Perceptions of teachers and school management teams of the leadership roles of public school principals

One of the reasons attributed to the continuous decline in student performance and low educational outcomes in public schools is the poor leadership displayed by many principals. Despite the fact that there are no stringent criteria for the appointment of school principals or prerequisite qualifications, principals do have the potential to lead and manage efficient and successful schools. In this paper, I argue that principals can develop exemplary leadership practices when subjected to sound training and professional development programmes. The Department of Education and Higher Education institutions have emphasised the importance of formal qualifications for enhancing career development programmes for practicing and aspiring principals in South Africa. Using questionnaires, I explore the perceptions of teachers and school management team (SMT) members of the leadership qualities exhibited by principals who acquired the professional qualification referred to as the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management (ACESLM). Findings revealed that leadership development for principals is crucial for school improvement because of active teaching and learning. Leadership capacity requires principals to participate with relevant stakeholders skilfully, and where there is high leadership capacity, instructional leadership develops into sound leadership practices.Keywords: effective leadership; instructional leadership; leadership practices; professional development; school improvement; school leadershi

Middle leaders and managers’ perspectives of distributive leadership during COVID-19

On a global level, COVID-19 has shaken the foundations of every sector. In the South African education context, the traditional methods of teaching, learning, and managing schools changed drastically overnight and management roles and responsibilities were pushed to unprecedented levels. Moreover, the roles of middle leaders and managers took place within a more distributive framework, encouraging school leaders to adopt varying styles of leadership to cope with the demands of COVID-19. For this study, middle leaders constitute departmental heads, grade heads and subject heads. This study utilised a qualitative research design, adopting a case study approach within the interpretivist paradigm. Three departmental heads and seven post level one educators who occupy grade heads/leaders’ roles in a primary school constituted the sample. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants to gain their understanding of how distributive leadership was practiced during the pandemic. Four themes emerged, namely leadership styles and factors informing the leadership behaviour and leadership growth of middle leaders and managers in schools; middle leaders’ and managers’ perceptions of distributive leadership and the responsibilities of the different stakeholders; the impact of COVID-19 on distributive leadership as perceived by middle leaders and managers; and the advantages and disadvantages of distributive leadership practices. The study recommends that School Management Teams (SMTs) involve middle leaders and managers to a greater degree to secure an effective ‘buy-in’ to the concept of distributive leadership and that middle managers offer opportunities for others to lead, by developing leadership-specific courses for them. SMTs must also ensure that individuals have a stable working environment where their psychological, sociological, and emotional needs are respected, fulfilled, and validated during any pandemic

Curriculum responses to community-based air pollution : an ethnographic study.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.The study aimed at exploring curriculum responses to community-based air pollution. This was done through an analysis of educator and learner perceptions of community-based air pollution and an examination of how the curriculum (teaching and learning content) responds to local air pollution. The key forms of the study - (what are the perceptions of educators and learners to community-based air pollution and how do educators and learners respond to community-based air pollution within the formal curriculum). Ethnography as a qualitative methodology was adopted in the study. This methodological tool created spaces to understand curriculum responsiveness in the context of wider social and political power relations in the South Durban Basin. Ethnography suited the study since it was a unique example of educators and learners in real situations and lived experiences, and enabled a clearer understanding of the theory and praxis of curriculum. The primary research methodology used in order to gather data to answer the research questions was observation, participant observation and interviewing of educators and learners. This study was conducted with educators and learners in the Further Education and Training phase (Grade 10), within the Human and Social Sciences in the year 2006 . Curriculum responses to community-based air pollution in Geography and Life Orientation were investigated. Learners were traced from previous primary schools in the area and who were in Grade 10. It was found that all participants in the study were knowledgeable and well informed about air pollution through consistent exposure to local air pollution. Collectively, they presented a sense of enduring struggle against community-based air pollution. They have been part of the struggle for clean air for many years and reside in the South Durban Basin. Participants display perspicuity in respect of how air pollution infects and affects them . Attempts at including community-based air pollution into the curriculum have been sporadic and at times incidental from learners' point of view . On the other hand, educators' responses were very constructive and established . Furthermore with reference to curriculum response to the subjects Geography and Life Orientation, both educators and learners responses were similar in that they displayed sophisticated accounts of knowledge of community-based air pollution. There was a deep sense of understanding of content and related to lived experiences. It was also found that educators and learners choose to live optimistically amidst the air pollution at Valley Secondary. Issues of class, poverty and powerlessness emerge from the data - these govern the lives of educators and learners. Participants in the study provided several motivations for Environmental Education to be included as a separate subject for future curriculum initiatives by the Department of Education. The recommendations included a strong need for responsive teaching to community-based air pollution. Learners should also be guided on how they should handle air pollution incidents. Recommendations in respect of re-organising the existent Environmental Club at Valley Secondary School also emerged. There is a clear sense that schools in the area should mobilise against the cooperate giants. Recommendations were provided for Curriculum Planners , Policy, and Policy Makers at the level of the Department of Education for the inclusion of Environmental Education as a separate subject rather than a devolved input

Teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences of principals’ instructional leadership towards improving curriculum delivery in schools

Abstract: Background: This study was designed to explore teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences regarding their principals’ instructional leadership practices aimed at improving curriculum delivery in schools. Literature on instructional leadership indicates how failing schools can be turned around to become successful if principals consider instructional leadership to be their primary role within schools. The authors, therefore, argue that it is the responsibility of principals to ensure that learners’ results are improved through intervention and support provided by the principals to capacitate teachers and middle managers in delivering the curriculum effectively. Globally, literature promotes the significance of the continued professional development of teachers, and many scholars allude to the pivotal role principals or school heads play in teachers’ skills advancement. Aim: The aim of this article was to identify principals’ instructional practices that improve curriculum delivery in schools, which are examined through the experiences of teachers and middle managers. Setting: The study was conducted in two schools in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Method: The researchers employed a qualitative approach, utilising three domains of instructional leadership as its framework, and these are defining the school mission statement, managing the instructional programme and promoting a positive school learning climate. Four teachers and four middle managers were purposefully selected at two schools for data collection conducted through semi-structured individual interviews, which were analysed using thematic content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged, namely, understanding good instructional leadership practices, teacher development as an instructional practice and instructional resource provisioning. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of teachers and middle managers in understanding that principals are merely not school managers or administrators, but rather instructional leaders whose primary role is to direct teaching and learning processes in schools. Principals need to create time within their constricted schedules to become instructional leaders, which is their main purpose in schools. If the roles and responsibilities of middle managers are not explicit, their ability to simultaneously perform the dual task of being teachers and middle managers will be compromised

Social (in)justices during the educator developmental appraisal process: A post-apartheid South African case study

Globally, the appraisal of educators remains a contested issue as the process, which aims to provide support and development to educators, is generally considered a punitive measure for educators. Within the South African context, the Integrated Quality Management System is used to evaluate educators. Drawing on Fraser’s theories of social justice, this article explores the perspectives of 11 educators regarding educator developmental appraisal in post-apartheid South Africa as a catalyst for social (in)justice. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using critical discourse analysis. This article highlights the importance of social justice practices in enhancing learner achievement and foregrounds the (in)justices often witnessed during the appraisal process. Findings reveal that the developmental appraisal process has the potential to promote social justice; however, contextual factors seem to be hindering the successful implementation of the appraisal process.Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS

The design and effective implementation of a financial school policy for school improvement.

M.Ed.The design and implementation of a financial school policy is an important function of the School Governing Body. Although every public school designs a financial school policy, the success of managing the school’s finances effectively and efficiently is dependent on how the policy is implemented. The aim of this research was to investigate the role played by the School Governing Body (SGB) and the School Management Team (SMT) in the design and effective implementation of the financial school policy. The impact of the South African Schools Act together with the Norms and Standards for Funding on state funding, school fees and school fees exemptions were also explored. The functions of the SGB in respect of financial matters and the role played by the finance committee emphasizes the devolution of financial matters from the state to communities. By virtue of the Schools Act the principal is responsible for the professional management of the school and together with the SGB is directly responsible for the effective use of all funds belonging to the school. It is incumbent upon the SGB and the SMT to take accountability for all their financial activities by being transparent and responsible in the management of school funds. The design of a financial school policy and the effective implementation thereof will ensure school funds being managed effectively and efficiently. The quantitative research method was used to elicit the perceptions of SGBs, SMTs and educators with regards to the designing and implementing of the financial school policy. This research study was confined to primary and secondary schools in the district D9, D10, D11 and D12 areas of the Gauteng Province. A structured questionnaire was distributed to members of the SGB, SMT and educators in the above-mentioned districts. The empirical study resulted in mean scores of the thirty-two items ranging between 2,63 and 5,34. An analysis of the data revealed that the financial school policy is central to all financial activities in schools and it must be designed and implemented by all stakeholders.Prof. R. Mestr

