Learner participation in leadership in Namibian schools was legislated in 2001 through the Namibian Education Act, No. 16 of2001. This has then become a requirement for all secondary schools to establish a Learner Representative Council (LRC). However, this legislation only gives mandates to schools with grade 8-12. Despite the impetus of having a LRC in secondary schools, learner leadership and voice remains limited, given that we are 26 years into our democracy. This awakened my interest to conduct a study aimed at developing leadership and voice within the LRC in a Namibian secondary school. Additionally, this study was conducted to contribute to filling the gap in literature of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) studies in the field of Education Leadership and Management. In this critical case orientation, the LRC were the subjects and the object of the activity was voice and leadership development within the LRC. I investigated participants’ perspectives on LRC leadership opportunities that existed in the case study school as well as factors that enabled and constrained leadership and voice development within the LRC of Omukumo (pseudonym) Secondary School in the northern part of Namibia. My study adopted a formative intervention design, using qualitative methodologies such as document analysis, observation, interviews, questionnaires and Change Laboratory Workshops. This study was framed by the second generation of CHAT. CHAT in this study was used as a methodological and analytical tool to surface the contradictions. Additionally, data were analysed by means of constructing categories and themes. Five sets of findings emerged: (1) a lack of conceptual awareness of the construct ‘learner leadership’: learner leadership was understood in terms of the LRC, (2) LRC members were not really acknowledged as equal participants in the school decision-making due to unequal power relations between the teachers and the LRC members, (3) misinterpretation of LRC policy that speak about the establishment of learners club and inadequate LRC training hindered the development of voice and leadership within the LRC, (4) the overall leadership role assigned to the LRC was to oversee the adherence of the school rules, and last (5) learner leadership and voice was still developing in the case study school. My key recommendation based on the research findings is the need for on-going LRC training at regional level; a need for large scale comparative studies between two African countries (Namibia, & South Africa) on the topic of learner leadership development and last, a need for workshops to train teachers on the implementation of national policies in schools, in particular those that speak to issues of learner voice and leadership.

The issue of student participation in school governance is not a new concept in Namibian schools. Student involvement dates back to the 1970's when the country's administration was under the South African apartheid regime. Back then the involvement of students in school affairs was seen by the regime as a political act and attempts by student leaders to involve themselves in educational issues were often quashed. When the country became independent student representation continued as Student Representative Councils (SRC's), later renamed Learners Representative Councils (LRCs). This study attempted to investigate the perceptions of LRCs and other stakeholders - narnely the school principals and the school board members - of the role of students in school governance. The study was conducted in three Senior Secondary Schools in the Kavango region in Namibia. The research respondents were school principals, chairpersons of the LRCs and one chairperson of a school board. The study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm employing the following three qualitative research methods interviews, observation and document analysis to collect data. Through triangulation it was possible to formulate a rich response to the research question. The study found that, although the notion of student participation in school governance was widely accepted, a number of challenges exist that hamper the effectiveness of LRCs in the schools. It was revealed that there was no national policy docunlent that outlined the roles and function of the LRCs. As a result schools had little direction about the LRCs and subsequently they were given little or no attention by the school authorities. This resulted in misunderstandings and in some cases conflict between learners and the school management. The most significant consequence of these problems was the fact that LRCs were not regarded as true role players in school governance. The study thus recommends that a national policy document that legitimates the role of students in school governance be drafted to provide direction and that schools embark on meaningful training programmes for LRC members. The study also calls for further research to address the gap in literature on this phenomenon, particularly in Namibia.

