Exploring inclusive leadership and strategic visioning as pathways to well-being in TVET colleges

Abstract

This exploratory case study reports on the ways in which staff and student well-being is embedded and promoted in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges through inclusive-leadership practices such as policies that structure and guide well-being programmes, making them part of the strategic vision. Such well-being is also evident in the wellness programmes and initiatives in some colleges. Eleven participants in total were purposively selected from a population of 59 TVET college leaders enrolled in a TVET (PGDip in TVET) leadership development programme at the University of Pretoria during 2021 and 2022. Data were generated during teaching and learning activities when the entire population (n=59) was involved in completing a structured checklist of enablers of, and risk factors related to, well-being for their colleges. From this process, the checklists of 11 campus managers were selected. The depth and the quality of the information the managers provided about the research topic, and the insights it provided in response to the question of how well-being was promoted in their colleges, also determined their selection. The study findings suggest that well-being policies were inconsistently implemented at different colleges, and that there is a perceived lack of strategic thinking about well-being and a lack of guidance and direction from college leaders about how to deal with it. Furthermore, it became evident that student well-being was prioritised over that of the staff, with staff members experiencing burnout and fatigue as a consequence of elevated levels of stress arising from meeting deadlines, unmanageable workloads and unrealistic expectations.