Conference

2008 Safe Internet Use

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Highlights of previous SSBA conferences :-

2007 Developing a Parent Council and Encouraging Parental Involvement

2006 The Way Forward for Parental Involvement

2005 Parents in Partnership

2003 Partnerships and responsibilities

2002 SSBA is fit for the future

2001 Roadshow

2000 International
and published book
available here online

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Workshops
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Parents as Partners in Decision Making:
The South African Experience

Prior to 1994 the entire South African education system was organised along racial lines and the practice of parent involvement in decision making at school level differed accordingly. In most schools serving the white community, statutory parent bodies were established which had a wide range of decision making powers. In schools attended by black pupils, only a few members of parent bodies could be elected by parents; the majority were government appointees. The lack of accountability of these bodies to the communities they were supposed to serve, allowed them to "... trample over grassroot opinion" (Hyslop 1989).

Following the 1994 democratic elections, a non-racial education system based on the principle of equity was instituted. To accommodate this, a national Department of Education and nine provincial departments of education were established. In addition, the rights of parents to be involved in the school governance was acknowledged in the South African Schools Act (1996). Accordingly, all government schools now have governing bodies, on which parent representatives must be in the majority. Thus, for the first time in the history of education in South Africa, all schools must include parents in decision making at school level. However, in many disadvantaged communities, most parents have never had any experience of school governance. In addition, an estimated 37 percent of the population of the country is judged to be illiterate (Shindler & Bot 1999). Both these factors affect the manner in which governing bodies are able to fulfil their tasks.

This paper looks at the functioning of school governing bodies, particularly within disadvantaged communities in Gauteng, one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Data was gathered by examining relevant documents, and by interviewing parents, teachers and school principals. Documents reviewed include policy documents of the central government, provincial laws and regulations dealing with school governing bodies, as well as training manuals for governing bodies. Selected parents and teachers in Gauteng were interviewed to determine the perceptions of the role players of parent involvement in decision making at school level. Data was analysed according to the procedures typical of qualitative research. Findings indicate that (1) the availability of policy documents and the extent to which stakeholders are familiar with the content thereof impacts on the activities of governing bodies; (2) the extent of parent participation in school governance is defined by literacy and socioeconomic status; (3) in many cases principals still remain central to school governance; (4) parents on governing bodies often become part of the dominant school culture and do not serve the interests of parents who elected them. It seems as if the ultimate success of school governing bodies in many communities in South Africa will depend on the type and extent of the training the government has undertaken to provide.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Hyslop J 1989. School boards, school committees and educational politics, in Bonner P, Hofmeyer I, James D and Lodge T (eds) Holding their ground: class locality and culture in the 19^th and 20^th century South Africa. Johannesburg: Ravan.

• Republic of South Africa 1996. South African Schools Act. Pretoria: Government Printers.

• Shindler J & Bot 1999. Literacy in South Africa - an update. EduSource Data News. March.

Dr Noleen Van Wyk
University of South Africa

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