Teacher leadership in action: an inquiry into the lived experiences of subject heads in secondary schools

ABSTRACT

The move toward more shared and participatory approaches to leadership is gaining momentum in South African schools. This move is underpinned by the supreme law of the country – the Constitution which informs all laws including education law. Specifically, the National Education Policy Act No.27 of 1996 fosters democracy and wider participation in schools by advocating that teachers practice and participate in leadership. According to this policy, teachers need to participate in democratic decision-making structures that support learners and colleagues, as well as demonstrates responsiveness to changing circumstances and needs. One way in which schools can heed the call of the aforementioned policy is through creating informal leadership opportunities like subject head positions, which give ordinary teachers an opportunity to coordinate a group of teachers teaching a similar subject in a school. In this paper, we direct our focus to this informal leadership position. Through narrative inquiry methodology, the lived experiences of three subject heads in three secondary schools were solicited and examined. Upon the examination of these leaders’ lived experiences, the study brought to light the functions of subject heads, complexities experienced by subject heads and also their reaction to the complexities.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sibonelo Blose

Sibonelo Blose is a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, within the discipline of Educational Leadership, Management and Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy; his thesis is titled: “Leading from the middle: lived experiences of Deputy Principals across school quintiles.” Sibonelo has developed an interest in narrative inquiry, which is a methodology he has utilized for the majority of his research work. Before joining the university, Sibonelo served ten years in the Department of Basic Education as a secondary school teacher and also as a Deputy Principal.

Ndumiso Quincy Khuzwayo

Ndumiso Quincy Khuzwayo is a teacher and a departmental head at Amanzimtoti High School, a public secondary school in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He has been in the teaching fraternity for eight years and specializes in commercial subjects. Apart from this, Ndumiso is a Ph.D. scholar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the discipline of Educational Leadership, Management and Policy, wherein, Sibonelo Blose is one of his supervisors or promoters.