Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to assess impacts of school community perception on female
participation in leadership position in secondary school of Oromia Special Zone Surrounding
Finfinne. Descriptive survey design was employed with quantitative and qualitative research
approach for the study. The subject of the study were 48 teachers and 36 school leaders from 7
secondary school. Stratified proportional random sampling was used to select teacher
respondents and availability sampling technique was used to select school leader respondents.
Data were gathered through questionnaire and interview. Data collected through
questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively using mean and t- test and data obtained from,
interviews were analyzed qualitatively. The findings of this study shows that school
community perception contributed to underrepresentation of female in leadership position,
discouraged female participation in leadership position, minimized school leaders trust to
delegate their leadership position, discouraged professional acceptance of female teachers
and contributed for existence of low female role model and school community perceive
females lack confidence, men did not recognize women as his equal counterparts, females
are responsible for lower value in terms of skill requirement and women’s are better than men
in leadership performance. Similarly, promoting female motherhood behavior, discrimination
based on sex, low academic qualification of female, work classification, gender inequality and
female’s low self-confidence were effects of sex role stereotype. Family responsibility, lack of
aspiration, lack of self-confidence, negative school community perception, societal norm and
lack of female role model are factors that affect female participation in leadership position. It
is thus concluded that school community perception contributed for men dominance of
Secondary school leadership position. Finally, women’s affairs office and woreda education
office should initiate female through training in order to realize their innate abilities and
teach their colleagues to change negative community perception toward them through
discussion in different public stages .and secondary schools leaders prepare the ground for
both female teachers and female students to exercise decision-making and leadership at the
base by empowering as chair persons of clubs, committees and 1:5 team leaders.
