Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Management)
The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, have a profound impact on the way that schools are managed. Sections 20 and 21 of the Schools Act provide the functions of the governing body in the management and control of school funds in a public school. There are many principals and school governing body (SGB) members who lack such skills. The lack of certain areas of expertise on the SGB may lead to more responsibilities being delegated to the principal and school management teams (SMT). The question is how the principal, together with the SMT and SGB, can collaborate to effectively manage the finances in primary schools. Although the SMT is responsible for the professional management of teaching and learning in the school, this study contends that their functions should be extended to include the financial management of the school. Given that school principals, SMTs and SGBs grapple with the demands of managing resources efficiently and effectively, it is important to reflect on the collaborative relationships between these groups. The focus of the investigation is on whether collaboration between SMTs and SGBs can lead to the effective financial management of public primary schools, and the purpose is to explore, understand and determine the factors that drive or hinder collaboration between SMTs and SGBs in managing public primary school finances and to provide recommendations on how the collaboration between SMTs and SGBs can be enhanced to effectively manage the finances. The qualitative research methods follow a basic interpretive approach, focusing on the descriptive, contextual and exploratory nature of the inquiry, through semi-structured interviews, open-ended questionnaires and document analysis. This allows an in-depth study of the thoughts and perceptions to be interpreted and observed. The research study revealed that although principal driven collaboration between the SGB and SMT does exists to a certain extent, more opportunities and structures should be created for improved communication lines, regular meetings, teamwork and cooperation. The existence or improvement of collaborative...