A critical realist exploration of the emergence, development, management and sustainability of a Christian private institution of higher education in Malawi
- Kadyakapita, Mozecie Spector John
- Authors: Kadyakapita, Mozecie Spector John
- Date: 2013 , 2013-03-24
- Subjects: Christian universities and colleges -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Private universities and colleges -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Education, Higher -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Higher education and state -- Research -- Malawi Universities and colleges -- Malawi -- History Educational planning -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1400 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001818
- Description: This study was prompted by an interest in exploring ways in which the development of private higher education in Malawi could be more sustainable. It examines the challenges that private institutions of higher education face in different contexts and the underlying causes of these challenges. The aim of the study was to explore the emergence of private higher education (PHE) in Malawi, its management, development, the challenges it faces and the generative mechanisms of these challenges. The research is a case study of one of the earliest private institutions of higher education in Malawi. The institution is owned and operated by a Christian church organisation that has been operating a network of private primary and secondary schools and health centres since its establishment in Malawi in the early 1890s. Critical realism is used as an underlabourer for its stance on ontological, epistemological and ethical assumptions of reality and its views on agency and structure. Two theoretical frameworks - complexity theory and transformational leadership theories - are used as lenses to help make sense of the nature of social organisations and also as heuristic devices for organising and making sense of data. Data were collected using qualitative interviews, archival document content analysis and observation. Twenty participants were purposefully selected for interviews. The participants comprised a senior officer at the MoEST headquarters, proprietors, members of the top management team of the institution, administrative assistants, heads of academic and nonacademic departments, teachers and non-teaching staff and students. Abstracted data were analysed using inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference. The study established that the emergence of private higher education in Malawi was generated by a number of mechanisms. These include the need to survive the threat to socioeconomic development posed by global trends in scientific and technological issues that heavily rely on access to the knowledge economy; the need to respond to demand for equity and access to higher education; the need to carry out the mission of the Christian church; government’s failure to expand and widen access to higher education; and the agential need to survive economic demands. The research findings indicate that a critical challenge that the emergence of private higher education faced was the lack of adequate and efficient structures and systems in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to expeditiously process applications to establish and accredit, monitor and control the development of private higher education institutions. It was also found that the challenges that the private higher education faces include high level of authoritarian governance and management practices, weak institutional management and control systems and structure, secularisation, lack of adequate funds to meet operation and capital development costs, facilities and resources to support teaching – learning functions, learner support facilities and services and a critical shortage of appropriately qualified administrative and academic personnel. The underlying causes of the challenges include the perceived threat to personal power and survival; fear of apostasy and secularisation; cultural values, adverse socioeconomic conditions; lack of diverse sources of funding, ineffective communication skills; weak governance systems and structures; low level of self-control; unfavourable attitudes towards educational institutions and the need to restore equity. To make private institutions of higher learning more sustainable, the study recommends that governance practices be guided by clear structures, policies and guidelines in the interest of transparency and accountability. It also recommends that government works in close partnership with private providers, reviews unfair policies concerning government scholarships, subsidizes the cost of materials for instruction and infrastructure development, and provides technical assistance to prospective and active providers. Lastly, the study recommends that private providers form an association so as to share experiences and to collectively deal with issues of common interest and concern. , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Kadyakapita, Mozecie Spector John
- Date: 2013 , 2013-03-24
- Subjects: Christian universities and colleges -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Private universities and colleges -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Education, Higher -- Administration -- Research -- Malawi Higher education and state -- Research -- Malawi Universities and colleges -- Malawi -- History Educational planning -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1400 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001818
- Description: This study was prompted by an interest in exploring ways in which the development of private higher education in Malawi could be more sustainable. It examines the challenges that private institutions of higher education face in different contexts and the underlying causes of these challenges. The aim of the study was to explore the emergence of private higher education (PHE) in Malawi, its management, development, the challenges it faces and the generative mechanisms of these challenges. The research is a case study of one of the earliest private institutions of higher education in Malawi. The institution is owned and operated by a Christian church organisation that has been operating a network of private primary and secondary schools and health centres since its establishment in Malawi in the early 1890s. Critical realism is used as an underlabourer for its stance on ontological, epistemological and ethical assumptions of reality and its views on agency and structure. Two theoretical frameworks - complexity theory and transformational leadership theories - are used as lenses to help make sense of the nature of social organisations and also as heuristic devices for organising and making sense of data. Data were collected using qualitative interviews, archival document content analysis and observation. Twenty participants were purposefully selected for interviews. The participants comprised a senior officer at the MoEST headquarters, proprietors, members of the top management team of the institution, administrative assistants, heads of academic and nonacademic departments, teachers and non-teaching staff and students. Abstracted data were analysed using inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference. The study established that the emergence of private higher education in Malawi was generated by a number of mechanisms. These include the need to survive the threat to socioeconomic development posed by global trends in scientific and technological issues that heavily rely on access to the knowledge economy; the need to respond to demand for equity and access to higher education; the need to carry out the mission of the Christian church; government’s failure to expand and widen access to higher education; and the agential need to survive economic demands. The research findings indicate that a critical challenge that the emergence of private higher education faced was the lack of adequate and efficient structures and systems in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to expeditiously process applications to establish and accredit, monitor and control the development of private higher education institutions. It was also found that the challenges that the private higher education faces include high level of authoritarian governance and management practices, weak institutional management and control systems and structure, secularisation, lack of adequate funds to meet operation and capital development costs, facilities and resources to support teaching – learning functions, learner support facilities and services and a critical shortage of appropriately qualified administrative and academic personnel. The underlying causes of the challenges include the perceived threat to personal power and survival; fear of apostasy and secularisation; cultural values, adverse socioeconomic conditions; lack of diverse sources of funding, ineffective communication skills; weak governance systems and structures; low level of self-control; unfavourable attitudes towards educational institutions and the need to restore equity. To make private institutions of higher learning more sustainable, the study recommends that governance practices be guided by clear structures, policies and guidelines in the interest of transparency and accountability. It also recommends that government works in close partnership with private providers, reviews unfair policies concerning government scholarships, subsidizes the cost of materials for instruction and infrastructure development, and provides technical assistance to prospective and active providers. Lastly, the study recommends that private providers form an association so as to share experiences and to collectively deal with issues of common interest and concern. , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A critical analysis of governance and management in Zimbabwe's colleges of technical and vocational education: issues for revitalisation
- Authors: Mbizvo, Washington T
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- Zimbabwe Universities and colleges -- Zimbabwe Universities and colleges -- Zimbabwe -- Administration Vocational education -- Zimbabwe Technical education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1469 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003350
- Description: This research was carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the practice of governance in a technical or vocationally oriented college and the critical role played by the principal as a college manager within the governance system in which industrialists and head office are also key players. Conceptual literature relating to issues of governance and management within the education scenario is examined. The wider issues of governance are critically analysed in the context of power and control mechanisms initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education as the responsible authority for the colleges. The influence of the industrial sector as the consumers of skilled labour force is analysed through college advisory councils set up in terms of the relevant pieces of legislation. The research is qualitative and takes the form of three case studies of technical and vocational colleges in Zimbabwe. Data were collected through multiple methods from varied sources with a view to ensuring triangulation. The multiple-case design enabled me to dig beneath the surface of what apparently happens in these organisations and unearth issues and concerns at the wider governance and management levels. Views and experiences of participants are captured and explained through in-depth interviews, observations and documentary sources. Results are discussed in relation to the relevant literature allowing grounded theory to emerge. The research highlights the roles of key players in governance and the issues of relationships among these actors. What emerges is a desperate situation of ineffectiveness, problematic processes in governance and poor responsiveness of these colleges to the labour market demands. The potential for generalisability and transferability is discussed in the report and possible corrective intervention strategies are recommended. The thesis demonstrates that managers of these colleges and indeed senior officers in head office who are at the centre of governance and will need transformational leadership development in order for them to come to terms with such things as people’s feelings, abandoning ‘outdated’ policies, managing change, and handling communication effectively. Various strategies for revitalisation of governance and management in technical and vocational colleges are suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Mbizvo, Washington T
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- Zimbabwe Universities and colleges -- Zimbabwe Universities and colleges -- Zimbabwe -- Administration Vocational education -- Zimbabwe Technical education -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1469 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003350
