School leadership and management in South Africa (original) (raw)
Related papers
Pertinent Leadership and Governance Challenges Facing Schools in South Africa
Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, 2018
This paper focuses on the challenges facing school principals in improving their leadership skills and those of school governing bodies. Mixed method was employed and the research was conducted with some school principals, School Governing Bodies (SGBs) members, and teachers in secondary schools in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The problem is that there are vague rules in those schools where the SGBs and the school principals compete against one another. Dysfunctionality of schools is the result of poor governance and poor management by both the school principals and the SGBs. Some school principals are a contributory factor to glitches in schools because of their incompetence.
Revisiting Teacher Leadership in South Africa: A Study of Four Schools
africa education review, 2021
Teachers who lack professional maturity will never be able to be responsible teacher leaders; hence, school leaders who strive for school improvement constantly try to introduce various alternative practices, and teacher leadership may be among these. Teacher leadership is defined in numerous ways: Some understand it as teachers who have taken on leadership roles and additional professional responsibilities. The major argument in this paper is that teachers need to be professionally matured if they are to be able to be effective teacher leaders. Effective schools are likely to be those where leadership permeates throughout the entire organisation. This qualitative study was conducted in two Gauteng and two Eastern Cape historically black schools, and data were collected through interviews and observations. The results demonstrate that there are several reasons as to why some teachers may fail or be reluctant to be teacher leaders. Furthermore, the study reveals that teacher leadership needs visionary school leaders who will employ the critical practices of teacher leadership to attain school improvement.
Instructional Leadership: Its Role in Sustaining School Improvement in South African Schools
Vol. 1 No. 2, 2021
Recent studies conducted around the world have revealed a clear link between the instructional position of principal leadership and school improvement. Instructional leadership, which aims to foster a teaching and learning community, is seen as a key component of successful teaching and long-term school improvement. The rise in site-specific management roles, which are based on instructional leadership experiences, is one of the initiatives launched by the South African government to reform education. In South Africa, school principals are responsible for academic development. This qualitative research aimed to learn more about the role of principals in sustaining school improvement in the North West Province of South Africa. Premised in the qualitative research approach, a purposive sampling technique was used to select six schools that had sustained school improvement for some years. Findings from the study revealed that principals play a crucial role in sustaining school improvement. The study findings reinforce recent literature that identifies instructional leadership as a cornerstone for school improvement.
ULspace.ul.ac.za, 2017
The purpose of this study was to evaluate lessons learnt in the implementation of Advanced Certificate in Education- School Leadership and Management (ACE-SLM) by Universities of Limpopo and Venda. The roll out of the ACE-SLM programme was an intervention by the Department of Basic Education to enhance the efficacy of schools focusing on the leadership and management. In order to understand leadership and management within schools, the study adopted Pragmatism, the Logic Model, the Organisational Development Theory and the School-Based Management Approach. That was on the basis of the enormity of the evaluative nature of how the implementation of ACE-SLM programmes went at the Universities of Limpopo and Venda. Furthermore, the study used mixed methods research approaches. Their choice was informed by the evaluative and developmental nature of ACE-SLM programmes as rolled out by Universities of Limpopo and Venda. Questionnaires were distributed to 250 former ACE-SLM students who were randomly selected from the former ACE-SLM schools. Thirty ACE-SLM schools with thirty ACE-SLM students were sampled to participate in interviews and document study. Six coordinators, four facilitators and four mentors were purposively selected and interviewed. The implementation of ACE-SLM programmes afforded student principals an opportunity to benefit from the learning organisation philosophy, professional community of learning, experiential learning and reflective practice. This study revealed improved curriculum leadership and management that positively influenced school discipline, culture of teaching and learning, teacher and learner motivation, and scholastic achievement. ACE-SLM programmes added value to policy formulation and implementation. The key findings of the study are that leadership and management in schools do experience barriers for their successful operationalization. Inability of the programme to address school leadership and management challenges was found to be caused by amongst others, inadequate funding. Failure to provide adequate funding by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) resulted with the chain of challenges that ranged from the compromised quality of mentoring; inability to tap into 21st Century way of providing instruction and assessment; and failure to