The Work-Life Balance of a Single Mother and Secondary School Principal

As more women enter the workforce and move into leadership positions, understanding the conflicts between balancing work and family life is essential. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to focus on the lived experiences of single mother, secondary school principals and how they face the challenges of balancing work and family. Through semi-structured interviews, the study focused on four single mother secondary school principals. It aimed to answer the research question: What are the internal and external drivers of effective single-parent female secondary school principals that allow them to face the challenges of balancing work and family? The study concluded with the key finding that there are competing demands between home and work life, and finding balance can be extremely difficult. The women in this study are dedicated to both roles\u27 success and have shown high perseverance in managing both domains of life. They have determined that although they might not have balance, they have found a variety of support systems and management strategies to neutralize the stressful demands of both roles. Key drivers in their success were having relationships with their own children, their staff and finding the perseverance and tenacity to push through any challenge they face. This study provided insights and suggestions for other single mothers or those who support single, working mothers around the strategies and systems that can be used to help successfully manage being a working professional and a mother