In this section, I outline the limitations of this study alongside my key recommendations for future research. Although they do not detract from my overall research findings and contributions, the major limitations of this study relate to its scope in terms of the themes I focus on, the literary texts selected for the long list and the conceptual framework used to investigate the data. All research invariably suffers from limitations of this form (Wilson, 2016), especially when the word count is restricted. Nonetheless, there are many
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opportunities to contribute further to this field, with a key recommendation being a participant-focused study which utilises my short list and conceptual framework. As discussed in Section 6.4, I was unable to include all the short listed texts in the extended discussion. In addition, subsequent reading suggested that ethical leadership would be another concept worthy of analysis, taking the form of a sixth concept/question
in the conceptual framework –Ethical engagement: ‘How can I take up the leader role
wisely?’ As identified in Section 6.2, many of the short listed texts, such as The Last
Runaway and The Lifeboat, are closely concerned with ethical leadership and moral
dilemmas. Drawing on Ladkin’s (2010) use of Heidegger’s theory of ‘dwelling’, which
includes the notions of ‘staying-with’, ‘comportment’ and ‘participation’, I anticipate that
learning to lead wisely would have presented an equally compelling topic for analysis since several of the short listed texts provide in-depth illustrative examples on this theme
from women’s perspectives. However, it fell outside the scope of what was achievable in a
Master’sthesis. Nonetheless, these limitations serve to reinforce my finding that women’s
literature provides a rich source of data and examples on and about complex leadership concerns and issues. Further protracted analysis of the short listed texts along with the addition of other concepts to the conceptual framework would serve to expand the comprehensiveness of my study.
Feminist criticism often connects analysis of the female position and gender bias with examination of other forms of domination and oppression, such as race, sexuality, and class (Fisher & Silber, 2003; Collinson, 2011). Since my focus is solely on gender and representations of women, race, sexual orientation and class are rendered largely invisible. This suggests I may be over-emphasising white, middle-class feminist modes of
interpretation (Kim, 2016). There is room to redress this limitation in the future by
combining critical race theory with transnational/postcolonial and socialist feminist theory to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of social location, hegemony, class boundaries,
power, and oppression into the inquiry on women’s leadership issues. This would entail
drawing from a broader spectrum of literature to include a number of translated literary texts and stories by authors from historically oppressed people groups, as well as
expanding the literature review and conceptual framework to include intersectionality as a key thematic concern.
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Missing from my long list and short list are novels, short stories and plays written by New Zealand authors. While I did initially attempt to include New Zealand women writers on my long list, such as Patricia Grace and Charlotte Grimshaw, I struggled to discover any suitable works within my designated reading timeframe. This may have been a result of my own unfamiliarity with female New Zealand authors, as well as my desire to make this research relevant on an international scale. However, for New Zealand women
participating in an ‘artful’ women’s leadership development programme, culturally
relevant literary texts may provide illustrative examples and critical reflective questions that are considered more applicable and relatable to the New Zealand context.
Subsequently, a key future research opportunity would involve narrowing down my reading criteria and boundaries to only read and analyse literary fiction by New Zealand women writers. Such a focus would also allow me to include post-colonial, indigenous and post-settlement perspectives.
As stated in Chapter Four – Methodology, due to the limited amount of research in this
field, the focus of this thesis has been on plausibility and possibilities. The research findings reflect this by providing a carefully developed conceptual framework, methods
for selecting appropriate women’s literary texts, and a rigorously reviewed short list.
However, to further validate my findings in terms of their practical and empirical worth, future studies should be concerned with conducting, observing and recording the results
from participant-focused research in the form of a women’s leadership development ‘book
club’ (e.g. Kooy, 2006). A qualitative study of this kind would further contribute to the
leadership and humanities field, as at present there are still too few studies which have investigated and recorded the overall effectiveness, and both short and long-term impacts, of arts-based approaches to leadership development (Garavan et al., 2015; Savin-Baden & Wimpenny, 2014; Sutherland & Jelinek, 2015).
Blogging, as a tool for critical reflective practice, also has future research implications. My reflective journal is as an example of a learning method which could be employed as part
of a leadership development ‘book club.’ While research on the educational uses and
effectiveness of blogs is still in its infancy, blogging has the potential to assist individuals in making connections between theory and practice by enhancing personal awareness, critical thinking, and personal action through written experimentation with new concepts and unfamiliar material (Osman & Koh, 2012). The collaborative affordances of blogs (writing, reading, and commenting) might also increase opportunities for enriched
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communication, alternative methods for resolving challenges and cognitive conflict, as well as constructing knowledge and encouraging deeper thinking (Hall & Davison, 2007).
In effect, my blog worked as a ‘bookclub’ nexus for myself and my supervisory team,
enabling my supervisors to co-read several books with me. This co-learning process is another avenue for further research on post-graduate learning processes.