Preparing adolescent girls for school and post-school leadership: recommendations to school educators from educational staff, female students, and women leaders

Abstract

This paper explores the concepts of adolescent girls and leadership by investigating how girls might be best prepared for future leadership roles as a result of their schooling experiences. A qualitative study was conducted utilising three forms of data collection. Firstly, the electronic survey of staff members from girls' schools located in Australia and New Zealand took place. Secondly, focus groups were performed with female students from Australia and South Africa. Finally, interviews with current women leaders from Australia and the United Kingdom were carried out. From each participant group recommendations for developing future women leaders were collected. These findings were then collated and synthesised in order to present a cohesive understanding of how educational settings may be used to better develop women leaders of the future. These recommendations may provide assistance to schools in developing adolescent girls' leadership potential as well as present areas of interest for further research.

Keywords:

• adolescence
• girls
• leadership
• education

Introduction

Before taking on the task of preparing adolescent girls for leadership, it is important to first ask why such a preparation is necessary. The answer to this question is two-fold. Firstly, it is widely acknowledged that leadership is not an inherent characteristic but rather a set of skills that can be developed and nurtured over time (Burns, 1978; Eagly & Carli, 2007). Exposing adolescent girls to leadership and providing them with opportunities to both learn and develop their leadership skills will be an important step in preparing girls for future leadership roles (Archard, 2011; McNae, 2010). Secondly, the current imbalance of male and female leaders in society indicates that more must be done to ensure that young women assume these positions in the future (Eagly, 2007). This is not to say that girls need greater leadership development than boys. Rather, due to the gender imbalance of leaders in the workplace and the social and cultural assumptions about women as leaders (Carli & Eagly, 2001; Kellerman & Rhode, 2007; Lyness & Thompson, 2000), girls must overcome greater barriers in their pursuit of leadership positions and thus they need to be adequately prepared for these challenges (Archard, 2009). Since schooling is an experience shared by most girls, educational settings seem the opportune place for both assessing and implementing leadership preparation and, as a consequence, the wider social issue of gender inequity may be addressed (Arnot, 2002; Unterhalter, 2007).

Therefore, in order to provide recommendations to school educators with regard to developing adolescent girls as leaders, this paper will firstly outline the literature concerning the absence of women leaders in society; this will be followed by an exploration of the concept of adolescent leadership development. It will then be important to hear from those who can offer the most insight into this area; these being school staff with experience in girls' education, female student leaders, and current women leaders from both within and outside educational settings. From these different groups a synthesis of understandings will be made, which will then be compared back with the literature in order to make final recommendations to schools with regard to the development of future women leaders. As a result it is hoped that educators can be more cognisant of their role in bringing about social change in this area.

Where are the women leaders?

Despite more than 20 years of legislative (Still, 2006; Weyer, 2007) and educational (Moyle & Gill, 2005) change, women are still absent from societal leadership positions in comparison with men (EOWA, 2010). Reasons for this disparity have included, the lack of acceptance of women's leadership style (Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001, 2003) and gender stereotypes that place women outside the leadership role (Carli & Eagly, 2001, 2007). Both of these in turn have led to gender bias with regard to women's attainment of leadership positions (Heilman, 2001). As a result, women must continuously negotiate what Eagly & Carli (2007) have metaphorically termed the labyrinth in order to reach leadership positions in society.

However, the influence of stereotypes and the lack of acceptance of women's leadership style are the result of a much larger phenomenon; that being long-held social and cultural assumptions regarding the different abilities and roles of men and women (Pittinsky, Bacon, & Welle, 2007; Schein, 2001). Ridgeway (2001) has indicated that these societal assumptions create gender status beliefs and it is these beliefs that are a major cause of what has been termed the ‘glass ceiling’ for women. Ridgeway stated:

More than a trait of individuals, gender is an institutionalised system of social practices for constituting males and females as different in socially significant ways and organising inequity in terms of those differences. Widely shared gender stereotypes are in effect the ‘genetic code’ of the gender system, since they constitute the cultural rules or schemas by which people perceive and enact gender difference and inequity. (2001, p. 637)

Bartol, Martin, and Kromkowski (2003, p. 9) have identified through their research that ‘gender identity and differences are acquired through various developmental processes associated with life stages, such as schooling and work life’. Therefore, the reproduction of gender expectations is inextricably linked to the social learning practices of education and subsequent employment (Arnot, 2002).

However, other research into the lack of women leaders in society has revealed that younger women may believe there is no need for action with regard to this concern. This research found that adolescent girls believed that feminist practices of the past had achieved equity for women and there was now a level playing field with regard to career opportunities (Still, 2006). Such young women were not aware of gender issues and did not wish to become involved in the drive for social improvement (Sheahan, 2005). This poses a new dilemma with regard to overcoming a younger generation of women's acceptance of social inequity. Leadership programmes that develop adolescent girls' understanding of these concepts might be beneficial in addressing this concern.

