Abstract
Gender equity and female empowerment are trending topics in South Africa and across the world today. Within education, there has been a recent increase in female leadership within schools. Female leaders present distinct leadership styles compared to males. They are more nurturing in their leadership allowing for collaboration to occur between their team of staff and learners (Sherman, 2000). However, females in South Africa face various challenges in being leaders such as feeling the effects of the Apartheid Era, living under a predominantly male society, societal and cultural expectations and family responsibilities. Nonetheless, female leaders demonstrate resilience in rising from their setbacks and are achieving success in their professional careers. This research report focuses on female leadership development in public primary schools using instructional and distributive leadership styles as the theoretical framework to guide the study. Focusing on public schools in Johannesburg, eight female leaders in different leadership positions were selected to be part of the study. The research used a qualitative research approach. Participants were interviewed using individual semi-structured interviews. The data collected from the interviews were analysed using qualitative methods. The study found that female leaders contributed significantly towards developments and improvements within their respective schools. Some developments include: strict implementation and adherence to policies which presented improvements in curriculum management, implementing ICT and technology in classrooms and collaboration among staff and management teams. What was remarkable in this study was the high levels of resilience that female leaders portrayed even though they faced struggles, threats and challenges from various counterparts, yet found strategies to overcome them and accomplish successful developments within their respective schools.