School Governing Body Members Research Articles

Management style and school violence: South African perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the reduction of school violence from the management point of view. It reflects on the utterances by teachers, principals, learners and members of school governing bodies (SGBs) to establish the influence that school management practices can have on the prevalence of school violence.Design/methodology/approachThis was a qualitative case study. Thus, semi-structured interviews with teachers, principals, learners and members of SGBs were conducted. In addition, focus group interviews with pupils and observations were used to collect data.FindingsFindings suggest that most schools were still run in an authoritarian manner. Resultantly, it was also found that an authoritarian school management style practiced seemed to encourage the persistence of violence in schools.Practical implicationsPolicies should incorporate and emphasise the use of pragmatic, critical democratic style of management to address school violence. This is important because a well-run, inclusive and more democratic school can help to reduce external and internal forms of violence. The results from this study further indicate that a poorly run and badly organised school is more prone to various forms of violence.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the growing body of knowledge in the field of educational management and offers a reference point for further research in the pursuit to eliminate violence in schools. The findings may also be a useful resource for school principals, teachers, policy-makers and other stakeholders who are seeking to eliminate violence in schools.

More Heads are Better than One: School-Based Decision-Making in Varied School Environments

ABSTRACTIn this multi-case qualitative study the degree to which school-based decision-making (SBDM) is understood and conceptualised by the members of school governing bodies (SGBs) - educators, chairpersons of SGBs, principals, and learner representative councils-as well the extent to which decisions were shared among the various groups represented on the SGBs were examined. Multiple sources, such as meeting observations and interviews were used to collect data. Data revealed that decision-making processes in townships and rural schools seemed to be dominated by educators (educator-dominated SGB) and principals (principal-dominated SGB) respectively, while the urban school appeared to have achieved true shared decision-making (balanced decision-making). I therefore suggest that it is not sufficient to accept that promulgation at face value; and expect that implementation of policies in schools would suddenly convert these schools into true institutions practising and cherishing shared decision-making in their daily operations. Collective active efforts and ongoing training are still needed for the more effective functioning of SGBs. Although the research has tended to validate the findings of other studies, it has also made some contribution to the knowledge about the integration of the adapted governance models to analyse the extent to which decisions were shared among the members of SGBs in the selected three case studies. Its use in this study is, therefore, a methodological contribution to the study of SBDM.

Causes of financial mismanagement in South African public schools: The views of role players

This paper investigates the underlying causes of financial mismanagement in public schools and focuses on the perceptions of various role players in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The various Departments of Basic Education in South Africa allocate funds to schools each year, and expect school principals and school governing bodies to manage it appropriately. The problem is that in some schools, the principals, teachers and school governing body members are perpetrators of various financial mismanagement activities related to financial mismanagement. This article reports on qualitative research used to arrive at an in-depth understanding of why financial mismanagement occurs in certain schools. For this purpose, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with principals, finance officers and departmental officials and analysed thematically. The findings revealed a lack of knowledge of legislation and skills, poor monitoring and control of funds, unavailability of financial policies in schools, omission to act against culprits, and lack of honesty, openness and trustworthiness. The article proposes remedies that might bring financial management in public schools in line with the principles of good governance. Keywords: Accountability; Corruption; Financial maladministration; Financial mismanagement; Misappropriation; Principals; Public schools; School governing bodies

Principals’ perceptions and experiences of the role parents play in school governing bodies in rural areas

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the perceptions and experiences of rural school principals in South Africa of the role that parents in the school governing bodies (SGBs) play in improving school management and governance. The study reports on a literature review as well as on the empirical investigation, which was based on a qualitative research paradigm. Semi-structured interviews with the principals of three different rural schools were employed to collect data. The literature findings revealed that including parents as part of the SGB is seen as an essential component for the successful functioning of the school. The empirical study also emphasised the importance of including parents. However, the principals were concerned about the fact that many members of the SGB are illiterate and uncertain of the role they play in school governance. The principals emphasised the need for training of the members of SGBs as regards their working knowledge of school governance activities.