Adolescent leadership development for social change

Understanding adolescent leadership development and how this might in turn impact on future leadership understanding and attainment will be important in assessing the optimum method for preparing adolescent girls for future leadership roles. Adolescence has been noted as a time where leadership identity can be shaped (Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008). In an attempt to establish this identity in girls, many leadership development programmes have been implemented by girls' schools (Archard, 2009). Leadership development programmes and initiatives have been recognised as important processes in providing girls with opportunities to set goals regarding future leadership aspirations (Conner & Strobel, 2007).

Only a small number of research studies have focused specifically on adolescent girls' leadership development. Of these, Hoyt & Kennedy (2008) examined how the focus on feminist issues within a leadership development programme for girls might affect the perspectives of adolescent girls with respect to their understanding of leadership and their leadership identity. This programme challenged current perceptions of leadership, provided girls with women as role-models, and focused on bringing to the attention of participants their ability to become catalysts of social change. Through the collection of student voice, Hoyt and Kennedy found that initially girls were hesitant to identify themselves as leaders; however, following the programme their vision of leadership broadened to include themselves as future leaders, and as a consequence they felt better positioned to act in this role.

Other programmes have focused on developing students' future leadership capacity by expanding their social awareness. Through a longitudinal case study of adolescent girls, Conner & Strobel (2007) explored how girls could become agents of social change through a leadership development programme. With regard to the importance of such research, Conner and Strobel have stated: ‘not only do youth have the most at stake in addressing the problems that plague our social systems, but also they have important ideas and insights to contribute to the formation and advancement of reform agendas’ (2007, p. 276). The results of this study indicated that adolescent girls must be provided with opportunities to develop a broad understanding of leadership, as narrow definitions may result in alienating girls from this concept. The authors also proposed that youth leadership should be comprised of three aspects: communication and interpersonal skills, analytic and critical reflection, and positive community involvement.

In a similar way, North (2007) examined the effects of an adolescent leadership programme that aimed to increase student awareness of issues concerning prejudice and discrimination in American society and as a result move students to action. This leadership programme adopted a linear model of awareness, purpose, and action. This model proposed that students could effect social change by first having an awareness of themselves, having a clear understanding of the areas in which they wanted to bring about social change, and finally transforming themselves and others in light of this awareness. Other leadership programmes for girls have explored how the establishment of morals and values with regard to concerns of social justice and equity can assist in girls' leadership development (Cambron-McCabe & McCarthy, 2005; Young & Mountford, 2006).

An understanding of the issues facing women leaders in contemporary society and an investigation into how adolescent leadership development can be directed towards social change are interesting concepts for investigation. Socialisation theorists point out that the incongruent constructions of women and leadership have come about due to social and cultural perceptions about the differing roles and abilities of men and women (Carli, 2001; Carli & Eagly, 2007; Eagly & Carli, 2007; Ridgeway, 2001). Therefore, in order to combat these misconceptions a concerted effort must be made to develop girls for leadership so they can challenge these ideas (Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008).

Whilst some suggestions have been made by past research as to what type of leadership development is needed for girls, these findings are still limited due to the small amount of investigation into this concept. Therefore, the research reported in this paper will serve the purpose of broadening this understanding. By hearing from those who can offer the greatest insights into such a development – that is, school staff that have experience in the education of girls, female student leaders, and women leaders who understand the current leadership context for women – recommendations for developing adolescent girls as leaders will be made. These recommendations can then be compared against the issues raised in the literature with regard to women and leadership. As a result, it is hoped that a clear direction for developing adolescent girls as leaders through their educational experiences can be made.

Research question

The overall purpose of this study is to provide school educators with recommendations regarding the development of adolescent girls for future leadership. It was seen as important to gain these suggestions from a range of perspectives including students and staff from the girls' school context, as well as women leaders from both within and outside educational settings. Therefore, the question of investigation is as follows: what recommendations can be made by educational staff, female student leaders, and current women leaders, in order to direct the future practice of preparing adolescent girls for both school and post-school leadership?

Methodology

In order to address the research question, this study utilised a qualitative research approach to explore the phenomena of adolescent girls and leadership development. The purpose of phenomenological research is to gain an understanding of the way in which individuals or groups experience particular phenomenon and the meaning that is then constructed from this experience (Johnson & Christensen, 2004). The descriptions gained from participants regarding the phenomenon under investigation can be analysed in order to provide the researcher with an understanding of participants' lived experience of the concept under investigation (Patton, 2002). The use of narrative inquiry adds further depth to this examination. This form of qualitative research explores personal experience as told through participants' ‘stories’, thus giving voice to the concerns raised (Webster & Mertova, 2007). As a research method, narrative inquiry allows for multiple types of data collection including interviews and discussion groups, or any other method that facilitates personal voice through the use of open-ended questions (Patton, 2002). Therefore, qualitative research with a phenomenological and narrative inquiry focus provides for in-depth descriptions of phenomena within particular settings (Mertens, 1997).

