A formative intervention for developing Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An exploration of leadership development in a learner representative structure in a secondary school, Oshana Region, Namibia
- Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Beginner teachers’ leadership development opportunities: an interventionist case study in a rural combined school in the Ohangwena region, Namibia
- Authors: Ndakolonkoshi, Klaudia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Teacher participation in administration -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61603 , vital:28041
- Description: The emergence of distributed leadership theory encourages multiple involvement of individuals in leadership of the school, regardless of their leadership positions (Spillane, 2006). The manifestation of teacher leadership through distributed leadership theory grants opportunities to teachers to enact leadership roles. This study explored how the notion of teacher leadership is understood, the leadership roles existing for the beginner teachers, and the constraining and enabling factors to the practice of teacher leadership in a rural combined school in Ohangwena region, in Namibia. The study is a formative intervention adopting a case study approach located in a critical paradigm since it aimed to bring changes in the activity system of the beginner teachers. The data were collected from ten participants: four beginner teachers, four experienced teachers, the principal and the Head of Department. The data were generated using the following techniques: document analysis, interview, questionnaires, observation and Change Laboratory workshops. The data were analysed thematically using second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model. The findings revealed that there were different understandings of the concept of teacher leadership. It was viewed as participation, influence, motivation and mentoring. It was also revealed that beginner teachers practiced leadership roles across the four zones of Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model, but to various extents. A high participation was noted in zone one within the classroom and zone two in curricular and extra-curricular activities and minimal participation was reported in zone three within the whole school development and zone four beyond the school into the community. Teacher leadership in the case study school was constrained by several factors, including teachers’ reluctance to lead, cultural beliefs, top-down leadership structure and lack of experience. Due to the minimal participation of beginner teachers in zone three and four, the findings suggested that the school should foster a collaborative culture, establish induction and mentoring committees in the school and encourage beginner teachers to take up leadership roles by providing opportunities for them to lead through delegation. In a series of Change Laboratory workshops (CLW) the principal and the Head of Department took up the responsibility of providing leadership training to the teachers to enable them to assume leadership roles in the school. In addition, participants agreed to establish induction and mentoring committees in the school to provide guidance and assistance to teacher leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ndakolonkoshi, Klaudia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Teacher participation in administration -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61603 , vital:28041
- Description: The emergence of distributed leadership theory encourages multiple involvement of individuals in leadership of the school, regardless of their leadership positions (Spillane, 2006). The manifestation of teacher leadership through distributed leadership theory grants opportunities to teachers to enact leadership roles. This study explored how the notion of teacher leadership is understood, the leadership roles existing for the beginner teachers, and the constraining and enabling factors to the practice of teacher leadership in a rural combined school in Ohangwena region, in Namibia. The study is a formative intervention adopting a case study approach located in a critical paradigm since it aimed to bring changes in the activity system of the beginner teachers. The data were collected from ten participants: four beginner teachers, four experienced teachers, the principal and the Head of Department. The data were generated using the following techniques: document analysis, interview, questionnaires, observation and Change Laboratory workshops. The data were analysed thematically using second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model. The findings revealed that there were different understandings of the concept of teacher leadership. It was viewed as participation, influence, motivation and mentoring. It was also revealed that beginner teachers practiced leadership roles across the four zones of Grant’s (2006, 2008, 2010) Teacher Leadership Model, but to various extents. A high participation was noted in zone one within the classroom and zone two in curricular and extra-curricular activities and minimal participation was reported in zone three within the whole school development and zone four beyond the school into the community. Teacher leadership in the case study school was constrained by several factors, including teachers’ reluctance to lead, cultural beliefs, top-down leadership structure and lack of experience. Due to the minimal participation of beginner teachers in zone three and four, the findings suggested that the school should foster a collaborative culture, establish induction and mentoring committees in the school and encourage beginner teachers to take up leadership roles by providing opportunities for them to lead through delegation. In a series of Change Laboratory workshops (CLW) the principal and the Head of Department took up the responsibility of providing leadership training to the teachers to enable them to assume leadership roles in the school. In addition, participants agreed to establish induction and mentoring committees in the school to provide guidance and assistance to teacher leaders.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Interrogating teacher leadership development through a formative intervention: a case study in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia
- Authors: Iyambo, David Kandiwapa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61547 , vital:28035
- Description: The Namibian education system has undergone major policy shifts from a ‘top-down’ hierarchical leadership practice to a more shared and democratic form of leadership in schools. These policies compel principals and school management team members to involve level-one teachers in decision-making and other leadership roles within their schools and beyond. However, to this end, the goals envisaged by policies for teachers to participate in, and contribute to the overall school leadership activities and decision-making have not been fully realised. This was due to the inherent hierarchy of the ‘top-down’ system and autocratic leadership style which remains powerful within the current school practice. Against this backdrop, this study interrogated how teacher leadership can be developed in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia. The underlying cultural-historical conditions that promoted or constrained teacher leadership development were surfaced. Opportunities for changes in leadership practices through a formative intervention were developed. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was utilised as a theoretical and analytical framework in this study together with Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership (2006; 2008; 2010). Five level-one teachers, two school management members and a school board chairperson were selected as research participants by means of a purposive sampling method. Furthermore, the study used document analysis, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and change laboratory workshops as main tools for data generation. The findings revealed that participants understood the concept of teacher leadership differently and that teachers in the case study school were leading in all four zones of teacher leadership model (Grant, 2006; 2008; 2012) although their roles differed. However, the study also found that teacher leadership development was mostly intensified by managerial structures. It appeared from the findings of this study that conditions such as the role of the school management team (SMT) members in promoting teacher leadership development, a supportive organisational culture, and provision of learning support amongst staff members through the attendance of workshops emerged as factors promoting the development of teachers as leaders. The study also revealed that there were many cultural and historical tensions that constrained the practice of teacher leadership development in school. Thus, the study argues that limited leadership training and an inherent ‘top-down’ hierarchical style of leadership was the main underlying systemic causes that constrained teachers to be developed as leaders. Through the change laboratory workshops, the findings suggested that there was a need for continuous professional development initiatives and leadership training, as alternative way for the realisation of teacher leadership development. Finally, a recommendation that leadership aspects should be constituted in pre-and in-service professional development training as an ongoing practice is made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Iyambo, David Kandiwapa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61547 , vital:28035
- Description: The Namibian education system has undergone major policy shifts from a ‘top-down’ hierarchical leadership practice to a more shared and democratic form of leadership in schools. These policies compel principals and school management team members to involve level-one teachers in decision-making and other leadership roles within their schools and beyond. However, to this end, the goals envisaged by policies for teachers to participate in, and contribute to the overall school leadership activities and decision-making have not been fully realised. This was due to the inherent hierarchy of the ‘top-down’ system and autocratic leadership style which remains powerful within the current school practice. Against this backdrop, this study interrogated how teacher leadership can be developed in a rural Secondary School in northern Namibia. The underlying cultural-historical conditions that promoted or constrained teacher leadership development were surfaced. Opportunities for changes in leadership practices through a formative intervention were developed. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was utilised as a theoretical and analytical framework in this study together with Grant’s Model of Teacher Leadership (2006; 2008; 2010). Five level-one teachers, two school management members and a school board chairperson were selected as research participants by means of a purposive sampling method. Furthermore, the study used document analysis, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and change laboratory workshops as main tools for data generation. The findings revealed that participants understood the concept of teacher leadership differently and that teachers in the case study school were leading in all four zones of teacher leadership model (Grant, 2006; 2008; 2012) although their roles differed. However, the study also found that teacher leadership development was mostly intensified by managerial structures. It appeared from the findings of this study that conditions such as the role of the school management team (SMT) members in promoting teacher leadership development, a supportive organisational culture, and provision of learning support amongst staff members through the attendance of workshops emerged