Doctoral Degrees (Education, Development, Leadership and Management)

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The district leadership role in supporting teaching and learning in South African schools: evidence from two districts in Gauteng province.
(2018) Mthembu, Pinkie Euginia.; Bhengu, Thamsanqa Thulani.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
This study examined the leadership role of district officials in supporting teaching and learning in schools. It explores the views of district officials in two purposively selected district offices in one province of South Africa. Studies on educational leadership have generally shown the relationship between leadership and learner outcomes. They have focused more on leadership within the school and less on that of the District Office. Because district offices lead from the middle, they are well placed to ensure that all schools improve teaching and learning. This gap in the literature on the leadership experiences of district officials has motivated this study. This collective case study was couched within the constructivist research paradigm. It involved indepth face-to-face individual interviews with eight officials comprising two district directors, four curriculum leaders, and two circuit managers. Supplementary data sources included document reviews and observation and accountability meetings with principals. Framed by Open Systems, Public Education Leadership Coherence Framework and Adaptive Leadership theories, the findings of this study revealed that districts were clear about their philosophy with which they communicated to all stakeholders. They shared responsibility and accountability for learner performance with schools. In the process, the District Director and the school principals were put at the centre as enablers. It emerged that data-informed accountability and support meetings were regularly held with schools and communities to garner support for improved teaching and learning. They facilitated professional development and learning opportunities for principals, deputy principals, departmental heads and teachers. Among the key lessons from this study is that it is essential for the district office to have a shared philosophy regarding how teaching and learning should be enhanced. However, philosophy alone is not enough. Thus meaningful strategies need to be developed drawing from that philosophy. Inclusivity in developing and implementing strategies have emerged as important. Furthermore, the study revealed that an important strategy involves operationalising multi-level structures and systems that inform and are in turn informed by various functions and practices that would harness the district-wide context. Also, it is important for district officials to be responsive to different school contexts and also help to identify partners that bolster their efforts. Thus, this study suggests that the ‘we are in it together’ philosophy between the district and the school was the backbone of the two districts’ success.
The dynamics of child vulnerability in a selected South African primary school: focus on leadership and management.
(2021) Hoosen, Lynette Denyse.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
Educators and school managers provide key insights on child vulnerability which are derived from their experiences in the school setting. A more robust understanding of the phenomenon of child vulnerability is necessary to direct school-based intervention and to achieve quality education. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Systems’ Theory (1979), Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation which outlines The Hierarchy of Human Needs (Maslow, 1943), and the Transformational Leadership Model (Burns, 1978) provided a lens to understand the nature and extent of child vulnerability, how it manifested in the school, why it is understood and experienced in the way that it is and what can be learnt from this. The study employed a qualitative, interpretive approach, adopting a single case-study in its methodology. Ethical principles were observed throughout the data-generation process. Trustworthiness of findings was ensured since data was generated through semi-structured, individual face-to-face interviews and two focus-group discussions. Seventeen participants comprising Level one educators, School Based Support Team and School Management Team members were included. Research was conducted in one public primary school in KwaZulu- Natal. Data was analysed and arranged thematically. Insights gained from this study reflect the complexity of the phenomenon of child vulnerability. The South African education system is undergirded by a strong legislative framework, yet fraught with systemic challenges reflecting deficiencies at multiple levels and a lack of collaboration between schools and communities. The quality of education remains poor despite improved access. Challenges that emerged were primarily attributed by educators to unfavourable circumstances within the home. Overwhelmed educators expressed frustration at the lack of support and the circumstances they face. School-based contributors to vulnerability are often overlooked yet are significant. A transformational leadership approach to achieve quality education is required to improve educator role perception and facilitate capacitation of educators to address vulnerability in the school context. Universal staff capacitation for screening, identification, assessment and support of vulnerable learners is necessary to achieve inclusive education. Close school community collaboration to confront harrowing realities inflicted by poverty and deprivation facing children is needed. Finally, this study suggested that school-community collaboration at multiple levels is imperative to address child vulnerability for any intervention to be effective, transformative and sustainable.
