Women Managing/Managing Women

Research has identified many barriers to female advancement in the field of educational administration and styles of leadership different from the traditional masculine model have been identified. A difficulty arises, not in the identification of difference, but in the recognition, legitimization and implementation of preferred modes of leadership for women in current administrative practice. This investigation focused on verbal accounts of the experiences of 21 female administrators in a rural Nova Scotia school district. This article presents the preliminary findings of these women’s own responses, resistances and initiatives in their attempt to legitimize and implement their preferred ways of providing leadership in this very rural setting.