Constructions of the ideal head teacher

In the interview I asked the 15 teacher participants (10 women and 5 men) what the ideal head teacher would be like. Most of their responses were about constructions of the head teacher as the one who controls the school and enforces discipline. These views draw on more ‘masculine’ approaches to leadership (Coleman 2002). For example one respondent said that:

A good head teacher also has to be firm and be able to discipline everybody, teachers, children, parents. (Vasilis, MT, 30-39)

Even if headship is considered as a post suitable for men because of its assumed ‘masculine’ nature (see earlier discussion in Chapter 4), in my research there were teachers who expressed negative opinions about their men head teachers, showing that there seem to be differences between the idealised notions of what a ‘good’ head teacher should be and how they were reported as doing it in practice.

So, a woman teacher said about her man head teacher:

He discriminates against people. He likes some people and he dislikes others... [He discriminates] Based on beauty! [...] He behaves differently to women that he likes, and usually they are young women, and differently to people that he doesn’t like, and they are men and older women teachers. [...] To us, because we are quite young, he is milder. He doesn’t give us extra work, we don’t have many gaps in our daily programme, and that is not fair for the others. He hasn’t tried anything more, but I guess that if we were more open, he would raise his hand (Roula, WT, 30-39).

The way Roula constructs her man head teacher’s leadership approach can be perceived as discriminatory and perhaps sexual harassment. The ‘Gender Equality Duty’ (2007), which is

a guide for authorities in England, qualifies comments about someone’s appearance and actions that stem from appearance as sexual harassment. McDonald (2012) argues that sexual harassment in the workplace is identified as an issue that women experience all around the world. Although sexual harassment is a common practice in Greek workplaces and is carried out both by employers and fellow employees (Magliveras 2005), the State has not adopted any relevant civil and/or criminal legislative measures specifically to deal with it. However, there exists a general legal framework consisting of provisions in the Constitution, dealing with equality between men and women and the protection of human personality, provisions in the Civil Code and in the Criminal Code which could be applied by analogy, and in various collective employment contracts, as well as general principles of Labour Law. Arguably, this framework does not afford victims of sexual harassment a satisfactory regime for seeking redress and it depends on the court. In this case, the head teacher can be seen in Roula’s account, to draw on aspects of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ and is assumed to be using his power to give privileges to young and beautiful teachers by means of disempowering or giving extra work to the others. At the same time, as Roula argues, he does not seem to be afraid of doing it, perhaps because of the lack of legal framework or perhaps because this behaviour is normalised. He may be viewed as drawing on forms of hierarchical relationship of dominance and subordination (Connell 1987) between himself and other men and women.

‘Masculine’ approaches are not only perceived to be adopted by men head teachers. Women heads, as has already been seen in Vasso’s account who, as mentioned earlier, said: ‘I like to have everybody else as, please forgive my wording, slaves, I want everything in my own terms *...+ There is no room for good people here’ can also be seen to draw on ‘masculine’ approaches in the way they lead their schools.

When teachers’ expectations from, and perceptions about, the ‘ideal’ head teachers were the focus of studies in the UK and the US, it was found that they constructed ‘feminine’ desired relationships according to which the head teacher demonstrates that s/he trusts the teacher, listens to their opinions and feelings, increases their autonomy, develops coaching relationships and promotes professional growth (Blase and Anderson 1995, Blase and Blase 1998). Also, the ideal head teacher is usually perceived as honest, considerate, optimistic, firm, knowledgeable, moral and flexible (Blase and Anderson 1995, Hsieh and Shen 1998, Law and Glover 2000), qualities that may be considered as a mix of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’.

The teachers who participated in my research organised their conceptualisations of educational leadership around qualities attributed to the idealised head teacher, his/her leadership approach and the desired relationships between the head teachers and the teachers in a school: the head teacher as a flexible and tolerant person, a moral leader, an emotional- friendly person, a coach and a strong person.

Most of the teachers who participated in the research shared the view that the head teacher needs to be attentive and open to the needs of the teachers. They expressed this view in various ways, for example:

Many young teachers, men and women, when they start working, they don’t know a lot of things, laws, their rights, their obligations, pedagogical practice….so they need the help of a more experienced teacher. I believe that the head teachers should always provide this help (Thodoris, MT, 50-59).

