M. Ed. (Educational Management) / School principals are primarily.concerned with education and the effective management of the school entrusted to them. Every principal is given a task to do when he is appointed to or at a school. How successfully he accomplishes his task, and the support that he receives, is highlighted in this study. The principal is a leader who has to perform a complex number of tasks. He works with both adults and children and as a result the method and style of leadership and management is of great importance. The recognition of the principal as leader in the field of instruction and education within the community is essential for the continued existence of the school. The primary aim of the school is educative teaching ('opvoedende onderwys'). The school is a social system which consists of a hierarchy of people, with the principal as the most important manager, and within the system, smaller groups are found. These smaller groups essentially determine the success of failure of the principal's effective management, and this, by implication, also of the educative teaching within the school. This complex task of the principal becomes more manageable if he is familiar with the interwoven management tasks of planning, organisation, leadership and control. Neglect of one of these will have a detrimental effect on the school. The way in which the management tasks are to be executed should be set out in the school policy. In order to perform the tasks which are laid down by the relevant education authority, effective decision making is essential. A principal who has mastered the technique of good decision making has personal freedom to utilise new opportunities for the benefit of the school.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

School principals’ leadership is key to successful school reform, as is increased student achievement. This nonexperimental ex post facto study tested relationships among secondary school principals’ leadership behaviors, school climate, and student achievement. Of 165 secondary school principals from the three largest school districts in South Florida, 58 completed three online survey instruments: the Leadership Practices Inventory, School Climate Inventory-Revised, and researcher-designed Demographic Questionnaire. Student achievement was measured by students’ scores on the reading and mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests. Three null hypotheses tested relationships among (a) five principals’ leadership behaviors and seven domains of school climate; (b) principals’ leadership behaviors and student achievement; and (c) principals’ leadership behaviors, school climate, and student achievement. Multiple linear regressions were used to determine the degree to which the independent variables predicted the dependent variables for the first two hypotheses. ANOVAs tested possible group differences between the demographic and research variables as controls for the third hypothesis. Partial correlational analyses tested the strength and direction of relationships among leadership behaviors, climate, and achievement. Results revealed partial support of the hypotheses. None of the leadership variables significantly predicted school climate. No significant relationships were found among the five leadership behaviors and student achievement. Demographic group differences in school climate and student achievement were marginally significant. The leadership behaviors of Inspiring a Shared Vision and Enabling Others to Act were positively linked to reading achievement. Partial correlations were found (r .27 to -.35) among school climate variables of Order, Involvement, and Expectation and achievement variables. The Modeling the Way leadership variable was negatively associated with reading achievement. After controlling for gender, years at current school, and years in the district, partial positive correlations were found among leadership, school climate, and student achievement. Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, Encouraging the Heart, and Challenging the Process leadership variables were partially correlated to Order, Leadership (Instructional), and Expectation climate variables. Study results should provide policymakers and educators with a leadership profile for school leaders challenging the status quo who can create schools for enhanced student learning and relevance to the needs of students, families, and society.

Education reforms and the constant changes in the curriculum require school managers and educators to keep abreast of the changes and developments. In order to achieve quality education in this Information Age, there is a need to share knowledge, resources, and good practices and ensure twinning of schools. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions, beliefs and experiences of school managers regarding knowledge sharing in schools. Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyse the data. In accordance with the qualitative approach, a phenomenological design was adopted. Data was gathered through interviews from a sample of six school managers of Further Education and Training (Grade 10 -12) schools. The findings of the study revealed that school managers perceive their role as important for the success of knowledge sharing in schools. They attribute the good performance in their schools to the educators‟ willingness to share knowledge. However, trust, good relations and respect determined the willingness to share and with whom to share knowledge in schools. School managers believe that availability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructural resources could improve knowledge sharing practices in schools. Staff meetings, subject meetings, workshops and notice boards were identified as some of the strategies currently used for sharing knowledge. The support of the district officials and other education specialists has contributed in helping schools deal with education reforms. Communities of practice are recommended in order to improve and encourage the sharing of tacit and implicit knowledge in schools. Researchers believe that professional communities of practice enhance sharing and provide greater opportunities for knowledge creation. Policy developers, curriculum planners and district officials need to develop and adopt creative and innovative strategies to ensure effective distribution and sharing of knowledge and information among school managers and educators in schools.

