Empowering managers of secondary schools in the Eastern Cape: a transformational leadership analysis

Abstract

English: Many new developments are taking place in the field of schooling. Some of these developments are school based management, Outcomes-Based Education, the National Curriculum Statement, and the devolution of power of control to the school level, especially in Section 21 schools. Many educational leaders are struggling with these changes in their leadership of secondary schools. These developments created the need to conduct a needs analysis for the empowerment of managers of secondary schools in transformational leadership in the Eastern Cape. The specific objectives of this study were as follows: - To investigate the basic principles and various dimensions of effective leadership in general and transformational leadership in particular. - To provide an exposition of how managers of secondary schools should execute their leadership tasks in a transformational way. - To determine the transformational leadership abilities of managers of secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province. - To establish the transformational leadership empowerment needs of managers of secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province. - To indicate guidelines for a series of empowering activities for training managers of secondary schools to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills for effective leadership in times of transformation. A literature study of transformational leadership was conducted to investigate the grounding perspective of transformational leadership. For school managers as educational leaders to be forces for change and improvement within their schools, they should have a vision of where to lead their schools, a series of values and assumptions about their work and insight into the context in which they are working. Therefore, school managers should become leaders inspiring creativity and higher levels of achievement. Thus, school managers should actively seek to motivate and develop educators by creating opportunities for them to grow and to learn from each other. Despite the fact that many researchers see transformational leadership as a comparatively better model of leadership, some authors argue that it has weaknesses and criticize some of its activities as unethical and immoral. Therefore, a critical reflection of transformational leadership was done. From the foregoing discussion, it was deduced that the quality of any transformation process depends on the caliber of leadership. Leadership gives direction and effectiveness to transformation because it forms the basis for transformation. In essence, managers of secondary schools as transformational leaders should concern themselves with the motivation, betterment and empowerment of followers. With meaningful development and empowerment in place, transformational leadership provides an appropriate solution to the challenges prevalent in schools today because it always seeks to confront change as an opportunity rather than a threat. To gather data, both quantitative and qualitative investigations were undertaken. A preliminary survey was conducted on a sample (n = 43) from the same population as the primary study, using the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) to check on the need for this study. The results of this survey indicated that managers of secondary schools performed leadership practices to a moderate degree. The study was then considered to be necessary on the basis of the need for maximum possible leadership practices during times of change. The primary data collection instrument was a researcherdesigned questionnaire (RDQ) that was used to collect data from managers of secondary schools in the Eastern Cape. Data were collected from a sample of 191 managers of secondary schools. Categories and units of analysis were used for data analysis and for scoring data. After data capturing, data were computed using STATA 8.2 and Excel. Data were then presented, interpreted and discussed. The results indicated that managers of secondary schools have merely fair abilities in transformational leadership and that they need empowerment in transformational leadership to a great extent. It was necessary to get more clarity and further information on the abilities of and empowerment needs of managers of secondary schools directly from participants (n = 9) that formed part of the population studied. Thus, qualitative data was collected using interviews. Emergent themes and categories were discussed in the data report on the findings of the qualitative investigation. Participants indicated various leadership skills, abilities, actions and behaviours that are important for school managers to portray and perform to lead their schools to effectiveness. It was evident from participants that school managers were not adequately empowered in transformational leadership. Participants indicated that school managers need continuous empowerment and induction/orientation on leadership knowledge and skills to be able to perform their transformational leadership role effectively. On the basis of the findings from both the quantitative and qualitative research, a synthesis of the main findings was made. Based on these findings, recommendations and conclusions were made. Possible areas for further research were identified. Guidelines for a series of short courses for the empowerment of managers of secondary schools in transformational leadership were given.