- Description: This research was carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the practice of governance in a technical or vocationally oriented college and the critical role played by the principal as a college manager within the governance system in which industrialists and head office are also key players. Conceptual literature relating to issues of governance and management within the education scenario is examined. The wider issues of governance are critically analysed in the context of power and control mechanisms initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education as the responsible authority for the colleges. The influence of the industrial sector as the consumers of skilled labour force is analysed through college advisory councils set up in terms of the relevant pieces of legislation. The research is qualitative and takes the form of three case studies of technical and vocational colleges in Zimbabwe. Data were collected through multiple methods from varied sources with a view to ensuring triangulation. The multiple-case design enabled me to dig beneath the surface of what apparently happens in these organisations and unearth issues and concerns at the wider governance and management levels. Views and experiences of participants are captured and explained through in-depth interviews, observations and documentary sources. Results are discussed in relation to the relevant literature allowing grounded theory to emerge. The research highlights the roles of key players in governance and the issues of relationships among these actors. What emerges is a desperate situation of ineffectiveness, problematic processes in governance and poor responsiveness of these colleges to the labour market demands. The potential for generalisability and transferability is discussed in the report and possible corrective intervention strategies are recommended. The thesis demonstrates that managers of these colleges and indeed senior officers in head office who are at the centre of governance and will need transformational leadership development in order for them to come to terms with such things as people’s feelings, abandoning ‘outdated’ policies, managing change, and handling communication effectively. Various strategies for revitalisation of governance and management in technical and vocational colleges are suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
The role of values in educational leadership: an interpretive study
- Authors: Drake, Melanie Lee
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Leadership -- South Africa Values -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1756 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003640
- Description: This study set out to investigate the role of values in educational leadership. The renewed interest in values in both educational and corporate environments in South Africa places new pressures on members in leadership positions especially in school life. Schools are described as the ‘nurseries’ of values. The understanding of the abstract nature of values, as well as instrumentalising and implementing values in vision statements and organisational life, poses challenges to present and future school leaders. This study, based in the interpretive paradigm, is an in-depth investigation into the role of values at a former model C primary school in the Eastern Cape. Through the use of observations, document analysis, focus groups and interviews as data collection tools, this research highlights the importance of values in school leadership and how this impacts the life of the school leader. This case-study research combines theoretical and contextual frameworks to question the nature of values in leadership and uses the real-life experiences of these school leaders to resonate with current understandings of values in leadership and organisational culture. The importance of understanding these complexities in the lives and experiences of these school leaders cannot be underestimated. My findings highlight the tensions between leading successful schools (task/person efficiency) and remaining congruent with the need for leadership for social justice in post-apartheid educational institutions. The uniqueness of the school environment (‘families’ and ‘communities’) is also featured and resonates with previous literature. Through the lens of emerging leadership trends, we discover these school leaders’ understandings of values in their daily lives: they do what they are and this is reflected in this school’s unique organisational culture, which could be said to ‘transcend’ present leaders’ influence. Finally I propose that further research is necessary in order to broaden our understanding of the unique role of values in educational leadership in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Drake, Melanie Lee
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa Leadership -- South Africa Values -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1756 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003640
- Description: This study set out to investigate the role of values in educational leadership. The renewed interest in values in both educational and corporate environments in South Africa places new pressures on members in leadership positions especially in school life. Schools are described as the ‘nurseries’ of values. The understanding of the abstract nature of values, as well as instrumentalising and implementing values in vision statements and organisational life, poses challenges to present and future school leaders. This study, based in the interpretive paradigm, is an in-depth investigation into the role of values at a former model C primary school in the Eastern Cape. Through the use of observations, document analysis, focus groups and interviews as data collection tools, this research highlights the importance of values in school leadership and how this impacts the life of the school leader. This case-study research combines theoretical and contextual frameworks to question the nature of values in leadership and uses the real-life experiences of these school leaders to resonate with current understandings of values in leadership and organisational culture. The importance of understanding these complexities in the lives and experiences of these school leaders cannot be underestimated. My findings highlight the tensions between leading successful schools (task/person efficiency) and remaining congruent with the need for leadership for social justice in post-apartheid educational institutions. The uniqueness of the school environment (‘families’ and ‘communities’) is also featured and resonates with previous literature. Through the lens of emerging leadership trends, we discover these school leaders’ understandings of values in their daily lives: they do what they are and this is reflected in this school’s unique organisational culture, which could be said to ‘transcend’ present leaders’ influence. Finally I propose that further research is necessary in order to broaden our understanding of the unique role of values in educational leadership in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Introducing a multi-cultural dimension into the study of literature at secondary school level
- Authors: Vogel, Sonja
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: English literature -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa Multicultural education -- South Africa Culture in literature Ethnicity in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1584 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003466
- Description: The first aim of teaching English literature has always been for the student to gain enjoyment from, and acquire skill in, reading. Further goals point to the affective development of pupils involving such qualities as critical thinking and expressing views, empathetic understanding of other people, moral awareness and increased self-knowledge and self-understanding. These are indeed laudable aims, but examiners have always had difficulties in examining them adequately to satisfy the critics. Teachers often doubt that they achieve such lofty aims. These very aims have the sceptics sneering at the discipline because such qualities cannot be measured and the pupil's worth for the workplace cannot be satisfactorily assessed. This has resulted in the merit of the study of literature being questioned and usually found wanting. Therefore, on the one hand, this research looks for a method of studying literature which will ensure that the study will be neccesary and desirable today and into the foreseeable future. On the other hand, the socio-political changes in South Africa, particularly since 1992, have offered a possible area of research to complement the first. During the past few years, South Africans have been forced to recognise the fact that a multitude of different races and people live and work together more closely in this country and yet they know nothing, or very little, of one another. Thus this research also investigates the addition of a cultural component to literature study to help young people gain empathetic understanding of different cultures and of their own cultures as well, to be able to live together in harmony. With this approach, pupils may conceivably be educated through literature, to become well-adjusted, critical, effective adults so that they may play their role as citizens and shapers of their increasingly complex, multi-cultural society. Because of the context of literature study, in which this personal growth takes place, the aims identified above may be measured and assessed to suit both the sceptics and the devotees of literature study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Vogel, Sonja
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: English literature -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa Multicultural education -- South Africa Culture in literature Ethnicity in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1584 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003466
- Description: The first aim of teaching English literature has always been for the student to gain enjoyment from, and acquire skill in, reading. Further goals point to the affective development of pupils involving such qualities as critical thinking and expressing views, empathetic understanding of other people, moral awareness and increased self-knowledge and self-understanding. These are indeed laudable aims, but examiners have always had difficulties in examining them adequately to satisfy the critics. Teachers often doubt that they achieve such lofty aims. These very aims have the sceptics sneering at the discipline because such qualities cannot be measured and the pupil's worth for the workplace cannot be satisfactorily assessed. This has resulted in the merit of the study of literature being questioned and usually found wanting. Therefore, on the one hand, this research looks for a method of studying literature which will ensure that the study will be neccesary and desirable today and into the foreseeable future. On the other hand, the socio-political changes in South Africa, particularly since 1992, have offered a possible area of research to complement the first. During the past few years, South Africans have been forced to recognise the fact that a multitude of different races and people live and work together more closely in this country and yet they know nothing, or very little, of one another. Thus this research also investigates the addition of a cultural component to literature study to help young people gain empathetic understanding of different cultures and of their own cultures as well, to be able to live together in harmony. With this approach, pupils may conceivably be educated through literature, to become well-adjusted, critical, effective adults so that they may play their role as citizens and shapers of their increasingly complex, multi-cultural society. Because of the context of literature study, in which this personal growth takes place, the aims identified above may be measured and assessed to suit both the sceptics and the devotees of literature study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
Teachers' perceptions of participative management in a primary school in Namibia
- Authors: Kambonde, Samuel Angaleni
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Elementary -- Namibia Teachers -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1795 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003680
- Description: Participative management, a key theme in contemporary management literature, is one of the central aims of the decentralization policy in Namibian education. Current perceptions of participative management on the part of teachers in Namibia are therefore of topical interest. This study set out to explore such perceptions among teachers in a Namibian primary school. The study is an interpretive case study focusing on six individual teachers’ understanding and experience of participative management within their place of work, a primary school in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. Semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis were used to gather data. The study revealed a strong sense of commitment among the respondents to participative management and its accompanying practices, such as shared decision making and broad stakeholder involvement. Participative management was implemented chiefly through a committee structure for school organisation and government. Respondents also highlighted challenges facing participative management, such as the persistence of autocratic leadership, conflicts of interest in decision making, laziness and unwillingness among staff members, and a lack of understanding among parents concerning their role in the schooling of their children. HIV/AIDS was also seen to pose challenges to the free and frequent participation of stakeholders. The chief recommendation arising from these findings is that school leaders and managers’ understanding of tenets of participative management, such as site-based management and democratic management approaches, requires improvement and development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Kambonde, Samuel Angaleni
