The principal's leadership role in a successful rural school in Namibia
- Authors: Kawana, Joseph Jost
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Rural schools -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1713 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003596
- Description: Rural schools generally find it hard to function effectively for a variety of reasons, and managing and leading these schools brings additional challenges. This study explored the role of the principal in an academically successful rural school in Namibia. It drew on leadership theory and findings from related studies to make sense of this particular case of leadership against the odds. Using the interpretive orientation, the research explored selected organisation members’ perceptions of the principal’s leadership through semi-structured interviews. The study found that the actions and attitudes of the leader had a significant influence on the school’s performance. The manner in which the principal conducted himself, the shared vision he encouraged and his insistence on associating with all stakeholders involved in education, were instrumental in the organization’s positive achievements. The principal was shown as committed and a leader with good interpersonal working relationships. The study also revealed that this principal was both a person- and taskoriented leader, and closely resembled the ideals of transformational leadership. This study further found that, through the principal’s instructional leadership, teaching and learning are seen as the core of the school’s activities. Finally, the principal’s leadership role opens the school to the community and results in strong and mutually beneficial relationships between the school and its community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Kawana, Joseph Jost
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Rural schools -- Namibia School principals -- Namibia Educational leadership -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1713 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003596
- Description: Rural schools generally find it hard to function effectively for a variety of reasons, and managing and leading these schools brings additional challenges. This study explored the role of the principal in an academically successful rural school in Namibia. It drew on leadership theory and findings from related studies to make sense of this particular case of leadership against the odds. Using the interpretive orientation, the research explored selected organisation members’ perceptions of the principal’s leadership through semi-structured interviews. The study found that the actions and attitudes of the leader had a significant influence on the school’s performance. The manner in which the principal conducted himself, the shared vision he encouraged and his insistence on associating with all stakeholders involved in education, were instrumental in the organization’s positive achievements. The principal was shown as committed and a leader with good interpersonal working relationships. The study also revealed that this principal was both a person- and taskoriented leader, and closely resembled the ideals of transformational leadership. This study further found that, through the principal’s instructional leadership, teaching and learning are seen as the core of the school’s activities. Finally, the principal’s leadership role opens the school to the community and results in strong and mutually beneficial relationships between the school and its community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
An investigation into the role of student participation in school governance : a Namibian perspective
- Authors: Shekupakela-Nelulu, Rauna
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Education and state -- Namibia Education, Secondary -- Namibia Student government -- Namibia Student participation in administration -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1923 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007449
- Description: The issue of student participation in school governance is not a new concept in Namibian schools. Student involvement dates back to the 1970's when the country's administration was under the South African apartheid regime. Back then the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed. When the country became independent student representation continued as Student Representative Councils (SRC's), later renamed Learners Representative Councils (LRCs). This study attempted to investigate the perceptions of LRCs and other stakeholders - narnely the school principals and the school board members - of the role of students in school governance. The study was conducted in three Senior Secondary Schools in the Kavango region in Namibia. The research respondents were school principals, chairpersons of the LRCs and one chairperson of a school board. The study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm employing the following three qualitative research methods interviews, observation and document analysis to collect data. Through triangulation it was possible to formulate a rich response to the research question. The study found that, although the notion of student participation in school governance was widely accepted, a number of challenges exist that hamper the effectiveness of LRCs in the schools. It was revealed that there was no national policy docunlent that outlined the roles and function of the LRCs. As a result schools had little direction about the LRCs and subsequently they were given little or no attention by the school authorities. This resulted in misunderstandings and in some cases conflict between learners and the school management. The most significant consequence of these problems was the fact that LRCs were not regarded as true role players in school governance. The study thus recommends that a national policy document that legitimates the role of students in school governance be drafted to provide direction and that schools embark on meaningful training programmes for LRC members. The study also calls for further research to address the gap in literature on this phenomenon, particularly in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Shekupakela-Nelulu, Rauna
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Education and state -- Namibia Education, Secondary -- Namibia Student government -- Namibia Student participation in administration -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1923 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007449
