Personal and professional characteristics and androgynous behavior of high school principals in Texas

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in Texas public high school principalships suggests that those women occupying the positions may possess a set of unique characteristics that enabled them to obtain the positions. The purpose of this study was to obtain, analyze, and compare data from male and female high school principals in Texas public school districts with regard to personal and professional characteristics, career path, professional preparation, and masculinity and femininity and to develop a model which embodies the common characteristics of female high school principals in Texas. The study revealed that the typical female public high school principal in Texas is 45.7 years old, Caucasian, and married. She has 1.76 children and is not the sole provider of income for her household. Her husband is not employed in the field of education. She has spent 20 years in the education profession, 8 years in administration, 12 years in her present school district, and 3 years in her present position. She works 56 hours per week; her supervisor is male. She has never exited the job market and was promoted from within her present district. She has previously served as an elementary and secondary teacher and as an assistant principal. She has participated in inservices and internship programs sponsored by her district. According to the Bern Sex-Role Inventory, she is androgynous. Statistically significant differences were found between the male and female groups for the spouse's occupation (with the male group having wives that were teachers and the female group having husbands that were not employed in education). Differences were also found in years in administration, mentorship, and the number of steps in their career path. Finally, the study revealed that both groups were significantly more masculine than the normative sample presented by the Bern Sex-Role Inventory. Further research might examine the perceptions of family members of female administrators with regard to sex-role stereotyping, compare female administrators and other female educators, compare the male and female groups with regard to NASSP skill dimensions, examine students' perceptions of sex-role stereotyping at high schools where a female is the principal, and examine the mentorship process in the careers of female administrators.