M.Ed. / Over the years, and even now, the Department of Education is busy trying to find a better method of managing and empowering educators with the aim of attaining whole school development. The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) as early as 1992 proposed an educator developmental appraisal system. Workshops are currently conducted to facilitate the implementation of DAS (developmental appraisal system) at schools. This study concentrates on peer appraisal of educators as an aspect of educator management and its contribution to whole school development. The literature indicated that educators are dissatisfied with the traditional appraisal instruments and the old inspection system. Hence it was abolished on the basis that it was not transparent, not developmental and not democratic (SADTU, 1999(a):61). Information obtained from different books clearly states that peer appraisal is a process that directly involves all the educators in a school. It stresses the mutual understanding, transparency and capacity building among the educators. This research used a structured questionnaire to collect data on the opmwns of the respondents in seven of the nine provinces in South Africa. The questionnaire contained 79 items and seven of these items were relevant to peer appraisal. The structured questionnaires were distributed to a convenient stratified sample of educators in seven of the nine provinces. Based on the information from the questionnaire, each item relevant to this particular research was analysed and discussed. After the factor analysis, the significance of the difference between the factor mean scores of various groups for each of the factors that make up whole school development were analysed and explained. The data obtained indicates that peer appraisal of educators has a positive impact on the professional development of educators. An atmosphere of collegial relationships among staff is a pre-requisite for whole school development. It appears as if the learning and teaching process can be improved through the implementation of peer appraisal m schools.

D.Ed.

M.Ed. / Organisation development as a tool for sustainable school improvement is at the core of this study and a qualitative case study research method was deployed. Organisation development in itself is a process, which applies behavioural science knowledge and systems theory to plan and implement change in schools. The goal is more effective schools and an educational environment supportive of human needs and developments and where the participation of all stakeholders forms a crucial determinant in the change process. The researcher's field experience as an organisation development consultant combined with an international literature survey brought to light evidence to the effect that there is a definite need for a more school-based model of organisation development. The importance of a comprehensive capacity building exercise for principals and school management teams on the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for organisation development are identified as an absolute necessity in this research. The aim of the research is therefore to describe the nature of organisation development within a school context, determine the perceptions of educators concerning organisation development, investigate aspects that could be enhanced and develop guidelines that could be used by educational managers to improve their schools and to facilitate the management of change. A detailed literature study embedded within a theoretical framework of organisation development emphasises the importance of the individual nature of schools with reference to school improvement interventions.

School managers currently face major challenges of finding innovative ways to improve the quality of teaching and learning and ultimately student outcomes. This might be because contemporary leadership models promote either requisite curricular expertise or requisite leadership qualities or requisite norms and values which impact notably on teaching and learning. This study examined to which extent School Management Teams (SMT’s) contribute to the quality of teaching and learning when utilizing an integrated leadership approach in primary schools.The extent to which integrated leadership contributes to the quality of teaching and learning is investigated through an exploratory mixed method approach. Case studies in six different schools were conducted through both qualitative and quantitative research methods to obtain data regarding the thirty-six participants’ integrated leadership qualities. Data was gathered through focused group interviews, observations and a questionnaire. The Annual National Assessment results for two consecutive years (2010 and 2011) of grade three and six learners for literacy and numeracy were collected to determine the relationship between integrated leadership and quality teaching and learning and the extent to which integrated leadership impacted on student outcomes.The findings revealed that SMT’s confused integrated leadership with the utilization of qualities from a range of leadership styles each seeking to fit the purpose of an activity, and then claim they are employing an integrated leadership approach. Integrated leadership on the contrary is one leadership model with different qualities and when utilised as a complete package, in a unified manner, has the potential to have a significant impact on the quality of teaching and learning and ultimately student achievement. The findings also indicated that the majority of SMT members are either not utilising integrated leadership or occasionally utilise some of the integrated leadership qualities. This might be one of the main reasons for unsatisfactory academic performance in schools. Integrated leadership thus, when implemented in its totality at all times, possesses all the qualities to have a significant impact on the quality of teaching and learning nationally and internationally.

