Gender Relations in School Leadership in Albania

Abstract

This paper presents concerns of women’s inequality in leadership as it is linked with the development of society and the role of women. Secondly, the paper examines the changes in attitudes towards teaching as a female profession based on published data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which will later be used to discuss the evolution of the teaching profession in Albania as it stands in recent decades. The paper ultimately suggests that concepts of gender need to be revisited for future gender equality in education. In providing context with the above, the paper turns to asking about the representation of women in administrative roles in education. Do women posses a majority in school leadership? The paper provides a unique perspective into examining the weight of women in comparing women’s roles as teachers in the education system versus the percentage of women in leadership roles in schools. Public perception and teachers’ attitudes are positive as they pertain to the representation of women’s leadership in schools. In conclusion, this paper discusses the risks posed in the gender imbalance in the number of teachers and school directors and how this, and similar models, create a trap of deformity in education. This paper does not only review the problems and causes of this phenomenon, but also provides concrete recommendations for an immediate intervention into the extensive teaching methods and strategies in Albania.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2s2p109