A formative intervention for developing Learner Representative Council (LRC) voice and leadership in a newly established school in Namibia

Abstract

This is a qualitative interventionist case study within a critical paradigm aiming to intervene in order to develop learner voice and leadership within the Learner Representative Council (LRC) members of a newly established school. This is Phase Two and is a continuation of a study published in Namibia Educational Reform Forum Journal, Volume 30(1), August 2022, „Learner Representative Council Voice and Leadership in a Newly Established School in Namibia‟ which was Phase One. The finding from Phase One prompted the researcher to conduct Phase Two of the study. The study used one of the formative intervention methods within a critical paradigm. Within this paradigm, critical researchers aim at unpacking the structural, historical and political aspects of reality in order to arrive at change that is emancipatory in nature. To promote change in the leadership of the newly established school the study followed the steps of expansive learning cycle. The data for this phase were generated during the three Change Laboratory workshops with 13 LRC members and 1 LRC guardian teacher, as well as from a focus group interview conducted after the Change Laboratory, with 9 LRC members. The Change Laboratory method was used to provide an answer to an over-arching question: In what ways can LRC participation in a Change Laboratory process contribute to their leadership development? Data generated were deductively analysed, using the activity theoretical principles of the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and double stimulation. Of significance was that LRC participation in the Change Laboratory process contributed positively to the development of voice and leadership in learners. During the Change Laboratory process, the LRC developed a new artefact – the vision and mission statement of the school – this signified that the learners expansively transformed the object of their activity. Recommendation emerging out of the study included that the School Management Team (SMT) see the „newly established‟ status of the school as an opportunity for development, rather than a limitation, and therefore invite the LRC to participate in the different leadership practices as the school becomes established.