Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia

Abstract

A case study was conducted to explore learner voice and leadership development within a structure of Learner Representative Council (LRC) at a newly established school in the Erongo Region in Namibia. Interpretive methods were used in the study which was set to gather participants’ understanding of the phenomenon of learner voice and leadership in the school, leadership development opportunities existed in the school and factors constraining the development of LRC voice and leadership in a newly established school. Distributed leadership theory was used as the conceptual framework of the study. Participants for this study were purposively chosen to provide researcher with sufficient information to answer the research questions because case-study research often involves a smaller sample size. Thirteen LRC members, three LRC guardian teachers, one Head of Department (HoD) and one school principal were the participants of the study. Data was generated through document analysis, individual interviews, questionnaires and observations. Documents such as, the Educational Act of 2001, School Development Plan [SDP] of 2008, Regulations made under Educational Act of 2001 were used to gather and triangulate information, specifically on how learner leadership was promoted in the policy documents. Individual interviews were conducted with the HoD who was the former acting principal, the principal, and one LRC guardian teacher to find out their understanding of learner leadership in the school, as well as leadership development opportunities for the LRC. Questionnaires were administered to the 13 LRC members and the 2 LRC guardian teachers. This was done to understand the current condition of leadership development opportunities for the LRC in the school. To get a holistic picture of LRC voice and leadership in the school, observation was also very useful in this study because it enabled the researcher; during the eight-week period the researcher spent in the school, to look afresh at everyday behaviour that otherwise might be taken for granted. Data generated were inductively analysed using content analysis. Data revealed that learner leadership was largely understood as managerial roles carried out by the LRC in the school. Unlike many schools in Namibia, this case-study school offered numerous leadership development opportunities for the LRC. The community networking events such as: School Exchange Programmes, Town Council breakfast and Junior Regional Council, were opportunities offered to the LRC to solicit information, exchange ideas and discuss matters of common interest with the LRCs of the fully established schools. However, there were a number of challenges that constrained LRC voice and leadership development, the major one being the fact that this was a newly established school.