Paddling not to sink: School management teams’ instructional leadership challenges and strategic responses in the decline of students’ performance in National Senior Certificate Examinations in South African secondary schools

Abstract

This study investigated the school management teams’ (SMTs’) instructional leadership challenges and strategic responses to the decline in students’ performance on National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in three South African secondary schools. Anchored in an interpretive paradigm, the research employed a qualitative multiple-case study design and conducted semi‑structured interviews with purposively selected three principals, deputy principals, and departmental heads. In the selected schools, the thematic analysis demonstrated that principals’ segregation among stakeholders and SMT members’ lack of motivation to engage in academic activities cause a decline in students’ academic performance. Despite these challenges, the findings further revealed that SMTs continue to implement strategies such as inviting motivational speakers and providing learner rewards to curb and address students’ declining achievement. This study concludes that the SMTs’ role in sustaining students’ academic performance requires greater dedication, consistent improvement in classroom instruction, genuine collaboration among stakeholders, and the intentional cultivation of learners’ intrinsic motivation, for which principals in the SMTs are the focal point. Although this inquiry is grounded in the South African context, it offers lessons for international discussions on how school management can negatively influence student performance and how it can respond to it.