Departementshoofde in Wes-Kaapse skole: Die vestiging van rolle en verantwoordelikhede wat betref onderrig, leer, bestuur en leierskap

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : In this thesis I want to establish how head of departments define their role andresponsibilities with regards to teaching, learning, management and leadership.Thereader will also get some insight into the barriers that the head of departmentsexperiences, especially those that are working in a very challenging environment.When we look at the job description of the head of department, as descibed in thepolicy documents, and compare it to what the head of department actually does, thereseems to be a huge gap that is not properly addressed by the policy documents. It wasclear at the schools where the research was done, that head of departments are caughtbetween the academic management and leadership of their departments and themanagement and leadership actvities that was assigned by the principal to them.Despite the brave efforts by the head of departments to fulfull both responsibilities, itwas clear that it had a negative impact on the delivery of the curriculum.Head of departments should be allowed to concentrate only on the academicmanagement and leadership of their departments. The pressure that the policydocuments place on the head of departments, to fullfull both responsibilities, is veryunrealistic. Post level 1 teachers should be empowered with the necssary skills so thatthey can also be able to fullfill the responsibilties of the management and leadershipof the school. That will mean that management and leadership responsibilities will bedistributed amongst all staff members. The head of department should play a leadingrole to improve teaching and learning at schools. If head of departments are notallowed to play this important role, they will always feel that they do not make asignificant contribution to establish a culture of teaching and learning at the school.Teaching and learning will suffer if the status quo is maintained.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University