This article focuses on the way in which the school management teams (SMTs) of three selected working-class schools have developed and implemented a range of leadership practices within their schools in order to provide a platform for optimal teaching and learning. The article is based on qualitative research conducted in schools on the outskirts…

Drawing on Bernstein's notion of pedagogic culture or the "mode of being" of the school, this paper develops and uses a theoretical framework for the analysis of school organization that draws attention to specialization of instructional practice. An understanding of the ordering principles of the school emerges from the analysis,…

The focus on schools as communities of learning for teachers has prompted professionals to investigate the role of professional learning within a school context. This is an attempt to investigate the voice of the principal regarding the implementation of teacher collaboration in his or her school, and to determine how teacher collaboration is…

Several scholars and organizations suggest that institutional policy is a key enabling factor for academics to contribute their teaching materials as open educational resources (OER). But given the diversity of institutions comprising the higher education sector--and the administrative and financial challenges facing many institutions in the…

Decolonisation of education is understood in this paper as a means of formalising indigenous culture and knowledge within the formal school system. The focus of this paper is to see how the School Governance Body (SGB) can bring about decolonised education for sustainable development. The African societal culture and traditions seem to be…

Visionary leaders shape their actions and initiate transformation to reach a specific goal. To do so is critically important in South Africa, where the education system offers limited opportunities to manage a school in a manner that deviates from the prescribed norm. School leaders typically encounter barriers such as the inadequacy of the…

The considerable transformation of higher education (HE), driven by the South African government's demand for accountability of resources for the attainment of its mandate has altered the "business" of academia. In response to the financial austerity measures, performance management (PM) systems have been implemented in South African HE…

The aim of the study was to determine the consistency prevailing between the disciplinary practices in the schools and the principles of the Alternatives-to-Corporal Punishment strategy. The three main research questions that guided the study were to determine (1) How much variance of offences can be explained by disciplinary measures of…

Research increasingly points to the negative impacts of teacher absence from school on access to schooling and success in learning in schools, in particular in schools in areas of multiple-deprivation (including rural schools). South African schools are no exception. In this regard, like any other employer, the South African Department of Basic…

The long term leadership task of creating favourable circumstances for followers to excel are discussed in this article using narratives supplied by education managers in schools of the Nkangala District in Mpumalanga Province. Thereby deficiencies in the long term leadership proficiency of these managers are identified with a view to be able to…

Globally, research has become a key driver for the achievement of status and the procurement of funding for higher education institutions. Although there is mounting pressure on institutions to become research active, many institutions are rooted in a strong tradition of teaching. These institutions find it challenging to develop research capacity…

There is an inextricable link between democracy, education and the law. After 15 years of constitutional democracy, the alarming percentage of dysfunctional schools raises questions about the efficacy of the system of local school governance. We report on the findings of quantitative and qualitative research on the democratisation of schools and…

This investigation elicited the perceptions of thirteen of the most successful research supervisors from one university, with a view to identifying their approaches to selecting research candidates. The supervisors were identified by the university's research office using the single criterion of having the largest number of completed research…

A metaphor for crossing a frontier into a new territory is explored. The restorative justice principles as used by the United Nations and the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) help to translate into restorative practice principles. An action research project in South Africa provides the background to an evaluation process.…

I contend that South African school leaders perform their functions within a managerialistic school system that focuses strongly on prescribed standards, quality, and outcomes. The aim is to draw attention to the conceptual contradiction inherent in the labelling of the school principal as a leader rather than as a manager. In practice, school…