Barbara Thompson

Working beyond the glass ceiling: women managers in initial teacher training in England

Recently in England, women have been successful in obtaining managerial responsibilities in the field of teacher training. In this setting at least, it could be argued that the glass ceiling that has kept women in lower‐paid and lower status posts has been shattered. In order to explore this proposition from the perspective of those who work as managers in teacher training, this paper draws on a series of in‐depth interviews with eleven women managers who work in six different higher educational institutions (HEIs) in England. Two contextualising factors inform the background to this paper: one is the gendered history of management in teacher training; the second is the impact of public sector reform, which has significant outcomes for those who manage the educational workplace. The paper argues that women are moving into positions of authority in teacher training across the board. However, the category of ‘women managers’ in teacher training is complex and internally differentiated. Even though, once again the gender composition of those who manage teacher training is changing passing through the glass ceiling in new managerialist times, may not be equally rewarding for all women who manage teacher training.

Succumbing, surviving, succeeding? Women managers in academia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address an under-explored and under-theorised aspect of gender work in UK academia in that it looks at the professional lives of middle and senior women managers and leaders who are responsible for initial teacher training in their institutions. As Maguire (2002) and Murray (2002, 2006) point out, within academia, teacher trainers occupy a particularly under-researched space despite some recent interest (Korthagen and Vasalos, 2005; Thompson, 2007). Design/methodology/approach – This research draws on a larger study which explored how 22 middle and senior managers and leaders in ten institutions in England try to come to terms with carrying out their roles in the education marketplace. In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with these women and data were also collected from field notes from participant observation undertaken at three of the institutions. Findings – Whereas some women are moving into positions of authority in the education marketplace, some existing women managers are being marginalised within new internally differentiated layers of managerial structures. Simultaneously, many women who manage teacher training are engaged in a struggle for survival individually and professionally. Those who succeed have managed to re-invent themselves to endorse neo-liberal discourses. Originality/value – Original empirical research which sheds new light on previous discourses related to women managers in neo-liberal academia.

Managing to Survive in Risky Times

Whether they are ‘middle’ or ‘top’ managers/leaders, the women are engaged, to a greater or lesser extent, in a struggle to make sense of their working lives within the context of neoliberal policies and practices. Primarily, the struggle is one for professional survival as managers and leaders in initial teacher education. The chapter then explores the particular ‘sites of struggle’ (Reed-Danahay 2005) in which the women managers/leaders are engaged. In order to survive, or in some cases thrive, individual women managers employ a range of different strategies, in order to negotiate their path through the changed and changing terrain of what it means to be a manager or leader in initial teacher training in complex and risky times.

Women: Educational Management and Leadership

This chapter turns its attention to women who hold managerial responsibility in the field of education. The chapter will argue that, just as with management in general, there remain stereotypes related to who can be managers and leaders in education. Although there is evidence to suggest that women are moving into educational management, particularly at lower levels (Acker, Gender, leadership and change in faculties of education in three countries. In J. Collard & C. Reynolds (Eds.), Leadership gender & culture in education: Male and female perspectives. Maindenhead: Open University Press, 2005; Thompson 2009), Shakeshaft (Gender and educational management. In C. Skelton, B. Francis, & L. Smulyan (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of gender and education. London: Sage, 2006:508) points out: women are less likely to be represented in formal positions of leadership in schools then men across all countries.

The Particular Story of the Management of Teacher Education

This chapter places the current position of teacher educators into context by discussing relevant elements of its history. It sheds some light on the issues affecting the professional lives of the men and women who have held authority positions in teacher education at different times. The chapter traces the movement of teacher education from largely single-sex monotechnics into the wider world of the academy. This meant that teacher educators now faced the dual demands of their different functions. With the move into the wider academy, there was a gendered shift in authority roles, with men becoming predominant in leadership positions. Teacher education is, however, positioned increasingly by government legislation further away from the academy and closer to the practical world of the classroom (Furlong, Education: An anatomy of the discipline. London: Routledge, 2013).

Women: Returning to Manage Initial Teacher Education

This chapter focuses largely upon the middle managers and will argue that there has once again been a sea change in the gender composition of those who manage and lead teacher education. Women have re-emerged to become dominant in positions of authority in many schools and departments of education. However, the category of ‘women managers’ in teacher training is complex and internally differentiated, and managing teacher training in new managerialist times may not be equally rewarding for all women.

Looking to the Future: The Struggle for Teacher Education

This chapter continues the story of the ongoing reforms directed at teacher education beyond the life of the original study to the present. It considers the implications of the findings, both of the original work and of more recent developments, for those who lead and manage teacher education as they continue to ‘[navigate] their way through a succession of increasingly radical reforms’ (McNamara and Menter 2011: 9). The chapter and the book conclude by considering ways forward for initial teacher education in light of the Carter Review into Teacher Education. The chapter argues that there is a further erosion of professional autonomy and asks what can be done to reclaim the development of critical voices so vital for a vibrant thinking profession.

Neoliberalism, New Managerialism, Policies and Practices

This chapter argues that since the insertion of new managerialist discourses into education, the working practices, including the management and leadership practices, of those in schools, higher education and, crucially, teacher education have altered radically. It will explore the ways in which the practices of neoliberalism manifest themselves within public organisations before going on to interrogate their particular effects upon the academy. The focus will then turn to the manifestation and impact of new managerialism upon teacher education and teacher educators. Finally, the question of whether the advent of new managerialism has any effect on gender relations in the workplace will be explored.

Women: Management and Leadership

The chapter begins by examining some of the theories surrounding and sculpting what is meant by management and leadership, and interrogates some of the contradictory and multilayered discourses which relate to the issue of women as managers and leaders. It considers arguments such as those advanced by Collard (Does size matter? In J. Collard & C. Reynolds (Eds.), Leadership and culture in education: Male and female perspectives. Berkshire: Open University Press, 2005:35), who points out that ‘leadership and organizational culture are multifaceted and that situational factors impact upon the ways that women, and men, lead and manage’.

Researching Women Managers and Leaders

The book draws on an empirical study and data set that is analysed through a set of critical lenses, namely shifts in theoretical perspectives related to feminism, critical analysis of policy changes in education management and leadership, and issues related to qualitative work.