"Cinderella Syndrome" in school management according to school administrators and teachers working in public schools

The aim of this research is to reveal the opinions of school administrators and teachers working in public schools regarding Cinderella Syndrome in school management. To achieve this aim, the sequential descriptive pattern model, which is one of the mixed methods, was used in the research. In the quantitative part of the research, the "Cinderella Syndrome Scale in School Management" was developed by the researcher. The scale consists of three dimensions: individual, social and organizational, and 20 items in total. The quantitative data of the research were collected through this scale. In the quantitative part of the research, the ratio cluster sampling method was used and analyzes were carried out with the results of 425 participants working in public schools in Buca, İzmir. In the quantitative part of the research, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were carried out with the Amos23 program, and other analyzes were carried out with the SPSS27 program. According to the quantitative findings of the research, the opinions of female school administrators and teachers working in public schools in Buca District of Izmir Province regarding Cinderella Syndrome in School Administration were found to be at a medium level in the overall scale and in all dimensions. No statistically significant difference was found in the variables of age, marital status and educational status. Differences were detected in the variables of branch, seniority, school type number of children and duty in school. In the qualitative part of the research, phenomenological research method and maximum diversity sampling method were used. Interviews were conducted with school administrators and teachers working in public schools in Buca District of İzmir Province, via a semi-structured interview form. Within the scope of the research, interviews were conducted with a total of 19 school administrators and teachers via face-to-face and online methods. Qualitative findings were analyzed using the content analysis method. According to the qualitative findings of the research, the categories and subcategories obtained according to the opinions of the participants were grouped into four themes: causes, effects, gender and precautions. In the qualitative part of the research, four themes were obtained in the sub-problem regarding the participants' metaphors regarding Cinderella Syndrome in school management: multiple responsibilities, not using one's potential, patriarchal order and sacrifice. According to the results of the research, it has been revealed that there is a Cinderella Syndrome in school management, female teachers feel Cinderella Syndrome at a higher level than female school administrators, and Cinderella Syndrome is a career obstacle for female teachers and that this is largely due to gender inequality. In line with the research results, suggestions were made to practitioners such as conducting awareness studies on Cinderella Syndrome and making school management attractive for female teachers; and suggestions were made to researchers such as conducting similar studies at different levels and cities and examining other variables that may be related to Cinderella Syndrome together. KEY WORDS: Cinderella Syndrome, woman school administrator, gender inequality, glass ceiling, mixed method