SCHOOL MANAGERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE OCCURRENCE OF UPWARD BULLYING IN PUBLIC AND INDEPENDENT GAUTENG SECONDARY SCHOOLS – IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
by
CIDALIA MARIA DOS SANTOS OLIVIER
MINOR–DISSERTATION
submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS
in
EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
in the
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
at the
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
SUPERVISOR : Prof BR Grobler
May 2012 DEDICATION
This mini-dissertation is dedicated to my husband, Rynardt Gideon Olivier, for all his support, encouragement and all the moral support that he gave me in studying for and working towards this degree.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My children, Jason, Lauren and Micaela.
My mother, Maria Amelia Jordao.
My sister, Dr Anabela Nascimento and her husband José Nascimento.
My supervisor, Professor BR. Grobler for all of his guidance, patience and uncanny ability to recognise my eternal optimism whilst attempting to dodge all the bullets by suggesting that sentences would be more appropriate.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND, AIMS OF STUDY AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.1 INTRODUCTION 9
1.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 13
1.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHOD 13
1.4.1 Research design 13 1.4.2 Research method 14 1.4.3 Data collection and analysis 15 1.4.4 Demarcation of research 16
1.5 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION 16
1.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 16
1.7 BENEFITS OF THE RESEARCH 17
1.8 CONCLUSION 18
CHAPTER TWO - A LITERATURE STUDY TO ELUCIDATE THE COMPONENTS CONTAINED IN THE CONSTRUCT OF UPWARD BULLYING
2.1 INTRODUCTION 19
2.2 DEFINING BULLYING 20
2.2.1 Types of bullying 21 2.2.1.1 Pressure bullying 21 2.2.2 Statutory framework 23
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2.2.2.1 The Constitution 24 2.2.2.2 Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 25 2.2.2.3 Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998 25 2.2.2.4 Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 27 2.2.2.5 Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 27 2.2.2.6 South African Council of Educators Act 31 of 2000 29 2.2.2.7 The South African School’s Act 84 of 1996 29
2.3 DEFINING WORKPLACE BULLYING 30
2.3.2 Bullying tactics 32
2.4 DEFINING UPWARD BULLYING 32
2.4.1 The bully 33 2.4.1.1 Sociopathic or psychopathic bullies 33 2.4.1.2 ‘Self-boosting’ bullies 34 2.4.1.3 Socially incompetent bullies 34 2.4.1.4 ‘Micro-political’ bullies 34 2.4.1.5 ‘Pass the parcel’ bullies 34 2.4.2 THE VICTIM 35 2.4.2.1 Vulnerability to becoming a target of a bully 35 2.4.2.2 Characteristics of a victim 35 2.4.3 THE BULLYING CULTURE 36
2.4.4 THE BYSTANDERS 36
2.5 FACTORS/REASONS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO UPWARD BULLYING 37
2.5.1 LEADERSHIP, POWER AND AUTHORITY 37 2.5.1.1 Leadership 37 2.5.1.2 Power 38 2.5.1.3 Authority 40 2.5.2 PERSONALITY 43 2.5.2.1 Fundamental characteristics of personality 43 2.5.2.2 Personality types 43 2.5.3 RESENTMENT 44
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2.5.4 VOICING DISSATISFACTION 44
2.5.5 POWER AND CONTROL 44
2.5.6 SOCIAL IDENTITY 45
2.5.7 ORGANISATIONAL UNCERTAINTY 45
2.5.8 GENDER 45
2.5.9 ETHNICITY 45
2.5.10 AGE 45
2.6 HOW UPWARD BULLYING IS MANIFESTED/EXPERIENCED 46
2.7 WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES/IMPACT OF UPWARD BULLYING? 47
2.7.1 LOSS OF SELF-ESTEEM 47
2.7.2 ISOLATION 47
2.7.3 ILL HEALTH 47
2.8 CONCLUSION 47
CHAPTER THREE - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION 49
3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 49
3.2.1 RESEARCH METHOD 49
3.2.2 DATA COLLECTION 50
3.2.3 DATA ANALYSIS 51 3.2.3.1 Factor analysis 51 3.2.3.2 Monte Carlo analysis 52 3.2.3.3 Reliability of the empirical factors 52
3.3 RESEARCH QUALITY 52
3.3.1 RELIABILITY 53
3.3.2 VALIDITY 53 3.3.2.1 Criterion validity 53 3.3.2.2 Content validity 54
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3.3.2.3 Construct validity 54
3.4 CONCLUSION 55
CHAPTER FOUR - DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODUCTION 56
4.2 RELIABILITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE 56
4.3 VALIDITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE 57
4.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS 57
4.4.1 GENDER 58
4.4.2 AGE 58
4.4.3 TYPE OF SCHOOL 58
4.4.4 POPULATION GROUP 58
4.4.5 HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION 58
4.4.6 MARITAL STATUS 59
4.4.7 WELL-RESOURCED SCHOOL 59
4.4.8 PRESENT POST OCCUPIED 59
4.4.9 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION 59
4.5 INFRENTIAL STATISTICS 60
4.5.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO INDEPENDENT GROUPS 63 4.5.1.1 Gender (A1) 65 4.5.1.2 Population groups (A4) 65 4.5.1.3 Marital status groups (A6) 67 4.5.2.1 Present post level occupied 68
4.6 SECTION C OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 70
4.7 CONCLUSION 77
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CHAPTER FIVE - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION 79
5.2 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS 81
5.2.1 EXPLAIN THE ESSENCE OF UPWARD BULLYING AND THE INFLUENCE THAT IT
CAN HAVE ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SCHOOL. 81
5.2.2 HOW UPWARD BULLYING MANIFESTS ITSELF IN GAUTENG SECONDARY
SCHOOLS BY PROBING THE PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATORS 81
5.2.3 CLARIFY THE POSSIBLE IMPACT AND THE REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF
UPWARD BULLYING AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE VICTIM. 82
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 82
5.3.1 RECOMMENDATION 1 82
5.3.2 RECOMMENDATION 2 83
5.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS 83
BIBLIOGRAPHY 85
APPENDICES 89
Appendix A: Gauteng Department of Education approval to conduct research 90 Appendix B: Letter to principals 92 Appendix C: Questionnaire 93
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND, AIMS OF STUDY AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the research is to obtain school managers’ perceptions of the occurrence of upward bullying in Public and Independent Gauteng Secondary Schools and what implications upward bullying will have on the management of the school.
Historically bullying has always been associated with children and was mainly practised by them in the classroom and on playgrounds. Today bullying extends beyond these arenas and has habituated the staffroom as well as the school administrative offices.
The educational system has undergone total transformation and restructuring in the last fourteen years. For example, our educational system moved from a multiple system to a single non-racial system that has brought about many important and challenging changes to education (Rossouw, 2008:7).
In 1993, the Education Labour Relations Act 146 of 1993 was passed. This had a significant impact on educators as far as their labour rights were concerned. For the first time, educators were given certain labour rights that previously did not exist.
According to Bray (2008:1), the introduction and the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 (hereafter Constitution) which includes in Chapter Two a Bill of Rights, means that South Africa has turned its back on the past and that the changes being brought about are both fundamental and irreversible. Section 12 of the Bill of Rights as entrenched in the Constitution deals with security of the person and provides that everyone has the right to freedom
9 | P a g e and security which includes the right to be free from any form of violence, not to be tortured in any way and not to be treated or punished in a cruel or inhumane or degrading way.
Managers of schools need to be knowledgeable and adequately trained to face the many challenges which they are confronted with on a daily basis. In past years the educational world has been infested with bullying behaviour, especially at school level. Managers of schools would bully staff members and staff members would bully management. The latter can be referred to as being upward bullying.
Bush (2003:1) states that educational management is a field of study and practice that is concerned with the operation of educational organisations. Managers of schools need to at all times remain focused on the aims and objectives of the institution which they lead. In order for this to be achieved, the leader needs to remain objective and impartial when making decisions. Yukl (2002:3) defines leadership as follows “Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a social influence process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person [or group] over people [or groups] to structure the activities and relationships in a group or organization.”
Leaders’ decisions are very often influenced by the actions of other people. Cuban’s (1988:193) definition of leadership clearly highlights this when he says “Leadership, then refers to people who bend the motivations and actions of others to achieving certain goals; it implies taking initiatives and risks”. Being the target or victim of upward bullying will impact on the leader’s ability to lead as the leader will be hesitant to take initiative or risks for fear of increasing the likelihood of being subjected to further bullying.
The researcher is of the opinion that the proposed research topic will be of benefit to all educational organisation leaders as “knowledge and power are inextricably intertwined” (Foucault, 1966 in Ritzer, 2008: 607). Leaders in schools cannot allow themselves to be victims of upward bullying as this will directly impact their ability to make decisions. If leaders can identify instances of upward bullying at an early stage, they can better manage the situation and lessen the potential impact thereof on the organisation. An understanding by school management, including
10 | P a g e the School Governing Body, of how school managers perceive the occurrence of upward bullying should lead to the implementation of policies and procedures by the School Governing Body dealing with instances of bullying. This will not only empower management to act decisively but could also act as a deterrent to potential bullies. Immediate action taken when upward bullying occurs could further reduce the instances thereof.
1.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
According to Field (1999:1) bullying is defined as follows, “Bullying is a compulsive need to displace aggression and is achieved by the expression of inadequacy (social, personal, interpersonal, behavioural, and professional) by projection of that inadequacy onto others through control and subjugation (criticism, exclusion, and isolation, etcetera). Bullying is sustained by abdication of responsibility (denial, counter accusation, pretence of victimhood) and perpetuated by a climate of fear, ignorance, indifference, silence, denial, disbelief, deception, evasion of accountability, tolerance and reward (for example, promotion) for the bully”.
Anon.(2009).http://www.bullyonline.org/action/policy.htm, makes a fundamental statement when it states that bullying should not be confused with “tough management” or any other popular euphemisms that are employed to dismiss, diminish, rationalise or justify bullying behaviour. According to Hayward (2009:1), bullying might not be physical in nature, but subtle and not so visible.
