This study investigated the relationship between principal leadership and school performance in Gauteng schools. The study examined the role and functions of the school principal, the differences between schools which perform well and schools which perform poorly, and what influence the leadership style of the principal has on the performance of the school. It was a qualitative study. Principals and teachers were interviewed. The study found that the leadership style of the school principal influences the performance of the school. The study also revealed that the principal, the management team, the teachers and the community all need to be invested in the success of the school in order to provide the learners with quality education. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thèse de doctorat présentée en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche (Ph.D) / La santé psychologique est une composante essentielle au bon fonctionnement quotidien des individus. Celle-ci est influencée par plusieurs facteurs, dont leur emploi. Un employé possédant une bonne santé psychologique n’est pas seulement fondamental pour son propre bien-être, mais également pour les objectifs de l’organisation qui l’emploie. Effectivement, un employé qui vit beaucoup de bien-être psychologique au travail est plus satisfait de son emploi et est plus productif et efficace à la tâche. A contrario, un employé en détresse psychologique à son travail est à risque de développer plusieurs troubles psychologiques, dont la dépression, le burnout et l’anxiété, menant à plusieurs comportements indésirables et à un roulement du personnel accru. La résilience est un phénomène permettant aux employés de mieux gérer les conséquences toxiques des adversités caractéristiques du milieu organisationnel sur leur santé psychologique en protégeant leur bien-être et en limitant les impacts négatifs sur leur détresse psychologique. Les objectifs de cette thèse sont donc de rapporter les principales lacunes de la littérature scientifique au sujet des liens entre la résilience et la santé psychologique en milieu organisationnel et de proposer un modèle prédictif de la santé psychologique chez les directions et directions adjointes des établissements scolaires francophones. Le premier article est une revue de portée qui cartographie la connaissance scientifique sur les liens statistiques directs et indirects entre la résilience et deux facteurs de santé psychologique : le bien-être et la détresse psychologique. Cet article recueille les résultats d’études sur un large éventail d’emplois et de pays d’origine. Plusieurs biais et lacunes en lien avec la validité externe sont observés. La majorité des études proviennent des pays catégorisés WEIRD, étudient les emplois du secteur de la santé et sont motivées par l’arrivée d’une catastrophe telle que la pandémie au COVID-19. Le deuxième article propose un modèle prédictif du bien-être et de la détresse psychologique chez les directions et directions adjointes d’établissements ii scolaires francophones ontariennes et québécoises. Le modèle stipule que le climat de travail, la résilience et les habiletés politiques sont des inducteurs directs du bien-être et de la détresse. Le modèle proposé est également comparé à un modèle alternatif basé sur la théorie de conservation des ressources. Selon l’analyse acheminatoire, le modèle proposé représente le mieux les données et le climat de travail et la résilience prédisent statistiquement le bien-être et la détresse psychologique. La résilience est également le meilleur prédicteur de la santé psychologique. / Psychological health is an essential component for the proper daily functioning of individuals. This is influenced by several factors, including their work. An employee with good psychological health is not only fundamental for their own well-being, but also for the objectives of the organization that employs them. Indeed, an employee who experiences a lot of psychological well-being at work is more satisfied with their job and is more productive and efficient at work. Conversely, an employee in psychological distress is at risk of developing several psychological disorders, including depression, burnout, and anxiety, leading to several undesirable behaviors and increased staff turnover. Resilience is a phenomenon that allows employees to better manage the toxic consequences of the adversities characteristic of the organizational setting on their psychological health by protecting their well being and limiting the negative impacts on their psychological distress. The objectives of this thesis are therefore to report the gaps in the scientific literature on the links between resilience and psychological health in an organizational setting and to propose a predictive model of psychological health among principals and vice-principals of French-speaking schools. The first article is a scoping review that maps scientific knowledge on the direct and indirect statistical links between resilience and the two factors of psychological health: well-being and psychological distress. This article collects the results of studies on a wide range of jobs and countries of origin. Several shortcomings and biases are observed. The majority of studies come from countries categorized as WEIRD, study jobs in the health sector and are motivated by the arrival of a disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The second article proposes a predictive model of well-being and psychological distress among principals and vice-principals of French-speaking schools from Ontario and Québec. The model states that work climate, resilience and political skills are direct drivers of well-being and distress. The proposed model is also compared to an alternative model based on the resource conservation theory. According to the path analysis, the proposed model best fits the data, and work climate and resilience statistically predict well-being and psychological distress. Resilience is also the best predictor of psychological health.

