The role of school management teams in addressing the challenges that inhibit teamwork in Mopani District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

Managing a school in South Africa has increasingly challenged schools to adopt a notion of teamwork. While teamwork is an appealing notion in theory, its practical implemention is not without challenges. Thus, this study explores the capacity of school management teams to address the challenges that hinder teamwork in eight purposively sampled schools in Mopani District. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of how SMTs address challenges that inhibit teamwork, this study was framed within the constructivist or interprivist worldview. Individual semi-structured interviews and structured observations were data collection instruments used in this study. Triangulation was achieved by manually transcribing the interview data, and through three inter-related stages of analysis combined with data obtained through observations. The research question and sub-questions were used to guide the process of data analysis. The study found that teamwork is perceived as a diresable notion in schools. The SMTs members affirmed their commitment to implementing teamwork in their schools. However, this study found that there are serious obstacles inhibiting the actual practice of teamwork in schools. It enumerated factors such as negative attitudes among members, and communication gaps and unwillingness by SMT members to share responsibilities. The SMTs offered critical ways of dealing with these challenges which involves consulting extensively, mentoring novice teachers, and enforcing policies. Taking the finidings of this study into cognisance, several recommendations were offered to the schools and district for further research.