Managing teacher absenteeism: Lessons from independent primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa

Teacher Absenteeism in South Africa

“…It is evident that in developing countries, the poor work ethos of teachers in the system impacts on attendance (Bipath et al 2019). Teachers are not committed to the norms, principles, and laws of their profession and its codes of conduct (South African Council for Educators-SACE).…”

“…Haberman (2005), as well as Ervasti et al (2011), reinforces this opinion by acknowledging that teaching is very demanding and that the teacher is required to be highly attentive to carry out his/her responsibilities efficiently. In South Africa, stress may emanate from a number of contextual and situational factors: national protests, dealing with social issues, governance concerns, and in general, change and transformation, of culture, curriculum, and practice (Bipath et al 2019). Perhaps, school leaders and departments of education could think about providing employment wellness clinics for clusters of schools in order to combat stress in teachers.…”

“…Teacher absenteeism in general, and particularly in primary schools, is a serious concern in South Africa, whose struggles for freedom have unfolded into struggles for democratic rights, equity, and education. Whatever analyses of teacher absenteeism have been done have tended to focus primarily on public schools, and few studies (mostly untested media reports) have been conducted on the full range of schools, including independent and private schools (Reddy et al 2010;Bush et al 2011;Bipath et al 2019).…”

Health-promoting leadership in education: Relevance to teachers in township schools

“…According to Milner and Khoza (2008:4), teachers' stress levels are extremely high, and it seems that little has been done in the education sector to combat or ameliorate this issue. Moreover, the DBE has been struggling with a high rate of teacher absenteeism, negligence of duties and alcohol abuse (Bipath et al, 2019), which have a negative impact on teaching and learning and the academic performance of learners. Research by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (Fengu, 2017) found that 40% of teaching time is wasted due to teacher absenteeism and teachers skipping class.…”