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

M. Ed. (Educational Management) / Accountability and transparency in financial management is the cornerstone to all democratic government policies. All spheres of government should encourage participative collaboration and involvement of all stakeholders. Schools as organs of state are not immune to this call. The aim of this research was to investigate the level of accountability and transparency in school financial management with the ultimate aim of encouraging efficacy in financial school management. Accountability and transparency must be approached with resiliency. The findings are clear indications of what might be happening in schools. It is our responsibilities as educationist to reverse and normalise the scenario. It was a carefully planned policy of the previous government to alienate and discourage African parents from playing a significant role in education. As a result the role of stakeholders in education diminished. Educational managers must acknowledge the fact that it will be an awesome struggle to encourage all stakeholders to playa meaningful role in the education ofourchildren. This task requires managers who must be change agents themselves. For managers to achieve this task they must first have a change of heart, change of mindset and strong will power. These leaders must have courage and determination. This task requires managers who are not afraid offailure. There is evidence of internal wrangling in schools. This wrangling sometimes prevents schools from its core function, which is effective teaching and learning...

D.Ed. / The objective of this thesis was to investigate, both qualitatively and quantitatively the school governance capacity building of school governing bodies in the Witbank district, Mpumalanga province, for the effective management of schools. A literature survey was undertaken and it is evident that, against the background of effective school governance, there is a definite need for more specific and up to date capacity building for school governing bodies. Furthermore, the importance of capacity building as an aspect of school governance capacity building and its implications for effective school management as a process, is emphasized. An empirical study was undertaken. In this research a questionnaire and focus group interviews were used. The research design is discussed in chapter four. In chapter five the analysis and interpretation of both the questionnaire and the focus group interview has been discussed. The literature study undertaken in chapter two discusses the problems regarding school governance capacity building tried in other countries. The two instruments were used to gauge the opinions of the school governing bodies' capacity in respect of school governance. Their responses to the questionnaire were analysed by means of multivariate and univariate statistical tests. From the sixty two questions, twenty were selected for the purpose of further qualitative analysis. The sixty two questions were then reduced to three factors using two consecutive factor analytic procedures: Factor 1- competent school governance. Factor 2- accountable collaborative school governance; and Factor 3- selection criteria. The competent school governance factor consists of 39 questions with a Cronbach - Alpha reliability coefficient of 0,9412. The accountable collaborative school governance factor consists of 20 questions with a Cronbach-Alpha reliability coefficient of 0,8684. Selection criteria consist of three questions with a Cronbach-Alpha reliability coefficient of 0,559. Multivariate and univariate statistical analyses were used to test the various hypotheses regarding school governance capacity building. Significant statistical differences between the mean score of two independent groups were investigated using Hotelling's T2 test and the Student t-test. Three or more independent groups were first tested at the multivariate level using MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance). Any differences found at this level were further investigated using the ANOVA (analysis of variance) test at the univariate level. Pair-wise differences were investigated using the Dunette T3 or Scheffe test. Focus group interviews were also conducted because of the poor response to the questionnaires. Ten questions were developed around school governance capacity building which were used during the focus group interviews. The analysis of the data obtained from the focus group interviews clearly indicated a lack of capacity on the part of the three main components of the school governing body namely - parents, non-educators and learners. The following important recommendations emanated from this research: School governance capacity building is a crucial necessity. According to the findings of the research, respondents exposed a lack of capacity in their governance. Respondents also believe that they would have been better SGB's if they had the necessary training workshops.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / The standard of education is determined by the teacher concerned. It stands to reason therefore that the professional growth of teachers has become a focal point where training for managerial positions is concerned. Deputy headmasters, in their capacity of co-leaders in matters concerning education, are responsible for the organization in a school. However, only a limited number of deputy headmasters prove to be adequately qualified for this task. Due to the lack of existing training courses, the professional development of deputy headmasters is seriously hampered. That makes them increasingly dependent in this regard on guidance by the headmaster. Headmasters have the responsibility of discreetly and meaningfully stimulating the deputy by involving him in matters such as planning, organization, management and the implementation of authority. This implies, however, that the headmaster himself should be familiar with what these components entail; it is imperative that each aspect be fully appreciated so that a meaningful understanding and implementation on the part of the deputy headmaster will ensue. The headmaster who is sincerely concerned with the professional development of his deputy, contributes successfully towards an in-service guidance programme by including the management skills of motivation, co-consultation and decisionmaking and delegation in his programme. To achieve this end, a meticulous study of the functional value of each of these management skills is necessary. These skills embrace the entire field of management o The headmaster who has mastered these skills and who can successfully. apply them, can make a substantial contribution towards fostering the quality of education as such. The headmaster is taxed with the responsibility of sharing his knowledge with his deputy, thus creating opportunities for the latter to acquire these managerial skills and to discover the applicability of each.

