The functionality of the leadership styles of school leaders at primary schools in one education district in Cape Town in the Western Cape

Abstract

The South African Education system continues to trail behind many developed and developing countries in the world. Research shows that in education leadership is one of the missing links in many poor-functioning schools. This study explored the functionality of the leadership styles of school leaders at primary schools in one education district in Cape town, South Africa. This research aims to establish the functionality of the leadership style of the school leaders in the selected primary schools in one education district in Cape Town. The sub-aims of the study are: To examine the current leadership styles used by the school leaders; to discover why the leaders use a specific leadership style; to examine leaders‟ perception of functional leadership, and lastly to show how school leaders can implement functional leadership in their primary schools. A qualitative approach with an interpretative research paradigm and a multiple case study strategy was used for this study. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews of teachers, heads of departments, SMTs and school principals from four primary schools in Cape Town. The data that was collected was transcribed, analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis to make sense of the findings of the leadership styles adopted by the leaders of the selected schools. This study found that the leadership styles in use in three out of the four selected primary schools were functional. Leaders in primary schools in the Western Cape Province use multiple leadership styles from a selection being: democratic/participative, transformational, transactional, autocratic and laissez-faire style. The school leaders showed evidence of sound perceptions of what functional leadership should be like in a standard organisation like the school. The most common strategy for promoting functional leadership is primary schools is teamwork between school leaders and all staff members. It is recommended that leaders in schools adopt a multiple method approach to leadership, as there is no clear cut way of showing which leadership style is superior to others in terms of effectiveness. Leaders should create the right team climate, foster synergy, organising themselves and others through good time management, personal development and delegation of duties.