School-parent engagement through relational leadership practices of school principals in a multicultural setting

Abstract

This study examines how school principals practice relational leadership for effective school-parental engagement in a multicultural setting. In South Africa, the post-apartheid education transformation created a situation in which schools are no longer allowed to discriminate against learners. As a result, a new multicultural setting has emerged in which schools are bound to accommodate learners from various cultural backgrounds. This shines the spotlight on school principals’ leadership and how they develop a school vision based on common values and redesign the school in a way that reflects the post-apartheid setting. The leadership role of principals is crucial for school-parental engagement in multicultural school settings. This is a qualitative study that used a case study design. The purposively selected sample consisted of 18 participants from six public schools in the Tshwane North and South. Data was collected using individual interviews. The theory of relational leadership was applied to examine how school principals can practice this leadership style to enhance parental engagement in multicultural school settings. Using thematic analysis, data was then grouped into themes in line with the research questions. The study found that the relational leadership by principals for school-parent engagement in a multicultural setting is limited and ineffective owing to a lack of multicultural sensitivity among most principals. The findings of the study also revealed that though many principals have tried practising different styles, such as instructional, distributive, collaborative and transformational leadership, to enhance parental engagement, these practices are seen as a limited solution. Therefore, the study suggests the need for principals to adopt a new leadership approach that creates a strong relationship between the principal and parents, taking into account the cultural context in which the school operates. The study recommends principals practice relational leadership for effective parental engagement in multicultural school settings.