Education experts discuss strategies to improve school culture and behaviour, focusing on the role of leadership, community involvement, and positive relationships in transforming âbadâ schools into high-performing institutions of learning.
This comes as the globe gears up to mark International Education Day on Friday.
Professor Elizabeth Henning, chairperson for Integrated Studies of Learning Language, Science and Mathematics at the National Research Foundation, said that the challenges schools faced often mirror the environments from which their pupils come.
âA school is part of such a community,â said Henning, emphasising that programmes that recognise positive behaviour rather than punishing negative actions can be more beneficial.
Henning stated that behaviour at any individual school depends on what is valued in the schoolâs community.
Professor Labby Ramrathan, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, outlined three critical components essential for transforming schools tagged as âbadâ.
He stressed the need for decisive leadership, stating that school leadership must be robust in enforcing agreed-upon conduct. âIf a transgression has been made, a swift and consistent response must follow so that a new way of life in school is established and maintained.â
Ramrathan said at the forefront, there is a need for strong and decisive leadership in schools.
He said the school leadership, including teacher leaders and School Management Teams, must be strong in enforcing agreed-upon school conduct and must be seen to act in unison.
Ramrathan further stated that there must be controlled access to schools where pupils arrive and depart on time.
âArrivals and departures should be through strategic points to manage who gets in and out of schools and for what purposes,â he said.
It would also be easier to monitor the strategic gate with surveillance equipment such as surveillance cameras, he advised, stating that these infrastructure changes will signal that the school is serious about the safety of its pupils, teachers, and others who access the school campus.
Lastly, Ramrathan said communication with parents or caregivers on issues of discipline, accountability, and sanctions, which must have been decided upon by the school community, including learners, parents, and teachers, should be consistent.
PILO learning and design executive, Desmond Lesejane, said the primary goal of the schooling system is to ensure effective teaching and learning to improve learner outcomes, as demonstrated by their performance.
âSchools that consistently fail to achieve this, reflected in poor learner performance, are regarded as âunderperformingâ.
ââBadâ schools would therefore be schools that consistently produce poor learning outcomes evidenced by poor learner performance,â he said.
Lesejane said the Schools that Work II report produced by the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in 2018 identified a set of key success factors that are common in schools that consistently achieved high learner performance outcomes.
These include strong leadership, effective time management, teacher accountability, curriculum coverage, data-driven interventions, learner support, positive school culture, efficient resource use, community involvement, and consistency.
âAdopting these practices can assist schools to move from underperforming to high performing,â he said.
Lesejane said schools need to adopt practices and routines that will assist them in moving away from the way they are used to doing things.
Dr Tayla Stephen from Kelello Consulting, who deals with primary school mathematics and language interventions by adapting and trialling approaches to instil pro-social behaviour in schools and homes, said labelling schools as âbadâ is often counterproductive.
Stephen said schools exist within a complex ecosystem where every stakeholder has a role to play. âWhile teachers and government officials are frequently on the receiving end of complaints about school quality, successful schools are those where stakeholders support rather than blame each other.â
She said adults within the system work collaboratively to address local challenges, often within very difficult school and community contexts.
District officials, school management teams, teachers, unions, governing bodies, parents, and pupils themselves all contribute to creating schools that are safe and conducive to learning.
Stephen stated that when schools are labelled as âbadâ, it often reflects the quality of human relationships within their ecosystem.
âThese schools frequently have a higher number of learners at risk for relationship difficulties.â
Research consistently shows that positive teacher-learner relationships play a critical role in mitigating poor outcomes for at-risk learners facing behaviour issues, poverty, or poor self-control, she said.
âHigher-quality relationships are also linked to greater academic achievement. However, teachers often find it challenging to build these relationships with at-risk learners, making it essential to take deliberate steps to establish and nurture these connections,â she said.
Stephen lists the key measures that can be taken to bring about change:
- Ensure alignment and a shared sense of purpose among all stakeholders in the ecosystem. This responsibility rests primarily with the school leadership.
- Foster warm and nurturing connections â not only between teachers and learners but also among staff members.
- Promote school bonding as pupils with positive, supportive relationships are more likely to enjoy school and less likely to drop out. This is especially crucial for pupils at risk. The more positive relationships pupils have (with teachers, classmates, or even janitors), the more they feel connected to their school.
- Prioritise the instructional core: the teacher, the pupils, and the learning itself. When the core function of learning repeatedly fails, it increases frustration and further strains human relationships.
Stephen added that teachers need to strike a balance between discipline and a warmer learner-teacher relationship.
âMany see these two as mutually exclusive, but that is not true. Teachers can expect their learners to behave appropriately while also being kind. Teachers are often tempted to use power-assertive discipline because they possess the power and resources to punish learner misbehaviour,â she said.
Inductive discipline is a better option where pupils are given reasons why they need to abide by the rules, while also being made aware of the consequences of not doing so, she stated.
She said there are four key principles which teachers may keep in mind when at the chalk face of a classroom, and when disciplining pupils, including getting compliance by setting a precedent in a discipline encounter; keeping power minimal even though you may be tempted to revert to power assertion to get compliance; keeping the encounter as emotionally positive as you can; and allowing negotiation when possible.
Stephen said negotiating with a pupil might seem counter-intuitive, as teachers like to think they have complete control in their classrooms, but this is not true.
âLearners have autonomy, and no matter how forceful you are, you arenât ever guaranteed compliance. If your learner says, âI donât want to do x, can we instead do y,â and itâs feasible, itâs sometimes best to allow it,â she said.
When pupils are aware of your expectations for their behaviour, she said, they feel that they are valid and fair; theyâre more likely to comply, especially over the longer term.
âIt takes time and effort to get all these things right, particularly in a class full of challenging learners, but change is possible,â said Stephen.
With regard to the role of parents, Stephen said nurturing parents provide the foundation for healthy child development.
âUnfortunately, many South African learners grow up without parents or, in some cases, take on parental responsibilities themselves. This lack of support often leaves children without the guidance and structure they need to thrive. Where possible, parents should strive to strike a balance between warmth and control â what researchers call âauthoritative parentingâ.â
She said parents also play a crucial role in modelling pro-social behaviour. âChildren observe and learn from their parents, so when parents consistently demonstrate kindness, cooperation, and empathy at home, their children are more likely to exhibit these traits in their interactions with peers and teachers.â
By fostering positive relationships and behaviours at home, Stephen said parents contribute not only to their childrenâs emotional well-being but also to a more supportive and harmonious school environment.