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Gender and Power in the Primary Teaching Workplace: Women's Fight Against Male Power in Taiwan
In addition to official statistical data, the data presented is derived from an ethnographic case study carried out in a primary school in southwest Taiwan. Non-participant observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews are the main sources of data collection. The non-participant observation included shadowing six different class teachers, four females and two males. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with eight teachers, including the six teachers shadowed, one male class teacher and one female subject teacher for a gender balance.
The analysis of data from official statistics and state publications identified the seriousness of and impacts from the teacher surpluses in the Taiwanese context and in the case-study school. The research evidence suggests the image of female teachers as a silent majority in their workplace. However, while confronting difficult challenges rooted in the teacher surplus issue, women’s image may be changing as empirical illustrations of women displayed their capabilities and dedication to fight against the male principal for their ideals. When compared to their female colleagues, the involvement of male teachers in the campaign seemed passive and obscure. More importantly, this campaign process calls attention to gendered power within this highly feminised teaching workplace and reflects the complexities of gender and power; that is, the relations between gender and power exist not only between men and women but also between men. As argued, female teachers seemed to suffer more negative experiences from the principal’s leadership or from the power relations, while male teachers were supportive and reliable allies of their principal to share power and to trust because of their gender.