Instructional leadership roles of school management teams: an exploratory study of five township secondary schools
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Date
2021-11
Authors
Naidoo, Rajandran Ramsamy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Due to its direct and indirect impact on learner attainment, the principal's role as instructional leader is crucial. However, given that instructional leadership is complex and involves a multitude of tasks as it deals with every aspect of school functionality, the principal has to work closely with the entire School Management Team (SMT) as instructional leaders. Since most South African secondary school learners and especially those in township schools perform considerably below average as determined by benchmarking conducted by local and international education assessment agencies, the role of the SMT as instructional leaders in boosting learner achievement is a hot topic. The function of the principal and the SMT as instructional leaders in secondary schools in the city of Cape Town Metropole, Western Cape Province, was investigated in this descriptive exploratory study. A literature assessment of local and international sources was used to guide the study, which included theoretical perspectives on instructional leadership, elements of instructional leadership that affect learner accomplishment, and selected instructional leadership models. The empirical investigation was further framed by a review of contextual and school factors that influence learner achievement in secondary schools in township communities. Interviews, observations, and qualitative questionnaires were used in this qualitative study. One of the major findings indicated that the SMTs operated at different levels of efficiency, correlating with the systems for accountability that are in place in the respective schools. This speaks to the need for professional development of the SMTs in the establishment of systems for accountability. A second important result was that schools confront numerous systemic issues, including limited infrastructure and resources, as well as a lack of finances to upgrade infrastructure and lower learner-educator ratios by employing SGB paid educators. Given the fiscal constraints of the national treasury the only alternative is for the disadvantaged schools to access funds from the private sector and to do this the principal will need some form of training in fund raising. The third major finding was that the contextual factors, such as poverty, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as teenage pregnancies, have a massive impact on the emotional and cognitive well-being of learners. The fourth and most alarming finding is the significant lack of parental involvement in their children's education. Finally, while there is widespread acknowledgement that there is very good support forthcoming from the curriculum pillar of the district office, there is almost total agreement that the Circuit Manager focuses mostly on administrative issues and offers very little support in instructional leadership and support from the social and psychological services pillar is tantamount to being non-existent.
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Keywords
Thesis (Ph.D. (Education Studies))--University of the Free State, 2021, Instructional leadership, Learner achievement, School Management Team (SMT)