MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FACING SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SOUTPANSBERG WEST CIRCUIT

Abstract

Secondary school principals have been faced with different challenges since the introduction of the new system of education that is in line with the South African democratic changes. The most demanding challenges faced by the secondary school principals are leadership and management due to the introduction of multiple role players by the South African Schools Act of 1996. The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership and management challenges facing the secondary school principals. This study reveals that many stakeholders who are supposed to play a vital role in school management and governance do not know their roles and boundaries and many of them rely on “common sense” to manage and govern. The study further reveals lack of support for the secondary school principals by different stakeholders as a cause for concern. The study recommends giving more training to the stakeholders and finding ways of motivating them to participate and involve themselves in matters of school management and governance. Ways of improving involvement, participation and communication are discussed in the study.