Kriteria vir die identifisering van leerlingsraadslede in sekondêre skole in Namibïe

Abstract

In this study an effort was made to determine which criteria could be regarded as the most important for the identification of student council members in secondary schools in Namibia. The study was primarily undertaken to make a contribution to more effective identification of student council members. The results of the study can also be used in leader development programmes. The aim of the research was to assess the nature of student leadership and to determine how and by means of which criteria student council members could be identified. The views of the peer group and top management of secondary schools regarding these criteria were also determined. Subjects such as leadership, student leaders, leadership theories and styles as well as the identification of leaders were described by way of a literary study. A total of 164 criteria for the identification of student council members were defined. These criteria were divided into the following constructs: personality traits, character traits, cognitive abilities and skills. The construct personality traits was subdivided into dimensions. The 164 criteria were reduced to 86 by means of a factor analysis and used in the questionnaire for the empirical research. The questionnaire research to determine the views of the peer groups (Standard 9 pupils) and top management of schools regarding the criteria for the identification of student council members was done at eight secondary schools in Namibia. The results were processed by computer. It appears that criteria which could be classified under the construct character traits were evaluated as being the most important for the identification of student council members in these specific secondary schools. The construct personality traits, however, appeared to be nearly as important, while cognitive abilities and skills were placed third and fourth respectively.