An exploratory study of a professional development programme for school principals : implications for sustainable change in school leadership practices

Ph.D. (Education)Abstract: This study was designed to explore professional leadership development by examining the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management (ACESLM), which is currently offered to school principals as a professional leadership development programme. Literature on leadership development highlights the importance of virtuous school leadership for effective schools. Principals, as leaders and managers can function in turbulent school environments if they are committed, dedicated, receive the appropriate training and development and remain efficacious in the execution of their work. In the 21st century, the top challenge for principals is to become leaders for learning. This is possible if principals are provided with the necessary skills, values and attitudes to manage the responsibilities associated with leading and managing schools. On an international level, many countries have leadership development programmes in place for both practicing and aspiring principals. The consideration of leadership development in the South African context has an important historical dimension, where the apartheid regime undermined principals in three core functions, namely budgetary authority or influence over the flow of resources such as textbooks in schools; influence over the hiring and firing of staff; and curriculum decision making powers. However, changing South Africa’s education and training system for school leadership is only possible if there is harmony between the vision for transformation and the day to day realities of principals leading and managing schools. Through leadership development programmes, principals are able to enhance their professional self-managed growth, they are able to encourage collaborative learning, and work within a continuum of personal and collective experience. Principals can also draw from effective school leadership practices to address essential questions concerning problems of practice relating to management and leadership issues as well as teaching and learning matters. In addition, leadership development programmes assist in addressing significant problems related to principal and teacher effectiveness and student learning, thereby improving schools and the district’s goal for overall school improvement and student learning. This investigation was framed within a pragmatic paradigm using a mixed methods research design. An exploratory sequential strategy was preferred where the qualitative phase of data collection and analysis of data preceded the quantitative phase. For the..

Towards a leadership programme for primary school principals as instructional leaders

This study set out to explore primary school principals’ instructional leadership. The study addressed a key issue in the school improvement literature, pertaining to the curriculum leadership of principals. The literature is not entirely clear about which leadership characteristic is more likely to produce the most favourable outcomes in terms of improved learner outcomes, in other words, how the curriculum has been implemented and how leadership in this regard has been effected. The article argues that robust training and development in instructional leadership practices become necessary to support school leaders in this regard. In South Africa, based on numerous reports of poor learner outcomes in schools, we question whether principals possess the necessary skills required to lead and manage curriculum in schools. In this article, the views of five principals, who have completed the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management (ACESLM) programme, are examined. Findings indicate that not all principals who participated in the study are fully conversant with their roles and responsibilities as instructional leaders. They mainly interpret their functions to be purely managerial and to be leaders and administrators of schools. Thus, whilst some understanding of instructional leadership was apparent in some of the principals’ responses, it is the authors’ views that ACESLM, as a leadership development programme, needs to be redesigned to include greater focus on instructional leadership

Principals' role in capacity development of post level one teachers for school leadership: -

This study was undertaken to explore the role of principals in the capacity development of post level one teachers for school leadership positions. The success of a school and its attendant learner achievement depends largely on good school leadership.  Thus, it is highly unlikely that poor or ineffective school leadership will lead to successful schools. This study argues that it is the responsibility of principals to ensure that ample opportunities exist for leadership development of post level one teachers. A qualitative research approach was selected to investigate the role principals play in building leadership capacity in post level one teachers. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with ten (10) participants at two (2) schools: one (1) principal and four (4) post level one teachers per school.  The findings indicated that in both schools there was leadership capacity development taking place, but notably in different forms. It became clear that only some teachers in the participating schools were receiving adequate or effective leadership capacity development. A significant finding of this study is that principals play a fundamental role in the creation of subcommittees to enhance leadership capacity for post level one teachers. The study highlights the need that sub-committees be given sufficient authority and power to make decisions that benefit both the development of teacher leadership as well as improve teaching and learning in schools. Lastly, the study recommends that a five-year leadership capacity building program, as an internal in-service program, be introduced for all post level one teachers in schools to aid leadership capacity development