Data collection

Qualitative research also enables multiple methods of data collection, which in turn facilitates the collection of participant points of view (Creswell, 2003). Multiple sources of data are sought in qualitative research in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the concept under examination by exploring it from multiple perspectives. Patton (2002) has indicated that multiple methods of data collection are used in qualitative research as no singular method can adequately capture a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Therefore, the strengths of one method compensate for the weaknesses of another. By collecting different perspectives through varying methods, data can also be triangulated in order to verify meaning and thus provide validity to results (Patton, 2002; Webster & Mertova, 2007). This process of comparing and synthesising data from multiple sources is known as overlapping methods (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The rich descriptions gained of the phenomena through the use of overlapping methods can also aid the process of transferability. That is, a deep understanding of the phenomena has been gained through the analysis of data from multiple sources; therefore, this understanding has greater credibility and thus can be transferred to other contexts or a larger population (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

In achieving the objective of gathering a range of perspectives on the concern of developing adolescent girls as future women leaders, three different forms of data collection were used; these included electronic survey, focus groups, and interviews. These methods were used respectively to elucidate the opinions of educational staff, female students, and women leaders on the topic of adolescent girls and leadership. As a consequence of these varying methods of data collection, the findings of one phase of study can then be compared against the findings of another, thus bringing credibility to the research findings (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). These data, which are in essence a collection of thoughts and ideas, can then be analysed and assessed for meaning. The meaning that is derived from such an analysis can then be used to bring about social awareness and change.

Before undertaking data collection, appropriate ethics clearance was received from the researcher's university, consent was then obtained from participants and, where necessary, parent/guardians of participants; all participants were also informed of their ability to withdraw from the study at any time and without consequence.

Data analysis

The data gathered through each of the collection methods underwent the same segmenting, coding, and analysis process. Segmenting involves the process of dividing the data into meaningful units, whilst coding is the process of attaching labels to these units, and analysis is the meaning that is derived from the segmenting and coding processes (Johnson & Christensen, 2004). The purpose of these procedures is to determine what parts of the data hold greater significance over others so that the underlying meanings within the data can be reported and thus understood through the research findings.

With regard to the three different methods of research, the transcripts of data collected were read several times for meaning and preliminary notes were made concerning the themes that were starting to become apparent. This process of review continued and using inductive coding, where themes are established during the data review process (Johnson & Christensen, 2004); the data were then segmented into sections of text, indicating where different themes stopped and started. The segments of text were then coded accordingly. This descriptive phase of data analysis then led to the interpretive phase where conclusions were made as to the research findings.

Participants

Three different groups of participants took part in this study. These included educational staff from the girls' school context, female student leaders from these same environments, and women leaders from educational settings as well as the broader community. Student and staff participants were from schools that were members of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.

Staff survey

Electronic survey, facilitated through the provider SurveyMonkey, was used to gather the perspectives of educational staff who were employed in girls' schools located in Australia and New Zealand. Survey is an effective tool for gathering qualitative date from a large and diverse research sample (Goddard & Villanova, 1996). An invitation email was sent to principals of schools that were members of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia; at the time of this research, membership to this organisation stood at 86 schools within Australia and New Zealand. From these schools, 186 staff agreed to participate. Staff members accessed the survey electronically through a web link. The staff participants varied in level of school responsibility, with 22% holding an executive position, including principal and deputy principal, 22% holding a pastoral leadership position, such as year coordinator, 21.5% were heads of subject departments, and 34.5% were classroom teachers. The gender distribution of staff was approximately 90% female and 10% male. The physical location of these staff members can be seen in Table 1.

Table 1 Staff survey participants by location.

Location	Number of participants
New South Wales	87
Queensland	15
Victoria	20
Australian Capital Territory	0
Tasmania	2
South Australia	19
Western Australia	31
New Zealand	12
Total	186

Student focus groups

Focus groups, facilitated through the use of Skype Instant Messaging, were used to bring together female students from different locations within Australia; in addition, one school was located in South Africa. These students were also from schools that were members of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. All students were in their final year of schooling, were aged between 16 and 18 years, and currently held a leadership position. Focus groups are used to facilitate discussion on a specific topic so that the underlying beliefs of participants as well as that of the group can be discovered (Parker & Tritter, 2006). The electronic nature of this data collection method enabled participants from a broad range of locations to participate in the same focus group; this not only created a rich discussion but also helped to confirm findings across different locations. Electronic survey also provided anonymity to participants, thus providing them with freedom of voice, as well as supplying a transcript of the discussion for analysis. The location of participants in each focus group can be seen in Table 2.

