Ispa-Landa Flashcards
(18 cards)
Why are novice
women principals useful for a study on emotional labor?
- the principal’s job requires a great deal of emotional labor
- research suggests the need for a racially diverse sample when studying emotional labor (caution against positioning
white women as the “universal female subject”) - often more self-conscious about themselves and their environments than
veterans are (may be uniquely able to articulate their internal struggles and experiences with emotional labor)
How did white women principals start out?
began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others’ influence
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How did white women principals change?
Over time, most white women reported adopting more directive practices as a way to protect themselves from burnout and
improve the quality of teachers’ classroom instruction;
How did women of colour principals start out?
beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor aimed at showing support for others, on the one hand, and showing authority, on the other, as part of
a blended project.
How did women of colour principals change?
self-reported leadership style of
women of color changed little
What are the steep trade offs with professional women?
“doing professionalism,” which required emotional detachment,
or
“doing gender,” which required a “caring orientation”
What is the “idealized relationship oriented-woman” gendered assumption?
the relationship between gender and emotional labor assumed white women as the norm
Explain how white women and black men occupy prototypical social
identities?
Stereotype: femininity as polite and deferential overlap with essentialized images of whiteness as civilized. Thus, white women match the prototype for “women.”
Stereotype: images of blackness are gendered as masculine and powerful, although in the physical rather than social sense. Therefore, the content of cultural stereotypes about blackness involves masculinity. As a result, black men match the prototype of “blacks.”
What are unprototypical, or “off-diagonal,” social identities?
social locations belong to those
whose race and gender identities convey conflicting,
Ex. Blackness is stereotyped as masculine (SO black women are in an “off-diagonal” social location)
How did white principals?
Support their staff?
white women also wanted to establish themselves as people who would be emotionally supportive and available to the staff.
Lori said that a “good” principal is someone who makes it clear to the staff that they can always “talk to you about almost
anything.”
(Not about maintain power, influence, or professional boundaries)
How did white principals?
Balance between emotional labour and authority?
a tension about how expressions of care for others’ emotional well-being and expressions of authority could coexist.
They talked about the need to “balance” or walk a “fine line”
(White women principals worried that in appearing nurturing, they might undermine their authority as principals)
How did white principals?
Move Toward Directive Practices?
they still reported showing teachers that they cared about their emotional well-being, white women principals were placing less of
a priority on showing teachers that they wanted to be emotionally supportive at all times.
(their past experience led them to believe they need to be authoritative)
Ex. Emily appeared to face sanctions when she did not display, or was perceived as not displaying, the traditionally feminine traits of caring and warmth (co workers told her she was too cold)
How did white principals?
Question fit of principal role?
, for white women who continued to value others’ opinions of their caring and warmth, leadership became strained, unpleasant, and practically untenable. It also shows how the inability to move toward a more directive leadership style can contribute to burnout and professional fatigue for women leaders who prioritize having a “caring orientation.”
Why did WOC?
Use positional authority from the beginning?
Rather than talking about hearing the staff’s perspectives, Andrea seemed more oriented to enacting her vision of having a staff that was uniformly high quality—and letting some people know they were therefore in danger of being fired
Why did WOC?
Have no conflict balancing emotional labour and authority?
women of color, believed that it was possible to simultaneously issue a
directive and show attention to another person’s emotional well-being.
She did not see tension or conflict between the two imperatives.
SUM: women of color did not feel the need to “balance” or “walk a fine line” between showing authority and control, on one hand, and showing warmth and concern for others’ emotional well-being, on the other.
For them, educational leadership involved a blended project of top-down, directive communication combined with care about others’ emotional well-being.
did WOC?
Act consistently over time?
white women principals shifted to adopt more directive leadership styles. By contrast, the leadership styles of women of color changed little. From beginning to end,
they were steadfast in their commitment to a directive style of leadership
Why might white women face “binds” to showing authority?
Because whiteness and femininity
are in prototypical alignment with one another, white women may face
additional “binds” on their ability to express agency and authority.
