M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Significant long term planning and the reaching of goals cannot be reached efficiently if they are constantly hampered by nonproductive problems. Therefore, effective problem solving and effective prevention are of cardinal importance in the multi-type workload of the head of department. The principal is the keyfigure in the school. In this respect, the principal should be supported by a management team, utilizing all facets of management in the school, including problem solving. Problem solving js a comprehensive task and one person alone does not have all the time or skills to run the school single-handedly. The head of department is the senior manager of his department and has a prime resposibility towards the effective functioning of his department. This implies that the head of department not only needs to be an educational leader, but he must also have the necessary managerial skills to be successful. During problem solving a certain thought-pattern of modusoperandi should be acquired. The way a head of department solves problems is an indication of his value as educational leader, and it follows that his skills at problem solving and effective behaviour will determine his success as an educational leader. This study will focus mainly on four basic management tasks: planning, organization, guidance and control.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The development of the Head of Department as manager, has historically been neglected and as he/she is in a position of authority, the effective management of the relevant department will solely depend on him/her. If the department therefore is to function successfully, the Head of Department should have a sound knowledge of motivation, communication, decision making and interpersonal skills. The Head of Department as leader of the teachers in his/her department, cannot ignore these components. Development is essential to enable him to cope with everyday problems in the school. The Head of Department needs particular skills to run his/her department effectively, but presently this is not a requisite for promotion. One can conclude that the current management situation in the school requires an academic-professionally equipped person. This investigation has indicated that the development of skills relating to motivation, communication, listening, decision-making, interpersonal relations, transparency, assertiveness, empathy and invitational management, is essential if the Head of Department is to be motivated and well equipped, to manage his/her department. The task of the Head of Department as part of the managing team, is complex. When such a team is appointed, it should be kept in mind that their task primarily involves problem solving, decision-making, guidance and in service training. Members therefore should be experienced, determined and hard-working. The Head of Department is expected to be well-versed in the application of the four components of management, namely planning, organising, guidance and control. There is no doubt that management can be considered a full-time, independent career.

M.Ed. / South Africa, together with the rest of the world, has the need for leaders who are purposeful and have firm principles. Natural leaders among pupils must be identified and they must be assisted in accepting and fulfilling their call to leadership with skill and confidence. The object of this study is an investigation into the character and nature of the development of leadership in youth. Youth leaders must be trained to manage pupil activities effectively. It should never be a case of simply identifying the leaders and then leaving them to themselves in their newly acquired positions. The youth leaders remain dependent on support and therefore nave to be trained on a continuous basis. The youth finds himself in a unique situation which constitutes unique problems. Due to these problems, the content of a leader development program must be such that it creates an atmosphere in which the pupil leaders will have the desire to think about and to be knowledgable as to the problems of" their times. The content of a leadership development program focuses on two levels, namely the moral and practical or physical level. The youth has a specific need to be accepted and should be studied and considered in various educational relationships. Only when this has taken place, will the youth be open to the development of his leadership abilities. Every teacher acts according to his/her specific leadership style. The management style is actually part of the management leader and will materialize as such in the way in which leadership is given. The pupil leader will, therefore, also show a specific management style and this must be considered in the development program ...

