The Gender Equity Role of Educational Administration Programs: Where are We? Where do we want to Go?

Abstract

The percentage of educational administration graduates and students who are women has been increasing since the 1980s. The study reported in this article identified continuing barriers to the employment of women as secondary school principals and superintendents. Strategies are discussed that were reported by educational administration departments in UCEA universities as a means to overcome deterrents to women in school administration. Changes in schools, the role of school councils, societal changes, and an anticipated shortage of personnel to fill vacancies for principal and superintendent positions offer a teachable moment for addressing gender inequities in the field.

This study gathered information about gender-related conditions for educational administration. As we move beyond the first stage of school reform, results from the study may help chart a baseline for further research and planning to address gender issues and hiring equity for school administrators. Activating or re-energizing university educational faculties to be leaders in overcoming barriers to women's advancement to top-level school leadership is especially important at this stage of educational change in schools. Educational reform and expected high turnover of principals and superintendents open opportunities for major change in who is employed for these positions.

The apparent rapid influx of women students in educational administration programs initiated this study and suggests that attention needs to shift from recruitment and student support to assuring that women graduates can obtain employment. Additional research is needed to see what is happening to educational administration departments in terms of growth or decline. With secondary and postsecondary student enrollments projected to grow between now and 2008 (U.S. Secretary of Education, 1998), more school administrators as well as teachers will be needed. Are universities prepared to meet this need? Another area for research related to the scarcity of administrators is indicated by the scant numbers of people of color in educational administration and in programs to prepare for these positions.

Real change will only take place with long-term commitment and appreciation for the qualities, skills, and expertise that all applicants bring to the table. Changing attitudes toward women is more important than a short-term increase in numbers. Attitude change begins within ourselves before we can influence others to change. Greater attention to diversity issues in the school administration and leadership curriculum can advance this change. It is encouraging to see the awareness of hiring barriers and a number of strategies planned or carried out to address gender issues, but we must move beyond recruitment and support for students to become a proactive voice for changed perceptions about leadership in the educational workplace. The influence of educational administration faculties can be a strong force that promotes attitude changes outside as well as inside of the university setting. Our departments prepare leaders who are willing to take risks that promote equity and high achievement for all students. Can we as faculty who prepare school leaders fail to address inequities for our graduates? The current climate of school change opens new opportunities to affect hiring practices. School councils are new players in the hiring picture. University faculty members who seek opportunities to work with these councils may be influential in how council members carry out their input into or selection of principals. School board members are adapting to new roles and relationships and need an understanding of the qualities important for persons hired as superintendent to lead the changes taking place in school districts.

Tingley (1996) cited a report that called attention to a growing concern about the size and quality of the candidacy pool for school administration. She says that “Clearly, we have not drawn educational leadership thus far from the widest ranks of the best and the brightest” (p. 38). The point she makes is that the search for school administrators is carried out with tunnel vision that sees only white males as viable candidates for these positions. Deal and Peterson (1994) describe schools as “complex places with some of the most inherently difficult challenges in the world” (p. 10). To solve problems in the midst of the educational complexity found in the schools of today and the future will require the “best and the brightest” of our profession. As faculty members who prepare school leaders, we are challenged to help assure that this search is not limited by gender stereotyping. To find the best leaders for our schools and school districts requires a search that must be equally inclusive of all educators—women as well as men.

A teachable moment often passes unnoticed and becomes a lost opportunity for learning. Similarly, attention to broadening diversity in school administration is critical at a time when school changes demand new leadership styles and the number of administrative vacancies raise concern about sufficient numbers of applicants. Failure to become proactive could be a lost opportunity to eliminate outmoded notions about who can best lead schools. Finding the “best and brightest” for school leadership requires recognition that leadership is not gender specific or specific to any particular group of people. Educational administration faculties are challenged to seize the moment and become catalysts for a new look at characteristics and requirements of the position with an open mind that views all qualified persons as viable administrative candidates. Only then can the best leaders emerge.