PFO 335 Assignment 1 19097752

1.Using my understanding of leadership and management in South African education, analyse

and explain your school context by looking at the following:

1. School philosophy

Our school philosophy is to provide quality education to our learners. Our core values are
integrity, quality, confidence, accountability, and responsibility. The school’s philosophy
influences the way our students must perform. The philosophy is articulated clearly to the
teachers in staff meetings, to students in class and at assembly points and in parent’s meetings.
The school philosophy is reviewed after three years when the new school governing body (SGB)
takes over.

2. Types of students

Most of the students come from different family and ethnic background (diversity group culture).
We have introduced School Based Support Team (SBST) at our school for students who are
experiencing learning difficulties i.e. those who are unable to read, language problem. Our
school follows the white paper policy, we are based on SIAS policy, and we support students with
barriers. We have partnered with the local social worker who attend to the social and emotional
being and they work hand in glove with the parents. Our learners have an interest in sports, we
aim to produce students that will feel confident, creative and contribute to the outside world.

3. Curriculum

Our school is a primary that offers English First Additional Language, Natural Sciences,
Mathematics, Social Sciences and Technology as our core subjects. It is structured into three
phases, thus foundation, intermediate and senior phases. Ours is to equip learners irrespective
of their social-economic background, race, gender, physical ability or intellectual with the
knowledge, skills, and values necessary for self-fulfillment. Our staff members are encouraged to
attend meetings, workshops and seminars organized by the department of education so that
they are updated on curriculum needs.

4. Class size

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On average our classes accommodate 50 students. From 2023-2024 our classes are
overcrowded with plus or minus 70 students facing one teacher. This impact negatively on the
performance of our students and school in general. It hinders teaching and learning. Yes,
according to ELRC policy, teacher ratio is 1:40. Our school is situated in an informal settlement
that is growing fast.

5. Tuition

Our school is a non-fee-paying school and parents do not pay any amount towards tuition. The
students only pay R2 for muffty every Friday for fundraising. There are no scholarships offered to
the students. All students are from a diverse socio-economic background.

6. Extracurricular activities

Our school extracurricular activities include activities like athletics, soccer, netball, and volleyball.
These activities contribute holistically to our students as we believe that a healthy body is a
healthy mind. There are no culturally specific or regional extracurricular programmes.

7. Teacher qualifications

The minimum qualification required for teachers is REQV 13. Our school ensures diversity by
employing staff members of different ethnic of cultural backgrounds. We only employ skilled
teaching staff who specialize in the subject they are hired to teach.

8. Use of technology

Technology is moving at a slow pace. Most of the students are computer illiterate. We still use
chalkboard instead of whiteboards. Only two mobile classrooms that were delivered by the
department of education have whiteboards. We are aiming to source-in tablets for our students
and for our teachers. We believe this will contribute to students’ success and performance. We
strive to use more advance technology and prepare our staff members to adapt well to South
Africa’s educational challenges. Since we do not have a computer lab, our school did not
formulate any policy related to digital inclusive.

9. Measurement of progress

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Students’ progress at our school is measured through assessments (formative assessment,

quizzes, final examinations, essays, etc.), to for check for understanding, which gives us thorough
information about what students know and do not know. On the assessment, teachers use
different questions like high order questions (Blooms taxonomy) for creativity. Students that have
performed bad they are given chances to master because not all students learn at the same pace
and the same way. Assessments supply teachers and students with feedback on where they need
to improve on teaching and learning, and we provide them with tools that will assist them to
learn from the feedback.

Data on the use of assessments offers understandings about their teaching if it is effective. We
then interpret data and come up with ideas on how to improve the student learning. The
challenges related to measuring progress is that teachers return to outdated ways of measuring
progress in favor of compatible marking procedures.

10. Student life

The initiatives that are in place to support the student well-being are social-emotional learning
programs that put focus on teaching students’ abilities like knowing and handling their emotions
and behavior in adopting a positive mindset, and learning to build, maintain, and repair
relationships. They learn from one another because they are not from the same background.

11. Parent involvement

School leaders directly encourage parental involvement by reaching out to parents themselves
and indirectly via teacher invitations through school invitations. Parents are also invited to school
to attend meetings and school events and be involved in school governance. In meetings, they
are encouraged to take part in their children’s education by helping them with their schoolwork.
As a leader with a clear vision, we encourage that teachers and parents work together in aiding
the child to learn at school and at home.

At school, we practiced a single cultural view, and this makes most parents not to be involved
and engaging in the most meaningful ways. Some of the teachers committed themselves to take
steps to understand families and bring about extended relationships with parents for greater
parent involvement in schooling, and a progressive outcome on students.