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Contented, motivated and well-trained subject teachers are a basic requirement for the effective functioning of the Department of Economic Sciences. Within this department the quality of the in-service training provided by the Head of Department will be a high priority. A prerequisite for the successful accomplishment of his task as in service trainer and developer of staff members is, amongst other things, the managerial application of in-service training strategies. In this education environment, the Head of Department finds himself in a prescribed management, leadership and trainer situation. Though he has not been formally trained for this delegated task of in-service training, he is directly involved in personnel management. It is clear, however, that in most organisations in-service training and staff development do not receive the required attention from those in leadership positions. Moreover, some Heads of Department experience difficulty in practicing effective leadership and guidance because of a lack of management expertise. In order to ensure both quality teaching in his department and efficient execution of his in-service training task he has to apply managerial skills. Thus this investigation proves that the Head of Department should not only be professionally equipped, but should also possess certain managerial skills in order to be able to undertake the in-service training of his staff. Staff training further indicates the management of people, each with their own unique needs and specific capabilities. It seems that members of staff can be motivated towards better work and self-realization. It is thus imperative that the Head of Department should be informed as to the various theories regarding motivation and that he should apply the principles involved. The investigation also shows that practicing leadership is a critical factor which influences the effective execution of the staff training task. Various approaches to leadership have shown that, although the leadership style may be situation bound, it is the democratic style which creates an open, supportive school climate.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Situational leadership can be very effective in schools if applied correctly. It is therefore essential for the head of department to know exactly what situational leadership is all about. Situational leadership is defined by the Hersey and Blanchard as follows: Situational leadership is based on an interplay among: the amount of guidance and direction (task behaviour) a leader gives, the amount of socio-emotional support (relationship behaviour) a leader provides, and the readiness level displayed by the followers in performing a specific task, function or objective. There is unfortunately no one best way to influence teachers. It is of the utmost importance that the head of department must have the ability to diagnose and interpret the situation correctly in order to adapt his style accordingly. The leadership style of the head of department will therefore match the maturity level of the teachers. The ultimate goal will be the effective changing of leadership style from telling to selling to participating and eventually to delegating. The teachers will then be able to function independent and autonomous. The influence of various management models and-theories will also be dealt with in this research. The model of Hersey and Blanchard most probably originated from the model of Tannenbaum and Schmidt. Situational leadership is accepted worldwide as effective and functional if applied correctly. The correct application will thus result in effective teaching and positive results in that specific department. It is therefore an indisputable fact that situational leadership has a positive influence on teaching and educating if applied efficiently.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore with a group of nine NYC high school department chairs from three different Modern Orthodox yeshivas, their perceptions of their role and responsibilities, their perceptions on how they manage any challenges they might face, how they support professional growth through any of the four pillar practices of teaming, collegial inquiry, mentoring, and providing leadership roles, and how their descriptions of their role as department chair connected to Learning Forward’s 10 roles for teacher leadership. I conducted two ninety-minute interviews with the nine participants, observed one department meeting for each participant, and piloted a survey to 24 department chairs within the three Modern Orthodox yeshivas in my study. In terms of responsibilities, I found that all nine department chairs had difficulty differentiating between the terms “role” and “responsibilities” because of the ambiguity within the role, all nine chairs described administrative responsibilities in their roles which varied by discipline and by years of experience, and all three English chairs seemed to unify their departments through their curricular responsibilities. I also found that all nine chairs described enacting all ten of Learning Forward’s Leadership Roles through their various responsibilities at different times. In terms of challenges and supports, I found that there were four types of challenges department chairs described: (a) feeling ill-prepared when first becoming chair, (b) facing conflicts with teachers in their departments during that time, (c) teaching a full course load as chair, and (d) challenges with chairing during the month of November. I identified five ways department chairs found support for these challenges: (a) from an individual on the school’s leadership team, (b) other department chairs, (c) the teachers in their departments, (d) outside mentoring programs, and (e) their partners. In terms of pillar practices, I learned that the chairs who described feeling supported by the pillar practices when they took on the role (5/9) used these supports in their own practice with teachers in their departments. Additionally, all nine chairs described aspects of teaming, collegial inquiry, mentoring, and providing leadership roles to teachers as a means of support. Finally, I found that the chairs who responded to the survey (n=24) reported creating a holding environment for the teachers in their departments through the pillar practices teaming and collegial inquiry by having teachers in their departments share ideas, sharing decision making with their teachers, reflecting with teachers on their practice, and engaging in meaningful conversations with their teachers about teaching and learning. My findings have implications for school leaders, education leadership theorists, and education leadership preparation programs.

The problem of this study was to identify a means for improving the administration of curriculum and instruction by exploring the utilization of leadership personnel in addition to the principal. This study focused on the determination of the responsibilities that should be delegated chairpersons and the degree of autonomy that should be associated with each responsibility. Major implications were as follows. 1) Job descriptions should be developed for department chairpersons listing responsibilities and specifying guidelines within which department chairpersons should function. 2) Effective communication channels must exist between principals and department chairpersons and between department chairpersons and teachers to insure that department chairpersons perform their duties in accordance with the will of the principal. Teachers must understand the position of department chairperson for optimum use of the departmental organization. 3) Another implication is that department chairpersons should be provided in-service training to assist them with understanding and fulfilling their responsibilities . Additionally, evaluation procedures should be developed based on assigned responsibilities to provide a means of improving effectiveness. 4) A major implication is that by effectively utilizing department chairpersons, principals will experience some relief and assistance . This would allow principals to function more effectively in supervising the instructional program and accomplishing other administrative duties.

