Abstract
Female educational leadership in the GCC member state of Kuwait was studied. Islamic values shape Kuwaiti traditions and culture, permeating all societal spheres. Educational leadership is an emerging field of study in Kuwait. The literature review indicated that female representation in studies on educational leadership in Kuwait is scarce. The study sought insight into how females navigate the educational leadership terrain in female-only private schools in Kuwait. All public schools and many private schools in Kuwait are separated by gender. Therefore, this study explored the lived experiences of female principals, a school owner, a superintendent, and a head of a department, who served as educational leaders in female-only private schools in Kuwait. This study sought to address the gap in available publications on female educational leadership in Kuwait. The principles of Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST) underpinned the study with a focus on Muslim feminism to address the inequalities female educational leaders encounter in the Middle East. A phenomenological design was used to gather authentic data. In this regard, I administered semi-structured interviews and a qualitative questionnaire. The study aimed to address the research question by identifying the leadership styles and approaches female leaders adopt in leading their staff. The data analysis show that female leaders in education work and thrive in private female-only schools in Kuwait. In addition, this study explored the cultural and religious beliefs that influenced participants’ lives to gain an in-depth understanding of how religion and culture impact female leaders. Finally, I concluded the study by highlighting the triumphs of female educational leaders over the challenges they encountered. The study found that female educational leaders working in private female-only schools in Kuwait have the advantage of ascending educational leadership positions and enjoy better career prospects. Therefore, female working environments create the ideal climate where females of all backgrounds can ascend to educational leadership positions. Key Words: Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST), Muslim Feminism, female educational leadership, single-gender education, phenomenology, Kuwait.