School Management Teams’ Conceptualisation of School Assets in Addressing the Needs of Children Orphaned and Made Vulnerable by HIV and AIDS: Evidence from South Africa

Abstract

This pa per explores School Management Teams' understanding of school a ssets as a means to respond to the needs of orphans and other children made vulnerable by AIDS in the context of rural schools in South Africa. The study employed a qualitative approach of data collection, using an art-based method, that is, collage to identify the School Management Teams' responses to the needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS in a rural school context, which included their identification of assets (resources) within and outside the school context, and concerns about the mobilization and mapping out of assets u sing a collage. The School Management Teams' understanding of assets included material things such as food and clothes. The findings also show that School Management Teams relied more on outside assets than assets within the school. However, with the use of the collage, as a means to chart their way forward, School Management Teams engaged in a discussion and looked at the extent to which learners, teachers, School Management Teams, School Governing Bodies and outside community assets such as faith-based organisations, businesses and parents could be mobilized and mapped in order to effectively respond to the needs of orphans and other children made vulnerable by AIDS in a rural co ntex t.

Perceived School Based Factors Influencing the Academic (Under) Achievement of Vulnerable Learners in Lesotho

“…The accusations appear to be levelled at her for not organising resources in advance. The blaming of the school principal can be justified from Coleman and Earley, 2005;Sanders, 2006;Fullan, 2007;Kamper, 2009) that school's effectiveness is linked to strong principal leadership who are key in the success of the schools (Chikoko & Khanare, 2012). However, the notion is that, everyone should be seen as a resource to their community development (Brambaifa, 2019).…”

Growing Our Own Timber! Lived Experiences of Five School Principals in Using a Systems Thinking Approach for School Development

“…In the decentralized setting, the notion of self-reliance and tapping into local human capital is critical (Hlalele, 2012;Myende, 2014). Therefore, searching for solutions among the local assets instead of in far off places may prove to be a solution in the context of declining organizational performances (Chikoko & Khanare, 2012;Ebersöhn & Mbetse, 2003;Myende, 2014). Ironically, Barr et al (2014), Chikoko et al (2015), and Plate and Monroe (2014) indicate that leadership is the missing link that can provide an explanation for the persisting decline and dysfunctionality of schools.…”

“…Externally generated solutions have proven to lack ownership and legitimacy (Lapp et al, 2011;Plate & Monroe, 2014) and thus may lack sustainability (Chikoko & Khanare, 2012;Hlalele, 2012). Within the South African context, a number of curriculum initiatives were introduced with minimal success.…”

Complexities of Leading Rural Schools in South Africa: Learning from Principals’ Voices

“…Soliciting support from the separate entities of the entire system may be seen as an understanding that leadership is an emergent event and an outcome of relational interactions among agents, it is more than a skill, an exchange, or a symbol—leadership emerges through dynamic interactions (Eppel 2009; Lichtenstein et al 2006). In order to survive, principals in schools in the context of rurality are encouraged to form relationships so that they can tap into resources beyond their premises (Chikoko and Khanare 2012; Renihan, Patrick, and Noonan 2012). For this to happen, there is need to recognise that rural schools exist not in isolation but in communities with a set of resources that can be used to improve education (Education Policy Consortium 2005).…”