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Delegation of authority by school principals : an education law perspective

D.Ed. (Education Management) / This research departs from the premise that within the school, the principal as a professional leader, is vested with some kind of authority which he' exercises in order to ensure effective and efficient management of his school. He is the central authoritative body and the pivot on which management powers and their delegation " hinge. He derives this apparent authoritative legal status from his position as a principal and professional leader ofa school (Bray, 1988:44). Placed in this situation, the principal is called upon to utilize a wide range of competencies in carrying out his job and delegation is one of the most important management techniques he must rely on, if he wants to be successful. However, delegation of authority does require consideration of some legal implications such as the legal limitation that certain tasks delegated by law cannot be further delegated. Schools, like other organizations, are legally established organizations set up to serve specific functions, and like all organizations, they need to be administered and properly managed. Invariably, within the school final authority over most aspects of schooling rests with the school principal. Engelking (in Hostrop,1990:200) argues that "the principal of a successful high school is an initiator, one who displays creativity and vision in decision-making, one who is able to delegate responsibility as appropriate and analyzes information relative to school problems"...

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:4371
Date17 March 2014
CreatorsMbatha, Leonard Thula
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
RightsUniversity of Johannesburg

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