ETH 303T

May / June 2016

Question 1:

1. Management and governance are not the same. Critically discuss this statement.
 Management:
o The principal as the professional manager of the school has the following
responsibilities:
 Performing and carrying out professional functions, the day to day
administration and organisation of teaching and learning at the school.
 Performing the departmental responsibilities prescribed by law, organising
all the activities which support teaching and learning.
 Deciding on textbooks and educational materials to be bought.
 Governance:
o School governance generally refers to the task of the governing body to promote
the best interest of the school by supporting the principle and educators in
carrying out their professional functions and formulating and adopting of school
policies.

2. Mention any two management functions and give a description of each.

Planning: Planning entails formulating a mission, aims and outcomes for the school and will
also include functions such as problem solving, decision making and policy making.

Organising: It involves establishing an organisational structure or framework to indicate

how people and materials should be deployed to achieve the goals. Delegating and
coordinating are two important aspects of the organisating

Leading: Directing people and motivating them so that their actions are alligned to the
formulated goals and outcomes. Leading entails communicating goals through the school and
motivating educators and learners to perform as well as they possibly can.

Controlling: Principles ensure that the school is on the right course to attain its goals.
Assessment and taking corrective action as well as disciplinary measures when necessary.
Question 2:

1. The South-African Schools Act 84 of 1996 is crucial in the provision of education

and training in South-Africa. How does this Act address the following aspects.
a. Language Policy of Public Schools
 Determines that every person has the right to receive education in public schools in the
official language of their choice.
 All reasonable educational alternatives, must consequently be considered by the State
in keeping with the principles of equity, practicability and the need to redress the
consequences of previously racially discriminatory laws and practises.
 Subject to the Constitution, the Act stipulates that norms and standards for language
policy are to be determined by the Minister of Education.
 The governing body may determine the language policy of the school subject to the
Constitution, the Schools Act and any applicable provincial law.
 No form of racial discrimination may be determined under this section.
 Norms and standards for language policy in public schools have been determined by the
Minister in terms of the National Education Policy Act no 27.

b. Provision of non-formal education

 Non-formal education can be described as vocational training offered by a provider with
a view to obtaining a qualification other than a degree, certificate or diploma instituted
by law for formal education.
 This kind of education is also planned and organised, and is highly adaptable.
 It provides selected types of education to particularsubgroups of the public, including
adults, for example by means of in-service training in work situations.
 It is sometimes linked to a spesific vocation and even to the spesific place of
employment.
 It may also take the form of additional training that a learner undertakes to improve
his/her qualifications, such as a computer course, but which is not directly related to he
learner’s work situations. Non-formal education may be provided by a wide range of
institutions, among others work providers in the public an private sectors, churches,
libraries, museums, private colleges, training centres, trade unions, literacy
organisations, community learnings centres and by individuals.
 Owing to the lack of a national qualification structure for the systems of non-formal
education in South-African in the past, this type of education did not receive formal
recognition.
Question 3:

1. The school is a formal organisational structure. Discuss.

“Organisational structure” refers to the way in which the basic structural elements of an
organization are formally structured or ordered to realize particular objectives. Aspects of this
form of organization include:

 Relationships with the organization

 Divisions of activities into various functions and departments
 Authority and responsibility
 Communication lines

Important Features

Important features which characterize the formal organizational structure of a school include
a hierarchical authority with strict supervision and control. A principal leads and manages a
school as an organization in such a way that effective teaching and learning can take place. The
school is a unique organization with its own terrain, nature task, and structure. Other features
include:

 Adequate structures for vertical communication

 Clearly demarcated rules and regulations that determine standards and that direct activities
 Clear plans and schedules for educators to follow
 Clear designation of work with specific areas of responsibility.

2. Discuss the characteristics of the school as an organisation.

 The school is a public institution
 Its task and purpose is the planned and organised education of learners.
 It involves learners whose diverse nature and characteristics determine its limits and
possibilities.
 It involves educators who are equipped with professional knowledge and skills to
execute its unique task and purpose.

