Published Articles / The dawn of a democratic South Africa in 1994 established a society entrenched in Human Rights milieu. As such, public schools are meant to align their policies with the rule of the law. Particularly, section 10 (1) of South African Schools Act, 84 1996 (hereafter SASA) respectfully prohibits the administration of corporal punishment directed at a learner in public schools. The subsequent section 10 (2) of SASA admonishes that any person contravening section 10 (1) of SASA is liable on conviction to a sentence which could be imposed for assault. These mentioned provisions of the school legislation are consistent with section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) which affords every person the inherent right to dignity of the person. Against the afore-mentioned legislative provisions, teachers have resorted to the use of sarcasm as a tool to inflict punishment in the manner that it could be equated with corporal punishment. Sarcasm is a form of language that is used to cause emotional and psychological harm, belittle, ridicule and humiliate the person it directed at. Judged against the provisions of the legislation governing schools in South African public schools, sarcasm could be said to be a direct violation of fundamental rights of learners to dignity of the person. In order to explore the intonation of sarcasm as supplement for corporal punishment the research paper employed a qualitative critical emancipatory research (CER) approach. Data gathered through a purposive sample of ten secondary teachers was analysed by the use of textual oriented discourse analyses.

After the ushering of the democratic dispensation in 1994 an increased diversity in the society and schools of South Africa resulted from the policies and legislations adopted to integrate the earlier ethnically divided educated system. This democratic dispensation did not only bring about political change, but also aimed at democratising the education system and eradicating the inequalities of the past. This is in line with the constitution of South Africa which provides all children, young people and adults with human rights and education benefits. The South African public schools' educators are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all learners with different educational needs are taught in a regular classroom. Providing teaching to multicultural classes requires positive experiences and support of inclusive schooling. The purpose of the study is to establish the challenges of teaching inclusive education in a multicultural class in the Gauteng Province public primary schools. This study used a qualitative research approach where participants were interviewed using one-on-one semi structured interviews and probes for clarity and depth. Data was analyzed inductively so as to use the results of the analysis as basis for subsequent data collection through follow up interviews. Ten (10) post level one educators from five multicultural primary schools managing challenges of inclusive education (Foundation Phase and Intermediate Phase) were purposively sampled. Official documents like the White Paper 6 (2001) on the rights of learners with educational needs, and the South African Schools Act (1996) were analyzed to get information on how educators should go about teaching inclusive education to multicultural classes. The findings of the study will contribute to the knowledge base on the management of challenges of inclusive education in multicultural public primary schools about the support structures required and may also inform policy makers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

The Schools Act has brought about a change in the way in which schools are managed and governed. Each public school should be governed by a governing body and the professional management of the school is vested in the principal (South African Schools Act, 1996b). The governing body of a special needs school consists of various role-players that include, among others, parents, educators, learners, and representatives of sponsoring bodies and of various organisations. Furthermore, these role-players should be knowledgeable about the legal requirements pertaining to the functions of a governing body. It is legally expected of each governing body member to know what the legal requirements of a governing body are. The governing body is expected to draft the school’s policies, such as the language policy, admission policy, religious policy, disciplinary policy and the financial policy (Schools Act, 1996). There are various types of public schools: mainstream schools [full-service schools] and special needs schools [special needs schools as resource centres] (DoE, 2005). Very little research has been conducted on the governance of special needs schools. The governance of a special needs school is more complicated than that of a mainstream school in respect to drafting the various policies. There are aspects such as limited resources to accommodate specific disabilities and the type of disability that the school caters for in terms of the admission policy that must be kept in mind. These aspects complicate the governance of special needs schools and require more thought and planning (Department of Education, 2007). This research specifically focuses on the governance of special needs schools and the aspirations that the individual governing body members of these schools have. The governing body members come from different backgrounds; they have differentqualifications and different experiences. These factors contribute to the ideas (aspirations) that they have in terms of their role as governing body members. The aspirations of the governing body members should correlate with the various school policies, due to the fact that the governing body draft these policies. The policy documents provide a clear indication of where the school is heading and of its mission. Not