The renewal of invitational education through principal succession in a South African primary school

The renewal of invitational education through principal succession in a South African primary school Prof GM Steyn Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of South Africa P O Box 392, Pretoria 0003 E-mail: steyngm1@unisa.ac.za Abstract Numerous studies on leadership succession indicate that new principals have to address various challenges when they are appointed at a new school This presentation used a qualitative research design and reports on the way in which a school under the leadership of the new principal maintained and renewed the practice of invitational education in the school As such the lens used for the study focussed on the practice of invitational education Data were collected through a number of interviews with the principal, including photo-elicitation interviews, and focus group interviews with staff who were present during the principalship of the predecessor These interviews were conducted in the first and third year after the new principal took office at the school It was evident from the findings that principal succession can have significant implications for a school’s culture, especially after a predecessor’s length of service in the school, an established school culture and the leadership style of the new principal It was in particular the new principal’s leadership style that he realised he needed to change He experienced some challenges to treat people with more care and less autocratic In conclusion, under the new principal’s leadership the school showed a clear focus on caring for people; it changed the physical environment; and it adapted and changed policies and programmes to allow for the development of all people in the school The processes revealed in the study orchestrated these four qualities in a collaborative and cooperative way for the sake of sustaining and enhancing an inviting culture in the school Introduction Studies in school principals continues unabated (De Villiers & Pretorius 2011:574; Drysdale, Goode & Gurr 2009:697; Kelly & Sanders 2010:127) Recent studies in particular have focussed on how new principals experienced principal succession (Bartlett 2011; Berrong 2012; Martinez 2007; Meyer, MacMillan & Northfield 2009; Meyer & Macmillan 2011) The studies of Berry (2004:4) and Zepeda, Bengston and Parylo (2012:142) showed how school systems managed and planned principal succession, while Glasspool (2006:64) studied the way in which socialisation influenced new principals in specific school contexts In the study of found Meyer and Macmillan (2011:1, 2) they found that there are certain factors such as teacher loyalty, efficacy, trust and morale that had implications on teachers’ performance before, during and even after principal succession (Meyer & Macmillan 2011:1, 2) However, according to Zepeda, et al (2012:137) and Meyer and Macmillan (2011:5) limited studies on principal succession were undertaken during the first few years after a new principal was appointment Furthermore, the mounting concern to maintain quality leadership in schools, especially in South Africa, required a study on leadership succession in order to inform school practice about the necessary strategies to plan for effective leadership succession in schools (Garchinsky 2008:30; Zepeda, et al 2012:137) For the purpose of this article principal succession is viewed as the replacement of a previous school principal by another principal due to resignation, promotion or retirement, which leads to changes in people and in organisations (Glasspool 2007:123) This presentation reports on the principal succession within a South African primary school in which the new principal replaced the retired predecessor in 2009 after he was more than two decades principal of the school The school in the study received the inviting school award from the International Alliance for Invitational Education during the previous principal’s term in office As an Afrikaans, urban, primary school it is situated within a middle-class socio-economic community in Gauteng At the beginning of 2010 the new principal took office at the school The researcher believed that the new principal faced certain challenges considering the many years his predecessor was in office and that he might have a different approach to implement invitational education in the school This study which forms part of other studies on principal succession in the school, focussed on the way in this the new principal transformed and internalised the inviting culture in the school Previous studies in the school described the way in which the school adhered to its inviting school culture throughout the years (Steyn 2007), while the other studies focussed on the school’s previous principal; his perceptions of professional development (Steyn 2010); the moral and transformational dimensions of his leadership practice (Steyn 2012a) and the principal’s leadership practice through a servant-leadership lens (Steyn 2012b) Novak and DiBiase (2006:252) believe that it is possible that with the departure of leaders ‘the benefits of their initiatives and their successes’ also disappear The research question that emerged in the study was: How did the school under the leadership of new principal maintain and renew the practice of invitational education in the school? Conceptual framework: Invitational Education The lens used for the study focussed on the practice of invitational education which also serves as a guiding model for school improvement Invitational education addresses five basic areas (the 5P’s) that make up every school (Purkey & Novak 2008:19-24; Purkey & Siegel 2003:106-126): People: Inviting schools begin and end with people in them People are viewed as being able, valuable and responsible and are to be treated accordingly Respect for every individual and intentional caring are crucial aspects in sustaining inviting schools Places: The physical environment is an excellent point to start and maintain invitational education in schools Clean, efficient and aesthetic places send powerful messages that people in the school care for others in the school Policies: They include the official vision and mission statements in the school and all the codes of conduct that regulate the operations in the school Again these policies should be viewed as caring, respectful and fair for the sake of a positive impact on people’s attitudes Programmes: All programmes in the school, both curricular and extracurricular, should work for the benefit of everybody in the school Such programmes should also encourage active involvement of all role players in the school Processes: IE is ‘built on the fundamental interdependence of human beings’ (Novak & Purkey 2001:13) This implies that schools should develop a cooperative, collaborative learning culture through meaningful involvement and participation to influence the learning of staff and learners Where people work in isolation, the practice of invitational education is hindered Research methodology This qualitative study adopted a narrative inquiry (Fouché & Schurink 2011:322) to investigate the way in which the new school principal approached invitational education in the school Data were collected through by means of a number of interviews with the principal (Fouché & Schurink 2011:313), including obtaining photo-elicitation interviews (Epstein, Stevens, McKeever & Baruchel 2006:4; Ortega-Alcázar & Dyck 2011:108) and school documents The first two interviews with the principal were conducted during the first year of his appointment at the school, while the other interviews and the photoelicitation interviews were conducted during his third year as school principal Focus group interviews were conducted with staff during the first year of the new principal as well as during his third year in office These staff members were present during the principalship of the predecessor Field notes were also taken during these interviews, while e-mails from the principal elaborated on his interviews During his third year as principal, I requested the principal to take a number of photographs that would reveal his socialisation into his position as principal During the photo-elicitation interviews I explored the changes the principal made in maintaining en developing the IE culture of the school All interviews were recorded and transcribed and translated into English The study occurred within the primary school and interviews were conducted on the school premises Member-checking of the transcribed data was done with the principal and one staff member of the focus groups to ensure accuracy of the information I obtained the informed consent from all participants to participate in this study I employed an interpretivist approach to understand the way in which the practice of invitational education was internalised under the leadership of the new principal (Nieuwenhuis 2010:60) In the data analysis I coded the interviews from the 5P’s of the practice of invitational education I employed Lincoln and Guba’s model to ensure the trustworthiness of the study (Poggenpoel 1998) To maintain credibility, the study was done over a period of three years and all interviews from participants were recorded, transcribed and analysed I ensured applicability by presenting adequate, descriptive information that could also be usend in similar future studies The study also ensured dependability by considering certain variables which could possibly influence particular changes owing to the nature of the research design To achieve confirmability, I did member checking with participants which implied that the transcribed data were submitted to them to ensure that all the transcripts were correctly recorded Findings Based on the five basic areas of the practice of invitational education, the following categories emerged from the data: Background of the new principal and the school; People: Handling people with ‘care’; Places: Focussing on the physical school environment; Policies: Making ‘the best school’; Programmes: Ensuring an inviting, successful school; Processes: Considering the product Background of the new principal and the school The new principal in the study was previously a high school principal and was appointed in 2010 at the school in the study His experience as a high school principal, revealed his leadership approach He principal explained: ‘I was … definitely a bit autocratic as far as the school work and academic work were concerned’ He was also familiar with the school in the study since his two sons had previously attended this particular school His previous experiences implied that the new principal had developed certain constructs of the school before to his appointment at the school (Kelly & Saunders 