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education, Elementary -- Namibia Teachers -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1795 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003680
- Description: Participative management, a key theme in contemporary management literature, is one of the central aims of the decentralization policy in Namibian education. Current perceptions of participative management on the part of teachers in Namibia are therefore of topical interest. This study set out to explore such perceptions among teachers in a Namibian primary school. The study is an interpretive case study focusing on six individual teachers’ understanding and experience of participative management within their place of work, a primary school in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. Semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis were used to gather data. The study revealed a strong sense of commitment among the respondents to participative management and its accompanying practices, such as shared decision making and broad stakeholder involvement. Participative management was implemented chiefly through a committee structure for school organisation and government. Respondents also highlighted challenges facing participative management, such as the persistence of autocratic leadership, conflicts of interest in decision making, laziness and unwillingness among staff members, and a lack of understanding among parents concerning their role in the schooling of their children. HIV/AIDS was also seen to pose challenges to the free and frequent participation of stakeholders. The chief recommendation arising from these findings is that school leaders and managers’ understanding of tenets of participative management, such as site-based management and democratic management approaches, requires improvement and development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
An exploration of leadership practices: a case study in a public high school in Nigeria
- Authors: Adediji, John Oluwole
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Nigeria -- Case studies Teacher participation in administration -- Nigeria -- Case studies School management and organization -- Nigeria -- Case studies Education, Secondary -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1405 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001955
- Description: The management of Nigeria high schools are noted for administrative practices in the management of their schools; hence the term administration is commonly used in their daily operations. This fact on ‘administration’ was emphasised by the Nigerian government in the National Policy on Education (Nigeria, 1981, p. 21). Therefor as a researcher from Nigeria, my rationale for embarking on this research study was to find out to what extent a public high school in Nigeria was still operating in a hierarchical, individualistic, authoritarian style of leadership or whether it has started embracing contemporary approaches such as distributed leadership. The main goal of this study was to explore leadership practices in the case study school with the main focus on how different people relate to each other in the various leadership practices of the school, such as staff and briefing meetings of the school. In addition, my research questions aimed at exploring the respondents’ perceptions of leadership and factors enabling or constraining the distribution of leadership in the school. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm. As a researcher in a wheelchair studying in South Africa I needed to find alternative ways of accessing the research site and gathering data. I was able to use electronic communication for the collection of my data. I used four different tools of data collection methods namely document analysis, observation, questionnaire and stimulated recall interviews. Findings from the study indicated that there was limited evidence of contemporary leadership approaches in the case study school. The school was still operating traditional leadership, while school activities were dominated by a hierarchical chain of command. What emerged from the leadership practices of the school could be termed authorised distributed leadership which was under the command of the school principal. Data also indicated that there were some forms of restricted teacher leadership in the management and administration of the school. In addition, findings revealed that the case study school was very good at the management and administrative functions. The school was very effective and efficient in the controlling and management of both human and material resources. Lastly, findings from the case study school indicated some enabling factors to the distribution of leadership in the case study school which include a culture of respect and cordial relations among the SMT and the teachers, Prominent among constraining factors to the distribution of leadership in the case study school were: cultural orientation of the people where the case school was located, exclusionary religious practices by the principal of the school and the inhibiting role played by the Ministry of Education. Finally, based on these findings, recommendations were made both for practice and for future research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Adediji, John Oluwole
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Nigeria -- Case studies Teacher participation in administration -- Nigeria -- Case studies School management and organization -- Nigeria -- Case studies Education, Secondary -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1405 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001955
- Description: The management of Nigeria high schools are noted for administrative practices in the management of their schools; hence the term administration is commonly used in their daily operations. This fact on ‘administration’ was emphasised by the Nigerian government in the National Policy on Education (Nigeria, 1981, p. 21). Therefor as a researcher from Nigeria, my rationale for embarking on this research study was to find out to what extent a public high school in Nigeria was still operating in a hierarchical, individualistic, authoritarian style of leadership or whether it has started embracing contemporary approaches such as distributed leadership. The main goal of this study was to explore leadership practices in the case study school with the main focus on how different people relate to each other in the various leadership practices of the school, such as staff and briefing meetings of the school. In addition, my research questions aimed at exploring the respondents’ perceptions of leadership and factors enabling or constraining the distribution of leadership in the school. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm. As a researcher in a wheelchair studying in South Africa I needed to find alternative ways of accessing the research site and gathering data. I was able to use electronic communication for the collection of my data. I used four different tools of data collection methods namely document analysis, observation, questionnaire and stimulated recall interviews. Findings from the study indicated that there was limited evidence of contemporary leadership approaches in the case study school. The school was still operating traditional leadership, while school activities were dominated by a hierarchical chain of command. What emerged from the leadership practices of the school could be termed authorised distributed leadership which was under the command of the school principal. Data also indicated that there were some forms of restricted teacher leadership in the management and administration of the school. In addition, findings revealed that the case study school was very good at the management and administrative functions. The school was very effective and efficient in the controlling and management of both human and material resources. Lastly, findings from the case study school indicated some enabling factors to the distribution of leadership in the case study school which include a culture of respect and cordial relations among the SMT and the teachers, Prominent among constraining factors to the distribution of leadership in the case study school were: cultural orientation of the people where the case school was located, exclusionary religious practices by the principal of the school and the inhibiting role played by the Ministry of Education. Finally, based on these findings, recommendations were made both for practice and for future research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Stakeholders' perceptions of the shift to democratic leadership in a secondary school in the Eastern Cape : a case study
- Authors: Lombo, Mzimkhulu Solomon
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education and state -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education -- Political aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Educational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2001 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015541
- Description: The advent of political democracy in South Africa in 1994 gave rise to new policy in education promoting democratic and participative ways of managing and leading schools. The intention was both to break from the apartheid past which was characterised by an authoritarian, nonparticipative mindset, as well as to point the way for future education development. Principals of schools were expected to develop structures and adopt management and leadership styles which were participative, inclusive and developmental. Many principals would not have been prepared for this shift in mindset, and notions of full participation in governance by parents, and representation of learners through constituted bodies would have been new to them. In this case study of one semi-urban secondary school in the Eastern Cape the researcher sought to establish whether and to what extent the school had moved towards the new management and leadership approaches. The study is interpretive in orientation, and made use of interviews and document analysis. This research has found that the school had democratised its management and leadership to a considerable degree, but that this was not necessarily due to profound changes on the part of the principal 's leadership. The principal emerged as a democratic leader by nature. More significant seem to be the structures which the school had put in place, both officially and internally, to promote widespread participation and the distribution of leadership. This decentralised system of management has contributed to a distinct organisation culture in the school characterised by warmth, openness and ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Lombo, Mzimkhulu Solomon
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education and state -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education -- Political aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Educational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2001 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015541
- Description: The advent of political democracy in South Africa in 1994 gave rise to new policy in education promoting democratic and participative ways of managing and leading schools. The intention was both to break from the apartheid past which was characterised by an authoritarian, nonparticipative mindset, as well as to point the way for future education development. Principals of schools were expected to develop structures and adopt management and leadership styles which were participative, inclusive and developmental. Many principals would not have been prepared for this shift in mindset, and notions of full participation in governance by parents, and representation of learners through constituted bodies would have been new to them. In this case study of one semi-urban secondary school in the Eastern Cape the researcher sought to establish whether and to what extent the school had moved towards the new management and leadership approaches. The study is interpretive in orientation, and made use of interviews and document analysis. This research has found that the school had democratised its management and leadership to a considerable degree, but that this was not necessarily due to profound changes on the part of the principal 's leadership. The principal emerged as a democratic leader by nature. More significant seem to be the structures which the school had put in place, both officially and internally, to promote widespread participation and the distribution of leadership. This decentralised system of management has contributed to a distinct organisation culture in the school characterised by warmth, openness and ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Investigating factors inhibiting the implementation of IQMS in a South African school
