School governing bodies - the principal's burden or the light of his / her life?

In this article I focus on the relationship between principals and school governing bodies in South Africa. Although the school governing body represents many role players, this article will focus mainly on the role and function of parent representatives in the school governing body. Parents constitute the majority in the governing bodies and therefore have an important role to play in the effective functioning of their children's schools. The uncertainty about the exact functions of the principal and the governing body is the key to the argument. The legislated functions of the governing body do not provide enough clarity on its daily functioning and this sometimes makes it difficult for principals to manage schools effectively. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(4) 2004: 308-31

Principals’ perspectives on key factors that contribute to sustainable quality education

This article reports on the perspectives of principals about factors, which have an influenceon their work to provide quality education for all children. Principals in the Western Capewere asked to rate key factors that contribute to sustainable quality education in theirschools. An online survey was implemented as the data collection instrument and the FREQprocedure was followed to analyse the raw data statistically. The results showed thatdedicated and well-qualified teachers who teach disciplined learners in a safe environmentshould receive priority in any action principals and Departments of Education take toimprove and sustain the quality of education in the Western Cape and possibly in all SouthAfrican schools

Leadership of learning and change for successful learning outcome in History Education

Managing History learning and teaching in schools of South Africa over the years has been characterised by diverse opinions regarding the causes of learner underperformance, who is to be held responsible over learner performance and possible leadership influence on History learner performance. In addressing the problem of underperformance in History from a leadership point of view, the researchers were guided by the managerial leadership and humanism learning theories. The selected qualitative methodology adopted an ethnographic design to establish hidden inferences. A sample of thirty participants comprising the provincial coordinator for History, subject advisor, principals, departmental heads, teachers and learners was obtained based on the availability of History-offering schools in the study area. Data collection was mainly through interviews and meta-analysis of documents. Both deductive and inductive reasoning was applied using ATLAS.ti version 8.4 and thematic analysis in the data analyses process. The findings suggest several managerial leadership measures ranging from policy to practice. These amongst others include the recommendation that History as part of social science should be separated in totality from Geography

Section twenty-one status and school governing bodies in rural schools

Awarding section twenty-one status to schools in South Africa was hailed as a significant milestone towards the democratisation and functioning of schools in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence on the school governing bodies in rural schools of the allocation of the section twenty functions by the provincial government’s member of the Executive Committee (MEC). A case study involving three types of schools, for instance a moving school, a stationary school as well as a promenading school, was conducted in Bushbuckrigde. It emerged from the findings of the case study that many SGBs were not coping with the functions thrust upon them because of lack of skills and involvement. As a result the bulk of the duties and responsibilities that they are supposed to carry out are performed by the principals and educators

Motivation to lead, manage or govern schools for results – which results

Inaugural lecture delivered on 25 October 2011.Includes bibliographyProf Jan Heystek started his professional career as a teacher in Pretoria in 1985. During the following years he continued with his studies, completing honours, master’s and doctoral degrees while progressing from teacher to deputy principal. He started his academic career as a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria in 1995. During his term at the university he played a leading role in restructuring the honours degree, as well as the Advanced Certificate in Education Management delivered to students via a mixed-mode delivery model. These programmes were developed with the aim of “taking the university to the students”; this provided thousands of students in rural areas the opportunity to achieve a university qualification, which not only benefitted them as teachers, but also played an important part in the development of rural communities. In August 2006 Prof Heystek was appointed as associate professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University, and in July 2011 he was appointed Professor in Educational Leadership and Management in the same Department. In November 2010 he received a C2 academic rating. Prof Heystek is the co-author of two textbooks, Human resource management in education (2005) and People leadership in education (2008), as well as the author of six chapters published in different international books. Since 1995, four doctoral and 19 master’s degree students have completed their research under his leadership. Prof Heystek is the author or co-author of 26 articles published in nationally and internationally refereed and accredited journals, and has presented numerous papers at international and national conferences covering governance and leadership in the diverse and changing South African educational landscape

Reflecting on principals as managers or moulded leaders in a managerialistic school system

CITATION: Heystek, J. 2007. Reflecting on principals as managers or moulded leaders in a managerialistic school system. South African Journal of Education, 27(3):491-505.The original publication is available at http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/I contend that South African school leaders perform their functions within a managerialistic school system that focuses strongly on prescribed standards, quality, and outcomes. The aim is to draw attention to the conceptual contradiction inherent in the labelling of the school principal as a leader rather than as a manager. In practice, school principals are expected to perform with in a framework of control systems and performitivity, which are the core features of managerialism. The argument will be that the functions performed by school principals are essentially managerial rather than being true leadership functions, in spite of the practice of labelling principals as leaders. In consequence, the expected manag erialistic performance of principals ine vitably has specific implications for the training of educational leaders. The training is therefore characterised as leadership moulding rather than leadership training.http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/109Publisher's versio

School governing bodies - the principal's burden or the light of his/her life?

In this article I focus on the relationship between principals and school governing bodies in South Africa. Although the school governing body represents many role players, this article will focus mainly on the role and function of parent representatives in the school governing body. Parents constitute the majority in the governing bodies and therefore have an important role to play in the effective functioning of their children's schools. The uncertainty about the exact functions of the principal and the governing body is the key to the argument. The legislated functions of the governing body do not provide enough clarity on its daily functioning and this sometimes makes it difficult for principals to manage schools effectively

Race, identity and leadership in South African and English schools

This paper reports a pilot study. It adopts an international perspective in examining the perceptions and practice of leaders in a South African and an English primary school. Both schools have experienced a relatively swift and large scale diversification of learners away from the previous white profile to one where white learners are in the minority and there are various ethnic groups represented amongst the majority. In each case the educators, and particularly the senior management team, have not diversified to the same extent. Data from interviews with educators in South Africa and in England are explored to consider how diversity is conceived, and how ethnicity/race is placed within diversity. By considering instances of practice in two countries, similarities and differences are identified, in order to increase understanding of context, its relation to practice and the implications for managers and leaders

Section twenty-one status and school governing bodies in rural schools

Awarding section twenty-one status to schools in South Africa was hailed as a significant milestone towards the democratisation and functioning of schools in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence on the school governing bodies in rural schools of the allocation of the section twenty functions by the provincial government’s member of the Executive Committee (MEC). A case study involving three types of schools, for instance a moving school, a stationary school as well as a promenading school, was conducted in Bushbuckrigde. It emerged from the findings of the case study that many SGBs were not coping with the functions thrust upon them because of lack of skills and involvement. As a result the bulk of the duties and responsibilities that they are supposed to carry out are performed by the principals and educators