Raj Mestry

Creating a School Environment for the Effective Management of Cultural Diversity

This article examines the factors which impact upon the creation of a school environment for the effective management of cultural diversity as legislated for in the directive principles of the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Schools Education Act of 1995. The two Acts determine that every person shall have the right to basic education and to equal access to schools and centres of learning. It is within this framework that this research was undertaken employing a quantitative research method. The research demonstrated that a school environment for the effective management of cultural diversity can be achieved through creative approaches to professional management and school governance, characterized by a collaborative management style. Managing cultural diversity can often be complicated by communication problems and stereotyping due to differences based on moral, ethical, socio-political and economic issues. The previous divisions of schools under the pre-1994 regime according to departments of education and mother tongue were found to be both statistically and substantially significant as independent variables for the management of cultural diversity.

A feminist postcolonial examination of female principals' experiences in South African secondary schools

A central theme that dominates most studies on gender and leadership in education is the emerging tendency towards mitigating pervasive forms of discrimination against females. Yet, women still remain, for the most part, a minority within leadership positions in education. Despite policy initiatives emphasising gender equity, discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping continue to perpetuate the myth of womens submissiveness and remain a redoubtable barrier for impeding women in acquiring leadership positions. The awareness of gender politics combined with challenges related to gender equity in organisations remain a thorny concern in education circles. This paper examines the barriers South African women experience. A qualitative approach was employed using a post-colonial feminist perspective. Findings indicate that stereotypes concerning female inadequacy as leaders persist and act to distort perceptions of male and female performance and potential.

Budget Monitoring and Control in South African Township Schools Democratic Governance at Risk

This article investigates budget monitoring and control in township schools in South Africa. The enactment of the Schools Act 1996 revolutionized school financial management in South Africa, making it part of the drive for democratic school governance. School governing bodies had to be established, whose responsibility it became to manage finances at school. Schools were allowed to raise funds over and above the departmental allocations, which to township schools were increased in order to redress past imbalances. However, most of these school governors lacked the necessary financial knowledge, skills and competencies required to effectively manage large sums of cash, and as a result many schools experienced financial difficulty. This study investigated the way in which a group of township schools in South Africa monitor and control their budgets. The findings revealed that the level of education plays a significant role in the way in which budget monitoring and control is perceived. It was concluded that, if applied conscientiously, the schools can remain liquid in terms of cash flow and operate within the confines of the approved budget.

Teachers' reflections on distributive leadership in public primary schools in Soweto

Schooling has become increasingly complex in purpose and structure and therefore requires appropriate forms of leadership to address this challenge. One current leadership approach that is receiving national and global attention is distributive leadership. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the practice of distributive leadership in public primary schools in Soweto. Soweto is a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, which comprises predominantly black African residents. The findings revealed that leadership in Soweto primary schools is rooted in classical leadership practices and that any potential for the practice of distributive leadership is hindered by autocratic styles of leadership, hierarchical structures, and non-participative decision-making. Keywords: Activity Theory, collective leadership, decision-making, distributive leadership, hierarchy, leadership styles, power, principals, school climate, teacher leadership

Perspectives on a zero-tolerance approach to discipline: towards maintaining a nurturing and secure school environment

Abstract This article reports on inquiry into school managers’ and teachers’ views on a zero-tolerance approach to managing learner discipline in schools. The study was conducted by way of multiple focus group interviews with selected participants from six inner city schools. Additional (secondary) data were obtained from schools’ code of conduct journals. The data were analysed in grounded theory mode and the main themes of the findings show that the participants are deeply concerned about the way in which disciplinary problems are affecting everyday school life. The participants struggle with applying the democratic principles of the law and reflect on times past when order was supposedly maintained by way of corporal punishment. The study included a section in which participants were asked to converse about the “zero-tolerance” approach to maintaining school discipline. It appears that this is seen as a viable option. Having introduced the notion, the principal researcher, with the other authors, caution such an introduction without coupling it with a school renewal drive that includes counselling and the development of an ethic of care.