- Authors: Mji, Lwazi Knowledge
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation Educational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1586 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003468
- Description: After the 1994 elections education reform has been characterized by the introduction of laws and policies, including IQMS, that seek to reconcile post‐apartheid traditions to practices that would address deficiencies borne by the era in the education field. The IQMS is a clear reaction to the autocratic mode of evaluation that operated during the apartheid era and is a major shift from the old paradigm of external evaluators. It was designed to review performance and identify strengths and weaknesses, encouraging personal and professional development, drawing on peer and collegial feedback rather than official Department of Education surveillance. However, recent studies have shown that the IQMS has failed and is failing to achieve what it was intended to achieve. This study examines the reasons for this failure in a secondary school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This research is an interpretive case study that uses observation, document analysis and interviews utilising theories of learning organizations, management and leadership. The study reveals that the policy is not applied in the way it was intended and is failing in this regard. The policy process has been bureaucratised and suffers from superficial compliance. The developmental thrust of the policy seems to have been lost. It was also discovered that the involvement of teacher unions has both positively and negatively affected the implementation process and that the support schools receive from the department is not enough to keep the policy alive in schools. This research is likely to benefit school principals, policy makers and implementers, and IQMS coordinators, as it provides clarity on the issues restraining IQMS implementation in schools. The study also demonstrates the need for school principals to consider adopting transformational leadership as a strategy to lead teachers against political influence and expose them to professional development opportunities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mji, Lwazi Knowledge
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Education, Secondary -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation Educational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1586 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003468
- Description: After the 1994 elections education reform has been characterized by the introduction of laws and policies, including IQMS, that seek to reconcile post‐apartheid traditions to practices that would address deficiencies borne by the era in the education field. The IQMS is a clear reaction to the autocratic mode of evaluation that operated during the apartheid era and is a major shift from the old paradigm of external evaluators. It was designed to review performance and identify strengths and weaknesses, encouraging personal and professional development, drawing on peer and collegial feedback rather than official Department of Education surveillance. However, recent studies have shown that the IQMS has failed and is failing to achieve what it was intended to achieve. This study examines the reasons for this failure in a secondary school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This research is an interpretive case study that uses observation, document analysis and interviews utilising theories of learning organizations, management and leadership. The study reveals that the policy is not applied in the way it was intended and is failing in this regard. The policy process has been bureaucratised and suffers from superficial compliance. The developmental thrust of the policy seems to have been lost. It was also discovered that the involvement of teacher unions has both positively and negatively affected the implementation process and that the support schools receive from the department is not enough to keep the policy alive in schools. This research is likely to benefit school principals, policy makers and implementers, and IQMS coordinators, as it provides clarity on the issues restraining IQMS implementation in schools. The study also demonstrates the need for school principals to consider adopting transformational leadership as a strategy to lead teachers against political influence and expose them to professional development opportunities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An investigative case study of the introduction of democratic decision-making within an East London secondary school
- Authors: Carelse, Garth Craig
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa Decision making -- Cast studies Education and state Ebenezer Majombozi High
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1920 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007404
- Description: The move towards greater democracy and participation in our education system is legislated quite succinctly in our South African Schools Act. The Act furthermore, and more importantly for this case study, posits that decision-making should be democratic in nature and our schools should eventually become governed in a collaborative and co-operative manner. Other policy texts such as the Labour Relations Act and the South African Constitution canonise the demand for a democratic South African society. This study investigates how democratic decision-making practices are taking place in an East London Secondary School namely Ebenezer Majombozi High. Even though distinct links exist between management and governance arms of schools, this study concentrates predominantly on decision-making within the school governing body and touches briefly on management thinking trends as a theoretical background to the kind of management at the school. What makes the school interesting as a case study is its rich history and its location in a deprived and impoverished township environment. The school was also part of the ex-Department of Education and Training, the black educational department of the past apartheid state. The kind of research undertaken was in the form of unstructured personal interviews with influential stakeholders at the school. Some of these stakeholders fonn part of the school governing body and the questions asked probed forms of governance at the school and how decision-making impacted on the overall school governance. The research findings acknowledges that decision-making does occur democratically at the school but that the practical implementation of positive consensual decisions are rarely realized. The school governing body only meets to deal with crises underpinned by a lack of learning and teaching and has not even debated the policies within the South African Schools Act. The study also argues that only by building capacity within the school and empowering the stakeholders, can constructive participation by all become a reality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Carelse, Garth Craig
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa Decision making -- Cast studies Education and state Ebenezer Majombozi High
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1920 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007404
- Description: The move towards greater democracy and participation in our education system is legislated quite succinctly in our South African Schools Act. The Act furthermore, and more importantly for this case study, posits that decision-making should be democratic in nature and our schools should eventually become governed in a collaborative and co-operative manner. Other policy texts such as the Labour Relations Act and the South African Constitution canonise the demand for a democratic South African society. This study investigates how democratic decision-making practices are taking place in an East London Secondary School namely Ebenezer Majombozi High. Even though distinct links exist between management and governance arms of schools, this study concentrates predominantly on decision-making within the school governing body and touches briefly on management thinking trends as a theoretical background to the kind of management at the school. What makes the school interesting as a case study is its rich history and its location in a deprived and impoverished township environment. The school was also part of the ex-Department of Education and Training, the black educational department of the past apartheid state. The kind of research undertaken was in the form of unstructured personal interviews with influential stakeholders at the school. Some of these stakeholders fonn part of the school governing body and the questions asked probed forms of governance at the school and how decision-making impacted on the overall school governance. The research findings acknowledges that decision-making does occur democratically at the school but that the practical implementation of positive consensual decisions are rarely realized. The school governing body only meets to deal with crises underpinned by a lack of learning and teaching and has not even debated the policies within the South African Schools Act. The study also argues that only by building capacity within the school and empowering the stakeholders, can constructive participation by all become a reality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
An investigation into school principals' experience and perceptions of participative management
- Authors: Mungunda, Charles
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia Management -- Employee participation -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003481
- Description: The purpose of this research was to investigate three principals’ perceptions and experience of participative management and to gain insight into and understanding of the dimensions involved in participative management from the perspective of the three principals. The research was conducted within the interpretive paradigm, since I was interested in understanding the subjective experience and individual perceptions of three principals with regard to participative management and the meaning they attach to it in their natural settings: how they describe, interpret and make sense of participative management. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and observation. The findings indicate overwhelming support for the notion that participative management (collegiality) does have a positive influence with regard to creating a sense of common goals, shared vision, a sense of ownership, commitment and improved human relations. The respondents emphasized the critical role of the leader in facilitating the implementation of collegiality as well as an increasing awareness of the potential of participative management to improve human development through delegation. The responses revealed interesting paradoxes with regard to the tensions between leadership and leaderless organizations, as well as between autonomy and interdependence. Responses also reflect the sentiment that participative management should be selective, involving only those with the necessary skills and expertise in the decision-making process. While there is an appreciation of the benefits to be derived from collegiality, critical statements about participative management include the time-consuming nature of participative management, and the notion that participative management impinges on the authority of the principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Mungunda, Charles
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia Management -- Employee participation -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003481
- Description: The purpose of this research was to investigate three principals’ perceptions and experience of participative management and to gain insight into and understanding of the dimensions involved in participative management from the perspective of the three principals. The research was conducted within the interpretive paradigm, since I was interested in understanding the subjective experience and individual perceptions of three principals with regard to participative management and the meaning they attach to it in their natural settings: how they describe, interpret and make sense of participative management. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and observation. The findings indicate overwhelming support for the notion that participative management (collegiality) does have a positive influence with regard to creating a sense of common goals, shared vision, a sense of ownership, commitment and improved human relations. The respondents emphasized the critical role of the leader in facilitating the implementation of collegiality as well as an increasing awareness of the potential of participative management to improve human development through delegation. The responses revealed interesting paradoxes with regard to the tensions between leadership and leaderless organizations, as well as between autonomy and interdependence. Responses also reflect the sentiment that participative management should be selective, involving only those with the necessary skills and expertise in the decision-making process. While there is an appreciation of the benefits to be derived from collegiality, critical statements about participative management include the time-consuming nature of participative management, and the notion that participative management impinges on the authority of the principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Democratic leadership and management practices in a rural Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Mabuku, Robert Nalisa
