Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2018
Publication Source
Frontiers in Education: Leadership in Education
Abstract
This study explores the opportunities and challenges of women who own low-fee private schools in three West African nations. With the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2016, it has become obvious to policymakers that school leadership needs to be a policy priority around the world. Increased school autonomy and a greater focus on schooling and school results have made it essential to understand and support the role of school leaders. Few countries however have strong and systematic initiatives to professionalize school leadership and to nurture and support current school leaders. This becomes even more complex for governments given the rise of private schooling in low and middle-income countries worldwide; thus, it is crucial for governments to understand the importance of leadership at the school level and how to nurture and professionalize it. In this study, the authors examine the roles of women school leaders in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Liberia within the context of MDG 3: promote gender equality and empower women. Because of the many challenges in the public sector in education in low and middle-income countries, the private sector has responded by creating thousands of small businesses. Since a large and growing number of women are leading these private schools, this study presents the findings on the nature of the leadership of these women entrepreneurs. Fourteen school proprietors participated in face-to face interviews about their reasons for founding a school as well as the supports and challenges they face. Findings discuss the limited professional learning opportunities for school leaders in these nations. The study describes the school leaders’ desires to help build their nations, and the unique cultural and contextual factors in each country.
Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. -Akan Proverb
ISBN/ISSN
2504-284X
Document Version
Published Version
Copyright
Copyright: © 2018 Cordeiro and Brion.
Publisher
Frontiers
Volume
2
Issue
67
Peer Reviewed
yes
Keywords
low-fee private schools, school leadership, women entrepreneurs, private schools, sub-Saharan African education, West-African education, education in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Liberia
eCommons Citation
Cordeiro, Paula A. and Brion, Corinne, "Women School Leaders: Entrepreneurs in Low-Fee Private Schools in Three West African Nations" (2018). Educational Leadership Faculty Publications. 236.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/eda_fac_pub/236
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons
Comments
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.