Leading a once underperforming South African school in a challenging community to a successful school

Abstract

This article outlines the findings from a case study that explored how a female principal in a South African primary school in a challenging context succeeded to improve and raise the school’s academic achievement. Being part of a national study which focuses on leadership of South African schools in challenging contexts, this primary school was purposefully selected in Gauteng that succeeded to improve their academic performance under the leadership of the same principal. This study was inspired by the five dimensions of Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe’s framework (2008); leadership effect on academic success. A qualitative method of inquiry was employed in the study where data were collected with an individual interview with the principal and focus group interviews with the school management team and teachers. The findings indicate how the female principal succeeded to built and set direction in the once underachieving school, how she empowered staff to improve their classroom practices, and how she redesigned and strengthened the school’s organisation to create a supportive and well-organised caring school environment. The study concluded by suggesting while women principals in challenging contexts can raise teacher and student performance, the particular characteristics of female principals and the challenging contexts of schools remain an important factor to improve schools.

Keywords: leadership of female principal; improving an underperforming South African primary school; Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe’s framework; challenging context