The role of the principal in developing teacher empowerment through distributed leadership: teachers’ experiences

Abstract

Before the democratic dispensation in South Africa, school principals led schools single-handedly without the support of lead teachers. At the start of democracy in 1994 policy documents were implemented by the Department of Basic Education to provide a framework for democratic and distributed leadership in South African schools. This study on distributed leadership identifies the gaps in school leadership which have evolved significantly over the decades since democracy. The aim of this research was to expand on teachers’ lived perceptions and experiences of the role of the principal in developing teacher empowerment through distributed leadership. This study uses a qualitative approach with an interpretative research paradigm and a case study design. The key findings of the semi-structured interviews and analysis of this study indicate the emerging of shared leadership roles implemented by principals. The findings of this study on distributed leadership are related to one public school in the Western Cape district of Cape Town. The findings and results therefore provide a limited in-depth study for further research to define teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the role of the principal in developing teacher empowerment through distributed leadership.