In-service management training of school heads of department in the Mpumalanga province

Abstract

The in-service management training of school managers, especially heads of departments in these constantly changing times, is an issue which is long overdue in South Africa. Numerous initiatives, such as the Canada - South Africa Education Management Programme, the Whole School Improvement Workshop and the Workshop for School Management Teams are in-service management training programmes in the Mpumalanga Province which are aimed at the upgrading of management skills of school managers such as principals, deputy principals and heads of department. The aim of this study was therefore, to determine the impact of these programmes on the performance of heads of department.

A literature study was conducted to give an overview of current in-service management training programmes in the Mpumalanga Province.

An empirical study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with key-informants to establish the impact of current in-service management training programmes, such as the Canada - South Africa Education Management Programme, the Whole School Improvement Workshop and the Workshop for School Management Teams on the performance of school heads of department.

Although these in-service management training programmes have some short-comings, it was found that they played a significant role in the upgrading of management skills of heads of department and thereby improving their performance.