This study focused on parent governors' experiences In school financial decision-making. Whilst the South African Schools Act, 1996, endorses decentralisation of finance control to all School Governing Body members, this is not commonly the case with Ndwedwe rural School Governing Body parent representatives in particular. It is argued that decentralised financial powers could increase parent governors' democratic participation in the school financial governance. However, reports from some parent governors in Section 20 and Section 21 status schools indicated that parent governors still face severe challenges in making financial decisions. In this regard, the study investigated the voices of parent governors regarding school financial decision-making. The study drew on a qualitative interpretive approach of parent governors' experiences in a small sample of schools selected by means of purposeful sampling. For the purpose of data collection, an interview schedule was designed to allow flow of probing, clarifying and motivating the respondents where necessary. Document analysis informed subsequent data collection from the interviews. The findings indicated that the majority of parent governors in the schools studied were still dependent on their principals, had language difficulties and faced huge challenges in the' No Fee' paying schools. The study concluded that in the schools selected, school financial governance was not taking place as it should. To achieve quality in financial governance, continuous support of rural SGBs on financial decisionmaking is necessary, effective SGBs should twin with ineffective SGBs, financial documents must also include IsiZulu versions and the Department of Education should lift the restrictions on allocated funds. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This small-scale study sought to investigate "The effectiveness of the training of School Governing Bodies provided by the KZN Department of Education: perceptions of parentmembers at three Phoenix West Ward schools of the Kwa-Mashu Circuit in the Ethekwini Region". This qualit ative study gathered data through the case study approach guided by the following key questions: 1. What are the parents ' perceptions regarding the training methods used at SGB workshops? 2. What are their perceptions regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of the training content? 3. What are their views in terms of how the training of SGBs can be made more fruitful ? The study entailed interviewing parent members of the SGBs at three Phoenix West schools, analysing training documents as well as observation of training workshops. The findings of the study revealed that the KZN Education Department basically uses the workshops approach and cascading method to train SGBs. It was also found that the cascade model used alone has problems. A lot of vital information gets distorted or lost as the information is cascaded to the lower levels. The cascade model also may lead to increased monopoly in attending workshops and consequently, marginalisation of other SGB members. In the light of the above challenges, I recommend that radio broadcasts be used to compliment the cascading model and other methods to transmit information to as many SGB members as possible. In addition to the written manuals that are provided to schools, it is recommended that other visual and audio resources such as training videos cassettes and CD materials be provided as part of the SGB training resource packs. This is possible now because most schools, even in rural areas, have electricity and television sets. The use of two different actors in the training field did not seem to add value to the objectives of training. These programmes were run by the School Governance Training Unit (SGTU) based at the Pinetown District Office and School Effectiveness Programme based at Ulundi (and later Pietermaritzburg) Head Office. They had separate programmes, budgets and officials. Instead of bringing development to the SGBs, these programmes seemed to have brought clashes of workshop dates and confusion to the SGBs. It is suggested that these programmes be amalgamated as they serve the same purpose for the SGBs. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Substantially more power has been devolved to schools than ever before and schools are being held more accountable in variety of ways. It is imperative that all stakeholders involved in education including School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams must develop new skills and styles of working. This is a case study of a rural primary school in the Toyota Teach Primary Schools Project (TTPSP). This study examined the extent to which the School Governing Body and School Management Team members of RSP understand their roles and responsibilities and the impact it has on the functioning of the school. Data was collected over a period of several months through observation, conversations and interviews. Collected data was analysed continuously throughout the research process. The responses were grouped into themes and were then checked to ensure the relevance of the emerging patterns. First, findings related to the SGB were presented followed by data related to SMT. This data formed the basis for discussion about the role of SGB and SMT members in the management of schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

