Transforming Educational Management in South Africa

Abstract

Three key conceptual issues related to educational management development demand immediate attention of South African policymakers. First, apartheid engendered a particular understanding of education and educational management among school administrators; second, movement toward a democratic educational system requires policies that enable rapid transformation; and third, successful transformation requires new approaches. This article critiques recent educational management policy reports, highlighting possibilities and constraints of their recommendations. It considers whether current thinking about educational management at legislative level accurately assesses legacy of apartheid and offers a viable alternative framework for reconceptualizing educational management development in South Africa. INTRODUCTION In 1994, voters in South Africa elected a democratic government. The majority of nation's population had long regarded formerly entrenched apartheid system as illegitimate, hierarchical, and authoritarian. A key demand of antiapartheid movement inside and outside South Africa was that officials democratize both system of educational governance and management of schools. Thus, among its first initiatives, newly elected democratic government reviewed educational governance in South Africa and made key recommendations. This committee's work laid foundation for new Republic of South Africa Department of Education's [RSADE] (1996a) White Paper 2 on educational transformation; for passage in 1996 of South African Schools Act (SASA), which declared public schools open to all citizens (RSADE, 1996c); and for National Education Policy Act (NEPA) (RSADE, 1996b). In addition to various committee reports, other policy proposals and legislation focused more on planning and management of educational system. The government appointed National Task Team on Education Management Development (NTTEMD) (1996), which recommended in its Changing Management to Manage Change in Education document a framework for fostering professional management development in South African schools. As South Africa enters a period of rapid political and social transformation, renewed focus on educational management development is especially crucial. Inherent in this statement are three key conceptual issues: (a) apartheid engendered a particular understanding of education and educational management among school administrators; (b) movement away from apartheid system toward a democratic system of education demands policies that enable rapid transformation; and (c) a successful transformation process requires development of a new educational management approach. The present article addresses each of these issues and critiques Department of Education and NTTEMD reports, highlighting possibilities and constraints of their recommendations as they affect primary and secondary education. Specifically, this article addresses two questions: (1) Does current thinking about educational management at legislative level take into account legacy of apartheid upon education management development? and (2) Does NTTEMD report offer a viable alternative framework for reconceptualizing educational management development in South Africa? EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW The South African educational system during apartheid employed a highly centralized decision-making process and well-developed decentralized structures through which to implement policy. Critics have argued, however, that apartheid-era system's topdown administration typically proceeded without consultation or participation of those who implemented decisions. Principals, for example, particularly those in schools serving Black students, were viewed merely as implementers of decisions, not as administrators with the opportunity to formulate or construct their own school policies, vision or mission (Gallie, 1996, p. …