The role of circuit managers in leadership and professional development of principals: perspectives of six secondary school principals.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
The focus of the study reported in this dissertation was to explore the role of circuit managers
in the leadership and professional development of principals; this was studied from the
perspective school principals. The study was conducted in six secondary schools in Umlazi
District in KwaZulu-Natal, and principals of these schools participated voluntarily. Since there
is no prior qualification that is needed in South Africa before teachers are appointed to a
principal position, I wanted to understand the principals' perceptions of the role played by
circuit managers in their leadership and professional development. The study also intended to
explore the different strategies that circuit managers implement in pursuit of developing
principals' leadership and professional skills. Lastly, the study also explored the impact of the
strategies implemented by the circuit managers.
I located myself within an interpretive paradigm in this study; this paradigm is grounded on
the belief that there is no single absolute truth, but it is created through the engagements of the
researcher and participants. Reality is subjective and emanates from people's real-life
experiences. Transformational leadership theory and Gray and Bishop’s leadership
development model formed the theoretical framework that underpinned this study.
Furthermore, the case study research methodology was used to comprehend the principals'
experiences. The thematic analysis method was chosen to analyse data that was generated
through semi-structured interviews.
The study found that the role of circuit managers, from the perspective of principals, played a
pivotal role in developing principals’ leadership and professional development. The
participating principals shared a similar sentiment that circuit managers played the role of
building their capacity. Among other things, principals mentioned that circuit managers
implemented mentoring and modelling, twinning schools to foster collaborations and ongoing
training as strategies to enhance principals' professional and leadership growth. The study
further found that the implementation of these strategies by circuit managers resulted in
principals growing their management and leadership practices.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.