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia -- Case studies School management and organization -- Namibia -- Case studies Education, Secondary -- Namibia -- Case studies Educational change -- Namibia -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003370
- Description: The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the understanding and implementation of democratic leadership and management in schools by school managers and other members of the school community in leadership and management roles as advocated by the policy of Education for all. The study also aimed at identifying any gaps in the understanding and practice of the participants in order to enhance democratic leadership and management in schools. Qualitative research using the interpretive approach was the methodology employed in order to fulfill the intention of the study, namely to investigate the participants` experiences and understanding of democratic education leadership and management. The case study method was appropriate to understand the meanings the participants attached to their practice in their natural setting. Data were collected by using semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observation. The sample for the study consisted of ten participants: the principal, the head of department, two School Board members, two senior teachers, two Learner Representative Council members and two class captains. The findings suggest that the participants understood and practised democratic ELM in terms of broader participation, open communication, delegation for empowerment, learning organisation, shared decision-making, shared leadership and teamwork. However, the data suggest areas of concern in the participants` understanding and implementation of the policy which could be strengthened to entrench the policy. The study recommends that education policy makers, education managers, school managers, teachers, parents and learners all work towards improving democratic ELM in schools. In order to achieve this objective, policy makers are urged to avoid ambiguity to enable all implementers to fully understand policies. Education managers could ensure school-wide training on the policy while school managers and other stakeholders should engage in self-reflection and introspection and be more proactive towards improving their own understanding and practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Mabuku, Robert Nalisa
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia -- Case studies School management and organization -- Namibia -- Case studies Education, Secondary -- Namibia -- Case studies Educational change -- Namibia -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003370
- Description: The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the understanding and implementation of democratic leadership and management in schools by school managers and other members of the school community in leadership and management roles as advocated by the policy of Education for all. The study also aimed at identifying any gaps in the understanding and practice of the participants in order to enhance democratic leadership and management in schools. Qualitative research using the interpretive approach was the methodology employed in order to fulfill the intention of the study, namely to investigate the participants` experiences and understanding of democratic education leadership and management. The case study method was appropriate to understand the meanings the participants attached to their practice in their natural setting. Data were collected by using semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observation. The sample for the study consisted of ten participants: the principal, the head of department, two School Board members, two senior teachers, two Learner Representative Council members and two class captains. The findings suggest that the participants understood and practised democratic ELM in terms of broader participation, open communication, delegation for empowerment, learning organisation, shared decision-making, shared leadership and teamwork. However, the data suggest areas of concern in the participants` understanding and implementation of the policy which could be strengthened to entrench the policy. The study recommends that education policy makers, education managers, school managers, teachers, parents and learners all work towards improving democratic ELM in schools. In order to achieve this objective, policy makers are urged to avoid ambiguity to enable all implementers to fully understand policies. Education managers could ensure school-wide training on the policy while school managers and other stakeholders should engage in self-reflection and introspection and be more proactive towards improving their own understanding and practice.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Teacher leadership practice : a case study of a public primary school in a semi-urban area of the Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia
- Authors: Hanghuwo, Maria Nahambo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Democracy and education -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Educational leadership , Teacher participation in administration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017341
- Description: The education system in Namibia was shaped by the policies located within the framework of the apartheid ideology. Since it gained its independence in 1990, the government positioned education at the top of the national priorities. Thus, there has been a growing realisation of the importance of more democratic forms of leadership in the education system for the country to be able to cater for a democratic society. Amongst others, teachers became active creators and managers of the learning outcomes. In addition, teachers are regarded as agents of change and the driving force for productive teaching and learning. Literature describes how the management in schools has been redistributing authority and power so that a culture of teacher leadership in school communities can grow. More importantly, school improvement depends more on the active involvement of teacher leaders as it is realised that people in formal positions cannot do everything. In this line this study investigated the understanding of teachers and members of management of teacher leadership practice and it further identified the structural and cultural factors which enabled and inhibited this practice in a primary school. This study is a case study of a Primary school in a semi-urban area of Otjozondjupa Region, a central part of Namibia. This study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm and it is a qualitative case in nature, employing semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. Triangulation over the data revealed that respondents have an understanding of the concept and that all teachers are involved in leadership roles at school which are more strongly found in the classroom and through involvement with other teachers. Teacher leadership roles at the case study school also occur within the whole school with some limitations and also extend beyond the school. Grant’s (2008) model of teacher leadership was used to analyse the data. The study suggested some hindrances and supporting factors of teacher leadership. The findings suggested that teacher leadership is understood at the case study school and that they experienced factors that enabled and hindered this practice at different stages. Enabling factors included the school structure, further studies and workshops attended, while teacher leadership is impeded by teachers’ unwillingness to collaborate with others and the platoon system. The study recommends future large scale studies, including at secondary schools, so that a broader sense of teacher leadership may emerge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Hanghuwo, Maria Nahambo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Democracy and education -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia , Educational leadership , Teacher participation in administration
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017341
- Description: The education system in Namibia was shaped by the policies located within the framework of the apartheid ideology. Since it gained its independence in 1990, the government positioned education at the top of the national priorities. Thus, there has been a growing realisation of the importance of more democratic forms of leadership in the education system for the country to be able to cater for a democratic society. Amongst others, teachers became active creators and managers of the learning outcomes. In addition, teachers are regarded as agents of change and the driving force for productive teaching and learning. Literature describes how the management in schools has been redistributing authority and power so that a culture of teacher leadership in school communities can grow. More importantly, school improvement depends more on the active involvement of teacher leaders as it is realised that people in formal positions cannot do everything. In this line this study investigated the understanding of teachers and members of management of teacher leadership practice and it further identified the structural and cultural factors which enabled and inhibited this practice in a primary school. This study is a case study of a Primary school in a semi-urban area of Otjozondjupa Region, a central part of Namibia. This study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm and it is a qualitative case in nature, employing semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. Triangulation over the data revealed that respondents have an understanding of the concept and that all teachers are involved in leadership roles at school which are more strongly found in the classroom and through involvement with other teachers. Teacher leadership roles at the case study school also occur within the whole school with some limitations and also extend beyond the school. Grant’s (2008) model of teacher leadership was used to analyse the data. The study suggested some hindrances and supporting factors of teacher leadership. The findings suggested that teacher leadership is understood at the case study school and that they experienced factors that enabled and hindered this practice at different stages. Enabling factors included the school structure, further studies and workshops attended, while teacher leadership is impeded by teachers’ unwillingness to collaborate with others and the platoon system. The study recommends future large scale studies, including at secondary schools, so that a broader sense of teacher leadership may emerge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Leaders' and participants' perceptions of the management of the Life Science Project in Namibia
- Authors: Kirkegaard, Niels Hugo
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Life Science Project (Namibia) Educational leadership Educational leadership -- Namibia School management and organization School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1662 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003545
- Description: After Independence in 1991, Namibia embarked on implementing a new and different educational system. This system was seen as a radical departure from the old apartheid system. The Namibian government approached Ibis, a Danish NGO, to support the change process by establishing and developing a new subject, life science, in Junior Secondary schools in Namibia through the Life Science Project (LSP). In a project of this nature, where a foreign (Danish) educational intervention in a relatively young and new democracy is the issue, cross-cultural aspects are likely to emerge, and these are the focus of this study. This half-thesis is an attempt to illuminate, not to evaluate, managerial as well as cross-cultural features of the project based on perceptions of selected Danish managers and Namibian advisory teachers from the former LSP expressed in the goal of the research: - To explore selected leaders’ and participants’ perception of the management of the Life Science Project. In line with this goal, I elected to conduct the research in the interpretive paradigm, using unstructured interviews as my chief source of data. The findings illuminate what would appear to be an inconsistency in the management of the project. The project seemed to be able to accommodate regional and even personal differences and to be flexible to internal changes. At the same time it appears that in its relationship to the external or task environment it did not show the same openness and flexibility to accommodate diversity. It is suggested that this could be a result of the apparent failure on the part of the project to clarify its own underlying values. The study also reveals interesting and unexpected perceptions of leadership, which may also be interpreted in terms of cultural values and beliefs. These two features of managerial issues could lead one to reflect upon the importance of recognising values in organisations which work across cultures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Kirkegaard, Niels Hugo
