parents and principals as partners in creating a culture of learning

CHAPTER 1
ORIENTATION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
[ 1 1
Education in South Africa has collapsed in many schools. Instead of improving
in recent years after the democratic elections of 1994, the culture of learning in
many schools has continued to break down. These schools which are characterised
by a high failure rate, early school dropout, a lack of discipline, low morale and
an anti-academic attitude amongst pupils can, inter alia, be regarded as
symptomatic of the collapse in the culture of learning (Smith & Pacheco, 1996: 1;
De Villiers, 1997:76).
According to Kruger (1996:37) creating and restoring a culture of learning
involves a collaborative act between parents and principals. In the interest of the
education of the child, the contact and cooperation between the parent and the
principal should denote a partnership. Neither the parent nor the principal alone
can fulfil the task of educating the child completely (Badenhorst (ed.), 1995: 109).
Oosthuizen (ed.) (1994:142) is of the view that much common ground exists
between the parents and the principals despite the fact that they have differing
tasks and roles. Both are concerned with the education of the child. The parent
is involved with the child as the primary educator and the principal as secondary
educator (Lemmer & Squelch, 1993: lOO). The only effective manner in which
these common educating tasks may be unified, is by considering the parents and
principals to be partners in creating a culture of learning. Van Schalkwyk
(1990:39-40) says that a partnership of this nature is the best way of getting the
parents and the principal to work together on education and to share the
responsibility for creating a culture of learning.