Abstract
M.Ed.
The maintenance of discipline at South African schools is emerging as a serious problem.
The South African Schools Act has mandated the school governing body of every public
school to maintain learner discipline among learners. The school governing bodies have
to develop a code of conduct for learners and they have to properly implement it in such a
way that learners develop self-discipline and the schools become effective environments
for teaching and learning.
The lack of discipline has caused many schools to be ineffective institutions of teaching
and learning. The aim of this research was to explore and describe the perceptions of
school governing bodies with regard to their role of supporting schools in maintaining
learner discipline. This research was undertaken with the purpose of formulating
guidelines for the school governing bodies to support schools effectively in learner
discipline management. A qualitative research method, which was descriptive, contextual
and exploratory in nature, was used to collect data. The researcher conducted focus group interviews as a means of data collection. A digital
voice recorder was used to capture the views of the school governing bodies with regard
to their role of supporting schools in learner discipline maintenance. Transcriptions were
made and the data were analysed and interpreted. The data analysis gave rise to the
development of themes and categories which were related to the attitudes of school
governing bodies with regard to their role of supporting schools in maintaining learner
discipline. A study of the existing literature was undertaken to develop a theoretical
framework and to further substantiate the research findings.
The findings from this research study are, among others, that the school governing bodies
should be trained on a continuous basis and that the governing bodies and the
involvement of both parents and the governing bodies is important for the effective
management of learner discipline.