1. Email – gnshava@gmail.com or 26940442@nwu.ac.za
THE ABILITY OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TO CHANGE UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA BY
G N SHAVA [POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW: NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY: POTCHEFSTROOM CAMPUS – SOUTH AFRICA]
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2. The full paper is presented in four sections:
Introduction:
● The role of leadership in South African Schools context has become incredibly complex
● Additional responsibilities imposed on principals in Africa and many other countries
make great demands on post holders
● Roles of principals are expanding as a consequence of devolution of powers from local
or bureaucracies to school level
● Schools require effective leadership to provide the best possible education for learners
● The goal of the study was to explore the roles of School Principals in changing underperforming schools.
The full paper is presented in four sections:
● Section (I) Presents a brief review of literature and theoretical framework
● Section (II) Presents the research design
● Section (III) Presents the findings
● Section (IV) Presents the conclusions

3. Literature Review
● There is unprecedented and overwelling international interest in the question on how principals influence learner achievement (Leithwood et al., 2004).
● Quality of School leadership is key to continued organisational learning and improvement (Datnow, 2005)
● Effective School leadership is vital for organisational goal achievement
● Much success in schools depend on how well leaders interact with larger social and organisational context (Leithwood , 2002; Day et al., 204)
● The presence of effective school leadership, positive school climate and positive attitudes of teachers can directly or indirectly influence school achievement
● While the equation of effective school leadership and improved school performance appears to be relatively simple and straight forward in theory, in practice the whole idea is complex and unpredictable.
● While it is evident that a fundamental connection between the Principal’s leadership and school performance in terms of student achievement exists, research on this relationship begins and ends with that concept (Cotton, 2003)
● Harris (2004) states that, “We do not know, for example, exactly what forms of leadership results in high learner performance”.

4. Leadership styles common in schools
● Researches have discerned a number of school leadership styles identified by renowned social scientist Kurt Lewin and his colleagues in 1939
Authoritarian or autocratic leadership: the authoritarian leader makes decisions independent of members’ input.
● Democratic leadership: welcomes team input and facilitates group discussions and decision making
● Laissez-faire leader: Allows the group complete freedom for decision making without participation.
Another set suggest by Likert in 1967.
● Exploitative, authoritative style: Leader has low concern for the people, uses threats and punishments to achieve conformance.
● Consultative style: The leader is making genuine efforts to listen to ideas, but major decisions are still largely centrally made.
● Participative Style: Leadership engages people in decision making
● People are psychologically closer and work well together at all levels.

5. Another Set by Hallinger 1985:
● Transformational leadership and instructional leadership.
● These have dominated scholarly debates as conceptual models of school leadership since 1980.
● Transformational leadership :entails moving people to a common vision by building trust and empowerment. (Distributed leadership).
● There is communication of high performance and achievement.
● Instructional leadership: Which creates conditions and structures to support effective learning and teaching for all.
● This involves defining the school’s mission and managing instructional programs.

6. Methodology
● Qualitative evidence using constructivist approaches were used to collect data from Principals of selected 6 schools in the North West Province in South Africa
● Data was collected through semi-structured in depth face to face interviews with principals.
● During interviews participants were coded as (P1-P6).
● Purposive sampling with maximum variation was adopted to select participants
● Principals had a wealth of different kinds of knowledge and information relating to leadership practices in their school.
● Such participants according to Patton (2001) are information rich cases drawn from the population
● It would have appeared both wasteful and unwise for me as the researcher not to draw directly on such knowledge from participants who had direct experiences
● It is however acknowledged that in a small scale study of this type where six principals out of more than 3000 were interviewed, generalisation to a national picture is difficult to make.
● However the fact that my participants were principals drawn from different types of schools allow for tentative generalisation to theory regarding school leadership and learner achievement.
● My study gives significant insights into school leadership and school leadership.
● The six participants were according to the researcher purposively selected for their ability to contribute rich information to the interview questions. An interview guide with the following six questions was eventually used.

7. Research questions
● What are the leadership styles of principals adopted in schools?
● In what ways, if at all, does the principal influence effective teaching?
● How does leadership in schools influence student learning to improving teaching and learning?
● What are the main functions of the school principal that are linked to improving teaching and learning?
● Which leadership style is likely to improve the quality of teaching and learning?
● How are decisions made in school?

