School management and governance in Limpopo's rural schools : are the key role players singing from the same legislative book?

Abstract

This study investigates the nature of the conflict that exists in rural schools in Limpopo, particularly as it relates to the relationship between school governance and school management. Previous studies have alluded to a troubled relationship between governance and management in schools across South Africa. New legislation was introduced in education after 1994, and it brought about a shift in responsibility by trying to distinguish between school governance and school management. Instead of bringing clarity concerning roles for governance and management, the legislation seems to have created confusion between the two, as can be seen in how they interact. The study looks at the possible causes of the conflict that exists between the two key role players within the school (i.e., the SGB chairperson and the principal). The study used a phenomenological case study, where respondents were allowed to express their lived experiences. In-depth interviews were used to gather data from four SGB chairpersons and four school principals from four districts in Limpopo. These respondents were chosen on the basis of their experiences in conflict situations at their respective schools. The analysis of the data and the interpretation of the findings pointed out to the following possible causes of conflict between the two key role players: (a) one key role player plays the role that is supposed to be played by another key role player; (b) one key role player fails to follow procedure; and (c) the existence in some instances of personality clashes between the two key role players. Copyright