Question 4:

1. Discuss the organisation of education and training with reference to the

coordination between National and Provincial Education Departments.
o The national Department of Education = Chief Directorate: Media Liaison and
national and provincial Communication provides effective communication and liasion
services to the Ministry of Education Departments in the provinces.
o Furthermore two bodies were created by virtue of the National Education Policy
Act.
 o The heads of Education Departments Committee and the Counsil of Education
Ministers and the Deputy Director General of the Department, as well as the heads
of the Nine PEDs.
o The commitees is chaired by the Director-General and the body fascilitates the
development of the national education system in accordance with the objectives and
principles provided for in the National Education Policy Act;
o Shares information on national education
o Coordinates administrative action on matters of mutual interest to the education
departments
o Advises the National Department on matters as contemplated in the National
Education Policy act or any other related matter.

Question 5:

1. Discuss school governance by referring to the following.

a. The structure of the School Governing Body.
 Governing body of a public school is made up of elected members, the school, the co-
opted members.
 In every governing body, the number of parents must be in the majority.
 Elected members must consist of:
o Parents of learners enrolled at school.
o Educators employed by the school.
o Members of staff who are not educators.
o Learners in the eighth grade or higher at school.
 A governing body may co-opt a member or members to assist with its functions, but
these members do not have voting rights on the governing body.
 The South-African Schools Act determines that a governing body should include the
following democratically elected office bearers: a chairperson, treasurer and secretary.
Governing bodies are also allowed to establish commitees and sub-commitees to meet
the demands of the school, such as:
o An executive committee, responsible for day-to-day issues.
o A financial committee of which a fundraising can be a sub-committee.
o A building and maintenance committee.
o A terrain committee for maintenance and development.
o A marketing and public relations committee.
o A labour relations committee.
o Commitees for the interest of learners and educators.
 Members may be co-opted to serve on these commitees on the grounds of their
expertise in the different aspects. Only members of the governing body should serve as
chairpersons of these commitees.

b. Functions of School Governing bodies.

 The professional management of a school is the responsibility of the principal.
 The governing body is responsible for the governance of the school.
 The following formal responsibilities of the governing body are laid down by the South-
African Schools Act.
o Promoting the best interest of the school and ensuring its development.
o Drawing up a constitution and developing a school policy wih reference to the
following:
 LANGUAGE POLICY
 CODE OF CONDUCT
 ADMISSIONS POLICY
o Developing a mission statement and a developmental plan.
o Suspending a learner from attending the school as a correctional measure for a
period of no longer than a week, pending the decision of the provincial authorities
on whether the learner should be expelled.
o Introducing a school fund and establishing appropriate structures for the
financial management of the school.
o Supporting the principal, educators and other members of staff in the
performance of their professional duties.
o Acting in an advisory capacity regarding the appointment of members of staff
according to the relevant legislation.

c. The relationship between the educator and the School Governing bodies.
 The educator and the governing body:
 The governing body is an instrument for the execution of the principle of partnership.
 All partners represented in the governing body must understand and accept their
responsibilities concerning the organisation, governance and funding of a school.
 Classroom educators as professional educators should share the responsibility of making
the partnership between the interested parties work efficiently, rather than leaving it
entirely up to the principal.
 Classroom educators could contribute the to the success of the partnership in the
following ways :
o By trusting and respecting the partners
o By sharing goals and values
o By sharing a common vision
 o By opening up the communication
o By promoting teamwork
o By respecting the roles of different partners.

d. Various stakeholders with an interest.

 Many stakeholders have a keen interest in a country’s education, for instance:
o The state
o Parents
o The community
o Teacher organisations
o Unions
o Work providers
 They also form an integral part of the education and training system and the process
of making new educational policy in South-Africa and strives to involve all these
stakeholders.
 Clearly, the primary functions of all these categories of structure is to provide
and/or support quality education and training for learners in a community.
 The learners therefore are the core around which every activity in the system
should revolve.
Oct/Nov 2016

Question 1:

1. Different models are used to describe the South-African education system.

a. Discuss the four components of an education system using examples from
South African education practise.
 Schools and other types of educational institutions
 Governance and management structures.
 Support or auxiliary services.
 Various stakeholders with an interest in education.

b. Analyse the different role players and their functions.