only should the governing body participants’ aspirations correlate with the school’s policies; they should also correlate with the legal requirements set out in the Schools Act. This research consists of two separate case studies relating to two special needs schools. Three governing body members from each school were interviewed, using semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interviews assisted in ensuring that the participants were understood correctly and in getting clarity on certain aspects that were addressed. The various policy documents of each school were analysed to establish an idea of the school’s mission and for the purpose of triangulation. These documents include, among others, the language policy, admission policy, religious policy and the code of conduct for learners. The interview responses and the documents were compared to establish to what extent the governing body members’ aspirations correlate with the policy documents. The schools were not compared in any way; each school was regarded as an individual entity. In this study the following has been found: <ul> <li>1. Governing body members are not fully briefed or knowledgeable about their functions.</li> <li>2. Governing body members refuse to attend training sessions provided by the Head of Department on grounds that these sessions are not meaningful or convenient.</li> <li>3. Most of the schools’ policy documents, such as admission policies, language policies and religious policies have not been revised in up to nine years.</li> <li>4. Some of the participants in the research contradicted one another and the schools’ policy documents.</li> </ul> In conclusion it can be stated that the governing body members who participated in this research have served on governing bodies for many years, the shortest term of service being four years; they should be knowledgeable about their function and should have the best interest of the school at heart. This seems to be in contradiction to the findings of this research. Even though the governing body members lack sufficient knowledge and insight, they are extremely positive and have the best interest of the learner at heart. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The biggest impact that school governing bodies (SGBs) could probably have on school governance is by the appointment of quality additional educators and non-educators at the school. The South African Schools Act (SASA) provides, in section 20, for a public school to establish and employ staff in such positions. The school, as juristic person, becomes the employer and not the SGB which only acts as the agent on behalf of the school. Through this qualitative study I aimed to explore the expectations of parent members of different school SGBs regarding the appointment of staff members that are additional to the post establishment in public schools. By making use of semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a literature review I wanted to contribute to a more profound understanding of parents’ expectations of their roles in SGBs and as to what they want to achieve through being involved in SGBs. Through this I hope to improve relationships between parent members, educator members of SGBs and the principal. I determined that all parent members of SGBs are directed by bona fide intentions in that they think that they can make the greatest contribution to the learning and teaching culture of the school through the appointment of additional staff in order to have a better learner to teacher ratio in the classroom and in so doing improve the quality of teaching and learning at the school. I also determined that the parents’ expectations do not differ from one type of school to another and that all parents, irrespective of race, gender, language or culture basically have the same expectations. I discovered that schools increasingly appoint retired staff in SGB posts in order to keep their expertise at the school. Schools also appoint student teachers in posts to assist teachers at the school. This is a huge advantage to education in that they are trained in their profession at no additional cost to the government. By taking the financial position and the curriculum requirements at the school into account parent members of SGBs see it their primary duty to make sufficient finances available to enable schools to appoint additional staff. This practice is perhaps the only way to ensure quality education to all learners. The lack of financial capabilities at most schools makes the correct use of this function unavailable to them. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The implementation of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) has placed additional financial management responsibilities on school principals and school governing bodies. Financial management has created several challenges for school principals and members of school governing bodies who do not have the necessary financial knowledge, skill and expertise to perform this function. This research was undertaken primarily to determine how principals and members of school governing bodies, in public primary schools, implement financial policy. The research is supported by a detailed literature study covering financial policy, the budget process, approaches to budgeting, the advantages of a budget system and requirements for effective financial control. In order to determine the financial management practices at public primary schools a questionnaire was designed and administered amongst twenty five public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The findings suggest that there is a need for schools to communicate resolutions adopted at parents’ meetings and other consultative procedures to parents of learners and in this way ensure the dissemination of pertinent information. There is a need for early intervention by schools concerning outstanding school fees to prevent