- Description: The issue of student participation in school governance is not a new concept in Namibian schools. Student involvement dates back to the 1970's when the country's administration was under the South African apartheid regime. Back then the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed. When the country became independent student representation continued as Student Representative Councils (SRC's), later renamed Learners Representative Councils (LRCs). This study attempted to investigate the perceptions of LRCs and other stakeholders - narnely the school principals and the school board members - of the role of students in school governance. The study was conducted in three Senior Secondary Schools in the Kavango region in Namibia. The research respondents were school principals, chairpersons of the LRCs and one chairperson of a school board. The study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm employing the following three qualitative research methods interviews, observation and document analysis to collect data. Through triangulation it was possible to formulate a rich response to the research question. The study found that, although the notion of student participation in school governance was widely accepted, a number of challenges exist that hamper the effectiveness of LRCs in the schools. It was revealed that there was no national policy docunlent that outlined the roles and function of the LRCs. As a result schools had little direction about the LRCs and subsequently they were given little or no attention by the school authorities. This resulted in misunderstandings and in some cases conflict between learners and the school management. The most significant consequence of these problems was the fact that LRCs were not regarded as true role players in school governance. The study thus recommends that a national policy document that legitimates the role of students in school governance be drafted to provide direction and that schools embark on meaningful training programmes for LRC members. The study also calls for further research to address the gap in literature on this phenomenon, particularly in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Developed teacher leadership in a township high school : an interpretive case study
- Authors: John, Daisy Mary
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher participation in administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2052 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018548
- Description: South Africa’s future success depends on a number of national priorities, amongst them the transformation of its education system. Education is the best route to follow to alleviate poverty and many other social ills. One way to overcome some of the complex challenges and crises that we face in South African schools is to pay attention to issues of leading and leadership, including the leadership of teachers. This study is done with the hope that research into teacher leadership will be one of the answers to the crisis in education. It should become a beacon of hope for all educationists who passionately want progress in the youth of South Africa. What better way than to ‘Awaken the Sleeping Giant’ of teacher leadership, borrowing the term from Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009). This study was designed as a case study, the purpose of which was to find out about the enactment of teacher leadership in an Eastern Cape township high school as well as the enhancing and hindering factors to this enactment. This study was done as a replication study of a similar study done by a group of 11Master’s students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010. Similar to the original study, this case study was located within the interpretive paradigm and drew on school profiling, survey questionnaires, a focus group interview, selfreflective journals and individual interviews for its methods of data collection. The study was framed by distributed leadership while Grant’s (2008; 2012) Model of teacher leadership was adopted as the analytical tool. It emerged from the data that the three teacher leaders, my primary participants, exhibited teacher leadership across all four zones of Grant’s (2008) Model. The first zone was leadership in the classroom where all three teacher leaders showed leadership to varying degrees. Zones Two to Four are about leadership beyond the classroom into the school and beyond. In Zone Two, the zone where teachers work with each other and the learners outside the classroom, substantial levels of leadership were enacted by the three teacher leaders. Zone Three, where leadership is exhibited in whole-school development, the three primary participants showed distinct leadership qualities as well. The fourth zone, which is about interaction with neighbouring schools, also revealed that all three teacher leaders demonstrated active leadership on a regular basis. Findings further revealed that there were only a few inhibiting factors to the leadership of teachers at the case study school, including limited resources and infrastructure as well as insufficient support and acknowledgement from the relevant stakeholders when leadership initiatives were made, either successfully or otherwise. However, the enhancing factors superseded the inhibiting factors. A functional committee culture guided by a shared vision existed in the case study school together with an ethos of trust which enabled the staff to work collaboratively. Though there was certainly room for improvement in leadership practices at this case study school, the enactment of teacher leadership in this school illustrated a strong case of ‘developed’ teacher leadership (Muijs& Harris, 2007) within a dispersed leadership framing (Gunter, 2005)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: John, Daisy Mary
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher participation in administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teacher effectiveness -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2052 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018548
- Description: South Africa’s future success depends on a number of national priorities, amongst them the transformation of its education system. Education is the best route to follow to alleviate poverty and many other social ills. One way to overcome some of the complex challenges and crises that we face in South African schools is to pay attention to issues of leading and leadership, including the leadership of teachers. This study is done with the hope that research into teacher leadership will be one of the answers to the crisis in education. It should become a beacon of hope for all educationists who passionately want progress in the youth of South Africa. What better way than to ‘Awaken the Sleeping Giant’ of teacher leadership, borrowing the term from Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009). This study was designed as a case study, the purpose of which was to find out about the enactment of teacher leadership in an Eastern Cape township high school as well as the enhancing and hindering factors to this enactment. This study was done as a replication study of a similar study done by a group of 11Master’s students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010. Similar to the original study, this case study was located within the interpretive paradigm and drew on school profiling, survey questionnaires, a focus group interview, selfreflective journals and individual interviews for its methods of data collection. The study was framed by distributed leadership while Grant’s (2008; 2012) Model of teacher leadership was adopted as the analytical tool. It emerged from the data that the three teacher leaders, my primary participants, exhibited teacher leadership across all four zones of Grant’s (2008) Model. The first zone was leadership in the classroom where all three teacher leaders showed leadership to varying degrees. Zones Two to Four are about leadership beyond the classroom into the school and beyond. In Zone Two, the zone where teachers work with each other and the learners outside the classroom, substantial levels of leadership were enacted by the three teacher leaders. Zone Three, where leadership is exhibited in whole-school development, the three primary participants