…Together with the principal and the other HOD, I induct and orientate these new teachers…I also inform these new teachers about the school community. I make them aware of some of the challenges we face because there are many disinterested and unemployed parents…these parents hardly help their children, and they cannot afford our low school fees...
In pursuance of the above data elicited on the link, or absence thereof between teachers’
Continuous Professional Development, learner success and school improvement, it is clear that all three managers answered strongly in the affirmative, asserting that it was vitally necessary for teachers to engage in PD enterprises in order to bring about improvement in the school on the whole. On this note of community involvement, as averred to by Mrs Lloyd, the DBE (2014) outlines its intension to build up the quality of leadership in high-achieving schools, within the context of their communities, whilst concurrently making attempts to ensure that inadequacies such as weak governance and scant achievement by learners, is addressed, with the aim of improving learner achievement in South African schools.
Bearing the above contentions of Mrs Radebe, Mrs Ally and Mrs Lloyd, it is submitted that the vision of the CPTD management system may be deemed as one that supports and facilitates the process of continuing professional development. Thus, as laid out in the National Policy, the CPTD management system makes efforts to supply teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge so that they might fulfil their duties accordingly (DBE, 2007). It is envisioned that it will additionally offer recognition to members of the SMTs’ attempts at developing themselves and their teachers professionally, as appeared to be the practice of Mrs Radebe, Mrs Ally and Mrs Lloyd. Since these members of the SMT evidently committed themselves to the CPTD process with the intention of revitalising the COLT, their role in teachers’
distributed leadership enactment, will now be explored.
based projects. In short, the issue of distribution of responsibilities is at the core of the discussion. In contemplation of the practice of distributed leadership, my objective was to assess whether or not these participants encouraged teachers to take-up projects. Their responses indicated that indeed, they did support and encourage their teachers to a considerable degree. Furthermore, they were offered an opportunity to describe the nature and extent of the support extended to these teachers. The responses elicited from members of the SMT from Diamond Primary School revealed that all three managers encouraged teachers under their care, to lead projects and initiatives that contributed to a positive ethos and COLT in the school.
These managers attested that in addition, they trusted their teachers (Mrs Ally); provided help and guidance (Mrs Radebe); and supported them (Mrs Lloyd) in their leadership roles.
In pursuance of the above Mrs Radebe postulated that she agreed with the notion of teachers volunteering to take-up initiatives. She acknowledged that she “was not in charge of everything”, and that level one teachers volunteered to take charge of excursions, as well as to head most of their ongoing fund-raising drives. Despite her claims of encouraging distributed leadership, my judgement, based on Mrs Radebe’s postulations, was that although certain characteristics fulfilled by her fitted in with the notion of distributed leadership, she did not fully comprehend the ideology behind distributed leadership. By admitting that she nominated teachers whom she felt capable to take charge of certain events accordingly, it appears to me that teachers did not volunteer to democratically take-up leadership roles on their own. Rather, they merely accepted leadership roles that were assigned to them.
To confirm these views, the literature elicited confirms the notion that distributed leadership is congruent with the adoption of fair procedures and implementation, which are defined by collaborative and synergetic conversations (Steyn, 2009). Once again, I concede to have arrived at the conclusion that leadership was delegated rather than teachers volunteering to take-up duties, after carefully listening to the following declaration by Mrs Radebe, who submitted that when she distributed duties, she looked at the expertise of the teacher. She accordingly conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, before proceeding with the even distribution of duties. She contended:
For nine years I was in charge of the Debs Ball. This year I gave it to a level one teacher to be the convenor. This teacher in turn then distributed duties to others. So by giving this teacher a leadership role, she in turn empowered others. If I find teachers are lacking in certain areas, I call them in and explain that if they change certain things, it will work out better. I give help and guidance…and through it all, because I trusted this teacher to do a good job, she did…
To this end, Wing (2013) observes distributed leadership to be an exciting and innovative approach to leadership. It is further proposed that this leadership recognises that notion that there many leaders, both formal and informal, can lead simultaneously, whilst it possesses the capacity to encourage teachers to work collectively and to build on their instructional enactment and expertise (Wing, 2013). On the other hand, claiming to guide teachers in their distributed leadership enactment, Mrs Rabebe’s leadership portrayal resonates with Wing’s (2013) assertion that the instructional leaders’ enactment and leadership style are deciding factors influencing the effectiveness of distributed leadership.
In furtherance of the above, the members of the SMT of DPS appear to concur with Grant (2009) that distributed leadership is a process shared by members of a team who work in a collegial and collaborative manner so that the COLT may be enhanced. Additionally, teachers’
take-up’ of leadership roles is in line with policies such as the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 (DBE, 2010) and Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, 2011–2025 (DBE and Higher Education and Training, 2011), which were designed and created with the intention of ensuring that schools functioned as organisations where effective teaching and learning featured.
In retrospect, the assertions of these members of the SMT appear to coincide with McFarland’s (2014) observation that excellent teachers serve as inspiration for their peers and are mostly found to enact leadership roles. These teacher leaders, according to McFarland (2014), demonstrate an enthusiasm for learning, having earned many accolades during their teaching career. These descriptions are consistent with the assertions made by these members of the SMT, who attest that their teachers likewise build learners’ capacity for improvement. Based on their claims, it is evident to see that SMT members and teachers work collaboratively to build professional learning communities within their school, thereby encouraging distributed leadership to be enacted. Experts in the area of distributed leadership such as Halverson
(2010), advance that the doctrine of distributed leadership enactment is consistent of reciprocal relations existing amongst leaders, their followers, and circumstances.
In congruence, Harris and Spillane (2008) advance that distributed leadership is primarily employed in education research, suggesting that in focusing on leaders’ characteristics, it examines their enactment in portfolios that span across the organisation. It is similarly associated with ideas such as shared, democratic, or collaborative leadership. Taking the above into consideration, instructional leaders are advised by Wing (2013) to take accountability for ensuring a sound COLT prevails through their attempts at putting plans in place that has the potential to motivate, inspire and empower their teachers, thereby creating a conducive environment. One of the avenues that this might be done, is through the facilitation of PD activities by these members of the SMT (Wing, 2013). These members of the SMTs’
contemplation of their role in the CPD of their teachers, will now be deduced.