Abstract
D.Ed.
Previously it was assumed that a person with adequate qualifications, and promoted to
principal, would have the necessary knowledge and management experience. The modern
principal, however, works under great pressure, and is regarded as a business manager.
The extent of a principal's effectiveness is largely determined by the ability to have things
done by other people. The problems that school principals may experience are discussed
under the following aspects, namely:
staff - the principal is dependent on his/her staff, and it is therefore
important to develop and maintain healthy relationships with them. The
effectiveness of the principal is limited without happy, supportive and
efficient staff members;
principal - the establishment of interpersonal relations is not traditionally
regarded as a management task. Formal on the job training in this field
only exists to a small extent or in most cases it is not present at all;
communication - it is clear that the school principal should be well
equipped with good communication skills. The importance lies in the fact
that communication forms the foundation of healthy interpersonal
relationships and consequently a healthy school climate and effective school
organization; and
school climate - it is alleged that the principal is largely responsible for the
type of school climate prevailing in his/her school. The communication and
relation-building skills of the principal determines, to a large extent, the
school climate and consequently also the effectiveness of the school.
In an effort to explain these aspects, the following objectives or aims were formulated,
namely an investigation into:
the role of interpersonal relationships between the principal and staff
members;
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the personal qualities needed by the principal for the realisation of good
interpersonal relationships;
the role of communication skills in the establishment of good interpersonal
relationships; and
the contribution that a healthy school climate can play in healthy
interpersonal relationships.
The foundation of interpersonal relationships rests on mutual respect, goodwill and trust
in the dignity and worthiness of the human as an individual personality. Interpersonal
relationships is discussed further under the following aspects:
character - relationships are continually being created. They are the result
of a definite action, they are always being formed and they influence the
participants as well as being qualitative;
the importance of interpersonal relationships;
types of relationships - these include person to, person relationships and
professional relationships;
aspects of relationships - under which the satisfaction of human needs,
understanding of behaviour, acknowledgment of merit, problem solving and
coordination of tasks are discussed;
characteristics of an effective school principal - the drive, energy, selfconfidence,
cooperation and visionary skills that the school principal should
take note of;
skills - needed by the school principal if he\she is to be successful;
dimensions - a discussion of the relationship dimensions as described by
Fisher (1987:216); development stages; and
methods of determining relationship skills.The most important part of relationships is undoubtedly communication. Because of its
importance, communication is thoroughly discussed. Communication is undeniably one of
the most important management tasks of the school principal, and he\she is required to
make constant use of the available communication media. Communication is the
instrument through which goals, policies, division of tasks, responsibilities and authority
in the school is conveyed to the staff. The aim of this chapter is to provide the newly
appointed principal with guidelines and proposals for the improvement of his/her
communication skills. The aspects of communication to be discussed are as follows:
objectives and definition of communication;
communication as a management task;
communication channels;
communication process;
the communication cycle;
barriers to effective communication;
principals of effective communication; and
school climate.
The aim of the discussion is to provide the newly appointed principal with guidelines and
proposals with the objective of improving their communication skills.