From the wave of policy reforms of the new Minister of Education and Human Resources for a "World Class Quality Education", stakeholders have been ascribing the poor quality of learner performance to a lack of motivated teachers. This study focuses on the factors that impact on teacher motivation in the Flacq district of Mauritius and on the role of the principal in enhancing teacher motivation. An empirical investigation based on qualitative research was conducted following the literature study on these two themes. Motivational factors pertain to the school-based personal and professional needs of the teacher. Due to centralised school governance and instructional leadership tasks being delegated to the School Management Team, principals are not effective teacher motivators. Recommendations relate to transformational, distributive and participatory leadership strategies for optimal instructional principalship. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational management)

This research investigated the instructional leadership role of the school principal in the improvement of the quality of education. A qualitative method, using a case study, was employed. A literature study was conducted to explore the nature and scope of instructional leadership and quality. A purposefully selected sample from five secondary schools in the Potchefstroom area in the North West Province was used to collect data. The method entailed observation, interviews and document analysis. The principals and educators were asked to fill in biographical questionnaires. Findings indicated that principals could improve the quality of teaching and learning through their instructional activities. These included, amongst others, formulating a clear vision; participatory decision making; resource provision; good time management and educators’ development programmes. In-service training was recommended to help the principals and educators with the new curriculum; the funding model; IQMS and discipline. Newly appointed principals also needed to be adequately inducted. / Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Educational Management)

A study was undertaken to explore what constitutes instructional capacity in the teaching and learning of mathematics (TLM), with a focus on how schools (as institutions of teaching and learning) integrate resources for a particular configuration of capacity to promote high achievement levels of Grade 12 students in mathematics. Data were collected in ten public secondary schools, mostly in a disadvantaged context, in the Vhembe District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study explores strategies for constructing, organising and replenishing instructional capacity in TLM. Five low- and five high-performing schools were selected, based on the pass rate in mathematics in high stakes examinations. The researcher observed lessons and interviewed ten Grade 12 mathematics teachers, ten principals, five curriculum advisors and a sample of forty Grade 12 mathematics students. The research revealed that the capacity to encourage the new curriculum reform practices in TLM within different schools is often inadequate, and largely fails to compensate for organisational effects and arrangements that shape the capacity to create quality instruction in mathematics. However, high-performing schools were somewhat ahead of low-performing schools in terms of encouraging reform-oriented teaching and learning in mathematics. Recommendations include: Principals should initiate the development and implementation of a school-based clinical supervision programme through collaborative decision-making to promote a sense of ownership by all mathematics teachers. Such a supervision programme would enhance commitment and ensure that all efforts are unified towards improving the quality of TLM. There is a need for the DoE in Limpopo Province to coordinate teacher professional development workshops, where effective practising mathematics teachers model how they teach mathematics in the classroom, while other teachers observe. Context-based strategies to enhance student outcomes in mathematics should be devised, such as modelling good practice by effective teachers in terms of: lesson preparation; subject knowledge; pedagogic approach; assessment and monitoring of classroom practice, including direct observation of teaching by HoDs and principals. It is proposed that attention to these issues, amongst others, would limit the impact of an unpromising context on student achievement levels in mathematics in high stakes examinations in the Vhembe District and elsewhere. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