2010:131) His predecessor was the principal of the school since 1982 until he retired at the end of 2009 People: Handling people with ‘care’ The new principal initially felt very threatened when he initially heard about his this appointment According to him he had ‘no illusions about the fact that he had big shoes to fill… Mr X [the predecessor] is really a legend and he makes a person feel inferior… He was a formidable principal’ Participants also acknowledged that Vertaal asb Die hoof moes regtig groot skoene volstaan… and that they often compared him to his predecessor On various occasions the principal had to remind them that he was not Mr Y and not Mr X On his first day at the school girls hugged the principal’s legs and the principal and staff noted that he was quite uncomfortable about it He became more relaxed since then and even liked the children’s spontaneity (See photograph 1) Photograph A child hugging the principal The principal explained how the school’s inviting culture influenced him As a person, I found myself… My relationship with my wife, children and Creator has improved I have become softer where I was previously strict and task oriented… My own children were amazed when they saw the children hugging their father’s knees He also referred to a particular occasion where a boy’s mother remarked that her son had also seen the principal change This boy noticed the principal’s deep frown on his face on which scared him However, this boy also admitted that his ‘frown was now gone’ Although the principal could see that staff were ‘accepting’ him as their new principal after a few months in office, he realised that he had to change his leadership style to fit the inviting culture of the school He considered himself to be ‘very task oriented’ and preferred to set measurable objectives However, it was necessary to ‘handle them [teachers] with care’ since they had ‘very, very thin skins’ and took critique personally 7 I had to make a concerted effort not to walk in here and handle these guys in the same autocratic manner These guys also come from a system where things were done differently They worked with a principal who did things differently than what I However, he noted that he was a ‘bit of a ‘control freak’ who often had to make unilateral decisions ‘to ensure that everything is done right’ His perception of himself was in a way confirmed by staff who regarded the principal as ‘firm’, but also a ‘people-person’ and ‘really very kind’ He might look a ‘reserved, but it was actually a surprise when staff got to know him: ‘He is just wow!’ For them the principal ‘set clear boundaries’, but he would ‘walk through the fire for them’ which gave them a lot of security One teacher elaborated: Vertaal asb … Teuels wat voorheen slap gehang het, trek hy nou styf… Hy is regverdig en konsekwent… ons eet uit sy hand uit… Ons het die wêreld se respek vir hom… So bang soos wat ek was vir hom, so sien ek hoe ons almal nou saamgesnoer is Hy weet presies wat rondom hom aangaan, tog voel ‘n mens nie dat hy op jou spioeneer nie The principal nevertheless had the desire to ‘prove things to myself and yet also be myself’ He wanted things to run smoothly, and ‘hated it when the schools did not succeed or did what they proclaimed to do’ He elaborated: Vertaal asb So ek trek maar ‘n paar handskoene langs die pad aan Maar ek verstaan, dis my verantwoordelikheid … ons is nie hier om mekaar se beste pelle te wees nie, ons is hier om werk te doen en ons doen dit goed Ek probeer ‘n “nice” ou en ‘n gawe ou wees maar dis maar moeilik Dis moeilik om standpunt in te neem, konfrontasie te hanteer When reminiscing since his appointment at the school, the principal stated that he felt much more confident and very good about himself and what he had been able to achieve He acknowledged that the school faced numerous challenges, but he felt ‘good’ about the changes he had been able to make since his appointment at the school ` In line with the practice of invitational education, the findings in this study showed the principal’s intentional care and respect for people This implied that he had to adapt his leadership style to make it more inviting and to continue the established inviting school culture In doing this he succeeded in honouring, maintaining and even enhancing the inviting culture of the school and also gaining the trust and support of staff However, consistent with the invitational education, he often had to take a firm stand and not being ‘nice’ This view is supported by Novak and DiBiase (2006: 251): ‘Nice people doing nice things is nice, but the inviting perspective needs to go beyond niceness to sustain inviting schools in not-so-nice times.’ Places: Focussing on the physical school environment Under the principal’s leadership a few structural changes occurred in the school To him the foyer was a ‘real old-fashioned school foyer’: uninviting and unfriendly As such he ‘drastically’ changed it by refurnishing it to make it ‘brand new’ and more inviting The vase with fresh flowers should send an inviting and welcome message to the school’s visitors (see photograph 2) The principal also explained how also they ‘drastically’ changed the front office of the administrative staff and his secretary’s office, five administration offices in the administration building and the financial office Apart from these changes the school also built an administration block, a new double storey building and changed the Kids Development Academy Hall into extra classrooms Although the school had previously cherished the gardens, the principal added more gardens to beautify the school premises (see photograph 3) 9 Photograph Fresh flowers in the foyer Photograph The new garden on the school grounds The principal adapted the menu of the tuck shop Healthy foods, on a weekly menu, were served and tables and chairs were fitted so that even parents could also enjoy food and beverages while they wait for their children (see photograph 4) 10 Photograph Tables and chairs in the tuck shop According to Purkey and Siegel (2003:117, 121) the physical environment of a school is considered to be ‘a socially constructed support system’ in which its people extend their ideas about themselves and which contribute to a sense of ownership and belonging In line with the practice of invitational education the findings show that positive changes in the physical environment show a commitment to ‘enhancing truly welcoming schools’ (Purkey & Novak 2008:19) It showed how the school paid careful attention to efficient and aesthetic qualities in the school (Purkey & Novak 2008:22) Places according to the practice of invitational education always offer a remarkable way in making invitational education visible and sending powerful messages that ‘people in the school care and are on top of any situation’ (Purkey & Novak 2008:22) Policies: Making it ‘the best school’ Already in during the first few months at the school the principal realised that to lead and manage the school, the school required a new vision and mission He believed that both the vision and mission were ‘too elaborate’ Members of the school governing body, the school management team and a few other staff members and parents revisited the vision and mission The revised vision and mission were ‘almost totally new’ The vision and mission statements were then framed on a background that portrayed the growth and the life of the school The vision statement (photograph 11 translated) showed their convictions for the school: ‘The barefoot, fun, performance school with a Christian character that strives towards excellence and aims to develop each child in totality’ His intended ‘to make it the best school’ Photograph The vision of the school Making it the best school, meant to successfully implement the revisited vision and mission One way in doing it was to focus on the value system which the principal considered as ‘remarkable’ The value system was built around the values of love, faith, hope, integrity and excellence This value system was described in a few previous studies (Steyn 2007; Steyn 2010; Steyn 2012a; Steyn 2012b) Although the new principal did not want to change the values, he merely wanted to enforce them as was also confirmed by the teachers With his staff they started to explicitly inculcate values by focussing on each particular value for two months in a year The five values, with explicit symbols, were displayed in the hall (see for example photograph 6) and in the office of one of the deputy heads The school first started with the value ‘love’ (with a heart symbol) The school used every opportunity to inculcate the values, for example during school openings and in class Even in their books learners would draw a heart symbol to remind them of the love-value the school was focussing on According to the principal love was ‘the greatest commandment’, which included more than love between boys and girls The impact of this value was so great that learners on Valentine’s Day (14 February) brought so many gifts of the less privileged that the foyer in the school was almost stacked to the roof 12 Photograph The value ‘love’ Another policy change in the school included the reward system for learners which was school expanded According to the principal he ‘inherited’ the reward system, but viewed it as a ‘sausage machine’ He extended the reward system to senior learners and he put also his personal ‘touch’ on it by spending much more time with learners bringing their books to his office The principal also made ‘golden stickers’ with his name on it which he affixed in their books and which the learners ‘valued’ The principal believed that this adapted system worked very well - he even spoilt learners with ‘better sweets’ than his predecessor – something that the learners enjoyed very much (photograph 7) The new reward system was also valued and appreciated by staff members According to the principal the previous reward system was a bit ‘snobbish’ since it only included the top 10 learners In the new system approximately 175 out of 200 learners were in academic teams The principal believed that learners became ‘more dedicated to their academic work’ and that they ‘loved’ the new reward system 13 Photograph Assorted sweets for learners’ rewards The financial control system in the school changed as a result of the principal’s leadership The school succeeded during his first year in office to collect 97% of school fees – which the school also managed to maintain The principal and staff attributed it to the improved communication with parents through the weekly school news paper Effective schools need policies to guide them and such policies communicate powerful messages to regulate the operations in schools (Purkey & Siegel 2003:122) According to Novak and Purkey (2008:22) the