Upward bullying is where managers are the targets of bullies. According to Branch et al. (2005:15), upward bullying is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is often triggered by power and dependency. One of the most relevant factors in upward bullying is the level of dependency that a manager will have on his/her staff based on their level of expertise and experience or valuable information that they may possess. The higher this dependency by the manager on his staff, the higher the level of power the staff member will be able to exercise over the manager, and possibly bully him/her as well.
Managers in educational organisations should have the knowledge and skill to be able to identify upward bullying and in addition minimise any damage caused
11 | P a g e through prompt action in terms of a well-defined policy. A clearly defined and solid strategy for the reduction and prevention of upward bullying should also be in place.
School managers and their management teams are potential targets of upward bullying. Upward bullying is when a teacher targets and harasses a school manager or one of the management team members, in other words, “when the boss is being bullied”. Branch (2007:2) says that upward bullying is not like other forms of work place bullying. It is often more subtle and less obvious to the other staff. It can include more aggressive behaviour such as yelling, verbal threats and confrontational phone conversations. Through extensive reading on sociological theories, psychological aspects of human behaviour, the foundations of law and educational law, human rights in education and the educator’s guide to labour law, this researcher has observed that not much research has been done on upward bullying in South Africa.
Furthermore, a teacher will normally display behaviour of upward bullying when he or she feels disgruntled by change, such as, new working conditions or management or processes for which they feel the school manager or one of the management team is responsible. School managers will often more willingly accept bullying from subordinates if the bully occupies a position which would be difficult to fill, for example a married woman with a wealthy husband who demands only teaching duties in her subject (mathematics to Grade 12 learners). Thus, fear of the potential negative consequences to the operational ability of the school by standing up to the bully is a factor in the acceptance of upward bullying.
School management should have the knowledge and skill to be able to identify upward bullying and in addition minimise any damage caused through prompt action in terms of a well-defined policy. A clearly defined and solid strategy for the reduction and prevention of upward bullying should also be in place. This is based on anecdotal evidence that upward bullying does occur at secondary schools in the Johannesburg area of Gauteng.
It is thus important that evidence be collected to support the notion that upward bullying does exist within the research target population. Leaders at selected
12 | P a g e schools will be surveyed to establish instances of upward bullying experienced and their perceptions to the occurrence thereof and possible implications for school management where it does occur. This researcher is also aware that managers will not readily admit that they are victims of bullying behaviour as it may reflect negatively on their leadership positions.
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to pinpoint the perception of school managers of the occurrence of upward bullying in Gauteng secondary schools and the implications thereof for school management. The research question is: Are school managers perceptive to the occurrence of upward bullying in Gauteng Secondary Schools and what are the implications for school management? This research study will attempt to explore and investigate the essence of upward bullying and how upward bullying manifests itself in Gauteng Secondary Schools.
The research will:
Explain the essence of upward bullying and the influence that it can have on the leadership of the school;
How upward bullying manifests itself in Gauteng Secondary Schools by probing the perceptions of educators; and
Clarify the possible impact and the reasons for the occurrence of upward bullying and how it affects the target.
1.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHOD
1.4.1 Research design
The research design is conducted within a positivistic paradigm. The key focus of positivism is to search for contextual and organizational variables which will cause organizational actions. The goal of the positivistic paradigm is to uncover truths and facts quantitatively. The nature of knowledge of the positivism paradigm is to have verified hypotheses, involving valid, reliable and precisely measured
13 | P a g e variables; thus the criteria for assessing research is that the prediction will equal the explanation. According to Fox and Bayat (2007:6) a hypothesis may be defined as a presumption, expectation or statement about anticipated findings.
The hypotheses of this research is that the majority of managers in schools experience some form of upward bullying through the actions, behaviours and attitudes of persons such as Departmental officials, teaching staff and parents. The dependent variables will be the various factors that are involved in the construct of upward bullying as identified by an analysis of the perceptions that school leaders have about it. The independent variables will be the various independent groups that the respondents belong to. This paradigm was chosen to gauge the participants’ insight, feelings and reactions and behaviour towards their subordinates’ behaviour to them. Fox and Bayat (2007:7) say that “quantitative research concerns things that can be counted. One of its most common disciplines is the use of statistics to process and explain data and to summarise findings. In general, quantitative research is concerned with systematic measurement, statistical analysis and methods of experimentation.”
This research is a form of quasi-experimental research as the participants were assigned to a particular condition by stating it on the questionnaire. The respondents were not randomly assigned to gender, age or background as they already belonged to this condition. The research is quasi-experimental in the sense that the participants score on the independent variable was determined. As the condition of the independent variable changes so participants’ scores on the dependent variable change. The researcher thus presumes that as the independent variables change that this causes the participants’ behaviour to change and the dependent variable measures that behaviour. Thus different independent groups should have differing perceptions about the construct of downward bullying (Heiman, 2001: 44).
1.4.2 Research method
The researcher made use of the survey research method. Questionnaires, telephone surveys and personal interviews are the most common survey
14 | P a g e techniques available. For the purpose of this research, the researcher only made use of questionnaires.
According to Fox and Bayat (2007:87) survey research involves data being collected by means of set pre-formulated questions, in a predetermined sequence in a structured questionnaire, to be given to a sample of individuals drawn so as to be the representatives of a given population.
The questionnaire was divided into three sections. Section A was the demographic questionnaire. Section B contained 20 closed questions under the heading “The school manager’s personal perception of upward bullying”. Section C of the questionnaire contained one open question, “What do you understand by the term ‘upward bullying’?”. The research thus followed a combination of quantitative and qualitative approach which commonly uses triangulation to see if research findings correlate with one another.
1.4.3 Data collection and analysis
The researcher selected thirty schools in the Johannesburg area of Gauteng. Twenty of the schools selected were public schools of which ten were former Model C type schools. The remaining ten schools were independent schools.
Each school was given a set of 15 questionnaires that had to be completed by the management of the school, i.e. the Principal, the Deputy Principal and Heads of Department.
The researcher attempted to achieve a fair geographic spread in the selection of schools. The researcher struggled with access to the schools selected as the research population were generally uncooperative. Due to the poor response levels and apathetic approach displayed, only 24 schools were successfully surveyed.
The researcher made use of STATKON at the University of Johannesburg to analyse the data collected from the questionnaires. All the questions were analysed using the SPSS 20.0 programme.
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1.4.4 Demarcation of research
The research for this study was conducted in thirty schools in the Johannesburg area of Gauteng Province.
1.5 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
According to Peyton (2003:38) bullying at work can be defined as, “persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, abuse of power or unfair penal sanctions which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable, which undermines their self-confidence and which may cause them to suffer stress”.
According to Einarsen et al. (2003:32) bullying in the work place has been found to have a significant impact on and consequences for those who are targeted, those who witness it and the organisation. The consequences of bullying at work for those targeted can range from physical to psychological stresses.
Upward bullying according to Branch (2000:4) is when the target of the bully is the manager. In other words, a manager is subjected to bullying by their staff.
1.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The researcher ensured that the participants were made aware of certain ethical considerations when conducting research. According to Fox and Bayat (2007:148) ethics in research involves getting the informed consent of those that are being questioned. Informed consent implies an understanding by the interviewee of the purpose, format and role of the interview in the data collection process and the contribution that the participant’s answers will make to the survey.
The first step taken by the researcher was to phone each Principal from the 30 schools and introduced herself and explained the research that was to be conducted.
A letter from the researcher was attached to each questionnaire that was handed out. This letter explained to all participants the ethical principles, the aim and the
16 | P a g e procedures of the entire research. In the letter, the participants were also informed that their participation was totally voluntary and they had the freedom to withdraw from participating in the research at any time and without the possibility of any penalty. The participants were also informed of the full procedure and of any risks involved in participating in the research and that their consent was required to participate. The participants were assured of the confidentiality of their replies and that their identities would remain anonymous throughout the research. The participants were also informed that feedback would be provided after the study.
A copy of the consent document to carry out the research issued by the Provincial Office of Gauteng of the Department of Education was also attached to the questionnaire.
1.7 BENEFITS OF THE RESEARCH
The research will either provide evidence that supports the hypothesis or evidence to the contrary that upward bullying does take place at schools surveyed. It will furthermore indicate how these instances manifested and were experienced by school managers and their reaction thereto.
Primary beneficiaries of the research will be school leaders and their management teams. The research will define the concept of upward bullying, confirm or provide evidence that its existence is unlikely, and indicate to school management how it has, if at all, manifested within the schools surveyed for this research. Bullying has long been recognised as an evil which should be dealt with at first occurrence in order to minimise the possible impact thereof and to attempt to change the behaviour of the alleged bully.
The research will do exactly this for school management in respect of upward bullying. Management will be empowered to identify instances of upward bullying when it occurs, as they will have a clear definition of upward bullying and can possibly relate their experiences with those recorded by respondents to the research survey.
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1.8 CONCLUSION
In this chapter the topic, i.e. upward bullying, was introduced, some background information provided, the aim of the study was formulated and the research methodology used explained.
The research was conducted to obtain school managers’ perceptions of the occurrence of upward bullying in Public and Independent Secondary Schools in the Johannesburg area of Gauteng and what the implications of upward bullying are on the management of a school.
Prior to analysing research results, a literature study of certain key concepts at the foundation of the research conducted is an absolute necessity. In addition, the researcher is of the opinion that school managers should have a good understanding of what the term bullying is and specifically what is meant by upward bullying, how it manifests and what the consequences thereof are. Chapter 2 will clarify the above in some detail.
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CHAPTER 2
A LITERATURE STUDY TO ELUCIDATE THE COMPONENTS CONTAINED IN THE CONSTRUCT OF UPWARD BULLYING
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In our world today, the need for power and the realm of power is no longer just at the head of an institution. In a school environment power no longer only lies in the headmaster’s office. There is a need for power by head of departments, by teachers, by learners, by parents.
