The involvement of teachers in school change: a comparison between the views of school principals in South Africa and nine other countries

Abstract

Previous international studies, in which the authors participated, have revealed that involvement of teachers in decision-making and responsibility-taking processes is crucial for their receptiveness towards implementation of current and future educational change. It is also evident that the role and responsibilities of school principals have changed significantly over the last decade or two. An indication was obtained of the views of South African secondary school principals regarding the involvement of their teachers in processes of school change and these were compared to the views of school principals from other countries. The results for the South African sample, as well as those for the other nine countries, showed that there was fairly strong support for the involvement of teachers in most school-change activities. It also appeared that, in comparison to other countries, principals in the South African sample occupied a middle position in all of four clusters of possible activities, as well as for the mean questionnaire score.

South African Journal of Education Vol. 26(2) 2006: 189-198