showed distinct leadership qualities as well. The fourth zone, which is about interaction with neighbouring schools, also revealed that all three teacher leaders demonstrated active leadership on a regular basis. Findings further revealed that there were only a few inhibiting factors to the leadership of teachers at the case study school, including limited resources and infrastructure as well as insufficient support and acknowledgement from the relevant stakeholders when leadership initiatives were made, either successfully or otherwise. However, the enhancing factors superseded the inhibiting factors. A functional committee culture guided by a shared vision existed in the case study school together with an ethos of trust which enabled the staff to work collaboratively. Though there was certainly room for improvement in leadership practices at this case study school, the enactment of teacher leadership in this school illustrated a strong case of ‘developed’ teacher leadership (Muijs& Harris, 2007) within a dispersed leadership framing (Gunter, 2005)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A formative intervention for developing Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An investigation into teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals in Kwazulu-Natal
- Authors: Ngcobo, Thandi Moira
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Women school principals -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa -- Attitudes School management and organization -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003483
- Description: There are few female teachers who hold principal positions in schools, especially in secondary schools. This study investigates teachers' perceptions of secondary school female principals' leadership abilities and styles.It also investigates whether teachers' perceptions are influenced either by their sexes or experience or lack of experience of working with female principals. The reseacher hopes that this research findings will help to either: develop and improve female leadership (where it is found to be wanting); and or influence authorieties to appoint more female teachers to head secondary schools. The literature surveyed revealed that the appointment of principals in seconday schools is discriminatory against female teachers. It further revealed that principals (mainly male) do not prepare female teachers for management and leadership positions. As a result female potential leaders become demotivated. This is unfortunate as research has found that female principals are as effective as leaders as male principals are. One disadvantage of having a small number of female leaders in education is that this results in an education that only reflects the male perspectives and values. This in turn alienates girls' perspectives from education. In order to establish teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals a survey of the percptions of teachers in the Maphumolo circuit of female principals in this area was first carried out by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by a case study of one female principal. In depth, semi-stuctured interviews were undertaken with the principal and three teachers working with her in order to establish this principal's leadership style and the teachers' feelings towards her. A statistical analysis of the survey and a conten~ ~alysis of the case study were carried out. These revealed that the majority of teachers perceive female principals as effective and transformational leaders. These perceptions were found to be minimally influenced by either the teachers' sexes or experience of working with female principals. The..majority of those teachers who perceived female principals negatively tended to be males and to be from a group of teachers who had never worked with female principals. Recommendations for the increase of the number of female principals in secondary schools and for the improvement ofleadership in these schools are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Ngcobo, Thandi Moira
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Women school principals -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Teachers -- South Africa -- Attitudes School management and organization -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003483
- Description: There are few female teachers who hold principal positions in schools, especially in secondary schools. This study investigates teachers' perceptions of secondary school female principals' leadership abilities and styles.It also investigates whether teachers' perceptions are influenced either by their sexes or experience or lack of experience of working with female principals. The reseacher hopes that this research findings will help to either: develop and improve female leadership (where it is found to be wanting); and or influence authorieties to appoint more female teachers to head secondary schools. The literature surveyed revealed that the appointment of principals in seconday schools is discriminatory against female teachers. It further revealed that principals (mainly male) do not prepare female teachers for management and leadership positions. As a result female potential leaders become demotivated. This is unfortunate as research has found that female principals are as effective as leaders as male principals are. One disadvantage of having a small number of female leaders in education is that this results in an education that only reflects the male perspectives and values. This in turn alienates girls' perspectives from education. In order to establish teachers' perceptions of female secondary school principals a survey of the percptions of teachers in the Maphumolo circuit of female principals in this area was first carried out by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by a case study of one female principal. In depth, semi-stuctured interviews were undertaken with the principal and three teachers working with her in order to establish this principal's leadership style and the teachers' feelings towards her. A statistical analysis of the survey and a conten~ ~alysis of the case study were carried out. These revealed that the majority of teachers perceive female principals as effective and transformational leaders. These perceptions were found to be minimally influenced by either the teachers' sexes or experience of working with female principals. The..majority of those teachers who perceived female principals negatively tended to be males and to be from a group of teachers who had never worked with female principals. Recommendations for the increase of the number of female principals in secondary schools and for the improvement ofleadership in these schools are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
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
Managing an inclusive school: a case study of a pilot school in Swaziland
- Authors: Zimba, Zondani
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Special education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Learning disabled children -- Education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Students with disabilities -- Swaziland -- Mbabane School management and organization -- Swaziland -- Mbabane
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1669 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003552
