Research: Education Management in SA (5)

The South African Standard for School Leadership

The National Department of Education has responded to this evident need for leadership preparation by developing a package of measures linked to the South African Standard for School Leadership (SASSL). The Department has acknowledged that:
Existing management and leadership training has not been cost effective or efficient in building management and leadership capacity, skills and competencies for the transformation process or in enabling policies to impact significantly on the majority of schools’ (DoE, October 2004).

To attempt to address this it has rooted the new professional development initiatives for principals and aspiring principals in its Policy Framework for Education Leadership and Management Development (DoE, October 2004). The Department has linked that policy framework to the South African Standard for School Leadership (SASSL) (DoE, August 2005), which clarifies exactly what the education system now expects of its principals. These documents are explicit in stating that school management and leadership are primarily about making sure that the teaching and learning process, as the main purpose of the school, is managed competently and effectively for the benefit of all learners. The Standard identifies six key areas of principalship:

• Leading and Managing the Learning School;
• Shaping the Direction and Development of the School;
• Assuring Quality and Securing Accountability;
• Developing and Empowering Self and Others;
• Managing the School as an Organisation;
• Working with and for the Community.

( Part 5 - The new development strategy )