Shifting leadership out of the backyard: Expanding opportunities for women leading in higher education in the Solomon Islands

Abstract

In the Solomon Islands, the paucity of women represented in educational leadership positions is an issue of social justice. This is an area of concern as, although women experience opportunities to practise leadership in a range of community contexts, their access to leadership in the field of education is restricted by a number of social and cultural discourses that marginalize women leaders. This qualitative research investigated the leadership experiences of ten women leaders located in one cultural context, the unique island of Santa Isabel in the Solomon Islands. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were engaged to explore women's leadership perceptions and experiences and how these ideas were realized in the way they practised leadership. Findings indicated that women's perceptions of, and participation in, leadership was immersed in a cultural context which was founded on a belief of matrilineal leadership culture providing opportunities for women to have power and respect in community contexts but not necessarily organizational contexts. However, the findings also illustrated the challenges met by these women when they sought to extend their leadership practices beyond the home and their close communities, into organizations. Although a complex concept to negotiate, extending the cultural discourses of matrilineal leadership into educational leadership contexts may provide an alternative and supporting mechanism to enhance the representation of women in formal educational leadership positions in the Solomon Islands.

Re-thinking Contextualisation in Solomon Islands school leadership professional learning and development

“…Houma (2011) also found females with potential leadership abilities faced problems not posed to males while Elisha and Edwards (2014) point to women's unrecognised leadership skills and experience in church and community as an untapped resource. Maezama (2015) in a study in a matrilineal setting on Santa Isabel, describes the way women's power and respect in community contexts does not always transfer to organisational contexts such as school leadership. She argues that in that context, "Western ways of defining and practising leadership… continued to marginalize women in their workplace" and that the educational leadership potential of women can only be realized if indigenous Bugotu views of leadership are "integrated in Solomon Islands' national policy, legislated, and included in the school curriculum" (Maezama, 2015: 61).…”

“…In Solomon Islands, school leaders who are women face contextual issues (Elisha and Edwards, 2014;Houma, 2011;Maezama, 2015). Early on, the pilot team realised the significant contributions made by female mentors:…”

“…Despite this, contextualisation of PLD is at a premium. Diversity is a feature of the nation: over 80 languages are spoken; there are both patrilineal and matrilineal cultures (Maezama, 2015); and the experiences of school leaders are also varied (Houma, 2011). In order to develop the leadership capacities of school leaders in this situation, re-thinking what contextualisation might mean by seeking the strengths of Solomon Islands offers a productive way forward.…”

Tok stori as pedagogy: an approach to school leadership education in Solomon Islands

“…Solomon Islands is a widespread archipelago in which diversity is a significant feature. For example, there are matrilineal and patrilineal social structures (Maezama, 2015) and over 80 spoken languages. In addition, education in Solomon Islands is managed by the MEHRD, Church Education Authorities and Provincial Government Education Authorities.…”

“…Solomon Islands is an archipelago of six major and approximately 900 smaller islands with a land area of around 28,400 km 2 . Local matrilineal and patrilineal social structures (Maezama, 2015) and over 80 spoken languages add to the country's diversity. Education in Solomon Islands is managed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD), Church Education Authorities and Provincial Government Education Authorities.…”