Leadership strategies to optimise teacher efficacy in township and rural schools in a district of the North West Province

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the leadership strategies that could assist principals to optimise teacher efficacy in township and rural schools, both primary and secondary schools, to identify, describe and explain the leadership strategies principals employ in order to increase teacher efficacy. This included examining how low teacher efficacy contributes to the low academic performance of learners in schools. Furthermore, the study aimed to develop leadership strategies to assist principals in low-performing schools to positively influence the efficacy levels of their teachers. The challenges that school principals in township and rural schools faced with regard to low teacher efficacy levels as well as leadership strategies that could help principals to turn around low teacher efficacy were investigated. A literature study was carried out to investigate the nature of teacher efficacy and the influence of principal leadership strategies on teacher efficacy. The views of teachers and principals were sought on teacher efficacy and leadership strategies to optimise teacher efficacy. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from a sample of 237 (teachers and principals). The data were analysed by means of frequencies, means and percentages. Factor analysis was conducted to determine the relationships among questionnaire items and to reduce the number of variables by finding the common factors among them. The pattern matrix and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were also determined. The presentation, analysis and interpretation of data were presented in chapter 6. This included a discussion on the leadership strategies of principals to optimise teacher efficacy. In chapter 7, the research was summarised. This was followed by findings on the objectives of the study. Recommendations and motivations derived from the literature and empirical investigation on leadership strategies of principals to optimise teacher efficacy were outlined. Suggestions for future research were also made. Finally, the contributions of the study to both the literature and practices of principals to optimise teacher efficacy were highlighted.