Participative management at secondary schools in the Uthungulu district
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Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
Participative management increasingly gained momentum in the management of public institutions, such as schools after the 1994 democratic elections held in South Africa. The democratic values enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 seemed to be critical in the management of schools, since they created the basis for staff participation in decision making. In this study the researcher investigates participative management practices at various secondary schools in the Uthungulu district of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The objectives of the study were to:
To find out conditions which make participative management appropriate in secondary school;
To determine the management development needs of school managers;
To examine the factors which inhibit participative management in secondary schools, and
To establish models which promote participative management in secondary schools.
This investigation was undertaken to find out conditions which make participative management appropriate in secondary schools, and to examine the factors that inhibit participative management in secondary schools. The mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) was used in this study to collect data from principals and heads of departments in the Uthungulu district. The empirical study based on the findings of questionnaires and interviews confirmed that there is a need for vigorous and ongoing management development programmes for school management teams and that participative management is not a way of life in some secondary schools in the Uthungulu district.
The main recommendations of this study included the need for the Department of Education to develop and strengthen organisational cultures which favour participative management practices, and to establish clear organisational structures which allow for staff participative management practices.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Social Science Education at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2016
Keywords
participative management --schools --Uthungulu District