SSESSMENT OF SCHOOL COMMUNITY PERCEPTION ON FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN LEADERSHIP POSITION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS : THE CASE OF OROMIA SPECIAL ZONE SURROUNDING FINFINNE

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.