Women in Education

Women's Role in Education

Challenges for the Future of Education

Training Women for Leadership in Education

Women's Role in Education

Women who wanted to teach, historically, faced the same struggle as women who wanted to vote, and those today who want to become tailhook pilots, or to join the top echelon of leadership in education. Just as throughout the rest of society, in education patriarchal systems prevail, and male models for leadership dominate. The laws may exist on the books, but in the real world, support often evaporates, and those making it to the top are a token minority of the capable women available for those positions which will shape the future of education and ultimately, the future of our children and therefore the future for all of us.

Teaching is a challenging and complex profession requiring high level disciplines, skills and practical knowledge. Despite this, teachers do not generally receive either adequate support or pay. "In the United States, for example, beginning salaries of teachers, adjusted for 12 months, are lower than those for any other field requiring a bachelor's degree, and they top out sooner and at a lower level than other college-degree-level occupations. Classrooms are often crowded, materials and supplies outdated or nonexistent, and in certain schools and locales teachers are threatened with physical violence."

When one considers that teaching has become a predominantly female occupation worldwide, with the exception of a few countries such as Japan, the dynamics become more clear. Although women are traditionally denied entry into a profession, once they have succeeded in breaking into it and become the majority, the pay scale of the entire profession is downgraded, such as is the case in teaching and nursing.

Training programs which perpetuate male role models and male oriented behavior assure that male patriarchies will continue to dominate and exercise control in the school system. Because these models are so embedded in the general consciousness, it frequently happens that a popular coach (or at least a not unpopular coach), often with the advantages of a phone in his private office to make community contacts, high visibility among parents, the halo effect of all the right male virtues--athleticism, competitiveness, male bonding--coupled with a pervasive sports idolatry which values NBA players above Nobel prize scientists--will catapult his way over dozens of more qualified teachers, and certainly most women teachers, to become principal.

Since power and control are central issues, and no one gives these up voluntarily, it is up to women educators to take the initiative to see that changes are made in the way leaders are trained and selected in order to give women "a level playing field" to reach leadership roles in education.

Challenges in Education Today

Education today faces many challenges. But there are also new opportunities. Computers and new technology have the power to reshape education, not just in the classroom and the way in which students learn, but on the administrative and leadership side of the institutions, freeing educators up to devote more time to the learning process of their students. Not only should the mountains of paperwork which drain educators' and administrators' time be brought under control, but excellent and progressive leadership could harness the power of computers to create the same cutting edge communication, learning, process and control environments big business now enjoys. If Walmart's computers provide real time information about which tube of toothpaste is sold at each moment in each of its stores across the U.S., why shouldn't principals and deans have real time information about students' attendance, progress, papers, education news, standards development and peer review feedback? More accurate and timely information makes for more informed and better decisions.

These innovations and the many reforms which are suggested for education will certainly have a powerful impact on our lives. Leadership in education will have to sort through these alternatives and develop long range strategies and solutions. But where will this leadership come from? There are some very important reasons for women to push for more gender equity in educational leadership in order to have a greater voice and control in certain issues such as the use of computers and access to the information superhighway in schools.

Today there is an increasing gap between the information rich and the information poor. Cyberspace is where the future is headed and new communities are being formed. New technologies and new wealth will be created there. Research, information, software, intellectual growth, the tools that will produce that wealth, are all accessible on the Internet. Those who have access to it will prosper more, relatively, than those who don't. Women and minorities are the ones who are most at risk, who have been cut off from educational resources in the past, and whose future on the Internet is uncertain. If men increase their control over computer labs, access to computer skills and jobs....which is a highly likely scenario since men are now the gatekeepers....the future of women and minorities in cyberspace may suffer.

That is yet another very compelling reason for women educators to prepare themselves for leadership roles in education. Psychologists tell us women are more nurturing and better at sharing than men. Men bond together in ways which make them feel more powerful, and one way of achieving that is by excluding people. Historically, women and minorities have been excluded from many male dominated organizations, from the boardroom to the golf course and certainly from the vast majority of leadership roles in education. By encouraging and supporting more women leaders in education we may be, in practical terms, supporting more equal access to computers, technology and the Internet, which will produce the leaders of tomorrow, which, hopefully, will be a diverse and equally empowered group.

Dr. Beverly J. Irby and Dr. Genevieve Brown of Sam Houston State University have found in their research that "management and leadership models are based on theories of male leadership behavior." This has resulted in skewed standards and expectations for leadership and exclusion, and a lack of gender equity for women. To address this issue, Drs. Irby and Brown are gathering data which will form the basis for transforming theory into constructive and progressive action: new and equitable training programs for women executives.

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