The instructional leadership role of primary school principals

AbstractThis study explores the instructional leadership (IL) role of primary school principals from the perspective of South African principals and their understanding of IL within their own context of schooling. Using semi-structured interviews with six school principals, this study found that most principals experience great difficulty in balancing their administrative responsibilities with their instructional responsibilities. However, the majority of the principals demonstrated innovative means of resolving challenges that blocked them from being leaders as learners. They remain mired between the old and new paradigms of instructional leadership, yet understand the impact instructional leadership can have even in incremental steps for creating learning communities and fostering the learning of their teachers, themselves and their students. The study shows that the traditional role of principals as managers has been expanded to instructional leaders. The manifestation of IL varied amongst the principa...

A critical analysis of the National Norms and Standards for School Funding policy Implications for social justice and equity in South Africa

Assessment of the legacy of apartheid at the end of the apartheid era in South Africa highlighted major inequalities between white and black, urban and rural areas, and several departments of education. Eighteen years into democracy, the country needs to distinguish between the initiatives taken by the government to address the apartheid legacy, the actual changes made in education and the results thereof, and the continuities and discontinuities in education. Historically disadvantaged schools now receive larger state funding (no-fee schools) and school fee exemptions are granted to lower income or unemployed parents who find difficulty in paying school fees for their children, regardless of race. The public schooling system, especially township schools, is still characterized by low pass rates, low teacher and learner morale, a resurgence of violence amongst learners, ineffective leadership by school managers, poor governance by school governing boards and generally declining school quality, efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) policy, in order to assess whether this post-apartheid government policy has succeeded in addressing social justice and equity in public primary and secondary education

Portfolio Assessment as a Tool for Promoting Professional Development of School Principals: A South African Perspective

Poor matriculation results in South African urban schools have resulted in the implementation of professional development programs for principals who wish to improve their qualifications and practice. This article studies principals’ perceptions of the efficacy of using portfolios to assess their professional growth. Using a poststructural lens to theorize portfolio use, interview data were examined to discern what themes consistently evolved when principals were engaged in self-evaluating their own professional practice through a methodological framework of portfolio development. The findings revealed insights into the efficacy of the use of professional portfolios in the professional development of principals.

Exploring the Forms and Underlying Causes of School-based Violence: Implications for School Safety and Security

Abstract Widespread violence and ineffective disciplinary practices have become perennial problems in South African schools. The reasons for the upsurge in school-based violence may be attributed to numerous social ills, such as gender discrimination, gang-related activities, and drug and alcohol abuse. Research reveals that in many cases children are perpetrators of violence, with both, students and teachers becoming victims. The use of weaponry, sexual harassment and bullying to resolve conflict constitute an infringement on teachers’ and students’ bodily and psychological integrity and therefore, a serious infringement on their rights to security. School violence undoubtedly places students and teachers in constant fear, and retards the educational process. Using secondary data, this paper examines the different forms and causes of school-based violence, and its implications for school safety and security. It is in the best interest that schools create order, lawfulness and protection by applying the zero tolerance approach to serious learner misconduct.

Internal whole-school evaluation in South Africa The influence of holistic staff capacity

The Holistic Equilibrium Theory of Organizational Development was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the influence of holistic staff capacity on conducting effective internal whole-school evaluation (IWSE) within the Gauteng Department of Education’s public secondary schools. In the context of South African education, the staff of each public school are legally mandated to conduct an IWSE annually to self-determine their school development paths within a school improvement framework. This IWSE programme, however, takes a myopic unidimensional approach to whole school improvement, demanding public school staff, from diverse milieus with varying degrees of capacity, to take greater ownership of their own development needs through self-evaluative mechanisms. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach comprising a structured questionnaire, supported by focus group interviews, individual interviews with school principals and open-ended responses, this study elicited data on five distinct but integrated theoretical capacity dimensions: school evaluation, school improvement, collaborative cultures, professional learning communities and transformational leadership. The findings from both data collection strands corroborated the overarching conclusion that development of holistic capacities, transcending a technicist, bureaucratic approach, is more likely to result in the meaningful use of IWSE scaffolding school improvement.