The dynamics of generating and managing educational resources in Swaziland selected secondary schools.
(2017) Langwenya-Myeni, Doris Nompumelelo.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
In this study I investigated the dynamics of generating and managing educational resources in Swaziland secondary schools. The need for this study arose out of my realisation of a knowledge gap namely the inefficiency in physical and material resource distribution, high secondary school costs of education and financial resource mismanagement in schools. In the study I explored the experiences of Head Teachers (HTs) and Heads of Departments (HODs); factors affecting educational resources; and practices to sustain educational resources generation and management. I employed a mixed methods research approach using a multiple-site case study design. I purposively selected six government secondary schools with six HTs and thirty two HODs as participants of the study, in two regions of Swaziland. I generated data through a questionnaire, face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews and document analysis. Qualitative data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis. I adopted a three-pronged theoretical framework involving the collegiality theory of management, the systems approach and funding models. Findings revealed that while the schools had the basic resources, some of these were obsolete and others needed immediate repair. Although schools seemed to have the potential of linking with the external environment, resource generation therein was currently inward looking and very limited in terms of expansion strategies. The schools did not have structures in place for resource mobilisation and management. There was an apparent absence of clear policy guidelines on resource activities, no strategic planning conducted with the external world and school managers (HTs and HODs) seemed to lack skills and techniques for generating and managing educational resources. I conclude that the schools need to improve upon their internal mechanisms to manage existing resources. I further conclude that the current inwards looking approach to resource generation is unsustainable. Schools need to forge partnerships at two main levels: with other schools and with the broader community.
The dynamics of implementing school-based teacher professional development in South Africa: a case study of one rural education circuit in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2020) Nhlumayo, Buhle Stella.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
To transform education in South Africa, it is necessary that teachers, school principals and the circuit manager be appropriately equipped to meet the mounting challenges and needs of this developing country through the accurate implementation of school-based teacher professional development. Drawing from Wenger’s (1999) social learning theory, Speck’s (1996) and Knowles’ (1984) adult learning theory and Liu and Hallinger’s (2017) learning-centred leadership, this study aimed to do the following: explore how teachers, school principals and the circuit manager understood and experienced school-based teacher professional development in this circuit; investigate why teachers, school principals, and the circuit manager understood and experienced school-based teacher professional development the way they did; and to determine what could be learnt from the dynamics regarding the way forward in implementing school-based teacher professional development. The study was grounded in the qualitative interpretive approach and employed a multiple case study as the methodology. All ethical issues were observed before and during data generation. To ensure trustworthiness of findings, multiple data generation instruments, such as semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions, were used. 28 teachers and four school principals from four primary schools in a selected rural education circuit in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and one circuit manager, were participants of the study. Content analysis was employed to analyse data. The conclusions arrived at indicate a cocktail of dynamics around the implementation of SBTPD in rural schools. These dynamics include a limited and restricted understanding of SBTPD on the part of the teachers, school principals and the circuit manager, which caused the failure of schools to initiate their own SBTPD programmes. Schools could use departmentally driven programmes to launch their own school-based programmes. This study also established that there was abuse of the cascade model of TPD, which displayed a need for capacity-building and a change of attitude for teachers so that they could use the model to benefit them. The researched schools used lack of infrastructure and facilities as a scapegoat for their abdication of the appropriate implementation of SBTPD. The study established that schools could use what they had to ensure the effective implementation of SBTPD. The study also found that there was a lack of intra-school and interschool collaboration that hindered the effective implementation of SBTPD. The study proposed that a school-based collective participation model, on the ground, would assist teachers to confront the reality in their contexts. Lastly the study suggested that teachers, school principals and the circuit manager could adequately benefit from the provision of capacity-building on understanding how to implement SBTPD in schools.
The dynamics of partnership in South African schools: learning from school principals, SGB chairpersons and teacher-union site stewards.