7 roles of educator:
Learning mediator: concern communication., demonstration, knowledge
Interpreter and designer of learning programmes and materials: understand & interprate
programs and design programs.
Leader, administrator and manager: make decision, manage learning, admin duties.
Scholar, researcher and life-long learner: achieve ongoing personal academic, occupation,
& proffesional. growth
Community, citizenship and pastoral role: promote critical committed and ethical attitude
Assessor: assessment understanding, provide helpful feedback
Learning area/subject/discipline/phase specialist: possess understand of knowledge, skill,
values, principles

c. List five skills that a teacher should have.

o A thorough knowledge of their learning areas
o Lnowledge of the learner and his/her needs.
o Communication skills
o Interpersonal skills
o Decision making skills
o Interpersonal skills
o Problem solving skills
o The ability to listen.
Question 2:

1. In your own words, discuss SACE and it functions as a national registration body
for educators.
o SACE was established as a registration body for professional educators and is
entrusted with keeping a register or roll of such educators for the purpose of
regulating qualifications, standards and professional discipline as well as eachers’
admissions to the education profession.
o SACE aims to enhance the status of the teaching profession and to promote the
development of educators and their professional conduct.
o The ELR Act guarantees teachers their rights as workers nd as citizens and rights
which are entrenched in the Constitution.
o But coupled with these rights are responsibilities, teachers should remember that
they cannot act as they wish.
o SACE as been granted the power to the authority to impose fines of up to R1 000 on
unprofessional teachers and ban them from working in state schools.
o SACE is a national registration body for teachers.
o All teachers in SA are obliged to register with SACE. Any teachers accused of
unprofessional behaviour have to appeal before SACE disciplinary hearing.

Functions of SACE.
The powers and duties of SACE are:
with regard to the registration of educators:
 to determine minimum criteria and procedures for registration or provisional
registration;
 to consider and decide on any application for registration or provisional registration;
 to keep a register of the names of all persons who are registered or provisionally
registered;
 to determine the form and contents of the registers and certificates to be kept,
maintained or issued in terms of the SACE Act, the periods within which they must
be reviewed and the manner in which alterations thereto may be effected; and
 to prescribe the period of validity of registration or provisional registration;
with regard to the promotion and development of the education and training profession:
 to promote, develop and maintain a professional image;
 to advise the Minister of Education on matters relating to the education and training
of educators, including but not limited to:
 the minimum requirements for entry to all the levels of the profession;
 the standards of programmes of pre-service and in-service educator
education;
 the requirements for promotion within the education system;
 educator professionalism;
 to research and develop a professional development policy;
 to promote in-service training for all educators;
  to develop resource materials to initiate and run, in consultation with an employer,
training programmes, workshops, seminars and short courses that are designed to
enhance the profession;
 to compile, print and distribute a professional journal and other publications;
 to establish a professional assistance facility for educators;

with regard to professional ethics:

 to compile, maintain and from time to time review a code of professional ethics for
educators who are registered or provisionally registered with SACE;
 to determine a fair hearing procedure;
 to sanction educators who contravene the code of professional ethics;
with regard to fees:
 in consultation with the Minister, to determine fees payable to SACE by registered
educators and educators applying for registration;
 to require from the relevant employers to deduct fees from the salaries of
educators and to pay it over to SACE;
 to require from the relevant employers to deduct fees from the salaries of
educators and to pay it over to SACE;
in general:
 to advise the Minister on any educational aspect which the Minister may request it to
advise on;
 to appoint staff and determine their conditions of service;
 to establish committees and assign duties to them;
 to perform any duty which is necessary for the proper functioning of SACE; and
 to advise the Minister on any relevant educational aspect

2. Identify and discuss five examples of unprofessional behaviour.

o Physically or pshycologically abusing a learner.
o Infringe on a learner’s right to privacy and their confidentiality.
o Having a sexual relationship with a learner.
o Sexually harassing a learner or work colleague.
o Undetermining the status and authority of colleagues.
o Bringing the teaching profession in disrespute.
o Discuss confidential matters with unauthorised persons.