According to Morgan (1988:162), power is the medium through which conflicts of interest are resolved. Power influences “who gets what, when and how”. In view of the latter, power can be viewed in many different ways. A parent who donates money to the school can be perceived to be a powerful person because the money he donated may be able to influence important decision-making in the school. Many will believe that if they are able to intimidate another person then they are powerful.
One would expect the power, as a form of legitimate authority, to be at the top of an organisation. In this instance, the organisation will be a school and at the top of the organisational hierarchy will be the principal who has the legitimate authority to “get the teachers to do what they may otherwise not have done”. Power is thus probably more correctly seen as the potential that a leader has to influence other people. However, it is also possible that others lower in the hierarchy may possess the potential to influence decisions taken by school leadership. One could also argue that there are many sources of power and that in a public school, where control of resources and the use of rules and regulations via legislative act are the main sources of power, that the real source of power can even lie outside the management structure of the school.
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In order to develop the construct of upward bullying this researcher will discuss bullying, workplace bullying, upward bullying, the concepts of the bully and the victim, the bullying culture, the bystanders, the factors/reasons that contribute to upward bullying, how upward bullying is manifested/experienced and what the consequences / impact of upward bullying are.
The above terms will be researched, defined and explained comprehensively. The researcher’s main aim is to obtain deeper insight regarding the term “upward bullying”. Hence the researcher will be able to analyse what is contained in the construct of upward bullying and hence operationalise it so that the perceptions of school management can be obtained.
2.2 DEFINING BULLYING
According to Field (1999:1) bullying is defined as follows, “Bullying is a compulsive need to displace aggression and is achieved by the expression of inadequacy (social, personal, interpersonal, behavioural, and professional) by projection of that inadequacy onto others through control and subjugation (criticism, exclusion, isolation etc.). Bullying is sustained by abdication of responsibility (denial, counter accusation, pretence of victimhood) and perpetuated by a climate of fear, ignorance, indifference, silence, denial, disbelief, deception and perpetuated by a climate of fear, ignorance, indifference, silence, denial, disbelief, deception, evasion of accountability, tolerance and reward (e.g. promotion) for the bully.”
Bullying has become more prevalent and open over the last few years. More attention is being given to bullying and what it actually is. Bullying is a form of physical and emotional abuse. According to Smith and Sharp (1994) bullying can also be described as “the systematic abuse of power”. It is often found that bullies usually occupy positions that involve having some form of power.
According to Hayward (2009:1), bullying might not be physical in nature, but subtle and not so visible. This makes bullying a construct that is difficult to measure but does not prevent people from forming perceptions about it. This researcher will attempt to probe these perceptions in order to obtain their view or judgment about upward bulling.
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2.2.1 Types of bullying
There are many types of bullying, such as:
2.2.1.1 Pressure bullying – a stressful situation which could cause one’s behaviour to deteriorate, such as to become short tempered, irritated and it may lead to shouting and swearing at others. For example, pressure is placed on school principals when legislation forces them to implement performance measurement and the resulting assessment of lesson observation can cause teachers to react in an aggressive way towards the principal.
2.2.1.2 Client bullying – this type of bullying occurs where teachers are bullied by parents and pupils. An example of client bullying is where a wealthy parent who is a large contributor to the school’s fundraising efforts expects that his son will be selected for the first rugby team even when his son lacks the ability to participate at that level. The parent clearly communicates to the coach and the school that the real possibility exists that he would have to withdraw his current donation and cancel or drastically restrict future donations if his son is not selected. This in turn places pressure on the coach, who will possibly be torn between the best interest of the school and selection according to meritorious performance.
2.2.1.3 Serial bullying – this is probably the most common type of bullying. It is a situation where one person picks on one individual, destroys him/her and moves on to the next. Here the bully seems to gain confidence by successfully bullying a superior and moves on to the next target which might be higher up in the hierarchy. In other words, the bully becomes a repeat offender. For example, a very good mathematics teacher makes unreasonable demands on his Head of Department regarding the number of free periods which the teacher wants per day. He supports his demands with the view that he is invaluable to the school and that good mathematics teachers are difficult to find. The Head of Department for fear of upsetting a good teacher complies with his demands. The teacher gains confidence and during a performance review leading to salary negotiations with the school principal he states that he expects a minimum 30% salary increase, irrespective of what the school can afford, failing which he would resign. If he is
21 | P a g e again allowed to be successful then the chances are that his bullying behaviour will continue unchecked.
2.2.1.4 Secondary bullying – this type of bullying takes place when there is a serial bully in the work place resulting in the victim also now becoming a bully. The Head of Department, from the previous example above, emulates the behaviour of the bully when dealing with another school manager or the principal. Surely if the bully gets what he wants then it makes sense for the victim to also now become a bully in an effort to have his own wishes and demands realised.
2.2.1.5 Pair bullying – this occurs when a serial bully teams up with a colleague. The mathematics teacher in the examples above teams up with a colleague who is the science teacher in order to create a stronger team when bullying school managers.
2.2.1.6 Gang bullying – this occurs when a serial bully teams up with various colleagues. The mathematics and science teachers above coerce other staff members in their department to collectively make totally unrealistic salary increase demands on the School Governing Body or principal against the threat of mass resignation by these key members of staff.
2.2.1.7 Vicarious bullying – a serial bully creates conflict between the employer and employee. For example, the mathematics teacher when demanding more free periods from his Head of Department informs him/her that the principal does not view him/her as a good manager and plans to replace him/her with someone else.
2.2.1.8 Residual bullying – this is all types of bullying that takes place after the serial bully has left. Any form of bullying that endures after the serial bully has left can be classed as residual bullying and takes place mainly due to the example set by the bullying behaviour of the mathematics teacher.
2.2.1.9 Cyber bullying – this is bullying via email, social networking and other electronic media. A pupil posts an uncomplimentary comment about a teacher on a social forum accessible by many other pupils or teachers thereby causing the teacher embarrassment. A disgruntled employee posts on an internet site the personal belongings of the principal for sale at ridiculously low prices, thus not
22 | P a g e only causing him embarrassment but also infringing his constitutional right to dignity and privacy.
Managers in educational organisations should have the knowledge and skill to be able to identify bullying and in addition minimise any damage caused through prompt action in terms of a well-defined policy. A clearly defined and solid strategy for the reduction and prevention of upward bullying should also be in place.
Any form of bullying that takes place in the workplace influences and impacts the relationship between employer, or a representative of the employer in a management or leadership position, and an employee. For example an employee bullies the employer or employer’s management representative, or vice versa. The employer-employee relationship is one which is well recognised and guarded by South African legislation, specifically employment and labour laws. It is critical for an employer, leader and manager to have a clear understanding of the provisions of these laws in order to ensure that any instance of bullying behaviour is dealt with within the letter of the law. Knowledge of exactly what the rights of the employer are and the correct procedure to follow in instances of disciplinary action taken against an employee will not only ensure mitigation of labour risk, but also empower the principal or head of department in cases of upward bullying to immediately recognise an infringement of their statutory entrenched rights and clearly direct them regarding the appropriate and legislatively correct action to be taken. Falling foul of the employment and labour laws, which are often regarded as punitive by many employers, can potentially have disastrous financial effects for the employer and negatively impact on the leader or manager’s ability to manage the key employer-employee relationship successfully into the future.
The researcher will provide a brief overview of key legislation which she believes contains various provisions that can assist a principal or school manager in dealing with bullying behaviour.
2.2.2 Statutory framework
The period after our first democratic elections, has been characterised by significant legislative reform in keeping with constitutional imperatives, primarily
23 | P a g e those set out in Chapter 2 – Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996. The advent of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and a host of other progressive labour legislation marked the dawn of a new legal framework to regulate employer/employee relationships in South Africa. As the Constitution forms the framework within which all legislation must abide it will firstly be discussed.
2.2.2.1 The Constitution
South Africa has, arguably one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, incorporating within it a Bill of Rights extensive in its provisions and bold in terms of the vision it seeks to advance. The litmus test of the Constitution cannot lie in the adequacy of its text but in the effect that it has on the rights of the citizens that it seeks to protect. The state has the constitutional duty to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights (section 7 (2) of the Constitution).
Section 23 (1) of the Constitution states that everyone has the right to fair labour practices. The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 gives effect to the constitutional right to fair labour practices.
The Constitution further in section 10 protects the integrity and dignity of all persons.
Educators who incite and instigate other teachers, parents or pupils against principals will not only constitute unfair labour practice and misconduct, but their actions will also tarnish the integrity and dignity of the principals in direct contravention of the provisions of the Constitution as contained in Section 10 thereof.
Section 9 (4) of the Constitution confers on the employee and the employer the right to be treated like any person in the workplace because people are equal before the law. For example, it would be unconstitutional for unionised teachers to discriminate selectively against certain principals only. Any form of discrimination in the workplace is a prohibited and constitutes an unfair labour practice in terms of section 7 of the Labour Relations Act.
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2.2.2.2 Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
According to Rossouw (2008:7) the purpose of the Labour Relations Act is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace by giving effect to the fundamental right to fair labour practices and the obligations that are incurred by the country as a member of the International Labour Organisation, and to provide a framework within which an employer and employee can operate. The Act also seeks to promote orderly collective bargaining, employee participation in decision making in the workplace and the effective resolution of labour disputes.
A school is an organisation with a formal group of people performing well-defined and organised tasks to achieve its specific goal. Where people work together, sound human and working relations should be maintained. These relationships are generally referred to as labour relations and in the education sector, labour relations are regulated by the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 as educators are considered employees as contemplated within the meaning of “employee” in terms of section 213 of the Labour Relations Act.
In spite of the fact that it applies to educators, the Labour Relations Act does not protect educators who are guilty of misconduct. It rather provides guidance as to how managers should deal with educators who contravene the provisions of the Act.
Section 4 of the Labour Relations Act confers on the employer the fundamental right to be protected against unfair labour practices. It is therefore unacceptable for educators to bully principals or incite others against principals, whether it is during labour action or normal teaching hours.
