Enkele bestuursfunksies van die sekondêre skoolhoof met spesiale verwysing na interpersoonlike verhoudingstigting

Abstract

The principal of a secondary school has a managerial task to perform. Many of his managerial functions have been described in literature. In the performance of his duties he makes contact with various groups of people. The group with which he interacts most frequently is his staff. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the interpersonal relations between the principal and his teachers on successful teaching and education. The basic assumption is that the school manager cannot function effectively if the relations with his teachers are negative. It is therefore one of his basic managerial functions to create sound interpersonal relations with his teachers. The aim of this study is to take a closer look at the managerial functions of the secondary school principal with the purpose of finding a definition for the concept of managerial functions. Using this definition as basis it is further the intention to try and establish whether the creation of sound interpersonal relations with his teachers can be classified as a managerial function of the secondary principal. A theoretical study was made of the development of the human aspects of management and of the growing awareness that the care and consideration for the employee is a very important facet of management. The research instituted by various management schools on management, was taken into consideration. In the Scientific Management School attention was given to the research of Taylor and Fayol. Special consideration was given to the principles of management as stated by Taylor. Taylor's work was based on his point of view that co-operation between management and employee should be encouraged. Attention was also given to Fayol's principles of management. Some of these principles like fairness, reward and "esprit de corps" that were focussed on motivation, job satisfaction and a feeling of unity among employees, emphasize that he was aware of the effect of sound interpersonal relations. In the Human Relations School the contributions of Follett, Mayo and Roethlisberger were summarized. Follett's human interests motivated her to integrate the social sciences into management in a practical way. She pleaded for recognition of the needs of the individual and the group within an organization. Mayo and Roethlisberger placed the emphasis on the human aspects in management. The experimental work that was undertaken by them led to the improvement of the interpersonal relations between employer and employee. The work of some of the Behaviorists was also consulted. The contributions of Barnard, Simon and Argyris to management were briefly touched on. They stressed the important role of group formation within an organization as well as decision-making. The important role that interpersonal relations between management and employees play in productivity, was pointed out. Hostility between the management and the informed group lead to diminished productivity. Various management theories with regard to the principal were also treated. Consideration of these, combined with the definition of management leads to the conclusion that the principal can be regarded as a manager. The next aspect that had to be considered was the nature of the managerial functions of the principal. These are: planning, organizing, giving instructions, co-ordination, control, decision-making, delegation, evaluation, in-service training of teachers, initiation and renovation, feedback, personnel management, disciplinary activities. The next step was to take the act of creating interpersonal relations into consideration. It became clear that, to create interpersonal relations, is a conscious act that makes demands upon the personality and skills of the principal. The skills, necessary to create sound inter-human relations are the following: empathy, respect and warmth, genuineness, concreteness. Factors that influence the creation of sound interpersonal relations are the following: the philosophy of life of the people concerned, communication, the ability to listen, response, guidance, human dignity, problem-solving, motivation, management styles, leadership and authority, group dynamics, experience of the principal, the personality traits of the principal, common interests. Consideration of the properties of interpersonal relations led to the conclusion that the way in which the principal performs his managerial functions, has an influence on his relations with his teachers, which in turn has a bearing on the quality of the education and teaching in his school. In order to determine what the teachers expect of their principal in this connection, a questionnaire was compiled, and circulated among Afrikaans and English secondary schools in Transvaal. The opinions of the respondents were compared on the following bases: • principles vs teachers in senior posts vs teachers; • male teachers vs female teachers; • teachers with varying experience; • teachers with different qualifications; • Afrikaansspeaking teachers vs English speaking teachers. The one-way analysis of variance and the x2-analysis were used to test the data. The aim was to establish differences of opinion between the respondents. The more relevant conclusions derived from the analysis, can be summarized as follows: The South African principal: • has to be a genuine Christian and patriot • should consult his teachers in the formulation of policy • should preferably be a strong, convincing leader maintaining narrow contact with his staff, but often faithfully carries through his own opinions • is the institutional leader who understands the art of delegation and effectively supervises the execution of duties • should encourage and praise his teachers where applicable • show interest in their activities • bestow trust upon those who deserve it • train them in service. Teachers readily accept that their principal has a say about their conduct and appearance, and that it is part of his duty to pay class visits. They expect their principal to: • maintain discipline in school • communicate his considered thoughts and instructions clearly and briefly • include them in the planning in the school • keep them informed of any new departmental policy and any other developments • art as mediator when complaints are brought in against any one of them • protect them in such cases • create sound interpersonal relations with them • take measures against any one of them who is at fault. Corporal punishment is generally accepted as the ultimate form of punishment. Furthermore it is acceptable practice for a principal to punish pupils misdemeanour conducted outside the school grounds. Most respondents are agreed that one of the most important tasks of a principal is to create sound interpersonal relations with his teachers. The following are, amongst others, regarded as positive characteristics of a principal. They are in order of preference: humanity and sound interpersonal relations, fairness, consistency, determination, good discipline and acknowledgement towards his staff, personal interest in his staff, personal interest in all facets of the school activities, strong leadership, the ability to organise, strictness, loyalty, Christianity, friendliness etc. The following are regarded as irritating characteristics: indecisiveness, autocracy, scolding the mass when an individual is guilty, partiality, long-mindedness, egotism, spying on teachers, treating teachers as children, unnecessary delay in decision-making. In conclusion the following can be stated: • The creation of interpersonal relations is of fundamental importance to a principal for effective teaching and education. • The way a principal conducts himself in his interaction with his staff, determines his success as principal. • The principal should be aware of how his staff feels about the way he conducts himself in certain situations. Should his conduct provoke antagonism he should take steps to alter his behavior. • Sound interpersonal relations between the principal and his staff go hand in hand with strictness, discipline and control. • Principals should be trained for the specific managerial task before they assume their position. • Not only should principals create sound interpersonal relations, but they should also take steps to maintain these. The final conclusion would therefore be that sound interpersonal relations occupy a primary and central place in school management.