With frequent curriculum changes in South Africa since 1994, educational standards and learner performance has been progressing at a slow pace. The role of the principal's instructional leadership come to the fore and we question whether principals are sufficiently equipped with the necessary leadership skills and expertise to lead and manage…

The 21st century places significant demands on our educational system. It is an opportune time to re-imagine the mission, operations, and skills expected of school district offices. The focus of this study was on the school district's role in strengthening principals' instructional leadership capacity for improving educational outcomes. Using a…

Quality education is an effective equalizer in an unequal world. The link between cyclical poverty and a lack of quality education is well understood, as is the inextricable link between the provision of quality education and sustainable economic growth. As governments, policymakers, civil society, and ordinary citizens work together to make…

Education systems, including South Africa's, were forced to embrace remote schooling and online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of this dramatic change, the principal's role as an instructional leader has also changed. The hard lockdowns in South Africa forced schools to be creative in ensuring education continuity through…

Schools in the rural context of Limpopo Province, South Africa have a plethora of challenges, which have a negative impact on learner achievement. This paper argues that for schools to triumph over the obstacles, effective school leaders are necessary. Such leaders must define and communicate a clear vision and mission and work with stakeholders…

This manuscript reports on the role of the instructional leadership practices of secondary school principals on learner academic achievement. A phenomenological research design under the qualitative research methodology was utilised to explore this phenomenon. The study was conducted in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province in South Africa.…

The role of circuit managers is an essential component of school district leadership, which provides a necessary bridge between schools and government. School districts play a vital role in continuously collaborating, guiding and leading, and challenging schools to raise standards. In this paper, we draw on a subset of semi-structured interviews…

This paper focuses on the challenges facing school principals in improving their leadership skills and those of school governing bodies. Mixed method was employed and the research was conducted with some school principals, School Governing Bodies (SGBs) members, and teachers in secondary schools in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The problem is…

The role of education districts is central to the success of schools as they are mandated to work collaboratively with school principals, giving guidance and professional support. In this paper, we investigate school principals' perspectives regarding the nature of support provided by their districts to effectively conduct their work and how that…

The qualitative study reported on was, undertaken from a distributed leadership perspective, and was an attempt to provide understanding of how heads of department (HoDs) develop educators within the organisational context of different schools and subject departments. The findings are related to the current policy framework for professional…

In 2007 the Department of Education introduced the standards-based Advanced Certificate in Education: School Management and Leadership. The standardisation of leadership and management development in South African schools has been uncritically accepted by most academics and professionals. The purpose of this article is to problematise the…

Globally, education systems have been affected by radical social, political and economic changes. Although school principals play a pivotal role in improving student learning and attaining educational outcomes, they work under strenuous conditions to deal with multifaceted transformational issues. Principals experience great difficulty in coping…

This paper focuses on the approaches used by school heads in helping their growth and their teachers in primary schools in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa. The Department of Basic Education expects school heads and teachers to bring change in their school performances. The problem is that in these primary schools heads and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic government and integrated education. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors conducted a systematic review of all published work since 2007 with a more selective…

This paper examines the significance of leadership and management in enhancing classroom practice and improving learner outcomes in two provinces of South Africa. It is increasingly recognised, internationally and in South Africa, that managing teaching and learning is one of the most important activities for principals and other school leaders.…