ʼn Vergelyking van leierskapstyle van skoolhoofde in ekonomies agtergehoude, onderpresterende en presterende primêre skole in die Paarl-Oos-omgewing

Abstract

The political changes brought about in 1994 resulted in radical changes in education in the South African context. Dysfunctional schools, poor leadership and economic disadvantages are reasons put forward for underperforming schools. The principal, as professional leader at the school, is primarily responsible for the quality of education delivered at the school. One of the benefits of this study is its in depth exploration of different leadership styles of principals in both performing and underperforming primary schools. The primary purpose of this research was to determine from which leadership styles or elements thereof, as practised by the participating principals, new findings can be made that might deepen our knowledge and understanding of the challenges and issues confronting the management of schools. The study consequently focused on both performing and underperforming schools in historically disadvantaged contexts. This research was driven by a literature study that firstly provided a theoretical framework and secondly gave the impetus to the empirical exploration of this research. This research utilised a quantitative approach. A non-experimental research design was utilised underpinned by a post-positive paradigm. The non-sampling method employed was one of convenience. Sampling was thus purposive and only respondents actively involved in the said schools who could best provide rich data in order to address the research problem were considered. The population consisted of principals and teachers from twenty-two performing and underperforming primary schools in historically disadvantaged contexts in circuits 5 and 6 of the Paarl East area in the Cape Winelands District. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MQL-5x), which measures leadership styles and is based on the Full Range Leadership Model, was used to determine the leadership styles practised by the principals in the twenty-two primary schools. This instrument consists of 45 items employed to determine if the principals used transformational, transactional or passive-avoidant leadership styles. Several statistical procedures were utilised to analyse the perceptions about the leadership styles of the principals. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was applied to indicate the construct validity of the MLQ-5x within a South African context. Three measures namely Chi-square, Comparative Fit Index and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation were used to determine to what extent the data is suitable for the Avolio and Bass model. These three measures are good indicators of the reliability of the MLQ -5x. The data analysis and interpretation of this empirical study indicate that perceived experiences of educators of the leadership styles of principals of both underperforming and performing schools were transformational followed by transactional styles. There was a negative correlation between the passive-avoidant style on the one hand and the transformational and

transactional styles on the other. There were, however, schools where the passive-avoidant style prevailed. This study attempted to contribute by raising a renewed awareness of the importance of leadership styles of principals by presenting the rich perspectives of educators on these leadership styles. Finally, the purpose of this study was to advance our understanding of principal leadership in this particular context in order to share and make best practices available to all.