M.Ed. / The aim of this study was to develop guidelines for principals and teachers when they identify leaders in secondary schools. That enables pupils with potential to function successfully as leaders in a school environment. Leadership in the secondary school has for too long been misinterpreted, misunderstood and grossly underscored in far too many ways. There is mistrust towards the identifying process. Present day demands require a specific form of education and training in leadership at school level to enable our youth to cope with these requirements. Educational authorities - especially school authorities are therefore compelled to address the matter of training and identification in a new light. Most of the existing research about identification of school leaders at secondary school level is of a quantitative nature and consisted of the completion of questionnaires. This brought about the testing and retesting of stereotyped proposals. In this study a qualitative research program was followed. By means of focus group interviews the views of a principal, teachers and secondary school pupils where collected. The research question in this study developed was the following: In what way does the personality of the pupil influences the teachers' choice of leaders at school level? The aim that followed was: To find out if there are personality traits that is necessary for a school leader at secondary school level to be successful. An explanatory, descriptive research design was used as part of qualitative research method during phase 1 of the research. The aim of phase 2 was to compare the results of the focus group interviews with a literature review. During phase 3 guidelines were developed for the identification of leaders in secondary schools. The conclusions of the research showed that the focus groups reflected reality, namely that the teachers lacked knowledge about leadership and that the pupils meaning reflects the findings of the literature study. Further it became apparent that although personality is relevant in leadership identification, it shouldn't be the main focus. Pupils should be helped to develop leadership skills which could be learned and to develop their personality or capabilities and in order to enable them to develop their full potential and to apply the leadership skills in their lives.

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Thesis ( PhD. (Educational Management )) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014? / The aim of the study was to determine the need for capacity building among student affairs practitioners with regards to student governance. As cited in the literature review chapter, minimal progress has been made in South Africa towards capacitating student affairs practitioners and this reality has led to the conception of this study. Pertinent questions were formulated and expressed for the qualitative section of the study. For the quantitative section of the study hypotheses were formulated to determine the relationship(s) between and amongst the independent variables of the study: which are male and female student affairs practitioners, senior and junior student affairs practitioners, and professionally trained and non-professionally trained practitioners. Finally, the researcher examined the views of student affairs practitioners regarding the professionalization of student affairs practice. In the light of the foregoing assertions the researcher sought to solicit views of the different student affairs practitioners on the need to professionalize student affairs practice, with special reference to student governance. The qualitative design allowed the researcher a more interactive experience with the interviewees and thereby facilitated more in-depth and meaningful responses in pursuit of the goals of the study. The phenomenological method was identified as the most suitable research method for this study. The quantitative research design allowed the researcher to specify phenomena being studied and to quantify the relationships between and within variables of the study namely: Gender (Male versus Female student affairs practitioners), Experience (Senior versus Junior student affairs practitioners), and Professional training (Professionally trained versus Non-Professionally trained student affairs practitioners) as Independent Variables (IV) and Student Governance as a Dependent Variable (DV). The research method best suited for this research design was found to be the descriptive method. This study used Sequential Exploratory Triangulation, where interviews were conducted first with a sample of convenience; and the adapted questionnaire was then administered to a wider pool of 150 student affairs practitioners conveniently sampled from the membership databases of both SAASSAP and NASDEV. The approved questionnaire was further subjected to tests of statistical validity. In this manner factor analyses was conducted by subjecting the forty two items of the questionnaire to principal component analyses using varimax rotation of one (1) criterion to extract the categories or components of the questionnaire. Twenty seven (27) items which had an Eigenvalue of above .50 were extracted and dispersed into two factors namely Personal Capability and Professional Competence. Fifteen items below the Eigenvalue of .50 were, therefore, discarded from the final questionnaire which the researcher named Student Affairs Professional Competency Scale (SAPCS). The SAPCS that was administered to the sample of 150 participants; yielded a 74,6% response rate for analysis. The results of the study supported current research that there is a need for capacity building for student affairs practitioners responsible for student governance. However, the main limitation of this study is that the findings and results are not applicable to the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, who have since become part of higher education administration, and consequently student affairs practitioners from this sector have recently been accepted as members of NASDEV. Their exclusion from this study is mainly due to the fact that the conception of this study preceded these recent developments in the sector. More inclusive research needs to be pursued in future and it is envisaged that future research in the field of student affairs in South Africa should be more representative and therefore include both qualitative and quantitative presentation.