(2019) Khuzwayo, Zamokuhle Innocent.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
This study explored the dynamics of school partnership in five schools located in the Durban Metropolitan area. This study was a multiple case-study. I utilised four research questions. Though literature on partnership was available, there was a knowledge gap regarding school partnership`s dynamics, involving school principals, SGB chairpersons and teacher-union site stewards. This study`s theoretical frameworks were The Participative and the Transformational Leadership Theory and the Collegiality Leadership Model. These frameworks prepared the researcher to understand the essence of partnership. The study was a qualitative approach located within the interpretive paradigm. I utilised semi - structured interviews to generate data on two occasions. Scholars` writings, policies and South African legislation were the basis of reviewed literature. They all promote partnership principles, among others are support, honest and mutual respect. Unfortunately, some of these partnership leaders, did the opposite. Findings reveal that school partnerships were full of tensions, power struggle, betrayal, corruption, nepotism, moral degradation and self-enrichments. Despite all these setbacks, there were a few leaders, who stuck to their guns, to ensure that school partnership operated within the democratic principles. Though they were the minority, their moral conduct and adherence to the democratic principles ensured that, fellow partners emulated their leadership style. This led to the realisation that to avoid conflict situations, it was essential to be democratic, adopt a participative approach and be the transformational leaders. Most came up with various suggestions regarding the enhancement of school partnership. These proposals were democratic principles that are highlighted throughout the study as key to effective partnership. Furthermore, these partners stated that they learnt principles, such as democratic governance and shared leadership from fellow - ethical partners. What was also inspiring was that these partners did not only come up with proposals regarding the enhancement of partnership, but they committed themselves to be agents of change. They learnt from the very few partners who promoted ethical leadership amongst fellow partners. This study concluded that as long as there are democratic and moral leaders in school partnership, there is a silver lining that a utopian school partnership would be realised
The dynamics of school performance: evidence from three primary schools=Inhlukano ekwenzeni kwesikole: Ubufakazi obutholakala ezikoleni ezintathu zamabanga aphansi.
(2021) Mtshali, Enock Bhekokwakhe.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
The South African education system has instituted policies and programmes to expect schools to function better, but this does not seem to be the case when measured by school performance. School performance in South Africa is a multi-faceted phenomenon that needs to be studied and understood in-depth, hence this study on the dynamics of school performance. This is a qualitative research study positioned in the interpretivist paradigm to understand multiple realities about the dynamics of school performance as expounded by Rehman and Alharthi’s (2016) that interpretivists believe in multiple socially constructed realities. The study adopted a multiple case study approach involving three primary schools in one district of the KwaZulu- Natal province. The following questions were posed: what factors influence school performance? How do teachers and school management team members see these factors influencing school performance? How can school performance be enhanced? Research participants included the school principals, departmental heads, and teachers in each school. The data generation instruments included interviews, observations, and document reviews. Central to school performance, the major conclusions reached show that school culture was the overarching dynamic of school performance. Within school culture, the key sub-dynamics were the nature of leadership and management, the quality of teaching and learning, and school community relationships. Schools need not only rely on the policies and programmes from the Department of Education (DoE) to improve their performance. Heavy reliance on the directives by the DoE seems not to make schools accountable for their academic performance. In addition to the policies and programmes