TITLE

FOCUSING ON CHANGE IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: THE NEED FOR FEMALE LEADERS IN

TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

BY AKUDO, FLORENCE U. (Ph.D)

& OKENWA, GETRUDE N. (Ph.D)

OVERVIEW

FOCUSING ON CHANGE IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: THE NEED FOR FEAMLE LEADERS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guaranteed social, economic and

political rights to all citizens irrespective of sex, age, religion, cultural background among others.

But the issue of equality of sexes in the domain of management in Nigeria has been neglected.

Leadership in Nigeria is being identified with masculinity. The perception that men unquestionably dominate in the domain of management and

administration as well as other social institutions has been challenged. Women are under-represented in leadership positions in the education sector, even

though they constitute the majority of the teaching workforce. But it has been observed that women managers tend to be more democratic, and focus

more on relationships than men do (Shakeshaft, 1989; Eagly & Johnson, 1990, Park, 1996 & Blackmore, 1999) etc.

School administration and its association to gender is a significant topic in leadership. It has been argued that gender may not be a determinant of the leadership and

management styles. That application of more sustainable leadership styles would lead to change in

educational leadership in Nigeria.

PURPOSE/PROBLEM

To examine the need for female leaders in tertiary institutions

in Nigeria and determine the personality qualities and

motivational factors which are the core of the underlying

gender differences.

METHOD

The study was carried out in the government and private

owned tertiary institutions in Anambra State of Nigeria.

Population were all the female and male educational leaders

in the tertiary institutions in the State.

A sample of 60 female leaders matched to a representative

sample of male leaders were selected using simple random

sampling technique.

A valid and reliable personality assessment questions as

well as demographic analysis and in-dept interviews were

adopted for the study.

RESULT/CONCLUSION

Result shows that: Female leaders are more persuasive than their male

counterparts. Female leaders learn from adversity and carry on with an ‘I’ll

show you’ attitude. Female leaders have an inclusive team building leadership style

of problem solving and decision making. Female leaders are more likely to ignore rules and take risks. The study therefore concludes that: Female leaders bring distinct personality and motivational

strength to leadership. That there are no distinctive variance in male and female

leadership roles. That application of more sustainable leadership styles would lead

to change in educational leadership in Nigeria.