2.2.2.3 Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998
Educators employed by the state are regulated and protected by this Act. The Act deals with matters such as conditions of service, discipline, retirement and the discharge of educators.
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According Rossouw (2008: 7) this Act applies to the employment of educators in public schools, further education and training institutions, education departments and adult basic education centres. The Act does not apply to independent (private) schools and universities, nor does it regulate the relationships of those educators employed by a School Governing Body. Governing bodies may, however, choose to apply certain provisions from this Act in the terms and conditions of employment when appointing educators.
Sections 16 to 26 of this Act deal with incapacity and misconduct of educators.
A principal is an executive officer. He/she, as an immediate manager, is delegated by the employer with appropriate power and authority to manage the school effectively and efficiently. There should really be no one that unreasonably disputes the power and authority of the principal because he/she has been lawfully assigned the power to carry out the administrative and management duties of the school. No one should thus interfere with the principal in his endeavour to perform his/her duty.
For example, an educator who shouts at and insults a principal in the presence of learners when confronted with an allegation of maladministration, not only displays unbecoming behaviour which constitutes insubordination, but the behaviour is also in direct conflict with section 17 (1) of the Employment of Educators Act.
According to section 17 (1)(c) of the Act, an educator who disobeys, disregards or wilfully defaults in carrying out a lawful order given to him by a person having the authority to give it, displays insubordination. Refusal to carry out the employer’s instruction could lead to dismissal.
As an example consider two educators who held prayer meetings with the learners from their classes in their classroom before and after school. The principal instructed the educators not to impose their religion on the learners. They were also disallowed from holding these meetings because they never obtained permission from the principal or the School Governing Body to practice their religion on school premises.
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In addition these teachers disobeyed the reasonable and lawful instruction of the principal and even instructed learners to hold their prayer meetings in the principal’s parking bay. They also told the principal that they would refuse to stop with their prayer meetings as Satan was present at the school. The educators argued that it was their constitutional right to freedom of religion, belief and opinion in terms of section 15(1) for the Constitution that allowed them to hold these prayer meetings. In terms of section 15(2)(a) of the Constitution it is unconstitutional to practice your religion if the religious observances do not follow the rules of the appropriate public authorities, in this case the principal’s right to give lawful instructions to staff. Their behaviour and refusal to obey the principal’s instructions also amounted to insubordination which is prohibited by section 17(1) (c) of the Employment of Educators Act.
An educator who defies education policy, rules, regulations orders and procedures may be found guilty of insubordination.
2.2.2.4 Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
According Rossouw (2008:8) the above Act was tabled so that equity can be achieved in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment by eliminating unfair discrimination and implementing affirmative action measures.
The notion that bullying may be a workplace wrong worthy of legal remedy is hinted at by section 6 (3) of the Employment Equity Act. This section prohibits the fairly general ‘harassment of an employee’ and not only sexual or racial harassment.
2.2.2.5 Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
According to Rossouw (2008:7), the sole purpose of this Act is to ensure fair labour practices by establishing, enforcing and regulating the variation of various basic conditions of employment. Only the minimum standards of employment are provided by this Act. Employers and employee organisations may by means of a collective agreement alter the conditions provided in the Act. The Act applies to
27 | P a g e educators employed by a school in terms of the South African Schools Act of 1966 and to independent schools.
It is important for a principal and the human resources manager to have an intimate understanding of this Act in order to ensure that they adhere to the minimum standards prescribed at all times. By ensuring that the minimum conditions of employment as outlined in the Act are adhered to, the leader and management are eliminating one potential weapon from the armour of a bully. Legislative non-compliance can be used by a bully to distract observers from his/her behaviour and place the focus directly on the employer’s lack of compliance.
In addition, the Act also provides protection to the employer. For example, in terms of section 79(2) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, an employee is prohibited from threatening the employer or another employee when executing his/her rightful duty. Any threat, physical or otherwise, from a bully would thus be in direct contravention of this section of the Act.
The researcher, as a principal, has first-hand experience of such an instance. A junior educator, who was employed on a short-term contract basis by the school, was informed that her contract will not be renewed mainly due to a lack of performance on the part of the teacher. A more senior teacher in the full-time employ of the school took exception to this as the junior teacher was his younger sister. He rushed into the principal’s office and aggressively demanded that the principal withdraws the decision to terminate his sister’s employment immediately. The principal, with the consent of the junior teacher, explained the reasons for the decision reached and remained steadfast. The more senior teacher left the principal’s office whilst mumbling, “I will show you”. In the days that followed the principal received a number of telephone calls from strangers enquiring about her home and motor vehicle that was for sale. An investigation revealed that the senior teacher had placed the principal’s home and motor vehicle, disclosing the principal’s personal details, for sale at ridiculously low prices on various internet sites which facilitates the private sales of such items. A criminal case was registered with the South African Police Services. Before disciplinary procedures
28 | P a g e could be implemented against the errant employee, he resigned from the employ of the school.
2.2.2.6 South African Council of Educators Act 31 of 2000
Educators can only be employed in education if they are registered with SACE and are bound by its Code of Professional Ethics of Educators, which amongst others states:
“An educator …
- refrains from undermining the status and authority of his or her colleagues; - promotes gender equality and refrains from sexual harassment (physical or otherwise) of his or her colleague; - uses appropriate language and behaviour in his or her interactions with colleagues.”
Any possible breach of the code by an educator may lead to such an educator’s registration with SACE being suspended and cancelled.
Principals should ensure that all teaching staff are registered with SACE and thus would be bound by their code of conduct.
2.2.2.7 The South African School’s Act 84 of 1996
The above Act was passed to ensure that there is a uniform system governing schools. The laws for governance and funding of schools are set out in the Act. The Act recognises that a national system for schools is needed in order to redress past injustices, it also supports the rights of learners, educators and parents and sets out the responsibilities and duties of the State.
One example of how a bullied principal used the provisions of the Act to effectively neutralize the power of the bully by taking disciplinary action against him follows below.
An always tense and nervous teacher felt insecure at school. He would always during staff meetings “verbally attack” the principal for no apparent reason. Any issue addressed by the principal was personalized by the teacher as he believed
29 | P a g e that the principal was referring to him, when in fact this was not true. Some of the other teachers started to hero-worship the teacher for his behaviour towards the leader. The teacher gained confidence from the support from some of his peers and rallied the support of learners who did not want to adhere to the school rules. The teacher became a self-appointed and unofficial spokesperson of learners and teachers and was often seen submitting so-called grievances to the principal. Through his manipulation of the principal and as a result of his inflated position of power, the teacher obtained control over the keys to the hall and certain classrooms. The teacher then negotiated the use of the school hall by external parties over the weekend for his own financial gain.
An education officer responsible for the school became aware of the situation and the teacher was suspended subject to the outcome of a disciplinary enquiry.
The teacher’s use of the school hall without the knowledge and authority of the School Governing Body was a contravention of section 20(1) (g) (l) of the South African School’s Act which places control of the school buildings with the School Governing Body. The fact that the teacher privately made money from the hiring of the school hall, harassed the principal and used state property without permission were furthermore in conflict with section 17(1)(e)(g)(j)(k) of the Employment of Educators Act.
If the principal had intimate knowledge of these laws, he/she could have put a stop to the errant teacher’s behaviour much sooner and without any fear as he/she would have acted within his legal rights as school principal.
2.3 DEFINING WORKPLACE BULLYING
Historically bullying has always been associated with children and was mainly practised by them in the classroom and the play field environments. Today bullying extends beyond these arenas and has habituated the staffroom and the school administrative offices. According to Branch, Ramsay and Barker (2005:1) workplace bullying has attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners worldwide due to its serious economic and psychological costs.
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Workplace bullying can be defined as a continuous aggressive or unfair behaviour against a fellow co-worker. According to Opperman (2008:1), bullying is regularly seen as acts or verbal remarks that could ‘mentally’ hurt or isolate a person in the workplace. At times bullying can even involve harmful physical contact. This type of bullying typically has repeated incidents or a particular pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, degrade, humiliate and offend a specific person or group of people. It has been described as the declaration of power through aggression.
2.3.1 Character traits of a workplace bully
In order to explain the essential aspects which constitute the construct of upward bullying the researcher deems it necessary to discuss the character traits and tactics that persons involved with such behaviour indulge in. A bully in the workplace, be it a manager or a worker, typically displays the following character traits.
2.3.1.1 A workplace bully often has a low self-esteem and low self-confidence. An example would be an employee who personalizes anything said by the principal as he/she believes the principal is talking about him/her. The teacher then attacks the principal whenever the principal tries to address any issues, whether it is pertinent or not to the teacher.
2.3.1.2 A bully in the workplace never learns to accept responsibility for his/her behaviour. Previous behaviour of this person goes unreported and no action is taken against him/her to force a revision of ways.
2.3.1.3 A workplace bully wants to enjoy all the benefits of adult life yet is unwilling to accept the responsibility of adult life. By so doing they abdicate and deny responsibility for their behaviour and its consequences.
2.3.1.4 They are unable and unwilling to recognise that their behaviour affects others in a negative way.
2.3.1.5 Refusal to change their behavioural pattern is another characteristic of a workplace bully.
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2.3.1.6 Workplace bullies will not accept that there are better ways in which one could behave.
2.3.2 Bullying tactics
According to an article (Anon., 2009). http://www.workplacebullying.org. tactics used by workplace bullies are wide ranging. Tactics to bully others were use of false allegations, hostile behaviour, silent treatment, use of rumours or gossip, encouraging others to quit or to transfer to another workplace, setting unrealistic work demands that could not possibly be met, displaying an arrogant attitude towards others and regular use of unsavoury language.
It is suggested that school management and staff bully, and are bullied for a myriad of reasons. For example in the anonymous article to be found on the bully- online website (http://www.bullyonline.org/action/policy.htm) it was observed that in the United Kingdom, good managers manage their staff and bad managers bully their staff. The lack of management ability, self-confidence, esteem and worth, conflict resolution skills or the need to avoid conflict are some of the contributing factors. Staff will often accept bullying by superiors as the acceptable management style for fear of losing their employment.
Having discussed some of the character traits and tactics that are often associated with bullying behaviour this researcher will now be able to define upward bullying with greater clarity.
2.4 DEFINING UPWARD BULLYING
Upward bullying is where managers are the targets of bullies. According to Branch et al. (2005:15), upward bullying is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is often triggered by the need some people have for power and dependency. One of the most relevant factors in upward bullying is the level of dependency that a manager will have on his/her staff. The dependency is there for expertise or for valuable information. The higher the dependency, the higher the level of power or influence potential the staff member will be able to exercise over the manager, and possibly bully him/her as well. School managers will often more willingly accept bullying from subordinates if the bully occupies a position which would be difficult to fill.
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Thus, fear of the potential negative consequences to the operational ability of the school by standing up to the bully, is a factor in the acceptance of upward bullying.
Upward bullying is when a teacher targets and harasses a school manager or one of the management team members, in other words, “when the boss is being bullied”. Branch (2007:2) says that upward bullying is not like other forms of work place bullying, it is often more subtle and less obvious to the other staff. It can include more aggressive behaviour such as yelling, verbal threats and confrontational phone conversations.
In all instances of bullying, including upward bullying, the bully will target the victim. A bullying culture will further enable the bully to influence people in the upper positions of the hierarchy. The role of, and impact on bystanders must also not be ignored.
2.4.1 The bully
The researcher would define a bully as a person who behaves in a destructive manner towards other people and derives pleasure from seeing his/her behaviour cause discomfort and suffering to other people.
Many types of bullies have been identified. What distinguishes the different types of bullies is their behaviour in different situations.
According to Clifford (2006:15), there are 5 types of bullies which are now briefly discussed.
2.4.1.1 Sociopathic or psychopathic bullies
A psychopath or sociopath is a person who acts in a total selfish manner ignoring everyone else around them in order to achieve their own needs. This type of person has their own view on the world and how it should act and work, and they will prove that their view is correct through their behaviour. This type of person displays no boundaries or conscience in their behaviour. Hopefully there are not many such persons present in the Education system.
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2.4.1.2 ‘Self-boosting’ bullies
This type of bully has a very low self-esteem and feels threatened by others. In order to boost their own self-esteem, they will bully others. This bully will continuously criticise others and make a point of highlighting their target’s inadequacies to others as this blocks out their own inadequacies.
2.4.1.3 Socially incompetent bullies
A socially incompetent bully lacks normal social skills that are needed to interact with others. The bully may have poor empathy, and have a lack of self-awareness and emotional control. The normal behavioural pattern of this bully is to vent their anger by yelling at their colleagues and staff and to gossip about them.
2.4.1.4 ‘Micro-political’ bullies
The main focus of this type of bully is their own success. They use bullying tactics to increase their influence and power. They will undermine and eliminate others in order to achieve their desired success. Unfortunately the need for promotion to the higher echelons in the Education system is often a cause of persons making use of micro-politics and even leads to undeserving persons being promoted.
2.4.1.5 ‘Pass the parcel’ bullies
This bully cannot handle pressure. This type of bully is not able to say no, due to feelings of insecurity. This type of person is afraid and vulnerable and behaves in this manner so that they can protect themselves from what they perceive as danger. They actually see themselves as the victim rather than the bully. They do not trust people and their main fear is that their inadequacies are exposed to others.
As the concept of a bully is often associated with another person or persons becoming the so-called victim or victims this researcher will now briefly discuss the victim.
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2.4.2 The victim
There are many factors that can contribute to one becoming a victim of bullying. According to Fineman (2003:157), a victim can sometimes in some obscure manner “invite” the bullying. Fineman (ibid) goes on to saying that the victims could be complicit in their own fate. The victim could feel worthless. Unconsciously they will feel they deserve the punishment meted out to them, while consciously they may not feel they have contributed in any way to the bullying. What are the characteristics which bullies look for in their victims?
2.4.2.1 Vulnerability to becoming a target of a bully
Other than a victim often being complicit in their own fate, there are other aspects that make some people more vulnerable than others. According to Peyton (2003:58) bullies target those of differing religion, gender or sexual orientation, people who are shy, persons of poor mental or physical health, persons who were ex-offenders, persons with noticeable physical characteristics such as having a prominent nose, persons who chose not to belong to a trade union, people who are perceived to be physically attractive . the older employees and persons who are considered not to be particularly intelligent.
Peyton (2003:59), makes it clear that anyone is vulnerable as even the very experienced and aware of the interaction within their work environment can be caught off guard by highly manipulative, clever and often subtle bullies.
2.4.2.2 Characteristics of a victim
According to Clifford (2006:27), a victim of bullying would typically display the following characteristics such as they are often good at their job, they have good working relationships with fellow workers and they are independent thinkers and workers who are able to take the initiative. In addition they also show integrity with a strong sense of fair-play and are often seen as experts by others. They also value feedback so that they can determine their levels of performance and are normally hardworking and empathetic and tolerant towards other people. In fact when one sees these characteristics of a victim one realises that there will always
35 | P a g e be more victims than bullies as these characteristics of victims are all aspects that good and caring teachers possess.
Bullying behaviour is often buttressed by a climate within a workgroup where bullying is regarded as the accepted norm of behaviour. Such a climate lends itself to the formation of what can be named a bullying culture.
2.4.3 The bullying culture
According to Clifford (2006:2), bullies are present in all sectors of work and all types of organisations. In some sectors bullying seems to be more frequent and even an expected part of the working culture.
According to Fineman (2003:157), a cultural perspective of bullying highlights the apathy, acquiescence or antagonism towards bullying that is embedded within the organisation’s culture. He adds that bullies will only bully if they have the explicit or implicit support of their colleagues and superiors. The silence of a bully’s colleagues to the bully’s behaviour is seen and interpreted by the bully as support. In many cases the bully’s colleagues will keep quiet and turn a blind eye due to fear of confrontation or fear of the bully personally. This type of behaviour is tantamount to accepting the bullying.
Persons who do not oppose bullying, whether they are complicit or innocent, and who do not oppose the bullying actions foster and entrench the bullying culture. Such persons are often referred to as bystanders.
2.4.4 The bystanders
Bystanders play a very significant role in the bullying world. Bystanders are people who stand and observe someone being bullied, yet do nothing to prevent the bullying from taking place. According to Health.Com (March, 2011:1) bystanders also experience feelings of fear, discomfort, guilt and helplessness.
They fear to associate with the victim that is being bullied because it might lower their own status or they might become the next victim. Bystanders also fear being called a “snitch” or informer if they report the bullying incident. They feel unsafe and have a sense of loss of control whilst witnessing the bullying behaviour.
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In fact a bystander has the choice of either helping the victim by taking action against the bully or of simply standing and observing the bullying taking place. By doing so he/she is actually empowering the bully to carry on with the bullying.
Bullies thrive on having an audience when bullying. If the audience shows signs of disapproval then the bully is invariably discouraged from further, undesirable behaviour.
2.5 FACTORS/REASONS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO UPWARD BULLYING
Various factors have been identified that contribute to upward bullying. For example, the manner and success with which a school manager disposes of his/her duties in pursuing the achievement of the school’s vision with the support of staff could either inhibit or foster and cause the occurrence of upward bullying.
Every school leader wants to run a successful school. This is no simple feat and is a rather complex challenge. According to Moloi (2003:40) a leader needs to create an enabling environment. The immediate and long term effect of the leadership will be clearly observable in the extent of commitment that staff members show in fulfilling their tasks in the school. In order to fully understand the elements involved in successful schools, leadership, power and authority have to be discussed. One also needs to remember that these concepts of leadership, power and authority have a darker side to them and they can also be part and parcel of the armoury of the bully.
The need for power and control in the work place is one of the factors that will encourage upwards bullying.
2.5.1 Leadership, power and authority
2.5.1.1 Leadership
There are various definitions for the term leadership, according to Bush (2003:5). Yukl (2002:3-5) argues that “the definition of leadership is arbitrary and very subjective”. Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a social influence process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person [or
37 | P a g e groups] to structure the activities and relationships in a group or organisation. According to Cuban (1988:193), leadership also refers to people who bend the motivations and actions of others towards achieving certain goals and as such it implies taking initiatives and risks.
As Bush (2003: 6) points out vision is also considered as an integral component of effective leadership. Beare, Caldwell and Millikan (1989), on the other hand, draw on the work of Bennis and Nanus (1985) to articulate ten “emerging generalizations” about leadership, four of which relate directly to vision. These four are that outstanding leaders have a vision for their organisations and that it must be communicated in a way which secures commitment among members of the organisation. In addition the communication of vision requires communication of meaning and it should be supplemented by attention being given to its institutionalisation if leadership is to be successful.
Successful leaders according to Fullan (2007:166) engage in three sets of core practices. These are setting directions (shared vision and group goals, high performance expectations), developing people (individual support, intellectual/emotional stimulation, modeling) and redesigning the organisation (collaborative cultures and structures, building productive relations with parents and the community).
According to Moloi (2003:70) leadership is the most crucial success factor and it determines the future of the school. The leadership style that one adopts will determine the climate, values, growth and development of your staff members. The values which a leader espouses are also likely to influence the likelihood of a staff member becoming a bully.
2.5.1.2 Power
In 1957 American political scientist Robert Dahl offered a widely cited definition of power: “A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do. In Dahl’ s definition, A and B can be defined at any level of analysis (individual, group or organisation) but irrespective of the level, power is always exercised in the context of the relationship between actors rather than residing in the actors themselves (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2006:254).
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According to Bush (2003:97-101) power may be regarded as the aptitude to determine the behavior of others or to alternatively decide the outcome of conflict. Therefore it can be said that if there is a disagreement then it is likely to be resolved according to the comparative resources of power available to the contributors.
Within the school context there are six significant forms of power.
