The Operating Practices of School Management Teams: A Study of Three Schools in East London, South Africa

Abstract

Globally, School Management Teams (SMTs) are now well-embedded in schools. These teams were borne out of a variety of factors. Firstly, there was a growing demand on principals to move away from an authoritarian type of leadership to a more participative and collaborative type of management style. Secondly, the trends towards devolution of power or school-based management meant that new strategies towards educational management were needed. Experience, supported by the literature, reveals that although SMTs are expected to be key contributors to leadership in schools, their working practices and relationship of members in the management team are not well known. This study therefore focused on the operating practices of SMTs. Three primary schools were studied. The research process was anchored on the interpretive paradigm. This led to the crafting of research methods, which would assist in an understanding of what was happening in the everyday practices of SMTs in the schools concerned. These included questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. The findings show firstly, that all three schools had working SMTs. Secondly; they embrace the team concept in an effort to improve their overall effectiveness. Thirdly, because they were actively involved in crafting their schools vision and mission statements they are committed to a common goal. Fourthly, it appears that their decision-making processes are based on consensus rather than voting. Lastly, as a result of varied factors, there were differences in responses on SMTs knowledge and application of government educational policies.