8. Results and discussions of findings
● The six schools are all located in the disadvantaged township on the outskirts of a major town.
● School 1: A combined school, with about 1452 learners and 44 teachers.
● School 2: A secondary school, with about 1475 learners and 40 teachers
● School 3: A primary school, with about 1037 learners and 30 teachers
● School 4: A combined school, with about 526 learners and 19 teachers
● School 5: A combined school, with 617 learners and 20 teachers
● School 6: A primary school, with 1023 learners and 30 teachers
● The communities served by five schools exhibits a range of social and economic problems, which include poverty, unemployment, illness due to HIV/AIDS and extensive teenage pregnancy
● Such factors strongly influence learner achievement
● While effective leadership exists in the 6 schools, they cannot compensate for such difficult socio-economic challenges
Leadership styles of principals in schools
● The significant role played by leadership in schools was highlighted in all the schools.

9. Results and discussions of findings cont’
● The six participants interviewed indicated that they had good relationships with their communities which attributed to school improvement
● This is supported by Leithwood et.al, (2010) who suggest that leadership engagement with families can have a powerful impact on learner outcomes
● Principals exercise democratic leadership
● Principals create a culture of learning among learners
● There is distributed leadership where HODs play a significant role in leadership
● Both transactional and transformational leadership styles are adopted in the schools
● The Principal of combined School 4 for example, visits classrooms as well as ensuring that all learners do their home works.
● In all the six schools principals set goals with educators and agree on specific goals to achieve, there is accountability.

10. Results and discussions of findings cont’
● There is consultative leadership in most schools where leaders make genuine efforts to listen to ideas from educators.
● Most respondents indicated that there was harmony in their schools despite economic challenges affecting the schools.
● There is democratic or participative leadership in all schools where principals engage educators in decision making
● There is transactional leadership based on reciprocal exchange of duty and rewards by principal

11. Ways adopted by Principals in influencing effective teaching
● Involving members of staff in decision making
● Rewarding educators who are excelling through recommendations for promotion as HOD or Deputy Principals, annual awards etc.
● Empowering teachers and contributing to school improvement through this empowerment
● Developing educators in the school
● Encouraging professional development for educators
● Adoption of distributed leadership throughout the schools (leadership in most schools is distributed through out the system).
● Educators have both management (leadership) and pedagogical responsibilities (eg) head of department subject co-ordinators, key stage co-ordinators, leadership roles of teaching.

12. How leadership influences student learning
● Visiting classrooms to discuss challenges faced by both educators and learners
● Holding meetings with parents and educators to discuss challenges affecting teaching and learning
● Distributing of power within the school
● Diffusing and dispersing power within the teaching community
● Encouraging teacher leadership in the schools
● Making resources available for teaching and learning
● There was emphasis on rewards for teachers and learners excelling
● Providing the capacity for teachers to exercise leadership for teaching and learning within and beyond the classroom

13. Functions of the Principal linked to school improvement:
● Developing educators
● Supervising both learners and educators
● Motivating both learners and educators
● Class visits followed by feedback to educators
● Overseeing curriculum implementation across the school
● Ensuring that teaching takes place
● Monitoring the work of HODs through scrutiny of their work plans
● Ensuring that HODs monitor the work of educators
● Ensuring the availability of appropriate learning and teaching support materials (LTSM).

14. Leadership style likely to enhance effective teaching
● The instructional leadership which focuses on teaching and learning
● Principals using the instructional and transformational leadership styles.
● Organisational office proceedings
● Administration of financial and human resources
● Administration of the time resources of staff
● Responsible for the communication process within and outside the school
● All these are elements linked to school improvement.

15. Decision Making
● Effective school leadership involves collegial decision making
● Increasing the pool of knowledge by including other members
● Empowering others to make significant decisions
● School leadership decisions come from many sources rather than principals
● Giving a greater voice to members of staff
● All leadership problems have solutions from subordinates

16. Conclusions
● Leadership in schools play a critical role in identifying and supporting learning and structuring the social settings in schools
● School leadership from both formal and informal sources help to shape the nature of school conditions
● School leaders in schools provide direction and influencing group members
● School leaders organise work activities to accomplish objectives
● Motivation of followers to achieve objectives
● Leadership is a highly complex concept and activity
● Finally the direct and indirect effects of school leadership on pupil achievement are small but educationally significant
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