litmus test of question of invitational education is whether such policies reflect care and respect for everyone in the school Considering the revised vision and mission of the school, the inculcation of honourable values, the extended reward system and the more successful financial control system, the findings showed how the policies were fair, inclusive, caring and respectful (Novak & Purkey 2003:22) Programmes: Ensuring an inviting, successful school It bothered the principal that the school was a ‘bit laid back’ in some areas and he ‘hated’ it when the school was not successful in what it proclaimed to His primary concern was the academic focus on which he placed a very high premium This was also confirmed by staff members The one teacher in particular mentioned that the 14 academic focus was crucial to him and that he would not ỗompromise that It also explained why the new principal required staff to be qualified to teach their learning areas, which often did not happen in the past Moreover, to help parents in assisting their children’s school work, the school placed homework on the school’s website a week before it was due date The principal first changed the monitoring system, which included checking the test and examination papers of teachers The school also introduced weekly tests and a midyear examination Subject heads had to monitor teachers’ work and the principal ensured that everything was ‘double checked and revised’ He explained: My predecessor, the wonderful man that he was, did not peer over people’s shoulders… he trusted them … it was a crisis for me; we had to work very hard to combat this attitude about their academic work in and among the staff Decreasing the number of learners in Maths to 15 per class was the principal’s ‘greatest challenge’ Only the grade learners could benefited from it in 2010 since this was not budgeted for in the school As a result of this the average performance of learners then raised to 75% With learners’ improved performance it was relatively easy for the principal to get the approval of the school governing body to extend the system grades and The principal was convinced that the school’s academic focus shifted ‘180 degrees’ He elaborated: You can walk around on the school ground any time It is quiet and everyone works hard The children have bought into the approach … It’s a source of pride for them to work hard Moreover, he was also ‘very excited’ that the school was among the Super 12 as far as academics was concerned As can be expected, the principal’s tough academic focus had some implications for learners and staff: the learners could only participate in sports when they performed according to their ability and teachers could coach sport teams if their performance in class was satisfactorily The principal believed this ‘worked like a bomb’ although it initially caused apprehension among learners and staff 15 As seen from above, the principal expected staff to work hard, but he also supported and protected teachers in their execution of teaching responsibilities, especially from unfair parents He gave such parents the ‘bigger picture’ when they criticised teachers and teachers welcomed and valued his support in this regard To execute their task, the school equipped teachers with suitable resources (such as interactive white boards, laptops and data projectors) and also offered appropriate workshops so that teachers can fulfil teaching responsibilities successfully Teachers acknowledged that the principal’s expectations were high, but that that they experienced their growth very positively and that it added to their professionalism Already in his first year, the principal recognised the emotional problems that many learners experienced and that these problems significantly influenced their academic performance He realised that these learners required professional help and due to budget constraints in 2010 only one counsellor was appointed in that year In the following year the school appointed another counsellor who also assisted parents with their problems As affirmed by the practice of invitational education the findings showed how the school introduced curricular and extracurricular programmes to enhance its success (Purkey & Novak 2008:22) These programmes were well-meaning and focussed on setting higher standards for staff and learners (Purkey & Siegel 2003:123) and also assisting them in attaining the set goals Processes: Considering the product in making Since so many processes in the school were already in place, the principal believed that it was fairly ‘easy’ to take over the reins He was initially a careful to bring about huge changes in the school and rather carefully observed the way in which the school functioned Already during the principal’s first year in office he noticed that parents tended ‘to interfere’ unnecessary in certain areas of the school, which he acknowledged with due ‘respect and piety’ for the way in which his predecessor handled parents As a 16 result of this, he changed the rules regarding parent behaviour on the school ground and sports field He explained that parents were no longer allowed to directly go the classrooms during school hours He also decided that parents should no longer be allowed onto the sports field, but sit on the pavilion As expected this led to apprehension by parents One teacher mentioned that parents no longer troubled the principal