Leadership and Context for the Improvement of Quality Education in Socio-Deprived School Contexts
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| Title: | Leadership and Context for the Improvement of Quality Education in Socio-Deprived School Contexts |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jan Heystek (ORCID |
| Source: | South African Journal of Education. 2024 44(2). |
| Availability: | Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Elementary Secondary Education, Students, Teachers, Principals, Socioeconomic Status, Disadvantaged Schools, Context Effect, Professionalism, Resistance (Psychology), Student Problems, Family Environment, Parent Participation, Educational Quality |
| ISSN: | 0256-0100 2076-3433 |
| Abstract: | In this article we report on an exploration of leadership and context for the improvement of quality education in South African socioeconomic-deprived school contexts viewed through Hellinger's contextual theory, open systems theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development, and Bourdieu's theory of field, habitus and power. A post positivistic approach allowed for a quantitative research design which employed an interpretivist lens to use the theory and the context to interpret the numbers. A self-designed questionnaire was used for the data collection. We analysed the data by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) analysis program and evaluated using a Likert scale. In the study reported on here, the mean scores -- sorted from the highest, which means the most important factor, to the lowest -- are presented. The findings reveal that low teacher professionalism and non-compliance to the regulations, contextual factors outside the schools (teenage pregnancy, vandalism), learners' circumstantial challenges, high accountability by the department without considering schools' contextual factors, and a lack of parental involvement in the teaching-learning process were among the biggest challenges for principals to influence quality education. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1430178 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In this article we report on an exploration of leadership and context for the improvement of quality education in South African socioeconomic-deprived school contexts viewed through Hellinger's contextual theory, open systems theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development, and Bourdieu's theory of field, habitus and power. A post positivistic approach allowed for a quantitative research design which employed an interpretivist lens to use the theory and the context to interpret the numbers. A self-designed questionnaire was used for the data collection. We analysed the data by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) analysis program and evaluated using a Likert scale. In the study reported on here, the mean scores -- sorted from the highest, which means the most important factor, to the lowest -- are presented. The findings reveal that low teacher professionalism and non-compliance to the regulations, contextual factors outside the schools (teenage pregnancy, vandalism), learners' circumstantial challenges, high accountability by the department without considering schools' contextual factors, and a lack of parental involvement in the teaching-learning process were among the biggest challenges for principals to influence quality education. |
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| ISSN: | 0256-0100 2076-3433 |