3. Discuss compulsory school attendance as regulated under South African Schools Act
84 of 1996.

Compulsory to attend school 1st day of the school year that the child turns 7yrs of age
until the last day of school when that learner reaches15 yrs age or grade 9, whichever
occurs 1st

Ages of compulsory education for learners with special educational needs must be
determined by Minister through a notice in the Government Gazette.
 The head of an education department >HED may exempt a learner partially or conditionally
from attending school if in learner’s best interest . A register of such cases has to be
kept.

Question 3:

1. Encourage partnerships with other stakeholders in the community

a. Discuss five benefits that would indicate that this venture is beneficial to
the learners and the school.

b. Name and discuss in a short paragraph the five areas of parent-educator

relations.

Communication: This includes school to home as well as home to school communication.

Including information on schools programmes and children’s progress. Communication can be
both verbal or written. The traditional parent evenings and conference meetings provide
unique opportunities for schools to meet with parents. These meetings are generally held on
the school premises.

Assisting parents with parenting tasks: Many caregivers are finding it increasingly difficult
to cope with responsibilities of parenthood, particularly grandparents looking after children,
young unmarried mothers and illiterate parents. The educator is an excellent position to assist
caregivers in fulfilling their parenting tasks by arranging workshops on discipline,
developmental stages of a child, safety, nutrition and home conditions that support education
at all grade levels, among other things.

Volunteering: Parents are given the opportunity to volunteer at the child’s school. Educators
need to design programmes according to which volunteers are recruited trained and organised
for a variety of activities aimed at meeting the needs of the school, these can include helping
with fund raising, field trips, coaching sports and tutoring learners. When parent volunteers
are used as tutors, they must be aware of the importance of confidentiality and they should
work closely with the educator in charge of the class. Volunteers should also work. Having
adults from the community visit classrooms to tell about their careers or hobbies brings the
real world to the classroom and lets learners know that there is a clear link between what
they are doing and what is taking place in the world of work.

Learning at home: While not all parents can be actively involved in the school, all parents can
be supportive of their child’s learning. Parents must be willing to assist to help the child’s
success at school. It is recommended that schools draw up a clear homework policy, if possible
with parents and learners inputs and communicate the policy to parents.
Decision Making: All parents should be consulted on issues affecting their children. Decision
making should not be limited to only decision making at the school.

c. List the five characteristics of high-performance teams.

 Mutual respect
 A shared purpose
 A shared concept of how things will be done
 Agreed upon roles
 The principle of openness
 Shared responsibility for leadership
 A spirit of collegiality

Question 4:

1. Leadership is the aspect of management that energises people and sustains their
momentum.
a. Differentiate between two types of leadership styles with five contributing
facts for each style.

Autocratic style of leadership:

- Teacher commands and the learners obey quietly.

- No departure from rules set by reacher is tolerated.
- It is a militaristic style of leadership that destroys learner initiative and often results
in a loss of respect for authority.

The laisez-faire style of leadership:

- This style allows learners the scope to do exactly as they please.

- The educator leader voices no opposition and there is no form of discipline.
- This form of leadersip is unacceptable because it seriously undertermines the teaching
and learning process.

b. Briefly outline the characteristics of a leader.

o A thorough knowledge of their learning areas
o Lnowledge of the learner and his/her needs.
o Communication skills
o Interpersonal skills
o Decision making skills
o Interpersonal skills
o Problem solving skills
o The ability to listen.
 c. What would be general indicators of burnout?
 Depression
 Negative attitude
 Feelings of fatigue, boredom or apathy.
 Irritability.
 Forgetfulness and inability to make decisions.