Abstract
I examine three main issues, which are directly linked to school management
developments in South Africa since 1994: school leadership and management;
professionalisation of principalship through the South African Standard for
School Leadership (SASSL); and leading and managing the learning school. In
exploring these issues I draw mainly on a systematic and comprehensive literature
review of school leadership, management, and governance, commissioned
by the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG). The
aim of the desk research was to establish ‘what is known’ and ‘what still needs
to be known’ about educational leadership, management, and governance in
South Africa. I also draw upon the work of the Education Management Task
Team (EMTT), commissioned by the Directorate of Education Management and
Governance Development in the National Department of Education. Their work
drew upon the South African Schools Act (SASA) and, specifically, the recommendations
of the Ministerial Task Team on Educational Management. The
EMTT brief was to develop a policy framework for school leadership and
management development, training and implementation, and to devise a South
African Standard for School Leadership which would inform professional
educational leadership programmes, leading to a National Professional Qualification
for Principalship (SANPQP). The SASSL would provide a clear role
description for principals, set out what is required of principals, and identify key
areas of p rincipalship.