- Title
- The relationship between leadership, communication, engagement and effective performance in secondary schools
- Creator
- Gibbs, Marilyn Dawn
- Subject
- Educational leadership -- South Africa
- Subject
- School management and organization -- South Africa
- Subject
- Performance contracts in education -- South Africa
- Subject
- Education, Secondary -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2016
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- DBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7186
- Identifier
- vital:21294
- Description
- The ineffective performance of school operational teams in secondary schools in South Africa reflects in many negative aspects, from team operations, disengaged educators, ineffective leadership and communication and low performance in the teaching and learning domains. The purpose of this study is not only to contribute to the body of knowledge in this educational management field, but by examining the enabling factors that drive the high performance level of these school teams, these could assist with operation that utilises more of their human capital potential. By examining these high performance factors utilising a diagnostic tool, gaps could also be identified. To achieve this purpose, the objective was to develop a theoretical conceptual model and a school analytical tool that could holistically analyse and identify the strengths and weaknesses within each school. The purpose was to identify the enabling factors that create and drive the high performance of school operational teams in secondary schools This fingerprinting or profiling of the school could thereby allow for more cost effective interventions to be implemented within each school context. The aligned diagnostic and interventions addressing the gap enabling factors, assists in the school improvement and strategic plan for the school. At present, many schools do not have the resources or skills to conduct reliable and valid self, team and needs-assessments, therefore school improvement plans and strategic plans are often not using site-based analytics. By conducting these, a more focused and scientifically based, as well as cost effective intervention, could be implemented resulting in a more effective result in best practice. The three focus areas examined in the literature study in the field of educational management and school improvement, were leadership, engagement and communication. Initially the literature study indicated, thirteen independent and mediating variables around these key areas, which formed the foundations for the development of the design and development of the survey instrument. The thesis was based on a number of theoretical frameworks from which the conceptual model was devised. The dependent variables included literature based metrics for factors of Organisational Commitment and Employee Engagement, as well as the percentage Grade 12 pass rate obtained from the average performance over the last three years at the school. All the variables were hypothesised, defined and operationalised in the design of the school analytical tool for assessing the effective performance of the school operational teams. Independent and mediating variables included: Educator Team Competencies, Perceptions of leadership, Culture Alignment, Innovation potential, Employee experience, Fairness, Hybrid leadership environment, Trust, Support, Communication as well as Infrastructure, Leader-Member Exchange and Perceptions of Learner engagement. This predominantly quantitative research study examined the effective performance levels of school operational teams utilising an ecological systems theory approach. The School Analytical Tool comprised 71 items which were subjected to validity and reliability tests. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Cronbach Alpha coefficients were conducted on the measuring instrument. Data was collected from school operational teams which included principals, educators and administrators from twenty-nine different secondary schools, in different contexts and across three regional areas in South Africa. A total of 413 respondents participated and a response rate of 40% was achieved. Ethical permission was obtained from all the relevant parties prior to commencement of the research study. After the proposed conceptual model was devised, structured equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised significance of the relationships between the variables in the integrated model. Two sub-models were identified: Human (Individual/Team) Sub-Model A and System (Organisation/School) Sub-Model B. These were measured by two indices, the Team Performance Index and the School High Performance Work Index respectively. These measures showed different linkages to the Educator Employee Engagement and Organisational Commitment metrics. From the SEM, three models were tested for goodness of fit criteria with version 3 showing a reasonably good fit with a RMSEA (0.056 CI 95%: 0.054-0.058), with a CFI (0.86) and a normed Chi squared of 2.24. The objectives of this thesis were therefore achieved in developing a statistically and theoretically validated conceptual model for enabling factors that drive effective school operational teams, as well as a school analytical tool (SAT) that could identify gap factors for school profiling. The practical application of school profiling utilising the SAT was also indicated by analysing a high and low performing school from different regions in South Africa, indicating the ability to identify weaknesses and strengths of the school operational teams within different contexts.
- Format
- xxvii, 333 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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