000			01833nam a22001577a 4500
999			_c517290 _d517290
008			210708b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aMyende, Erasmus Phumlani and Maifala, Selaelo _926371
245			_aComplexities of leading rural schools in South Africa: Learning from principals’ voices
260			_aInternational Journal of Rural Management
300			_a16(2), Oct, 2020: p.225-253
520			_aThis article reports the findings of a qualitative study that examined what it means to be a principal in the context of rurality. We argue that principals in the 21st century encounter complex work situations that make it hard for them to manoeuvre. Furthermore, for principals in the context of rurality, such complexities pose multiple dilemmas, given that rurality exposes principals to multiple challenges. Using a case study within an interpretive paradigm, we interviewed and observed five principals from rural schools in the Limpopo province. The study found that principals’ leadership focuses dominantly on administrative tasks. It further identified social and institutional complexities that principals encounter and argues that these complexities compel to treat rural schools as systems. While we hail this view of schools, it emerged that some units of the system appear to be thwarting the progress of principals in leading rural schools. We conclude that, at times, principals’ leadership in the context of rurality can be defined as a leadership that shuns policies and issues of social justice for the purpose of finding what works in their contexts. – Reproduced
650			_aAdaptive leadership, Administrative leadership, Enabling leadership, Complexities, Rurality, Rural school _924935
773			_aInternational Journal of Rural Management
906			_aSCHOOLS - RURAL
942			_cAR