for improving school performance, schools need to develop internal school performance strategies. Iqoqa Uhlelo lwezemfundo eNingizimu Afrikha lusungule izinqubomgomo kanye nezinhlelo ezilindele ukuba izikole zisebenze kahle, kodwa lokhu akubukeki kunjalo uma kukalwa ngokwenza kwesikole. Ukwenza kwesikole eNingizimu Afrikha ukuba isenzekoningi esidinga ukucutshungulwa bese siqondwa ngendlela ejulile, njengoba lolucwaningo lubheka ukuhlukahlukana ngokwenza kwesikole. Lesi sifundo sikhethe uhlonzoningi lohlelokwenza olufaka izikole ezintathu ezisemabangeni aphansi kusifunda esisodwa esifundazweni sakwaZulu-Natali. Imibuzo elandelayo yaphonswa: ngabe iziphi izimbangela ezaba nethonya mayelana nokwenza kwesikole? Ngabe bazibuka kanjani othisha kanye namalungu omkhandlu wokuphatha kwesikole izimbangela ezithonya ukwenza kwesikole? Kungakhuthazwa kanjani ukwenza kwesikole? Ababamba iqhaza ocwaningweni kufaka uthishomkhulu, izinhloko zeminyango, kanye nothisha isikole ngasinye. Amathuluzi okusenga ulwazi afaka uhlelongxoxo, ukupha iso kanye nokubuyekeza imibhalo. Imiphumela ikhomba ukuthi isiko lesikole yilona elaba wungqoshishilizi enhlukwaneni yokwenza kwesikole. Ezibilini zesiko lesikole, okuwukhiye ngaphansana kwenhlukano kwabe kuyisimo sobuholi kanye nokuphatha, izinga lokufundisa nokufunda, kanye nobudlelwano nomphakathi ongumakhelwane nesikole. Izikole azikudingi ukuthembela kuzinqubomgomo kanye nasezinhlelweni zoMnyango wezeMfundo ukuthuthukisa ukwenza kwazo. Ukuthembela kakhulu emiyalelweni yoMnyango wezeMfundo akuzenzi izikole zikwazi ukuphumela obala ngokwenza kwazo. Uma kunezezelwa ezinqubwenimgomo nezinhlelo zokuthuthukisa ukwenza kwesikole, isikole sidinga ukukhulisa ngaphakathi amaqhinga okwenza kwesikole.
Ethical leadership in South African schools: learning from the experiences and practices of selected proactive school principals.
(2021) Meyiwa, Nompumelelo Priscilla.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
South African schools need ethical leadership, given the nature and level of unethical conduct that is reported on in schools, with some school principals said to be the perpetrators. Despite the sound policies that apply to the education sector, the situation still seems to persist. This study aimed to understand selected school principals’ experiences and practices of ethical leadership in their daily lives. These school principals were reliably believed to be ethical leaders. The study involved exploring and understanding what informed their experiences and practices, how they managed dilemmas and why they behaved the way they did as well as determining what could be learnt from the participants’ experiences and practices. This study adopted a two-pronged theoretical lens, specifically Greenleaf’s (1977) servant leadership theory and Bill Grace’s (1999) 4Vs model of ethical leadership. The servant leadership theory places the emphasis on the leader serving followers before leading them. The leader does this with the aim of influencing followers to also adopt the spirit of serving others. In the 4Vs ethical leadership model, leaders develop a vision for the organization and use their voices to articulate the vision. This vision stems from their own understanding and conviction of their personal values. All of this is influenced by the will to achieve the common good, which is a virtue. The study was qualitative, situated within the interpretivist paradigm. It used the narrative inquiry research design. The participants were five school principals from township primary and secondary schools in a selected circuit of the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings reveal that the school principals experienced ethical dilemmas that were influenced by, among others, the prevailing socio-economic conditions, political interference, especially from teacher unions, and lack of support from the Department of Basic Education and other stakeholders. Their key practices included shared decision-making, leading by example, accountability and responsibility, empathy and care. They cited having a vision and foresight, empowering followers, serving others, humility, accountability, listening to others and moral decision-making as what informed their practices. These practices were underpinned by values such as integrity, honesty, justice and fairness, empathy and care as well as respect for their practice.
Exploring the development of teacher leadership: learning from selected South African teachers and members of school management teams.
