Sustaining good management practices in public schools: decolonising principals’ minds for effective schools
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Date
2017
Authors
Buka, Andrea Mqondiso
Matiwane-Mcengwa, Nomzi Florida
Molepo, Maisha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
While there are perspectives on how to approach decolonisation
and transformation of education in schools, the reality is that all
rests with individuals and ways that they change their attitudes
and mind-set. In the midst of mismatch in the minds of teachers
and principals about these two concepts, another confusing term
is “democracy” that comes with human rights. The connotation
of democracy causes the mind to revert back and propagate the
principles of colonisation where individual laxity overwhelms the
duties or responsibilities, even accountability to society. In the
battle of emancipating individuals’ mind, special reference can
be drawn from the general assumption that imperialism aspects,
including apartheid, profoundly affected the mind of the oppressed
negatively in that during the post-apartheid era the oppressed still
entangle themselves tightly. This article attempts to report on the
qualitative findings from a pragmatic paradigm study conducted
in one education district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa,
where face-to-face interviews were carried out with 10 participants
(5 chairpersons of school governing bodies and 5 principals)
from 5 public schools with document analysis. Thematically
analysed findings portray that some school principals enjoyed
being ”big baas” (bosses) and displayed unprofessional conducts
such as absenteeism or lack of punctuality where nepotism and
corruption prevailed.
Description
Keywords
Afrocentric, Corruption, Eurocentric, Learning and nepotism, School principals, Public schools
Citation
Buka, A. M., Matiwane-Mcengwa, N. F., & Molepo, M. (2017). Sustaining good management practices in public schools: Decolonising principals’ minds for effective schools. Perspectives in Education, 35(2), 99-111.