M.Ed. (Education) / Learning can be described as an infinite action which also implies training. There is no limit. no end to it. It is a continual process. These actions of learning and training can be applied to the teaching profession. No university or teachers' training college can fully train the prospective teacher during the pre-service training period. There is always new knowledge to be mastered. Theoretical knowledge and institute and school practice may prepare the student for his future career, but there is no guarantee for success. Having mastered the required skills at one of the above mentioned institutions, they must be put to practice in a real school or class situation. This is done during the school practice component of in-service training and once the student has started his career. Many kinds of problems may then be experienced by the student or recently qualified teacher. There may be problems in connection with matters such as adaption, administration, teaching methods or discipline. With the necessary guidance these problems may successfully be overcome. The person who is in the best position to provide this guidance is the head of the department. He may then act as a tutor or a mentor. Even experienced teachers who have been teaching at the same school for some time, newly appointed but experienced teachers and teachers returning to the profession, may encounter similar problems and may need guidance or in-service training. The headmaster is responsible for initiating an in-service training programme at the school. The different heads of department are to assist him in this, especially as far as subject matters are concerned. The ability to provide in-service training, to gain knowledge, to learn something new, however, also implies training. The headmaster and the heads of department should, therefore, receive the necessary training and guidance to enable them to successfully execute an in-service training programme. This training can be best provided by a training institution, such as a university or college. There should be a close link between these institutions and the different schools; between pre-service and in-service training. These two components of training should be presented as a continual process. The purpose of this study is to investigate the responsibilities of the head of department under the guidance of the headmaster, as far as the in-service training of the teachers in his department is concerned. This will provide the teachers with the oppurtunity of gaining knowledge and obtaining the required didactical skills. The possibilities of pre-service training are investigated with, among others, reference to content and modi, the link between these two kinds of training and between schools and training institutions. Recommendations are made in connection with the implementation of in-service training of didactical skills and the responsibilities of the head of department as far as in-service training of students and teachers at secondary schools is concerned. It is evident that the head of department, together with the headmaster, can play a very important part in the in-service training of teachers.

The accountability and responsibilities of school leaders have intensified greatly over the past decades and school leadership has become a strong focus of research. Meanwhile, Bush (2003) asserts that “school leaders [experience] tensions between competing elements of leadership, management and administration” (p. 7). This study uses observations, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis to unpack the perceptions of four Heads of Department (HoDs), the principal, and eight teachers on the tensions inherent in balancing the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher for HoDs in public secondary school. The study goes beyond the mere task of influence in its attempts to unpack how the leadership and teaching practices of HoDs may, or may not, be in conflict with each other. Using distributed leadership as a theoretical framing and drawing in particular on the work of Spillane and colleagues (2001; 2004), the study examines the roles HoDs enact; the challenges HoDs encounter in enacting their responsibilities as department head and subject teacher; and the strategies HoDs employ to combat the emerging challenges. The study found that the roles of HoDs are extensive and stretch across the classroom, the department, the whole school and beyond. However, the majority of these roles are biased in favour of management systems and processes and opportunities for leadership are rare. The many and extensive management responsibilities of the HoDs limit both their classroom teaching as well as their agency as leaders. The weight of their management work thus restricts their leadership, resulting in an authorised form of distributed leadership (Grant, 2010). The data also revealed that HoDs struggle to balance the responsibilities of department head and subject teacher due to both inter-role and intra-sender conflict. However, the study also found that the HoDs strategically adopt a range of strategies to assist them in doing their work, these include: compensatory teaching; delegation; and planning and prioritizing.

The problem of this study is to determine if school climate perceptions are stable among the departmental subgroups of the high school. In addition, the study seeks to determine if the subject area of the department or patterns of leadership behavior of the department head (as perceived by teachers in the department) have a significant relationship to how teachers within a department perceive the climate of their school.