Abstract
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 leadership
Highlights
Introduction and Background to the ProblemSeveral research studies accentuate the importance of principals taking on strong leadership roles in creating efficient and successful schools (Gunter, 2001:33)
Phase One dealt with the collection of qualitative data from ACESLM graduates, followed by Phase Two, where quantitative data was collected from teachers, heads of department and deputy principals, who worked in the same schools as the graduates
A high percentage of those surveyed (74.7%) belonged to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) and the rest belonged to smaller teacher unions, such as the National Union of Educators (NUE), and the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwys Unie (SAOU)
Summary
Introduction and Background to the ProblemSeveral research studies accentuate the importance of principals taking on strong leadership roles in creating efficient and successful schools (Gunter, 2001:33). Evans and Mohr (1999) asked a pertinent question, “Can principals’ professional development truly improve practice?” Principals in the 21st century execute multi-faceted roles, their responsibilities are more demanding and challenging, at times complicated, overloaded and unclear according to Bush (2013); Mahlangu (2014); Mestry (2017) and Tucker and Codding (2002) These authors allude to a principal’s day usually being filled with diverse managerial activities, such as scheduling, reporting, handling relations with parents and community, as well as dealing with unexpected multiple student and teacher crises and conflict. These are fundamentally different jobs requiring different leadership practices, skills, and functions, according to Booth, Segon and O’ Shannassy (2010), Chubb (2014) and Tingle et al (2019)
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