The role of the principal towards effective educational leadership in selected secondary schools in Waterberg Education District

Abstract

The main purpose of this research study is to investigate and analyse the role of the Principal towards effective educational leadership in selected Secondary schools in Waterberg Education District. The effectiveness of the educational leadership depends on the educational managers’ personal backgrounds, con-duciveness of the school climates, positive learning school cultures, availability of resources in the classrooms, utilisation of learner-teacher support material (LTSM), effective organisation of educational excursions, and other related issues. Principals, by virtue of their positions need to be empowered so as to coordinate activities and provide resources that can be used to enhance effect-tive educational leadership. The most important aspect pertaining to effective educational leadership in schools, is that it must be managed properly. This actually implies that correct and relevant resources should be provided to reinforce the quality of effective educational leadership. The primary study revealed that effective educational leadership cannot be achieved by school Principals in isolation, but through the School Management Team as a whole. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher has employed phenomenology, stratified random sampling and qualitative research design to achieve the in-tended goal of the research project. The researcher has also used case studies and interview research instruments to collect relevant data from twenty (20) SMT members in area of the study. The data collected through case studies and interviews was analysed by coding derived from audio tape recorder. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data whose findings were based on to make conclusions and recommendations. The results indicated that the role of the Principal contributes significantly to the quality of effective educational leadership. The results also showed that there is a need for continued support from the members of the School Management Teams. The need for support from the parents, SGBs and government in terms of resources, is vital. The abovementioned support, can also assist the Principals to make a positive impact on effective educational leadership. The researcher believes that, if the findings and the recommendations from the study can be applied properly, they can add value to the educational practice in Waterberg District in particular and Limpopo Province as a whole.