LEADERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT AND RELATED EXPERIENCE
1. Briefly refer to some of the positions of leadership you have held and indicate how they have equipped you for the position/ post for which you applied.
2. What are the most important leadership skills you think a deputy principal/ principal must possess?
3. What positions of control and administration have you held and suggest how they equip you for this post?
4. What goals would you set for this school and how would you go about achieving them?
5. How would you involve all role players in decision-making e.g. care of school equipment and buildings, dress code, extracurricular activities?
6. What steps would you take to improve educator morale at your school?
7. This school is a poor and under resourced school, what ideas have you to improve the situation should you be appointed to the post?
8. What is the role of the Governing Body in the life of the school? 9. Given the cut-backs in education, what ideas/ plans do you have to keep a poorly resourced school operation?
B. ORGANISATIONAL ABILITY AND EXPERIENCE
1. Outline briefly why you choose to apply for this post considering the new challenges facing senior management in schools today.
2. Give details of how you planned and organised some professional activities/ community events over the past two years and the role you played in ensuring its success.
3. Taking in to account your organisational experience how would you handle the problem of lack of basic material resources in your school?
4. What are some of the important factors in determining the educator establishment of a school and how would you identify an excess educator?
5. What do you understand by delegation and what are some of the important principles for effective delegation?
6. What step would you take to improve the level of commitment of educators at your school and develop a dedicated staff?
7. What part does the principal play in promoting and developing good school governance?
8. There are many ways in which schools can raised funds, what are some of the important considerations for successful fund-raising by school?
9. How would you plan and develop a budget for your school?
C. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND INSIGHT
1. Do you perceive a problem in respect of the culture of teaching and learning in our schools? If so, what methods would you employ at this school to turn it around/ improve it should you be appointed to the post?
2. Outline in general terms what you see as the main challenges facing principals’/ deputy principals these days in respect of encouraging an ethic of teaching and learning.
3. What are some important measures and strategies you would utilise to promote the professional development of your staff?
4. How would you go about inducting new educators in your school?
5. What are your thoughts on a professional code of conduct for educators?
6. What steps would you take to improve the Senior Certificate Examination results in a school that has performed badly the previous years?
7. What mechanism would you consider essential to address the culture of learner indiscipline in our schools?
8. Comment on some recent developments in education focusing particularly on these having an influence on your functions as principals.
9. What is school development?
10. Briefly describe your level of competency for the post for which you have applied and steps you are taking to improve your competency.
D. LEADERSHIP: COMMUNITY RELATED
1. How would you proceed in arriving at a decision on a thorny school issue? E.g. school fees, purchase of text books, admission of pupils.
2. What initiatives would you take to build capacity in parents to use their new powers under the SASA effectively?
3. To what extent, and how would you involve all role players in decision making in the community?
4. How important is community involvement for a school principal/ deputy principal? Does your own community involvement meet the standards you have identified? Discuss.
5. Why in your opinion, is parental involvement an important consideration in staff selection and promotion?
6. In terms of the south Africa’s Schools Act, how would you involve parents as stakeholders to play a more meaningful role in the education of their children?
7. What are the most leadership skills a principal/ deputy principal should have with regard to interacting with the community?
8. Indicate some of the important positions of leadership you have held in the community and explain how this experience would help you in this post?
E. PERSONALITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS
1. What would you regard as your single most important personal attribute and educate how this attribute will help you to function effectively in the post for which you applied?
2. Recall a person in education who has had a positive influence on your career, explain briefly how and why this person influenced your career.
3. How would you go about promoting and developing a vibrant culture of teaching and learning in your school?
4. Describe briefly your involvement in a case requiring your guidance and pastoral support to a colleague and how that experience could enable you to function effectively in your new post.
5. Reflect on some of your experiences that have considerable enhanced your professional integrity.