And another teacher said: ‘I also want my head teachers to listen to me and help me out when I have problems’ (Mina, WT, 30-39). Some said that a flexible head teacher is important because sometimes they do not feel competent enough on some issues, leading them to expect a tolerant person as a head teacher. Like Anna:

I would like a head teacher who wouldn’t just give an order to do something. I would like him to explain to me what I am supposed to do. I don’t know everything! (Anna, WT, 30-39, my emphasis)

This ideal construction is consistent with a ‘feminine’ approach to leadership, which is assumed to be more accepting of differences among people, more tolerant of deviance and more considerate of others’ needs (Gray 1989, Hurty 1995, Oplatka 2001, Shakeshaft 1989). It has to be stressed, that Anna uses the masculine grammatical form in Greek when she talks about the ideal head teacher. So, it can be assumed that she may be implying that the ideal head is a man or that usually the head teacher is a man, although she appears to want the head not to be typically ‘masculine’ and autocratic.

Likewise, the ideal head teacher – teacher relationships have also been constructed by the teachers as including positive attitudes towards the teachers’ opinions, even if they are different from the head teacher’s. The head teacher is expected to ‘like new ideas, new

teaching ideas I mean.’ (Loukia, WT, 30-39) and ‘*a+ good head teacher should be open and flexible and should accept the novice.’ (Roula, WT, 30-39).

Another teacher expressed the view that the ideal head teacher is ‘a person who is open to advice and opinions, one whose decision is not necessarily the final one’ (Mina, WT, 30-39). Another teacher expected ‘to be supported, encouraged, and feel that someone is listening to me, to my ideas.’ (Andreas, MT, 40-49). The words of Anna, Roula and Mina are similar to reports on head teachers who are depicted as listening to different viewpoints (Hurty 1995), encouraging collaboration (Regan and Brooks 1995) and advocating a consultative approach (Coleman 2002). These approaches to leadership (listening, consulting and collaborating) have traditionally been constructed as ‘feminine’.

Notably, and congruent with the ‘feminine’ ideal (Gray 1989) and with observations on women head teachers (Fennell 1999, Oplatka 2003), as the ideal head teacher is constructed as open-minded, s/he is also constructed as an open-to-change person. So, the teachers would have the opportunity to work within a dynamic, creative and innovative environment.

Some of the teachers (5 out of the 15) hold beliefs that the head teacher should be moral. Consistent with Sergiovanni (1991) they claim that the head teacher should lead with integrity and honesty.

The good head teacher…Fair, objective, friendly *...+ Responsible, of course. Honest for sure, because a lot can happen when you handle money. And yes, I think that being able to understand and being fair are the most important things. (Loukia, WT, 30-39)

This kind of belief is also shared among teachers in other studies (Blase and Anderson 1995, Blase and Blase 1994) and can be seen to draw mainly on ‘feminine’ leadership approaches (Coleman 1996, 2002).

All of the teachers in my research, however, also highlighted the instructional and more ‘masculine’ aspect of leadership. The ideal head teacher was constructed as knowledgeable in pedagogic issues and theories (not so much in practice), a source of organisational information and a mentor. For example, the ideal head teacher was constructed as ‘up-to-

date in classroom issues, so that I [if I were a head teacher] could teach the other teachers. Inform them about new techniques and staff.’ (Rea, WT, 30-39)

The emphasis on pedagogical knowledge as a core element in the educational leadership approach of the head teacher was stressed by many participants (12 out of 15) despite the fact that they all had at least 10 years of teaching experience. One respondent in particular said:

The head teacher should be a teacher first. Obviously he should know how to deal with the bureaucracy, but he should never forget that he was and still is a teacher. (Andreas, MT, 40-49, my emphasis)

Furthermore, the ‘ideal’ head teacher was also constructed as a source of providing systematic information about the school. It is anticipated that s/he guides, directs and makes the teachers’ acquaintance with the formal and informal structure of the school organisation. This view was clearly expressed beforehand by Thodoris who noted that the head teachers should help the teachers, especially the younger and inexperienced ones, with school practice, show them their obligations and rights and inform them about the educational legal framework.

To sum up, the ideal head teacher as constructed by the teachers who participated in my research, is not consonant with stereotypes of traditional ‘masculine’ leaders. Rather, the construction of the ideal head teacher is more nuanced and draws on a mix of of both ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ characteristics.