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Life Science Project (Namibia) Educational leadership Educational leadership -- Namibia School management and organization School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1662 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003545
- Description: After Independence in 1991, Namibia embarked on implementing a new and different educational system. This system was seen as a radical departure from the old apartheid system. The Namibian government approached Ibis, a Danish NGO, to support the change process by establishing and developing a new subject, life science, in Junior Secondary schools in Namibia through the Life Science Project (LSP). In a project of this nature, where a foreign (Danish) educational intervention in a relatively young and new democracy is the issue, cross-cultural aspects are likely to emerge, and these are the focus of this study. This half-thesis is an attempt to illuminate, not to evaluate, managerial as well as cross-cultural features of the project based on perceptions of selected Danish managers and Namibian advisory teachers from the former LSP expressed in the goal of the research: - To explore selected leaders’ and participants’ perception of the management of the Life Science Project. In line with this goal, I elected to conduct the research in the interpretive paradigm, using unstructured interviews as my chief source of data. The findings illuminate what would appear to be an inconsistency in the management of the project. The project seemed to be able to accommodate regional and even personal differences and to be flexible to internal changes. At the same time it appears that in its relationship to the external or task environment it did not show the same openness and flexibility to accommodate diversity. It is suggested that this could be a result of the apparent failure on the part of the project to clarify its own underlying values. The study also reveals interesting and unexpected perceptions of leadership, which may also be interpreted in terms of cultural values and beliefs. These two features of managerial issues could lead one to reflect upon the importance of recognising values in organisations which work across cultures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
The role of the principal as school leader in maintaining academic standards in the schooling of at-risk learners: a case study at a school in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Draai, Karen Ann
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth School principals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth School discipline -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Children with social disabilities -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Academic achievement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008278
- Description: Many disadvantaged schools in South Africa are characterised by poor performance, which is often linked to the legacy of the apartheid regime. Yet, some disadvantaged schools are surviving and even producing excellent results. Many successful businessmen, politicians and academics can attest to the success of these schools, being a product of such schools. Leadership, which has received a lot of attention in recent years, are often the cause of schools failing to produce the expected results. Previous studies have shown that leadership is the key to academic excellence and that to lead disadvantaged schools to success requires strong leaders with moral purpose, who possess qualities of transformational leaders, but also leaders who can focus on instructional leadership practices. This study focuses on the role of leadership in maintaining academic standards at a school in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth. The school has a proud tradition of good academic performances and has even been labelled as a 'model C school in the northern areas'. It has been found that teachers are committed and hardworking and the principal is perceived as having expecting high expectations for the children of the area. He believes as an educator one should never give up on the children. The study found that the principal is a strong leader who shows characteristics of a transformational leader and has the drive of an instructional leader to lead the school and to maintain academic standards. He is a well-respected leader who leads with moral purpose and who has the desire to uplift the community. The study has the potential to provide guidance and encouragement to school principals, and to inform the Department of Education's leadership training programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Draai, Karen Ann
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: School management and organization -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth School principals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth School discipline -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Children with social disabilities -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Academic achievement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008278
- Description: Many disadvantaged schools in South Africa are characterised by poor performance, which is often linked to the legacy of the apartheid regime. Yet, some disadvantaged schools are surviving and even producing excellent results. Many successful businessmen, politicians and academics can attest to the success of these schools, being a product of such schools. Leadership, which has received a lot of attention in recent years, are often the cause of schools failing to produce the expected results. Previous studies have shown that leadership is the key to academic excellence and that to lead disadvantaged schools to success requires strong leaders with moral purpose, who possess qualities of transformational leaders, but also leaders who can focus on instructional leadership practices. This study focuses on the role of leadership in maintaining academic standards at a school in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth. The school has a proud tradition of good academic performances and has even been labelled as a 'model C school in the northern areas'. It has been found that teachers are committed and hardworking and the principal is perceived as having expecting high expectations for the children of the area. He believes as an educator one should never give up on the children. The study found that the principal is a strong leader who shows characteristics of a transformational leader and has the drive of an instructional leader to lead the school and to maintain academic standards. He is a well-respected leader who leads with moral purpose and who has the desire to uplift the community. The study has the potential to provide guidance and encouragement to school principals, and to inform the Department of Education's leadership training programmes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
An investigation of female leaders' perceptions of organisational culture and leadership in a Catholic High School
- Jean-Louis, Lily-Claire Virginie
- Authors: Jean-Louis, Lily-Claire Virginie
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Catholic schools -- South Africa -- Administration School management and organization -- South Africa Educational leadership -- South Africa Corporate culture -- South Africa Women school administrators -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1625 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003507
- Description: For the past thirty years, leadership theories have focused on the importance of the individual within the school organisation. The shared assumptions and beliefs of the individuals working in the same organisation shape the school’s organisational culture, and organisational culture is a salient factor which should be considered when understanding educational leadership. The focus of my study is to explore the relationship between organisational culture and leadership. In the same context, new approaches to the study of leadership have explored the issue of gender in leadership. Female leadership studies - the second focus of this study - seek not only to restore the place of the individual but also argue a place for women in educational leadership. Based in the interpretive paradigm, this is a case study of a Catholic all-girl secondary school called the Loreto Convent School of Pretoria. Historically, the Loreto schools have aimed at promoting and empowering girls’ education and female leadership. It was therefore an appropriate site in which to explore organisational culture and its relationship with leadership, particularly female leadership. I purposefully chose three of the school’s female leaders - the school’s principal, the High school Head of Department and the High school head girl - focusing on their perceptions and experiences of their leadership and the school’s culture. My research findings show that an understanding of the relationship between organisational culture and leadership cannot be complete without acknowledging the importance of the leader as an individual, with his/her personal background and values, taking into account gender as well as the multiple roles that the individual has in society. Furthermore, the ‘humane’ characteristic of educational leadership leads to an understanding that the leader is often confronted with conflicting situations where he/she is caught between personal/organisational values and the need to achieve the task. Finally, my findings show that contemporary leaders are now called upon to work and participate in the promotion of social justice in order to fight against society’s socio-economic inequality and improve the quality of education and life.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Jean-Louis, Lily-Claire Virginie
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Catholic schools -- South Africa -- Administration School management and organization -- South Africa Educational leadership -- South Africa Corporate culture -- South Africa Women school administrators -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1625 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003507
- Description: For the past thirty years, leadership theories have focused on the importance of the individual within the school organisation. The shared assumptions and beliefs of the individuals working in the same organisation shape the school’s organisational culture, and organisational culture is a salient factor which should be considered when understanding educational leadership. The focus of my study is to explore the relationship between organisational culture and leadership. In the same context, new approaches to the study of leadership have explored the issue of gender in leadership. Female leadership studies - the second focus of this study - seek not only to restore the place of the individual but also argue a place for women in educational leadership. Based in the interpretive paradigm, this is a case study of a Catholic all-girl secondary school called the Loreto Convent School of Pretoria. Historically, the Loreto schools have aimed at promoting and empowering girls’ education and female leadership. It was therefore an appropriate site in which to explore organisational culture and its relationship with leadership, particularly female leadership. I purposefully chose three of the school’s female leaders - the school’s principal, the High school Head of Department and the High school head girl - focusing on their perceptions and experiences of their leadership and the school’s culture. My research findings show that an understanding of the relationship between organisational culture and leadership cannot be complete without acknowledging the importance of the leader as an individual, with his/her personal background and values, taking into account gender as well as the multiple roles that the individual has in society. Furthermore, the ‘humane’ characteristic of educational leadership leads to an understanding that the leader is often confronted with conflicting situations where he/she is caught between personal/organisational values and the need to achieve the task. Finally, my findings show that contemporary leaders are now called upon to work and participate in the promotion of social justice in order to fight against society’s socio-economic inequality and improve the quality of education and life.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Female school principals=perceptions of leadership in a male dominated education environment
- Authors: Mwingi, Mweru P
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/326 , vital:19948
