INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
EDUCATING FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Recent media and research reports suggest that despite major advances achieved since the first democratic elections, the
educational experiences of a number of learners in South African schools are still dominated by the spectre of race. This is despite the fact that we have dismantled the apartheid legislative framework that
institutionalised racism in the education system.
The demands on school management
have changed, with the emphasis growing on managing safe, diverse and integrated school environments.
Principals have to interpret the demands of their job and determine how they will perform this within the context of national development – and therefore tap into the full potential of themselves and the rest of the school community.
The core of the principals’ job is to im- prove teaching and learning in the school. This includes the need to be aware and un- derstand environmental demands and the ability to respond to the defined values in education.1
1 Thutong: South African Education Portal, (
http://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/educationmanagement/ AdvancedCertificateinEducation/tabid/3699/
Default.aspx)
EDUCATING FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE: BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR AN INTEGRATED SOCIETY
We have always recognised that the first phase of educational reconstruction in the post-apartheid era would be about creating the framework within which the apartheid legacy could be confronted and dealt with.
Apartheid and its brutal legacy however still haunt the nation’s classrooms. The first decade of freedom has taught us, that life in the new South Africa has its own chal- lenges, sometimes very similar to the chal- lenges of the past.
One such lesson is that real renewal can only occur if teachers, managers, parents and communities recognise the importance of changing the old ways of doing things. This implies commitment to redress, equity and transformation at an institutional level.
Systemic change can only occur if teachers, school governing bodies, managers and lo- cal communities commit themselves to the change process. The role of all stakeholders
is vital if racial integration is to be success- fully achieved. We need to acknowledge that contexts and conditions differ and that a “one-size-fits-all” approach is necessar- ily doomed to failure. School communities need to reflect on their own situations and to find their own solutions in line with the values and principles of our Constitution.
Education is an essential aspect of meet- ing the challenges posed by integration. We cannot live successfully as communi- ties and as a nation if we do not respect each other’s differences, whilst recognising how these diverse elements shape the road ahead into unity and our common destiny.
Only by combining our efforts will we be able to rid our schools and communities of the scourge of racism. Nation-building and reconciliation are the challenges that we must be involved in. But first, we must ex- orcise all manifestations of prejudice, which leads to discrimination.2
2 Prof Kader Asmal, MP, Minister of Education, January 2004.
106
www.ed.org.za
www.ed.org.za
CHAPTER 6 | SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
107
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123