12. School governance

The school governance of our South African school, according to the South African Schools Act
84 of 1996 clearly expresses the roles of School Governing Bodies (SGBs). The SGBs consist of the
principal as an ex-officio member, teachers, parents, and learners, in cases of secondary schools
(The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996). The role and functions of the different stakeholders
in the school governance are outlined in the South African Schools Act 1996. Section 20(1)(a) of

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the Act, suggest that the key role of the SGB is promoting the best interests of the school and to
strive to ensure its development through the provision of quality education. This includes
administering and controlling the school property, buildings and grounds occupied by the school,
including school hostels, and recommending the appointment of non-educator staff at the school
to the Head of Department (South African Schools Act 84 of 1996). The role of the principal
according to Mohapi & Chombo (2021:5) is to manage and contribute towards effective
governance through his/her leadership skills and the professional management of the school.
This means that the school needs the direction of the principal to operate well, and the goals to
be met.

The challenge is linked to the difficulty in understanding their key role of promoting the best
interests of the school. The principal must take the task to teach and guide them. Another
challenge is that most of the parent components in the school governance are not educated, so
they lack knowledge and confidence in decision making and end up not attending workshops and
meetings. The challenge with the educator component is that because they are educated, they
know their roles, they step over them most of the time when it comes to finances. The other
challenge is that the parent component is unable to draw up policies for the school, so the
school management team (SMT) component ends up helping them and they just come and make
small inputs.

The school governance is trusted with a great accountability within their community. Their
model is aligned with their mission as it states that there should be collaboration, motivation,
and trust among members in delivering of quality education and teaching and the success of the
school.

2. A SWOT analysis of my school.

SWOT analysis “identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in an organization or

institution faces, such as a school” (Chusniyah, A., Akhmad R.A., Putra H.R.P (2023:200). This
means that SWOT analysis is an important tool in helping to assess the strong points areas,
where to improve, available opportunities for growth and the challenges that the school faces.
SWOT aids the school or businesses in identifying SWOT.

Strengths

Strength 1: Increased Enrollment

Our student enrollment has increased in 2023-2024, and the increase has gone up by 10% and
this is above the budget. This increase is projected to continue as the community is increasing
because of foreign born residents and parents flocking to Gauteng for the betterment of their
lives. As a result, the increased enrollment, along with state funding, places big weight on the
financial resources as our school is a non-fee-paying.
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Strength 2: Experienced teachers.

Educators at our school are committed in delivering quality education according to the mission.
Educators attends an ongoing professional development programs like roadshows, face-to-face
meetings, workshops, Microsoft teams etc. for subjects offered at our school to gain more
knowledge and to keep up to date with the present changes on the curriculum, for quality
teaching and learning.

Strength 3: Location that is easily accessible for families to come visit.

Parents and families are welcome to visit the school regularly to discuss school-related matters
as most of the students stay around the school in the informal settlement where the school is
situated, only few students use transport to come to school. This brings parents and families
closer to the principal and teachers. By so doing they feel free to come to school without being
scared. The school is transparent in all activities that they carry out through newsletters. The
management plan of activities that will take place for the whole year are available in their
children’s diary where they can track the upcoming events.
Strength 4: Collaborating with local schools and society.
Collaborations with local schools is important in giving appropriate education to students. Our
school has developed collaborations with a variety of local schools. Collaboration with local
schools’ participation increase the student’s readiness for high school. Our school and the
community have gained a lot from the strong active relationships by supporting, improving, and
growing relationships in continuing with the school’s mission. This leads to collective curriculum,
resource combination and joint support for our students.
Strength 5: Dedicated teachers
Our dedicated teachers are available at any time to meet with the parents for discussion related
to their children’s progress and to have knowledge on how to help for their achievement and
success.
Weaknesses
Weakness 1: Limited technology resources.
Technology integration is limited and that influences the effectiveness of the school. The
administrators and the SMT are the ones who have the access to ICT. Our school should supply
the funds in technological resources and training for both the students and teachers.
Weakness 2: Limited extracurricular activities.
Extracurricular activities are limited and that have a great impact on the engagement of the
students like sport hall etc. Our school have only sports ground, and this is not taken care of

