Office of the Dean: Education
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Item Open Access The perceptions and experiences of social representation in the Free State schools: an education management perspective(University of the Free State, 2009-05) Bowes, John Hamilton; Niemmann, S. M.English: This thesis examined the discourse of the perceptions and experiences school leaders have on cultural representativity in a changing environment and how such situations should be managed. The ideology behind social representation was justified with the notion that it has the task to level the playing field, so that all South Africans can share democracy, liberty and equality. In South Africa social representation is implemented as a permanent measure to achieve a truly representative society across all spheres in South Africa, which forces diverse groups of society to conform to the goal of a homogeneous society. This affects all cultures and social classes in society and consequently also the school principal in all aspects of school management. The study drew on a comprehensive literature study exploring the philosophical foundations, the principles that underpin social representation, racial, cultural and gender divides, as well as its impact on organisations and suggestions on how to manage diversity in the school. The data that emerged from the literature review was used as point of departure for the empirical investigations. In this investigation a mixed-method approach was followed, using interviews with eight school leaders in the Free State Province and a researcher developed questionnaire that was distributed to 280 school leaders at schools with diverse cultures situated in urban as well as rural communities in the Free State Province. The above investigations revealed how social representation is experienced and perceived, the problems encountered during implementation, what school leaders regard as basic elements to ensure effectively run diverse schools, as well as the training that they would like to undergo in order to become more efficient in running a socially represented school in the present South African context. The researcher came to the conclusion that, in spite of heightened racial sensitivity, school leaders have rather positive feelings about social representation and that the school and the community benefit from it. The study is concluded by a synthesis of the findings resulting in guidelines for the effective management of socially diverse schools. It was finally envisaged that this study will serve as a starting point for training and for the further dissemination of the research findings to the benefit of school management and staff performance in South Africa.