Abstract
A key component of academic achievement in public secondary schools is effective learner discipline. As discipline challenges grow increasingly complicated, leadership approaches have become critical in shaping the behavioural culture within schools. The purpose of this study is to explore leadership approaches used for learner discipline in public secondary schools. This study is guided by the following question: What are the leadership approaches used for learner discipline in public secondary schools?
The study adopted the transformational leadership theory for the theoretical framework and employed an exploratory case study design. Using a qualitative approach, the study drew insights from a sample of 14 participants, purposively selected from two selected public secondary schools. The population comprised principals, disciplinary committee members and the representative council of learners.
Face-to-face semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews were used to gather data for this research. Data was analysed through thematic content analysis, broken down into meaningful units, which were coded to form themes.
The key findings indicated that transformational leadership was a key approach in managing learner discipline in schools. The investigation concluded that combining transformational, instructional, and distributed leadership approaches was crucial in the management of learner discipline. These approaches complement one another in improving learner discipline and promoting the school‟s environment. The study recommends that school leaders should incorporate transformational leadership into their discipline management plans.