SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA | This article in the International Journal of Educational Management by Tony Bush (March 2016), is useful as it provides a review of the literature from 2007-2016 on school management and leadership in South Africa. |
EMPOWERING PRINCIPALS TO LEAD AND MANAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS EFFECTIVELY IN THE 21ST CENTURY | In this 2017 article Raj Mestry, Department of Education Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg, states that principals have difficulty coping with change as they lack the skills, knowledge and attitudes required for the position. This study uses qualitative methods to explore the importance of a culture of professional development among principals. |
SYSTEMIC SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT INTERVENTIONS | The 2013 JET Education Services book Systemic School Improvement Interventions in South Africa: Some Practical Lessons From Development Practitioners records the experiences of JET practitioners involved in school improvement. It focuses on the systemic improvement test programmes implemented in Mthawelanga circuit in the Eastern Cape and Retladirela circuit in the North West Province. It captures the models and approaches that the two projects adopted, narrates the experiences the project staff encountered in pursuing the partnerships to improve the educational outcomes in the two circuits, sheds light on what works and what does not work in school improvement, confirms and dispels assumptions about the conditions in South African schools and districts, and offers some recommendations on the school improvement journey. It captures the experience of working with school improvement theory, funders, unions, government officials, school teachers, school communities and learners. |
PRIMARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AS INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS | A 2016 study entitled ‘Towards a leadership programme for primary school principals as instructional leaders’ set out to explore primary school principals’ instructional leadership. It argues that robust training and development in instructional leadership practices is necessary to support school leaders. Five principals who completed the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management (ACESLM) were interviewed, with findings indicating that not all the principals were fully conversant with their roles and responsibilities as instructional leaders. They mainly interpreted their functions to be purely managerial and to be leaders and administrators of schools. The authors’ conclusion is that ACESLM as a leadership development programme needs to be redesigned to include greater focus on instructional leadership. |
LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING PROGRAMME (LLP) DEVELOPS INSTRUCTIONAL LEARNING | The Leadership for Learning Programme (LLP), a leadership development programme based on a partnership between two unspecified universities, set out to develop instructional leadership over three years (2010-2012). It was based on a system-wide approach targeting leadership development at the district level of the school system. A 2015 study investigating this change strategy found that education systems moving towards system-wide change could reduce isolation in work practices and establish a District Co-ordinating Committee comprising representatives from the district office, principals, teachers and unions. Such a committee could strive to better understand the complex challenges facing schools and engage in problem-solving strategies. The study also recommended instituting an Annual Leadership Development Forum for principals and district officials, premised on collective capacity-building. This would generate greater emotional commitment and technical expertise towards system-wide change than could be gained by developing individuals. |
COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE LEARNERS’ EDUCATION | Research undertaken in 2016 by the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance and BRIDGE, entitled ‘Teachers, Parents and School Leaders Working Together to Improve Learners’ Education: Deep dive executive summary’, looks into school leadership and teacher-and-parent relationships to achieve positive education outcomes for learners. It investigates practical steps that can be taken to improve collaborative relationships in school communities and ultimately improve the quality of basic education. |
HOW CAN IMPROVEMENT IN EDUCATION QUALITY BE MEASURED? | A 2011 report prepared for BRIDGE South Africa and ARK UK, entitled ‘Researching the Need: School Leadership and Quality of Education in South Africa’, examines projects that have provided education and training for school principals and members of Senior Management Teams in South Africa schools. It questions whether they have successfully imparted skills to individuals and affected the quality of education delivered while asking if such improvement can indeed be measured. There has been little evaluation in South Africa pointing to a correlation between success in leadership courses with success in schools, with anecdotal evidence relied upon. |
MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH TRANSFORMATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES | The 2016 paper ‘The Impact of Leadership on Student Outcomes: How Successful School Leaders Use Transformational and Instructional Strategies to Make a Difference’ shows how successful leaders combine the often dichotomised practices of transformational and instructional leadership in different ways to ultimately improve learner outcomes. Schools that can sustain effectiveness in the long term can do so not because of a principal’s leadership style but because the principal has been able to understand and diagnose a school’s needs, and can apply clearly articulated and organisationally shared educational values, which are progressively embedded in the school’s work, culture, and achievements. |
THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP STYLE WITHIN ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND CONTEXT | The 2019 research paper ‘Towards more effective leadership development for teaching and learning in schools: The role of leadership style within the organisational culture and context’, funded by Old Mutual and conducted under the auspices of SEED Educational Trust, explores educators’ perceptions of their leadership approach and organisational culture, as well as the value of considering both when designing processes to change teaching and learning in a sustainable way. |
THE ROLE OF INFORMAL ADULT LEARNING IN DEVELOPING TEACHERS AND LEADERS | The 2019 research paper ‘Developing teachers and leaders in South African schools & districts: The role of informal adult learning (including coaching and mentoring)’, funded by Old Mutual and conducted under the auspices of SEED Educational Trust, looks at the popularity of informal adult learning applications, but questions to what extent they are helping schools. The research investigates the purpose of these interventions, and asks whether they are serving their purpose or not. School education is found to be complex, with no one factor isolated for treatment to bring about improvement – and a number of interventions may need to be employed to generate momentum. The paper’s recommendation is that adult learning should be fully grappled with before funders resort to coaching and mentoring. |