with ‘nitty things’ since they know exactly where they stand with him She regarded the principal’s communication skills with parents and staff very good She explained: Vertaal asb Hulle [parents] weet presies waar hy staan, as daar ‘n probleem opkom of as iets sou gebeur het dan sal hy dit kommunikeer aan die ouers en vir hulle presies sê hoe hy daaroor voel en partykeer trap hy op tone, hy is baie reguit However, the principal considered himself to be ‘accessible’ and preferred to involve people in decision making This was confirmed by teachers who claimed that the principal provided opportunities for participative management, but that as strong leader he also had to make unilateral decisions The principal to a large extend regarded it as his ‘responsibility’ to make sure that the school operated effectively According to the principal teachers previously had worked ‘very isolated’ from each other and each grade was almost like ‘an island’ As a result of this the school instituted a system which addressed continuity and communication between the different grades and which, according to principal and confirmed by staff, improved tremendously The principal explained: It was a huge leap to get the cooperation of the staff But it has been sorted … it has made a huge difference I am very proud of it … although many teachers cried crocodile tears in my office The principal felt very strongly about cooperation between staff that he considered it a case of ‘adapt or die’ He acknowledged that the system is time-consuming, but that it would definitely lead to more positive results At the end of his first year, three teachers 17 resigned – which the experienced personally, although no teachers resigned during the next years which he considered to be positive According to Novak and Purkey (2008:23) processes in inviting schools orchestrate the other four areas in schools: people, places, policies and programmes in a democratic way Processes should reveal the collaborative, cooperative procedures in among the principal, staff members, learners and parents These practices were also revealed in the findings of this study and clearly showed ‘the way we things here’ (Novak & Purkey 2008:23) Conclusion It is evident from the findings that principal succession can have significant implications for a school, especially after a predecessor’s length of service in the school, an established school culture and the leadership style of the new principal The new principal was, however, at an advantage due to his experience as a high school principal and because he was a parent at the school prior to his appointment at the school Furthermore, the transition to being principal of this school was eased because the new principal succeeded well-respected principal in a well established and successful inviting school The new principal nurtured the value system he ‘inherited’ and only desired to more explicitly inculcate these values in the school’s programme With the appointment of the new principal some staff members initially experienced apprehension for the unknown and it was also the principal’s different leadership style and practice that led to some tension from teachers The teachers had previously developed a certain way of performing their responsibilities within the school The new principal believed that his predecessor had often not been strict enough Being task oriented, the new principal for example changed certain places, policies and programmes to become more inviting and for the sake of school excellence It was in particular his leadership style that the principal realised he needed to adapt and he experienced some challenges to treat people with more care and less autocratic, especially since such an approach is more appropriate for inviting school leaders The 18 principal was, however, firm in protecting the teachers and the school and teachers from unfair parents In conclusion, under the new principal’s leadership the school showed a clear focus on caring for people; it changed the physical environment, which included a refurbished foyer, new buildings, more school gardens and changes to the menu and tuckshop; and it adapted and changed policies and programmes to allow for the development of all people in the school The processes revealed in the study orchestrated these four qualities in a collaborative and cooperative way for the sake of sustaining and enhancing an inviting culture in the school References Bartlett C 2011 Principal succession: trends and impacts Doctoral Thesis: University of Houston Bengtson E, Zepeda SJ & Parylo O 2013 School systems’ practices of controlling socialization during principal succession: Looking through the lens of an organizational socialization theory Educational Management Administration and Leadership (in press) Berrong DA 2012 The relationship between principal turnover and student achievement in reading/english language arts and math grades six through eight Dissertation, Doctor of Education Liberty University: Lynchburg, VA Berry BA 2004 Succession to school leadership: challenge and response for principals Doctor of 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Conceptual framework: Invitational Education. .. 2001 Invitational Education Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation Novak JM & DiBiase A- M 2006 Sustaining inviting schools In J Novak, W Rocca and A- M Dibase Creating Inviting