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    "Ad lucem-- towards the light" : a comparison of two principals at Napier Girls' High School, Miss B. Spencer, 1901-1909 and Miss R. James, 1969-1989 : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Medcalf, Pam
    The aim of this thesis is to compare and contrast the early life and teaching, principalships and community involvement of two principals at a girls' state secondary school in Napier, Napier Girls' High School (NGHS). Miss B Spencer Lady Principal 1901 - 1909 and Miss R James Principal 1969 - 1989 They were chosen because they were not only successful in their time at NGHS but in their community involvement gaining the award of O.B.E. - Miss James for her services to education and the community and Miss B. Spencer for her efforts in introducing the Country Women's Institutes to New Zealand The focus will be on their leadership qualities, motivation, interests and achievements but will also include their influence on the school, the functioning of the school and the problems they faced in the different time periods and their community involvement. To provide a background there will be a brief survey of education in New Zealand and Britain at the time of both principals and some comparison between NGHS and Nelson College for Girls (NCG) Miss R. James was a student at NCG and it is a state girls ' secondary school with a boarding establishment founded the year before NGHS and very similar. There was no comparable school in Hawke's Bay or Poverty Bay.
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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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    The leadership of six women secondary principals in a new right environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration, Department of Educational Studies, College of Education, Massey University, Hokowhitu Campus, Palmerston North
    (Massey University, 1999) Mexted, Roz
    The purpose of this thesis was to explore and describe the early socialisation and leadership practice of six women secondary school principals, working and living in the same provincial area of New Zealand. This study had three broad aims: to explore firstly, the early socialisation and "influential personal and professional experiences" leading each of the participants to their principalships; secondly, the "reality" of being a woman secondary school principal and, thirdly, the "impact of New Right educational reforms" on their school leadership practice. The changes initiated by the Tomorrow's Schools (1988) educational reforms have deeply impacted on New Zealand schooling. The decentralisation of many government administrative functions to school boards of trustees, in addition to the withdrawal of many government support services, is considered to have had a profound effect on the workloads and stress levels of principals and teachers (Palmer, 1997). Many critics of the reforms (Codd et al, 1990) believe that the increased emphasis on accountability and efficiency in education may be in direct conflict with collaborative school leadership initiatives. This qualitative, case study research sought to achieve its aims by exploring the ways in which six women secondary principals approach school leadership in 1998 and those values supporting their leadership action. While the research sample is placed against a backdrop of six differing school cultures and class constituencies, data illustrate several common leadership themes woven throughout the research. In adopting a life-history (Middleton, 1986, Acker, 1989) approach, this study analyses early life experiences and how these "shaped" the participants as women. Circumstances and situations, regarded by the participants as influential and resulting in decisions directly impacting on their respective career paths, are also explored. This study illustrates that five of the six women adopted a "holistic" view (Neville, 1988) of their career development and meandered to their principalships, always mindful of personal events in their lives. They describe accepting opportunities rather than formally adopting linear career plans. Data show that the women have always held a commitment to being high quality teachers, with four principals continuing to have direct classroom contact. The principals employed values of inclusion, collaboration, care and empowerment, underpinned by a very strong determination and "inner locus of control", to make a positive difference to the lives of their staff and students. There is an increasing body of literature about women in educational leadership, written exclusively by women (Neville, 1988, Blackmore, 1989, Shakeshaft, 1989, Strachan, 1997, Adler et al, 1993, Hall, 1996). This thesis will add to that literature and provides six further role models for women following in their footsteps.
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    Sharing leadership in schools : narratives of discourse and power : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Court, Marian
    This thesis explores the phenomenon of shared leadership as it emerged in three primary schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand, during the 1990s restructuring of educational administration. At this time, two 'mainstream' discourses of professional collaborative leadership and neo-liberal managerialism came into 'collision.' The principal's role was re-constituted from being a collaborative instructional leader, to being a chief executive, entrepreneurial manager. Separate contracts for principals and senior school managers detailed managerial tasks, performance standards and accountability lines that heightened the existing divisions between them and other teachers. The possibility of developing 'flattened,' more democratic forms of shared decision making- and leadership seemed increasingly remote. Yet it was in this context that a small number of co-principalships were initiated around the country. The study employs narrative, Foucauldian and feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis tools to examine how opportunities for change opened up within 'cracks' and contradictions in the 1990s discursive terrain of educational leadership. Moving between micro and macro analyses, the thesis demonstrates how individual and collective agency is enacted within and against dominant discourses, effecting transformations of practice. Three groups of women challenged and/or co-opted elements of managerial, professional and feminist discourses of organisation as they developed their co-principalships. These initiatives opened up for many people different ways of thinking about and practising school leadership: as one child said about her school, "Here there is no boss." Three case narratives provide insights into strategies for developing more fully democratic partnerships between principals and staff, principals and board members, professionals and parents. Open, honest communication and mutual forms of accountability that go beyond current requirements for contractual, task specific and linear forms of control, are particularly significant for a successful co-principalship. Governmental forms of power, material inequalities and socio-cultural hegemonies of gender, class and ethnicity, can constrain the democratic potential of shared leaderships however. Related factors that led to the disestablishment of two or the co-principalships included inequalities of knowledge and experience, difficulties over funding and staffing, and struggles between a governing body and their co-principals over the meanings and practices of governance and management. There are flaws in arguments that posit a generic model of 'strong' management that can be imposed across all schools, with assumed uniform results. This study shows how people's beliefs about and practices of school leadership are constituted in relation to their own backgrounds, interactions with other people in their local school community and wider socio-political, economic and discursive struggles over power.