Die rol en funksie van prinsipale ten einde akademiese prestasies in landelike skole te verbeter

Abstract

The Western Cape Education Department could not reach their proposed pass percentage of 50% in Grades 3 and 6 for Afrikaans Huistaal/English Home Language and Mathematics in all schools since 2002. Rural primary schools in a Circuit in the region of the West Coast form part of these statistics. The main aim of this study is to identify and discuss the shortcomings and positive aspects in the management practice within this Circuit, draw conclusions and propose recommendations. With this aim the central focus resides within the ambit of the role and function of rural primary school principals as well as the impact of their management acts on learner performance. The accountability of principals comprises managing schools in such a way that learning by learners is a core priority. Several literary genres and philosophies based on professional judgment, views and opinions of experts as well as authorities were researched to find answers to how these approaches can be applied in order to answer the problem statement. To find further answers for the problem statement a combination of quantitative and qualitative research was used. This research process resides within an interpretive research paradigm and is exploratory and descriptive. Selfdesigned questionnaires as well as semi-structured questions for focus group interviews were developed to obtain information from participants, the primary sources. Using this design first-hand knowledge was obtained from participants through the responses in the questionnaires and comments from the interviews. Responses and comments were organised in order to formulate the findings. Both the shortcomings and positive aspects regarding school management in its total extent are highlighted and recommendations are suggested. This study attempts to make a meaningful contribution to the management and leadership accountability function of principals in rural primary schools in order to improve learner achievement.