English

Patrick Mafora

doi:10.15700/201503070742

Abstract

The legislative framework for education in South Africa enforces the democratisation and transformation of education consistent with the values of human dignity, equity, human rights, and freedom. As ex officio members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and professional managers of schools, principals should play a pivotal role in providing transformative leadership for social justice in these schools. The purpose of this study was to examine, through a social justice framework, how teachers and learners who are SGB members perceive and experience the principals’ leadership in Soweto secondary schools. Five schools were purposefully sampled for this qualitative case study. Data were collected through semi-structured focus group interviews and follow-up individual interviews. Findings suggest that learners and teachers experience sampled schools as democratically untransformed with a climate fraught with unfairness, inequity, disregard for human rights, and intolerance of diversity. The leadership behaviour of principals is perceived as a barrier to democratic transformation and social justice and this engenders resistance and threatens management effectiveness. Keywords : learners; principals; secondary schools; social justice; Soweto; teachers; transformative leadership

Highlights

Following political changes in South Africa, one of the major educational reforms introduced was in school governance and management
The majority of teachers perceive the principals as biased in favour of learners and teachers who belong to their preferred social groups
The following comments capture teachers’ perceptions of these principals’ unfairness: Male Teacher 3 from School C (MT3C): I am a member of the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) but I know that the principal will never listen to me

Summary

Introduction

Following political changes in South Africa, one of the major educational reforms introduced was in school governance and management. There was a shift to more inclusive and democratic governance To this end, the preamble to the South African Schools Act (No 84 of 1996) advocates for the democratic transformation of society and the participation of learners, parents, and educators as partners of the State in education. A reasonable expectation would be that such participation would translate into broader democratic changes that benefit the school, its learners and the community. This ideal may be attained if, among other interventions, SGBs, which are charged with the leadership of schools, formulate democratic policies and oversee their implementation. Almost two decades into democratic governance of schools and the provision of training such an understanding and accruing benefits seem to be elusive. Findings from recent studies in South Africa suggest that different members of SGBs still experience some marginalisation (Heystek, 2004; Mabovula, 2009; Magadla, 2007; Mncube, 2008, 2009; Van Wyk, 2004)

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