(2021) Malik, Yasmeen.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
The need for teacher leadership development has never been more urgent. The call for teacher leadership is explicitly embedded within South African educational policies, and amidst an ever-increasing educational crisis, the effective leadership of teachers is an absolute necessity. The call for effective teacher leadership has therefore never been greater. The scarcity of research on how teacher leadership develops warranted this study. Drawing from Reichard and Johnson’s (2011) leader self-development theory, Harrison and Killion’s (2007) ten roles of teacher leaders, and Greenleaf’s (2003) servant leadership theory, this study aimed to do the following: to explore how teacher leaders and school management team members understood teacher leadership work; to explore how teachers and school management team members understood and experienced teacher leadership development; and to determine what lessons could be learnt to inform thinking of how other ordinary teachers could develop into effective teacher leaders as a way forward for the implementation of teacher leadership development. The study employed a multiple case study methodology embedded within a qualitative, interpretivist approach. Multi-perspectival data was generated through semi-structured individual interviews with four effective teacher leaders and four school management team members from three secondary schools in the eThekwini region in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The interview data was supplemented with artefacts and reflective journal entries. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The work of the teacher leader participants was categorised into seven focal areas: reflective practitioners and evolving methodologists, school-wide and community leaders, effective teacher development agents, mentors leading by example, life and personal coaches, change agents for school improvement, and mediating bridges between teachers and management. It was found that their leadership roles developed as solutions to challenges with their learners, colleagues, schools and communities and was motivated by the teacher leaders’ positive and willing responses to developmental needs. Moreover, innate factors, such as their life experiences, personalities, learning dispositions, innate values and personal needs, served as internal stimuli that directed the teacher leaders’ behaviour and the way they led. The study revealed that if teachers are willing to use what they have to initiate and nurture their development, while looking upon contexts and situations as growth opportunities, teacher leadership development becomes a possibility, even in challenging contexts.
Exploring the role of leadership and management in school-based teacher-professional development.
(2014) Moodley, Sarasvathy.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
This study explored the role of leadership and management in school-based teacher professional development (SBTPD) in one primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The rationale for doing this research was that generic teacher development initiatives in South Africa do not seem to have yielded the intended results. Greater emphasis on SBTPD seems to be the way forward. However, while all South African public schools are expected to run SBTPD, most of them do not seem to succeed in this regard. This study proposed that the quality of leadership and management in a school has a strong influence on the success or failure of SBTPD. However, there is currently lack of knowledge as to what leadership and management practices are associated with successful SBTPD. The literature reviewed revealed a gap in the leadership and management practices that enable SBTPD. In light of these gaps in literature, a detailed case study of one school with a focus on the role of leadership and management in SBTPD was conducted. The theory of the school as a learning organisation was employed as the guiding theoretical lens through which this study was undertaken. As such, this study explored how a school expands its capacity to create its future. The theoretical framework illuminated that creating a learning organisation requires a deep rethinking of the leader’s role in order for schools develop the capacity to carry out their mission. In the context of this background and within a qualitative interpretive paradigm, the study drew on the experiences of teachers, the School Management Team and the Staff Development Team in one school. For the purpose of data generation, semi-structured interviews, were conducted which allowed participants to discuss their experiences and interpretations of the role of leadership and management in SBTPD and to express how they interpreted situations from their own point of view. Data generated from the documents reviewed and observations conducted were scrutinised alongside the data generated from the interviews. The study shows that teachers in being prepared for development opportunities were enthusiastic about either receiving or leading SBTPD. The provisions of such school-based teacher professional development opportunities are largely dependent on the creativity and efficiency of the leadership at the school. Such creativity and efficiency of leadership emerged as SBTPD hallmarks that are associated with Malachi Primary School, the research site. Fostering collegial relationships and communication, individual learning, enabling teamwork and collaboration, celebrating and utilising teachers' excellence, 'aha' moments in leadership, a focus on learning, non-positional leadership and an emerging professional learning community through the provision of varied forms of teacher professional development emerged as the hallmarks of SBTPD. The hallmarks revealed that leadership in practising the five learning disciplines: Systems Thinking; Personal Mastery; Mental Models; Building Shared Vision and Team Learning in concert (Senge, 2006) were able to tap into the commitment, proficiencies, initiative and willingness of teachers to learn and develop holistically with the focus on ongoing improvement in learner achievement.
Leader influence behaviours and school leadership: an ethnographic study of three primary school heads in the Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe.
