Skoolhoofde se leierskapspraktyke met betrekking tot die skepping van ruimte by hul skole

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This study provides an analysis of how two principals, through their leadership and spatialpractices, create productive learning environments. It uses Lefebvre's (1991) spatial triade,namely 'physical space, 'mental space and 'social space to investigate how the principalsintegrate these three dimensions of space in order to create healthy learning environments. Thefocus of this research is how the two selected principals, who are acknowledged as successfulspatial producers, use their transformational leadership skills to acquire the commitment and cooperationof their school management teams and school governing bodies, in order to obtainsupport for their spatial and other projects. They put structures and systems in place thatpromote good working relationships between the managerial and governing components of theirschools, preventing them from working independently (in silos) at their schools.The geographical contexts of the two principals differ from one another. One school is situatedand operates in a rural area, while the other is in an urban area.The conceptual question therefore focuses on how the principals produce school space in twodifferent geographical areas, with the aim of influencing users' thinking, their minds, inspiration,motivation, behaviour and creativity. The study looks at the extent to which the geographical anddistinctive contexts influence the outcomes of the production of learning environments. Thisstudy further aimed to determine the natural leadership style of the principals, by measuring itagainst Leithwood and Jantzi's (2006) Nine-dimensional Transformational Leadership Model,and by using Lefebvre's (1991) conceptual and analytical lenses, observing how they go aboutproducing inviting and inspiring learning environments. The data were collected by using semistructuredone-on-one interviews, allowing the principals to contextualise how they producedspace at their schools, how they experienced it, and how their biographies influenced it. A focusgroup meeting and observations were used to verify data obtained in this way.Based on Lefebvre's spatial triad, the analysis of the data revealed that the principals producedspace instinctively or intuitively, creating what they believed would make a difference in thelives of their learners and educators, resulting in their schools benefiting from it. The mainresearch finding is that each of the two principals follows a transformational leadership style,and instinctively or intuitively produces space that encourages professional interaction betweentheir educators, as well as gaining strong collegial support for their spatial changes and projects.The other important findings, however, about the embodied or social spaces in the schools, are that the two principals have transformed the physical spaces at their schools into new mentalspaces, influencing the perceptions, thinking, mind, behaviour and motivation of the users of thatspace.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University