- Description: Many well-known studies on leadership have ignored the perspective of women yet bear an emphasis on the importance of portraying leadership in its entirety. This would mean that all leadership perspectives are included and that leaders are allowed to speak for themselves and about themselves. It is this connection I have sought to establish how women perceive leadership by relating the experiences of four women in school principalship. I have used a factual questionnaire to establish the background of each one but, it is the in-depth interviews that yield the leadership perceptions. Borrowing from phenomenological procedures, the leadership experiences are related as Natural Meaning Units (NMUS) whereby all prior knowledge and possible bias are bracketed out. Reinforced by their journal entries, it is only the voice of the women that is heard. My study reinforces the observation of researchers and feminist scholars that women leaders are not only marginalised but also viewed from a perspective that is not their own. From the study, however, the one element about leadership that emerges as unique is the functioning of transformational leadership elements among women leaders in educational set-ups that are inherently traditional, bureaucratic and hierarchical. This is significant because there is an indication that women leaders are inclined to transformational leadership because it favours their feminine qualities. There is also evidence that school principals can embrace leadership diversity and finally, that leadership and the structures of leadership operation are not developed from without but from within the person of the leader and this is an incorporation of their vision and beliefs. In the context of South Africa, this study should be of potential significance because of the change that is taking place in the development and training of school principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Mwingi, Mweru P
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/326 , vital:19948
- Description: Many well-known studies on leadership have ignored the perspective of women yet bear an emphasis on the importance of portraying leadership in its entirety. This would mean that all leadership perspectives are included and that leaders are allowed to speak for themselves and about themselves. It is this connection I have sought to establish how women perceive leadership by relating the experiences of four women in school principalship. I have used a factual questionnaire to establish the background of each one but, it is the in-depth interviews that yield the leadership perceptions. Borrowing from phenomenological procedures, the leadership experiences are related as Natural Meaning Units (NMUS) whereby all prior knowledge and possible bias are bracketed out. Reinforced by their journal entries, it is only the voice of the women that is heard. My study reinforces the observation of researchers and feminist scholars that women leaders are not only marginalised but also viewed from a perspective that is not their own. From the study, however, the one element about leadership that emerges as unique is the functioning of transformational leadership elements among women leaders in educational set-ups that are inherently traditional, bureaucratic and hierarchical. This is significant because there is an indication that women leaders are inclined to transformational leadership because it favours their feminine qualities. There is also evidence that school principals can embrace leadership diversity and finally, that leadership and the structures of leadership operation are not developed from without but from within the person of the leader and this is an incorporation of their vision and beliefs. In the context of South Africa, this study should be of potential significance because of the change that is taking place in the development and training of school principals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The implementation of multigrade teaching in rural schools in the Keetmanshoop education region: leadership and management challenges
- Authors: Titus, David Petrus
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Education, Rural -- Namibia Education and state -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Rural schools -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1566 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003448
- Description: Leadership has received much attention in both the business world and education. My thesis explores effective educational leadership through examining the management and leadership challenges that face principals in a multi-grade school. Schools in sparsely populated rural areas in Namibia have had to resort to multi-grade teaching to be able to be economically viable. Hard economic realities force people to move to bigger towns and cities. The constant demand for better schools, effective principals, qualified teachers and an improved service to the communities coupled with the demand for better working conditions and salaries for teachers drained the education budget even further. To keep in line with the four major policies of education namely equity, access, quality and democracy, the operation of smaller, rural multi-grade schools has become a necessity. The alternative – which is to close smaller schools and operate fewer, bigger schools at an affordable and reasonable cost - would deny rural communities access to schooling. This thesis is a case study of the leadership and management challenges of multigrade schooling in a single school. The goal was to understand how education managers and leaders perceived their role in making it possible for teachers and learners to cope with multi-grade teaching. I worked in the interpretive paradigm to be able to interpret the social and cultural context of a rural, multi-grade school in the Karas region. The methods included questionnaires, interviews and observation. One of the leadership models universally considered to be available to principals of multi-grade schools is instructional leadership. My study revealed that the concept was unknown to teaching staff, although there were indications that the model had been encountered. My findings also revealed that the communication between colleges of education and the regional education department staff was very limited. One of the major issues that arose was that principals were so occupied with teaching that important issues about training/evaluation and supervision of teachers, the ‘visibility’ of the principal, setting and implementation of the aims and goals of the school and regular communication with parents and community leaders were neglected. Probably the most significant finding was that head teachers are not trained in the management of a multi-grade school, hence most if not all of the head teachers run multi-grade schools like a single-graded school. The single most important problem was that the importance of multi-grade teaching had never been highlighted, particularly in light of new staffing norms, in spite of the fact that it was a phenomenon that was likely to be a permanent arrangement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Titus, David Petrus
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Education -- Namibia Education, Rural -- Namibia Education and state -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Rural schools -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1566 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003448
- Description: Leadership has received much attention in both the business world and education. My thesis explores effective educational leadership through examining the management and leadership challenges that face principals in a multi-grade school. Schools in sparsely populated rural areas in Namibia have had to resort to multi-grade teaching to be able to be economically viable. Hard economic realities force people to move to bigger towns and cities. The constant demand for better schools, effective principals, qualified teachers and an improved service to the communities coupled with the demand for better working conditions and salaries for teachers drained the education budget even further. To keep in line with the four major policies of education namely equity, access, quality and democracy, the operation of smaller, rural multi-grade schools has become a necessity. The alternative – which is to close smaller schools and operate fewer, bigger schools at an affordable and reasonable cost - would deny rural communities access to schooling. This thesis is a case study of the leadership and management challenges of multigrade schooling in a single school. The goal was to understand how education managers and leaders perceived their role in making it possible for teachers and learners to cope with multi-grade teaching. I worked in the interpretive paradigm to be able to interpret the social and cultural context of a rural, multi-grade school in the Karas region. The methods included questionnaires, interviews and observation. One of the leadership models universally considered to be available to principals of multi-grade schools is instructional leadership. My study revealed that the concept was unknown to teaching staff, although there were indications that the model had been encountered. My findings also revealed that the communication between colleges of education and the regional education department staff was very limited. One of the major issues that arose was that principals were so occupied with teaching that important issues about training/evaluation and supervision of teachers, the ‘visibility’ of the principal, setting and implementation of the aims and goals of the school and regular communication with parents and community leaders were neglected. Probably the most significant finding was that head teachers are not trained in the management of a multi-grade school, hence most if not all of the head teachers run multi-grade schools like a single-graded school. The single most important problem was that the importance of multi-grade teaching had never been highlighted, particularly in light of new staffing norms, in spite of the fact that it was a phenomenon that was likely to be a permanent arrangement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Re-inventing educational leadership for school and community transformation: learning from the Educational Leadership Management and Development programme of the University of Fort Hare
- Authors: Moyo, George
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: University of Fort Hare. Educational Leadership Management and Development Educational leadership -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa School management and organization -- South Africa School improvement programs -- South Africa School principals -- South Africa Community and school -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1719 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003602
- Description: This study explores educational leadership development and social change strategies pioneered by one programme, the Educational Leadership Management and Development (ELMD) programme of the University of Fort Hare. The programme seeks to model a way of doing social and educational transformation through educational leadership development. Conceptually, the model was meant to draw together a number of education stakeholders operating at various levels of the schooling system to undergo the same programme of leadership development. The programme participants, who included district education officials, schools principals, members of school management teams, educators and members of School Governing Bodies, were to enrol as teams. They would work on learning tasks that were both academic and practical in nature, with an emphasis on experiential learning that leads to the creation of district and community networks of partners, development teams or forums and communities of practice, as well as the production and implementation of district and school development plans. Informed by this conceptual position, the study was structured by two underlying questions. First, whether the ELMD was re-inventing educational leadership beyond the traditional focus on principalship towards one that is inclusive of other education stakeholders. Second, how leadership development as a vehicle for social and educational change can be carried out. The research process was guided by a multi-paradigm perspective which drew heavily on the interpretive and critical science orientations. This led to the crafting of research methods that looked for data that would assist in an understanding of what was happening in the programme, as well as what power dynamics were at play and with what consequences for innovation. The evidence emanating from the study suggests a number of possibilities for consideration by future leadership development programme designers. First, the ELMD programme delivery design shows what can be done to draw participants from various levels of the schooling system, district, school and community and teach them educational leadership together in a mode that mobilizes them for change. Second, how social distance separating different levels of the education hierarchy and status consciousness may disappear gradually as people are brought together to work on tasks of mutual concern. Third, after a year of engagement with ELMD ideas and approach, the participants in the programme appeared to have started a journey of selftransformation towards becoming qualitatively different people who saw themselves as teams capable of tackling education and social problems in their schools and communities. These participants had begun to forge working networks, but the extent to which these could be characterized as knowledge ecosystems and communities of practice remains a question to explore. Fourth, that the current higher education accreditation policies and practices do not accommodate innovative learning approaches of the kind that the ELMD is developing. In this regard, the ELMD experienced difficulties in coming up with an assessment policy and practices which meet the academic as well as the practical developmental concerns of the programme. Fifth, programme instrumentalities and mandates that are put in place do not, in themselves, bring about change. The actual change comes about through the actions of human leadership capable of navigating between structural enablers and constraints.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Moyo, George