the exacerbation of the problem. Educational institutions should prepare their budgets on the basis of their main objectives and policies in order to ensure an efficient allocation of funds. / Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Following significant changes in legislation since the enactment of The Constitution of South Africa, 1996, and also accelerated by the ratification of the South African School Act of 1996, the array of services delegated to schools has placed an ever greater responsibility on school governing bodies and principals. Key to those responsibilities is the capacity to manage school finances. Although the South African Schools Act gives schools freedom to exercise their authority in managing school finances, along with this goes the responsibility to maintain with due regard proper accountability and control over the expenditure of public funds. This investigative research study looked at the extent to which the financial management systems employed in schools in utilizing Section 21 funding comply with relevant legislative and policy framework. In terms of financial management, schools are divided into two categories. There are Section 20 schools whose budget is centralized and managed by the Department of Education. Then there are Section 21 schools whose budget is decentralized to schools and these schools have sovereignty in managing their financial resources in compliance with relevant legislation, policies and procedures. A non-empirical study was undertaken which reviewed and analyzed literature on a financial management legislative framework as well as systems and procedures of financial management applicable to public institutions in general and those that relate specifically to schools. Subsequent to that, an empirical investigation was conducted. A questionnaire was issued to 72 principals who formed the sample of the study. The sample represented 21.3% of the total number of Section 21 Schools in the district of Mthatha. The questionnaire was administered to solicit the extent to which principals understand and apply the legislation, policies and procedures that underpin financial management systems in schools. Focus group interviews were held with school finance committees. These discussions were used to collect a wider range of information and insight on how schools manage financial resources. A qualitative financial documentary analysis was conducted in four schools. To achieve a holistic understanding of the research problem in-depth interviews were also conducted with district officials. The study revealed that, there is indeed a noteworthy divergence between the directives of the applicable financial policies and financial management practices in the majority of schools. The most critical deviations identified include, absence of clear policy directives on procurement procedures and financial controls, poor financial recording and lack of clarity on the roles and responsibilities of different financial structures. The key recommendation of the study is the establishment of an internal audit unit within the district which will serve as a basis of the fiscal oversight processes for schools. Since this unit will work closely with schools, this will advance significant improvements in financial accountability, systems of internal control in school and general financial administration processes. This unit will advance ongoing support in the form of training, monitoring and mentoring of the governing bodies and principals to inculcate strong financial leadership in schools. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As gevolg van betekenisvolle verandering in wetgewing sedert die promulgasie van die S.A. Grondwet in 1996, en bespoedig deur die bekragtiging van die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet van 1996, word ’n uiteenlopende verskeidenheid bevoegdhede tans aan skole toegewys. Dit plaas toenemende verantwoordelikheid in die hande van beheerliggame en skoolhoofde. Aan die kern hiervan lê die bevoegdheid om skoolfinansies te bestuur. Alhoewel die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet vryheid aan skole verleen om hulle gedelegeerde mag betreffende finansies na goeddunke uit te oefen, gaan dit gepaard met verantwoordelikheid om omsigtigheid aan die dag te lê en aanspreeklikheid vir die aanwending van openbare fondse te aanvaar. Hierdie ondersoekende studie het nagevors in watter mate die finansiële bestuurstelsel wat skole gebruik om Seksie 21-befondsing te benut, voldoen aan die vereistes van die relevante wetgewing en voorgeskrewe beleidsraamwerk. Skole word, volgens finansiële bestuursreëls, in twee kategorieë verdeel. Daar is Seksie 20-skole, wie se begrotings gesentraliseer en deur die Departement van Onderwys bestuur word. Daar is ook Seksie 21-skole wie se begrotings gedesentraliseer is. Laasgenoemde skole besit dus die volwaardige reg om hul finansiële hulpbronne self te bestuur; solank dit voldoen aan voorgeskrewe wetgewing, beleid en prosedure. ’n Nie-empiriese studie is onderneem om die toepaslike literatuur oor finansiële bestuur en die betrokke wetgewingsraamwerk in oënskou te neem. Verder is die sisteme en finansiële bestuursprosedures wat betrekking het op openbare instellings in die algemeen, en op skole in die besonder, ook ondersoek. Hierna is ’n empierise ondersoek gedoen. ’n Vraelys is aan 72 skoolhoofde, die monster vir die ondersoek, gerig. Dié monster het 21.3% van die totale aantal Seksie 21-skole in die Mthatha-distrik verteenwoordig. Die vraelys was sodanig saamgestel en geadministreer dat dit die nodige inligting sou bekom om te kan bepaal tot watter mate skoolhoofde wetgewing, beleid en prosedure, wat finansiële bestuurstelsels in skole ondersteun, verstaan en toepas. Gefokusde groep-onderhoude is met skole se finanskomitees gevoer. Hierdie besprekings is aangewend om ’n wyer reeks inligting en insigte te bekom oor hoe skole hulle finasiele