Doctoral Degrees (School of Education Management, Policy, and Comparative Education)
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Item Open Access Dynamics of managing learners’ classroom disruptive behaviour: experiences of secondary school staff, South Africa(University of the Free State, 2023) Letuma, Motsekiso Calvin; Mdodana-Zide, L.; Nhlumayo, B. S.The efficacy of the classroom environment in facilitating learning is contingent upon the teacher’s successful management of Classroom Disruptive Behaviour (CDB) and the degree to which learners adhere to the strategies the teachers use. The function of schools in influencing learners’ good behaviour is paramount due to the intricate nature of the behavioural challenges learners encounter, which stem from the different factors. The study explored secondary school staff’s experiences in the dynamics of managing learners’ disruptive behaviour in the classroom. The following subsidiary questions guided the study: What are the views of secondary school staff on the factors that cause learners’ CDB in school? How do secondary school staff manage the dynamics of learners’ disruptive behaviour in the classroom? What challenges do secondary school staff experience when managing learners’ disruptive behaviour in the classroom? What strategies can be used to address the challenges and strengthen the management of learners’ disruptive behaviour in the classroom? The study adopted a qualitative approach and employed interpretive paradigm as the lens and descriptive phenomenology as the design to explore staff’s lived experiences of CDB management. The study was grounded in Assertive Discipline Theory. Seven teachers and six School Management Team members were selected purposively from four quintile three secondary schools. Seven teachers formed a focus group discussion, while semi-structured interviews were conducted with six School Management Team (SMT) members. Three data-collecting instruments, namely focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews and document analysis, were used during data collection. To extract significant concepts pertinent to the generated data accurately, inductive content analysis was used to analyse data. This study found that a mix of external, school and learner factors contribute to CDB. This research offered evidence that the schools are likely to endure academic underperformance since CDB significantly affects teaching and learning.The research threw light on how schools were making concerted efforts to address CDB through various initiatives related to policy. The study also revealed that the staff members adopt ed non-policy-related approaches when managing CDB and that when the staff members confronted CDB, they experienced both internal and external difficulties. To address the schools’ contextual factors contributing to CDB, the study recommends that staff, especially the School Management Team (SMT), be capacitated with skills in areas like monitoring, setting up functional school committees (Disciplinary and School-Based Support Team), putting in place effective textbook retrieval systems, starting functional induction programmes for new teachers and outsourcing professional development. The study further recommends that the district set up a District Support Team to show the staff how to create effective classroom rules, implement policies related to the suspension of learners, understand the difference between discipline and punishment, and put the National School Safety Framework into place. The study also suggests that the district monitors the admission of learners in schools. The research provided evidence that there was overcrowding in schools and that such a situation propelled CDB. In addition, the study recommends that the district assist the school in establishing various athletics opportunities for learners to showcase their talents. Implementing the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support policy should be mandatory across every school. Presently, schools are just being encouraged to screen learners. The research found that secondary schools admit learners without Screening Assessment Needs forms. Thus, such practice makes it tough to establish proactive measures to manage disruptive behaviour among learners efficiently, particularly those with severe learning impairments. The study further recommends that the admissions policy should outline the age limits for learners to be enrolled in each grade level. The policy should also expressly state that parents should enrol their children in Adult Basic Education and Training if they surpass the stipulated age restriction. The study offers evidence that older learners cause behavioural problems for teachers and their peers in the same classroom. In the context of secondary schools, the policy should specifically restrict the admission of learners who exceed the designated age limit. Presently schools can only go as far as encouraging parents to enrol their older children in Adult Basic Education and Training. There is a loophole in that parents may refuse to follow the schools’ suggestions. To add to existing strategies and strengthen the management of CDB, the study proposed the Alternatives to the Establishment of the Conducive Learning Environment model.Item Open Access Perceptions of Lesotho secondary school principals on their professional development needs to enhance leadership(University of the Free State, 2023) Mabeleng, Matanki Irene; Mdodana-Zide, L.; Nhlumayo, B. S.School leadership plays a critical role in effective management of teaching and learning. Principals are entrusted with a huge responsibility of managing schools although they face a variety of challenges running the schools effectively in the 21st century. The professional development of principals is, therefore, crucial to their success as leaders since it extends their knowledge and improves their job performance. This study explored the perceptions of Lesotho secondary school principals on their professional development needs to enhance leadership. Constructivism paradigm was used as a lens for this study. The research was informed by constructivism theory as well as complexity leadership theory. A qualitative research approach was employed, and a multiple case study was adopted to gather data from twelve individual principals from twelve schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and purposive sampling was used to identify and select individual principals who were knowledgeable and had insights to share regarding their professional development needs. Thematic data analysis approach was employed to extract meaning from the collected data. The major findings of the study revealed that principals lack exposure to professional development programmes, and this adversely affects school leadership. The study further exposed that principals need capacitation in digital literacy skills, financial management skills, legal skills as well as management and instructional leadership skills. Additionally, the study found that principals experience numerous challenges