Breaking the Ceiling: The Lived Experiences of Senior High School Female Student Leaders in a Former Exclusive School for Boys (Towards a Gender-Fair Leadership Development Program)

Date of Award

5-1-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies, major in Organization Development

First Advisor

Antonette P. Angeles, PhD

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of seven (7) student leaders who belonged to the first three cohorts (2018, 2019, and 2020) of female transfer students in a private Catholic basic education institution in Metro Manila after a long history in exclusive education. Using retrospective interpretative phenomenological analysis, participants were individually interviewed to analyze the meanings they ascribed to their leadership experiences three to six years ago. Participants recalled their challenges, coping strategies, as well positive experiences in their two-year leadership journey in senior high school. Following Willig’s steps in IPA, data analysis yielded the following key themes: Leadership as (a) unsafe space (for women), (b) a response to systematized injustice, (c) adaptive resilience-building, (d) building social support systems, (e) character-forming, and (f) purpose-driven. These themes were framed by the participants’ experience of gender conflict and discrimination as a minority in their new school environment. The study also solicited participants’ thoughts on the important elements of a gender-fair leadership development program with the aim of helping inform policymakers and program designers. The following are the participants’ recommended elements of a co-constructed program: (a) values clarification to uncover subconscious bias through gender sensitivity training and emphasis on critical thinking, empathy and teamwork, (b) creating and maintaining safe spaces, (c) formalizing mentoring of student leaders, (d) ensuring holistic formation through the development of both hard and soft leadership skills that seek to empower student leaders, (e) providing a variety of leadership opportunities, (f) ensuring transparency and accountability, and (g) instilling a sense of institutional history of student government in the senior high school. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS