Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives

The digital divide and the low socio-economic status of many South African school communities, including rural Limpopo, the site of this research study, created an immediate and urgent need to transform teaching and learning during the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic. Within this context, th...

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Main Authors: Frenchesca June Clark, Paul Triegaardt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2022-12-01
Series:Perspectives in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/6812
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author Frenchesca June Clark
Paul Triegaardt
author_facet Frenchesca June Clark
Paul Triegaardt
author_sort Frenchesca June Clark
collection DOAJ
description The digital divide and the low socio-economic status of many South African school communities, including rural Limpopo, the site of this research study, created an immediate and urgent need to transform teaching and learning during the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic. Within this context, this study demonstrated the importance of technology and digitisation in building future-ready schools. The literature study clarified the requirements of a neuroleader as a future-fit leader and used the theoretical framework of neuroleadership to define and explain future-fit leadership. Insights for this article were derived from 10 school leaders in rural Limpopo primary schools. The data was collected using WhatsApp voice notes, which were converted into narratives for each of the principals. Digital stories of each school were also used. The phenomenological approach was adopted to better understand the lived experiences of these principals. Thereafter, the data was analysed using thematic analysis in order to identify themes or patterns in the narratives. The main findings emphasised the necessity of neuroleadership in a future-fit leader. Finally, more research is required to investigate the idea of creating entirely digital rural schools with a rotating schedule that alternates between days of in-person instruction and days of online instruction.
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spelling doaj.art-cbf83d20246749539d728717a4b7ae722024-03-18T11:09:01ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2022-12-0140410.38140/pie.v40i4.6812Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperativesFrenchesca June Clark 0Paul Triegaardt1University of Johannesburg, South AfricaUniversity of Johannesburg, South Africa The digital divide and the low socio-economic status of many South African school communities, including rural Limpopo, the site of this research study, created an immediate and urgent need to transform teaching and learning during the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic. Within this context, this study demonstrated the importance of technology and digitisation in building future-ready schools. The literature study clarified the requirements of a neuroleader as a future-fit leader and used the theoretical framework of neuroleadership to define and explain future-fit leadership. Insights for this article were derived from 10 school leaders in rural Limpopo primary schools. The data was collected using WhatsApp voice notes, which were converted into narratives for each of the principals. Digital stories of each school were also used. The phenomenological approach was adopted to better understand the lived experiences of these principals. Thereafter, the data was analysed using thematic analysis in order to identify themes or patterns in the narratives. The main findings emphasised the necessity of neuroleadership in a future-fit leader. Finally, more research is required to investigate the idea of creating entirely digital rural schools with a rotating schedule that alternates between days of in-person instruction and days of online instruction. http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/6812Digital skillsFuture-fit leadershipFuture-fit schoolsFourth industrial revolutionRural schools
spellingShingle Frenchesca June Clark
Paul Triegaardt
Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
Perspectives in Education
Digital skills
Future-fit leadership
Future-fit schools
Fourth industrial revolution
Rural schools
title Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
title_full Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
title_fullStr Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
title_full_unstemmed Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
title_short Future-fit leaders for future-fit schools: Principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4IR imperatives
title_sort future fit leaders for future fit schools principal narratives of leading rural primary schools for 4ir imperatives
topic Digital skills
Future-fit leadership
Future-fit schools
Fourth industrial revolution
Rural schools
url http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/6812
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