| dc.description.abstract | Although schools and industrial organisations have historically been, and in some cases still are, considered completely different entities, there is nevertheless an increasing awareness that similarities also exist. It can be a determining factor for the roles and competencies of school principals as leaders if indeed there is truth in the conception that schools ought to be led and managed as businesses (industrial organisations, companies).
The aim of this study was to determine which comparisons (similarities and differences) can indeed be drawn between the environments in which school principals as leaders of education on the one hand and leaders of industrial organisations on the other operate. For this purpose the nature of a school and that of an industrial organisation were investigated. Furthermore, it was attempted to draw a comparison between the roles and competencies of leaders in both environments with the expectation that the roles which successful leaders fulfil in the industrial organisation and the competencies they should have at their command, can provide important guidelines for nurturing more efficient and more successful leaders in schools. In order to reach the afore-mentioned goal, a literature study was done on the nature of an industrial organisation and of a school and on the roles and competencies of leaders of organisations and leaders of education. Subsequently, as second objective, a quantitative investigation was undertaken, based on a questionnaire which was forwarded to school principals in the Gauteng Province. A representative sample of 400 school principals from all schools in the province was drawn for this purpose and the responses were statistically analysed with a view to establish which of the roles and competencies indicated by the literature study are indeed considered important and which of these roles and competencies are prominent among school principals. The first research objective was to determine the roles and competencies of managerial leaders, and it was found that they must have command over visionary thinking, be capable of planning strategically, be motivators and change agents, be able to communicate well and be capable of working with people, be able to manage and be adaptable themselves, be able to lead, be able to empower people and to evaluate them. Subsequently common orientations for industrial leaders and leaders of education were determined. Here, dealing with personnel was very evident, especially with regard to staff development., sound relationships with members of staff, acknowledgement of staff performances, teamwork, the integrity of the leader, as experienced by the staff, the climate within and culture of the organisation, how energetic the leader is and his/her abilities to organise, and to which extent standards are maintained. The information obtained by the research led to reaching the third objective, namely designing a model for improving the efficiency of the leader of education regarding his/her roles and competencies. The model recommends intervention from the part of the Department of Education as well as ways in which the school principal him/herself takes responsibility for improving the efficiency of school principals. | |
