The role of school management teams and parents in learner achievement

Abstract

Research supports that many studies conducted across the country and internationally, acknowledge the positive effects of parental interest in learner academic achievement. The research findings reveals that no study about the role of SMTs and parents in enhancing learner academic achievement has been conducted in rural secondary schools of Sekhukhune Limpopo Province. Further inquiry discovered that studies conducted nationally and internationally focused only on parent participation in elementary schools to improve reading, composition, and cognitive powers of primary school children. Epstein (2011) posits that parental involvement diminishes as the child moves on to secondary school level. The intent of this study through qualitative case-study research explored and analysed the role SMTs and parents play in Sekhukhune District Limpopo Province in enhancing learners’ academic achievement. Five parents of Grade 8-12 learners and 3 SMT members participated from each of the six public secondary schools of Sekhukhune Limpopo province in the inquiry procedure. Principals regards parental engagement in education as interfering with school programmes. This work explored and examined how SMTs and parents collaborate and interact to improve learner academic achievement in rural public secondary schools of the Sekhukhune Limpopo Province. Knowledge of the concept parent involvement; encouraging positive parenting skills; enhancing communication with families; increasing volunteerism at school encouraging learning at home; increasing the number of parents in leadership and decision-making roles; improving community collaboration; capacitating parents and teachers with legislation and laws and dealing with barriers prohibiting effective involvement were some of the themes that evolved from the findings of this study. The implications point to the urgent need for proper training of the school management team for the efficient involvement of parents of children in rural areas, as this will enhance learner achievement. This research highlights the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders to establish a shared vision in order to improve learner academic achievement.