The purpose of this study was to explore and understand school-based teacher unionism by conducting an empirical analysis of the views and experiences of stakeholder groups in a Gauteng district. Participants saw the role of teacher unions at school level as being the protection of their members. Principals and SGB members and some SMT members thought school based unions protected teachers from being disciplined. Defending of teachers or members was seen as one of the most important roles of teacher unions. This was seen as important because it will ensure that the rights of teachers are not trampled upon especially by school principals. While school principals recognised the rights of union members to join union and the right of unions to organise in the schools they thought that they were unduly and wrongly defending bad teachers. This article also argues that principals were never adequately trained on how to manage union existence at schools. Most participants thought that the role, responsibility and right of teacher unions at school level could not be overlooked. However they still felt that this was emphasised over the rights of other stakeholder groups in the schools especially the learners. Principal and teacher participants, most notably SADTU members, expressed dissatisfaction with their union and did not seem to think that it plays a constructive role in schools. It is argued in this article that teachers’ unions play a role in schools and that this role is either positive or negative. This article is based on my research of school based teacher unionism in one Gauteng district. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The awarding of section twenty-one status to schools is seen as part of the democratisation of education in South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the impact that the allocation of section-twenty one powers has on the functioning of School Governing Bodies in rural section 21 schools. A case study involving three schools; a moving school, stationary school and a promenading school was conducted. The SGB members in these schools were interviewed to elicit information and get their viewpoints. Non-participatory observation was also conducted to add on the information gathered from the respondents. Other stakeholders involved in education were also interviewed, for instance the Chairperson of the National Association of School Governing Bodies and the Section 21 co-ordinator. It has emerged from the findings of the study that many SGBs are not coping with the allocated functions thrust upon them because of lack of skills and involvement. This results in the bulk of the SGB duties being performed by the principal or educators. / Dissertation (MEd (Education Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The need to transform education from its apartheid past resulted in the introduction of school governing bodies (SGBs). SGBs are democratic structures that allow for stakeholder participation in school matters in line with the demands of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Section 21 of the South African Schools Act (SASA) (84 of 1996) stipulates specific functions for SGBs. These functions are allocated only on the basis of significant growth in the performance of an SGB. SGBs must apply to be allocated these functions, after satisfying themselves first that they can self–manage their school, and after the MEC has certified the said performance. Schools in the Mpumalanga province were all allocated these functions simultaneously without applying for them. One of the functions that SGBs perform is the establishment and administration of school funds. Because schools are state institutions, SGBs are expected by law to be accountable for the funds they manage. They must account to all stakeholders who contribute to the school fund. To be able to administer the funds, as well as to give proper accountability thereof, SGBs need to have particular financial management and accounting skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which SGBs are able to account to stakeholders for the school funds they manage. The study further investigated whether the kind of accountability given to parents and the state is “hard” or “soft”. A case study involving three schools: a rural school, a semi-urban school and an urban school, was conducted. SGB members of these schools and officials from the department of education were interviewed for information and also to solicit their opinion on current financial accountability processes. An analysis of official SGB documents was also conducted to strengthen the information gathered through interviews. It has emerged from the findings of the study that some SGBs in Mpumalanga are still experiencing difficulties in following the correct procedures in giving a financial account to parents and the state. There is an indication from the study that capacity to handle finances is still a big challenge for schools that are not in the rich quintile. / Dissertation (MEd (Education Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / unrestricted

