An evaluative study of the principal's leadership role in facilitating participative management

Abstract
Educational policy reform such as South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 and the National Education Poiicy Act, No. 27 of 1996 require all educators to participate actively in the governance and management of their schools with the view to providing better teaching and learning environments. Educators must participate in the management processes of their schools to bring about deliberate, meaningful and effective management. This study provides both a literature review and an empirical study of strategies that principals may adopt to facilitate participative management among educators. The following key findings emanated from the study: • There is a lack of educator involvement in the management process. • Principals do arrange formal meetings with educators frequently enough but do not structure meetings tightly enough. • There is a general lack of communication between the school management team and educators. • Educators are not involved in the implementation of educational policies. The following recommendations were extrapolated from the above findings: • Principals should encourage networking between schools so as to promote interschool communication, resource sharing, staff and learner collaboration and information exchange. • Principals should conduct staff training programmes and should promote teamwork among educators in their schools. • Effective management strategies should be made explicit in training workshops and policy documents such as the South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996, should be discussed in educator forums. It is the fervent hope of the researcher that this study will alert principals to pitfalls of authoritarian management styles and equip principals with practical strategies and techniques to effectively facilitate participative management in their respective schools.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of a Masters Degree in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2005.
Keywords
School principals--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal, School management and organization--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal, Teacher participation in administration--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal
Citation