The phenomenon of conflict is the problem that principals are faced with in their respective schools. The aim of this study was to explore the role that innovative leadership could play in managing conflict at the selected schools in Botswana. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative research approach was adopted. It included interviews, during which the informants responded to open-ended questions; observations, where the researcher visited the schools and interacted with the informants; and document analysis. These methods were employed to determine the perceptions of participants regarding the nature, extent, and causes of conflict at the selected schools. The study indicated that a number of factors could significantly contribute in managing conflict. Employing innovative educational leaders, benchmarking, using bottom-up communication skills, and the engagement of policy analysts, are some of the key recommendations made for avoiding further conflict within schools and between schools and the Ministry of Education. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

The researcher investigated the management of multi-grade teaching for optimal learning in Gauteng West primary schools. Ten participants, including school principals, heads of departments and educators participated in individual and focus group interviews and in observation of multi-grade classroom contexts. Findings revealed that educators involved in multi-grade teaching feel overwhelmed by challenging work conditions pertaining to large learner numbers and a lack of adequate didactical resources. This is exacerbated by a lack of professional development by means of tailor-made training for multi-grade teaching and the presumption that educators teaching such classes must merely change the monograde teaching format of the curriculum themselves for applicable implementation in a multi-grade teaching context. This leaves educators socially, emotionally and professionally isolated. Recommendations include the involvement of seasoned educators with expert knowledge and experience of multi-grade teaching to present training sessions constituting advice and support to inexperienced educators involved in said teaching. / Die navorser het die bestuur van meergraadonderrig by laerskole in Wes-Gauteng vir optimale leer ondersoek. Afgesien van individuele en fokusgroeponderhoude met skoolhoofde, departementshoofde en opvoeders, is waarneming in meergraadklaskamers gedoen. Volgens die bevindings bemoeilik groot klasse en ʼn gebrek aan didaktiese hulpmiddels meergraadopvoeders se taak. Meergraadopvoeders voel hulle geensins opgewasse teen hierdie werksomstandighede nie. ʼn Gebrek aan opleiding in meergraadonderrig en die veronderstelling dat opvoeders die eengraadformaat van die kurrikulum in ʼn meergraadformaat kan omskakel, vererger sake. Opvoeders is van mening dat hulle maatskaplik, emosioneel en professioneel in die steek gelaat word. Daar word aanbeveel dat gesoute opvoeders met kennis van en ervaring in meergraadonderrig onervare opvoeders oplei en adviseer. / Monyakisisi o dirile dinyakisiso ka ga go ruta dikereiti tse fapanego go fihlelela bokgoni le tsebo tikologong ya go thekga dinyakwa tsa baithuti dikolong tsa phoraemari go la Gauteng Bodikela. Batseakarolo ba lesome, go akaretswa dihlogo tsa dikolo, dihlogo tsa dikgoro le barutisi ba tseere karolo ditherisanong ka botee le dihlopha tseo di nepisitswego gape le temogo dikemong tsa diphaposi tsa dikereiti tse di fapanego. Dikhwetso di utollotse gore barutisi bao ba rutago dikereiti tse fapanego ba imelwa ke maemo a modiro wo o nyakago gore ba ntshe bokgoni bja bona ka moka ka lebaka la dipalo tse ntsi tsa baithuti le tlhokego ya dithusi tsa thuto tse di lekanego. Se se thatafiswa ke tlhokego ya tlhabollo ya profesene ye ka go fa tlhahlo yeo e lebanego ya go ruta dikreiti tse fapanego le kgopolo ya go re barutisi bao ba rutago ba swanela go no fetola popego ya lenaneothuto la kereiti e tee ka bobona go re ba le dirise kemong ya go ruta dikereiti tse fapanego. Se se dira gore barutisi ba ikhwetse ba se na kgokagano le setshaba leagong, ba hloka bao ba ka llelago go bona le go se be le bao ba nago le kgahlego go profesene ya bona. Ditshisinyo di akaretsa go ba gona ga barutisi bao e lego kgale ba ruta ba nago le maitemogelo le botsebi go ruta dikereiti tse fapanego go hlagisa dipaka tsa tlhahlo tseo di fago maele le thuso go barutisi bao ba se nago maitemogelo. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)