School Principalship Leadership and Management in Integrated Muslim Schools in South Africa: An Investigation

Abstract

This research focused on strategies for effective leadership and management in integrated Muslim schools. A qualitative approach within a phenomenological design was utilized to encapsulate qualitative data on the strategies for effective leadership and management in integrated Muslim schools. Nonprobability sampling methods were employed, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as the primary method to capture the data from the participants. The main findings from this research identified invaluable insights into the nature of integrated Muslim schools from a historical perspective, the governance, bodies of membership and registration of these schools and the existing leadership and management portfolio. The research established that the school principals presiding over leadership and management of integrated Muslim schools have a dichotomous portfolio of leadership and management, that is, the secular curriculum and the Islamic curriculum. Thus, they have dichotomous leadership and management tasks, primarily toward their employers and as a religious duty. Furthermore, it was established that these leadership and management duties are not detailed, which results in role ambiguity and overlapping between the leadership and management role on the one hand and the governance role of school principals on the other.