Finding Room for Indigenous Women in Educational Leadership: Why Structured Mentorship and Training Are Needed

Introduction

Educational leadership is strongly linked to the context of individuals; in order to “understand women as leaders” (Robinson et al., 2020, p. 692), researchers examining power and access issues within education must consider the contexts of the women they research. There is a particular need to understand the lack of representation of indigenous women in educational leadership because of how necessary indigenous viewpoints are to current educational systems; indigenous school leadership “offers rich ways of leading well-suited to our current challenges” and may be the way forward in educational leadership (Netolicky, 2022, p. 211). If we add to this the dwindling numbers of teachers and educational leaders who stay in their positions and the ever-decreasing populations of new teachers in teacher education programs (MacMath et al., 2021), then colleges and universities must recognize these trends and address current gaps in teacher training, especially for indigenous women aiming for leadership roles in school systems.

Teachers must be prepared for both classroom and administrative work, especially considering the number of novice teachers entering classrooms (Mallette et al., 2020). This is especially true for teachers and administrators who represent indigenous communities. Researchers must investigate how women from indigenous communities are encouraged and supported within educational leadership, and all too often how they are not, for two main reasons: first, any chance we have of achieving true diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational spaces must include indigenous women, and second, indigenous women in leadership roles help support the sharing of cultural knowledge they gather from indigenous communities, within both their communities and their schools (Robinson et al., 2020).

Increasing diversity in educational leadership by making concerted efforts to include indigenous women in education and training programs can transform power relations within educational (Edwards, 2018). Considering the dire shortages of administrators in K-12 education (Tucker & Fushell, 2014), this inclusion is necessary both for equity reasons and to fill current needs. In addition, there are concerns that the continued absence of indigenous women in educational leadership will have long-term impacts on educational workspaces, as it is harder and harder to recruit qualified leaders to fill these career positions (Tucker & Fushell, 2014). Chase and Martin (2021) also suggest that failure to include more indigenous women in educational leadership will inevitably “diminish the cadre of leaders” from marginalized communities and reinforce “male-dominated and white-centric practices” (p. 2). Without diverse leadership, we cannot hope to develop the kind of diverse teaching force and culturally responsive teaching practices that are vital for reaching equity in our classrooms (Chase & Martin, 2021).

Fitzgerald (2003) refers to a “deafening silence” for indigenous women in educational leadership, urging administrators to explore ways to promote indigenous women within schools. Why are indigenous women so underrepresented in educational leadership roles? In the case of indigenous women, we know that a lack of mentorship, absence of strong role models, and difficulty finding networking opportunities creates barriers to obtaining and keeping leadership positions (Robinson et al., 2020). Fitzgerald (2003) argues that “Educational leadership needs to be subject to a process of redefinition to ensure that the voices of indigenous women and their experiences are conterminously theorised and legitimised from their worldview” (p. 15), suggesting that we must question existing practices to conceptualize an educational leadership approach that includes diverse worldviews. Where can we find guidance for moving forward?

While it is clear is that we need to spend more time learning about the “historical, social, economic and professional circumstances of indigenous women’s lives” and how this affects their participation in educational leadership (Fitzgerald, 2003, p. 14), it’s not clear how to accomplish this. To achieve greater equity for indigenous women and make room for them in educational leadership, we must consider a combination of (a) a robust and consistent support system that includes opportunities for validation and active assistance from indigenous communities and from educational systems, as well as strong and transparent programs to ensure mentorship for women from indigenous communities, and (b) a shift in educational leadership approaches that also includes indigenous systems and values and helps ensure that diversity initiatives are sustainable. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways that adult education programs and human resource development interventions can and should help prepare indigenous women for positions in educational leadership. As research by Tucker and Fushell (2014) shows, indigenous women are “not reaching the highest levels of leadership positions” (p. 61), and it’s important to track down how important factors impact both women’s decisions to take available positions and their ability to do so. We need to better understand, and resolve, their lack of representation in educational leadership.

The Role of Education and Training Programs

Recent research on professional development programs embedded within teacher training in higher education reveals that student teachers are better able to develop leadership identities when they are given opportunities and support for practicing these identities (Buss, 2022). Furthermore, MacMath et al. (2021) show that mentorship for educational leaders work best when it is targeted towards particular individuals or communities; thus, programs aiming to develop indigenous women as educational leaders must focus on what specific types of education, training, support, and opportunities women from indigenous communities might need. Once new teachers enter the workforce, they “may need more assistance than their veteran colleagues and administrators are able to provide” because of industry-wide lack of mentorship for new teachers (MacMath et al., 2021, p. 30).

MacMath et al. (2021) call for a nation-wide mentorship model for teachers already in service, as part of their professional development, which other researchers have illustrated as well. In a case study, French and Lozano (2020) argued for mentorship as a vital component in human resource development, stating that this collaborative tool helps learners before they join the workforce. The authors explain that mentorship “is an effective teaching and learning tool” in higher education that provides important opportunities for students (French & Lozano, 2020, p. 70).

