ABSTRACT
In Kenya, available information show that most schools are headed by male teachers.
At Kathiani Sub County in Machakos County, 14 schools are headed by female
principals out of the 31 public secondary schools. The purpose of this study was
therefore to establish the influence of socio-cultural factors on female principals’
participation in managerial duties in public secondary schools in Kathiani Sub-
County. Specifically the study sought to establish the influence of: gender stereotypes
on female principals’ participation in taking up managerial duties, family-work
balance conflict on female principals’ participation in managerial duties, gender
socialization practices on female principals’ participation in managerial duties and
career development on female principals’ participation in managerial duties in
Kathiani Sub-County. The target population for the study consisted of all the 14
female principals, 13 female deputy principals, and 159 female teachers from public
secondary schools in Kathiani Sub-County. The sample size was 127 respondents of
the target population. Descriptive research design was employed in this study in order
to address the study objectives. The research hypotheses were tested using simple
regression analysis at the .05 level of significance.The study findings revealed that
gender stereotypes do not statistically influence participation of female principals in
managerial duties (F (1,100) =2.07; p≥.05). Additionally, the study established that
family-work conflict significantly influenced the participation of female principals in
managerial duties, F (1,100) = 25.93; R= -.454; p ≤.05. Moreover, socialization
practices had a significant influence on female participation in managerial duties
within schools in the study area; F (1,100) = 28.192; p ≤.05; R= .469. Finally, the
study established that there was a significant influence of career development on
female principals’ participation in managerial duties, F (1,100) = 15.041; p ≤.05. The
study recommends that government policy of one-third gender rule be enforced
strictly so as to help in having more women appointed to leadership positions and act
as role models to students. Similarly the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should
institute some in-service programmes aimed at educating female principals to strike a
balance between domestic chores and professional duties. Further, the Kenya Institute
of Curriculum Development (KICD) should reorient the school curriculum so that the
female story can be fairly presented without connotations that are likely to nurture
negative stereotypes and lastly, women should be provided with more opportunities
for in-service and networking through seminars and other refresher courses to enable
them develop career wise. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be beneficial
to education policy makers to help them in making decisions that will be aimed at
making female teachers participate actively in managerial duties at the national and
institutional levels.