conduct baseline evaluations prior to the commencement of ACE-SLM programmes. Failure to conduct baseline evaluations resulted with research participants declaring that ACE-SLM programmes were found to have been inflexible and at times non-responsive to school circumstances and conditions. This implies that the implementation of ACE-SML programmes disregarded contextual factors characterising each education institution. Most importantly, the study further revealed that ‘the one size fits all’ approach to ACE-SLM programmes did not succeed in accommodating long-serving and experienced school leaders and managers. Based on the stated findings, this study recommends that DBE needs to conduct baseline evaluations before the inception of programmes, such as ACE-SLM. This is likely to allow the required flexibility and responsiveness of such programmes to evolving conditions in diverse schools. Furthermore, this study recommends that the funding structure needs to be reviewed, in the form of DBE adopting the participative and joint decision-making approaches. This will help in determining the comprehensive funding formula that is based on transparency, openness and fairness for all Universities implementing programmes of this nature. No doubt, there were implementation challenges with the roll-out of ACE-SLM programmes by the Universities of Limpopo and Venda. Those predicaments are however, not overshadowing the point that improved school leadership and management have an impact on the variety of school activities inclusive of the core business of schools and the excellent scholastic achievement of the majority of learners, if not all of them.
School leadership and local learning contexts in South Africa
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 2018
International research has shown that the quality of school leadership and management (SLM) is important for teaching and learning, particularly in schools where there is acute resource deprivation. This article explores the relationship between leadership and academic achievement in South African secondary schools with varying socio-economic conditions. The study is based on data from 12,154 South African Grade 9 learners, 334 mathematics teachers and 292 principals who participated in the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Using indicators that represent different aspects of school leadership, this article examines whether the type of leadership and management practices depend on the school setting and whether better school leadership and management supports academic achievement. The analysis revealed distinct relationships between school leadership and management and academic achievement based on the socio-economic status of learner bodies. Potent...
Educational research and reviews, 2021
The South African education scene is characterised by principals who come from the apartheid era where they manage the school alone in an authoritarian manner. Old approaches to school management have changed because the society has also changed. There is a shift from top-down style of leadership to shared or distributed leadership which requires the empowerment of those in managerial positions in schools. The principal is expected to manage the school together with significant stakeholders. In this study attention was focused on the extent to which principals perform the duties of instructional leadership and how they empower the School Management Team (SMT) to execute instructional leadership. Additionally, the study aimed at finding out impediments that principals experience in the course of empowering the School Management team. The study used a quantitative method involving the use of a questionnaire. The study population consisted of 90 principals and deputy principals and 165 heads of department in Tshwane-West District. Data analysis consisted of descriptive and inferential statistics. The greatest challenge is the administrative workload experienced by principals. The study also found that rural principals perform the duties of instructional leadership more than the urban principals. Principals perform their duties well and this is good for the academic performance of learners.
2012
My Divine inspiration for being my constant source of Strength and Guidance through this sometimes overwhelming and demanding Academic pursuit. The completion of this Dissertation would have been impossible without the efficient assistance, unceasing motivation and competent support of many people. I therefore wish to express my Appreciation and Gratitude to the following who found time to assist: Dr Jenni Karlsson, my Supervisor, for her Guidance, sublime patience, deep understanding and insightful comments. Dr Richard Steele for going beyond the call of duty and for his amazing editorial abilities. Morgan and Sushie Pillay of Zion Kingdom Community, my spiritual leaders, for their gentle but persuasive motivation as they believed in my true worth. Neera Laban and Tamara Morsi, my friends who inspired and supported me through this long and arduous academic journey. My Family at Austerville School, Principal and Staff for their support at various times and for their caring collegiality. Hayden Vallen, my Partner, for help with technical and administrative aspects in preparation of this Dissertation. My girls, Claire Marcelle and Keleigh Anne Vallen for the sacrifices they made as my work often kept me away from home. Last but not least, my sisters: Sharlene, Sharyn and in memory of my late sister Rhoda as well as their respective families for their love and abiding support, whose gentle nagging reminder "when will this study be over", was at times unwelcoming but caringly inspirational. vi