A formative intervention for developing Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Amadhila, Linda
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61744 , vital:28054
- Description: In Namibian schools, learner voice and leadership are being promoted through the policy document entitled the Education Act 16 of2001 which provides an opportunity to establish Learner Representative Councils (LRCs) in secondary schools. However, recent studies have found that this body of learner leaders do not function all that effectively and sometimes exist for the sake of adhering to the policy. This prompted me to conduct an activity theoretical interventionist case- study within the critical paradigm, to develop LRC voice and leadership in a newly established Namibian school. Framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the study was divided into two phases to answer the over-arching question: How can LRC voice and leadership be developed in a school? Phase one was largely interpretive, the contextual profiling phase, where document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to generate data to answer the following research sub-questions: How is learner leadership understood in the school? What leadership development opportunities for the LRC currently exist in the school? What underlying factors constrain the development of LRC voice and leadership in the newly established school? Phase two of the study was the expansive learning phase, which consisted of three intervention workshops. The Change Laboratory method and a focus group interview were used to generate data in response to the last research sub-question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were inductively and deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of contradictions and double stimulation. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During this Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact - the vision and mission statement of the school - this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendations emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team see the ‘newly established’ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established. A significant recommendation for school leadership research is to use the third generation of CHAT to expand the unit of analysis, in order to understand the leadership relations and power dynamics between multiple activity systems in schools as complex organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An activity theoretical investigation into how leadership can be developed within a group of class monitors in a Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Kalimbo, Tomas
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61734 , vital:28053
- Description: Literature suggests that developing leadership in learners benefits them and their schools in general. Learners are prepared as future leaders and they gain leadership skills and democratic values and principles. Learner leaders therefore contribute to transformation in their schools. However, research on the same topic has also found that learners have limited leadership development opportunities, as they are not authentically and democratically involved in leadership in many schools. Informed by the distributed perspective of leadership, this study investigates how leadership can be developed within a group of class monitors in a Namibian secondary school. Its overarching goal was to develop leadership and build transformative agency within class monitors. The study was designed as an interventionist study, theoretically and analytically framed by Engestrom’s second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Multiple methods were used for data collection, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and Change Laboratory workshops. Data analysis took the form of content analysis and coding, as well as using the CHAT lens to surface contradictions. The findings of the study revealed that there was conceptual awareness on what learner leadership and leadership development meant among participants. However, little was being done to develop leadership in class monitors. Traditional leadership practices and cultural belief that learners are mere children, as well as confinement to formal leadership structures and policies were the main hindering inner contradictions within the research school. A formative intervention was instituted through the Change Laboratory workshop process and it resulted in leadership training to capacitate and empower class monitors, as well as enhance their transformative agency. The study thus recommends for a shift from traditional autocratic leadership practices to a contemporary distributed perspective of leadership that recognises the need to develop leadership in learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kalimbo, Tomas
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61734 , vital:28053
- Description: Literature suggests that developing leadership in learners benefits them and their schools in general. Learners are prepared as future leaders and they gain leadership skills and democratic values and principles. Learner leaders therefore contribute to transformation in their schools. However, research on the same topic has also found that learners have limited leadership development opportunities, as they are not authentically and democratically involved in leadership in many schools. Informed by the distributed perspective of leadership, this study investigates how leadership can be developed within a group of class monitors in a Namibian secondary school. Its overarching goal was to develop leadership and build transformative agency within class monitors. The study was designed as an interventionist study, theoretically and analytically framed by Engestrom’s second generation of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Multiple methods were used for data