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Safety in schools has become an issue of concern in the whole country. The Department of Basic Education’s record of safety in schools is being questioned by a number of incidents and cases that indicated that schools are indeed unsafe. Therefore, this study focuses on the role of the School Governing Bodies in the implementation of Safety Policy in the rural primary and secondary school areas of Mamabolo. The study focused on three secondary schools and four primary schools. The research concentrated only on the views of chairpersons of SGBs, principals, teachers and Assistant Director for governance in schools. Qualitative data was collected through observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Data was transcribed, coded and categorised into themes. The findings revealed that the School Governing Bodies lack capacitation in the promotion of safety in schools. Challenges that were identified include lack of training, lack of funds, unavailability of police, unavailability of security officers, and lack of support from the Limpopo Department of Education. The study recommends that schools be provided with security personnel to regulate access control and conduct searches and seizures, addition of safety course or module to teacher training at institutions of higher learning and a design of a common safety policy by the circuit office. Additionally, parents should take part in the discipline of their children at home. Last, but not least, the department should provide schools with thorough training on the promotion of safety in schools.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration in the Faculty of Education, 2007. / The South Africa Schools Act, (Act No. 84 of 1996) which came into effect on 1 January 1996 and the National Education Policy Act, (Act No. 21 of 1996) introduced a new approach to the South African Education system. These acts, and many policy documents produced by the National Department of Education, provide for the active participation of parents, educators, learners and other members of the community in the governance of schools. Whilst policy mandates stakeholder participation, in practice parent participation is problematic. This study therefore, investigates the role of the principal in facilitating the effective participation of the parent component of the SGB in the provision of quality education in public schools. A review of national and international literature was conducted to establish strategies principals use to facilitate the effective participation of the SGB. An empirical study was also undertaken. A questionnaire with closed-ended and open-ended questions was utilized with the aim of accessing the level of interaction between the SGB and principals of schools. Data from the questionnaire revealed the following key findings, namely: • There is a lack of effective management of parent involvement in school governance. • Limited communication exists between the principal and SGB regarding planned school activities where the SGB is supposed to have an input. • As leaders, principals are grappling to secure effective parent participation in the provision of quality education. Some recommendations are as follows: • Principals should develop orientation and on-going training programmes to capacitate parents to participate effectively in promoting quality public education • Principals should develop an invitational environment at the school • Principals should promote a climate for sound conflict management • Principals should provide sufficient information to SGB members and communicate these timeously to them It is hoped that through this study, principals will be inspired to identify then-limitations relative to the facilitation of parent participation and subsequently adopt one or more of the recommendations offered to armour themselves with strategies to facilitate the effective participation of parents in the provision of quality education for all learners.

The following research question motivated the study: "How can education management effectively address factors influencing teachers to migrate from the teaching profession?" To answer this research question, one school was selected in Limpopo Province, which is not affected by the migration of teachers from the teaching profession; this was demonstrated by the school retaining expert and veteran teachers and its excellent grade 12 results. Factors influencing the migration of teachers from the teaching profession were researched by means of qualitative approach. Focus group interviews, phenomenological interviews and unstructured (in-depth) interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed. The research findings indicated that education management team needs to urge the government to pay teachers attractive salaries, introduce performance bonus scheme, deal with overcrowding and lack of resources, curb violence in schools, deal effectively with corruption, improve poor learners' discipline and do away with corporal punishment. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

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)

According to the South African Schools Act no 86 or 1994, school governing bodies determine the official language used as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in public schools. Black community primary schools use home language in the Foundation Phase, and switch to English from the fourth grade. This study investigates Zulu as LoLT in the Foundation Phase in selected township primary schools in Gauteng East District. A qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews to collect data from Grade Three teachers. Findings were that educators welcomed use of learner’s Home Language as LoLT; due to diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners, Zulu was not used effectively in classrooms; code switching to English was prevalent; parent involvement was poor due to parents’ lack of Zulu proficiency and learning and teaching materials were mainly in English. The review of school language policies and the provision of multiple medium classes to accommodate language diversity were recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Early Childhood Development)

This research investigates the vision of excellence in secondary schools leadership in Ekurhuleni East District (Gauteng East District) and the existence of a vision of excellence in schools. A literature study investigated models of leadership related to vision of excellence and aspects of vision of excellence in school leadership. An empirical investigation used both a quantitative and qualitative research design to collect data from a purposefully selected and stratified sample of participants and secondary schools in the Ekurhuleni East District (Gauteng East Education District). A questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to gather data from the respondents. Data were analysed and interpreted using quantitative and qualitative approach. The findings of both the literature study and the empirical research on the above-mentioned vision of excellence in secondary schools leadership in Ekurhuleni East District revealed that there is a lack of support from school leadership and the School Management Team (SMT) in realising a vision of excellence in secondary schools leadership. The main challenges that were identified by qualitative method were the lack of support by both the district office and school management or school leadership. The realisation of the vision of excellence is dependent on how the information is managed and disseminated by the school leadership, principals and SMTs. It appears that the realisation of the vision of excellence would enhance the level of understanding of new developments in the education system including the curriculum change and technological advancement. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)