JTWSE—Volume 2

Journal of Texas School Women Executives, Volume II, Issue 1 2013 Topic within the Context of the Literature Cultural Expectations and Acceptance This study does not posit itself with a feminist political agenda which can very quickly become mired in philosophical debates among radical, Marxist or psychoanalytic feminists. Instead we look to the sociologist perspective that gender is an element of social construct with defined, understood roles and behavior (Lorber, 1994). As such, cultural expectations according to socially understood roles for men and women restrict ready acceptance outside of the accepted norms and often impact the competition and quality of educational leaders. Not too long ago, women were nurses or teachers, and men were doctors and administrators. The changes in these perceptions came slowly, and those who led the way struggled. It does not matter what culture or nationality one examines, when men or women step outside of the expected roles, they face difficulties in organizational and social acceptance.

Studies about women moving beyond the traditional roles range from Bangladesh administrators (Sparandio, 2011) to school superintendents and university leaders (Hernetky, 2010). Women educational leaders in Bangladesh benefitted the community welfare by allowing for a normalization of women in nontraditional roles in the rural village (Sparendio, 2011). Sparandio emphasized the significant need for sensitivity to cultural context while in the process of role transformations. Women have learned to embrace the culture while at the same time working to change it. Despite the progress that has been made in the number of women in school leadership, women leaders still come face-to-face with cultural expectations about a woman’s role and encounter strong undercurrents of resistance by both men and women to accepting them in leadership roles. The significance of this information is not that the cultural expectations exist and result in consequent struggle for acceptance, but that many women persevere to overcome this adversity. These women are resilient in their promotion of equity and social justice (Christman & McClellan, 2008).

Resiliency To successfully move in a role outside of the accepted and expected gender roles requires qualities attributed to resiliency theory. The most widely known study done by Werner and Smith (1979) spanned 30 years where researchers followed 200 at-risk children into adulthood.

The research found that 72 children were doing fine and thus the study labeled and identified their characteristics of resiliency. Some of the significant factors of resiliency from that study included parental attitudes and support, an internal locus of control, competent communication skills, and work ethic. In a meta-analysis of resilience theory, Richardson (2002), documents numerous studies which have replicated the original research with similar outcomes and conclusions. Surprisingly, as well as relevant to this narrative inquiry, being female was a factor in the original study that held true in other studies.

The resilient nature of strong women educational leaders provides an important characteristic for increasing social justice within their organizations. Women make a difference in education (Oram-Sterling, 2009; Mogadime, Mentz, Armstrong, & Holtam, 2010) through their experiences and ethic of care. Resiliency creates an increase in quality within the social justice initiative that is lacking if cultural expectations discourage women from leadership roles. The resilient nature of women is evident in all countries that are still evolving regarding the cultural 31