Principals’ Leadership and Management Perspective on High School Violence: The South African Case Study
Bulelwa Elphrida Bolitina 
, Thanduxolo Albert Nomtshongwana and Andrea Mqondiso Buka
Issue: Vol.4 No.9 Article 12 pp.1160-1173
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234912 | Published online 29th September, 2023
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The paper sought to explore solutions to revolutionary principal leadership practices for the next generation in contemporary African society. Despite the efforts done by the government, schools continue to be confronted with problems of disruptive behaviour by students and some disrespectful people from the society. The study targeted principals of the Libode Sub-district of OR Tambo District using the purposeful sampling technique. Data was qualitatively collected and the analysis was done thematically. The findings of the study revealed that regulations, acts, and rules set by the DoE are outdated and made it difficult for principals to maintain school discipline. The study further revealed that lack of resources, safety and security contribute to poor leadership practices, drug abuse, and safety leading to disruptive behavior (cases). Also, alternatives measure to corporal punishment in managing school discipline could not solve ill-discipline problems. This paper recommends that policy on drug abuse, safety and security should be revised. There should be also rethinking around the issue of better security and a need for a consolidated and coordinated system in schools.
Keywords: Disruptive Behaviour, School Violence and Sexual Harassment
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Bulelwa Elphrida Bolitina is currently a part-time Lecturer at the Faculty of Education in the continuing professional teacher development at Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on principal leadership and management of school violence.
Thanduxolo Nomtshongwana is a Doctor Education student at the Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He is also a fulltime professional teacher in Department of Basic Education, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on education leadership and management, teachers’ stress, especially in psych education research.
Andrea Mqondiso Buka is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education in the continuing professional teacher development at Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on inclusive education and educational management and policy, especially psycho-pedagogical research.
Bolitina, E.B., Nomtshongwana, T.A. and Buka, A.M.“Principals’ Leadership and Management Perspective on High School Violence: The South African Case Study.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 4, no.9 (2023): 1160-1173. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234912
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