Table 2 Focus group school location and number of students.

Group 1		Group 2		Group 3		Group 4		Group 5		Group 6
Location	n	Location	n	Location	n	Location	n	Location	n	Location	n
New South	4	Victoria	4	New South	2	New South	4	Queensland	4	South Africa	4
Wales				Wales		Wales
Queensland	1			Queensland	2	Queensland	2	Victoria	3	Queensland	4
Western	2									Victoria	2
Australia
Total	7		4		4		6		7		10

Interviews with women leaders

Interviews with current women leaders were undertaken both within Australia and also the United Kingdom. Both in-person and telephone interviews were used to collect data; the different interview methods were due to either the location or availability of the interviewee. Like focus groups, interviews gather descriptions from participants with regard to their understanding and perspective of the questions under investigation (Opdenakker, 2006). Standardised open-ended questions were used in order to achieve consistency across the various interviews. Of the seven women leaders interviewed for this study, three were aged between 40 and 50 years, whilst four participants were aged above 50 years. Each participant was currently in a position of seniority within their organisation and had held their current position, or one of equal standing, for between four and 10 years. Details regarding each participant and the interview type used can be found in Table 3.

Table 3 Women leader interviews.

Number	Occupation	Description	Location	Type
1	Academic	University Deputy Vice Chancellor (professor)	New South Wales, Australia	In-person
2	Academic	University Professor	Victoria, Australia	Telephone
3	Politician	Federal Member of Parliament, senior portfolio position	New South Wales, Australia	Telephone
4	Finance	Head of sector, financial institution	New South Wales, Australia	In-person
5	School principal	Independent Anglican girls' school, pre-kindergarten (three years) to Year 12	New South Wales, Australia	In-person
6	School principal (head teacher)	Independent Church of England girls' school, reception (four years plus) to sixth form	England, United Kingdom	In-person
7	School principal (head teacher)	Government Catholic girls' school, Year 7 to fifth form	England, United Kingdom	In-person

Findings: staff survey

In exploring how adolescent girls can be best prepared for school and post-school leadership, educational staff provided recommendations in order to refine and develop future leadership practice. The recommendations identified in the staff responses included the need to:

•	scope and sequence leadership positions across the school;
•	review the selection of student leaders;
•	provide greater leadership training and skill development;
•	teach a greater understanding of leadership as a concept;
•	teach leadership across the curriculum;
•	provide more opportunities for formal and informal leadership;
•	ensure that leadership positions were inclusive of all girls;
•	provide mentoring and role modelling through exposure to women leaders;
•	provide greater recognition of leadership achievement; and
•	provide opportunities for student dialogue and feedback.

By reviewing current student leadership practices and structures within the school context, educational staff identified numerous ways in which adolescent girls' leadership development could be improved. Staff recommended that opportunities for leadership needed to be made available to younger students so that they could experience this concept earlier. The scope and sequencing of leadership positions across the school was seen as a way of addressing this concern, as stated by staff: ‘I think we need to encourage leadership earlier’, ‘personally I would like to see leadership groups that are made up with representatives from various year levels’, and ‘leadership needs to be formalised at lower levels throughout the school, rather than just in the final year of school’. It was also recognised that this scope and sequence needed to include leadership ‘understanding’ and ‘awareness’, not just positions.

In conjunction with the need to scope and sequence leadership positions was the necessity to review the selection process of student leaders. Staff recommended that the election of students needed to be ‘less of a popularity contest’ and that a ‘wider range of applicants’ needed to be encouraged. This also included encouraging ‘quieter students’ to apply for leadership positions and ensuring that girls ‘nominated for positions for only the right reasons’, or even targeting girls ‘who show promise or inclination rather than making it universal’. Another staff member encapsulated these concerns through the statement:

there is probably still a small way to move forward in encouraging students to have the confidence to promote themselves for leadership positions, particularly those girls who are quieter, and perhaps step back while the more vocal ones move forward.

It was also recommended by staff that a wider range of opportunities for students to practise leadership, and as a consequence develop leadership skills, was required. This included the greater utilisation of leadership training through specific programmes that focused on skill development. However, there was diversity as to the intended outcome of these programmes. For example, staff recommended the focus on communication skills including those needed for ‘public speaking’ and ‘presentations’. A focus on the development of interpersonal skills in order to ‘influence others’ was also recommended, as were programmes aimed at developing girls' ‘resilience’. Other suggested areas of focus for girls' leadership programmes included the ‘philosophical training of student leaders’ and programmes that focused on the development of students' ‘social consciousness’.

In addition to leadership development programmes, the teaching of leadership as a concept, including different styles of leadership, was recommended by staff. One staff member stated:

I think by redefining what is meant by leadership … and by endorsing the idea that it is available to all, we are going some way to countering the past image of leadership being for good girls who liked to wear a badge but did little.

