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Research: Education Management in SA (4)
Financial management
Financial management is one of the most important responsibilities facing school principals since the implementation of the South African Schools Act 1996. Along with the principals, school governing bodies have wide-ranging financial responsibilities, including school-level budgeting, managing devolved funding from provincial departments, setting school fees (subject to parental agreement), and raising additional funds to augment school budgets. A largescale survey of principals in Gauteng province (Bush & Heystek, 2006) consistently demonstrated their anxiety about carrying out this function and their need for additional training to do so effectively.
Tikly and Mataboge (1997:160) examined the impact of reform on the former white schools and point to some of the financial implications of this process:
• The transfer of costs to parents and communities
• The linkage between learner enrolments and the allocation of real resources, notably teachers
• The decentralisation of financial management to school level
• The trend for wealthier schools to hire additional teachers paid for through the setting of higher fees by the school governing body (SGB).
Although legislation prevents the use of school fees to discriminate between learners, the learner profiles of certain schools seem to indicate that they are being used to limit access. This prompted research into equal access to education by Maile (2004) and Fleisch and Woolman (2004).
Human resource management
The dramatic changes in South Africa’s educational landscape since 1994 have produced major challenges for school leaders and managers, notably in respect of human resource management. Bush and Heystek’s (2006) survey of principals shows that this aspect was perceived as a major training need. Thurlow (2003c:15) shows that “school managers are expected to assume greater responsibility, under difficult circumstances, for the management of all those who work in their schools”. Lumby (2003:161) argues that teacher motivation has been affected by the multiple education changes and by the “wretched physical conditions” in many schools. She adds that, “if motivation
and morale are low, then teaching and learning suffer”. Gilmour (2001:12) says that the process of retrenchment (redundancy) “places intolerable burdens on principals who have to oversee the process”, while McLennan (2000) refers to its impact on teacher morale.
Managing external and community relations
The most important aspect of this category is the issue of de-segregation. Lemon (2004:269-289), for example, examines school inequalities in the Eastern Cape through research in 15 schools, ranging from those in wealthy suburbs to those in townships, rural areas, and informal settlements. He claims that national policies have been rich in the political symbolism of equity and redress but with “very limited implementation of change on the ground” . He concludes that ‘class rather that race is now the main determinant of educational
opportunity”. Ngobesi (2005) notes that transformation seems to focus only on former white (Model C) schools while the fact that it should happen across all sectors of education is either ignored or perceived as irrelevant.
Fleisch and Woolman (2004) consider the impact of varying financial support for schools and argue that impoverished parents of learners wanting to attend well-funded schools lack the advocacy enjoyed by those parents more readily able to pay for schooling. Wilson’s (2004) investigation concludes that differential state funding does not compensate adequately for the greater feeearning potential of the richer schools.
Training and development
Van der Westhuizen et al.(2004), Makhokolo (1991), and Erasmus (1994), focus on the shortcomings of the training and development available to principals in the apartheid period and Tsukudu and Taylor (1995) conclude that the training available to principals in the early 1990s was inadequate. Mashinini and Smith (1995) take a similar view and point to the problems inherent in designing training for managers whose previous experience was fragmented by the separation of the four racial groups. Mestry and Grobler (2002:22) say that, “the training and development of principals can be considered as the strategically most important process necessary to transform education successfully”.
To be continued...
Financial management is one of the most important responsibilities facing school principals since the implementation of the South African Schools Act 1996. Along with the principals, school governing bodies have wide-ranging financial responsibilities, including school-level budgeting, managing devolved funding from provincial departments, setting school fees (subject to parental agreement), and raising additional funds to augment school budgets. A largescale survey of principals in Gauteng province (Bush & Heystek, 2006) consistently demonstrated their anxiety about carrying out this function and their need for additional training to do so effectively.
Tikly and Mataboge (1997:160) examined the impact of reform on the former white schools and point to some of the financial implications of this process:
• The transfer of costs to parents and communities
• The linkage between learner enrolments and the allocation of real resources, notably teachers
• The decentralisation of financial management to school level
• The trend for wealthier schools to hire additional teachers paid for through the setting of higher fees by the school governing body (SGB).
Although legislation prevents the use of school fees to discriminate between learners, the learner profiles of certain schools seem to indicate that they are being used to limit access. This prompted research into equal access to education by Maile (2004) and Fleisch and Woolman (2004).
Human resource management
The dramatic changes in South Africa’s educational landscape since 1994 have produced major challenges for school leaders and managers, notably in respect of human resource management. Bush and Heystek’s (2006) survey of principals shows that this aspect was perceived as a major training need. Thurlow (2003c:15) shows that “school managers are expected to assume greater responsibility, under difficult circumstances, for the management of all those who work in their schools”. Lumby (2003:161) argues that teacher motivation has been affected by the multiple education changes and by the “wretched physical conditions” in many schools. She adds that, “if motivation
and morale are low, then teaching and learning suffer”. Gilmour (2001:12) says that the process of retrenchment (redundancy) “places intolerable burdens on principals who have to oversee the process”, while McLennan (2000) refers to its impact on teacher morale.
Managing external and community relations
The most important aspect of this category is the issue of de-segregation. Lemon (2004:269-289), for example, examines school inequalities in the Eastern Cape through research in 15 schools, ranging from those in wealthy suburbs to those in townships, rural areas, and informal settlements. He claims that national policies have been rich in the political symbolism of equity and redress but with “very limited implementation of change on the ground” . He concludes that ‘class rather that race is now the main determinant of educational
opportunity”. Ngobesi (2005) notes that transformation seems to focus only on former white (Model C) schools while the fact that it should happen across all sectors of education is either ignored or perceived as irrelevant.
Fleisch and Woolman (2004) consider the impact of varying financial support for schools and argue that impoverished parents of learners wanting to attend well-funded schools lack the advocacy enjoyed by those parents more readily able to pay for schooling. Wilson’s (2004) investigation concludes that differential state funding does not compensate adequately for the greater feeearning potential of the richer schools.
Training and development
Van der Westhuizen et al.(2004), Makhokolo (1991), and Erasmus (1994), focus on the shortcomings of the training and development available to principals in the apartheid period and Tsukudu and Taylor (1995) conclude that the training available to principals in the early 1990s was inadequate. Mashinini and Smith (1995) take a similar view and point to the problems inherent in designing training for managers whose previous experience was fragmented by the separation of the four racial groups. Mestry and Grobler (2002:22) say that, “the training and development of principals can be considered as the strategically most important process necessary to transform education successfully”.
To be continued...