Support Systems for Indigenous Women

Because mentorship has been proven to provide such needed opportunities (French & Lozano, 2020), it’s important to note that the absence of mentorship makes it harder for indigenous women to hold top administrative positions in education. Tucker and Fushell (2014) set out to uncover more about disparity in leadership roles, interviewing various women who had completed the requisite coursework to move forward in a master’s program in Education and found that encouragement can help many women “advance into leadership positions” (p. 62). Limited support from administrators and school leaders (even at the district level) and outdated human resources policies that exclude indigenous women can leave potential leaders feeling discouraged and unwanted (Tucker & Fushell, 2014).

Groves (2021) also sees a deep need for mentoring programs for women, mainly because in many industries, a large proportion of high-level management positions are still held by men; this is true for educational leadership as well, especially for women from indigenous communities. And despite dramatic shortages of qualified K-12 leaders in various school districts in Canada and the United States, few women are provided with the support to move up the ranks; without a distinct program to mentor qualified women for positions of authority, this shortage will continue (Tucker & Fushell, 2014). Indigenous women represent an abundant talent pool and are clearly willing to do the hard work needed to guide students and staff in challenging places and times (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020). Despite this need, as research has revealed, a systemic lack of opportunities and encouragement for indigenous women can keep them from finding roles in educational leadership.

Indigenous women can sometimes gain access to positions of authority when others in their communities understand them and the way that they learn and lead; thus, support systems at both the community and school system-level help with inclusivity. For example, several of the Mi’kmaw women Robinson et al. (2020) interviewed shared how support from within their indigenous communities helped them move into leadership roles. The unique support systems Robinson et al. (2020) uncovered include support from the school communities (including that of teachers, parents, students, and other community members connected to the school), a clear valuing of the women leaders’ contributions by the community, and active and consistent support from the community of the leaders in their positions. Because of this strong community-level support, indigenous women rely heavily on collaboration, focus on preserving their culture, and connect to spirituality as part of their leadership approaches, and these characteristics should be viewed as strengths, rather than weaknesses (Fitzgerald, 2003; Robinson et al., 2020).

Another example of the importance of support systems comes from the Mi’kmaw and the ways their indigenous leaders “lead by example and demonstrate how one can lead a good life according to cultural values and teachings”, and how indigenous women rely heavily on building and sustaining networks (Robinson et al., 2020, p. 694). We see a strong example of this in the story of Joanne, who was inspired by the examples provided by women elders from her own village, women who fought for other women in the community to become educated and then to work in education (Robinson et al., 2020). Joanne was inspired “to become the centre of the education system” based on the example set by these role models (Robinson et al., 2020, p. 702). Indigenous women who become principals incorporate these ways of knowing and leading, and often emphasize the value of relationships and networking within their schools, welcoming tribal and local leaders into classrooms to pass on valuable knowledge to young learners and encouraging collaboration among students via groups and organizations (Robinson et al., 2020).

This type of collaboration is vital to indigenous ways of leading and part of the reason women like those in the Mi’kmaw community are successful as educational leaders (Fitzgerald, 2003). In many indigenous and rural communities, balancing relationships between schools (institutions) and the community helps ease the way for women leaders who challenge cultural norms and gender stereotypes and are often not accepted within their own groups (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020). In fact, Oliveras-Ortiz and Hickey (2020) reveal that when female educational leaders leverage their connections to surrounding communities, they create more inclusive spaces and can boost their own acceptance in their leadership roles (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020). Thus, indigenous women who hold leadership roles in education come with a rich history of both collaboration and connection, something vitally needed in our schools (Robinson et al., 2020).

As Groves (2021) explains, formal mentoring programs are essential because they effectively reduce barriers that are in place, barriers that keep women from advancing in their careers. Based on research, we see that indigenous women face additional layers of marginalization that exclude them from administrative spaces, marginalization that is directly linked to their contexts and the communities they come from (Robinson et al., 2020). This makes mentorship both more valuable and more necessary. Without modes of support like mentorship and professional development initiatives, women in education are often stymied by the barriers in place and need specialized support to become educational leaders (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020; Tucker & Fushell, 2014). Even when these women turn to more creative solutions, their advancement is extremely difficult.

A good example of how indigenous women use their knowledge to overcome such barriers is seen in a remote village in Belize, where researchers met with Mrs. Po, an indigenous Mayan woman who took on a role as principal in a rural village, despite belonging to a different indigenous group than the one found in her school’s community (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020). While Mrs. Po accepts the challenges she faces and finds her way through, like all good principals do, she recognizes that “it helps [to] follow someone who started the process”, especially when working with cultural norms and beliefs (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020, p. 45). Thus, even if indigenous women in educational leadership come from different rural or indigenous communities, mentorship can still help lift up others. In the case of Mrs. Po, she learns the dynamics of leadership that work best in her adopted community and has an easier time because she herself comes from a rural community with similar values; her ability to transfer her own experiences and knowledge into another context makes her an ideal principal and a strong potential mentor (Oliveras-Ortiz & Hickey, 2020).