Another staff member also added:

I think schools need to gain a greater theoretical understanding of the various models of leadership and their strengths and weaknesses. Student leaders need to gain this knowledge and language associated with it so that they can reflect meaningfully and evaluate and enhance their performances and qualities more meaningfully.

With regard to types of leadership, staff recommended a ‘greater emphasis on service as a form of leadership’, as well as ‘empathetic and spiritual leadership’ and ‘collaborative and distributed leadership’ models. It was also thought that students needed to be taught to ‘develop ideas of leadership outside the school gates … to broaden their horizons beyond the classroom’. As well as the teaching of leadership styles, it was also recommended to assess the area of school practice where leadership was associated and therefore taught. The teaching of leadership as part of the curriculum was one way that students could be developed as leaders. It was also suggested that this teaching could include a focus on ‘gender core values’. Girls were also encouraged ‘to be leaders in academia as well as extra-curricular’. In this way girls would be prepared ‘for the future where a sense of self in terms of leadership [would be] a significant component of their learning entitlement’.

Staff suggested that adolescent girls needed greater opportunities to practise both formal and informal leadership. These opportunities would subsequently lead to ‘student growth and development’. It was suggested that opportunities to practise leadership could be linked formally to ‘co-curricular areas’ and areas ‘of particular interest and passion’, or alternatively, through informal opportunities. In conjunction with offering more leadership opportunities was also the need to make leadership inclusive of all students. This included encouraging leadership in girls not elected into a formal leadership position. In relation to this, staff stated: ‘giving others the opportunity to realise they have great skills and capabilities even if they were not elected’, ‘whilst not everyone has leadership qualities, everyone should be given the opportunity to develop them’, and ‘work needs to be done in making all feel valued and inspired to lead regardless of whether they hold a position or not’.

Staff acknowledged that adolescent girls needed to be supported in numerous ways in their development as current and future leaders. Mentoring and exposure to women leaders through role-modelling was recommended by staff as one way of achieving this support and development. This included ‘exposure to women leaders in different fields’ and utilising ‘a mentor system for goal setting and guidance’. Mentoring for adolescent girls was recognised as taking place with other students as well as staff members; for example, it was stated that ‘establishing mentors for students with staff and/or students to further develop their leadership skills’ and ‘have more staff team up and assist in the supervision of different activities, roles etc. This is not to undermine student leadership but rather to model positive leadership skills’. Staff also suggested that adolescent girls needed greater recognition of their leadership achievements; it was thought that school educators were often ‘happy with the jobs done but often forget to recognise the students who [had] put in the time’. It was also suggested that by providing adolescent girls with opportunities for student voice and decision-making, their leadership capacity might be developed. This process included providing ‘students more freedom in decision making’ and allowing them to take ‘ownership of their behaviour’.

Educational staff provided a range of perceptive recommendations for using educational experiences as a way of preparing adolescent girls for both school and post-school leadership. Of interest now was how adolescent girls who currently held a leadership position might reflect on the same practice.

Findings: student focus groups

Each focus group responded to the research question by providing recommendations in order to direct the future practice of preparing adolescent girls for both school and post-school leadership. As with the staff recommendations, numerous themes became apparent in the student responses to this question. These included the need to:

•	commence leadership development early;
•	offer more leadership roles and encourage girls to take on these roles;
•	teach leadership through the curriculum and specific programmes;
•	provide opportunities to develop leadership skills;
•	provide opportunities to develop resilience, confidence, and self-belief;
•	provide greater contact with boys;
•	provide workplace opportunities;
•	provide female mentors/role-models;
•	educate girls on gender issues, including the influence of stereotypes; and
•	educate girls on the place of women in society.

As was acknowledged through the staff responses, students also recognised that the preparation of adolescent girls for leadership needed to commence early in a students' educational experience. This process would then allow girls to ‘build on knowledge and be better equipped for future situations’. It was also recognised that, by having a continuous focus on leadership development throughout schooling, girls would be better prepared ‘to aim towards leadership after school’. Students also acknowledged that by offering more leadership roles and by encouraging students to take on these roles, girls could be better prepared as future leaders in society. One student stated: ‘offering more leadership roles is crucial in my opinion as this gives the maximum amount of girls the opportunity of leadership’. Another student recommended that schools also focus on the leadership development of those students who do not hold a formal position. Students acknowledged that girls could be prepared for leadership through specific leadership programmes that were delivered through the curriculum. As stated by one student:

we need more opportunities and we need more programs or workshops where there's individual attention given to each student starting from Year 9 or 10 and what they would like achieve as a leader in life and how they can achieve that'. It was recommended that this development have an international focus in order to prepare girls ‘to deal with a world that has been intensely globalised.

