It is rarely contested. Quality education is an equaliser in an unequal world. The casual link between poverty and a lack of quality education is well understood, as well as the inextricable link between the provision of quality education and sustainable economic growth.
As governments, policy makers, civil society and citizens continue to work together to make quality education a reality, this imperative for every child and how it intersects with the development of competent school leadership becomes even clearer.
Why is the realisation of the former so heavily reliant on the success of the latter?
The impact of leadership in society as a whole has been the subject of scrutiny the world over. For many, the notion of leadership is synonymous and often limited to the successes and failings of political leadership.
In recent times, the hype around leadership on the professional work frontier has seen corporate environments implement measures that have transformed the corporate space – even if only to increase productivity and profit margins.
However, today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world requires the development of visionary, robust, flexible leaders across all scales of human activity – and this progression should not start and end with corporates.
Schools are arguably the most important institutions in society, and the education they provide is considered a fundamental human right. Contextually relevant is South Africa’s progressive written constitution which guarantees every child the right to a basic education. The National Development Plan (NDP) also highlights education as a key enabler in unlocking people’s potential and providing economic opportunities for everyone. Internationally, South Africa has committed to implement the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Years of sustained effort by the South African government have seen 98% of South Africa’s 19.6 million youth attend some form of an educational facility. In spite of these wins, ours is a nation that continues to struggle with high rates of poverty, and the correlation between poverty and education can be seen in many different aspects of its relationship.
Schooling is compulsory until grade nine, and over the years, there have been increasing numbers of drop-out cases among learners. Education in rural areas is especially vulnerable simply as a result of the barriers presented by location. Essential resources like electricity, books and technology are missing from many schools, which prevent many children from accessing a complete educational experience. Compounding an already untenable situation, researchers estimate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, children in South Africa lost up to a whole year of schooling. Unsurprisingly, learners from poor communities where disproportionately affected largely due to a widening digital divide.
With that stated, the role of school leadership as a policy priority to improve education in South Africa is crystalline. It plays a significant part in improving education outcomes for learners by influencing the motivations and capacities of teachers, as well as creating a conducive school climate. Essentially, effective school leadership is vital in improving the efficiency and equity of schooling.
But fit-for-purpose school leadership does not occur by default. There is a pressing need to focus on enhancing the quality of school leadership and make it sustainable. School principals must be prepared, developed and continuously supported in order to lead successful schools.
One proven and mutually beneficial way to achieve this is to develop, support and uplift school principals by partnering them with leaders from the private sector, that is, leaders from the world of business, in meticulously developed, structured, immersive leadership development programmes.
Of the numerous tangible benefits of such partnerships, the accumulation of social capital is especially transformational. This applies to communities that have been previously denied the opportunity to build relationships and networks that complement the economic capital necessary for economic growth. For example, when school principals are invited to spaces where they can collaborate and network among themselves as well with leaders from the business sector, they gain access to social capital which, in the long run, their learners benefit from. This development has the potential to create equality in the education system.
It is not only structural social capital in the form of access to infrastructure that matters in this instance, but cognitive social capital which has the power to shift paradigms and change the thinking of those working within the education system and those ‘on the outside looking in’.
Quality education is at the core of children’s rights. Our future begins with quality education for every child – and quality education begins with effective school leadership.
About the author:
Zah’Rah Khan heads up the editorial team at Citizen Leader Lab. Her focus areas are education, politics, law and research.
For more information, visit: www.citizenleaderlab.org