in their leadership role, and these have a negative effect on their performance. It further revealed financial constraints and lack of support from the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) as some of the factors hindering principals’ professional development. The study recommends that professional development programmes be arranged for principals to address their needs to enhance school leadership. Additionally, short training courses could be arranged by MoET to capacitate principals in the areas where they lack skills. The findings of this research contributed to the body of knowledge on the professional development needs of school principals. The study has the potential to raise awareness of the professional development needs of Lesotho secondary school principals, which is the area of focus that previous research conducted in Lesotho failed to address. The results of this study could assist MoET in development of professional development programmes for newly appointed principals to advance their leadership skills. To further enhance leadership, teacher training institutions could also use the results of this research to upgrade pre- and in-service leadership training programmes that could be used to assist principals in their leadership positions. The results of the research will as well assist policymakers and the Ministry of Education and Training in Lesotho on how to structure professional development programmes to meet the needs of secondary school principals.Item Open Access Conceptualising education for ecological democracy in Lesotho: an African philosophy of education perspective(University of the Free State, 2022) Mutebi, Richard; Barnett, Emma; Kruger, FransClimate change is a global threat that has brought us to the edge of ecological precarity. The crisis we face due to climate change impacts all aspects of human life, a reality which raises substantial concerns while highlighting our communities' relationship with the environment. Natural factors such as volcanic eruptions, changing ocean currents, solar variations, and internal variability are experienced in different countries. These natural factors are inducing climate change at an alarming rate. Such natural factors have been identified among those responsible for the climate-related disasters experienced by various countries in the recent past. Therefore, we are compelled to articulate and put in place structures to mitigate the causes of climate change to the changes already occurring. This qualitative study explored the potential contribution of the African Philosophy of Education, grounded in communitarianism and expressed through the concepts of ubuntu and ukama, to conceptualising education for Ecological Democracy in the Lesotho education policy context. The study adopted a transformative paradigm to address the main research question: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺? A qualitative approach supported by a literature review, document and policy analysis unpacked the African Philosophy of education and its communitarianism concepts of ubuntu and ukama. As a literature review study, the study did not have participants but was guided by Samuel's guidelines on policy reading and Gagnon and Labonte's framework of analysis. I analysed the content of selected documents that address climate change in Lesotho and the Lesotho educational policy landscape to conceptualise the potential of Lesotho education for ecological democracy. Analyses of the documents revealed that climate change mitigation in Lesotho is possible when citizens are motivated to work through communities to maintain and preserve the Basotho cultural identity grounded within the African Philosophy of Education and its incorporation of the African ideas of ubuntu and ukama. By communitarianism living and observing democratic governance, people in communities learn to cooperate and collaborate, and care for the environment, and this will benefit not only humans but also non-humans through the creation of structures allowing harmonious living between humans and non-humans, and contribute to the knowledge of ecological democracy.Item Open Access Exploring the practices of school principals in Servant Leadership(University of the Free State, 2023) Khoarane, Khoarane Jeremiah; Makhasane, S. D.The most crucial issue in school leadership today is the effectiveness of leadership. The school principal is expected to portray acceptable values and facilitate excellent performance. How can school principals ensure quality production in leading the school, professionalism, accepted work ethics, and still remain at the cutting edge of 21 century, that is faced with 4th industrial revolution on leadership, is one of the most critical questions to be raised? This study aimed to explore school principals’ practices of servant leadership in schools. School principals, as leaders, came out of educational institutions where they were trained as school principals and leaders. The expectation therefore, is that they will have abilities in leading and have influence over followers. The practices are observed by those who are led by the school principal. Principals engage in those practices to influence those around them. Today, schools have all sorts of ill-leadership, and school principals need to stand firm as agents of change to better the situation. School principals should be effective in practising servant leadership in schools as away of combating the challenges they face. Effectiveness is what needed for school leadership to achieve success is. It is suggested that servant leadership has qualities that could help in enhancing effectiveness of school leadership. By practicing servant leadership school principal are able to influence and impact school leadership. The study engaged servant leadership and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as theoretical frameworks. Servant leadership was used to interpret the practices of the school principals, while CHAT was used to identify and explain the findings in terms of culture and context. The study employed case study methodology to achieve its purpose. Two schools were chosen; both owned by the public and found in the rural area of Maseru. The study engaged focus groups, interviews and observation as a means of generating data. There were two focus groups, one from each school. There were 8 members in each focus group. The interview was done with school principals of the two schools. The findings revealed that school principals practised servant leadership. One core business of servant leadership is to serve. In practising servant leadership, findings indicated that school principals served internal and external stakeholders. The internalstakeholders included teachers and learners. Teachers were served by increasing their morale, empowering them, and promoting peace and stability in school. Learners were served by enhancing their morale and motivation.Item Open Access The nature and practice of distributed leadership in selected secondary schools of South Africa(University of the Free State, 