Women education leaders: Beliefs, practices, and leadership characteristics for school improvement

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and leadership styles of women educational leaders. Currently there is little research on the leadership differences between male and female administrators in educational institutions. This study examines those differences in more detail. Because of the gender gap in educational leaders this study did a comparative analysis on gender to help add to the body of knowledge that exists for commonalties among female leaders. This study's broad questions are: what are some differences in leadership style between male and female educational leaders; how do male and female educational leaders differ in self-perceived leadership characteristics; and do female administrators identify critical components of successful leadership differently from their male counterparts?; An investigation was conducted to determine common leadership characteristics recognized in the literature. The study investigated male and female educational leaders' perceptions of the sources of their effectiveness. Results of the study strengthened the premise that females have different leadership styles than males. Females spent more of their daily administrative time on curriculum and instruction while males spent more of their daily time on management and operations of the school. Females were more likely to be collaborative in their leadership style than males and ranked credibility and trust at a higher level of importance for their schools than the males surveyed.