Browsing by Author "Bonzet, Rene"

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    Exploring the experiences of women in leadership positions in Western Cape technical and vocational education and training colleges through a narrative approach
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Bonzet, Rene; Frick, Beatrice Liezel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Department of Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill (B 50B of 2013) states that 50% of those in decision-making structures should be women (RSA, 2013:15) for global alignment. In 2014, the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Research Agenda described the higher education staff gender structure as unequal. White male academics dominated key areas, and the management of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges needed to be transformed. Hence, this study set out to answer the question: what do the narratives of women currently in leadership positions in TVET colleges in the Western Cape Province of South Africa tell us about gender transformation (or the lack thereof) in this sector? The interest in this topic was informed by the dearth of women in leadership in these colleges despite the above-mentioned legislation. Within the interpretivist paradigm, this study provided an insider perspective on women leaders’ shared gender transformation experiences through a narrative methodology, by means of an interpretation of ten purposively chosen respondents’ lived and told stories. The data corpus comprised digitally voice recorded in-depth interviews, trans-cribed verbatim and interpreted by means of a conceptual framework. Based on an outline of related literature, the conceptual framework illuminated themes to encapsul-ate gendered experiences of women in leadership. The data demonstrated that the respondents’ experiences during their career as women leaders could be linked to these themes, namely the family roles and a professional career balance, three stages in becoming a leader, demographic influences, gender-related notions such as gender stereotyping and challenges, leadership processes and contexts, and strategies and initiatives to deal with gendered experiences. The analytical framework illustrated how these themes were reconciled with a structured method of narrative analysis, namely a problem-solution approach, where raw data was also analysed in terms of five elements of plot structure, namely characters, setting, problem, actions and resolutions. Thus, aligning the conceptual framework with the analytical framework facilitated restorying within the bounds of a plot-structured narrative. The results showed progress towards gender transformation regarding career progression of women leaders in TVET colleges during the past two decades. Conversely, progress in terms of gender stereotyping, and men-to-women and women-to-women discrimination, was unsatisfactory and caused some women to abandon their ambitions, which may have compounded the problem of under-representation of women amongst the pool of aspiring college principals. The small sample size in this study precludes any claim that the conclusions refer to all women in leadership roles in the South African TVET sector. Regarding the broader significance of this narrative study, there is still a great deal to be done based on gender transformation interventions to inform, sensitise, empower, and transform men and women leaders at key stages of their career pathways. Behind the reported narratives are the untold stories of many more men and women leaders in the South African vocational education sector, providing much scope for further research. This study therefore only serves as a point of departure in addressing all-inclusive gender transformation to the advantage of women and men in TVET college leadership.
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    Gender transformation experiences among women leaders in the Western Cape TVET Sector : a narrative response
    (University of South Africa Press, 2019) Bonzet, Rene; Frick, Beatrice Liezel
    Leadership structures in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa face stark gender inequalities. Narratives of women currently in TVET leadership positions in the Western Cape province of South Africa might shed light on gender transformation in this sector. This article provides an insider perspective on 10 purposively selected respondents' shared experiences during their careers as women leaders through a narrative methodology. The data produced themes like family roles and a professional career balance, stages in becoming a leader, gender-related notions, leadership contexts, and strategies to manage gendered experiences. The analytical framework developed illustrates how these themes were reconciled with a structured method of narrative analysis, described as a problem-solution approach, analysing raw data for five elements of plot structure, namely characters, setting, problem, actions, and resolutions. Aligning the conceptual and analytical frameworks facilitated re-storying inside a plot-structured narrative. The results reported gender transformation progress regarding the career progression of women leaders. Conversely, progress concerning gender stereotyping and men-to-women and women-to-women discrimination was unsatisfactory, causing some respondents to abandon leadership ambitions. Although the small sample size precludes any claim to generalisability, the reported narratives serve as a guideline in addressing all-inclusive gender transformation in TVET college leadership.