A Principal and her assistant sharing an office in 1988

A third element common to the stories of the women in both groups was in their descriptions of how socially acceptable it had been for them to become teachers and how difficult it was for them to be principals. For men in both groups the situation was reversed. Many of them described parents and peers as less than supportive about their decision to become a teacher, but each of them felt that as principals they were readily accepted.

Women experienced support and acceptance in the classrooms, the women's world within schools; once they dared move into administration they crossed a social boundary and met resistance, rejection, exclusion, and isolation in the men's world of the principalship. It is little wonder many of these women described fears and anxieties about becoming principals. They repeatedly spoke about leaving warm and comfortable situations for nebulous ones, or those which were openly hostile. For men, however, the incentive to move into administration was fostered by an uneasiness in the classroom and a perception that becoming a principal was a mark of success not only for them as teachers but also as men.

A fourth and closely related element is the support the women received from their female colleagues (both teachers and principals) but also their naiveté about becoming school administrators. Lillian recalled: "The senior lady on staff seemed to like me. I worked hard but members of the staff were good to me." When she realized she would be working in education for another twenty-five years, Linda decided she did not want to remain in the classroom. But, "I had no idea of how I should go about becoming a vice-principal or what such a change would entail."

In contrast, men in both groups recalled that, despite the help of some female teachers, they received little support in the classroom. It was not until they became administrators that they tapped into a strong support system made up mainly of male principals or superintendents. Unlike the women, men in both cohorts stated they knew how to become principals. Matthew said: "I knew the people and I knew the system. As we would say in the army, I knew the whole drill. I had the feeling that I was slated for further promotion."

The fifth and final common element in the life histories of the women is the marginal nature of the appointments they received as principals. Women in the first group all received principalship of either single-sex girls' schools or vocational schools whose students had difficulties with "regular" schooling and where principals received lower salaries than those given in secondary schools or even to some experienced teachers. The marginality for women in elementary principalships or those more recently appointed to mixed-sex collegiate was less obvious but still present. Women in these roles reported that their principalships were frequently part-time or provisional, and the schools were often experimental or had specific problem situations.

Joan recalled: "A number of people were saying, 'Isn't it wonderful that a woman was finally made principal.' Others like myself were saying, 'Yes, but look who they gave the only temporary position to, a woman.' If I was temporary, I always behaved as if I was real anyway." Maureen said: "Women have been given the majority of the clean-up jobs. Men could do those jobs but more often than not they have been allotted to females. Each time I went to a new situation it was under orders to change or fix something."