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regularly. By expanding the extracurricular programs, the school will cater the interest of the
diverse students.
Weakness 3: Aging infrastructure.
Our school was established in 2013 and is considered as an evergreen school. It is not built with
bricks and cement. Boards and wires are used in the building of the school, and are easily
broken. Ceilings are falling, toilet water flows into the classes and offices that are next to them.
Now funds are invested in renovation of the school.
Weakness 4: Great number of students and insufficient staff to manage them.
There is not enough staff to manage the students in and out of the classroom because of the
great number of students from 2023-2024. Classes are overcrowded with plus or minus 70
students facing one teacher. This hinders the quality of teaching and learning as our mission
states.
Weakness 5: Vandalism by learners
The is insufficient security at our school because learners vandalized the school property mostly
during weekends and school holidays. Funds that are meant for something for their success of
the school and themselves are being used to repair the damage. The school is a non-fee paying,
parents cannot afford to pay because most of the families rely on the child grants and
unemployment fund from the government.
Opportunities
Opportunity 1: Collaborating with local businesses.
Relationships with the local businesses are necessary to finance the important educational
opportunities to students. They can support by providing additional resources and learners who
are performing well. Collaborations among all levels are essential for planning of the student’s
careers and reliable education.
Opportunity 2: Collaborating with parents and the community.
Our school can involve the students in the projects of the community to strengthen the
relationship. The school should also strengthen ties with the community, and this will invite the
parents and the community to be involved in helping the school to grow.
Opportunity 3: Collaborating with companies that lead technology.
Leaders in technology to come to our school and offer demonstrations of their technological
resources, and this can improve the students and teachers experience in learning using ICT.
Opportunity 4: Volunteering

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Active members from the community to help with the organization of events and in coaching
sports at no extra cost because the school have no budget to pay.
Opportunity 5: New programs
Introduction of a new program meant to assist students, for example during break times, their
lunch period and after school, to talk about former test troubles.
Threats
Threat 1: Change in educational policies.
The Department of Basic Education is always reviewing policies that need teachers and the
schools to change to stay informed. The school needs to adjust their practices and policies.
Threat 2: Decline of the economy.
Fears on the economy like high unemployment rate, AIDS, cholera, rand going down, expensive
food, fuel rising now and then have an impact on the school enrollment. The government has to
offer financial aid to the families in supporting them during the challenging times.
Threat 3: Bad insight of the public.
Bad insight about the school put a great threat and is damaging the school. Leadership and the
SGB can manage this reputation of the school through engagement and be transparent about
everything which demonstrates the accountability and responsibility.
Threat 4: Absenteeism of teachers
If a teachers get ill or attends a death of a family member for many days like two to three weeks,
there is no quick replacement for that teacher when s/he is absent because of the education
department procedures.
Threat 5: Poor community
The school is situated in a poor community. Violence, crime, and lack of employment is high, and
the school building is vandalized. Even if the school can install ICTs, they may be stolen, and this
makes the school to be helpless. This needs a sufficient security to be around the premises of the
school tor twenty-four hours, seven days a week.
3. Discussion on how to bridge the gap between our school’s mission and the practical steps
taken to achieve it, considering the implications for students and the community.
As a school leader, I know what is going on in the teachers’ classrooms. Knowledge of what is
going on mean that I can get the best out of them which is the key to influencing work in the
classroom and to raising the standards achieved by students. I gain this opinion through a
planned programme of monitoring and evaluation and then gives feedback either formally or
informally.

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I have a clear interpretation of their strengths and weaknesses. They know how to build on the
strengths and reduce the weaknesses. They put focus on the programme of staff development
on the actual needs of their school.
In our meetings, teachers come up with ideas of identifying the strengths or methods for the
need to improve the situation in which the quality of teaching can be increased, students’
learning and performance be improved. They develop strategies to improve the success and
achievement of the students.
My role as a leader is important in creating school environment that leads to higher student
academic performance. Conditions such as setting high standards/goals, planning, and
coordinating with staff, having direction toward the innovation, frequent monitoring of staff and
involving parents through and communicating students’ performance in bridging the gap.
4. Different leadership styles commonly seen in schools.
Waqar & Siddiqui(2008: 7) well defined leadership style as a fascinating method whereby a
leader influences his or her juniors. Lunenburg & Ornstein in Wagar & Siddiqui (2008) further
described leadership style as the action that a leader displays during the management of his/her
juniors. This means that a person should not change his/her character, people “will see you that
they like to see in themselves” (Wagar & Siddiqui, 2008:7). Leadership style plays a key role for
the lifting up of the schools. The way the schools are achieving, is linked to the leadership style of
a person.
1. Democratic leadership style: Lewin and Lippit in Minadzi & Nyame (2016:1984) explains
that the type of leader who engages juniors in the process of making decision is a
democratic leader. This means that he/she explains clearly to the team members on what
and how to do things. Democratic leadership style improves the joy of the juniors and
make certain that they commit themselves entirely to the school (Minadzi & Nyame
2016:1984), .
2. Task oriented style: This is a type of leadership style whereby a leader concentrates
mostly on the explanation of the roles and activities that his/her juniors should complete.
The leader focuses on achieving the ‘organization’ goals in time (Waqar
& Siddiqui.2008:8-9).
3. The inspirational leader: Inspirational leader is defined by Cobbold in Mandzi & Nyame
2016:1984) as the leader who increases people’s motivation for them to accomplish more
by positioning their aims and objectives with that of the school. They further point out
that inspirational leaders inspire people to complete the task at hand since they want to
and not for the reason that of the leader’s prize (Mandzi & Nyame 2016:1984).
4. Instructional/pedagogical leadership: This type of leadership is important because the
leader focuses on encouraging school’s results that are better. The emphasis is on
creating ‘clear educational goals’ monitoring of teachers and teaching and planning of the