The preamble of the South African constitution clearly states. as one of its principles that it aims to:" lay foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people" Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). The Department of Education, through the South African Schools Act No 84 of 1996 aim to instil the principles of democracy, equity, equality and transparency in schools, as it provide for a "uniform system for the organisation, governance and funding of schools" SASA (1996). The large responsibility of managing and governing schools is in the hands of schools with the help from the Department of Education. It is for this reason that this study aims to explore the role and effectiveness of School Governing body as it carries this amount of responsibility mentioned above. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and effectiveness of a School Governing Body of a rural high school in the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education and Culture. This investigation was done through interviews with the parent members of the School Governing Body to find out their perceptions of their roles and effectiveness in the SGB. Questionnaires were also administered to learner members, educator members of the SGB and the Staff Management Team of the school to evaluate their perceptions towards their roles, and roles of others in the SGB. The study also aimed to check on whether there are conflicting ideas amongst different member components of the SGB. The findings of this study have shown that there are differences in the understanding of roles to be played in the SGB. Learners, educators and SMT members feel that they play a positive role in the SGB whilst the parent members do not understand their roles, and this impact negatively on the effectiveness of the SGB. The study also showed that the low levels of literacy amongst parents disadvantage them in terms of their understanding of educational issues and how to perform required tasks, however good cooperation and understanding amongst member supplement the weaknesses of this SGB. The recommendations suggest the need for workshops and capacity development programmes to improve confidence amongst parents as well as to provide information to all SGB members. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, PIetermaritzburg, 2004.

This study sought to investigate how good school governance practice in South Africa can be created and sustained. The government introduced the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA) which gives School Governing Bodies (SGBs) considerable responsibilities with regard to school governance. Among those duties there are four mandated areas of school governance namely; School Policy, School Development, School Administration and School Finance. However, a number of examples can be cited from literature that support the view that many SGBs are not achieving the intended goals and that there have been challenges and questions about their efficacy. There appears to be a dearth of studies revealing good school governance practice despite that it seems that such practices do exist. Despite the abovementioned challenges that highlight the ineffectiveness of many SGBs, from my personal experience and from my informal observations of some schools in the Pinetown District I have ascertained that there are schools that are effectively governed. In those schools the SGBs work as partners with other role players and govern school collaboratively with continuous ongoing communication. It was such good practice that triggered my interest in investigating this topic further. It would appear that there is inadequate knowledge regarding how such good governance comes about, and how it is sustained. Therefore, this study sought to contribute to filling this void. This study adopted a qualitative approach, and is located within the interpretivist paradigm. I adopted a multi-site case study research design. The study was conducted using individual interviews, focus group interviews and observations. The findings suggest that all school stakeholders play a significant role in all areas of school governance as they are required to provide mutual support, share power and work jointly for good school governance practice, because in this democratic era it is important that all school stakeholders work as partners. The study recommends that the SGBs should encourage and empower all school stakeholders to actively participate in school matters in order to develop, monitor and adjust to long term school effectiveness. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Since the establishment of SGBs in 1996, one of the key problems confronting provincial education departments has been the building of capacity of SGB members. This is more so in the previously marginalised and disadvantaged school communities. These structures could not claim to be democratic enough without the necessary skills and knowledge for parent component members to participate fully in school governance. The purpose of this study then, was to explore the nature and function of the parent component of rural School Governing Bodies (SGB) with regard to school governance as stipulated by the South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 (SASA). As it is anticipated that members of the SGBs and the parents in rural area; cannot lead on the governance issues, this study, therefore, hoped to identify the barriers that the stop parent component from functioning effectively. Hence, social capital theory was used to measure the imbalances within the SGBs of two Primary Schools in Ntabamhlophe Circuit which falls under the Estcourt Circuit Management Centre (Estcourt CMC). This is a qualitative research study, situated in the interpretive paradigm with the aim of investigating the nature and functions of the parent component in the rural School Governing Body in two primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal. The key question with regard to addressing the investigation also concerns the parent competencies in practicing the policies as stipulated in SASA. The secondary questions look at how ‘social capital’ impacts on the rural SGBs as well as dynamics between policy and practise in relation to decision- making. This in-depth investigation of parental involvement utilised semi-structured interviews, observation as well as documents to gather data. The research population for each school constituted the principal, chairperson of the SGB, two parents, two educators and one noneducator. As the focus was on the parent component: - the age, qualification and experiences with regard to school governance was highlighted. This does not mean my study was a quantitative one as well but this would establish the changes that would have added value to the life of these parents. The findings revealed that most of the parent components in the SGBs are unemployed and being unemployed resulted in poor networking with other SGBs of other schools. Illiteracy is one of the impediments that impacted negatively towards being involved effectively in the governance of these two schools. The findings further reveal that parents could not adopt and interpret policies that pertain to finances as well as administering schools’ property, without explanation by the principals. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

The study investigated role relationships of School Governing Body (SGB) chairpersons and principals in school governance in selected primary and secondary schools in the KwaMashu area. Through the provision of the South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996; the chairperson and the principal are leaders in the governing body and school management team respectively. Moreover the principal is an ex-officio member of the governing body. Literature and my experience as an educator suggested that, there existed conflict between the parent governors and principals in general; and SGB chairpersons and principals in particular. The purpose of the study therefore was to investigate whether or not SGB chairpersons and principals understand their roles in school governance. This was a multi-site case study of four schools in the same locality. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews; observation and document analysis. The findings suggest that SGB chairpersons and principals appeared to have an understanding of one’s and each other’s roles. However, a deeper examination of the situation suggests that this apparent clarity was superficial. It was so in that from the principals’ perspective, it was fine if chairpersons permanently needed their assistance in performing their governance duties. It also emerged that the inexperienced governing body chairpersons and principals lacked adequate understanding of their governance roles and those of each other. There was apparent harmonious working between principals and chairpersons which was arising because of inequality between chairpersons and principals in terms of educational levels. However, there were areas of conflict between the two parties especially regarding the control of finances, and the selection and appointment of educators. The study recommends that schools should design their own training programmes where they could invite departmental officials or other consultants to train their own people. Schools should also be adequately linked to centres such as Adult Basic Education and Training to develop their own people. This will help in equipping parent governors with sufficient knowledge and skills regarding their governance responsibilities. The study also recommends that further studies be conducted around induction programmes to make them more useful. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This study investigated the role played by School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in addressing issues of democracy and social justice in schools. A case study was conducted in two rural primary schools from Ugu district in KwaZulu-Natal. The intention of this study was to highlight the factors that hinder full participation of all SGB members in public state schools, including rural primary schools. It was also to gauge the policies and strategies employed by SGBs when addressing issues of democracy and social justice in their schools. My study is a qualitative research which has utilized a case study approach. I have opted for a qualitative methodology because I intended to explore phenomena, (SGBs), in their natural settings and I was be able to use multi- data collecting methods, i.e. interviews, observations and document reviews, which enabled me to interpret, understand, explain and bring meaning to them (Anderson, 1998). I have opted for a case study approach because I was studying the particularity and complexity of two SGBs, coming to understand their activities within important circumstances, in this case, the SGB roles in addressing issues of democracy and social justice (Stake, 1995). The theories that underpin this study are democratic schooling and social justice. I have reviewed local and internal literature on parental involvement and social justice in this study. This project has afforded me with the opportunity to engage with SGBs through interviews and I have been able to gauge amongst other things, their understandings of the role that SGBs must play in addressing issues of democracy and social justice. I was also able to learn the frustrations experienced by SGBs when implementing the policies in schools. Some of these frustrations were due to the challenges that some educators and some parents pose for the SGBs in the day-to-day running of the SGBs. Based on the findings I have made some recommendations such as that schools must introduce class or grade representatives which could serve in some committees. Female learners could also be involved in activities such as debates in order to enhance their self-confidence. Policies that the SGBs use when addressing democracy and social justice in the schools could be translated into isiZulu to make sure that all stakeholders understand these policies. The Department of Education could also assist the schools in ensuring that parents in rural areas have access to ABET classes, where they can learn to read and write as well as acquire relevant skills. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.