collection, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and Change Laboratory workshops. Data analysis took the form of content analysis and coding, as well as using the CHAT lens to surface contradictions. The findings of the study revealed that there was conceptual awareness on what learner leadership and leadership development meant among participants. However, little was being done to develop leadership in class monitors. Traditional leadership practices and cultural belief that learners are mere children, as well as confinement to formal leadership structures and policies were the main hindering inner contradictions within the research school. A formative intervention was instituted through the Change Laboratory workshop process and it resulted in leadership training to capacitate and empower class monitors, as well as enhance their transformative agency. The study thus recommends for a shift from traditional autocratic leadership practices to a contemporary distributed perspective of leadership that recognises the need to develop leadership in learners.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An exploration of leadership development in a learner representative structure in a secondary school, Oshana Region, Namibia
- Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kadhepa-Kandjengo, Selma Ndeyapo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62450 , vital:28193
- Description: Before independence, Namibia inherited a system of Bantu education which was hierarchical, authoritarian and non-democratic. Upon independence, the educational sector went through numerous reforms which were meant to transform education and to make it more democratic, whereby all stakeholders can broadly participate. In spite of these reforms, leadership of schools has remained a hierarchical system, where a principal who, as an individual, runs the school without recognition of the potential leadership of others. Recent studies on leadership have called for shared leadership, whereby leadership is a practice, permeable to learner leaders and not associated with individuals. This research study aims to explore learner leadership development in the Learner Representative Council (LRC) structure at a secondary school in Namibia. The motivation of this research study was twofold - firstly, my personal interest in learner leadership was aroused by my teaching experience. The second reason was due to my realisation that the area was under-researched in Namibia, hence I wanted to fill the existing gap on learner leadership. The study critically engaged learners and teachers to help me get an understanding of learner leadership and the factors enabling learner leadership development. I also found that challenges which resulted in contradictions, hampered leadership development. The study took an interventionist approach and second generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to surface tensions and contradictions affecting learner leadership development. Change Laboratory workshops enabled the expansive learning process with the 12 LRC members. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, document analysis and journaling. The study found that learner leadership was understood more in terms of traditional views of leadership, whereby a learner needed to possess certain qualities in order to lead. The findings further pointed out that the LRC members were mainly involved in managerial roles and not really leadership roles, as such, and they were not involved in decision-making at the school. Although provision for the LRC body is made in an Educational Act, historical and cultural forces account for teachers’ reluctance to support the LRC members, as well as for silence of learner voice. I hope that findings from this research study strengthen learner leadership structures in schools and contribute to the creation of knowledge on learner leadership in Namibia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Developing leadership and learner voice: a formative intervention in a Learner Representative Council in a Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Haipa, Vistorina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Law and legislation -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62188 , vital:28136
- Description: Learner participation in leadership in Namibian schools was legislated in 2001 through the Namibian Education Act, No. 16 of 2001. This has then become a requirement for all secondary schools to establish a Learner Representative Council (LRC). However, this legislation only gives mandates to schools with grade 8-12. Despite the impetus of having a LRC in secondary schools, learner leadership and voice remains limited, given that we are 26 years into our democracy. This awakened my interest to conduct a study aimed at developing leadership and voice within the LRC in a Namibian secondary school. Additionally, this study was conducted to contribute to filling the gap in literature of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) studies in the field of Education Leadership and Management. In this critical case orientation, the LRC were the subjects and the object of the activity was voice and leadership development within the LRC. I investigated participants’ perspectives on LRC leadership opportunities that existed in the case study school as well as factors that enabled and constrained leadership and voice development within the LRC of Omukumo (pseudonym) Secondary School in the northern part of Namibia. My study adopted a formative intervention design, using qualitative methodologies such as document analysis, observation, interviews, questionnaires and Change Laboratory Workshops. This study was framed by the second generation of CHAT. CHAT in this study was used as a methodological and analytical tool to surface the contradictions. Additionally, data were analysed by means of constructing categories and themes. Five