Managerial Skills of Women Leaders in Basic Education: Bases for t6he Formulation ofa Leadership Model

Abstract

Introduction

Many women are occupying leadership positions in the educational system, so the prevalent question has shifted from whether or not women can lead, to how effectively they lead. However, the leadership norm continues to be male-oriented, which may lead to gender stereotypes among female leaders and keep them from attaining high-level positions. In spite of efforts at transforming both the country and the public service to embrace national priorities of development and economic growth, challenges persist for women across the educational system. Given this context, the Philippine educational system has to interpret the challenges it faces and align these to processes that would ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of women in leadership positions. Adding more female voices to the discourse of leadership adds to the perspective of complex relationships between gender, attainment, and power not just in the field of education, but also in the workforce as a whole.

Methods

The study is anchored on Katz's Theory. It employed a descriptive survey to determine the managerial competence of basic education women leaders in the province of Ilocos Norte along with conceptual, technical, and human skills. Specifically, it looked into their socio-demographic profile in terms of age, educational attainment, length of service as an administrator, and present administrative position. It also dealt with the problems and challenges they encounter and how do they overcome such adversities. The study, being a process and output-based research undertaking, has resulted in the formulation of a leadership model. An Exempt Research Certificate was granted by the University Research Ethics Review Board (URERB) before the conduct of the study. The needed data were gathered using the Managerial Skills Questionnaire developed by Goodarzi (2002) and were substantiated by informal interviews using a non-structured script. A content validation instrument was developed by the researcher and was used by a panel of experts to determine the validity of the leadership model in terms of structure, content, and usefulness.

Results

Resultsrevealed that the basic education women leaders are of varying ages from young adulthood to middle adulthood, the majority are master's degree holders, almost half of them have administrative experience within the range of 1-5 years, and they are dominated by Principal I followed by Principal IV. They are very highly competent in demonstrating their managerial skills along with its three domains. The most common challenges that they have encountered include gender roles, stereotyping, ageism, racial bias, and trust and ethics. Based on the results of the survey, the 3H (Head, Hand, and Heart) Leadership Model was formulated and was evaluated by the panel of evaluators as highly valid in all three components.

Discussions

The findings have provena premise of Katz's Theory that women leaders are expected to always demonstrate their conceptual, technical, and human skills for them to perform their leadership roles efficiently and effectively. School administrators, regardless of sex, age, and current position, are encouraged to use the formulated 3H (Head, Hand, and Heart) Leadership Model to explore the three dimensions of managerial competence needed in leading an educational institution, understand how they might develop elements of each in theirpractice as professional leaders, and experience a unique, personalized set of learning opportunities that use the three skills considered as pathways to help address the needs of their learners, colleagues, and schools.