Expert principals are key to success in South African education
- Published on 8 May 2013
- HR Pulse News Desk
SA education is reaching a crisis point and we’re running out of time to fix the problems the sector faces. Out of 144 economies, we ranked 133nd for quality of education and 115th for primary education enrollment in the most recent World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index. And in 2012, UNESCO reported that, in an attempt to overcome obvious shortfalls, South Africans had to pay dearly to send their children to private schools.
Motivated educator, freelance consultant and change agent, Mandy Lebides, believes that developing school leaders is the key to turning the situation around.
“We all know education is in trouble. It’s in the newspapers every day,” said Lebides, talking at the UCT Graduate School of Business recently.
She says a paradox exists: “Strangely, while on the whole we’re doing very poorly, more people than ever are receiving an education and the teachers in the system are better qualified in general than in the past.”
Learners have increased as has the quality of teacher education and training
The South African Survey 2012 report showed that there was a 3.5% increase in the number of learners registering for school between 2000 and 2011. It also showed that in 2011, 98% of teachers were suitably qualified as opposed to only 53% a decade before.
However, the standard of education is lower than that of poorer countries in Africa and between 2009 and 2011, there was a 12% decrease in full-time attendance at school.
“The problem, obviously, is far more complex than what we perceive it to be at first glance. And every time a solution seems to emerge, it comes back to bite us,” she said.
Lebides thinks targeting leadership is critical because it is the breakdown in leadership that precedes the breakdown in schools.
Having worked in large organisations for 20 years as a change agent and consultant, she’s found that the biggest challenge is being able to change to remain relevant. And to help school leaders make this transition to being better, more relevant leaders - leaders the failing school system requires if it is to be saved - Lebides has helped to develop an executive education programme.
4 Things that principals need to become better leaders
A few things are needed for principals to become better leaders, said Lebides:
1. A deeper understanding of their individual situations;
2. A more informed world view;
3. Independence of thought; and
4. The ability to think holistically rather than in a reductionist manner.
“Becoming an expert means improving the ability to solve problems through critical reflection, theorising, independent inquiry, and implementation,” she said. “Principals need to start building knowledge and understanding, and developing theories that lead to effective action within their school systems.”
“In that way, these principals, working within their own realms of influence, could formulate solutions, test them over and over again, making incremental changes until they find something that works,” she said.
