Abstract
In early 2020, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was recognized as the causative agent of ‘Coronavirus Disease 2019’ or COVID-19. This viral disease spread through respiratory droplets passed on from coughs or sneezes of infected persons. Thus, COVID-19 brought about massive shifts in education, affecting the functionality of education internationally. The delivery of education came to a complete halt when schools were closed under the lockdown level five regulations imposed by the government of South Africa from the 26th of March 2020. As the spread of the virus declined, the lockdown sanctions imposed varied between lockdown levels four, three, two and one during the period March 2020 to the current time. Schools, which operated within an advanced technological system were able to transition to online teaching and learning immediately. Ex-model C schools, geographically situated in affluent areas, where ideally placed for the adoption of an online platform of curriculum delivery, which allowed for both teachers and school leaders to work according to the “new normal”, without compromising the academic year. When children returned to school, a revised curriculum had to be implemented, and this required capacity building of teachers to cater for the changes in curriculum delivery. The instructional leadership role of middle managers changed once they had to embrace and implement online teaching and learning. This led to the question of how prepared were middle managers for this new role, and how did they manage teachers effectively to ensure the quality of education was not compromised? This study explores the instructional leadership role played by middle managers, also known as heads of departments, in assisting teachers when schools transferred to online learning...
M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management)