(2016) Shoko, Shepherd.; Naicker, Inbanathan.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
Of late there has been an outcry about poor leadership and mismanagement amongst school heads by the Zimbabwean public media (Gore, 2012; Mhlanga, 2013; Nziramasanga, 2000; Share, 2013) and Teachers’ Union representatives, parents and District Education Officers at various meetings I attended in the Zvishavane District in Zimbabwe. However, from my experience as a school head and the literature available for the preparation of school heads in Zimbabwe, little if any is known about school heads’ use of leader influence behaviours in educational leadership and management. Such knowledge is important for school heads for them to be able to effectively influence teachers so as to achieve school goals. This study aimed to contribute knowledge and push this peripheral attention given to this key aspect of educational leadership and management. This is a qualitative ethnographic study, couched within the interpretive paradigm. An ethnographic approach suited this study because it allowed for a deep and sustained engagement with participants. A theoretical toolkit consisting of more than one theory was seen as appropriate to bring influence and leadership issues under study into sharp focus. As such a three legged theoretical framework utilising, the distributed leadership, the collegial model of educational management and Foucault’s notions of power were used. School heads and teachers from three rural schools in the Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe were selected for the study. The school heads and teachers participated in the study to learn how school heads influence teachers in day to day work situations. Sampling for the school heads who participated in the study was purposive to generate data from high performing school heads. These school heads were recommended for selection for this study by the district education officer. The following findings emerged from this study: School heads use leader influence behaviours of empowerment, consultation, stewardship, sharing responsibility, inspirational appeal, rational persuasion and legitimation to influence teachers. School heads utilise different influence behaviours in different core areas of their work. The success of influence attempts is determined by meanings, values and experiences the school heads and teachers bring to bear in the school head/teacher interactions. A blend, instead of the use of just one influence behaviour at a time increased chances of an influence attempt suggesting that the more influence behaviours a school head uses at a time, the more will be his or her chances of success at influencing teachers. Issues of integrity, collaboration, transparency, knowledge, evidence, authority, culture of achievement, trust and seniority culture mediated leader influence attempts. Using a model, based on these findings, I showed that the interplay between leader influence behaviours and contextual and cultural issues mediate school heads’ influence attempts. This study can contribute to the growing body of literature on leader influence behaviours in particular and educational leadership and management in general by adding to what we can learn about how school heads influence teachers in their day-to-day leadership practice.
The role of leadership in addressing school violence : a case study of two South African schools.
(2014) Makhasane, Sekitla Daniel.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
This study sought to understand the role of leadership in addressing school violence in the context of two South African high schools. School violence is a stumbling block to proper functioning of South African schools. Leadership is regarded as essential for the success or failure of schools. This study was a multiple case of two schools which was couched within the interpretivist paradigm. This paradigm was suitable because it allowed me to study and understand multiple interpretations which the participants attached to the dynamics of violence and their understanding of how leadership tackled school violence. The study adopted qualitative methods of data generation which included document analysis, observation and interviews. For the interviews, a purposive sampling of the participants was adopted. Informed by distributed leadership theory which is based on the assumption that there are multiple leaders in a school, I selected as participants, the principals, the deputy principals, the Heads of Department, teachers and learners. The study was informed by a three pronged framework involving distributed leadership theory, social learning theory and ecosystemic theory. Distributed leadership theory was used to explain the findings on how leadership practices influence school violence. The dynamics of violence were explained through the lens of social and systemic theories. The findings suggest that school violence is a complex, multi-dimensional and dynamic phenomenon. The insights into the dynamics of violence revealed that teachers and learners in the two schools experienced different forms of violence ranging from serious incidents such as physical violence to mild forms like verbal violence. The dynamics also included causes of violence which it was found emanated from different sources. Such sources included, inter alia, learners’ peers, parents and socio-economic factors. With regard to variation and gravity of violence between the two participant schools, it was found that some forms of violence were high in one school while they were low in another school. The last aspect of the dynamics of violence which emerged from this study was relationships within and between forms of violence. The findings showed, for instance, that there was relationship between learner-on-teacher and teacher-on-learner violence because some learners reacted violently to teachers in response to teachers’ violent acts against such learners. This study found that the manner in which the dynamics of violence were addressed in the two schools generally illustrated a dearth of leadership. As a result, teachers were not succeeding in their efforts of tackling violence. Some initiatives taken to address violence tended to be targeted at managing violence. However, some management approaches, such as administering corporal punishment, were also violence and, therefore, had the potential to promote violence instead of reducing it. The study also shows that there were few teachers who exercised leadership and as such some learners did change their violent behaviour. However, the efforts of such teachers were isolated and not co-ordinated hence, the impact of their leadership was limited. I, therefore, argue that leadership is crucial for the reduction of school violence. Violence cannot be reduced if teachers and learners do not exercise leadership.
