Abstract
This research project employed action research, grounded in qualitative methodology, in order to address the problem statement and the fundamental research questions. Purposive sampling was found to be effective in this research. The purposefully selected groups collaborated with me, systematically and carefully examining their performance and practice by using dialectic, phenomenological and hermeneutic methods of research.
This study identified a principal as the accounting officer, authorised by law to coordinate the holistic interview process. In this case, the principal was the only teaching personnel who were interviewed, as I believe he is a primary source who can pursue a different goal in order to ensure that a secondary school effectively attains its overall goal.
However, the principal, the Department of Education, the school governing body and the community, in general, were dismal in the performance of their duties. The primary contributing factor for the dismal performance of township secondary schools in the Sedibeng West District is financial and social factors.
The reluctance of other structures in schools, such as the school governing body, communities and the police, has also carried out a higher echelon of the education system in South Africa. The Gauteng Department of Education has failed to hire or renew their contracts regarding school guards, which has left schools open to crime, especially in township schools. What this study reveals suggests that the absence of school guards further exacerbates poor access control in township schools...