Exploring principals' understandings and experiences of leadership and professionalism : case studies of three primary school principals in the Pietermaritzburg region.
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Date
2012
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Abstract
This study focuses on principals’ understanding and their experiences of leadership and
professionalism. The aim is to find out how principals’ understand and experience
leadership and professionalism in their schools.
Current South African education policy documents encourage visionary leadership, shared
decision-making and devolution of authority.These policies focus on democracy and
provide the enabling framework for the principals, School Management Team and School
Governing Body. Despite these new policies and new structures, the schools are still
controlled in a hierarchical top-down manner. The problem is whether these principals
understand leadership, and what their view of professionalism entails.
The study is qualitatively designed. In-depth interviews and reflective journals were used
to collect data. The analyses of the three case studies were interpretive. In this research, the
goal was to explore how principals understood and experienced leadership and what their
view of professionalism in schools entails. Purposive sampling was used to select
participants in the Pietermaritzburg Region of KwaZulu-Natal.
The study revealed that leadership was understood as a participatory activity which
involved others in decision-making. Principals act as facilitators, mentors, motivators and
support structures rather than simply issuing orders and making demands. Principals
linked professionalism to high personal and professional standards. The role of
relationships, responsibility and professional knowledge were seen as important elements
of professionalism.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.
Keywords
Educational leadership--South Africa., School management and organization--South Africa., Theses--Education.