Any organisation that provides services, or has inputs and outputs, or operational activities that require daily attention should have the ability and capacity to manage these functions in line with Fayol’s division of labour (Fayol, 1935). While the management function is distinct from the leadership function, there is often an intersection and overlap that can be seen in practice between the two roles (Coleman, 2003). Coleman (2003) furthers his argument by explaining that management activity relates to the process and structure of and within the organisation, whereas leadership activities are aligned with organisational vision and values.
As mentioned earlier, neither leadership nor management occurs in a vacuum. Management and leadership styles should not be predetermined because context and circumstances may vary and require an alternative style that is appropriate to that circumstance (Coleman, 2003: 157). While leadership can be demonstrated outside of and independent of an institution and often does, where it differs from management is that management can only occur within an organisational context, as that is where the formality and positions of an organisation exist (Christie 2010: 696).
With this in mind, and with the understanding that schools require both management and leadership to function effectively, how is the management function fulfilled within the context of the public school system? Once again I will examine this through the lens of the South African context as well as a few international examples.
The South African Context to School Management
When it comes to the role of the principal with regard to school management we should look at what the principal is expected to perform. This is provided by the Standards of Principalship Policy (DBE, 2015: 8 -10), which states that principals of SA public schools are expected to fulfil eight key functions, namely:”
- Leading the teaching and learning in the school
- Shaping the direction and development of the school
- Managing the school as an organisation
- Managing the quality of teaching and learning and securing accountability
- Managing human resources (staff) in the school
- Managing and advocating extramural activities
- Developing and empowering self and others; and
- Working with and for the community.” (Government Gazette No. 39827, 18 March 2016)
As we can see, four of these eight key responsibilities directly refer to management, and numbers 3 to 5 relate specifically to the core functions of the school. These core functions are the development of students and the development of staff as it relates to education and its outcomes in points four and five.
This significant list of responsibilities that have been passed on to principals to perform, which leads one to ask whether principals are prepared to undertake these responsibilities adequately. To do so we should look at the historical context and the legacy of apartheid. Spaull (2013) argues that despite the transition to post-Apartheid education, the schools that were dysfunctional before, largely remain so today. This is visible in the structural sense of poor or failing infrastructure as well as with intangible measurements of inefficient leadership and management and with ill-discipline.
Ndou (2008: 2) states that the Apartheid legacy installed a rigidly adhered to hierarchy of authority, which denied the space for deliberation or consultation among educators, bureaucrats and principals. Ndou (2008) further elaborates that the DoE developed all the management policies that principals were expected to implement while being responsible for the management of the school. Morrow (1990) argues that under Apartheid, education was ethnically designed around racial lines, and became prescriptive and enforced that it exacerbated the already impoverished people of colour.
It was under this context that principals also had to navigate the delivery of teaching and learning, and also be conscious of the needs of the community and any possible criticism. Having not been trained to lead, how then are principals expected to manage schools, as determined by the DBE (2015: 8). This states that the responsibility of leading and managing the school lies wholly with the principal, who remains accountable to the employer who is the Superintendent General of Education (HOD) in the province and, to school community via the School Governing Body (SGB).
The establishment of a Senior Management Team (SMT) as required by Section 16 of the South African Schools Act (84 of 1996) was envisaged to enable the principal and ensure the daily operational needs of the school were appropriately managed (Marumolaa & Van Wyk 2012: 102). The SMT includes senior teachers, HODs, specialists and the Deputy Principal/s. Management and leadership are symbiotic and inseparable (Coleman,2003). This begs the question once again, considering the career tracks of educators, how they are expected to manage the operational and executable functions of schools, to the degree that is required when they have not necessarily been provided with the appropriate training or development.