Developing a collaborative teacher learning culture : perspectives of three secondary school principals in the Pinetown District

Abstract

Continuing learning is significant for teachers to keep up with the ever-changing demands and challenges associated with their work. As senior leaders in schools, whose key responsibility is to promote the education of learners, principals should play a vital role in ensuring that teachers continue to learn. Learning from one another within a school is a learning avenue that principals and teachers should leverage. This paper reports findings of a small-scale, empirical case study that endeavoured to explore three school principals' experiences of developing a collaborative teacher learning culture. The leadership for learning approach constituted the conceptual framework through which the experiences of the participating principals were understood. The results show that the participating principals employed numerous strategies to instil a collaborative teacher learning culture in their schools. In addition, the study highlights challenges that the principals encountered in developing a collaborative learning culture amongst teachers in their schools.