LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FOUNDATION PHASE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT By LOGANAYAGIE

130 Pages·2017·1.55 MB·English

LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING:
LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FOUNDATION PHASE
HEADS OF DEPARTMENT

By

LOGANAYAGIE NAICKER

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the Master of Education (MEd) degree in
the discipline Educational Leadership, Management and Policy, School of
Education, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal

SUPERVISOR: DR INBA NAICKER
DATE SUBMITTED: DECEMBER 2016
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DECLARATION
I, Loganayagie Naicker, declare that:
(i) The research reported in this dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original
research.
(ii) This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other
university.
(iii) This dissertation does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other
information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons.
(iv) This dissertation does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically
acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. When other written sources have
been quoted, then:
a) Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been
referenced;
b) Where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside the quotation
marks, and referenced.
(v) Where I have reproduced a publication of which I am an author, co-author or editor, I
have indicated in detail which part of the publication was actually written by myself alone
and have fully referenced such publications.
(vi) This dissertation does not contain text, graphics, or tables copied and pasted from the
internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation
and in the references sections.

Signed: ______________________________
Loganayagie Naicker
Student No: 215079906

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ABSTRACT
This study explores the experiences of three foundation phase heads of department in
respect of leadership for learning from quintile 1, 3 and 5 schools in KwaZulu-Natal.
There is scant literature on the study of foundation phase heads of department in respect
of leadership for learning and very little is known about their lived experiences. This
study makes visible their experiences of leadership for learning on a day-to-day basis.
The critical questions that constitute the research puzzle are: Who are the foundation
phase heads of departments leading learning in primary schools? How do foundation
phase heads of departments enact their roles and responsibilities as leaders on a day-to-
day basis? What meanings and understandings inform the heads of departments’
enactments in leading learning?
This study is a qualitative study located in the interpretive paradigm and employs a
narrative methodology. The narrative inquiry enabled me to obtain rich data from my
participants. I used narrative interviews, artefact inquiry and collage inquiry to generate
data from the three participants.
The key findings that emerged from this study were: The heads of departments have
multiple identities as they wear many caps in a day; the heads of department’s roles and
responsibilities across the quintiles extend beyond the dictates of policy. Across the
quintiles, it is established that the heads of department practice their leadership roles
according to the culture and structure of their respective school organisations. In the
quintile 1 school, the pastoral leadership of the head of department is most prominent.
In the quintile 3 school, there is great emphasis on the pastoral needs of the learners
which is balanced by co and extra-curricular activities. However, in the quintile 5
school great emphasis is placed on co and extra-curricular matters. These committed
and dedicated heads of departments draw on a wide range of policies and legislation to
enact their roles and responsibilities. The directives that the heads of department
receive from their principals and senior managers, supplements the meanings and
understandings that inform the heads of department enactment of leading learning at
their institutions. The heads of department role models and great icons enable them to
draw inspiration and aspire to achieving meaningful leadership.

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ACRONYMS
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
ANA Annual National Assessments
BA Bachelor of Arts
BEd Bachelor of Education
CAPS Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements
CPTD Continuing Professional Teacher Development
DoE Department of Education
FAL First Additional Language
FP Foundation Phase
HIV Human Immuno-deficiency Virus
HL Home Language
HoD Head of Department
IQMS Integrated Quality Management System
Lfl Leadership for Learning
LTSM Learner Teacher Support Material
MEd Master of Education
PAM Personnel Administrative Measures
SACE South African Council for Educators
SA-SAMS South African School Administration and Management System
SAL Second Additional Language

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SMT School Management Team
UKZN University of KwaZulu-Natal
UNISA University of South Africa
PhD Doctor of Philosophy

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1) My thanks and gratitude to Bhagawan Shri Sathya Sai Baba for enriching my life in the
field of education.
2) My mother Miss Dhurmamma Pillay for the sacrifices she made as a single parent as well
as instilling in me the value of education and steering me in the teaching fraternity.
3) My late aunt Arasamma Pillay for raising me with immense love and care, for nurturing
me, being the provider in our home and for being at my side for the greater part of my life.
4) My good friend Urmila Ramjettan for being an inspiration to me for so many decades.
5) My principal Dr N. V. Joseph for supporting me and showing interest in my study. Further,
her caring leadership has assisted me to flourish as a fledgling leader at the school.
6) The staff of Whetstone Primary with whom I share my lived experiences as acting head of
department.
7) My critical friend Vinothia Pillay, for accompanying and motivating me through this
journey.
8) My participants without whom this study would not have been possible.
9) My Family and friends.
10) My supervisor, Dr Inba Naicker, I am grateful for his expert knowledge and guidance
throughout this journey.
11) My research cohort for their constructive criticisms during our group meetings.
12) I acknowledge the financial support of the National Research Foundation (NRF) through
the School Categorization Project.

