Wrestling with underperformance pressures: narratives of six secondary school principals in Ilembe District.

Abstract

According to statistics, Grade 12 pass rate in the iLembe District has been progressively falling. Poor examinations result of Grade 12 learners in South Africa have caused major concerns in the educational and public sectors, particularly because there has been a growing awareness about issues of accountability for underperformance. Accountability meetings and criticism from commentators put principals under severe pressure, but some of them choose to skip meetings by taking lengthy sick leaves. These accountability sessions have caused a lot of stress on the principals involved, and in some instances, with lethal consequences. However, very little is known about the experiences of principals who experience pressure because of Grade 12 poor performance. This study has adopted a qualitative approached within an interpretive research paradigm and Narrative Inquiry was adopted as a research methodology. Field texts (data) were generated through narrative interviews and artefact inquiry. Narrative analysis and analysis of narratives—were completed. The study's focus was on six principals in the iLembe District. The study adopted three theories as its framework, and these are Identity Theory, Teacher Education and Diversity (ITTED), Context-Responsive Leadership (CRL)and Five Domains of Instructional Leadership Model. The findings suggested their leadership responses to underperformance in Grade 12 examinations was associated with the identities they had constructed about who they are. One of the major findings is that the performance of their school improved remarkably. From the strategies that these principals adopted, this study has generated a model I call a Multi-Stage Underperformance Pressure Coping Mechanism. This model is presented in Chapter Eight, and this model serves as one of the original contributions of this thesis.