Afrikaans: Baie onwikkelings is besig om plaas te vind op die gebied van die skool. Party van hierdie ontwikkelings is skoolgebaseerde bestuur, uitkomsgerigte onderwys, die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring en die afwenteling van gesag tot op skoolvlak, veral in die Seksie 21-skole. Baie onderwysleiers sukkel met hierdie transformasies en word daarmee gekonfronteer met betrekking tot leierskap in sekondêre skole. Hierdie ontwikkelings bring die nodigheid mee aan ‘n behoefte-ontleding vir die bemagtiging van bestuurders van sekondêre skole in transformasionale leierskap in die Oos-Kaap. Die spesifieke doelwitte van hierdie studie is soos volg: - Om die basiese beginsels en uiteenlopende dimensies van doeltreffende leierskap in die besonder, te ondersoek. - Om ‘n uiteensetting te verskaf van die wyse waarop sekondêre skoolbestuurders hulle leierskapsverpligtinge op ‘n transformasionele wyse uitvoer. - Om transformasionele leierskapsmoontlikhede en praktyke van sekondêre skole-bestuurders in Oos-Kaap te bepaal. - Om die transformasionele leierskapbemagtigingsbehoeftes van sekondêre skoolbestuurders in die Oos-Kaap vas te stel. - Om riglyne te voorsien vir ‘n reeks kort kursusse om sekondêre skoolbestuurders te bemagtig, wat hulle sal toerus met die nodige kennis en vaardighede vir doeltreffende leierskap in tye van transformasies. ‘n Literatuurstudie oor transformasionele leierskap is onderneem, om die grondperspektiewee van transformasionele leierskap te ondersoek. Vir skoolbestuuders as onderwysleiers om verandering en verbetring in hulle skole te bestuur, behoort hulle ‘n visies te hê waarvolgens hulle, hulle skole lei, ‘n reeks waardes norme oor hulle te werk en konteks waarbinne hulle werk, te hê. Daarom behoort skoolbestuurders leiers te word wat kreatiwiteit en hoë prestasievlakke inspireer. Skoolbestuurders moet daarom aktief daarna streef om opvoeders te motiveer en te ontwikkel deur geleenthede te skep waarin hulle kan groei en van mekaar kan leer. Ten spyte van die feit dat baie navorsers transformasionele leierskap as ‘n doeltreffende model van leierskap sien, voer sommige skrywers aan dat dit foute het en kritiseer hulle sommige van die aktiwiteite as oneties en immoreel, dog is daar ander skrywers wat nie met hierdie siening akoord gaan nie. Daarom is ‘n kritiese ondersoek na transformasionele leierskap ook geloods. Uit die bespreking hierbo kan ‘n mens aflei dat die gehalte van enige transformasieproses op die kwaliteit van leierskap berus. Leierskap blyk rigting te gee aan die doeltreffendheid van transformasie, want dit vorm die grondslag daarvan. In wese behoort sekondêre skoolbestuurders as transformasionele leiers nou-betrokke te wees by die motivering, verbetering en bemagtiging van hul volgelinge. Met betekenisvolle ontwikkeling en bemagtiging in plek, kan transformasionele leierskap die aangewese oplossing wees vir die uitdagings waarmee skole vandag te make het, want dit sal verandering altyd sien as ‘n geleentheid eerder as ‘n bedreiging. Sowel kwantitatiewe as kwalitetiewe ondersoeke is geloods om data te bekom. ‘n Voorlopige ondersoek is onderneem met ‘n steekproef (n = 43) uit dieselde bevolking as die primêre studie, deur gebruik te maak van die “Leadership Practices Inventory” (LPI) om die nodigheid van hierdie studie te bepaal. Die resultate van hierdie ondersoek het aangedui dat sekondêre skolebestuurders leierskapspraktyke slegs op ‘n middelmatige vlak beoefen. Die studie het daarvolgens nodig geblyk te wees, omdat daar ‘n behoefte aan doeltreffende leierskapspraktyke gedurende tye van verandering bestaan. Die primêre insamelingsinstrumente was ‘n navorserontwerpte vraelys. Dit het data van die sekondêre skoolbetuurders in die Oos-Kaap versamel. Data is versamel deur ‘n steekproef van 191 sekondêre skoolbestuuders te betrek. Kategorieë en eenhede van ontleding is gebruik vir data-ontleding. Nadat data ingesleutel is, is die roudata verwerk deur van STATA 8.2 en Excel gebruik te maak. Die data is toe georden, geïnterpreteer en bespreek. Die resultate het aangedui dat skoolbestuuders beperkte vermoeëns ten opsigte van transformasionele leierskap het en dat hulle in ‘n groot mate bemagtiging in transformasionele leierskap nodig het. Dit was nodig om groter duidelikheid en meer inligting aangaande hul opleidingsbehoeftes ten opsigte van transformasionele leierskap in selondêre skole te verkry en nege van die deelnemers, wat deel van die bestudeerde bevolking uitgemaak het, is betrek by die kwalitatiewe navorsing. Onderhoude is gebruik as data-insamelingsinstrument. Ontluikende temas en kategorieë is in die verslag bespreek en die bevindinge van die kwalitatiewe ondersoek is geraporteer. Deelnemers het verskillende leierskapvaardighede, moontlikhede, aksies en gedragspatrone aangedui wat belangrik vir skoolbestuuders is om hulle skole tot doeltreffendheid te lei. Deelnemers het duidelik getoon dat skoolbestuurders nie voldoende in transformasionele leierskap bemagtig is nie. Deelnemers verder aangedui dat skoolbestuuders voortdurende bemagtiging en oriëntering ten opsigte van leierskapkennis en–vaardighede nodig het ten einde in staat te wees om tansformasionele leierskaprolle doeltreffend te vervul..