A predominantly authoritarian nature of schooling is still evident internationally and
nationally (Maitles & Deuchar, 2007; Harber, 2004; Grant, 2006). In accordance with
the Constitution of South Africa, schools in this country need to foster a democratic
way of life and principals need to be instrumental in creating, leading and governing
democratic schools. Dewey (1916) asserts that if individuals are to pursue and
establish a democratic way of life, they must be afforded opportunities to learn the
meaning of that way of life. Thus democratic schools play a pivotal role in their
contribution to democratic societies (Beane & Apple, 1999; Gutmann, 1987) and to
democracy at large. This empirical study explores the experiences and practices of
school principals in creating, leading and governing democratic schools in an urban
area, south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated within an interpretive paradigm, this study is embedded in qualitative
research. For a deep understanding of the phenomenon a case study approach was
appropriate. Two secondary schools whose principals were willing to participate and
which had some characteristics of democratic schools as outlined in the literature
review comprised the sample. Data were gathered through observations of the
principals. In addition staff meetings, staff briefing sessions and school governing
body (SGB) meetings were observed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and
various school documents were reviewed.
Findings at both schools revealed that the principals associated democratic schools
with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and as such they claimed that
democratic schools are linked to democratic principles. At both of the case study
schools the respondents made reference to a range of democratic principles. These
included shared decision-making, with emphasis on inclusion of all stakeholders, and
the need for a shared purpose and shared vision. Both of the schools advanced the
notion of democratic schools promoting critical thinking and respecting the rights and
dignity of all individuals. Other democratic principles referred to were representation
of various stakeholders, democratic schools embracing diversity, the notion of
interconnectedness between the school and the community, individuals being
accorded equal value, trust, transparency and openness. Thus there was a shared
language with regard to the notion of a democratic school.
The participants concurred that the principal plays a pivotal role in promoting and
practising democracy in the school. At both schools the principals seemed to move
away from stereotypical authoritarian behaviour. They viewed leadership as a
collective endeavour and promoted participative leadership. This study revealed that
at the case study schools, leadership was extended to others in the school community
and there seemed to be a flattening of traditional leadership hierarchies. There was
also evidence of servant leadership and distributed leadership.
Although both principals believed in democratic school governance and were moving
towards shared school governance, the learners’ voice in SGB meetings was minimal.
However, the respondents concurred that more can be done with regard to inclusion of
stakeholders in major decisions. The principals also referred to some challenges that
retard the practice of democracy in schools.
The embedded nature of democratic principles in shared leadership and democratic
school governance is emphasized, and a model for creating a democratic school is
presented. In this way, this study can contribute to the growing body of literature on
democratic schools. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/9216 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Naidoo, Renuka. |
| Contributors | Mncube, Vusi S. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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