hulpbronne bestuur. ’n Kwalitatiewe dokumentêre analise van vier skole se finansiële state is uitgevoer. Om ’n meer omvattende begrip van die navorsingsproblematiek te bekom, is in diepte onderhoude, op ’n een-tot-een basis, ook met distriksamptenare gevoer. Dit het aangedui dat daar inderdaad, by ’n meerderheid skole, ten opsigte van die voorgeskrewe finansiële beleid en bestuur, noemenswaardig uiteenlopende toepassing van riglyne was. Die mees kritieke afwykings geïdentifiseer, sluit in: gebrek aan duidelike beleidsriglyne oor aanskaffingsprosedure en finansiële beheer, swak boekhouding en onduidelikheid oor die verpligtings en verantwoordelikhede van die verskillende finansiële strukture. Die studie se sleutelaanbeveling is dat ’n interne ouditeenheid vir die distrik tot stand gebring moet word. Dit sal die ruggraat vorm vir die fiskale toesighoudingsproses vir die betrokke skole. Aangesien hierdie ouditeenheid nou saam met skole sal werk, sal dit tot betekenisvolle verbetering van interne finansiële beheerstelsels van skole lei en beter algemene finansiële beheer en administratiewe aanspreeklikheid tot gevolg hê. Hierdie eenheid sal deurlopend, deur middel van opleiding, monitering en mentorskap aan bestuursliggame en skoolhoofde, ondersteuning verleen. Sodoende sal ’n kultuur van sterk finansiële leierskap in skole gevestig word.

The implementation of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) has placed additional financial management responsibilities on school principals and school governing bodies. Financial management has created several challenges for school principals and members of school governing bodies who do not have the necessary financial knowledge, skill and expertise to perform this function. This research was undertaken primarily to determine how principals and members of school governing bodies, in public primary schools, implement financial policy. The research is supported by a detailed literature study covering financial policy, the budget process, approaches to budgeting, the advantages of a budget system and requirements for effective financial control. In order to determine the financial management practices at public primary schools a questionnaire was designed and administered amongst twenty five public primary schools in the Ekurhuleni South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The findings suggest that there is a need for schools to communicate resolutions adopted at parents’ meetings and other consultative procedures to parents of learners and in this way ensure the dissemination of pertinent information. There is a need for early intervention by schools concerning outstanding school fees to prevent the exacerbation of the problem. Educational institutions should prepare their budgets on the basis of their main objectives and policies in order to ensure an efficient allocation of funds. / Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study was initiated while the researcher was still an educator at' a secondary school in Cape' Town, South Africa. This was the period of the mid-1990s soon after the first democratically elected government assumed power in -South Africa: During this period of transition, large-scale reforms were expected on', the, education- front. Educational management and specifically school management were an integral part of these reforms. In terms of school management the idea of parents taking. on a greater .role was receiving wide support. School governing bodies (SGBs) comprising various constituencies and with greater powers were supposed to be the instrument spearheading change in school management. .This study traverses three levels of policy development: national, provincial and local (that is, school). It seeks to understand how school governance policy is developed and implemented using the principle of contestation to guide the analysis. The following questions guided the research: What were the contestations which led to the development of school governance policy at national level? How was provincial school governance policy developed from national policy and what were the areas of contention between the two? • What were the contestations resulting from implementation of school governance policy at the school level? At all three levels the discussion of the contestations was limited to the powers and functions of SGBs. By shedding more light on the above questions, it was hoped that the nature of policy contestation would become clearer. This in turn could enhance the study of policy This study was primarily qualitative in orientation with the principal means of data-gathering being: documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and observation. Documents produced at the national and provincial levels (Acts, Bills, Reports, White Papers and so forth) as well as submissions made by various organizations from different sectors in society were carefully analysed using specific criteria. Other documents analysed included circulars from the provincial education department, documents discussed Within the school governing body selected for the study, and articles from newspaper publications. Interviews were conducted with key informants at national, provincial and school levels. At the school level, observation of five governing body meetings were undertaken analysis and development. This study revealed that the key issues in SGB functioning that formed the focus for contestation were: the charging of school fees; the':·employment of additional staff; admission-; language-; religious observance policy;". and relative powers of the MEe/HOD/SGBs. One of the greatest immediate challenges facing the majority of school governing bodies in South Africa is the lack of capacity in terms of material, financial and human resources. This study provides recommendations about how to address some of these challenges, and also identifies some important areas for future research.

