers believe that young women
are a high risk for promotion because of the possibility of their taking
maternity leave.
Women's
Attitudes to Promotion
- Women
and men have very different views on the career priorities of the opposite
sex. Women dramatically over-estimate the importance tomen of status,
pay and terms and conditions, while men significantly over-estimate
how important a 'convenient' job is for women.
- Men are
much more likely than women to 'throw their hat into the ring' and apply
for promotion as a gesture of ambition, whereas women want to be absolutely
certain they can do the job before they apply.
- Almost
two-thirds of women but only 15% of men believe that women have to out-perform
men to get promoted.
- Key reasons
for women not applying for promotion include concerns about the validity
of the selection process, not wanting to give up teaching, lack of confidence
in their own abilities and the possibility of a hostile reaction from
others.
Training
and Career Development in Schools
- There
is limited training available for those who are not yet in a managerial
position but who would like to be.
- Around
one third of teachers would not seek advice on career development from
their principal and women are less likely than men to feel that their
principal has encouraged them in their career.
- Both
teachers and Governors believe strongly that being seen to take up training
opportunities gives teachers a greater chance of being promoted.
Networking
- Women
under-estimate the amount of networking they do and are less likely
than men to use their networking contacts for career development purposes.
- Informal
networks for women are not considered by women to exist.
- Governors
rate 'talking to teachers' as an important source of information about
the education sector, but very few teachers state that their contact
with Governors is any more frequent than twice a year.
The Role
of School Governors
- The profile
of respondents to the Governors' Survey was primarily male, in full-time
employment and with an average of nine years' service as a Governor.
Male Governors outnumbered females by 3 to 1 in the primary, secondary
and grammar sectors.
- Well
over one third of Governors do not believe that the current selection
process enables them to assess candidates' abilities properly.
- There
are considerable differences of opinion between teachers and Governors
about what qualities each other values in schools.
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