The nature and practice of distributed leadership in selected secondary schools of South Africa
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Date
2023
Authors
Manzini, Shalati Doreen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
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.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.(Education))--University of the Free State, 2023
Keywords
Distributed leadership, educational leadership, practice, secondary schools, teaching and learning, South Africa