A historical investigation into school governing structures in Limpopo Province of South Africa

Abstract

The school effectiveness, the school's ability to deliver (produce results), and the improvement of the matriculation (Grade 12) results in the Limpopo Province has been a priority ever since the new democratic government took over in 1994.

The Limpopo Province has always scored lower than all the other nine provinces in the country in the matriculation (Grade 12) results. Among the reasons given as contributing to this state of affairs, was the ineffective way of governing and administering schools. This research investigated the development of the school governing structures in the Limpopo Province. The focus was mainly on revealing the nature of the school governing structures that existed in the province and how those governing structures influenced the overall performance of the schools.

The researcher found that the most suitable school governing structures for the Limpopo Province schools are those that will provide parents with more meaningful participation in the education of their children and will inculcate democracy in the governance of schools.