sets of findings emerged: (1) a lack of conceptual awareness of the construct ‘learner leadership’: learner leadership was understood in terms of the LRC, (2) LRC members were not really acknowledged as equal participants in the school decision-making due to unequal power relations between the teachers and the LRC members, (3) misinterpretation of LRC policy that speak about the establishment of learners club and inadequate LRC training hindered the development of voice and leadership within the LRC, (4) the overall leadership role assigned to the LRC was to oversee the adherence of the school rules, and last (5) learner leadership and voice was still developing in the case study school. My key recommendation based on the research findings is the need for on-going LRC training at regional level; a need for large scale comparative studies between two African countries (Namibia, & South Africa) on the topic of learner leadership development and last, a need for workshops to train teachers on the implementation of national policies in schools, in particular those that speak to issues of learner voice and leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Haipa, Vistorina
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: School management and organization -- Namibia , Educational leadership -- Namibia , Education, Secondary -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Law and legislation -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62188 , vital:28136
- Description: Learner participation in leadership in Namibian schools was legislated in 2001 through the Namibian Education Act, No. 16 of 2001. This has then become a requirement for all secondary schools to establish a Learner Representative Council (LRC). However, this legislation only gives mandates to schools with grade 8-12. Despite the impetus of having a LRC in secondary schools, learner leadership and voice remains limited, given that we are 26 years into our democracy. This awakened my interest to conduct a study aimed at developing leadership and voice within the LRC in a Namibian secondary school. Additionally, this study was conducted to contribute to filling the gap in literature of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) studies in the field of Education Leadership and Management. In this critical case orientation, the LRC were the subjects and the object of the activity was voice and leadership development within the LRC. I investigated participants’ perspectives on LRC leadership opportunities that existed in the case study school as well as factors that enabled and constrained leadership and voice development within the LRC of Omukumo (pseudonym) Secondary School in the northern part of Namibia. My study adopted a formative intervention design, using qualitative methodologies such as document analysis, observation, interviews, questionnaires and Change Laboratory Workshops. This study was framed by the second generation of CHAT. CHAT in this study was used as a methodological and analytical tool to surface the contradictions. Additionally, data were analysed by means of constructing categories and themes. Five sets of findings emerged: (1) a lack of conceptual awareness of the construct ‘learner leadership’: learner leadership was understood in terms of the LRC, (2) LRC members were not really acknowledged as equal participants in the school decision-making due to unequal power relations between the teachers and the LRC members, (3) misinterpretation of LRC policy that speak about the establishment of learners club and inadequate LRC training hindered the development of voice and leadership within the LRC, (4) the overall leadership role assigned to the LRC was to oversee the adherence of the school rules, and last (5) learner leadership and voice was still developing in the case study school. My key recommendation based on the research findings is the need for on-going LRC training at regional level; a need for large scale comparative studies between two African countries (Namibia, & South Africa) on the topic of learner leadership development and last, a need for workshops to train teachers on the implementation of national policies in schools, in particular those that speak to issues of learner voice and leadership.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Learner voice and leadership: a study of a Learner Representative Council in a primary school in Namibia
- Authors: Kapuire, Dominika Bertha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Education, Primary -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62177 , vital:28135
- Description: Numerous literature world-wide emphasises the significance of learner voice and leadership in schools. These concerns are not new to the education system of Namibia, because the education system is shaped by policy which encourages the voices of all stakeholders in the schools. The Education Act 16 of 2001 introduced the Learner Representative Council (LRC) as a legitimised body in secondary schools which represents learners in school level decision-making. Learner Representative Council members in secondary schools are allowed to sit in on School Board meetings and voice their concerns about issues at the school. The Act also involved parents, allowing them to air their views on behalf of their children, by becoming part of the School Board. Although this is what the Act 16 of 2001 introduced, recent researchers have urged for the need to develop learner voice and leadership in schools, as many schools have turned a blind eye to its significance. This is also what prompted me to conduct a study on the development of learner voice and leadership. This research was conducted within the context of learner leadership at a primary school in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia, focusing on the school’s existing Learner Representative Council (LRC). The study explores the underlying reasons for the