2023) Manzini, Shalati Doreen; Jita, L. C.; Muresherwa, E.The world over, secondary schools have experienced different kinds of leadership such as team leadership, ethical leadership, psychodynamic leadership, teacher leadership and distributed leadership, among other leadership styles. The present study explored the nature of distributed leadership in selected secondary schools in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It sought to provide answers to the central question: What is the nature of distributed leadership practice in selected secondary schools in the Limpopo province of South Africa and how does it shape teaching and learning? In order to answer this question, the study was guided by the following sub-questions: (i) How is distributed leadership understood and practised in selected secondary schools, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa? (ii) In what ways do the practices of distributed leadership in the selected secondary schools shape teaching and learning? (iii) How can the practice of distributed leadership within the selected secondary schools be described and explained? Research participants comprised 14 members drawn from the entire education value chain for the districts studied. The key finding in the present study is that, distributed leadership practice in the selected secondary schools may be understood from the perspective of two key dimensions, namely, the vertical and horizontal dimensions. The vertical dimensions focuses on who is involved in distributed leadership in a school system. It is about the range of persons involved in distributed leadership as viewed from the perspective of the organisation structure of an education system. The horizontal dimension focuses on what activities are involved in distributed leadership. Pursuant to these two dimensions, an important finding showing in the present study is that distributed leadership in the schools studied involves some form of shared leadership. In fact, all participants in this study understood distributed leadership as a leadership approach in which "all persons with capacity”, regardless of rank, are allowed to lead in some specific situation, as and when the need arises. However, there appears to be discrepancies on the definitions of “all persons” among stakeholders in education. Some participants viewed the concept of “all persons” from an local employee perspective, that is, individuals within a school as bounded by the perimenter fence. This view is defined in this study as the employee perspective of distributed leadership. Others viewed the concept of “all persons” from a stakeholder perspective. These variations in perspectives of “all persons”, that is, discrepancies on who comprise the vertical dimension of distributed leadership appears in the present study to have ramifications on the practices of educators. Participants with an employee, that is, an office bearer perspective to the concept of ‘all’ practised distributed leadership in the perspective of a school with boundaries. This means they viewed distributed leadership in the perspective of people who are internal to a specific school, such as teacher leadership and the members of the school management teams. On the other hand, those with a stakeholder perspective viewed the concept of “all persons”, in the broad sense, to include everyone with an interest in what happens in schools. This view focuses on schools as institutions without boundaries, or if the boundaries exist, they are pervious. In this perspective, distributed leadership practice also involves people who may not hold line authority in the educational value chain. Clearly, findings in the present study showed distributed leadership to be a situational practice. The situation comprises the personal characteristics of educators across the entire education value chain and the context of the school leadership environment. As a result of these two contexts, that is, the personal context of educators and the institutional context of the school leadership environment, distributed leadership practice may be described and explained in terms of two main goals. The first goal is to democratise the education space and to ensure that educators effectively account for their performance. The second goal focuses on improving instructional practices and learner attainment from an entirely professional perspective as opposed to a political perspective of democratising the education space. Clearly, findings in the present study showed that distributed leadership in the Limpopo province of South Africa can be explained in terms of either democracy or service delivery goals. The present study recommends a holistic approach based on both the democracy and service delivery goals of distributed leadership. The former seems to have its roots in the political and policy context of education and the latter on instructional and pedagogical foundations.Item Open Access Leadership roles of school administrators in teachers’ professional development in Nigeria(University of the Free State, 2023) Sasere, Oluwasola Babatunde; Makhasane, S. D.There is a growing body of knowledge that focuses on effective teacher professional development (TPD) with a consensus that skews in favour of decentralised, school-based and teacher-centred approach to TPD as opposed to the centralised, traditional and top-down approach. On the contrary, developing countries such as Nigeria still practise a centralised education system where traditional top-down TPD remains the norm with the attendant consequence of professionally-deficient teachers in the classroom. This situation has left a lacuna vis a vis the leadership roles of school administrators in teacher development. Hence, the study investigated the leadership roles of school administrators in teachers' professional development in Nigeria. The study was a qualitative multiple-case study research informed by interpretivist paradigm. The study was lensed with two complementary theories, namely, Distributed Leadership Theory (DLT) and adult learning theory (ALT). Three schools were selected using a combination of purposive and snowball techniques was used to select four participants from each school. The participants comprised one school administrator and three teachers in each school, totalling twelve participants. The main data-generating instrument was a semi-structured interview supported by document analysis. The data was analysed using thematic analysis (TA). The findings showed that school leadership was perceived as a delegation of responsibilities by super-ordinate to sub-ordinate. It was also discovered that participants' perception of TPD is limited to the traditional centralised models. School administrators' support for TPD was also discovered to be limited by policy. The result further indicated that the Ministry of Education was responsible for TPD. Unfortunately, such training does not cater to teachers’ professional needs. The study proposed a data-informed model for the execution of school-based TPD. Recommendations were made based on the findings.