Leadership styles of male and female school heads / Khothilda Rigo Jonathan

The issue whether male and female school leaders practice different leadership styles is a much-debated issue as the difference in leadership style is a key factor that may affect and influence as to whether women can be effective leaders. This is because men have long held these roles and it is only natural that people are concerned with the capability of female leaders. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the differences between the leadership styles of male and female school heads. The study involved one hundred and thirty-eight teachers and six school heads from six primary schools located in the district of Bintulu, Sarawak. The research instruments comprised of a questionnaire and semi structured interviews that helped triangulate the findings. The'Questionnaire administered upon both school heads and teachers was adopted from Oates’ (2010). The findings of this study revealed that that there is no obvious difference between the leadership style of male and female school heads. The results also indicated that there is no significant difference between leadership styles and gender thus indicating that gender does not affect leadership styles of school heads. It is personality, culture and workplace that shape a person’s leadership styles. This study implies that since there is no significant difference between the leadership styles of both male and female school heads it is perhaps pertinent that people change the negative perception that women do not make good leaders. Despite the limitation of sample size, this study has to a certain extent proven that both male and female school heads are equally good and capable of managing and leading schools