The role of school governing bodies in enhancing school effectiveness in South African schools

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate participants’ views on the role of school governing bodies (SGBs) in enhancing school effectiveness in South African schools with a view to promoting learners’ sustainable academic achievement. The study was undertaken at ten (10) South African schools in the Western Cape *Province in South Africa, in a metropolitan area. The study adopted the case study as the principal research design, and it was informed by the mixed methods paradigm; thus, qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Non-probability and probability sampling techniques were used for the selection of the site of study and the participants. A representative sample of 189 participants was used from a target population of 567 participants. The study was informed by multiple theories. The study found that most of the participants perceived maladministration and mismanagement of the SGBs as a major problem affecting the governance in most public schools in South Africa. It was found that the adoption of a vibrant and robust school governance strategy is the solution/panacea to solving this persistent problem of a lack of proper governance in schools. The introduction of a school governance education and regulatory framework for the SGBs was singled out to be the ‘pivotal’ strategy that policy-makers should adopt to strengthen the role of the SGBs. It was further established that the role of the SGBs in South African schools should be strongly supported by a multi-agency response to enhance the effective running of the education system to propel learners’ academic achievement. The study findings further revealed that the SGBs in South African schools lack the necessary assumed or anticipated knowledge regarding school governance. The study has the potential to contribute to the scholarly literature on how the SGBs can be supported to enhance effectiveness in South African schools and improved academic achievement. An analysis of global experiences and best practices revealed some new insights which could improve the functioning of the SGBs in South African schools. It also emerged that training trainers or educating teachers and other stakeholders can help capacitate individuals and transform South Africa’s basic education. The study concluded that school governing bodies are an indispensable entity in education and require the necessary backing by multi-stakeholders. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the local school governance strategies and support existing mechanisms currently being employed in South African schools to successfully provide an environment that supports learners’ sustainable academic achievement. In line with the above, the study recommends the resourcing of the SGBs to assist them in executing their mandate. In addition, the study recommends further research in this seemingly grey area to contribute to the knowledge body regarding instituting good school governance in South African schools.