EXPLORING PRINCIPALS’ ETHICAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN TACKLING LEARNER-ON-TEACHER VIOLENCE

Abstract

This study explored principals’ ethical leadership practices in tackling learner-on- teacher violence - a phenomenon that has become a global concern. The frequent incidents of learner-on-teacher violence have instilled many teachers with fear for their lives which affected the quality of teaching-learning processes. Section 12 of the South African Constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to be free from all forms of violence, and not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner. This legislation stipulates that all Government employees in the Department of Education must perform their duties diligently, morally, and without fear and intimidation. This study was underpinned by two theories: the Ethical Leadership Theory and the Social Learning Theory. The ethical leadership theory provided pathways to mitigate learner-on-teacher violence, while the social learning theory informed the study on how learners’ violent behaviour towards teachers developed. Further, a qualitative multiple case design was employed in order to explore principals’ ethical leadership practices in mitigating learner-on-teacher violence. The study was conducted at two secondary schools in the eastern Free State province of the Republic of South Africa. Purposive sampling was adopted to select four participants: a principal and a deputy from each school. The data for this study was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews through engaging two principals and two deputy principals, in addition to document analysis, after which the data was thematically analysed to produce findings. The data in this study was analysed through the thematic data analysis approach which led to the emergence of five major themes. The findings revealed the challenges of ethical leadership experienced by principals in tackling learner-on-teacher violence. The findings indicated that when principals are faced with learner-on-teacher incidents of violence, they involve parents, apply the learners’ code of conduct, and involve the school- based support team and other committees that can assist in eradicating this scourge. However, despite their strategies to curb this troubling phenomenon, they still experienced challenges such as parent-apathy, perpetrators being mainly from child- headed households, lack of support from the Department of Education, and unclear policies. The study thus recommends the building of alternative schools, structuring a water-tight learners’ code of conduct by schools, active and expeditious action by the DoE, intensifying the use of South African School Administration Management 6 System escalating the quality learning and teaching campaign and promoting parental involvement.