The role of traditional leaders in school governance : learning from two communities in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2015) Mbokazi, Sandile Sam.; Bhengu, Thamsanqa Thulani.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
Using lessons drawn from two rural communities, this study examined the role of traditional leaders in school governance in South Africa. The study sought to understand the nature of the role of traditional leaders on school governance and reasons for playing such role as well as the manner in which this role is understood and experienced by selected school-community members concerned in these contexts. The motivation for doing the study was that while traditional leaders are appointed through heritage and only recently have started to be regulated by policy, they remain important structures leading rural communities, and their role in education and governance is crucial to understand. The concepts that are used in this study are role, leadership, school governance, indigenous knowledge systems and Africanisation and school-community partnership. Communities have leadership structures and diverse socio-cultural profiles, all of which need to be understood in order to fully appreciate various kinds of leadership roles that exist in society. The South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) (henceforth, the Schools Act), provides for the establishment of school governing bodies to promote community involvement in schools by ensuring that parents are a major component of these bodies and are actively participating in these bodies. Although the Schools Act is not explicit about the role that traditional leaders can play in schools, it does provide a useful platform for their involvement, either as co-opted members of the school governing bodies or as just parent members of these structures. Drawing from both individual semi-structured and focus group interviews with superintendents of education in management, school managers, parent and learner members of the school governing bodies and traditional leaders, the study discusses the role that traditional leaders play in school governance. Among other things, the study revealed that a dimensional dialogue exists between traditional leadership and school governance in rural communities that are in the jurisdiction of traditional leaders. The emerging picture did not only reveal their perceptions about the schools’ ‘embeddedness’ to their society, but it also revealed the manner in which members of school communities aspire to a particular kind of school-community relationship that can support school governance and learner progression from lower to higher grades, and even beyond schooling. The study shows that the context of interaction between traditional leaders and school governors has provided an important platform where issues of school development, safety and security, school-community partnership, and cultural identity in relation to school governance can both be interrogated and facilitated. While this provides an opportunity for responsive school governance, it is contrary to the manner in which many scholars have perceived traditional leaders as authoritarian and representative of a patriarchal society that is less progressive. The evidence for all this is provided in the relevant sections of the thesis. Given this, understanding the role of traditional leaders in school governance will contribute to a deeper understanding of the manner in which such leaders can make a positive impact on school-communities.
School principals perceived and desired leadership development pathways: evidence from one district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2020) Ezeonwuachusi, Nnenna Fidelia.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
The quality of school reforms and learner performance are integrally linked to school principals‟ leadership development, which elicits both anxiety and concern, as evidenced by studies on educational improvements which emphasise the impact of school leadership on learner performance. Thus, how best to prepare school principals as school leaders and determine their leadership development pathways are concerns that continue to be on the education agenda of many countries. Using the context of one school district in South Africa, this qualitative study explores school principals‟ leadership development, looking at their understanding, experiences and conceptions of desired leadership development, and drawing on the perspective of practice context. The study applied a complementarity of framework made up of three theories, Vygotsky‟s (1978) sociocultural theory focusing on the concepts of Zone of Proximal Development and more knowledgeable other, Knowles‟ (1980) Theory of Adult Learning and Assets-Based Theory by Kretzmann and McKnight (1993). The study was positioned within the interpretivist paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach and a case study design. The data generation methods were semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews. Major findings revealed that firstly, school principals‟ understanding of leadership development involves training and supporting them in relevant, not just generic, leadership skills and knowledge. Secondly, targeting the school principals‟ development training should include programmes that aim to meet individual and unique needs. Thirdly, their desired leadership development included individualised leadership training, and leadership training using inputs from the experiences of the school principals. The study concludes by highlighting on the lessons learnt, including: 1. Leadership development of school principals needs to be contextually problematised and understood. 2. School leaders desire to take responsibilities for their own learning; setting the objectives and determining what to take away from the learning. 3. Varying approaches to school leadership development provisions including on-site training are desirable to school principals. 4. While school leaders‟ desired areas of leadership development conform to what is commonly outlined in the literature, what is at variance is not the “what”, which is the subject of their leadership development, but the “how” – the processes of providing the leadership development.