current problems in the LRC structure and beyond, opening up leadership opportunities, and promoting learner voice at the school. Participants in the research were drawn from learners, teachers, heads of department, and the principal. As a qualitative case study in the interpretive paradigm, the study employed a range of data collection strategies - questionnaires, interviews, focus group interviews, observation and Change Laboratory (CL) workshops - to gather data to answer key research questions: How is the LRC currently involved in the leadership of the school? What are the factors inhibiting the development of learner leadership in the school? What opportunities exist for the development of learner voice and leadership within the LRC? How can learner voice and leadership be developed through Change Laboratory (CL) workshops? The research was underpinned by the second generation of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical framework. CHAT had the potential to bring problems and challenges into focus, which was then used to open up expansive learning in the CL workshops. Data collected from the participants was surfaced as mirror data in these workshops. The study showed that the LRC was not active in their leadership roles and that they were not given enough opportunities to function freely in their roles. These learners were under a traditional system of leadership, whereby teachers had all the control and say in the learners’ leadership roles. The development of learner leadership was only recognised through the leadership training camp. Many factors that inhibited the development of learner voice and leadership also emerged in the study. Lastly, the notion of developing learner voice was also not understood by some teachers, which showed in their contradicting views. This study recommends that learner leadership should be developed, starting at an early age in the primary school. It also recommends that learners, however young, should be given a platform to contribute to the decision making at their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kapuire, Dominika Bertha
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia , School management and organization -- Namibia , Student government -- Namibia , Student participation in administration -- Namibia , Education, Primary -- Namibia , Cultural Historical Activity Theory
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62177 , vital:28135
- Description: Numerous literature world-wide emphasises the significance of learner voice and leadership in schools. These concerns are not new to the education system of Namibia, because the education system is shaped by policy which encourages the voices of all stakeholders in the schools. The Education Act 16 of 2001 introduced the Learner Representative Council (LRC) as a legitimised body in secondary schools which represents learners in school level decision-making. Learner Representative Council members in secondary schools are allowed to sit in on School Board meetings and voice their concerns about issues at the school. The Act also involved parents, allowing them to air their views on behalf of their children, by becoming part of the School Board. Although this is what the Act 16 of 2001 introduced, recent researchers have urged for the need to develop learner voice and leadership in schools, as many schools have turned a blind eye to its significance. This is also what prompted me to conduct a study on the development of learner voice and leadership. This research was conducted within the context of learner leadership at a primary school in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia, focusing on the school’s existing Learner Representative Council (LRC). The study explores the underlying reasons for the current problems in the LRC structure and beyond, opening up leadership opportunities, and promoting learner voice at the school. Participants in the research were drawn from learners, teachers, heads of department, and the principal. As a qualitative case study in the interpretive paradigm, the study employed a range of data collection strategies - questionnaires, interviews, focus group interviews, observation and Change Laboratory (CL) workshops - to gather data to answer key research questions: How is the LRC currently involved in the leadership of the school? What are the factors inhibiting the development of learner leadership in the school? What opportunities exist for the development of learner voice and leadership within the LRC? How can learner voice and leadership be developed through Change Laboratory (CL) workshops? The research was underpinned by the second generation of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as an analytical framework. CHAT had the potential to bring problems and challenges into focus, which was then used to open up expansive learning in the CL workshops. Data collected from the participants was surfaced as mirror data in these workshops. The study showed that the LRC was not active in their leadership roles and that they were not given enough opportunities to function freely in their roles. These learners were under a traditional system of leadership, whereby teachers had all the control and say in the learners’ leadership roles. The development of learner leadership was only recognised through the leadership training camp. Many factors that inhibited the development of learner voice and leadership also emerged in the study. Lastly, the notion of developing learner voice was also not understood by some teachers, which showed in their contradicting views. This study recommends that learner leadership should be developed, starting at an early age in the primary school. It also recommends that learners, however young, should be given a platform to contribute to the decision making at their schools.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
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