Experiences of Female School Principals on Resilient Leadership Practices in Leading and Managing Rural Schools

While there is a growing body of literature on educational leadership, gender and leadership, and rural schooling challenges in South Africa, there remains a notable lack of in-depth, context-specific research focusing on resilient leadership practices of female school principals. Female school principals have to deal with unfair gendered expectations from different stakeholders when performing their leadership responsibilities. The paper aimed to investigate how female principals in rural schools practice resilient leadership in the face of gender-based challenges owing to their identity as females. Grounded in social role theory, which posits that individuals’ behaviours and responsibilities are shaped by societal expectations associated with their gender. Underpinned by the qualitative and interpretive paradigm, this paper used phenomenology as a research design, centered around female school principals' lived experiences. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with three participants and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that communities are enablers of gendered expectations from female school principals; female school principals end up possessing elevated levels of emotional intelligence, competence, and confidence compared to their male counterparts, and lastly, demonstrating sustained perseverance and resolute determination facilitated their success in leadership positions. The paper recommends community engagement, policy changes, and capacity-building programs to sensitize communities to undoing entrenched gender prejudices in educational leadership.