An Assessment of the Training Provided to School Governing Bodies: A Case Study of Three Schools in the Fort Beaufort Education District, Eastern Cape

The study assessed the training provided to the school governing bodies by the Department of Education in the Fort Beaufort Education District of the Eastern Cape Province. The study focused on three schools. A qualitative approach was used in the study. Interviews were held with the principals, educator governors, parent governors, as well as two facilitators from the Fort Beaufort Education District. The findings suggest that the training provided to the school governing bodies in the Fort Beaufort Education District does not empower them (SGBs) adequately to perform their roles and responsibilities. There are a number of factors such as illiteracy, low level of education, language used during the training, lack of mentoring and monitoring and inappropriate training methods that contribute to the inadequacy of the training of school governing body members. Recommendations were provided to improve the training of school governors. It is important to train school governors effectively so as to enable them to perform their roles and responsibilities as required by the South African School Act, Act 84 of 1996. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1p507

Principals' views on challenges of their school governance roles

This article explores principals' views regarding governance challenges they experience at schools. We conducted focus group interviews with primary and secondary school principals, purposely and conveniently selected from township schools in two Gauteng Province's districts. We found that principals were challenged mostly by having to balance their roles as ex officio school governing body members and their roles as bona fide members of school governing bodies (SGBs). Other challenges found were confirmatory of other school governors' views as reported in numerous studies, related to among others, the specialist nature of governance functions, poor training of school governors, difficulties associated with governor recruitment and unwillingness of parents to serve as governors. There is therefore a need for a re-clarification of the principals' roles, in terms of both their ex officio and bona fide SGB membership with regard to governance in the context of the functioning of the schools. This should include a review of the governing body structure, the re-allocation of specialist functions, customized and needs-based training of school governors and aspects relating to the general functioning of SGBs.

Training School Governing Body Members in Three Rural Schools in Taung: Empowerment for Good Governance

The advent of democracy in 1994 brought democratic institutions and practices to all spheres of the South African society. Education in particular has since then experienced tremendous transformation. The South African Schools' Act of 1996 for example makes provision for the establishment of democratic School Governing Bodies for all public schools in the country. Prior to 1994, principals and chiefs of rural communities handpicked school council members. The South African Schools' Act (1996) therefore democratized school governance by giving schools back to the communities and making it mandatory for parents to serve on school governing bodies. The governing bodies are responsible for school governance issues and to support school principals and their management teams for the realization of quality education. As former teachers in rural schools these researchers have observed that School Governing Bodies in rural areas face many challenges. Since the realisation of educational goals depends very much on good governance and leadership the researchers selected three schools in the Greater Taung Area Project Office for pilot training. The researchers assumed that the training of the school governing body members in rural schools could reduce the challenges and empower them to be good governors.

Is the school governing body a determining factor in the under-performance of secondary schools in the Western Cape province, South Africa? Issues and perspectives

In 1996, the Schools Act No. 84 of South Africa was promulgated. In the Schools Act, school governing bodies (SGBs) are mandated to manage the administration and finances of schools. The Act also provides guidelines for the SGB and the principal on their roles and responsibilities in managing the finances and leadership management of the school. However, some members of SGBs and principals either have little knowledge of the Schools Act or simply interpret it incorrectly, which results in many schools experiencing mismanagement which leads to the underperformance of the schools. Although the Western Cape Provincial Department of Education provides financial management training for SGBs, many schools still encounter problems in this area. When financial problems are referred to the department of education, many remain unresolved. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of stakeholders on the financial functions of SGBs, to explore the functions of an SGB in managing a school's finances and, based on the findings of the research, to develop guidelines for principals and SGBs to enable them to manage their school funds efficiently and effectively. The research design was based on qualitative research because of its exploratory, descriptive and contextual nature.

Participation of Parents in School Governance: A Case Study of Two Eastern Cape Schools: A View from Below

This study investigated the participation of parent SGB members in school governance. It also explored how parent School Governing Body (SGB) members participate in school governance in executing the roles of the SGBs. South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 stipulates that SGBs be constituted of parents who are in majority, teachers, non teaching staff and learners in the case of secondary schools. This study therefore used the qualitative research approach through structured and semi structured interviews and documentary analysis to investigate how parent SGB members participate in school governance. From the findings it emerged that parent SGB members regarded their roles as that of calling meetings, chairing meetings, formulating school policies, ensuring culture of teaching and learning and managing school finances. It also emerged that parent SGB members do not differentiate between their role and that of the SMT. Most SGB subcommittees seem to be dysfunctional and it emerged from the data that parent SGB members regarded educators as persons who should deal with school finances and matters of procurement. The majority of parent SGB members did not know what policies the school must adopt they regarded this as something that is better known by the educators. Hence, parent SGB members understood school governance to be better understood by educators and their role to be more operational than strategic. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p454

The Consequences of School Violence for Female Learners

Globally violence against girls is widespread. Research studies show that girls are particularly vulnerable to both physical and sexual harassment, research further highlights girls' vulnerability to rape by teachers and classmates. This study therefore sought to investigate factors associated with gender-based violence in schools as well the effects on female learners. A qualitative approach was used to explore consequences of school violence for female learners. Semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews were used to collect data from 29 learners, five principals, five school governing body members, five Life Orientation teachers and five non-teaching staff from four schools drawn from four provinces in South Africa, namely Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Western Cape. Thematic analysis was employed for the purposes of data analysis. The findings of this study reveal that female learners continue to face barriers to their learning as victims of violence perpetrated by male learners and their teachers. Interviewees (learners) saw their schools not as safe places but as primary sites for violence which has a negative impact on their education and their emotional welfare. The study proposes a synergistic approach in the form of collaborative efforts by community, administrators, teachers, parents and learners as a necessary strategy to make our schools safe.