2.5.1.2 (1) Positional power
A key source of power in any organisation is that accumulating to individuals who hold an official position in the organisation. Official positions convene authority on their holders, who have an acknowledged right to make decisions or to play a vital role in the policy-making process.
Positional power is also known as “legal” or “legitimate” power. In a school, the principal is regarded as the legitimate head and therefore possesses legal authority who directly determines school policy and how it will be implemented.
2.5.1.2 (2) Authority of expertise
In professional institutions there is a significant reservoir of power available to those who possess expertise knowledge. Expert power refers to the use of knowledge and expertise as a way of legitimising what one wishes and wants to do. The “expert” frequently carries an aura of power and authority that can contribute considerable weight to a decision that needs to be made. In the wrong hands, this can be a very powerful tactic in the bully’s repertoire.
2.5.1.2 (3) Personal power
Persons who are charismatic or possess verbal skills or certain other characteristics may be able to use their charisma or personal power to get others to do what he/she wants them to do.
2.5.1.2 (4) Control of rewards
Power is possibly to be possessed to a certain degree by individuals who have control of rewards. Such persons are perceived to be powerful by those who value
39 | P a g e such returns. In the educational world, rewards can be promotion, good references and allocation to favoured classes or groups. Such persons who are in control or have influence in the allocation of these benefits may have an impact on the behavior of teachers who seek one or more such rewards.
2.5.1.2 (5) Coercive Power
Coercive power is the mirror image of the control of rewards. This suggests the ability to enforce agreement with a requirement or request. Coercive power has the ability to block, interfere, punish and constrain. Heads of a school may, for example, exercise coercive power by threatening not to recommend promotion.
2.5.1.2 (6) Control of resources
The control of the distribution of resources can and may be a very important source of power.
Although the above six forms of power are regarded as the most important sources of power used to influence people several others are identified which include: physical power, developing alliances and networks, access to and control of agendas, control of symbols and meanings, control of boundaries, gender and the management of gender relations.
Considering the above sources of power it is conclusive that school managers possess a substantial amount of influence and authority. As authority implies legitimacy it is similar but different to power in that there is a voluntary compliance involved in authority.
2.5.1.3 Authority
According to Bush (2003:97), authority is legitimate power which is vested in leaders within formal organisations. Authority involves a legal right to make decisions which could be reinforced by sanctions.
Bacharach and Lawler (1980:44) say that authority is the static, structural and formal aspect of power in organisations. Authority also refers to the formal right to make final decisions, it also implies the unconscious submission of subordinates, it
40 | P a g e flows downward and it is also unidirectional and ultimately one can say that authority is circumscribed, that is, the domain, scope and the legitimacy of power is specifically and clearly delimited.
Agarwal (2011:1) says that the exercise of authority is a constant and pervasive phenomenon in the human society. Human society maintains itself because of ‘order’ - and it is the authority that serves as the foundation of social order.
Max Weber distinguished three basic types of legitimate authority corresponded to three types of dominance or leadership. Weber spoke of traditional authority, legal rational authority, and charismatic authority.
2.5.1.3 (1) Traditional Authority
Traditional authority is the most common type as individuals will obey traditional authority simply because “it has always been that way”.
Individuals obey a ruler because they know that doing so in past generations has given their society order and continuity. Thus it is not tradition alone that is at issue, but rather the idea of stability of the social order that is being accepted.
Traditional authority tends to be more common in organisations which stress continuity with the past and the upholding of widely shared values and beliefs. Persons tend to follow tradition for it has always been followed.
2.5.1.3 (2) Rational Legal Authority
In this kind of authority, power is legitimised by explicit rule and procedures that define the rights and obligations towards the rules. Such rules and procedures are commonly found in a written constitution and set of laws. In fact the South African Education System has a proliferation of such mandates that principals need to obey.
Officials can exercise power only within legally defined limits that have been formally set. This kind of authority is commonly found in most of the political systems of modern societies. Here the legitimacy of authority is derived from the respect for the legality of power.
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The basic idea is that laws can be enacted and changed at pleasure by formally correct procedures. Of course this is only true if the ruling party in a democracy has a large majority present in Parliament where these laws are promulgated and they are extremely difficult to change and it may even take years to do so.
2.5.1.3 (3) Charismatic Authority
“In a system based on charismatic authority, power is legitimised by the unusual, exceptional or even supernatural qualities that people attribute to particular political, religious, or “The charismatic leader is seen as a person of destiny who is inspired by unsocial lofty principles or even by God. The charisma of these leaders is itself sufficient to make their authority seem legitimate to their followers” - Ian Robertson.
The important thing in charismatic authority is that the leader is not magical but he is believed to be so through various devices and tactics the leader creates an army of true believers to get the perpetual support of the people. Yet charismatic authority is inherently unstable.
It has no rules of traditions to guide conduct since it is based on the unique qualities of the particular individual, it is undetermined if the leader fails of dies. Subsequent leaders may lack the same reason and qualities.
Exactly how school managers and other leaders with power and authority exercise and utilise these, will impact on the instances of upward bullying experienced in the organisation. Clear and exceptional leadership whose power and authority is legitimate and accepted will seldom be the target op upward bullying.
Irrespective of the amount of power and authority a leader has, the leader’s personality will influence the management style deployed and this in turn will impact on the response from subordinates to the leader’s pursuit of realising the vision and mission of the school. The tenacity with which the leader will drive policy and strategic objectives will also be influenced by his personality.
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2.5.2 Personality
Some personality types will be more prone in allowing upward bullying to take place. According to Cherry (2011:1) personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.
2.5.2.1 Fundamental characteristics of personality
Some of the fundamental characteristics of personality include that it is normally consistent, it has both psychological and biological components, it causes us to act in certain ways, it can be observed in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships with others as well as in our social interaction with others.
2.5.2.2 Personality types
In addition to the above, different personality types have been identified throughout the years. There are many theories on the different types of personalities. According to Maltby, Day and Macaskill (2010:47), Alfred Adler a theorist who worked with Freud identified four different types of personalities which are briefly elucidated.
2.5.2.2 (1) The ruling type
This type lacks social interest and courage and is typified by an intensive striving for personal superiority and power. They are known to exploit others to accomplish their goals. They are also emotionally manipulative, they are known to never give credit where it is due and are always taking centre stage.
2.5.2.2 (2) The avoiding type
This type lacks the necessary confidence to solve their problems; these individuals typically try to pretend the problem does not exist. Alternatively, they will claim that it is not their problem, someone else is to blame and therefore they cannot be held accountable.
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2.5.2.2 (3) The getting type
This type is relatively passive, making little effort to solve their problems. They will use their charm to get others to do things for them.
2.5.2.2 (4) The socially useful type
This type is known as the healthy option, they face life confidently, with positive social interest, are prepared to cooperate with others and to contribute to the welfare of others.
A school leader’s personality can be classified in accordance with one of the abovementioned personality types. Should staff members not identify with the leader’s personality type and a negative relationship develops between leader and teacher, then the leader will be more prone to upward bullying than in situations where there is no clash of personalities. A leader’s personality will evoke and develop different reactions in the teacher’s behavior.
Branch et al. (2005:5) identifies other possible reasons for upward bullying as resentment, voicing dissatisfaction, social identity, organisation uncertainty, gender, ethnicity and age.
2.5.3 Resentment
Staff members sometimes resent a decision made by the manager. This decision may cause additional stress in the workplace and the manager is directly blamed. The manager is then bullied by certain staff members because of the resentment they are feeling.
2.5.4 Voicing dissatisfaction
Many times staff members will bully as an expression of their dissatisfaction with organisational issues.
2.5.5 Power and control
The need for power and control in the work place is one of the factors that will encourage upwards bullying.
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2.5.6 Social identity
Managers and workers often perceive themselves as having different social identities. From this attitude the concept of “us” and ‘them’ originates, leading to there being a lack of trust in managers by the workers, therefore resulting in unnecessary conflict.
2.5.7 Organisational uncertainty
If an organisation is undergoing organisational restructuring and uncertainty, it may lead to feelings of uncertainty and hence to the introduction of upward bullying. Uncertainty in the workplace leads to feelings of fear, such as loss of work. Workers will automatically blame their managers for this sense of fear and insecurity. Aggression may be caused because of the need to protect the workers in their feelings of uncertainty.
According to Clifford (2006:25) one needs to understand why people are bullied and that no one is bully-proof, not even the boss. The following are additional potential causes of upward bullying:
2.5.8 Gender
Men may perceive a female manager as a weaker boss, or feel threatened by the fact of her being a woman. This could influence upward bullying towards the female leader.
2.5.9 Ethnicity
If the manager is of a different ethnic group than the majority of the workforce, the workforce could “gang up” against the manager as the feeling of ethnic superiority is experienced.
2.5.10 Age
A manager who is younger than his workforce will often experience upward bullying. It is believed that younger managers are less likely to stand up for themselves than more experienced members of the workforce. An older staff
45 | P a g e member will have more confidence and directness to challenge a younger manager.
Peyton (2005:58) also identified differences in religion, managers who are shy and quiet, managers with poor mental or physical health and managers with noticeable physical characteristics as other possible causes of upward bullying.
The above as explained are possible reasons why an educator would bully their Head of Department or Principal. Exactly how upward bullying behaviour is experienced by the target and the severity and regularity thereof is often dependant on the underlying reason for the subordinate’s behaviour.
2.6 HOW UPWARD BULLYING IS MANIFESTED/EXPERIENCED
According to Peyton (2005:47), there are two types of bullying behaviour, namely a gross and obvious or a more subtle variety.
Examples of upward bullying experienced through gross behaviour are undermining behaviour, changing deadlines, using personal and confidential information, being frozen out, abusive behaviour, sarcasm, so-called humour, ostensible accidents, electronic harassment, sexual harassment, invasive behaviour and discrediting professional reputation.
According to Peyton (2005:47), upward bullying, through more subtle behaviour, will be experienced as bogus scheduling, hiding abuse behind company policy, evasiveness, controlling behaviours, inconsistency in behaviour, no thanks or recognition, undermining someone’s authority, demeaning behaviour and rumour mongering.
