The role of the learner in the school governing body : perceptions and experiences of principals, educators, parents and learners.

Abstract

After democracy was achieved in South Africa, the South African Schools Act no 84 of 1996 required all public secondary schools to have two learners elected to the school governing body. The question of learner involvement and participation is still a thorny issue in some schools. The study investigated the experiences and perceptions of educators, parents and learners, regarding learner participation in school governance .The study was conducted in four schools in Mpumalanga ward of Hammarsdale circuit. A total of sixteen participants, four from each school comprising of four of each of principals, educators, parents and learners were interviewed. The study adopted the qualitative research design. Qualitative research design was most suitable to this study because it looked at views of different stakeholders entailed talking to people with the purpose of getting in depth information. Semi structured interviews were conducted with all participants. The main finding was that learner participation in school governance is still a problematic issue .The findings reveled that there are huge stumbling blocks that make learners fail to participate effectively in school governance. Democracy has not been achieved as expected, as it is evidenced by silent voices of learners.