The purpose of this study is to identify why and how the females are marginalized in senior positions. This qualitative case study explores the experiences of women leaders as school principals in Rural Secondary Schools of Butterworth District. It was undertaken in two conveniently selected Rural Secondary Schools of Butterworth that are led by female principals. The data was collected through the use of interviews. This data was collected directly from the female principals. The findings of this study clearly identified that gender has more effectively worked against the women’s success as leaders. Females start to encounter a challenge from even being shortlisted for the senior positions and that becomes worse in being appointed as leaders. Even those few women appointed as leaders are being undermined by fellow colleagues as well as communities around them. It was recommended that in order to improve women representation in educational leadership, great efforts must be made in addressing a number of issues. A significant step would be to disseminate law on gender equality widely written throughout the country to raise public awareness about gender issues. Women should be encouraged and supported to participate in leadership. Also women should be prepared by being offered leadership preparation and leadership programmes so that they feel more self-confident and function effectively once appointed.

M. Ed. (Educational Management) / Negotiation has become fashionable lately. The achievement of consensus in almost every sphere has also become extremely important. Educational leaders are at present being exposed to negotiations at an increasing rate. For this reason it has become essential for all educators and especially principals to be well informed about the whole process of negotiation. This minidissertation focuses on negotiation techniques used by principals of secondary schools. Negotiation can be regarded as a dynamic process in which at least two parties, with both common and conflicting interests, try to reach an agreement. This is dependent on the changing relationships, the achieving of agreement and can also be successfully used as a mechanism to handle conflict. The mere issuing of orders is, especially among professional people who are interdependant, not always effective and the principal will therefore also have to use other methods of motivation. Attention has been given to negotiation as a managerial skill with special emphasis on the negotiation process, the elements of negotiations and the skills that have to be mastered by the negotiators. The following aspects of negotiations are exposed and discussed in this exploratory study: * Communication is an essential element of negotiation and therefore communication skills are vitally important to successful negotiation. * The personality and behaviour of the negotiator greatly influence the process of negotiation, thus knowledge of the individual negotiating and conflict-handling styles lead to successful negotiation...

