Teachers’ attitudes toward the appointment of women as school leaders

Abstract

The trend towards gender equality in principalship appointments continues to interest researchers, especially when it appears in traditional societies that maintain patriarchal, anti-feminist attitudes and values. Arab society in Israel is undergoing transition from traditionalism to modernism. Arab women hold the majority of Arab school teaching positions, but patriarchal opposition erupts when they aspire to attain principalship positions. This article reports on a study that examined attitudes of teacher colleagues towards the appointment of women principals. The findings indicated that women principals were perceived as creating a pleasant atmosphere at school, yet all the teachers agreed that women had inferior abilities to conduct relations with external bodies. Male teachers expressed significantly more patriarchal attitudes than female teachers. Surprisingly, teachers with higher-level education expressed more resistance to female leadership than those without academic degrees. The discussion suggests ways to achieve gender equality in the appointment of school principals in Arab society in Israel.