English

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

When Devolved Power is Re-centralised: The Adulteration of Deliberative Democracy in School Governing Bodies

This article reports findings of a study on shared decision-making in School Governing Bodies (SGBs) of township secondary schools. The focu s was on the manifestation of power in the shared decision-ma king process and how it is experienced and perceived by SGB members. The study adopted a qualitative multi-site case study design. Data were collected through semi-structured one session heterogeneous focus group interviews and supplemented with one to one interviews. Data analysis was based on Teschs steps for open coding and it generated a number of themes which form the bases for discussing findings. Findings suggest that the decision-making power that is devolved to SGBs is not enjoyed equally by all members. Rather, it is centred on the principal and some elite group who do not follow the prescripts of deliberative democracy when exercising it. It is argued that since SGB members are not inherently undemocratic, their decision-making practices can be aligned to deliberative democracy tenets through more accountability measures and capacity building.

Governing bodies and learner discipline: managing rural schools in South Africa through a code of conduct

The South African Schools Act of 1996 provides that school governing bodies (SGBs) should adopt and assist in the enforcement of a learner code of conduct to maintain discipline effectively. This study focuses on the perceptions and experiences of SGBs in managing discipline in rural secondary schools through the design and enforcement of learner codes of conduct. A generic qualitative research paradigm was used to gain insight into the effectiveness of and factors impeding the enforcement of learner codes of conduct in rural secondary schools. For this purpose, data were collected from six secondary schools in the North West Province by means of focus group interviews and analysed according to Tesch’s method of open coding. One of the major findings of the study revealed that many rural school governors still lack the relevant knowledge and skills to design and enforce a learner code of conduct effectively. The literacy levels of the majority of SGB members (parents) make it difficult for them to design and enforce the learner code of conduct, even though the department may have provided training. Furthermore, parent-governors are far removed from the day-to-day operations of the school, and consequently fail to contextualise the seriousness of discipline problems as well as to enforce the learner code of conduct effectively.

How is Child Trafficking Addressed in South African Schools’ Policies?

The current study focuses on child traf ficking and school policies in South African schools. The main aim of the study was to see if a topic of child traf ficking was covered by the school policy. The secondary aim was mainly to see how informed were the schools regarding the safety and the well-being of learners. The study was conducted in Johannesburg schools during a period of practice teaching by the fourth year students who were doing Bachelor of Education degree and Postgraduate Certificate in Life Orientation. This was a qualitative study, the participants comprised of school principals, deputy principals, heads of departments for the subject Life Orientation of ten high schools and school governing body members. Documents such as school policies were also analyzed. Findings revealed that school policies did not cover the topic of child trafficking per se although there were issues around safety . In this paper it is ar gued that schools were taking policies raw as they were from the Department of Education without adding or elaborating on what was suitable for their contexts.

The possible cause of school governance challenges in South Africa

School governance in South Africa is about the single most important factor in education that appears to experience apparently insurmountable challenges. In this article I explore and analyse school governance challenges to find their possible cause. A qualitative study using interviews was conducted with principals, educators and parents as school governing body members. The results of the empirical investigation reveal numerous challenges in school governance, which challenges seem to be mainly related to school governors’ ability or inability to execute functions prescribed by the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (hereafter referred to as the Schools Act). An analysis of the challenges strongly indicates that these challenges are possibly caused by the nature of the prescribed functions, which require specialised skills and knowledge to execute. This is manifested in the various reasons advanced by school governors, such as the apportionment of blame among themselves. It is therefore concluded that school governing bodies are not really succeeding in facing the challenges of their roles and responsibilities and that the possible cause for these challenges resides in the specialist nature of most prescribed functions themselves.

The possible cause of school governance challenges in South Africa

School governance in South Africa is about the single most important factor in education that appears to experience apparently insurmountable challenges. In this article I explore and analyse school governance challenges to find their possible cause. A qualitative study using interviews was conducted with principals, educators and parents as school governing body members. The results of the empirical investigation reveal numerous challenges in school governance, which challenges seem to be mainly related to school governors’ ability or inability to execute functions prescribed by the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (hereafter referred to as the Schools Act). An analysis of the challenges strongly indicates that these challenges are possibly caused by the nature of the prescribed functions, which require specialised skills and knowledge to execute. This is manifested in the various reasons advanced by school governors, such as the apportionment of blame among themselves. It is therefore concluded that school governing bodies are not really succeeding in facing the challenges of their roles and responsibilities and that the possible cause for these challenges resides in the specialist nature of most prescribed functions themselves.

