(see Table 14). One woman headteacher's experience was that: 'my husband has
cared for me and the children since two weeks before my first child was born.'
Although there were a small number of instances like this, the overall pattern of
responsibilities and their allocation had changed only very marginally from the
previous surveys.
As can be seen from Table 14 a majority of the male headteachers had
wives/partners who worked in education, often in a part-time capacity. Nearly 40 per
cent of the husbands or partners of the women secondary heads also worked in
education, but their roles tended to be of a senior nature (for further discussion of the
types of households and career planning of the heads see Coleman, 2002).
Table 14: What is your partner’s job?
|
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women | |
|
Secondary |
secondary |
primary |
primary | |
|
Education |
59 |
39 |
53 |
23 |
|
Skilled/semi/skilled |
2 |
8 |
5 |
10 |
|
Retired |
2 |
8 |
3 |
11 |
|
Clerical |
7 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
|
Management |
5 |
11 |
6 |
12 |
|
Housewife/husband |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
Other professional |
15 |
17 |
10 |
26 |
|
Other |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Not married/partnered or not 6 |
19 |
11 |
15 | |
stated
Unsocial hours
Some of the work in schools has to take place in the evening and at the weekends.
This is particularly difficult for those with young families. One woman primary head in
her late 30s commented: 'Governors not sympathetic to the need for meetings being
at a time when I can arrange child care - lots of evening meetings!'. A female
secondary head in her late 40s commented on:
The long-hours culture at Deputy head level. I was the only female on the
senior team. The men all stayed late/came in during holidays. There were
expectations that I would do the same.
A young male head of a primary school commented on the attitudes of governors:
Establishing a work life balance - getting governors to hold meetings in the
day rather than 7 - 10 at night because of my young family. I have been told
that 'well I work in the city and I wish I could choose my hours.' Comment
from my Headteacher was, as a man 'why would I need to be off when my
wife was the one having the baby?'
However, It is important that in recognising the needs of families, single and childfree
women and men are not automatically expected to take up the tasks that need to be
done in unsocial hours.
When children are ill
Perhaps the issue of responsibility for childcare is most apparent when children are ill
and need to be cared for. This is obviously a problem where both partners are
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