There is a growing consensus that at the core of school effectiveness and learner achievement is instructional leadership. Research evidence show that the rigid command and control leadership tendencies stifles individual and team creativity which may in turn deter platitudes about quality teaching and learning as well as learner achievement. This research has argued that to strengthen teaching and learning, instructional leadership should be nurtured through the establishment of a leadership development program. This program should focus on, amongst others, an in-depth understanding of school and classroom practices that could improve learner achievement. The overall aim of this research was to assess instructional leadership in schools and to ascertain its implications for whole school evaluation. To achieve this aim the quantitative research design was used. Data was collected from a range of post level one educators to deputy principals at Ekurhuleni West District by means of a structured questionnaire. The identification and conceptual meanings in respect of instructional leadership were achieved through the results of the empirical data, although it was difficult to find a succinct definition from the literature gleaned. Three successive factor analyses on the research instrument (the questionnaire) produced one factor, namely: • Academic standards consisting of 50 items with a Cronbach- Alpha reliability co-efficient of 0,990. This factor indicates a high reliability co-efficient correlation between the independent and dependent variables in this research- (instructional leadership and whole school evaluation). (Instructional leadership being the predictor variable (independent variable) and whole school evaluation being the criterion variable (dependent variable). This research has shown that the presence or lack of presence of instructional leadership would determine the kind of results that may be obtained from the process of whole school evaluation. Important findings from the literature review indicate that high achieving schools have principals that place instruction as their highest priority. These are the principals that set goals, understand instruction and curriculum, are results-driven, evaluate and monitor progress to bring about increased learner learning, become physically visible and accessible and promote instructional climate (Van Deventer and Kruger, 2003:248-254). The recommendations explicated in chapter five indicated that principals need the opportunity to explore and update skills in instructional leadership, curriculum development, supervision and school management. / Prof. C.F. Loock

Principals come to their current positions with their own beliefs about their role, about their practice, and about other educational issues related to the nature of education: schools, teachers, students, community, and professional growth. These and all other factors that influence how principals think about their job are what I refer to as "principals' professional beliefs." This study demonstrated that principals bring to change initiatives their professional beliefs and those beliefs influence how they interpret the language of the change initiative, how they conceptualize the change, and how they plan for enactment of the policy change. I used a multi-case study approach to examine how eight principals in a school district that was undergoing a district policy change, thought about their enactment of the change at the school level. I identified three groups of principals: (1) supporters of teacher decision making, (2) facilitators of shared values, and (3) promoters of mutual respect. These principals differed in their involvement in the negotiation of the way the change would be carried out in the school, how much and what kinds of support they offered to teachers, and the degree of autonomy they allowed teachers in determining how the change would be implemented. Three questions guided the study: (1) What factors influence principals' responses to a change in school district policy? More specifically, what are the professional and context-specific issues the principals consider as they interpret a school district policy change and plan for their own action in carrying out that change process? (2) How do principals enact the policy changes in their own schools? (3) What impact did the principals perceive that the policy change had on their enactment of their role? This study provides insights into how principals understand and interpret educational policy language, how they work toward the development of collaborative relationships and collegial cultures, and how their professional beliefs inform their practice. The policy change and the language of the policy is mediated through principals' professional belief systems as they determine how they will enact the policy change. This study disputes findings in existing literature and contributes to our understanding of change in schools by recognizing that principals play significant roles in change at the school level. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate