Abstract
M.Ed.(Educational management)
The extensive changes in South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994 have
impacted immensely on educational governance. The South African Schools Act (RSA,
1996a) has brought about a major reform in education administration by decentralizing
school governance to local school communities. The Constitution and its Bill of Rights
(RSA, 1996b) has also impacted significantly on all areas of school governance. School
management has to take cognizance of the South African Schools Act and the Bill of
Rights when developing and implementing all school policies. One of the policies that all
schools must have is a disciplinary policy. Notwithstanding the requirement that every public school should have a disciplinary policy to ensure a disciplined teaching and learning environment, there is a perception amongst educators and other stakeholders such as parents that learner discipline at schools is emerging as a serious problem. This is causing many schools to become ineffective institutions of teaching and learning. The aim of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of school
managers and educators of learner discipline in the school and classroom environment, as well as to ascertain from them their perceptions of a zero - tolerance approach to
managing learner discipline. This was undertaken in order to formulate principles and
guidelines for school managers and educators to effectively implement a zero - tolerance
management approach to learner discipline. A qualitative research design that was explorative, descriptive and contextual was employed. This paradigm was chosen because of the relative newness of the topic to be researched in the South African context. The researcher conducted focus group interviews in order to collect data. The data collected were analysed and interpreted from which various themes and categories were identified. Quotations from transcribed interviews were given to substantiate the themes and categories identified through analysis. A literature control was also undertaken whereby these themes and categories were compared further with the relevant literature and also discussed. Several categories could not be substantiated and thus reflects the unique contribution of this research study.
The themes and categories that were identified by the researcher and the independent
coder, and the literature reviewed, provided the basis for the proposed guidelines
formulated by the researcher. The guidelines focused on two aspects, namely, principles
on which a zero - tolerance management approach towards learner discipline should be
based and, guidelines for educators to use in dealing with the problem of learner
discipline in the classroom situation.
Since this research study has been limited to the city of Johannesburg one of the
recommendations made by the researcher is that further research should be undertaken on the efficacy of a zero - tolerance approach to managing learner discipline in South
African schools. Future research studies on this phenomenon must be based more broadly with special emphasis on the experiences and perceptions of educators in the townships of South Africa. Also, this research study should ultimately form the basis for further quantitative research.