Abstract
M.Ed.
The state of education in South Africa today could very easily make one despair.
Large classes, ineffective use of resources, incorrect spending and financial
allocation of funds, crime, bullying, abuse, high failure rates are only some of the
items on a long list of serious problems. Against this background, I place myself in
the field of educational psychological research in schools as a positive and solution
focused thinker (Lipchick, 2002). My aim in this minor dissertation was to research a
whole school community whose Grade Twelve learners are succeeding academically
in their final school examinations. My main course of action was to facilitate
interviews with educators in the school in order to enquire about the elements which
they perceived to contribute to these academic successes.
The research question which I sought to answer was “What do educators perceive to
be elements within an independent ‘whole school community’ which contribute to
Grade Twelve learner academic success?”
A qualitative case study research was conducted, within a post-modern paradigm. In
addition to the interviews with nine educators at various levels, I also spent time in
the setting conducting observation, collected artefacts (documents, pictures and
policies) and reflected on these for the period of one year, while working in the
setting as an intern educational psychologist. My assumption is that the fact that this
independent school has more financial resources than government schools cannot
explain the academic success achieved. I know of other, less financially stable
settings where academic success is also being achieved. Therefore, there must be
other non-finance related elements which play a role. I used the content analysis
process as outlined by Creswell (2003, pp. 191-196) and Yin (in Bickman & Rog,
2009, ch. 8), until data saturation was reached. Throughout this process
trustworthiness was ensured and limitations acknowledged. I rigorously followed
ethical guidelines and regulations. Evidence of this are the letters asking for
permission, the consent letters all participants signed and the ethical clearance
obtained from the University of Johannesburg.