The professional development and management of newly-appointed principals in 15 districts in Gauteng schools

Abstract: Circular 15/2009 was published by the Gauteng Department of Education wherein the Department indicated the continuous academic underperformance that occurred in certain high schools in the province, during the national grade 12 examinations. This is one of the most important tasks that a principal must execute: he or she must create an environment that is conducive to quality teaching and learning to take place. According to the vacancy list published by the Gauteng province, the national requirements for a candidate to apply for the position of principal is seven years teaching experience with the necessary leadership, management and administrative skills. Therefore, any educator who meets this requirement is legible to apply for such a position, irrespective of his or her experience in leadership. Taking the above into consideration, an inexperienced newly-appointed high school principal, without the support of the School Management Team (SMT) and School Governing Body (SGB), can lead a school into a dysfunctional state. When studying the need for the professional development of newly-appointed principals, it is evident in literature that South Africa does not follow the same trend as its counterparts across the world. The McKinsey report highlights the fact that the aspiring candidate must have a qualification in leadership and management in order to qualify for the position of principal. After the appointment of such a candidate, the newly-appointed principal must participate in an induction programme followed by a mentorship programme of at least one year‟s duration with an experienced principal. Within the South African context, in 1998 the National Department of Education planned to set up a school leadership institute. This, however, never came to fruition. Gauteng, as well as the Western Cape Education Department, delegated the responsibility for professional development to the training wing of their respective departments. The investigation was conducted with high school principals that were appointed in Gauteng during the period 2010-2013. During this period 107 of the 698 posts for high school principals were advertised. The study was a mixed method research done in a sequential order. The quantitative research was done first with all 107...D.Ed