School principals perceived and desired leadership development pathways: evidence from one district of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2020) Ezeonwuachusi, Nnenna Fidelia.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
The quality of school reforms and learner performance are integrally linked to school principals‟ leadership development, which elicits both anxiety and concern, as evidenced by studies on educational improvements which emphasise the impact of school leadership on learner performance. Thus, how best to prepare school principals as school leaders and determine their leadership development pathways are concerns that continue to be on the education agenda of many countries. Using the context of one school district in South Africa, this qualitative study explores school principals‟ leadership development, looking at their understanding, experiences and conceptions of desired leadership development, and drawing on the perspective of practice context. The study applied a complementarity of framework made up of three theories, Vygotsky‟s (1978) sociocultural theory focusing on the concepts of Zone of Proximal Development and more knowledgeable other, Knowles‟ (1980) Theory of Adult Learning and Assets-Based Theory by Kretzmann and McKnight (1993). The study was positioned within the interpretivist paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach and a case study design. The data generation methods were semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews. Major findings revealed that firstly, school principals‟ understanding of leadership development involves training and supporting them in relevant, not just generic, leadership skills and knowledge. Secondly, targeting the school principals‟ development training should include programmes that aim to meet individual and unique needs. Thirdly, their desired leadership development included individualised leadership training, and leadership training using inputs from the experiences of the school principals. The study concludes by highlighting on the lessons learnt, including: 1. Leadership development of school principals needs to be contextually problematised and understood. iii 2. School leaders desire to take responsibilities for their own learning; setting the objectives and determining what to take away from the learning. 3. Varying approaches to school leadership development provisions including on-site training are desirable to school principals. 4. While school leaders‟ desired areas of leadership development conform to what is commonly outlined in the literature, what is at variance is not the “what”, which is the subject of their leadership development, but the “how” – the processes of providing the leadership development.
What does it entail to be a self-managing school? : evidence from one South African school.
(2014) Pillay, Sarasvathie.; Chikoko, Vitallis.
I embarked on this research journey with the aim of understanding in some depth, the work of a South African primary school through the self-managing lens. The journey was triggered by an apparent limited understanding in South Africa about what it entails to be a self-managing school despite the fact that the South African Schools Act, in keeping with developments worldwide, calls for schools to become more self-managing. In South Africa, the term ‘selfmanaging school’ has kind of been ‘hijacked’ and become restricted to refer to Section 21 schools that self-manage their finances. But literature unequivocally shows that the notion of a self-managing school is ‘pregnant’ with meaning, far deeper and richer than financial wellness. Thus the fundamental questions guiding this study related to how Acme Primary School fared as a self-managing school and what lessons could be learnt there, regarding what it may entail to be a self-managing school in the South African context. Couched within the interpretive research paradigm, the study adopted a single case study research design. A sample of ten participants comprising of the School Management Team and selected educators made up the main data source. Data was captured through a blend of four instruments, namely a transect walk, observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The study was informed by a two- pronged theoretical framework of the theories of capital and distributed leadership. Findings provided a complex and intricate web of factors which pointed to Acme Primary School being on course towards self-managing. The school’s success as a self-managing institution revolved around its ability to draw on all four forms of capital: intellectual, financial, social and spiritual. Intellectual capital was to do with knowledge production and utilization thereof in order to maintain a sense of renewal and inspiration within the school. Social capital related to the building of relationships and interactions among stakeholders. Financial capital was to do with the presence of the resources necessary to meet development needs. Spiritual capital entailed the bond created through shared beliefs, norms and values all of which developed a culture of self-belief and a drive to succeed. The school’s success was also informed by leadership that was distributed across the organization - a case of multiple leaders.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Education, Development, Leadership and Management) by Author "Chikoko, Vitallis."