One of the challenges facing the education system in South Africa is a lack of the culture of teaching and learning. It is this challenge that prompted this research. The research investigated how the principaL as an instructional leader, can restore the culture of teaching and learning in previously disadvantaged schools. A qualitative approach was used and three schools were selected in the Sambandou Circuit of the Northern Province. The research results showed that there are general and management factors that contribute to a lack of the culture of teaching and learning. Management factors include, amongst others, lack of staff development programmes and discipline. The general factors, on the other hand, include amongst others, poor physical conditions and infrastructure in schools. In conclusion, the research recommended, amongst others, that principals conduct staff development programmes and supervise the work of educators and learners / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Literacy is a critical aspect of learning in the Foundation phase and forms an important foundation for learners’ education. Studies, however, show that many learners in Grade 3 cannot read at the expected levels. This problem has generated increasing public demand for schools in South Africa in general and Limpopo Province, in particular, to produce learners who are able to read for pleasure, learning and enrichment. It is against this background that this study sought to examine the management of an instructional programme for reading English as First Additional Language in Grade 3. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research approach was followed to collect data through interviews, observations and document analysis. The results revealed weaknesses in the instructional leadership of School Management Teams, which the study attributes to a limited understanding of their roles in this area. The qualitative case study method was used for this study. The sample for this study comprised three principals, three Foundation Phase Heads of Department and three Grade 3 teachers drawn from three primary schools. Three qualitative data collection instruments, namely, semi-structured interview schedule, classroom observation schedule and documents analysis were used to collect data. Data on the management of teaching and learning were collected during interviews from principals and HoDs. Data on how reading is taught and assessed were gathered through observation of teachers’ lesson presentations. Documents analysed were curriculum management files, monitoring tools, planning files, lesson plans, mark-schedules and learners’ workbooks. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyse data collected through the three instruments. This study found that School Management experience challenges in managing the teaching of English reading in schools. The study calls for continuous professional development for primary school principals and English teachers on the methodology of teaching English First Additional Language as well as training of Curriculum Advisors. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The changes within the South African education system have turned-around the view that regards principals as “sole” people responsible for leadership and management of schools. The task of the school principal has undergone a radical change. Over the years the notion has been replaced by the view that sees management and leadership as prerogative of many, including stakeholders within and outside education. The move has become world-wide phenomenon compelled by the dual imperatives changing societal values and the rate of change. This study is aimed at investigating the perceptions and experiences of School Management Teams (SMTs) on teamwork as an alternative to school management. The investigation was framed within the mixed-method approach, and sought to unpack the experience of SMT members with regard to teamwork. An interpretive paradigm made it possible for me to gain an in-depth understanding of SMT members’ experience of teamwork within their school contexts. I used interviews and questionnaires as research tools to gather data. This study has found that, although the concept of teamwork is well-received, there are still significant obstacles to the implementation of teamwork as an alternative form of school management / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

El presente trabajo consiste en una revisión teórica de conceptos de liderazgo educativo, convivencia escolar y bullying. Para ello, se ha identificado información esencial que da cuenta de la importancia de estas temáticas, así como las acciones que se pueden dar dentro del espacio escolar para fomentar una vida en el ámbito educativo que promueva el civismo y las relaciones sociales. El trabajo está dividido en tres partes. En primer lugar, se abordan conceptos de liderazgo pedagógico; en segundo lugar, se abordan aspectos teóricos de la convivencia escolar y, en tercer lugar, se aborda el tema del bullying. / The present work consists of a theoretical review of concepts of educational leadership, school coexistence and bullying. For this, essential information has been identified that accounts for the importance of these issues as well as the actions that can be taken within the school space to promote a life in the educational environment that promotes civility and social relations. The work is divided in three parts. In the first place, concepts of pedagogical leadership are addressed; secondly, theoretical aspects of school coexistence are addressed and, thirdly, the issue of bullying is addressed. / Trabajo de investigación

To identify how high school assistant principals in large suburban schools serve as instructional leaders and how they develop these skills, this research utilized a multiple-case study design, followed by a cross-case analysis of the data. This research explores the instructional leadership of three female comprehensive high school assistant principals who are employed in the same Northern California school district. Each case was developed with the use of interviews, observation and document analysis. Included in each case is a description of the assistant principal's instructional job responsibilities, how they develop their instructional leadership and obtain opportunities to function in instructional leadership roles. This research found several main themes. They include that the theoretical model for Hallinger's Principals Instructional Management Rating Scale did not work in regards to assistant principals, they were found to serve not in the role of leader, but more in the role of facilitator and relationship builders, the role of the assistant principal has not evolved over the past century, they are constrained by the political dynamics of their school structure which leaves them as marginalized leaders, they lack opportunities to grow as instructional leaders due to opportunities for professional development and the ambiguity of their role, and female assistant principals may not take the opportunity to serve as a leader since this may not be perceived natural due to their gender association.

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