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Leadership construction: A life history case study of two exemplary female principals in urban primary schools in Beijing
Wanjuan Zhong 
In the Chinese academic community, there is a lack of research on female principals in primary and secondary schools. By selecting two exemplary female principals in urban primary schools in Beijing, the study plans to conduct a life history case study to explore their leadership construction and the influential factors impacting on these practices. It is proposed that the study will provide useful reference for further understanding principals' leadership and bridge the knowledge gap regarding the study of female educational leaders in China.
Transcript
Interviewer: I would like to welcome Wanjuan Zhong. Welcome Wanjuan.
Wanjuan Zhong: Thank you.
Interviewer: First thing Wanjuan, can you please share with us in a broad sense what your research is about?
Wanjuan Zhong: Generally speaking my research is about the life story of two exemplary female principals in urban primary school in Beijing. I think in my research, I want to address two research questions. The first one is how do the two female principals construct their leadership in their daily practices and the second one is, what factors have influenced their leadership construction?
Interviewer: What do you expect to find out from your research?
Wanjuan Zhong: To discover the real, professional life of the principals. With continuous educational reform in China, especially reform in basic application, the important role of the principal in primary and secondary school has been acknowledged. The issues regarding principals in primary and secondary schools have been extensively discussed in mainland China but most writing in the field seems to lack the concern of the daily practice of principals. We can see there exists a gap between research studies and the actual practice of school principals. Amongst the literature on primary school, on primary and secondary school principals in mainland China, gender is seldom considered and little research has been conducted on female principals. But in practice, you know, female principals, especially in urban primary schools have played important role in leading those schools. My research has just been to focus on their life stories and to interpret their life stories in specific organisational and societal and cultural context. I want to know how they make things of their leadership to get multiple perspectives that means to triangulate words they have said and I will interview, interview some teachers in their school and a supervisor of each principal to understand how these persons perceives the leaderships of the female principal. And another research tactic such as observation and document analysis will also be used in my study.
Interviewer: What will be the implications of your research?
Wanjuan Zhong: The study will provide a useful reference for further understanding principal leadership and bridge the knowledge gap regarding the study of female educational leaders in China.
Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time Wanjuan.
Wanjuan Zhong: You’re welcome.
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