Researchers like Tucker and Fushell (2014) make it clear that a lack of mentorship is a real hurdle for many women looking for opportunities for advancement, along with a “lack of opportunity to obtain practical leadership experience” (p. 62). These are serious issues that must be addressed because clearly, the paths to leadership are not the same for men and women. If we look at the story Tucker and Fushell (2014) share of Jean, one of their study participants, a lack of mentorship and support discouraged her, over time, from advancing in education, and when Jean reports that she would have become a principal had she had any kind of support from a mentor, she underscores the problem that so many face (Tucker & Fushell, 2014). If this is true for women in general, then we must consider how lack of mentorship affects indigenous women who have even fewer mentorship opportunities.

Training Indigenous Women for Educational Leadership Roles

Another important aspect of transforming educational leadership requires understanding and appreciation of the varied ways that indigenous women learn and lead, and how this links back to their individual and community-based contexts (Robinson et al., 2020). One important part of this understanding comes from creating diverse education and training initiatives within teacher training programs. Calling on ideas from the work of Gay and Ladson-Billings, Hameed et al. (2022) propose that indigenous education works best when aligned with culturally responsive leadership practices, practices that young pre-service teachers and leaders-in-training must be exposed to within higher education settings. In other words, when we include and develop leaders from indigenous communities, we also include their perspectives and experiences, allowing them to lead by relying on their own contexts and identities (Robinson et al., 2020). For example, the Mi’kmaw women Robinson et al. (2020) studied not only became leaders in the schools themselves, but also worked to “revitalize Mi’kmaw culture in their school communities” (p. 699); while community support and mentorship were helpful in this context, the support of the broader school system was also necessary. Based on participant responses, Hameed et al. (2022) also found that for indigenous teachers in training, having mentors to connect with and talk through ideas and problems “would be really nice” (p. 8).

We must also consider how the voices of indigenous women can lead us towards equitable representation in education. Robinson et al. (2020) chronicle the success of several indigenous women in rising to positions as principals, looking for conditions that “have encouraged and supported Mi’kmaw women to become school principals” and ways in which they have overcome barriers to success (p. 692). Understanding the success of these indigenous women can shed light on what needs to change within school systems so that more indigenous women can be included. Fitzgerald (2003) calls for researchers to develop new theories of leadership that both embrace and value the cultural and social values of indigenous communities; our goal must be a multi-voiced approach to educational leadership and management via a framework that centers practice on indigenous ways of knowing and leading. As Robinson et al. (2020) explain, only within a system that values indigenous leadership can women from indigenous communities hold (and keep) leadership positions and positively impact the schools they serve. For example, the organizational supports within the school system the Mi’kmaw women are leaders in ensures these women become (and stay as) leaders through a system of networking and leadership opportunities, through hiring practices that focus on opening up leadership pathways for women, and other system-wide supports (Robinson et al., 2020).

Conclusions

While women are certainly underrepresented in leadership roles within education, there is an even starker disparity in representation for indigenous women (Robinson et al., 2020). Because leadership practices rely so much on the context of both the leaders and those whom they lead, there is a need for researchers in adult education and HR development to learn about the identities and lived experiences of indigenous women in education and what conditions can help support them in transitioning into these roles more easily and more often. Mentoring, according to Groves (2021), provides women in various industries with the advocacy and encouragement they need to move forward. Because of this, researchers in the fields of adult education and HR development need to investigate what types of mentorship programs, leadership approaches, and other factors can lead to a greater representation of indigenous women as school leaders. As Robinson et al. (2020) revealed, indigenous women often look to their own communities for support; instead, we should be looking for the ways in which formal and informal mentoring can prepare indigenous women in structured, sustainable, and deeper ways. Because the presence of both networking opportunities and strong, organized mentorship programs are proven paths to increase female inclusion in educational leadership, these must be included in every school and district, and in teacher training curricula and professional development programs (Robinson et al., 2020).

As Hameed et al. (2021) argue, today’s educational leaders must embrace cultural diversity, accept global world views, and employ inclusivity to build bridges that cross ethnic, cultural, and social boundaries. Indigenous leaders provide these ideals while also prioritizing self-knowledge and reflection and foregrounding both empowerment and ideals of community (Hameed et al., 2021). Thus, researchers must find ways to include indigenous women’s voices in educational and instructional leadership adds authenticity to their lived experiences, something that enriches our classrooms and our own children’s experiences (Fitzgerald, 2003). This search for inclusionary tactics must also shift the conversations within indigenous education away from deficit perspectives to ones that see excellence within diverse ways of thinking, being, and learning (Hameed et al., 2021). As we have seen, when indigenous women hold educational leadership positions, they enrich their own communities and the educational systems they lead. By recognizing the value of the various ways of knowing of indigenous women and bringing them into our practices and systems, we will all come closer to true inclusive teaching and learning, especially when schools and districts put policies in place that support this inclusivity. Through a combination of instruction, support, and mentorship, adult education and HR development can and must create more space for indigenous women in educational leadership.