Leadership experiences of women school leaders in Senegal: A multiple case study

• Main Author: Mandiouba, Genevieve Gougny
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Women school administrators—Senegal; Educational leadership—Senegal; Educational Administration and Supervision
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6973
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper is a case study on the leadership experiences of seven women school leaders (i.e. school principals and/or school presidents) in Senegal. The study specifically looked into the respondents’ pathways to leadership, leadership styles, leadership qualities, and the challenges in leading the school. The major basis of the gathered data was the interviews. The researcher interviewed the respondents personally; and to validate the responses of the subjects of the study, the researcher set a separate interview with the school staff and the parents whom the respondents work with. The theoretical framework used for this research was the critical feminist theory and transformational leadership. The model of qualitative research based on Creswell's approach to case studies was utilized to collect and analyze data. From the analysed data, the following results were found: Senegalese women school leaders usually endure long years before reaching the highest leadership position; these leaders share similarities in terms of their leadership styles and challenges; however, there are still few differences in their qualities as leaders. Based on these results, the researcher concluded that Senegalese women school leaders can lead schools efficiently and effectively despite the challenges they face and the society’s perception of women as the weaker and lesser sex. Therefore, the researcher recommended that women should be given equal opportunities in accessing leadership positions, women should be encouraged and motivated by their peers and other stakeholders, and the network of women school leaders in the nationwide level should be strengthened so women have an avenue for expressing their thoughts and exchanging ideas