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    Changing the master of mastering the change?: women secondary principals and occupational closure : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Bedford, Rob
    This thesis examines causes of, and reaction to, the under-representation of women as Principals in the secondary teaching service in New Zealand in the 1990's. The model of occupational closure developed by Witz (1992) is used as a theoretical base to describe the sexual division of labour and the vertical and horizontal segregation of women in the paid labour force. The concepts of exclusion, inclusion and change are used to analyse work history data derived from interviews with the research participants. It is argued that marked changes in societal and individual attitudes and in workplace practices are contributing to alterations in gender relations. Of particular importance, in contemporary inclusionary processes, is women's awareness of, and the value they attach to, the positive contribution that women can, and do, make to workplace relations. The thesis concludes that, despite the gains that some professional women appear to have made, access to positions of real power and equality in the workplace has not yet been achieved.
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    Women of power in a man's world : career profiles of successful women in educational administration : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration, Education Department, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1986) Neville, Mollie
    There is now a considerable body of literature on women in education and the blocks that prevent them from entering the senior administrative positions in educational institutions. Much of this research has been primarily survey-based and between-group in nature. Too often in between-group research the women become 'deficit' in being compared to the men who are the 'norm'. In studying the careers of successful women in educational administration this thesis aimed to present positive role models for women. It has concentrated on between-group analysis, to compare women with other women and attempted to determine how these women were able to overcome such 'barriers'. The data are a combination of both survey questionnaire and conversational non-hierarchical interviews. The women in this study have resisted stereotyping. They are in control of their lives, balancing home and career lives without detriment to either. They are committed to their institutions, families and communities. They have not taken absences from teaching to raise their children and rarely move to accompany their partners. Their partners, on the whole, move for them. They have no 'wives' to take the nurturing role in the home but their partners are completely supportive. They have little leisure, few holidays, and have continued study for further qualifications for their professional development. They are leaders in politics, the community or church, as well as at school. They nearly all planned their careers, developed a knowledge of the career path and had training for political skills and speaking by holding executive positions in teachers' organizations. They avoided the 'feminine' roles in the school hierarchy. They have shown tenacity in applying for promotion and have been willing to move to gain promotion. They show courage in taking risks, responding to change, making the hard decisions and being innovative. They perceive their isolation and are sometimes burdened by the responsibility of speaking for all women and of being seen as symbols to all women. A group of well-known male administrators recognized their capabilities and sponsored them for important national residential courses and promotion. Many belong to a network of supportive women colleagues. They have a clear vision of what their goals are, and use a caring and collaborative leadership style. They, in turn, are empowering others, and above all, are preparing young people to face a future that is uncertain and unknown. These women are redefining the role for career women in New Zealand and are redefining leadership styles for leaders throughout the education system.
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    EEO and the promotion of women in the secondary education sector : legislating for change : a thesis submitted in partial fulfulment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Spence, Gail P
    This thesis explores the ways in which two co-educational secondary schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand responded to the requirement under the State Sector Amendment Act (1989) to develop and implement an equal employment opportunities (EEO) policy that would enable women to move into senior administrative positions. The period covered is the May 1989-July 1992 term of office of the new Boards of Trustees established under the Tomorrow's Schools reforms. The study presents, examines and theorises the social, political and educational contexts in which the policy evolved. In the attempt to locate significant sites of struggle in the EEO debate and assess their implications for the promotion of women teachers to senior positions in educational administration, a political model of policy is employed based on a theory of discourse inherent in feminist post-structuralist perspectives. The focus of the research study is on the EEO policy implementation process as it was occuring in two historically specific settings. That process consisted of ongoing struggles between contenders of rival and competing interests. These interests construed in and through discourses specific identities, roles and attributes which were seen to compose our subjectivities, shape decisions and affect appointment practices and outcomes. Interviews were held during 1992 with eighteen personnel in a range of teaching and administrative positions in the two schools. The transcripts were then used to produce a view of the discursive constructions within the field of EEO and place these alongside existing written reports and records, official policy documents and literature analyses. The study found evidence of an internal struggle between competing models of EEO. As well, EEO was discursively constructed as a unified concept through a discourse which competed for allegiances against other discourses within the power networks. Specifically, attention was paid to mapping the links between "teachers, gender and careers" (Acker, 1989) and to the complex positioning of multiple discourses within merit as an ideological construct. This thesis opens up to scrutiny particular discursive constructions and uses, and argues the need to recognise and assume responsibility for each of our own discursive practices and positionings. This necessitates working towards coherence between the discourses of EEO and the discourses of secondary education sector employers' personal and broader professional lives.