Qualitative study uncovers institutional barriers and leadership strategies for sexuality education among female school leaders, highlighting the need for targeted policy training.
Key Points
To examine the experiences and leadership perspectives of female school administrators implementing Comprehensive Sexuality Education in South African schools.
Conducted a qualitative study grounded in Transformative Leadership Theory within an interpretivist paradigm.
Recruited a purposive sample of 15 female school leaders (5 principals, 5 deputy principals, and 5 departmental heads) from the Umlazi and Pinetown districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Generated qualitative data across three focus group discussions and evaluated findings using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework.
Identified four prominent themes: managing gender and sexual diversity, negotiating community resistance and acceptance toward scripted lesson plans, managing educator non-compliance, and facilitating stakeholder engagement.
Determined that while female school leaders actively promote equity and social inclusion, implementation efficacy is consistently obstructed by inadequate professional development, limited policy comprehension, and socio-cultural resistance.