Any of the above behaviours will invariably have a direct impact on the target or victim of the bully. A school leader who has experienced upward bullying will often experience certain behavioural changes in their personality and leadership style as a direct consequence of upward bullying.
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2.7 WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES/IMPACT OF UPWARD BULLYING?
According to Peyton (2005:62-63) there are various consequences / impacts that upward bullying could have on the boss.
2.7.1 Loss of self-esteem
A manager’s self-esteem is highly affected as the “boss” will start to question his/her ability. This feeling of doubt could lead to further feelings of inadequacy, powerlessness and helplessness.
2.7.2 Isolation
Managers that experience bullying in the work environment isolate themselves from their underlings and family members due to feeling and seeing themselves as demeaning and devalued human beings. This will lead to managers who previously had outgoing personalities in becoming withdrawn and irritable at work and at home.
2.7.3 Ill health
One of the most concerning consequences experienced by mangers that are victims of upward bulling is ill health. Stress is the biggest cause of ill health. The psychological impact that stress will have on the victims will be regular headaches, nausea, skin rashes, high blood pressure, depression, tearfulness and panic attacks.
2.8 CONCLUSION
The literature on upward bullying in South African schools is sparse. Much reliance was placed on literature dealing with the broader concepts of bullying, workplace bullying and related issues in order to construct some formal definition and understanding of the term “upward bullying”. Part of the literature research conducted will be used to extrapolate a definition of this term based on the views and opinions of those surveyed.
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If managers are required to prevent the occurrence thereof, then it is imperative that they have a clear understanding of what the term “upward bullying “ means and is, and what behavioural characteristics to look for in their colleagues, so when bullying behaviour is manifested, it can be dealt with and eradicated immediately.
Key also is a manager’s understanding of his/her type of personality. Such an understanding of their own normal behavioural patterns could assist them in identifying and analysing any deviations from the above and enable them to recognise the effect and then to search for the possible cause. Only once identified can corrective action occur.
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
As stated in chapter one this research design has been conducted within a positivistic paradigm. The positivist paradigm assumes objectivity from researchers, knowledge by observation, measurement and fact verification by examining the components of a phenomenon (Babbie, 2008:45).
In chapter 3, the researcher will explain the research methodology that was used to gather information from the principals and their management teams regarding the occurrence of upward bullying, their knowledge on and possible policies that can be implemented in order to eradicate the occurrence of upward bullying. This chapter will further include data collection, analysis, as well as the research quality wherein the reliability and validity of data collected are discussed.
3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.2.1 Research method
The design of this research study is quantitative. The researcher used a questionnaire to obtain data. The questionnaire was divided into three sections, Section A consisted of questions that asked the participants to answer certain biographical and demographic questions. This section served as the independent variables of the research. Section B asked the participants if they had experienced certain work situations using a scale of 1 to 5 and Section C asked the participants what they understood from the term “upward bullying“. Those surveyed were expected to provide a short explanation of the term. Thirty schools were identified for the purpose of this study and they were divided into three categories. The categories were previously disadvantaged, previous Model C and independent schools in the Gauteng Province. The participants that were asked to
49 | P a g e answer the questionnaire were all in management positions. The researcher attempted to obtain a representative perception whether the management of all the schools had experienced the occurrence of “upward bullying”. The researcher also attempted to ascertain which of the three different levels of management in schools experienced “upward bullying” most frequently.
3.2.2 Data collection
According Fox and Bayat (2007:78) data collection is data that has been gathered from structured instruments such as questionnaires, surveys, or input from several independent or networked locations via data capture, data entry, or data logging. The main purpose of collecting data is to be able to obtain information. This information will be recorded by use of the SPSS 20.0 statistical program so that decisions can be made and finally this information can be passed on to others.
The method that the researcher used for collecting data for the research was by means of a questionnaire. According to Fox and Bayat (2007:88) a questionnaire is a list of questions on a specific topic that is compiled by the researcher where answers and information is required.
The questionnaire that the researcher used consisted of open and closed questions. Open questions are questions that are unstructured or allow for a free response. Open questions are questions that are specifically used to find reasons for particular respondent attitudes or opinions. Closed questions are questions that are structured or multiple choice questions, and scaled questions. A closed question is one that will contain a specific response. The respondent will need to choose an answer from the specified alternatives provided.
The combined use of quantitative and qualitative research methods is known as triangulation. According to De Vos (1998:359) the term triangulation refers mainly to the use of multiple methods of data collection with a view to increase reliability of the observation. The researcher made use of methodological triangulation which is the use of two or more methods of data collection procedures within a single study, i.e. the original meaning.
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3.2.3 Data analysis
According to Fox and Bayat (2007:104), data analysis is the procedure used to analyse the data that has been collected. It also includes the presentation and interpretation of the data so that the research goal can be attained. The analysis of data that one will use is decided before the data is collected.
According to Smith (2009: slide 2) as with everything else in your research, your data analysis will be driven by your research goal(s) and guided by your research methodology.
The questionnaire was analysed, as previously stated in chapter one by STATKON at the University of Johannesburg. All the questions were analysed using the SPSS 20.0 programme.
The items were subjected to a factor analytic procedure (PCA) to determine if the items could be grouped into factors. A Monte Carlo Parallel analysis (Pallant 2009) was also conducted in order to determine the most parsimonious number of factors. The factors formed were tested for reliability using the Cronbach Alpha Reliability coefficient. The procedure is detailed in Chapter 4.
3.2.3.1 Factor analysis
According to Field (2006:619), factor analysis is a technique for identifying groups or clusters of variables. This technique has three main uses: (1) to understand the structure of a set of variables; (2) to construct a questionnaire to measure an underlying variable; and (3) to reduce a data set to a more manageable size while retaining as much of the original information as possible.
In addition to the above, Pallant (2010:181)says that factor analysis is also used to reduce a large number of related variables to a more manageable number, prior to using these variables in other analysis such as multivariate or multiple regression analysis of variance. It is a statistical method used to describe variability among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved, uncorrelated variables called factors. In other words, it is possible, for example, that variations in three or four observed variables mainly
51 | P a g e reflect the variations in fewer such unobserved variables. Factor analysis searches for such joint variations in response to unobserved latent variables. The observed variables are modelled as linear combinations of the potential factors, plus "error" terms. The information gained about the interdependencies between observed variables can be used later to reduce the set of variables in a dataset.
3.2.3.2 Monte Carlo analysis
According to Field and Miles (2010:687), Monte Carlo analysis is the process of using data simulations to solve statistical problems. This programme generates 100 sets of random data of the same size as your real data file. It calculates the average Eigenvalues for these 100 randomly generated samples and provides a printout of these values. One now systematically compares the first Eigenvalues that you obtained using the SPSS 20.0 programme with the first value from the random results generated by the parallel analysis. If your value in the SPSS programme is larger than the randomly generated Eigenvalue of the parallel analysis then you retain this factor; if it is less, you reject it (Pallant, 2007: 191).
3.2.3.3 Reliability of the empirical factors
Field (2006:666), states that if you are using factor analysis to validate a questionnaire, it is useful to check the reliability of your scale. Reliability simply means that a scale should consistently reflect the construct it is measuring. What this means is that, all other things being equal, a person should get the same score on a questionnaire if they complete it at two different points in time. A rule of thumb is that if the reliability is >0.7 then the factor is deemed as reliable for internal consistency. Reliability and validity are now discussed in greater detail.
3.3 RESEARCH QUALITY
According to Fox and Bayat (2007:144), all research that is acceptable, has to be both valid and reliable.
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3.3.1 Reliability
Reliability refers to the fact, that if a measurement is consistent, it is reliable, as the same answer is supplied at different times. Measurement of reliability is the same as reliability in any other context, thus, when consistency from one research session to another research session is reliable, then some degree of faith is placed in the measurement of the reliability of the proposed research,(Fox and Bayat,2007:145).
Reliability is established when a respondent is given a questionnaire to complete that has been completed previously by the same respondent. If the respondents answer the same questions differently every time, the questionnaire is administered, then it is accurate to state that the instrument is not reliable. It is easy to assess reliability by simply testing the same group of people twice, namely test-retest reliability.
3.3.2 Validity
Validity in a research project means that the measurement represents exactly what it is meant to represent. A valid measure will accurately represent the relationship between things, (Fox & Bayat, 2007:144).
According to Blunch (2008:43), there are various types of validity. Measurement validity is the degree to which a measure does what it is intended to do. In order to establish measurement validity, the researcher must determine whether the instrument provides a good operational definition of the construct, and whether the instrument is suited to the purposes for which it will be used. In order to test the validity of a measure, criterion-related validity, content validity and construct validity need to be looked at.
For the purposes of this research, criterion, content and construct validity will be discussed.
3.3.2.1 Criterion validity
Criterion validity is the degree to which a measure is related to some other standard that is known to indicate the construct accurately. This form of validity is
53 | P a g e determined by comparing the measure with another measure of the same construct (Blunch, 2008:43). However, one has to distinguish between concurrent validity and predictive validity. Concurrent validity is the degree to which a new measure is related to the pre-existing measures of the construct and predictive validity is established by determining whether the measure predicts future events that are related to the construct.
3.3.2.2 Content validity
In research content validity is established by determining the extent to which a measure reflects a specific domain of content. Content validity is important for tests of knowledge (Blunch, 2008:43). The measurement of a single construct such as upward bullying is probably not covered by only one variable. The occurrence of upward bullying is triggered by various aspects of behaviours, and one needs to cover all the different aspects of the different behaviours in order to measure content validity (Heiman, 2001:63). The content validity of the questionnaire could be lost if the questionnaire is only written in English and the respondents that answer the questionnaire do not speak English well, as they are likely not to have a good understanding of the questions that are being asked. It is important to keep the language used in the questionnaire simple and clear so that every respondent understands the content equally. This researcher had the questionnaire seen and approved by her supervisor as well by experts from STATKON to ensure that the content was of the correct standard.