This study was an assessment of the importance of age, gender, organizational tenure, perceived organizational support, perceived fairness, and perceived autonomy in explaining affective organizational commitment among high school principals in the United States. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine which independent variables explained a portion of the dependent variable, affective organizational commitment. A sample of 396 high school principals, stratified by gender, was drawn from a national data base developed by Quality Education Data of Denver, CO. The sample consisted of 132 females and 264 males. Data were collected from responses to a questionnaire that was mailed to all persons in the sample. Usable responses were received from 60 females and from 142 males. Results of the stepwise multiple regression indicated that 58 percent of the variation in affective organizational commitment among high school principals was explained by perceived fairness, organizational tenure, perceived organizational support, and high school principals' age. Perceived fairness explained the greatest percentage of variation; age, which entered the regression equation last, explained the least amount of variation. This study indicates that high school principals, first and foremost, valued fairness from school districts in return for their commitment to school districts. The challenge for superintendents and others who work with high school principals is to maintain fairness in educational settings where there are many diverse and competing student needs in the same school district. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to assess job satisfaction of middle school principals in Virginia as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). The primary question addressed by the study was: What is the general satisfaction level of middle school principals in Virginia as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire? In addition to the primary question, three sub-questions were addressed by the study. They were: a) What is the general satisfaction level according to the demographic variables gender, age, degree, experience, school location, and school size? b) what is the satisfaction level for each of the 20 dimensions of the job measured by the MSQ? and c) what is the satisfaction level for the 20 dimensions of the job according to the demographic variables gender, age, degree, experience, school location, and school size? One hundred eighty-eight middle school principals in Virginia selected from the 1997-98 Virginia Educational Directory were surveyed with the Individual Data Sheet and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Demographic data pertaining to gender, age, experience, degree, school location, and school size were collected through use of the Individual Data Sheet. The 1967 Long-Form Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to measure job satisfaction. This instrument utilized a 20-dimension Likert-type scale with five response alternatives ranging from "Not Satisfied" (weighted 1) to "Extremely Satisfied" (weighted 5). On this scale, the general satisfaction score for the respondents resulted in a mean of 3.65 (SD= .57) indicating that these principals are "Satisfied" (3.00-3.99) with their jobs. According to the demographic variables, all general satisfaction scores were within the "Satisfied" range. The mean scores for the 20 dimensions ranged from "Slightly Satisfied" (2.00-2.99) to "Very Satisfied" (4.00-4.99). Compensation ranked the lowest in the hierarchy ( M=2.83, SD=.94), and Social Service ranked the highest ( M=4.19, SD= .73). Demographically, females were significantly more satisfied with Activity and Variety than males; younger and older principals were significantly more satisfied with Activity than middle aged principals; principals with educational specialist degrees were significantly more satisfied with Achievement than doctorate and masters principals; principals from suburban schools were significantly more satisfied with Compensation, Supervision, and Working Conditions than urban and rural principals, and principals at large schools were significantly more satisfied with General Satisfaction, Advancement, and Security than principals from small schools. Recommendations for further research included conducting a study of principal satisfaction and student performance; conduct a comparative investigation of elementary, middle and secondary principal satisfaction; investigate principal satisfaction and school size, and study job satisfaction of principals using the interview technique or an open-ended survey instrument. / Ed. D.

Bibliography: leaves 162-170. / An important facet of a person's self-concept is his expectations of his performance. If his expectations are excessively high and there is a significant gap between his aspirations and his accomplishments, the resulting sense of failure has a negative effect on his self-concept. It is likely that school principals, because of the idealism and sense of calling that is associated with human service professions, are particularly vulnerable to excessive self-expectations. Cherniss believed this to be a potential stressor because the threat of failure has more serious personal consequences for people who regard their work as a calling rather than a job. For those who view their work as a calling, their identity and self-esteem are related to a considerable extent to the successful accomplishment of their work. Dobson pointed to the dangers of achievement anxiety, manifested as a pervasive fear of failure, for 'perfectionists' who set unreasonably high standards which are beyond their capabilities. Levinson regarded intense self-criticism and internal dissatisfaction as part of the make-up of dynamic, motivated business executives, making them exceptionally vulnerable to feelings of failure.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Education in the Department of Foundations Of Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / This study examined the role of the principals in bringing about quality results in schools at UMkhanyakude District. I explored the topic by consulting the relevant literature on the Instructional role of the principals as leaders in schools to enhance academic performance. I followed a qualitative approach making use of observations and interviews conducted with both primary and secondary school principals in nine selected schools. The data collected were arranged under selected themes and critically analysed and interpreted. The objectives of the study were to investigate the principals’ influence on the learner achievement, to determine how principals practically embrace constitutional values in their leadership role and to identify the leadership styles principals employ to facilitate participation of stakeholders in decision making and to determine the principals’ role in improving the classroom instruction. The findings reveal that the success of the school depends on the leadership role of the school principal, in guiding and leading all the school stakeholders to work toward the achievement of the school vision and goals. This approach required the principals to take a quantum leap and change the way they think about their roles and responsibilities in school. The findings proved that school principals play the most influential role in bringing about quality results at school, the majority of principals still confuse instructional leadership with curriculum management, principals do not understand the power of their influence to direct school activities and fail to use invitational and emotional intelligent leadership styles to involve stakeholders from the community in solving community-related challenges. Principals must be empowered with relevant skills to enable them to perform their leadership roles as proposed by the Department of Basic Education.