The past few months have seen our courageous youth take to the streets to demonstrate their disgust against this system of exploitation and oppression. This militant fervour has touched many young hearts and minds. However, there is always the danger that these energies will burn out and dissipate. Demoralisation can so easily set in if these energies are not constructively channeled. "Channeled into what?” you may ask. ORGANISATIONS. It is only through strong organisations which attempt to give guidance and direction that meaningful action can be undertaken. The WCYL recognises the important need for students to begin to discuss broader issues such as The History of Struggle in S.A. or The Nature of S.A. Society. It is only when students begin to grapple with broader issues such as these, together with more specific ones, in a co-ordinated manner, will their actions be more effective. To this end has "GET ORGANISED" been designed. The handbook is intended as a guide for students in their efforts to organise SRC’s, awareness programmes, among other things, in schools.

The aim of this study was to explore the role and contributions of elected student leaders in student governance positions, at the four higher education institutions in the Western Cape. The literature study revealed that whilst information on student politics is easily available, very limited information is available about the elected student leaders in student governance positions in higher education institutions, within the broader governance framework. The role of elected student leaders in contributing to the democratisation of universities was positively identified as an indicator of the evolving democratisation of universities. It was found that whilst elected student leaders are involved in, and do contribute to key decision-making in policy matters, this is not always the case. Of significance is the quality of the deliberative process and the level of seriousness in connecting the voice of students in a meaningful and consistent manner, to institutional decision-making, on matters that affect students. The theoretical framework of this study was grounded in Public Administration theory, deliberative democracy theory and governance theory within a higher education institutional context. The study intersects with deliberative democracy theory in understanding the advantage of good student governance as a way of contributing to the democratisation of universities and the student and the public good. The role of student leaders is fore grounded by illuminating ways in which they interpret their student leadership roles and how they interpret this in relation to the national and institutional policy framework referred to in the National Plan for Higher Education (Republic of South Africa, 2001). The policy context provides a basis for understanding the relationship between Public Administration and higher education. The Higher Education Act, No. 101 of 1997, provides the legislative framework for institutional governance, within which the statutory provision for student governance is situated. In particular, the Higher Education Act sets out the framework for institutional student governance and principles of good governance. The governance ethos of the Higher Education Act is derived from principles of good Public Administration as the basis for good governance, and the democratic values and principles as set out in Section 195 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. An empirical study was conducted which included the administration of questionnaires to students in student leadership positions at the four universities in the Western Cape. In addition to the questionnaire survey, interviews were conducted with students and staff. The data was analysed statistically, using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study illustrate support for the continued existence of the student governance framework and for the role of student leaders in the decision-making processes of higher education institutions. However, there is a need for a more serious and consistent commitment to involving students in deliberative processes on matters of student interest and the public good. Such involvement is fundamental to the values and principles of democracy and good governance. The challenge for change is to seek meaningful and sustainable ways to complement the student governance approach by drawing in and connecting the broader student voice to the representations and the decision-making processes on its behalf by those who represent them, and by the decision-makers. It may be useful to review the role of student leaders in how this role is interpreted and deployed by the student leaders and how this role is supported by staff and the decision-makers involved in decision-making that impact on students. This descriptive study explored key factors such as the role and contributions of student leaders in governance positions, their functions, skills and applications deployed within their specific environment of student governance, and the general institutional governance environment and its influences on institutional democratisation. The research study culminates in providing guidelines for an integrated student governance framework in contextualising and supporting a wider deliberative student governance approach in higher education. This requires commitment and support from the management and student leadership, in pursuit of effective student governance within an environment that is nurturing and embracing of the student voice as central to achieving the institutional vision. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Learner leadership is a worldwide issue in educational leadership and management. In preindependent Namibia secondary schools had the prefect system and the SRCs as learner leadership bodies which had little influence on schools’ decisions because they lacked credibility. In 2001 the Learners’ Representative Council (LRC) was legitimized as a learner leadership body in secondary schools through the Education Act 16 of 2001. However, recent research suggests that even these bodies are not functioning effectively for a variety of reasons. This prompted me to undertake research to develop an understanding of learners’ participation in leadership in a senior secondary school in Namibia. I used a qualitative case study, in an interpretive paradigm, in an attempt to achieve my research goal. The following questions guided the study: How is leadership understood by members of the organization? How learner leadership is understood? How are learners involved in leadership in the school? What potential exists for increased learners’ participation? What factors inhibit learners’ participation in leadership in the school? A population comprising of the school board chairperson, the principal, three heads of department, the superintendent, three teachers and five learners was composed from a senior secondary school in Namibia. Data were collected through focus groups, interviews, document analysis and observation and analyzed thematically for reflective discussion. The findings revealed that the LRC is functioning but providing little opportunity for learner leadership development. The most significant challenge relates to traditional and outdated views of leadership on the parts of teachers and education managers. Hence, in addition to a number of practical recommendations, the study recommends a change of mindset towards children so that opportunities are provided to contribute to their growth and development.