Perceptions of the principal’s role in democratic school governance in South Africa

This article explores governors’ perceptions of the role played by school principals in the democratic governance of secondary schools in South Africa. The South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 has mandated that all public schools in South Africa must have democratically elected school governing bodies, comprised of the principal (in his or her official capacity), educators, non‐teaching staff, parents and learners, but the latter is applicable only in secondary schools. This reform is intended to foster tolerance, rational discussion and collective decision‐making. In the light of this reform an empirical study investigated the role of the principal in the school governing body (SGB), particularly in promoting parent and learner participation in SGBs. The findings highlighted the important functions that principals fulfil with regard to the functioning of the SGB. Principals are viewed by governors as playing a positive role in SGBs. Governors referred to principals as ‘the finger on the pulse of what is happening at school’; they are resource persons for other members of the SGBs and ‘the engines’ of the schools. Governors viewed the principal as in charge of the professional management of the school, ensuring that all duties are carried out adequately, setting the tone in SGB meetings, and responsible for interpreting education policies and ensuring that they are well implemented. Furthermore, principals have the responsibility of ensuring the maximum participation of both parent and learner governors in SGBs meetings. Principals can also contribute greatly to school governance issues, since they are usually at an advantage in terms of their familiarity with official regulations, provincial directives and knowledge of educational reform measures. The findings highlighted persistent power struggles in rural schools that may arise when principals overplay their roles as this creates tension among SGB members. However, principals enabled implementation of democratic values such as tolerance, rational discussion and collective decision‐making in schools through their leadership roles.

Breaking the silence on HIV/AIDS in the school: the role of the school governing body in managing disclosure

This article is based on research in Mpumalanga province of South Africa, on the response of school governing bodies to legislation and policy on HIV/AIDS and education. The research was conducted through the medium of a case study, but constructed hypothetically, on critical incidents of HIV/AIDS in the school context. School governing body members were asked to respond to each case in terms of the actions they would take, should such an event occur in their schools. Using focus group interviews with selected members of the school governing bodies, this research clarifies the levels of understanding of HIV/AIDS legislation and the likely practices in South African schools as a result of such understanding. The findings amplify the distance between policy and practice and the need for vigilance with respect to legal challenges that schools might face without adequate knowledge and information on the pandemic. Key words: HIV/AIDS, disclosure, school governing body, human rights, sick role, labour relations Journal of Social Development in Africa Vol.20(1) 2005: 128-146

Perspectives on the training of school governing bodies: towards an effective and efficient financial management system

School governance is one dimension of a major commitment to democracy in post-apartheid South Africa (Bush 2004). Although stakeholder participation in school activities is essential, it is also widely recognised that many parents and educators on school governing bodies (SGBs) lack the necessary knowledge and skills in financial management to contribute effectively to school governance. And despite the Schools Act 84 of 1996 making provision for provincial education departments to provide for SGB training, it would appear that some provinces have not attached importance to this function. It has been observed that when training was provided, the quality of training was substandard and the attendance of SGB members from specific schools was low. Using a qualitative approach, the perceptions of school governors on the effectiveness of training in financial matters were determined. Analysis of data revealed, amongst others, that the application of the cascade model to SGB training had serious limitations, that the delivery of training programmes did not cater for the needs of previously disadvantaged schools, and that despite attending training sessions, many governors still lacked the necessary expertise and skills to manage school finances. Guidelines will be developed to ensure that SGB members receive effective training in financial management.

Collaboration for the effective and efficient management of school financial resources

This paper examines the collaborative relationship between principals and School Governing Bodies (SGBs), and how this impacts on the management of financial resources in public schools. In South Africa, educational trends such as decentralisation, the shift of responsibility in roles, community involvement, building of partnerships and accountability in schools resulted in changing associations and patterns of interaction amongst participants in schools. Collaboration may be viewed as central to each of these trends. As principals and SGBs grapple with the demands of managing their schools’ financial resources efficiently and effectively, it is important to reflect on the collaborative relationship that society expects of them. Principals are required to cultivate processes of authentic collaboration in order to empower SGBs on school governance. It is thus imperative for schools to initiate and maintain a collaborative relationship between principals and SGBs, through mutual trust, teamwork, collaborative decision-making, open-communication and co-operation. Using a qualitative research paradigm, we determined the perceptions and experiences of school governors on their collaborative efforts in managing the school financial resources. This study revealed, amongst others, that many SGB members were unclear about their roles and functions which resulted in serious conflict situations and accountability implications.