- Description: Inclusive Education (IE) reflects the values, ethos, and culture of an education system committed to excellence by promoting education opportunities for all learners. IE is about building a more just society and ensuring the right to education for all learners regardless of their individual characteristics or difficulties (UNESCO: 2007). The kingdom of Swaziland has committed itself to high quality basic education which provides equal opportunities for all children and youth. This is evident in the Swaziland National Constitution (2006). To promote Education for All (EFA) as stated in the constitution, an IE Policy has been developed and a draft policy is in place. The programme has been operational since 2006. There are nine pilot schools and four teachers from each school who have been trained on how to handle pupils with disabilities. The programme will be rolled out to 608 primary schools by 2015. In this research, the goal was to investigate how a School Management Board responds to the challenges of managing an Inclusive School. This research is a qualitative interpretive case study based in one of the pilot schools in Mbabane in Swaziland. The study used document analysis, semi‐structured interviews and focus groups to collect data. The study revealed that the school has done much in accommodating IE as there are changes in management structures and approaches, organizational culture and operating procedures. On the other hand, there are still significant challenges such as a lack of knowledge of inclusion and negativity on the part of learners and parents. Other challenges include inadequate training for educators and lack of suitable infrastructure. The study concludes by recommending improved staff development programmes, infrastructure upgrades, acquiring appropriate teaching and learning resources and employing multidisciplinary personnel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Zimba, Zondani
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Special education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Learning disabled children -- Education -- Swaziland -- Mbabane Students with disabilities -- Swaziland -- Mbabane School management and organization -- Swaziland -- Mbabane
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1669 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003552
- Description: Inclusive Education (IE) reflects the values, ethos, and culture of an education system committed to excellence by promoting education opportunities for all learners. IE is about building a more just society and ensuring the right to education for all learners regardless of their individual characteristics or difficulties (UNESCO: 2007). The kingdom of Swaziland has committed itself to high quality basic education which provides equal opportunities for all children and youth. This is evident in the Swaziland National Constitution (2006). To promote Education for All (EFA) as stated in the constitution, an IE Policy has been developed and a draft policy is in place. The programme has been operational since 2006. There are nine pilot schools and four teachers from each school who have been trained on how to handle pupils with disabilities. The programme will be rolled out to 608 primary schools by 2015. In this research, the goal was to investigate how a School Management Board responds to the challenges of managing an Inclusive School. This research is a qualitative interpretive case study based in one of the pilot schools in Mbabane in Swaziland. The study used document analysis, semi‐structured interviews and focus groups to collect data. The study revealed that the school has done much in accommodating IE as there are changes in management structures and approaches, organizational culture and operating procedures. On the other hand, there are still significant challenges such as a lack of knowledge of inclusion and negativity on the part of learners and parents. Other challenges include inadequate training for educators and lack of suitable infrastructure. The study concludes by recommending improved staff development programmes, infrastructure upgrades, acquiring appropriate teaching and learning resources and employing multidisciplinary personnel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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
A critical investigation of leadership in a Technical, Vocational Education and Training college in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Chagi, Nonkonzo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140045 , vital:37827
- Description: Far-reaching reforms of the TVET college system – including a merger and frequent revisioning of the colleges’ role in the educational landscape of South Africa – have focused renewed attention on this sector. The fact that the sector has been plagued by poor performance – even to the extent that several colleges have been placed under administration – suggests problems at the level of leadership. This study sought to explore key role-players’ understanding of the leadership and management challenges faced by a TVET college and, by examining responses to these challenges, develop a sense of what leadership means in the sector. The study drew on three leadership theories – distributed leadership, transactional leadership as depicted in political models of management, and critical leadership – to help make sense of the findings. A qualitative case study design was used to explore key respondents’ views and lived experiences. The respondents were the principal, two deputy principals, a council member, three campus managers and a programme head. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis were the chief data collection tools. The study found that critical leadership was the dominant approach at the college. This was revealed in the college leadership’s awareness of broader societal needs and its own role in operating in a socially just manner. College leadership also revealed signs of rejecting the status quo and opposing state control and bureaucracy, in favour of reactionary initiatives. There was limited evidence of distributed and transactional leadership. In fact, ‘leadership’ as such, seemed not to be part of the college discourse, suggesting that the concept and habit of leadership was not broadly discussed, shared and promoted. This sense was strengthened by the fact that at the time of the study, the college was headed by a charismatic and visionary leader. Indeed, the problem at the college seemed to be the Department of Higher Education and Training, which has failed the college in a number of ways.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Chagi, Nonkonzo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Technical education -- South Africa , Vocational education -- South Africa , Educational leadership -- South Africa , Postsecondary education -- South Africa -- Administration
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140045 , vital:37827
