Experiences of secondary school management teams on teamwork in Tshwane North District schools

Abstract

Democracy in South Africa, among others, has brought a significant number of changes in the education system, including the concept of school management team in schools (SMT). In line with this, the objective of this study was to find out how SMTs experience teamwork in schools; and was conducted in the purposefully sampled six secondary schools in the Tshwane North District. This study was framed within the interpretive approach, and sought to unpack the experience of SMT members with regard to teamwork. An interpretive paradigm made it possible for me to gain an in-depth understanding of SMT member‟s experience of teamwork within their school contexts. I used interviews and questionnaires as research tools to gather data. This study has found that, although the concept of teamwork is well-received, there are significant obstacles to the implementation of teamwork as an alternative form of management.