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LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FOUNDATION PHASE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT By LOGANAYAGIE PDF

130 Pages·2017·1.55 MB·English
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Preview LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FOUNDATION PHASE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT By LOGANAYAGIE

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 ii 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 i 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. ii 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 iii SMT School Management Team UKZN University of KwaZulu-Natal UNISA University of South Africa PhD Doctor of Philosophy iv 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. v 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. vi 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 vii 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 viii

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