as factors promoting the development of teachers as leaders. The study also revealed that there were many cultural and historical tensions that constrained the practice of teacher leadership development in school. Thus, the study argues that limited leadership training and an inherent ‘top-down’ hierarchical style of leadership was the main underlying systemic causes that constrained teachers to be developed as leaders. Through the change laboratory workshops, the findings suggested that there was a need for continuous professional development initiatives and leadership training, as alternative way for the realisation of teacher leadership development. Finally, a recommendation that leadership aspects should be constituted in pre-and in-service professional development training as an ongoing practice is made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Horns of dilemma : Department head and subject teacher : a case study of Heads of Department in a public secondary school, northern Namibia
- Authors: Naundobe, Robert Natukondye
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: High school department heads -- Namibia , High school teachers -- Workload -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Conflict of interests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2043 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017354
- Description: The accountability and responsibilities of school leaders have intensified greatly over the past decades and school leadership has become a strong focus of research. Meanwhile, Bush (2003) asserts that “school leaders [experience] tensions between competing elements of leadership, management and administration” (p. 7). This study uses observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis to unpack the perceptions of four Heads of Department (HoDs), the principal, and eight teachers on the tensions inherent in balancing the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher for HoDs in public secondary school. The study goes beyond the mere task of influence in its attempts to unpack how the leadership and teaching practices of HoDs may, or may not, be in conflict with each other. Using distributed leadership as a theoretical framing and drawing in particular on the work of Spillane and colleagues (2001; 2004), the study examines the roles HoDs enact; the challenges HoDs encounter in enacting their responsibilities as department head and subject teacher; and the strategies HoDs employ to combat the emerging challenges. The study found that the roles of HoDs are extensive and stretch across the classroom, the department, the whole school and beyond. However, the majority of these roles are biased in favour of management systems and processes and opportunities for leadership are rare. The many and extensive management responsibilities of the HoDs limit both their classroom teaching as well as their agency as leaders. The weight of their management work thus restricts their leadership, resulting in an authorised form of distributed leadership (Grant, 2010). The data also revealed that HoDs struggle to balance the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher due to both inter-role and intra-sender conflict. However, the study also found that the HoDs strategically adopt a range of strategies to assist them in doing their work, these include: compensatory teaching; delegation; and planning and prioritizing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Naundobe, Robert Natukondye
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: High school department heads -- Namibia , High school teachers -- Workload -- Namibia , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Conflict of interests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2043 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017354
- Description: The accountability and responsibilities of school leaders have intensified greatly over the past decades and school leadership has become a strong focus of research. Meanwhile, Bush (2003) asserts that “school leaders [experience] tensions between competing elements of leadership, management and administration” (p. 7). This study uses observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis to unpack the perceptions of four Heads of Department (HoDs), the principal, and eight teachers on the tensions inherent in balancing the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher for HoDs in public secondary school. The study goes beyond the mere task of influence in its attempts to unpack how the leadership and teaching practices of HoDs may, or may not, be in conflict with each other. Using distributed leadership as a theoretical framing and drawing in particular on the work of Spillane and colleagues (2001; 2004), the study examines the roles HoDs enact; the challenges HoDs encounter in enacting their responsibilities as department head and subject teacher; and the strategies HoDs employ to combat the emerging challenges. The study found that the roles of HoDs are extensive and stretch across the classroom, the department, the whole school and beyond. However, the majority of these roles are biased in favour of management systems and processes and opportunities for leadership are rare. The many and extensive management responsibilities of the HoDs limit both their classroom teaching as well as their agency as leaders. The weight of their management work thus restricts their leadership, resulting in an authorised form of distributed leadership (Grant, 2010). The data also revealed that HoDs struggle to balance the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher due to both inter-role and intra-sender conflict. However, the study also found that the HoDs strategically adopt a range of strategies to assist them in doing their work, these include: compensatory teaching; delegation; and planning and prioritizing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
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