Abstract
The academic performance of a school is perceived as an indicator for school success. Consequently, principals are under considerable pressure to ensure consistent quality pass rates, especially in the National Senior Certificate (NSC). In emerging schools, principals solely focus on obtaining results, instead of emphasising the holistic development of educators and learners. Such principals engage in endless efforts and time spent on extra lessons and various other intervention strategies. Despite these efforts, such emerging schools struggle to maintain exceptional pass rates. Therefore, the study seeks to explore the experiences of principals’ sustainable leadership practices in cultivating a holistic and positive school culture, in public high schools within the Johannesburg north district. The study is constructed within a pragmatic paradigm, using a qualitative approach. A case study research design is employed to derive actionable knowledge that could be adopted by principal in emerging schools. The sample includes four school principals, who are currently leading schools that demonstrate aspects of a positive school culture. The findings of this study reveal the delivery of quality teaching and learning as the primary vision for their schools, as well as prioritizing long-term strategic goals and monitoring mechanisms to align with the vision. The study recommends among others that aligning the school’s vision with long-term goal-setting, developing intervention strategies for remediation purposes, prioritizing innovation, promoting collaboration and teamwork that is paramount.
Key words: Sustainable leadership, School culture, School performance