Measuring the Effectiveness of Appointment of School Management Team : A Qualitative Analysis of the Stakeholders' Views

The study is aimed at investigating the issues of appointment procedures of principals and heads of departments (HoDs) to South African schools. Two issues were investigated: whether the appointment followed efficiently and laid down procedures and whether the current challenges of dissatisfactions faced by school management members are influenced by the appointment processes. A qualitative research approach was employed involving 50 participants purposively selected. Semi-structured interview schedules were conducted to collect data for the study. The findings revealed the manipulation of procedure for selection and interview to favour certain candidates over others, with corruption and nepotism as major issues responsible for the dissatisfaction of other stakeholders. The study recommends narrowing the pool from which principals and HoDs are selected from by emphasizing higher academic qualifications as the minimum qualification for the rise to senior positions such HoDs and principals should be progressional and school leadership must be appointed by the School Governing Body and Department of Education only.