Student leaders also suggested that girls be provided with opportunities to develop their leadership skills by having a range of leadership experiences. These experiences included ‘leading groups of different genders, sizes, ages’ as well as leadership experiences outside of the school context, such as through ‘volunteer work’. It was recognised by one student that ‘since the group that girls are leading changes so dramatically from school to the workplace, give them skills to overcome this’. Another student extend this by stating: ‘by equipping girls with proper leadership skills and confidence and making them strong on the inside they should be able to lead both men and women in the business world because they are assured of their ability and skills’. It was also recommended by the student leaders that girls were provided with leadership opportunities that develop their resilience, confidence, and self-belief. One student stated that ‘schools can prepare us in such a way that elevates our resilience levels’, and another student that ‘in school you should be encouraged to stick with your ideas even if they are not with the majority – in simple situations such as during a class’. This development of self-belief was also linked to gender issues: ‘our school helps us build self-belief and that's probably a strong driving force that can overcome any gender barriers that may exist’.

Various other types of leadership opportunities for girls were also recommended by students. These included greater contact with boys’ schools in order to become ‘more assertive’, as well as workplace and other co-educational experiences. These experiences would ensure that girls were able to ‘observe the way they do things in a work environment’, thus assisting them ‘to gain confidence’ and achieve ‘leadership aspirations’. Another student added: ‘part time employment exposes you to the real world, as does attendance at conferences and interacting with boys schools e.g. musical, dances etc’. It was also recommended that female mentors and/or role-models from the workplace be used as a way of preparing girls for school and post-school leadership. One student stated that ‘having more women role-models encourages girls to emulate them and gives them the courage to become leaders’, and another student added that guest speakers ‘inspire us to reach higher, including challenging gender roles in employment’.

Students also recommended that they be educated on gender issues, including stereotypes, as a way of preparing for leadership roles. This was expressed by one student who stated: ‘I think that if schools spent more time educating women AND men about things like gender roles and deconstructing them, then we could start to change the mindset’. The main focus of this preparation was in breaking down gender stereotypes. Educating girls about women's place in society and how they can contribute as women to society was also acknowledged as important. By educating adolescent girls about issues of gender inequity and how they can contribute to society as leaders, students acknowledged that it would motivate them work towards gender equity. The need for this development was encapsulated by one student, who stated: ‘I would like to develop a range of skills in approaching and overcoming such limitations. I think a greater focus needs to be placed on our lives as women in the future and what this means’. In relation to this, another student added: ‘making girls aware of the reality of the situation for women in leadership positions is important. With that self-knowledge, we could actively seek to combat the gender based obstacles’.

Whilst the staff and student recommendations provided interesting insights regarding the leadership development of adolescent girls in educational settings, the need to compare these against the perspectives of women leaders, both within and outside education, was apparent.

Findings: interviews with women leaders

The gathering of perspectives from current women leaders was seen as an important contribution to the recommendations that could be made to school educators with regard to the development of future women leaders. Interestingly, the women leaders interviewed often made similar suggestions to those made by educational staff and female students. These recommendations included the need to:

•	teach girls about the concept of leadership;
•	review schools' current leadership models and frameworks;
•	review the selection process of students;
•	provide girls with opportunities to practise leadership;
•	provide all girls with leadership opportunities in order to encourage social inclusion;
•	align leadership development with girls' self-development;
•	prepare girls for the reality of the workplace; and
•	provide mentoring and role modelling experiences.

The women leaders interviewed recognised the importance of teaching adolescent girls a broad understanding of the concept of leadership. As stated by one of the women leaders:

I think there is a sense that if I'm at the very front of the line then I'm the leader, so in fact there are notions of distributed leadership, there are notions of lateral leadership and so if that you create an understanding of leadership in its many forms and have different opportunities for that leadership to be demonstrated, then I think that is a really, really important way [of preparing girls for leadership].

In relation to the varying forms of leadership it was also recognised that leadership was contextual and therefore it was important for girls to understand when it was appropriate for them to lead and when to follow.

It was recommended that school educators implement a review of current school leadership models and frameworks in order to assess whether these were the most appropriate. One suggestion was to make every Year 12 student a leader in order to avoid ‘popular girls’ filling a select number of roles, as stated: ‘in so doing, every girl in Year 12 has a set of responsibilities to other girls below them and to the communities in which they work and in which they live’. This model of leadership recognised that ‘every student has something to contribute’ not just ‘the chosen ones’. It was also deemed important by the women leaders that student leadership roles and responsibilities were ‘authentic’, this meaning that leaders were not ‘just a group of girls that check uniform’ but rather facilitated student-run projects where failing was part of the course of action. Reviewing election processes was another recommendation for preparing girls for post-school life. Women leaders suggested that students should apply formally for leadership positions, including a letter of application and an interview process. Thus, girls would be prepared for similar procedures in their adult experiences. In addition, it was recommended that these processes ensure equity as opposed to nepotism or ‘always the same people exercising leadership’.

