Die departementshoof : opvoedkundige leiding en jeugleierskapontwikkeling in die sekondêre skool

M.Ed.South Africa, together with the rest of the world, has the need for leaders who are purposeful and have firm principles. Natural leaders among pupils must be identified and they must be assisted in accepting and fulfilling their call to leadership with skill and confidence. The object of this study is an investigation into the character and nature of the development of leadership in youth. Youth leaders must be trained to manage pupil activities effectively. It should never be a case of simply identifying the leaders and then leaving them to themselves in their newly acquired positions. The youth leaders remain dependent on support and therefore nave to be trained on a continuous basis. The youth finds himself in a unique situation which constitutes unique problems. Due to these problems, the content of a leader development program must be such that it creates an atmosphere in which the pupil leaders will have the desire to think about and to be knowledgable as to the problems of" their times. The content of a leadership development program focuses on two levels, namely the moral and practical or physical level. The youth has a specific need to be accepted and should be studied and considered in various educational relationships. Only when this has taken place, will the youth be open to the development of his leadership abilities. Every teacher acts according to his/her specific leadership style. The management style is actually part of the management leader and will materialize as such in the way in which leadership is given. The pupil leader will, therefore, also show a specific management style and this must be considered in the development program ..