- Description: Far-reaching reforms of the TVET college system – including a merger and frequent revisioning of the colleges’ role in the educational landscape of South Africa – have focused renewed attention on this sector. The fact that the sector has been plagued by poor performance – even to the extent that several colleges have been placed under administration – suggests problems at the level of leadership. This study sought to explore key role-players’ understanding of the leadership and management challenges faced by a TVET college and, by examining responses to these challenges, develop a sense of what leadership means in the sector. The study drew on three leadership theories – distributed leadership, transactional leadership as depicted in political models of management, and critical leadership – to help make sense of the findings. A qualitative case study design was used to explore key respondents’ views and lived experiences. The respondents were the principal, two deputy principals, a council member, three campus managers and a programme head. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis were the chief data collection tools. The study found that critical leadership was the dominant approach at the college. This was revealed in the college leadership’s awareness of broader societal needs and its own role in operating in a socially just manner. College leadership also revealed signs of rejecting the status quo and opposing state control and bureaucracy, in favour of reactionary initiatives. There was limited evidence of distributed and transactional leadership. In fact, ‘leadership’ as such, seemed not to be part of the college discourse, suggesting that the concept and habit of leadership was not broadly discussed, shared and promoted. This sense was strengthened by the fact that at the time of the study, the college was headed by a charismatic and visionary leader. Indeed, the problem at the college seemed to be the Department of Higher Education and Training, which has failed the college in a number of ways.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An inquiry into the incorporation of a multicultural approach in contemporary textbooks in South Africa
- Authors: Sharma, Anjali
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Multicultural education -- South Africa Multicultural education -- Curricula Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003461
- Description: During the past few decades a substantial body of research has emerged in western as well as the developing nations studying the racial bias in children's texts. However, it is only recently in South Africa, with the ascendance of the ANC government, that interest has been focused on eliminating apartheid values and on promoting multicultural tenets in the school curriculum. It is undeniable that the concept of multiculturalism has been severely stigmatised in the South African educational context. Anxieties have been expressed about embracing the discourse of multicultural education within the educational system based on fears that, like the previous educational system, it too will perpetuate group differences. Nevertheless, in recent years, a clear consensus view has emerged that the implementation of multicultural education is imperative if the goal of a rainbow South Africa is to be realised. Against this background, the present study attempts to study the incorporation of a multicultural approach into contemporary textbooks. To realise this aim I selected a sample of four textbooks, one from each of the major disciplines (science, English, geography and history), and SUbjected the texts and pictures from each to content analysis. The findings of this study suggest that a multicultural approach shall at least for the foreseeable future remain a central feature of learning materials produced for the new South African curricula. The findings indicate that multicultural aspects predominate in the texts as compared to other ideologies. This applies to both text content and illustrations. Contrary to the researcher's initial expectation, however, the texts also reveal a strong tendency towards Eurocentric and patriarchal approaches. This research does not conform to traditional, 'scientific' criteria of validity and reliability; it seeks only to investigate textbook material in more depth and thereby contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the extent to which the texts subscribe to a multicultural approach. Such understanding may help both educationalists and authors in their evaluation of existing textbook material, and in the production of new texts which reflect the reality of South Africa as a multicultural society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Sharma, Anjali
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Multicultural education -- South Africa Multicultural education -- Curricula Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1579 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003461
- Description: During the past few decades a substantial body of research has emerged in western as well as the developing nations studying the racial bias in children's texts. However, it is only recently in South Africa, with the ascendance of the ANC government, that interest has been focused on eliminating apartheid values and on promoting multicultural tenets in the school curriculum. It is undeniable that the concept of multiculturalism has been severely stigmatised in the South African educational context. Anxieties have been expressed about embracing the discourse of multicultural education within the educational system based on fears that, like the previous educational system, it too will perpetuate group differences. Nevertheless, in recent years, a clear consensus view has emerged that the implementation of multicultural education is imperative if the goal of a rainbow South Africa is to be realised. Against this background, the present study attempts to study the incorporation of a multicultural approach into contemporary textbooks. To realise this aim I selected a sample of four textbooks, one from each of the major disciplines (science, English, geography and history), and SUbjected the texts and pictures from each to content analysis. The findings of this study suggest that a multicultural approach shall at least for the foreseeable future remain a central feature of learning materials produced for the new South African curricula. The findings indicate that multicultural aspects predominate in the texts as compared to other ideologies. This applies to both text content and illustrations. Contrary to the researcher's initial expectation, however, the texts also reveal a strong tendency towards Eurocentric and patriarchal approaches. This research does not conform to traditional, 'scientific' criteria of validity and reliability; it seeks only to investigate textbook material in more depth and thereby contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the extent to which the texts subscribe to a multicultural approach. Such understanding may help both educationalists and authors in their evaluation of existing textbook material, and in the production of new texts which reflect the reality of South Africa as a multicultural society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
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
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
A phenomenological study of how South African entrepreneurs experience and deal with ethical dilemmas
- Authors: Robinson, David Alan
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa Business ethics -- South Africa Decision making -- Moral and ethical aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1175 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002791
