The role and responsibilities of Circuit Managers to support principals during education change

Abstract

In this study, the role and responsibilities of the circuit manager to support principals during education change (a critical position in education transformation) were investigated. Circuit managers are the closest point of contact between principals and districts. Their role is to manage principals and schools and to ensure school management. Their responsibilities are leading and providing managerial, administrative, technical, resources and curriculum support to principals and schools. Circuit managers are uniquely placed to influence education reform and the quality of education provision in schools. They are an important bridge between the district and the principal, the school management team, the school governing body, teachers, learners, parents and the community. The influence of circuit managers’ provision of support can only be realised when they understand what their role is and how to go about executing this role and responsibilities. To have a good understanding of the research topic, an in-depth literature review was done to explore the current nature, content and structure of the role and responsibilities of circuit managers in providing support to principals during education change in the Sedibeng East and Sedibeng West districts of Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative, phenomenological approach, underpinned by an interpretative paradigm was followed by the researcher. Purposive sampling was used to select participants according to their proximity to and knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon under research. Semi- structured, open-ended questions were used for data collection. The researcher used Microsoft Teams, a virtual conferencing platform, to conduct interviews because he needed to adhere to COVID-19 health protocols. This method gave him the opportunity to record not only the interviews and sound but also the body language of each participant. The participants in the research were circuit managers and secondary school principals of farm, township, semi-urban and urban quintile 1 to 5 schools. Additional data were collected by making field notes. The video and audio recordings were later transcribed into text and coded. Themes were formed from these texts with similar topics for the researcher to conclude the findings and recommendations of the research. The researcher found that principals were not effectively supported by circuit managers during education change. Furthermore, he found that principals needed continuous support from circuit

managers to deal with education change. This finding revealed that principals needed context- relevant professional development, resources and guidance through circuit managers’ support actions, strategies and plans to enable them to deal with education change. More professional development opportunities must be provided for circuit managers and principals to attend professional development training and programmes. The support from circuit managers during education change must be aligned with the needs of principals within the context in which they lead and manage schools during education change. Circuit managers’ provision of support to principals must be continuously reviewed to ensure that the support provision is sustainable and improved during education change. The researcher developed a support framework for circuit managers to support principals during education change in the Sedibeng East and Sedibeng West districts. The framework will also assist other circuit managers in South Africa to support principals during education change.