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DEDICATION

This study is dedicated to my husband Anand Naicker whose love, encouragement and
patience has never wavered over the years.
To my three children Ravendran, Siveshan and Sarvishka for their love and support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ ii
ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... v
DEDICATION…..…………………………………………………………………….………………VI
LIST OF TABLES …….……………………………………………………………………………...XI
CHAPTER ONE: CONTEXTUALISING MY VOYAGE OF THE SEA: INTRODUCTION
AND BACKGROUND TO MY STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 RATIONALE AND MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY ............................................................ 2
1.2.2 PROFESSIONAL ...................................................................................................................... 3
1.2.3 THEORETICAL ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.3 KEY RESEARCH PUZZLES ...................................................................................................... 4
1.4 KEY CONCEPTS ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.4.1 LEADERSHIP ....................................................................................................................... 5
1.4.2 MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................... 6
1.4.3 LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING ......................................................................................... 6
1.5. OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ..................................................................................................... 7
1.5.1 CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 7
1.5.2 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 7
1.5.3 CHAPTER THREE................................................................................................................ 7
1.5.4 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................. 7
1.5.5 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................... 8
1.5.6 CHAPTER SIX ...................................................................................................................... 8
1.6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER TWO: STREAMING THROUGH THE SEA OF KNOWLEDGE: LITERATURE
REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 9
2.2 WHO ARE HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS? ................................................................................ 9
2.3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HEADS OF DEPARTMENT .................................... 10
2.3.1 PLANNING ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.3.2 ORGANISING ..................................................................................................................... 12
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2.3.3 COORDINATING ............................................................................................................... 12
2.3.4 CONTROL ........................................................................................................................... 12
2.4 THE INSTRUCTIONAL ROLE OF THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT .................................... 13
2.5 LACK OF TRAINING FOR HEAD OF DEPARTMENT POSITION ..................................... 14
2.6 MEANINGS AND UNDERSTANDINGS THAT INFORM HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS’
ENACTMENT OF LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING .................................................................... 16
2.6.1 POLICY AND LEGISLATION .......................................................................................... 16
2.6.2 LEARNING THROUGH OBSERVATION ........................................................................ 19
2.6.3 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ............................................................................................... 19
2.6.4 DIRECTIVES FROM THE PRINCIPAL ............................................................................ 20
2.7 THE SHIFT FROM INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TO LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING
.......................................................................................................................................................... 20
2.8 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 22
2.8.1 SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY .......................................................................................... 22
2.9 LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING PRINCIPLES ....................................................................... 25
2.9.1 CONNECT ........................................................................................................................... 25
2.9.2 EXTEND .............................................................................................................................. 26
2.9.3 CHALLENGE ...................................................................................................................... 26
2.9.4 FOCUS ON LEARNING ..................................................................................................... 27
2.9.5 CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING ....................................................................................... 27
2.9.6 DIALOGUE ......................................................................................................................... 28
2.9.7 SHARED LEADERSHIP .................................................................................................... 28
2.9.8 SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY ………………………………………………………….28
2.10 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER 3: TREASURES IN THE OCEAN: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A PROLOGUE ................................................................................................................................. 30
3.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 30
3.2 INTERPRETIVE PARADIGM WITHIN A QUALITATIVE STUDY ................................... 311
3.3 NARRATIVE INQUIRY AS A METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 322
3.4 SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.......................................................................................... 344
3.5 DATA GENERATION IN MY STUDY .................................................................................. 366
3.5.1 NARRATIVE INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................... 366
3.5.2 ARTEFACT INQUIRY ..................................................................................................... 377
3.5.3 COLLAGE INQUIRY ....................................................................................................... 388
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS IN NARRATIVE STUDY ......................................................................... 39
3.7 ETHICAL ISSUES ................................................................................................................... 399
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