The South African Schools' Act No 84 (SASA 1996) replaced Parents, Teacher and Students' Associations ( PTSAs) with School Governing Bodies whose members are democratically elected to perform mandated duties. The study focused on the role of SGBs in improving school performance in rural areas. The purpose was to investigate the role SGBs play in improving school performance in the rural areas of Taung. The SGB, as a concept and praxis, emanated from the need to involve communities, especially parents, in education. The assumption was that school improvement is dependent on responsibilities delegated to community members, especially parents, in the affairs of public schools. The study investigated the topic by a literature review on school governance, observation and interviews conducted with SGB members in three selected schools. Six focus group interviews were conducted on parents and educator components of the SGBs. The principals of the three selected schools were interviewed individually for the views on the topic. The data collected were arranged under selected themes and manually analysed and interpreted. The study reveals that * community members, particularly parents, caregivers and guardians are beginning to see themselves as equal partners with educators in education of children * the improvement in learner performance is the co-responsibility of the home and the school * community members (parents and guardians) must be empowered with relevant skills to enable them perform their tasks as school governors. The study recommends further research into greater representivity and involvement in Education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Education Management)

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Includes bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Prior to 1994, the school principal in conjunction with the Department of Education used to be responsible for the control and management of school finances. With the establishment of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, however, the liability in respect of finance has changed dramatically as self-management took effect in schools. With the Minister of Education’s announcement of no-fee schools in poor communities (quintiles 1–3) in 2006, parents’ obligation to pay school fees fell away. Together with the aforementioned policy and decentralisation, through which power, control and management have shifted from the national to the local level, schools have started to bear a heavier financial burden as well. However, principals and governing body members have often not been trained to cope with this. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the no-fees policy on the financial control and management of rural schools in the West Coast-Winelands education district (circuits 1, 2 and 3). The data for the research were firstly gathered by means of a literature review, after which an exploratory study was conducted in 20 rural no-fee schools in the abovementioned education district by way of questionnaires. The school principals and chairpersons of school governing bodies each received a questionnaire. They were afforded two weeks to complete it. The researcher personally analysed the data, based on which certain findings and recommendations are made at the end of the study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Voor 1994 was die skoolhoof in samewerking met die Departement verantwoordelik vir die beheer en bestuur van skoolfinansies. Met die instelling van die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet 84 van 1996 het die aanspreeklikheid ten opsigte van finansies egter drasties verander, deurdat selfbestuur by skole in werking gestel is. Met die Minister van Onderwys se aankondiging in 2006 van geenskoolfondsskole in arm gemeenskappe (kwintiel 1–3), het ouers se verpligting om skoolgeld te betaal verval. Tesame met voormelde beleid en desentralisasie, waardeur mag, bestuur en beheer vanaf nasionale na plaaslike vlak verskuif is, het skole nou ʼn groter finansiёle las begin dra. Tog is skoolhoofde en beheerliggaamlede dikwels nie opgelei om hierdie finansiёle las te dra nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die invloed van die geenskoolfondsbeleid op die finansiёle beheer en bestuur van landelike skole in die Weskus-Wynland-onderwysdistrik (kring 1, 2 en 3) te bepaal. Die data vir die navorsing is eerstens by wyse van ʼn literatuuroorsig ingesamel, waarna ʼn ondersoekende studie deur middel van vraelyste by 20 landelike geenskoolfondsskole in bogenoemde onderwysdistrik onderneem is. Skoolhoofde en beheerliggaamvoorsitters van die skole het elk ʼn vraelys ontvang. Hulle is twee weke gegun om die vraelyste te voltooi. Die navorser het persoonlik die data ontleed, op grond waarvan bepaalde bevindings en aanbevelings aan die einde van die studie gedoen word.