The question of learner participation or involvement in school governance has been a thorny issue in South Africa for decades. This study investigated secondary learners’ participation in the governance of their schools through representation by the Representative Council of Learners (RCLs), formerly known as school representative councils (SRCs). The study attempted to find out how learners participation is perceived by both the RCLs and the School Management Teams (SMTs). The study was conducted in five secondary schools in the Eastern Cape townships of Grahamstown. The research participants were members of School Management Teams and Representative Councils of Learners from these schools. The study was oriented in an interpretive paradigm following a qualitative approach. Questionnaires and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used to explore the perceptions of the two groups involved. The Department of Education documents that sanction RCL participation were referred to throughout and especially when analysing the respondents’ views. The main finding of the study is that learner involvement in school governance is still problematic, though it is presently provided for by policies that govern schools, including the South African Schools Act and the Guides for Representative Councils of Learners of 1999, in which their roles are outlined. The findings of the study reveal an indecisive and autocratic mindset among educators regarding the issue of learner involvement in governance and management. Furthermore, the Department of Education documents in place betray a narrow conception of RCL participation in school governance and still display an element of mistrust towards the learners concerning their roles in governance. As a result of these forces, the democratic potential of learner participation is undermined, and RCLs compromised as legitimate stakeholders.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / In hierdie studie word die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van demokrasie in die opvoeding in tydperspektief, naamlik aan die hand van 'n tiental opvoedkundiges se opvoedingsidees en onderwyspraktyke vanuit 'n histories-opvoedkundige perspektief ondersoek. Die nuwe uitkomstegebaseerde onderwys- en leerbenadering in Suid-Afrika word ook ondersoek. Die opvoedkundiges is onder meer: • Plato (427-347 vC) • Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35-100 nC) • Aurelius Augustinus (354-430 nC) • Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536 nC) • Johan Amos Comenius (1592-1670) • John Locke (1632-1704) • Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • Maria Montessori ( 1870-1952) • John Dewey (1859-1952) • Paulo Freire (1921-1997) Daar is bevind dat die demokrasie van die vroegste tye af (sedert die antieke Grieke) tot in ons huidige eeu in die opvoeding en onderwys aangespreek, gevestig en uitgebou is. Ten slotte word die uitsprake en praktyke van die vermelde opvoedkundiges en 'n uitkomstegebaseerde onderwys- en leerbenadering in Suid-Afrika beoordeel in terme van demokratiese wesenskenmerke en aanbevelings met betrekking tot die kontemporere en toekomstige opvoeding en onderwys in Suid-Afrika word gemaak. / In this study the origin and development of democracy in education through the ages is traced in terms of a historico-educational examination of the ideas and practices of about ten educationists. The new outcomes-based education and learning approach in South Africa is also examined. The educationists are inter alia: • Plato (427-347 BC) • Marcus Fabius Quintilian (35-100 AD) • Aurelius Augustine (354-430 AD) • Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536 AD) • John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) • John Locke (1632-1704) • Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • Maria Montessori (1870-1952) • John Dewey (1859-1952) • Paulo Freire (1921-1997) It was found that democracy in educational theory and practice was addressed, established and developed since ancient times (the ancient Greeks) right up to the present. Finally, the educational philosophy and practices of these educationists as well as the outcomes-based educational approach in South Africa are examined in terms of their essential democratic features and recommendations are made regarding the present education system in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)