The School Management Team Leadership Role in Rural Primary School Setting

Abstract

The School Management Team (SMT) as constituted in the new educational dispensation that ushered in the Outcome Basic Education System (OBE) is a new structure with the sole function of giving leadership guidance, direction and assistance in the teaching/learning situation. In this paper we deliberately sought to understand how the STM in a rural school environment exercises its leadership role. We followed the qualitative approach with an interview schedule which was prepared by the Unisa’s College of Education for use by all the teams that were dispatched to the 500 schools the Basic Education Department had targeted for this project. Rural schools are terribly challenged because it is trite fact that they lack the requisite facilities for education to take place unhindered and also optimally. For the SMT to be effective they are expected to be able to improvise by way of creating the much needed teaching/learning aids/materials that will ensure that the educative activity takes place effectively. In our research project we actually looked for anything that could dramatically convince us that the SMT was innovative and creative enough to initiate inviting teaching/learning environments that make learners to enjoy and participate in the lesson. What we found was not discouraging but needed some improvement here and there especially that the SMT was made of people who are ready to learn. Our intention is to go back to the school and give a hand of assistance in the areas we have identified as in need of further strengthening and development.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n7p367