Creating a conducive teaching and learning climate at a rural school in South Africa: The management team's role

Selaelo Maifala
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This article reports on an inquiry that explored how a school management team (SMT) in a rural school in Limpopo Province, South Africa, understood their role in creating a school climate conducive for improving teaching and learning. I used a qualitative case study design to investigate how their understanding informed their practices. A single high school was purposely selected, with all seven members of its SMT participating through semi-structured interviews, a focus group discussion, and each SMT member being observed for periods of one week. Teachers were also involved as information-rich participants, with six teachers sampled for a focus group discussion. My findings revealed that the SMT failed to create a conducive learning climate, owing to various barriers including the SMTs' limited understanding of their roles, lack of agency, teacher hostility and external forces such as teacher unions.
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Author: Dr Selaelo Maifala recently completed her PhD in Education Leadership at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her experience includes teaching in South Africa and overseas and she is currently a lecturer in Education Leadership and Management at North West University, South Africa. Her interests include school effectiveness, rural education and instructional leadership. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0058-0116 Email: missmaifala@gmail.com Please cite as: Maifala, S. (2024). Creating a conducive teaching and learning climate at a rural school in South Africa: The management team's role. Issues in Educational Research, 34(3), 1089-1105. http://www.iier.org.au/iier34/maifala.pdf