The opportunity to practise leadership was recognised by the women leaders as an important way of developing future women leaders. It was also recognised that this experience should be accessible to as many girls as possible. In conjunction with this, one of the women leaders stated: ‘[ensure] positions of responsibility are the norm so that they get used to the idea … to make sure there is leadership experience so it's not just having a job but doing something with it’. In providing girls with opportunities to lead, failure was once again recognised as an important component of this process:

Allowing them to flounder and then trying to get them to pick themselves up because that's what a leader does rather than requiring a safety net. Accepting that sometimes the safety net has to be a very, very loose safety net and experiencing failure and leading from there is part of the learning process.

The women leaders recognised that only through the broad experience of leadership would girls learn the skills required for future leadership practice. However, a challenged mentioned by one of the women leaders was to ensure that school leadership opportunities prepared girls for future social inclusion. This point highlighted the need to provide structures for girls who were disengaged from school, as stated: ‘not only do [these girls] not see themselves as leaders; they don't see themselves as participators … the challenge is how we reach those girls’.

Another recommendation by the women leaders was to align adolescent leadership development with girls' self-development. This included a focus on developing girls' self-confidence and independence. Part of this confidence-building was also to ensure that girls were ‘competent enough to believe that they [could] do jobs that in the past women didn't actually stereotypically believe they could do’. The focus on skill development was also aligned with girls' academic performance with regard to their ability to undertake ‘independent study’ and take ‘control of their own learning program’. In relation to this, one of the women leaders stated: ‘it should be about giving them the skills to criticise in some instances, to evaluate, to ask questions, giving them values which will be the basis in which they ask questions and make decisions’. In providing girls with the provisions to develop these skills, it was deemed necessary to hold girls ‘to account for their actions’ as a ‘way of developing them for leadership’. Thus, skill development was also aligned with taking responsibility for actions.

It was also suggested that adolescent girls needed adequate preparation for the reality of the workplace. As stated by one of the women leaders:

Once they hit the workplace the whole thing about being female immediately happens … employers think twice about employing them if they look like they might have a child, the whole workplace is not geared towards them, we know immediately that their wages are less than men and they have to over achieve in education to even get less wages once they hit the workforce … All you can prepare them for is the reality of that.

Within the practice of workplace preparation, it was also suggested that this include education on the operation of class and gender and ‘how people make decisions about whom to employ’ and ‘how the whole work force is actually premised on the gender division of labour’. In order to achieve this understanding, it was recommended to expose girls ‘to the outside world’ through such practices as work experience. It was suggested that this practice would be particularly beneficial in gender-biased occupations such as the finance industry. For example, a female leader from this field stated:

If you want to really expose women to the financial services industry for example then you need to get them places on the trading floor or get them places in the investment banking department, the real areas where they very well may end up having careers but where they will experience the gender issues.

It was also recommended that school educators use male leaders in order to convey to girls the issues that they perceived existed for women in the workplace, it was suggested to find men ‘who understand what the issues are and will talk honestly about the things that they have done in the past or that they now realise were behaviours that held women back’. In this way, girls would understand ‘how men perceive the things they do’. In alignment with the above suggestions, mentoring and role-modelling were also recognised as important methods in the development of adolescent girls for leadership. This included teaching girls how to mentor other students as well as building female networks of support, as stated by one female leader: ‘it is the networking I think that men do very, very well, they are far ahead of us as career networkers than women are’. It was suggested that, by using past alumnae, girls could be provided with role-models from specific professions that might in turn provide career support and guidance.

The women leaders put forth many interesting suggestions with regard to how school educators could aid the development of future women leaders. Whilst they demonstrated some areas of similarity with both the student and staff participants, they also presented new ideas for consideration.

Discussion and recommendations

The need to attend to the current imbalance of women leaders in society was raised through the review of the literature. It was also suggested that girls' educational experiences could be one way of addressing this concern. Through the voices of educational practitioners and female student leaders from the girls' school context, as well as current women leaders from both educational settings and other societal positions, a new understanding has been gained regarding the preparation of young women for present and future leadership.

The need to provide girls with authentic leadership experiences was recognised as a key finding of this study. However, as to how authentic leadership experiences were to be achieved varied between participant groups. Female students articulated the need to be exposed to boys so that they could learn to be more assertive and develop more confidence in their interactions with males. Both students and staff saw the need for girls to be provided with workplace opportunities and for schools to provide mentoring and exposure to female role-models from this environment so that girls would be encouraged to emulate successful women. This exposure to real-world experiences was also acknowledged by the women leaders. This incorporated girls developing an understanding of how men might perceive their actions and how this may lead to future misconceptions about their leadership ability. These suggestions supported the earlier findings by Hoyt and Kennedy that the exposure of girls to women leaders could be a catalyst for girls becoming agents of social change (Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008).

