Constructing identities: perceptions and experiences of male primary headteachers

Abstract

This article presents research undertaken with male headteachers in early years schools within the UK and explores several influential discourses in relation to male headteachers' identities. The article discusses the ways in which different identities are constructed for headteachers by parents, governors and wider society, and also how a variety of discourses impact on men's professional lives. It seeks to examine themes inherent in headteachers' discourses as they reflect upon their roles and experiences within the school context and consider the practice of identity construction. The article notes that tensions are increased as a result of multiple, frequently conflicting identities, for example the pressure to present both distant and caring personae. The article concludes that the role of headship functions to protect men from the denigration to which other male teachers are sometimes subject. However, it may operate to distance them from the closer relationships which they frequently desire. As such the role is characterised by complexity.

Performing the principal: school leadership, masculinity and emotion

“…The proportion of Australian female school elementary principals is now over 50% nationally with some states as high as 60% (ABS, 2011). While many women are proving themselves to be effective and highly regarded school leaders, current research has shown that the idea of the male leader still persists in some school communities, the media and the general public (Jones, 2008).…”

‘Absent fathers’, and children’s social and emotional learning: an exploration of the perceptions of ‘positive male role models’ in the primary school sector

“…Lingard and Douglas (1999) and Jones (2008), for example, maintain that such an approach could create an influx of conservative and uncritical men who may simply reinforce and embed more traditional patterns of gender relations that are strongly heterosexual and macho, and orientated around nuclear families and primarily female carers (Wadsworth, 2002).…”

“…This is supported by controversial claims that single mothers do not rear their sons in appropriate ways (Slattery, 2003), which exacerbate gender debates about parenting competencies by presenting strong and contentious perceptions of women 'as the problem' and 'men as the solution' (Smedley, 1998, p. 158). Through the employment of more men in schools it is, thus, argued that those children, who come from homes where fathers are absent, will have greater access to a 'stable male' (Jones, 2008), or a substitute/surrogate 'dad' who can relate better to pupils, support their development, model positive behaviour, and provide the required level of stability and consistency which, in turn, will result in a rise in standards of academic attainment and behaviour (Beynon, 2002).…”

“…Indeed, the view that father absence has negative consequences for children's behaviour and social and emotional development has continued to receive empirical support in the UK (see Flouri, Narayan and Midouhas, 2015), with some (see Benyon, 2002;Jones, 2008) maintaining that schools should employ more men as a means of providing a 'stable male role model' or 'replacement father' (Skelton, 2002) to those children without a father home.…”

Constructing identities

“…The women in this study were acutely aware of the dominant societal discourse that leadership is inherently male and recognised that within the public discourse they are constantly measured against characteristics of hegemonic masculinity perceived to be appropriate for the role of headteacher (Jones, 2008). Even though women's exercise of leadership in historical and social and educational contexts has been significant (Collard, 2005;Cranston and Ehrich, 2007) this prevalent discourse may in part be a result of the historical recognition of greater numbers of men in leadership roles (Burns, 1978;Schein, 2001).…”