4.2 Presentation of findings 63
4.2.4 Principals’ attempts to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices 105
well-being of the child. In contrast, the data generated from the other schools was silent on this issue. Mrs Naicker of Penguin Primary mentioned that:
We have various fundraising initiatives to ensure that learners have adequate resources.
We also network with the Psychological and Guidance Services (PGSES) for learners with special educational needs. (Mrs Naicker)
Mr Ramdin of Robin Primary added that:
We are going to introduce a parental skills workshop where parents are invited to improve their parenting skills. Social issues do impact on the child’s performance in the classroom
… therefore we have an open door crisis centre. (Mr Ramdin)
Secondly, Mr Ramdin highlighted several strategies that Robin Primary used to communicate with parents in order to keep them informed of the school’s activities and their children’s progress. He said:
We start the year off with a parent information meeting whereby parents and teachers meet to discuss pertinent issues. There is a communication book that goes out every day. We also make use of letters and the Short Messaging Service (SMS) system to keep parents informed. (Mr Ramdin)
Thirdly, Mrs Naicker of Penguin Primary emphasised that she used several strategies to deal with the barriers posed by teachers. This is what she had to say:
I work with the SGB in order to motivate them as to the type of teacher that I require. So for instance if I need a Mathematics specialist, then I articulate that point of view. With regards to teacher shortcomings, I make sure that the weaker performing teachers are developed. So we engage with them in order to mentor and assist them. (Mrs Naicker)
Fourthly, Mr Nkosi of Albatross Secondary was rather forthright in his dealings with teacher unions. He asserted that:
I overcome challenges by sticking to the policy. So I manage the school by adhering to the Personnel Administrative Measures (PAM) document. I do not use common sense as this will land you in trouble. Therefore, if teachers want to embark on union activities then they
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must give me three days’ notice. Conversely, if they do not provide a circular then they are not going to leave school. (Mr Nkosi)
Lastly, Dr Chetty of Kestrel Secondary stressed that he used a common sense approach to deal with barriers that were posed by the Department of Basic Education (DoBE). To counteract the slow and cumbersome process of teacher staffing, he recruited and developed his own teachers.
Dr Chetty explained:
We have recruited people from industry especially for the technical subjects. We have also recruited people from the defence force to become Civil Technology teachers. Our strategy is to mentor and train them so that they qualify as teachers. I have sourced over a dozen teachers from industry - may I add free of charge to the Department of Basic Education.
(Dr Chetty)
The findings suggest that the participating principals used various strategies in their attempts to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices. Mrs Naicker, Mr Nkosi and Mr Ramdin implemented turnaround strategies such as extra tuition and remedial classes. This meant that they prioritised teaching and learning in their schools. The LSEN programme at Mrs Naicker’s and Mr Ramdin’s schools suggests that they realised that all learners were not of the same intellectual capacity and thus needed specialised help in order to progress. Further, Mrs Naicker and Mr Ramdin leveraged their social resources in order to improve the lives of their learners.
This far-sighted action suggests that they did not only focus on the curriculum but also on the learners’ holistic well-being. Mr Ramdin’s use of innovative communication strategies such as parent information meetings and the SMS system shows that efforts were made to impact on the lives of learners beyond the classroom. Moreover, Mrs Naicker’s attempt to motivate the SGB to appoint skilled and competent teachers suggests that she placed a high premium on the quality of teaching and learning. Furthermore, Mr Nkosi’s firm dealing with recalcitrant teacher unions suggests that there was not much disruption to Albatross Secondary’s instructional programme.
One of the most notable observations from the findings was the barriers posed by the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) regarding staffing issues. However, Dr Chetty tried to overcome this barrier by taking the initiative to recruit and mentor teachers in scarce technical subjects. This shows that Dr Chetty went the extra mile in order to improve teaching and learning at Kestrel Secondary.
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To a large extent, the findings from the interviewed school principals corroborated with the findings from the documents that I analysed. According to Penguin Primary’s 2013 School Improvement Plan (SIP), “English and Mathematics results have improved due to the extra tuition offered on Saturdays” and “the PGSES have provided guidelines to assist LSEN learners”. In addition, Robin Primary’s 2013 SWOT analysis lists “a well-developed academic programme” as a major strength. Albatross Secondary’s 2013 School Improvement Plan (SIP) also indicated that “an academic programme was in place to help Grade 12 learners with extra tuition”. These illustrations point to the existence of turnaround strategies in these schools. There was further evidence of networking as Penguin Primary’s 2013 School Improvement Plan (SIP) confirmed that the school networked with social workers and Robin Primary’s 2013 SWOT analysis listed the “good support network within the area” as an opportunity. Moreover, Penguin Primary’s 2013 School Improvement Plan (SIP) noted that “educators need to develop skills to teach and assess learners”. This clearly alludes to Mrs Naicker’s concerns regarding the hiring of skilled and competent teachers. Furthermore, Robin Primary’s SMT minutes on 07/05/2014 confirmed the use of innovative communication strategies when it stated that “conversations with parents should be written on a parent interview card”. Lastly, Kestrel Secondary’s SMT minutes on 16/05/2013 corroborated Dr Chetty’s views on the recruitment and development of teachers when it stated that “we have the full staff complement”.
Literature supports the principals’ attempts to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices. The South African Standard for Principalship (DoBE, 2014) states that principals should use strategies for the development of a learning culture in the school and for raising the levels of learner achievement and excellence. In this regard, Mrs Naicker, Mr Nkosi and Mr Ramdin used turnaround strategies to create exemplary schools. Further, Mrs Naicker’s and Mr Ramdin’s use of social resources is in line with The South African Standard for Principalship’s goal of networking with the wider community for greater school improvement (DoBE, 2014). In addition, Hoadley, et al. (2009) contend that the relationship between parents and the school is crucial to improve learner achievement outcomes. According to Naicker, et al. (2013), good school principals take a firm stand against recalcitrant teacher unions to ensure that there is minimal disruption to teaching and learning. This is consistent with Mr Nkosi’s actions on this issue. Moreover, Naicker, et al. (2013) posit that schools receive very little support from the
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Department of Basic Education (DoBE) and have to take the initiative to make things happen.
This is in line with Dr Chetty’s efforts to recruit and develop teachers in specialist subject areas.
In the final analysis, the participating principals seem to be exhibiting the Batho Pele principles of increasing access to services; maintaining high service standards; consulting with clients; and transparency (DoBE, 2014). These public servants (principals) thus showed that they were committed to serving the people (learners / parents) and they found ways to improve service delivery (education).
Drawing on Weber’s (1987) model of instructional leadership, the school principals attempted to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices. Dimension six of Weber’s (1987) model focuses on monitoring achievement and evaluating programmes. Here the principal contributes to the planning, designing, administering and analysis of assessments in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. Weber (1987) further avers that if there are any flaws or deficiencies in the system, then it can be identified and remedied. This clearly alludes to the principals’ attempts to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices.
The fourth theme focused on principals’ attempts to overcome barriers to instructional leadership practices. In this regard, the principals used various proactive strategies to overcome the many barriers posed by learners, parents, teachers, teacher unions and the Department of Basic Education (DoBE).