The recommendation to teach girls an understanding of gender issues complimented the ideas raised above. The impact of gender stereotypes (Eagly & Carli, 2007) and gender status beliefs (Ridgeway, 2001) was raised through the literature. The female students indicated that the education of adolescent girls about gender stereotypes and gender inequity as well as how women contribute positively to society would help change their preconceived mindsets about these concerns and result in motivating young women towards social change. The women leaders also acknowledged this issue. It was recommended that students' understanding of the function of gender in the workplace be developed, subsequently leading to a clearer understanding of the gender challenges that may confront girls in work environments. As a consequence, girls would be better equipped to confront these concerns in the future. It was also raised by the women leaders that awareness by educators of social inclusion, meaning all girls should be developed for leadership regardless of other aspects such as class or race, was an important component of adolescent girls' leadership development.

The need to provide girls with opportunities to practise leadership and develop their leadership skills was widely recognised by all participants. Leadership has been acknowledged as a concept that can both be taught and developed (Burns, 1978; Conner & Strobel, 2007), particularly in young women (Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008; McNae, 2010). By providing girls with opportunities to practise leadership, it was recognised by the student participants that resilience and self-belief could be developed. The women leaders also acknowledged that a focus on leadership development could help facilitate a student's self-development. This self-development may result in the formation of a leadership identity. The potential for leadership programmes to result in the formation of girls' leadership identity was acknowledged by past research (Bartol et al., 2003; Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008). Further to this was the recommendation by staff and women leaders that girls needed to be taught a broader understanding of leadership as a concept including differing leadership styles. It was acknowledged through the literature that if girls did not have a broad understanding of leadership, they risked finding themselves alienated from this role (Conner & Strobel, 2007). A broader understanding of leadership may also assist girls in coming to terms with the challenges of women's leadership in workplace contexts (Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001).

The need to assess current leadership frameworks and opportunities for students to occupy positional leadership roles was also recommended. It was suggested through the literature that it was important to expose girls to leadership in order to provide them with the opportunity to learn and develop leadership skills (McNae, 2010). It was recommended by both students and staff that leadership development be implemented early in girls' educational experiences, as opposed to existing solely in the final years of schooling. Added to this was the suggestion by staff that school educators develop a scope and sequence of leadership roles across the school, thus providing greater opportunities for students to occupy leadership positions. Students also highlighted the need to expand the leadership roles available to girls in schools; in addition, they suggested that girls needed to be encouraged to take on these roles and then subsequently supported in their operation. It was suggested by the women leaders that school educators assess the current leadership framework functioning within their school in order to determine whether this was appropriate for exposing as many girls as possible to leadership. The suggestion by the women leaders that leadership needed to be more inclusive, rather than just ‘the chosen ones’, was also supported by staff. In addition to this, staff and women leaders also raised the need to review the leadership election process in order to ensure that leadership was not correlated with popularity. Thus, by assessing current structures and processes, adjustments may be made to ensure the implementation of best practice with regard to girls' leadership experiences.

The recommendations provided by female students, educational staff, and current women leaders have provided a comprehensive view of how adolescent girls' leadership development within educational settings can be used to better prepare girls for post-school leadership. The recommendations of assessing current educational practices with regard to girls' leadership development, providing girls with authentic leadership opportunities and experiences, as well as teaching girls' the importance of gender issues and women's leadership, have formed a cohesive message for school educators regarding the development of future women leaders. These recommendations have articulated a way forward in achieving optimal leadership development for girls, as well as recognising the importance of preparing future women leaders and the potential of adolescent girls in filling these roles.

Conclusion

The recommendations made by the three groups of participants have gone some way in highlighting for educators areas for development and reflection. The literature review identified that incongruent constructions of women and leadership have developed due to social and cultural perceptions about the differing roles and abilities of men and women in society (Carli, 2001). The need to find ways of addressing this incongruence is therefore vital in improving the position of women in society. The fact that women face gender imbalance with regard to leadership positions in the workplace and that their passage to leadership is more complex and challenging than their male counterparts has been well established (Kellerman & Rhode, 2007; Lyness & Thompson, 2000). The concern that adolescent girls may be accepting of gender inequity and may have become complacent with regard to their role in bringing about social change was also raised (Sheahan, 2005; Still, 2006). Of interest is how these concerns can be addressed.

Whilst this study has only reported on a limited research sample, it is hoped that the recommendations may go some way in providing guidance to school educators with regard to more effective ways of preparing future women leaders. Therefore, the educational experiences of adolescent girls may provide a pivotal opportunity for addressing broader concerns of societal gender inequity by assisting girls in their preparation for leadership positions in post-school life.