Exploration of school principals' leadership styles of two secondary schools in Imati ward in Maphumulo circuit.

Abstract

There is an assumption that effective styles of leadership lead to effective schooling which is evidenced by, among other things, high pass rate. This study explored principals’ leadership styles in two secondary schools in Imati ward in Maphumulo Circuit. The study was conducted in two neighbouring secondary schools situated within a rural context. The two secondary schools were purposefully selected because of the disparities of learner achievement in the two schools. One school had produced very good Grade 12 results in the last five years and the other school had not performed as good, yet both schools are from the same area experiencing relatively similar challenges. Without relegating the influence of many other contextual factors, the study seeks to explore leadership styles practised in these schools. The study recognises that leadership is a process and does not dwell in an individual (Gunter, 2001; Nothouse, 2001; Halinger & Heck, 2003). The study adopted a qualitative approach and was located within an interpretivist research paradigm. This approach was deemed appropriate for this study whose objectives were to provide an understanding of the multi-realities from principals, HODs and teachers. Data in this study was generated using mainly semi-structured interviews and document analysis. These interviews were conducted with principals, HOD and teachers (one per school). Every possible effort was made to ensure that ethical issues pertinent to the study were considered at all times. The trustworthiness of the study was also considered in terms of credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability asserted in Rule and John (2011). The study findings suggested that there was evidence of leadership being distributed to teachers at the better performing school. It was further found that the principal of the school did not stick There is an assumption that effective styles of leadership lead to effective schooling which is evidenced by, among other things, high pass rate. This study explored principals’ leadership styles in two secondary schools in Imati ward in Maphumulo Circuit. The study was conducted in two neighbouring secondary schools situated within a rural context. The two secondary schools were purposefully selected because of the disparities of learner achievement in the two schools. One school had produced very good Grade 12 results in the last five years and the other school had not performed as good, yet both schools are from the same area experiencing relatively similar challenges. Without relegating the influence of many other contextual factors, the study seeks to explore leadership styles practised in these schools. The study recognises that leadership is a process and does not dwell in an individual (Gunter, 2001; Nothouse, 2001; Halinger & Heck, 2003). The study adopted a qualitative approach and was located within an interpretivist research paradigm. This approach was deemed appropriate for this study whose objectives were to provide an understanding of the multi-realities from principals, HODs and teachers. Data in this study was generated using mainly semi-structured interviews and document analysis. These interviews were conducted with principals, HOD and teachers (one per school). Every possible effort was made to ensure that ethical issues pertinent to the study were considered at all times. The trustworthiness of the study was also considered in terms of credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability asserted in Rule and John (2011). The study findings suggested that there was evidence of leadership being distributed to teachers at the better performing school. It was further found that the principal of the school did not sticThere is an assumption that effective styles of leadership lead to effective schooling which is evidenced by, among other things, high pass rate. This study explored principals’ leadership styles in two secondary schools in Imati ward in Maphumulo Circuit. The study was conducted in two neighbouring secondary schools situated within a rural context. The two secondary schools were purposefully selected because of the disparities of learner achievement in the two schools. One school had produced very good Grade 12 results in the last five years and the other school had not performed as good, yet both schools are from the same area experiencing relatively similar challenges. Without relegating the influence of many other contextual factors, the study seeks to explore leadership styles practised in these schools. The study recognises that leadership is a process and does not dwell in an individual (Gunter, 2001; Nothouse, 2001; Halinger & Heck, 2003). The study adopted a qualitative approach and was located within an interpretivist research paradigm. This approach was deemed appropriate for this study whose objectives were to provide an understanding of the multi-realities from principals, HODs and teachers. Data in this study was generated using mainly semi-structured interviews and document analysis. These interviews were conducted with principals, HOD and teachers (one per school). Every possible effort was made to ensure that ethical issues pertinent to the study were considered at all times. The trustworthiness of the study was also considered in terms of credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability asserted in Rule and John (2011). The study findings suggested that there was evidence of leadership being distributed to teachers at the better performing school. It was further found that the principal of the school did not stick to a particular leadership style, but considered the demands of the situation.