Professional discretion of public school principals : an education law perspective

dc.contributor.advisorDu Plessis, Andre
dc.contributor.emailrene.beyers@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.contributor.postgraduateBeyers, René
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-10T13:12:06Z
dc.date.available2023-07-10T13:12:06Z
dc.date.created2023-09
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionThesis (PhD (Education Management, Law and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2023.en_US
dc.description.abstractResearch indicates that there is a lack of understanding of the law and legal obligations among school principals. This could directly affect a principal’s ability to apply appropriate professional discretion. Without the necessary legal knowledge, it would be almost impossible for principals to apply appropriate professional discretion. Underpinned by the Contextual Intelligence Theory, the purpose of this study was therefore to investigate, analyse, and interpret principals’ legal interpretation of their duties, their application of professional discretion, and their perceptions of the role of contextual intelligence when they apply professional discretion. This study also aimed to shed light on principals’ decision-making when confronted with difficult decisions concerning management, leadership, legislation, and policy within the context in which their schools are operating. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach from within a pragmatist research paradigm. Data was collected by means of quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, namely survey questionnaires followed by semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that there are multiple scenarios in which principals must apply professional discretion and that, in order to protect the best interests of learners and staff, it often means that they are required to ignore official policies which do not allow for the contextual nuances of schools. Various internal and external factors which influence how principals apply professional discretion were identified. Further, principals experience intimidation by departmental officials who are often second guessing their decision-making. As a result, they are often afraid to apply their discretionary powers.en_US
dc.description.availabilityUnrestricteden_US
dc.description.degreePhD (Education Management, Law and Policy)en_US
dc.description.departmentEducation Management and Policy Studiesen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipPostgraduate Research Bursary – Doctoral Studiesen_US
dc.identifier.citationUnderpinned by Contextual Intelligence Theory, this study investigated principals’ legal interpretation of their duties, their application of professional discretion, and their perceptions of the role of contextual intelligence. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach from within a pragmatist research paradigm. Data was collected by means of survey questionnaires followed by semi-structured interviews. It was found that there are multiple scenarios in which principals must apply professional discretion and that they are often required to ignore official policies which do not allow for the contextual nuances of schools. Various internal and external factors were identified which influence how principals apply professional discretion. Further, principals experience intimidation by departmental officials who are often second guessing their decision-making. As a result, they are often afraid to apply their discretionary powers.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.23631372en_US
dc.identifier.otherS2023
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/91319
dc.identifier.uriDOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.23911194.v2
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Pretoria
dc.rights© 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
dc.subjectUCTDen_US
dc.subjectDecision-makingen_US
dc.subjectSchool leadershipen_US
dc.subjectSchool managementen_US
dc.subjectSchool principalsen_US
dc.subjectContextual intelligenceen_US
dc.subjectProfessional discretion
dc.subject.otherEducation theses SDG-04
dc.subject.otherSDG-04: Quality education
dc.subject.otherEducation theses SDG-17
dc.subject.otherSDG-17: Partnerships for the goals
dc.titleProfessional discretion of public school principals : an education law perspectiveen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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