- Description: This research sets out to examine how entrepreneurs experience and deal with ethical dilemmas. An entrepreneur is defined as a person who creates something of value and assumes the risk of establishing and managing a business around it. An ethical dilemma comes about when the entrepreneur must choose between alternatives and where the morally correct choice is unclear. This may be due to conflicting personal values or loyalties, tensions arising out of the realization that the moral action is not in line with his self-interest, cross-cultural conflict, or moral ambiguity. Because of the nature of entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur typically lives with ever-present threats arising from limited resources, competition, and the risk of business failure. His actions must simultaneously ensure survival, maximize profit, limit risk, counter threats, optimize the use of resources, and reward him with a feeling of satisfaction. It is hardly surprising that conflicting priorities sometimes ensue. It is also widely believed that these entrepreneurial pursuits supersede the more general need to act in morally appropriate ways. This is a phenomenological study, based on interviews with seven entrepreneurs in established service-oriented ventures. They were asked to describe their business, any dilemmas they have experienced, how they were handled, and what challenges they experience as entrepreneurs in South Africa today. Using phenomenology as my vehicle for data collection and analysis, I sought to enter the lived-worlds of my participants to discover the essence of how ethical dilemmas are experienced in the entrepreneurial milieu. The study’s findings reflect that each entrepreneur has a distinctive world-view, which is represented by a complex mosaic of virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism and metaethical perspectives. The permutations are numerous, thus negating the possibility of typecasting entrepreneurs. Instead this research introduces the reader to aspects of entrepreneurial reality such as the complexity of cultural diversity, the freedom to limit the amount of personal energy given to business, and the existence of a more sensitive, searching inner soul beneath the apparent hard-nosed business-oriented public image. While examining entrepreneurial dilemmas in depth, this research introduces the dilemma drum as a tool to portray the argument form of any dilemma by making explicit the ethical component inherent in every business decision and facilitating its effective resolution in a non-prescriptive way. The findings identify certain individual characteristics of participant entrepreneurs that are unlike anything in the mainstream literature, dispelling notions of the entrepreneur as a societal misfit, an essential innovator with vision and flair, or a compulsive risk-taker, while confirming success as the key motivator rather than money per se, the importance of significant others, and the influence of culture and gender. They provide fresh insights into the psyche of the entrepreneur, which include: the existence of inner conviction - marrying the concept of goal-directedness with that of making a contribution to society; exercising the virtues in order to support a delicate balance between business and ethical imperatives; learning to respect energy flow; an alternative morality based on attracting and allowing benevolent or serendipitous events to happen naturally and redefining success as ‘being able to create what is needed as and when needed’; focusing one’s energy on the telos; developing a personal marketing formula suited to a culturallydiverse society; and the anxiety associated with being out-there on one’s own. The general statement, which is ultimately distilled from the seven situated descriptions, introduces a theory of entrepreneurial ethics that presents a new and different view of the lived-world of entrepreneurship, consisting of: Firstly, the key components of entrepreneurial success – having clear goals, energy, making a contribution to society, being connected, getting others on board, and work as an extension of self; secondly, what drives entrepreneurs – goal-orientation, sense of personal excitement, inner conviction, autonomy, and external recognition of success; thirdly, the entrepreneurial ethic – concern for credibility, commitment to service, contributing to quality of life; fourthly, the nature of entrepreneurial dilemmas - conflicting responsibilities, authenticity and credibility, risk and expansion, and awareness of diversity; fifthly, how entrepreneurs deal with ethical issues in their own distinctive ways – by holding fast to authentic virtues, bowing to community expectations, avoiding friction, adopting a ‘come-what-may’ or ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude, or pursuing a higher purpose where both parties benefit; sixthly, entrepreneurs’ world -views – beliefs, goals, ways of deriving satisfaction, virtuous behaviour; pen-ultimately, the challenges facing entrepreneurs in South Africa – overcoming the legacies of apartheid, containing crime, fostering an acceptable business ethic, and facilitating reconciliation between ethnic groups; and lastly, finding the power within – that illusive entrepreneurial spirit – self-reliance, looking beyond immediate obstacles, grasping opportunities, and understanding serendipity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Robinson, David Alan
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa Business ethics -- South Africa Decision making -- Moral and ethical aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1175 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002791
- Description: This research sets out to examine how entrepreneurs experience and deal with ethical dilemmas. An entrepreneur is defined as a person who creates something of value and assumes the risk of establishing and managing a business around it. An ethical dilemma comes about when the entrepreneur must choose between alternatives and where the morally correct choice is unclear. This may be due to conflicting personal values or loyalties, tensions arising out of the realization that the moral action is not in line with his self-interest, cross-cultural conflict, or moral ambiguity. Because of the nature of entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur typically lives with ever-present threats arising from limited resources, competition, and the risk of business failure. His actions must simultaneously ensure survival, maximize profit, limit risk, counter threats, optimize the use of resources, and reward him with a feeling of satisfaction. It is hardly surprising that conflicting priorities sometimes ensue. It is also widely believed that these entrepreneurial pursuits supersede the more general need to act in morally appropriate ways. This is a phenomenological study, based on interviews with seven entrepreneurs in established service-oriented ventures. They were asked to describe their business, any dilemmas they have experienced, how they were handled, and what challenges they experience as entrepreneurs in South Africa today. Using phenomenology as my vehicle for data collection and analysis, I sought to enter the lived-worlds of my participants to discover the essence of how ethical dilemmas are experienced in the entrepreneurial milieu. The study’s findings reflect that each entrepreneur has a distinctive world-view, which is represented by a complex mosaic of virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism and metaethical perspectives. The permutations are numerous, thus negating the possibility of typecasting entrepreneurs. Instead