Abstract
M.Ed.
Provision for co-operative governance in schools has become the main concern for all the stakeholders especially during this transitional period. This research provides an analysis and critique of the roles of professional staff in co-operative school governance as elucidated in the literature and also prescribed by the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. The aim of this research is to explore the perceptions of both the school governing bodies and the educators in cooperative school governance, hence the implications of these perceptions on professional staff. The literature study revealed the significance of working together between school governing bodies and professional staff so as to' contribute towards the general improvement of co-operative governance in the school. These give rise to teamwork as an aspect of co-operation. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions of the aforementioned stakeholders on the role of co-operative school governance, the research design is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual. The literature study, focus group interviews, documents and site analysis were employed as research methods. From the analysis of data, five major groups of categories emerged, namely: - mutual understanding and respect of one another; spirit of unity and teamwork; partnership and decision-making;
bond of linkage and consultation; and motivation and encouragement. The above-mentioned categories are seen as important aspects of co-operative school governance.
The important findings were discussed at length and thereafter conclusions and recommendations were made on the findings. The value of this research lies in its intention, which is the improvement of the quality of co-operation between school governing bodies and professional staff in South Africa. Key words in this research study are: co-operative governance; school governance; governing body; stakeholders and professional staff.