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: University of Fort Hare. Educational Leadership Management and Development Educational leadership -- South Africa Educational change -- South Africa School management and organization -- South Africa School improvement programs -- South Africa School principals -- South Africa Community and school -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1719 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003602
- Description: This study explores educational leadership development and social change strategies pioneered by one programme, the Educational Leadership Management and Development (ELMD) programme of the University of Fort Hare. The programme seeks to model a way of doing social and educational transformation through educational leadership development. Conceptually, the model was meant to draw together a number of education stakeholders operating at various levels of the schooling system to undergo the same programme of leadership development. The programme participants, who included district education officials, schools principals, members of school management teams, educators and members of School Governing Bodies, were to enrol as teams. They would work on learning tasks that were both academic and practical in nature, with an emphasis on experiential learning that leads to the creation of district and community networks of partners, development teams or forums and communities of practice, as well as the production and implementation of district and school development plans. Informed by this conceptual position, the study was structured by two underlying questions. First, whether the ELMD was re-inventing educational leadership beyond the traditional focus on principalship towards one that is inclusive of other education stakeholders. Second, how leadership development as a vehicle for social and educational change can be carried out. The research process was guided by a multi-paradigm perspective which drew heavily on the interpretive and critical science orientations. This led to the crafting of research methods that looked for data that would assist in an understanding of what was happening in the programme, as well as what power dynamics were at play and with what consequences for innovation. The evidence emanating from the study suggests a number of possibilities for consideration by future leadership development programme designers. First, the ELMD programme delivery design shows what can be done to draw participants from various levels of the schooling system, district, school and community and teach them educational leadership together in a mode that mobilizes them for change. Second, how social distance separating different levels of the education hierarchy and status consciousness may disappear gradually as people are brought together to work on tasks of mutual concern. Third, after a year of engagement with ELMD ideas and approach, the participants in the programme appeared to have started a journey of selftransformation towards becoming qualitatively different people who saw themselves as teams capable of tackling education and social problems in their schools and communities. These participants had begun to forge working networks, but the extent to which these could be characterized as knowledge ecosystems and communities of practice remains a question to explore. Fourth, that the current higher education accreditation policies and practices do not accommodate innovative learning approaches of the kind that the ELMD is developing. In this regard, the ELMD experienced difficulties in coming up with an assessment policy and practices which meet the academic as well as the practical developmental concerns of the programme. Fifth, programme instrumentalities and mandates that are put in place do not, in themselves, bring about change. The actual change comes about through the actions of human leadership capable of navigating between structural enablers and constraints.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The impact of US Peace Corps volunteers on the management and leadership of a school in Namibia: a case study
- Authors: Ipangelwa, Anna
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.) Volunteer workers in Education -- Namibia Education -- Namibia Education and state -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003443
- Description: Peace Corps Volunteer teachers have played a significant role in Namibia’s attempts to restructure education in line with its policy of education for all. While we have learned a great deal in recent years about how Peace Corps Volunteer Teachers have achieved their stated goals and objectives of teaching students and training serving teachers, we still know relatively little about the role they may have played in school management. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Peace Corps volunteers work on the management and leadership of the schools they serve. The study focuses on the work of two volunteers based in a combined school in the Ondangwa West educational region of Namibia. The study adopts a qualitative approach and seeks to establish whether there has been an impact by Peace Corps volunteer’s work on the management and leadership of this school by focusing on (a) activities performed by Peace Corps volunteers; (b) the experiences of both management and staff in working with Peace Corps volunteers; (c) whether the presence of Peace Corps volunteers that served at the school influence the management and leadership of the school; (d) how the duties and activities performed by these volunteers were perceived by the students, teachers and community. The interview questions that were used to collect data from seven respondents were based on the literature from Peace Corps and the Ministry of Basic Education, Culture and Sport as well as education management and leadership literature. The findings indicate that volunteers that served at this school performed management and leadership related activities with the students, teachers and community and that these activities are having an effect on the management and leadership of the school.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Ipangelwa, Anna
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.) Volunteer workers in Education -- Namibia Education -- Namibia Education and state -- Namibia Educational change -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003443
- Description: Peace Corps Volunteer teachers have played a significant role in Namibia’s attempts to restructure education in line with its policy of education for all. While we have learned a great deal in recent years about how Peace Corps Volunteer Teachers have achieved their stated goals and objectives of teaching students and training serving teachers, we still know relatively little about the role they may have played in school management. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Peace Corps volunteers work on the management and leadership of the schools they serve. The study focuses on the work of two volunteers based in a combined school in the Ondangwa West educational region of Namibia. The study adopts a qualitative approach and seeks to establish whether there has been an impact by Peace Corps volunteer’s work on the management and leadership of this school by focusing on (a) activities performed by Peace Corps volunteers; (b) the experiences of both management and staff in working with Peace Corps volunteers; (c) whether the presence of Peace Corps volunteers that served at the school influence the management and leadership of the school; (d) how the duties and activities performed by these volunteers were perceived by the students, teachers and community. The interview questions that were used to collect data from seven respondents were based on the literature from Peace Corps and the Ministry of Basic Education, Culture and Sport as well as education management and leadership literature. The findings indicate that volunteers that served at this school performed management and leadership related activities with the students, teachers and community and that these activities are having an effect on the management and leadership of the school.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
An investigation of participative management in a museum in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Madinda, Nozipho
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Museums -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Management -- Employee participation , Albany Museum (Grahamstown, South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020847
- Description: The purpose of my research was to investigate participative management at the Albany Museum with a view to generating knowledge and insights that can be used to support senior management’s engagement with participative management at mid-management level. My interest was to investigate participative management with regards to five HODs of the Albany Museum with a view to generating knowledge and insights that can be used to support senior management’s engagement with participative management at mid-management level. The research was informed by the interpretive paradigm. The interpretive paradigm does not concern itself with the search for broadly applicable laws and rules but rather seeks to produce descriptive analyses that emphasise deep interpretation and understanding of social phenomena through the meaning that the people assign to them. This study is mostly descriptive and presents the reality of participants from their own experience. Semi-structured interviews and observation capture ‘insider’ knowledge that is part of an interpretive methodology. The study found that participative management was both understood and generally accepted as a good way to manage an organisation, and even members who were critical of it could see its benefits. However, the fractured and diversified structure of the organisation calls for a particularly skillful application of this management approach, one which would also demand leadership and a greater sense of working towards what are called collegial models of management. Whether this is in fact desirable for a museum is debatable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Madinda, Nozipho
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Museums -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Management -- Employee participation , Albany Museum (Grahamstown, South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020847
- Description: The purpose of my research was to investigate participative management at the Albany Museum with a view to generating knowledge and insights that can be used to support senior management’s engagement with participative management at mid-management level. My interest was to investigate participative management with regards to five HODs of the Albany Museum with a view to generating knowledge and insights that can be used to support senior management’s engagement with participative management at mid-management level. The research was informed by the interpretive paradigm. The interpretive paradigm does not concern itself with the search for broadly applicable laws and rules but rather seeks to produce descriptive analyses that emphasise deep interpretation and understanding of social phenomena through the meaning that the people assign to them. This study is mostly descriptive and presents the reality of participants from their own experience. Semi-structured interviews and observation capture ‘insider’ knowledge that is part of an interpretive methodology. The study found that participative management was both understood and generally accepted as a good way to manage an organisation, and even members who were critical of it could see its benefits. However, the fractured and diversified structure of the organisation calls for a particularly skillful application of this management approach, one which would also demand leadership and a greater sense of working towards what are called collegial models of management. Whether this is in fact desirable for a museum is debatable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016