parents and principals as partners in creating a culture of learning

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competence. Hence the principles of equal worth and mutual respect are
basic to the parent-principal partnership.
A parent-principal partnership presupposes planning, thinking and
codetermination.
Parents and principals should trust one another. To this end candour,
honesty and interest in each other should be built into their relationship.
Harmony is prerequisite for (and characteristic of) the parent-child
partnership. If parents and principals understand and appreciate one
another and actively cooperate, there is continuity in the educative teaching
of children, so that they have security in their life-world.
Rapid change has become a characteristic of our society, which places emphasis
on action: active involvement and participation for maximum mutual benefit. The
dynamic provision of education in our country is a process which requires constant
revision and renewal. Dialogue amongst parents, principals, the community at
large and employers is most important in establishing priorities. Parents and
principals have to be partners because the demands made by society on education
ofchildren necessitate cooperation between the partners in all fields (Kruger (ed.),
1992:91-92; Griessel, Louw & Swart, 1993:49-50).
Nowhere in education is the principle ofpartnership more important than the level
where the question of how to provide the most effective education for all children
in South Africa is addressed (Department of Education, 1997:8). The principle
of partnership management is of the utmost importance and is based on a
fundamental relationship of trust and openness between partners (Dekker, 1995:6­
7). In a partnership, people's rights, and particularly their privileges, cannot be
adequately addressed by legal definitions alone. Mutual appreciation,