Scenarios as Research Tools for Investigating Social Issues. Studies in Educational Administration Number 45.

This paper describes an experiment in using the "scenario," a concept parallel to that of the case study, as a research tool for obtaining information about possible sex discrimination in personnel decisions by high school principals in South Australia. A review of the literature indicated that in spite of legislation aimed at elimination of sex discrimination and the creation of agencies to enforce this legislation, sex role stereotyping in work roles for men and women was still commonplace. Accordingly, researchers used a survey-experiment research design to ascertain the existence, extent, and nature of sex discrimination in situations demanding personnel decisions. Respondents assumed the role of executive vice president in a hypothetical organization and were provided with ll scenarios requiring managerial decisions involving selection, promotion, development, supervision, discipline, and various kinds of personal conflicts. Two versions of the questionnaire were prepared, with sex roles reversed for key figures in each scenario. Findings, displayed in tables, reveal that some scenarios present no difficulties regarding the principal's decision, whether the staff member is a male or female teacher. Although replies to Scenario 6 implied that decisions on personal problems are likely to indicate sex discrimination, and replies to Scenario 9 implied that a man's career was considered more important than that of a woman, findings did not support any general conclusion that school principals consistently differentiate between men and women in their personnel decisions. (TE)