Although the necessary legislations such as the South African Schools Act and Employment Equity Act are in place, these are not implemented to effect systematic change in disadvantaged schools. The autocratic and laissez-faire styles of leadership seem to be more prevalent. Human resource management in disadvantaged schools is still based on a disempowering autocratic ethos inherited from the apartheid era. The principles of collegiality are mentioned in theory but not practised. Due to lack of power sharing, great pressure is placed on senior managers to be skilled and reskilled for collegiality. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether reskilling for collegiality in disadvantaged schools helps to enhance the work ethos of educators. This study also aimed at determining the involvement of educators in the formulation of vision, leading to a sense of ownership and enhancing prospects of successful innovation. Educational managers and educators who were purposely selected from disadvantaged primary and secondary schools in Poortjie in the Vaal Triangle were interviewed. Verbatim-transcribed data was further analysed using the constant comparative method. The research findings suggested that reskilling for collegiality in poorly managed schools is necessary. The Department of Education is not doing enough to educate both school management teams and educators on reskilling for collegiality. Research findings also indicated that most principals tend to use autocratic, as opposed to collegial styles of leadership. It also appears that the school system needs to transform its culture from one of control to one where autonomy, participative management and empowerment are valued. In view of the foregoing discussion it is recommended that a joint effort by the Department of Education, principals, teachers, and non-government organisations is needed to solve the problem. Moreover, structuring professional development programmes for educators by the latter and learning how techniques should be employed within the career development of educators through the appointment, induction, in-service training and the transitional stages are highly valued.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:14875 |
| Date | 05 February 2009 |
| Creators | Sabisa, Modiehi Emily |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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