this research introduces the reader to aspects of entrepreneurial reality such as the complexity of cultural diversity, the freedom to limit the amount of personal energy given to business, and the existence of a more sensitive, searching inner soul beneath the apparent hard-nosed business-oriented public image. While examining entrepreneurial dilemmas in depth, this research introduces the dilemma drum as a tool to portray the argument form of any dilemma by making explicit the ethical component inherent in every business decision and facilitating its effective resolution in a non-prescriptive way. The findings identify certain individual characteristics of participant entrepreneurs that are unlike anything in the mainstream literature, dispelling notions of the entrepreneur as a societal misfit, an essential innovator with vision and flair, or a compulsive risk-taker, while confirming success as the key motivator rather than money per se, the importance of significant others, and the influence of culture and gender. They provide fresh insights into the psyche of the entrepreneur, which include: the existence of inner conviction - marrying the concept of goal-directedness with that of making a contribution to society; exercising the virtues in order to support a delicate balance between business and ethical imperatives; learning to respect energy flow; an alternative morality based on attracting and allowing benevolent or serendipitous events to happen naturally and redefining success as ‘being able to create what is needed as and when needed’; focusing one’s energy on the telos; developing a personal marketing formula suited to a culturallydiverse society; and the anxiety associated with being out-there on one’s own. The general statement, which is ultimately distilled from the seven situated descriptions, introduces a theory of entrepreneurial ethics that presents a new and different view of the lived-world of entrepreneurship, consisting of: Firstly, the key components of entrepreneurial success – having clear goals, energy, making a contribution to society, being connected, getting others on board, and work as an extension of self; secondly, what drives entrepreneurs – goal-orientation, sense of personal excitement, inner conviction, autonomy, and external recognition of success; thirdly, the entrepreneurial ethic – concern for credibility, commitment to service, contributing to quality of life; fourthly, the nature of entrepreneurial dilemmas - conflicting responsibilities, authenticity and credibility, risk and expansion, and awareness of diversity; fifthly, how entrepreneurs deal with ethical issues in their own distinctive ways – by holding fast to authentic virtues, bowing to community expectations, avoiding friction, adopting a ‘come-what-may’ or ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude, or pursuing a higher purpose where both parties benefit; sixthly, entrepreneurs’ world -views – beliefs, goals, ways of deriving satisfaction, virtuous behaviour; pen-ultimately, the challenges facing entrepreneurs in South Africa – overcoming the legacies of apartheid, containing crime, fostering an acceptable business ethic, and facilitating reconciliation between ethnic groups; and lastly, finding the power within – that illusive entrepreneurial spirit – self-reliance, looking beyond immediate obstacles, grasping opportunities, and understanding serendipity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
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
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
Communication strategies in management: a case study of interpersonal manager-staff communication at a South African university
- Authors: Balarin, Megan Georgina
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Communication in management -- South Africa Interpersonal communication -- South Africa Communication -- Education College personnel management -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1452 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003333
- Description: Communication is a central feature of human life. The ability to talk is the very feature that distinguishes us from our primate ancestors. Knowing how to use language effectively gives the bearers of this knowledge power over their environment and an upper hand in their dealings with others. Thus, understanding the importance of communication in management is an essential tool for managers who wish to build and develop their organisations and their staff within these organisations. This thesis takes a case study view of manager-staff communication at a South African university. In this study managers and staff members contribute their feelings on current communication practices at this organisation through an online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. In an interpretive paradigm this thesis answers three central questions: 1) what role do managers and staff think communication plays in their working relationships, 2) what do they perceive to be effective and ineffective communication strategies and 3) What strategies can they suggest to enhance effective communication? Through in-depth qualitative research and numerical data analysis this thesis discovers central themes that pertain to the effective flow of communication in this organisation. These themes include: motivation and praise, the role of listening, building relationships, respect, acknowledging others’ languages and cultures, building teams, communicating frequently and using email and technology effectively, as well as keeping notes of meetings and discussions. Challenges to effective communication include not having enough time, suffering from stress, and the challenges of physical space and distance. By paying attention to basic human principles, such as the fact that acknowledging people for a job well done encourages them to perform well in future, this thesis relates the general concepts of communication and management theory to the specific realities and individual, personal experiences of manager-staff communication. In this way it sheds a beam of light on management communication practices and points the way towards an ideal where managers and staff members use communication as a tool of empowerment and understanding.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Balarin, Megan Georgina
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Communication in management -- South Africa Interpersonal communication -- South Africa Communication -- Education College personnel management -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1452 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003333
- Description: Communication is a central feature of human life. The ability to talk is the very feature that distinguishes us from our primate ancestors. Knowing how to use language effectively gives the bearers of this knowledge power over their environment and an upper hand in their dealings with others. Thus, understanding the importance of communication in management is an essential tool for managers who wish to build and develop their organisations and their staff within these organisations. This thesis takes a case study view of manager-staff communication at a South African university. In this study managers and staff members contribute their feelings on current communication practices at this organisation through an online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. In an interpretive paradigm this thesis answers three central questions: 1) what role do managers and staff think communication plays in their working relationships, 2) what do they perceive to be effective and ineffective communication strategies and 3) What strategies can they suggest to enhance effective communication? Through in-depth qualitative research and numerical data analysis this thesis discovers central themes that pertain to the effective flow of communication in this organisation. These themes include: motivation and praise, the role of listening, building relationships, respect, acknowledging others’ languages and cultures, building teams, communicating frequently and using email and technology effectively, as well as keeping notes of meetings and discussions. Challenges to effective communication include not having enough time, suffering from stress, and the challenges of physical space and distance. By paying attention to basic human principles, such as the fact that acknowledging people for a job well done encourages them to perform well in future, this thesis relates the general concepts of communication and management theory to the specific realities and individual, personal experiences of manager-staff communication. In this way it sheds a beam of light on management communication practices and points the way towards an ideal where managers and staff members use communication as a tool of empowerment and understanding.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
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
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
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
An investigation of interpersonal relationships between management and lecturers in a College of Education in Namibia
- Amushigamo, Angelina Popyeni
- Authors: Amushigamo, Angelina Popyeni
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Communication in education -- Namibia Teacher morale -- Namibia Employee motivation -- Namibia Teacher-administrator relationships -- Namibia College teachers -- Job satisfaction -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1850 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004458
- Description: Relationships are regarded as an important aspect of any organization's life. The purpose of this study was to investigate staff perceptions and experiences of interpersonal relationships between management and lecturers in a Namibian College of Education. I conducted a case study at the College where I teach. Two methods were used to collect data. Firstly, semi-structured interviews with two management members, two senior lecturers and two lecturers. Secondly, observation where practical aspects of interpersonal relationships in the College were observed. I used the interpretational data analysis technique to analyse my data. Themes and patterns were identified in the data, coded and sorted into categories. The study revealed staff unhappiness about the current situation in the College as far as communication is concerned. The College's hierarchical structure was described as top-down. As such, it does not allow for face to face communication. There is an absence of any social cohesion or sense of community. Relationships at a College level are characterized by personal conflict and difference. However, the study revealed a satisfaction with communication and relationships at a dl'partmentallevel. Five key features of interpersonal communication that are lacking in the College and that contribute to the unhealthy relationships in the College were identified. These are trust, respect, openness, feedback and the sharing of ideas and knowledge. Due to their absence, the College is divided into cliques. A strong desire for the establishment of interpersonal norms of openness, respect, honesty and trust was expressed. Participants expressed the need to establish an organization structure that allows for interaction with others in the College, flatter structures, teamwork and a collaborative cultu re. The study also emphasized participative democracy in building relationships. Participation in decision making is seen as satisfying the personal need to experience a sense of influence and achievement. There is evidence of a desire for distributed leadership where the College staff as a group of professionals lead the College collectively and collaboratively. There is a strong desire for a College where people are liked , valued, accepted by others and recognized for their efforts. Finally, Organization Development is recommended as an approach to enhance College staff relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Amushigamo, Angelina Popyeni
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Communication in education -- Namibia Teacher morale -- Namibia Employee motivation -- Namibia Teacher-administrator relationships -- Namibia College teachers -- Job satisfaction -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1850 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004458
- Description: Relationships are regarded as an important aspect of any organization's life. The purpose of this study was to investigate staff perceptions and experiences of interpersonal relationships between management and lecturers in a Namibian College of Education. I conducted a case study at the College where I teach. Two methods were used to collect data. Firstly, semi-structured interviews with two management members, two senior lecturers and two lecturers. Secondly, observation where practical aspects of interpersonal relationships in the College were observed. I used the interpretational data analysis technique to analyse my data. Themes and patterns were identified in the data, coded and sorted into categories. The study revealed staff unhappiness about the current situation in the College as far as communication is concerned. The College's hierarchical structure was described as top-down. As such, it does not allow for face to face communication. There is an absence of any social cohesion or sense of community. Relationships at a College level are characterized by personal conflict and difference. However, the study revealed a satisfaction with communication and relationships at a dl'partmentallevel. Five key features of interpersonal communication that are lacking in the College and that contribute to the unhealthy relationships in the College were identified. These are trust, respect, openness, feedback and the sharing of ideas and knowledge. Due to their absence, the College is divided into cliques. A strong desire for the establishment of interpersonal norms of openness, respect, honesty and trust was expressed. Participants expressed the need to establish an organization structure that allows for interaction with others in the College, flatter structures, teamwork and a collaborative cultu re. The study also emphasized participative democracy in building relationships. Participation in decision making is seen as satisfying the personal need to experience a sense of influence and achievement. There is evidence of a desire for distributed leadership where the College staff as a group of professionals lead the College collectively and collaboratively. There is a strong desire for a College where people are liked , valued, accepted by others and recognized for their efforts. Finally, Organization Development is recommended as an approach to enhance College staff relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007