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curriculum. The focus is on the promotion of better results of the students and put
emphasis on the importance of improving quality of teaching and learning.
5. Transformational leadership: Transformational leadership occurs when leaders and
followers bond in the quest of common goals that are extremely high. This means that
leaders and their juniors’ bond and motivate one another and the morale goes up. (Kirby,
King & Paradise, 1992 p. 303). Transformational leadership style stresses that leaders can
change their environments for their chosen goal to be met. Minadzi & Nyame:
(2016:1984) points out that transformational leaders put their focus on the goal
achievement as their final result through the use of communication.
6. Distributed leadership: Distributed leadership is type of leadership with different kinds of
partnerships practiced by the “principal, teachers, and members of the school’s
improvement team in leading the school’s development” (Minadzi & Nyame 2016:1984).
The authors further acknowledged that the outcomes of distributed leadership are the
changes in the classrooms that are supported, implemented and retained by the teachers
who are in charge (Minadzi & Nyame 2016:1984). This clearly means that teachers’
thoughts, their intelligence, skills, and understanding are contributed towards the
smooth running of the school.
The leadership style I think fits me best. How does it impact my approach to leading in an
educational setting?
The leadership style that fits me best is the adoption of a combined instructional and
transformational leadership style. There is a solid constructive connection between the leadership
style and school performance. As a leader I have great influence on the school’s performance and
administration. I encouraged my team members to perform well in the classroom by establishing
the importance of goals. I make certain that satisfactory performance is achieved through
balancing the necessity to get the best results while keeping the morale in the school. I also
communicate new ideas, getting approval of my juniors and motivating them to support and
apply new ideas through transformation. Most of the time I am very careful and professional
when dealing with teachers under my control. I make sure that there is a friendly relationship,
and this makes things easier for me because everybody becomes happy and do what is expected
of them thereby creating enabling atmosphere for their academic work. I also show concern for
their professional development by encouraging them to attend workshops, subject meetings etc.
on subjects offered at the school and reassures cooperative involvement thereby aiming on
‘building the vision’ ((Minadzi & Nyame 2016:1989).
5.How does leadership style, along with our school values, maximise the strengths and
minimize the weaknesses to support diversity and innovation in South Africa, ultimately
helping leaners to succeed.
My focus as a school leader, I put attention on the work in the school by developing a clear goal
for the team. I clearly communicate the goals so that the team members know what is expected
of them. The relationship between myself as a leader and the team members is strong and this
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increases the achievement of the students and minimizes the weaknesses. I know that the
success or failure of the team depends on me.
Teachers take on their roles seriously because they want to make a difference to children’s lives
and learning. We believe that our students benefit significantly from education that takes place
within a diverse background. This means that our students learn from others who have
backgrounds and characteristics very different from their own.

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REFERENCES
Christopher, D.; Pamela S. (2013). Successful Leadership: A Review of International
Literature :CfBT Education Trust, The University of Nottingham.
Chusniyah, A., Akhmad R.A., Putra H.R.P (2023). Strategic Planning for Education Quality
Improvement Based on SWOT Analysis: A Case Study. Tarbawi: Journal Keilmuan Manajemen
Pendidikan, Vol. 9, No. 02, 199-210

Kruger A.G. (2006). Managing the school as an organization (Bed Hons). Only study guide for
HBEDMSV. Pretoria. University of South Africa.
Lewis, Suzanne Grant; Naidoo, Jordan (2004). Whose Theory of Participation? School
Governance Policy and Practice in South Africa: Current Issues in Comparative Education, vol.6
No 2, 100-112 May 2004

Minadzi V.M., Nyame, G. (2016).Leadership Styles Of Basic School Head Teachers: How Does It
Influence Teachers’ Classroom Performance? Journal of social sciences and humanities: Vol.3
Issue 04, 1983-1991
Mohapi J. & Chombo S., (2021), Cogent Social Sciences 1994723
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.1994723

Republic of South Africa.1996b. South African School Act No 84 of 1996. Pretoria: Government
Printers

Waqar SH., K Siddiqui K. (2008). Journal of Elementary Education. A Publication of Deptt. of

Elementary Education IER, University of the Punjab, Lahore – Pakistan Vol. 18(1-2) 5-20

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