Loopbaanontwikkeling van die onderwyseres as taak van die skoolhoof

Abstract

During the last decade of the twentieth century women in general, and the female teacher in particular, has come to stand before extreme career challenges. Although all restrictions which might have curbed female teachers' career development has been lawfully removed, cultural and historical realities may result in various features, intrinsic as well as extrinsic, determining her career advancement. In this mini-dissertation focus falls on the career development needs of the female teacher as well as the role of the principal in this matter. The principal must provide the necessary assistance to lead the female teacher to reach her full potential as educational manager and not only to function as a tutor. Before the intrinsic and extrinsic career development needs could be highlighted, it was necessary to grasp the meaning of terms like career, career development, career planning and career management. A woman's career development is much more complex and different compared to that of a man - she is motivated differently. Promotion is not necessarily her view of a successful career. As a result of male domination in educational management positions, it is necessary for the principal to fulfil his role as mentor. In order to determine the stance of female teachers' career development in the Free State, a questionnaire was compiled which had to be completed by principals in the province. From this empirical data it became evident that an uncertainty exists among a large number of principals as to how career development should be approached. Furthermore, principals are not unwilling to accommodate women in their management teams, but they are unsure of how career development of female teachers should be handled.