Functionality and Deployment of Structures to Effect Balanced School Leadership: Narratives of School Principals
Thokolosi John Tshabalala 
& Loyiso Jita
Issue: Vol.5 No.2 Article 2 pp.89-99
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2024522 | Published online 12th February, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study set out to map the changing dynamics of school leadership in South Africa and the enormous challenges that go with it. The article explored the democratisation of schools since the advent of democracy in 1994 and how school principals are handling the devolution of powers as accounting officers. It further mapped out a few key themes on the structures available in schools meant to affect the changed policy framework in South African school leadership. Furthermore, it argued that different expectations are piled on school leadership and that the new policy framework has largely transformed the school principal’s work. Scholars warn that there is an unanticipated and largely unacknowledged consequence of this. It is so complex that it may have contradictory effects that impede rather than assist school improvement in South Africa. The study followed a qualitative approach, with a case study design, where the narratives of four purposively selected principals from two provinces of the Republic of South Africa, the Free State, and Gauteng, were compiled. Data was collected through interviews, observation, and document analysis over three months. The findings from the four case studies reflect a reigning confusion in schools regarding the deployment of structures. Furthermore, the findings showed a degree of misalignment of structures and their functionality. The study recommended reviewing the policy and the realignment of structures, focusing on their functions and demarcation of roles. This study draws the attention of education stakeholders to the importance of support and capacity building for school principals.The findings and recommendations of this study will impact scholarship in various ways that will in turn benefit school leadership across the globe.
Keywords: Leadership, Management, Principal-ship, Structures, Instructional Leadership.
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Dr. Thokolosi J. Tshabalala obtained his PhD in Instructional Leadership at the University of the Free State in South Africa. He is an accomplished school principal with over three decades of leadership experience. Currently, he is a lecturer in the Department of Education Management, Policy, and Comparative Education (DEMPCE) at the University of the Free State. He is also the Program Coordinator for the Teaching Schools Project which links educational theory with practice. He has so far presented papers at the Postgraduate Students and the Staff Conferences of the University of the Free State over the past three years.
Prof. Loyiso C. Jita obtained his PhD in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy at Michigan State University, USA. He is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies and Higher Education. He is the SANRAL Chair in Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Education at the University of the Free State. Professor Jita has published over 120 articles on instructional leadership, teacher development, curriculum reform, and Science and Mathematics education. He has presented over 50 papers at local and international conferences. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Education and the editor-in-chief of the accredited journal, Perspectives in Education (PIE).
Tshabalala, Thokolosi John & Loyiso Jita. “Functionality and Deployment of Structures to Effect Balanced School Leadership: Narratives of School Principals.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.2 (2024): 89-99. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2024522
© 2024 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/).
