Abstract
The level of food insecurity, limited resources, marginalisation and growing inequalities that South African schools are compelled to respond to are continually being exacerbated due to fast 4IR pressures. In this context, school food gardens are increasingly being viewed as third learning spaces for sustainability education, but their effectiveness is largely contingent on the nature and quality of school leadership. This study explored the influence of entrepreneurial leadership practices on the possibility, management and sustainability of food gardens in under resourced schools in the Tshwane Province, South Africa. Drawing on Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT) and Entrepreneurial Leadership Theory (ELT), the research investigated leadership as a dynamic, opportunity-driven response to dynamic socio-economic, technological, and ecological contexts. An explanatory sequential mixed‒methods design was used to examine entrepreneurial leadership in school food gardens. In the quantitative phase, 180 questionnaires were administered to the teachers of six purposively selected schools, with 165 valid and usable responses were analysed. During the qualitative phase, based on the profiles of the principals created from the quantitative phase data, five (n = 5) out of six school principals were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. The selected low ‐ quintile schools in Tshwane Province completed the survey using the Entrepreneurial Leadership Questionnaire (ELQ), which evaluates five leadership dimensions: General Entrepreneurial Leadership behaviour, Explorer, Miner, Accelerator and Integrator behaviours. Teachers were selected based on their active participation in school food garden initiatives and direct contact with school leadership practices. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and nonparametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis) with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). 5 school principals who actively lead food garden strategies were purposively selected for semi-structured interviews in the second qualitative phase to gain deeper insights into leadership practices and contextual dynamics. Qualitative data were thematically analysed revealing patterns in terms of opportunity recognition, resource mobilisation, collaboration, and adaptive leadership within the complex school context.
The overall findings indicated that school food gardens provide a multidisciplinary, experiential learning environment where systems thinking, innovation, and resilience, competencies needed for 4IR preparedness, are fostered. Principals described how they utilised gardens to enhance curriculum delivery, support vulnerable families, and generate third-stream...