Autonomous leadership as a school principal yield good fruit. Phuti Ragophala | South Africa

I was invited by Global School Leadership on the 5th of November 2024, to share my journey toward becoming a pioneer in digital technology and how autonomous leadership played a role. and the consequences i faced and how i resolved them.

I shared my journey and best practices as a former school principal who led with authentic passion—not just by job description or appointed authority, but beyond the mandate. During my years at Pula Madibogo Primary School in Mankweng, Polokwane, I embraced autonomous leadership, focusing on empowerment and community involvement until my retirement.

I shared ideas how my approach can inspire global policymakers in education and its potential for broader implementation. I believe that a bottom-up approach in school leadership, rooted in independence and collaboration, is essential. The traditional top-down model, often directive in nature, doesn't always yield the best outcomes. Mutual collaboration and shared decision-making can bring more meaningful results.

This is my story in short

Im Phuti Ragophala from South Africa. I will be sharing good practices based on my journey toward becoming a pioneer in digital technology and how autonomous leadership played a role.

(ROUND ONE)

1.What lead to this journey?

As a public school teacher, you couldn't implement or start a project without a mandate from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or the government.

However, after my appointment as a school principal in 2005, my leadership approach changed. I realized that if I cannot use my own discretion in leadership, my objectives about my role as a principal won't be fulfilled and met properly.

The first action I took was to conduct a situational analysis of the community where the school is located. This helped me understand the community I worked in, the careers needed in the village for development, and the kind of natural resources that the community has so that I and my team through teaching and learning, can provide learners with employable skills or the possibility of creating their own jobs for the brighter future.

Technology integration in teaching and learning: I introduced the integration of technology in teaching and learning after I got trained from MASTEC institution initiated by the former MEC for education Dr. Aaron Motswaledi.

  But introducing it to learners in the schoolyard through cellphones,  became a challenge because cellphones were not allowed as resources in the schoolyard and classroom. I started by using my one cellphone for a class of 65 learners. It was stressful.  

 Given the restriction against cell phones in schools during working hours, I then partnered with the nearby University of Limpopo to access their tech lab, to use weekends and school holidays to teach learners how to utilize technology resources to enhance their studies, engage with global learners and teachers through platforms like Skype (promoting global citizenship), and learn basic coding using Microsoft programs during weekends and school holidays (essential 4IR skills). I got a lot of support from Microsoft, Coza Cares, School Net, all these NGO's. They also sponsored my overtrips to attend forums to learn more, so that transfer the skills to both teachers and learners South Africa. I together with my colleagues started to train local school principals and their teachers on how to use tech tools in teaching and learning.. They started to use keyboards to write notes, set questions for tests, write letters, browse various webs to learn, and collaborate with international schools for more knowledge and quality education.

By the time DBE gave a mandate,  our school including many local schools was far in ICT knowledge because of our inspiration.

 2.Did autonomous leadership play a role:

Yes, Very Much.

“I always lead from a position of authentic passion, not from appointed power”  J. Douglas or job description.

I was one of the first to redefine teaching and learning through technology resources using cell phones and other digital gadgets even though we were not mandated to do so.. Learners and teachers started integrating teaching and learning with tech tools long ago, They learnt to Skype and do remote learning for collaborative projects long far back , before COVID 19

We phased out chalk and chalkboard and replaced by overhead projectors and few laptops

Gradually phased out papers and printing machines by installing an LED running word machine in the schoolyard to run school messages. As such the school street was turned into the main street for parents to get updated. Safed money for ink machines, papers, maintenance of offroll machines….

Teachers started to use keyboards to write notes, flash classwork over the overhead projector, set questions for tests, prepare school progress reports, write letters, browse various webs to learn, and collaborate with international schools for more knowledge and quality education through skype. They were the front runners in teaching with ICT tools. Teachers' and learners' level of confidence rocketed so high. Ownership of the school by parents was amazing. The school became a school of choice where leadership was based on excellence

3. How does empowering school leaders and teachers contribute to innovation in education?

Submission of the reports was digitalized

Running of school meetings was done either online or face-to-face

Gradually phased out chalk and chalkboard

Gradually phased-out papers and printing machines

They started to use keyboards to write notes, set questions for tests, prepare school progress reports, write letters, browse various webs to learn, and collaborate with international schools for more knowledge and quality education through Skype. They were the front runners in teaching with ICT tools. Their level of confidence rocketed so high.

During COVID 19 they continued teaching and learning remotely even if the doors of the classrooms were shut down because they already had experience through Skype.

4. Can you share specific examples of these autonomous examples that benefitted students and inspired new teaching methods?

After using Skype to conduct remote teaching and learning, more especially during COVID19, we started to see the mushrooming of meeting platforms like Zooms, and Teams. Google etc to be used in remote teaching that I, long started some years back. (Teaching methods)Many schools now are either hybrid or virtual

Our school was cited as the Epitome of excellence and quality leadership by the Department of Education

Above that, DBE in SA approved the inclusivity of Coding programs to be integrated into the National Curriculum Statement, something that I talked about and did it long time ago and it is still going on even in my retirement time.(14th June 2014 Gazette by the government)

To put a cherry on top: I too benefitted by inspiring new methods of teaching and learning in school. To both teachers and students.:

This initiative led to my recognition as one of the 2023 recipients of The Presidential National Order of Baobab and a Citation Scroll signed by the President of South Africa for being a visionary leader in redefining teaching and learning through technology resources to benefit teachers and students. ( 2023 i was Awarded the National Order of Baobab by The Hon President Cyril Ramaphosa. I quote my citation signed by him "For her contribution in the field of education and demonstrating the need to move with times by promoting technological awareness and advancement to both teachers and students"

President to Honour Retired Teacher with Silver Award of the Order of Baobab

5. Why are these stories of just a few, now the case for all?

"It's not easy to be a pathfinder, trailblazer, and change-maker. That's why it's for the few, but the case study is for all". Phuti Ragophala

This is quite a difficult question. From the start, “I have always led from a position of authentic passion, not from appointed power” J. Douglas. My work was not based on the job description per say.

According to me, some leaders, myself included, are risk takers, self-driven, not ordinary risks but calculated risks, not afraid of standing alone, a touch of insanity, the insanity that is coupled with a vision of seeing things to come (The Art of seeing what is invisible to others as quoted by Jonathan Swift) and the passion to start implementing them now without the mandate.

Round 2

How do we prepare school leaders for autonomy?

ü Develop sound  leadership skills

ü Striving for excellence at all times

ü Teamwork and self-driven leadership

ü Value-based education

ü A culture of continuous learning and serving-CPTD. In 2021 and 2022 I registered for Short Learning Courses on Creative Coding and Robotics,, and passed. I also register artificial intelligence and past.

ü Prioritizing student's future

ü Be ready to adapt to new situations

ü Don't resist change

ü Move with time

I am a living testimony. But the cons, thereof are horrible.(Isolation, sadness, depression, unpopular , doubtful, derogative names etc..but I became humble but assertive towards my goals. But the end product part of it is like WOW!

Conclusion

I firmly believe in the importance of being an autonomous school principal, a self-driven leader, who is accountable and responsible for educational transformation and adding value to the lives of youths and communities as a whole for a brighter future THROUGH EDUCATION..

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