Abstract
Given the pace, uncertainty, and complexity of change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the education system, 20th-century leadership practices have become obsolete. Consequently, leaders were obliged to change their leadership styles and adapt to new ways of enacting leadership in schools. Responding to the new environment requires the enactment of adaptive leadership that will enable principals with the capacity to adapt and thrive to the new challenges. Furthermore, by enacting adaptive leadership, principals may help teachers, learners, and parents to adapt quickly to varying conditions in the education domain. Additionally, an enactment of adaptive leadership may assist principals to understand education policy implementation and fostering adaptability. This study interpreted stipulations in three education policies to derive innovative perspectives regarding school principals’ ability to enact adaptive leadership in schools. The study employed a qualitative methodology to collect data using document analysis to analyze policy stipulations. The three policy documents that were analyzed are the Policy on the South African Standard for Principalship (PSASP) (RSA, 2015); (b) Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (ISPF) (RSA, 2011); and Teacher Professional Development Masterplan 2017–2022 (TPDM) (RSA, 2018). The findings revealed that education policies can provide purposeful direction in terms of principals’ ability to enact adaptive leadership in schools. In this regard, principals should embrace adaptive behaviours, employ adaptive action to ensure that others will be able to adapt to changing situations and apply adaptive direction to others in times of change. The study proposed that principals should cultivate a responsive and flexible mindset by looking at adaptive challenges as transformative opportunities. It is also crucial that principals create a climate of trust and foster cohesion so that others can willingly drive an adaptive agenda amidst changing situations in schools. The study recommends that principals be trained in terms of policy interpretation and implementation. Also, it is recommended that principals be trained on how to interpret and apply the proposed strategies in an attempt to assist them on how to enact adaptive leadership in a more effective manner.
Keywords: adaptive leadership, adaptive challenges, adaptive direction, education policy, school principals