3.3.2.3 Construct validity
According to Blunch, (2008:43), establishing the construct validity of a measure involves both a theoretical and empirical task of determining the extent to which a measure of a construct is empirically related to other measures with which it is theoretically associated. There are three steps involved in construct validation: 1) specify a set of theoretical relationships between constructs; 2) test these hypotheses empirically; 3) interpret the pattern of relationships in terms of how they clarify the construct validity of the measure.
In this research the construct validity was applicable to two constructs namely the school managers’ perceptions of the occurrence of upward bullying in public and
54 | P a g e independent Gauteng secondary schools and the implications for school management. What is being questioned here is whether the variable that is being measured actually reflects the construct as it was conceptualized from a particular theoretical point of view (Heiman, 2001:62).
3.4 CONCLUSION
The research methodology in this research followed a quantitative approach, which used questionnaires to collect data on the views of school managers’ perceptions of the occurrence of upward bullying in public and independent Gauteng secondary schools and the implications for school management. The data was analyzed by STATKON using SPSS 20.0. Research quality, being the reliability and validity of data collected, was discussed. In the next chapter, the analysis and interpretation of the data gathered during this research are discussed.
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CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In chapter 1, the introduction, background, aims of study and research methodology of the research was given. In chapter 2, the researcher conducted a literature review where information was gathered on upward bullying and the factors or reasons that contribute to upward bullying. How upward bullying is manifested and experienced and what the possible consequences and impact of upward bullying are, were also gleaned. In chapter 3 the research methodology was discussed. The data was collected though a questionnaire and the data was analysed using SPSS 20.0. The research quality was explained via the reliability and validity of the research.
This chapter presents the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire, the descriptive statistics and provides the synthesis of the empirical findings
4.2 RELIABILITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE
Empirical data must be reliable and valid before any conclusions can be drawn (Mouton & Marais, 1992:7). Reliability is a method of conducting a study with the results that can be reproduced or replicated by other researchers over a period of time. Reliability in a study is influenced by four factors, namely, the researcher, the research participants, the measuring instrument and the research context (Leedy & Ormond, 2005:29, Neuman, 1997:138; Mouton & Marais, 1990: 79).
In an attempt to determine the perceptions of educators using a structured questionnaire, it is important for the instrument to be reliable. Treiman (2009:43) defines reliability as the extent of the consistency of results over time. An accurate representation of the total population under study is said to be reliable if the same results can be produced under similar circumstances. The researcher did not
56 | P a g e affect the responses of the respondents since the questionnaire was completed in the absence of the researcher. The research was conducted using a measuring instrument that was completed by the respondents within the context of their relative schools.
4.3 VALIDITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE
According to Treiman (2009: 242), validity determines whether the instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Furthermore validity determines how truthful the research results are (Joppe, 2001: 1). There is no best method to determine the validity of a measure as validity is not absolute.
De Vaus (2002:53) mentions several types of validity. However, for the purpose of this research, construct and content validity will be clarified. In this questionnaire 16 items asked respondents to provide certain demographic and biographic information while 20 items were designed to obtain the perceptions of educators and school managers as to the extent to which they have been subjected to upward bullying behaviour (see Appendix A).
The construct validity of the questionnaire was investigated by means of the Kaizer–Meyer Olkin (KMO) measure and Bartlett’s sphericity (Field, 2009). Content validity is “the extent to which a measuring instrument is a representative sample of the content area or domain being measured” (Leedy & Ormond, 2005:94). The domain measured by the questionnaire was perceptions of upward bullying. The questionnaire as a measuring instrument had a high content validity as its items reflected various aspects of upward bullying as a domain being measured. The questionnaire was scrutinized by the promoter and STATKON to affirm the content validity.
4.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Descriptive statistics describe numerical data. According to Neuman (1997:297), the easiest way to describe the numerical data of one variable is with a frequency distribution using graphic representations like histograms, bar charts and pie
57 | P a g e charts. Several variables used in the measuring instrument of this research are statistically described in the sections below.
4.4.1 Gender
There were 59 male respondents and 87 female respondents who completed the questionnaire. This gives a ratio of 1.5 females for every male. The GDE (D of BE, 2009:10) indicates that in the Johannesburg districts the ratio of female to male teachers is 2.7 to 1. The sample is thus not representative of gender in the Johannesburg districts.
4.4.2 Age
The average age of the sample was 43.01 years of age. This is likely to be close to the present average age of the teaching population in Gauteng.
4.4.3 Type of school
There were 100 respondents from public schools and 45 from independent schools. The ratio of public to independent schools in the Johannesburg districts is 3.5 to 1 (D of BE, 2009: 5). This sample at 2.4 public school respondents to every one independent school is thus over-representative of independent schools. As independent schools are less bureaucratic than public schools this may influence the data obtained.
4.4.4 Population group
There were 26 respondents who indicated that they belong to the African population, 12 who indicated coloured and 98 who indicated white. The sample is thus not representative of the population groups in Gauteng. The sample was recoded to two groups only, namely white and other.
4.4.5 Highest educational qualification
The various qualification groups were recoded to three groups namely less than a degree (N=31), degree (N=48) and post-graduate (N=63). The high percentage of post-graduates is probably due to the respondents from independent schools as a cross tabulation of highest educational qualification versus type of school
58 | P a g e indicates that 37% of respondents from public schools had post graduate qualifications while in independent schools it was 57.8%. These qualification groups are unlikely to be representative of highest educational qualifications in Gauteng.
4.4.6 Marital status
There were 91 respondents who indicated that they were married while 40 were single. Divorced, cohabitating and widowed were 16. Two groups will be used in testing, namely single and married.
4.4.7 Well-resourced school
There were 115 respondents who felt they met the qualities of a well-resourced school while 31 felt their schools did not meet these criteria. This is not representative of school resourcing in Gauteng.
4.4.8 Present post occupied
There were 14 principals, 22 deputy principals, 68 heads of department and 42 educators who completed the questionnaire. As upward bullying mostly occurs towards people in promotion posts, the 104 respondents in these posts compared to the 42 educators will provide a better perception of the occurrence of such bullying. This gives a ratio of 2.5 promotion post educators to every one teacher where one could expect a ratio of 3:1 (D of BE, 2009:14). The sample will thus give a good representation of upward bullying as experienced by persons in promotion posts.
4.4.9 Years of experience in education
The mean average experience was 18.72 years. This correlates well with average age as 18.72 years of experience with a starting age of 24 years gives 42.72 years.
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4.5 INFRENTIAL STATISTICS
A factor analytic procedure (PCA) with varimax rotation indicated that the 20 items in Section B could be reduced to a workable number of factors (KMO=0.895; Bartlett’s sphericity p=0.000). The Mote Carlo parallel analysis indicated that only two factors (Pallant, 2007:183) should be retained. Two factors were thus forced in the PASW analysis. The Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA<0.7) and the low communality (<0.3) suggested that Item B 13 should be removed from the analysis. The KMO value improved to 0.902 and the two factors explained 51.21% of the variance present.
A second-order factor analysis produced one factor only which was named perceptions of the frequency of upward bullying. It explained 84.2% of the variance present. However, as the first-order factors had high reliabilities (>0.7) it was decided to use them for the various statistical tests. The first-order factors with their factor loadings and mean scores are provided in Tables 4.1 and 4.2
Table 4.1: Frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position (FB1.1)
FB1.1 - = 0.91 - 12 Items
Item Description-How often: Loading Mean
B8 Has your work ethic been criticized? .795 1.82
B19 Have you felt that there is a lack of respect for your .767 1.99 position?
B20 Have you experienced criticism of your expertise as a .762 1.92 leader?
B4 Have you have been humiliated regarding your work by .717 1.69 colleagues?
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B17 Have you heard hints that you are not competent for the .689 1.63 position you occupy?
B18 Has your work been exposed to excessive monitoring? .640 1.85
B5 Offensive comments have been made about your .630 1.89 position?
B14 Have you felt that your personal space has been invaded? .623 1.71
B1 Has a staff member withheld knowledge which directly .566 2.04 affected your performance as a school leader?
B6 You have been a victim of someone’s spontaneous .484 2.15 anger?
B16 Have you been reminded by your staff of mistakes that .484 1.93 you have made?
B3 Have you have felt ignored by your staff members? .437 2.11
Average 1.90
Figure 4.1: Histogram and box plot relative to the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position
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The mean score of 1.90 indicates that persons in leadership positions have the perception that they are seldom exposed to upward bullying behaviours. This is probably because of the legitimate authority associated with the various leadership posts attached to schools and people have become accustomed to respecting persons placed in legitimate positions such as principal, deputy and Heads of Department. However, respondent 10 who is a single white 31 year old male, at an independent school, has a degree, is an educator with 6 years of experience has perceptions that he is often subjected to upward bullying behaviour (see Box- plot).
Table 4.2: Frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person (FB1.2)
FB1.2- a = 0.823
Item Description: How often: Loading Mean
B7 Have you have faced hostility when reprimanding a .791 2.06 subordinate?
B9 Have rumours been spread about you by your .781 1.74 subordinates?
B15 Have you been unpopular because of a decision that you .725 2.31 had to make?
B11 Have allegations of autocratic management been made .640 1.56 against you?
B2 Has gossip been spread about you? .618 2.28
B10 Has your authority been ignored by your colleagues? .518 2.08
B12 Have you been the subject of excessive teasing? .412 1.26
1.90
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Figure 4.2: Histogram and box plot showing frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person (FB1.2)
The factor mean indicates that the respondents seldom have the perception of bullying behaviours towards their persons taking place. Again it seems plausible that in a bureaucratic organisation such as a school that people are so accustomed to responding to rules, regulation and procedures that they do not perceive them as an excessive use of force.
Respondents 6 and 129 are common to both box plots and both are African males, deputy principals and both are at well-resourced schools. However, they are identified as they both have the perception that they are often subjected to upward bullying behaviour.
Both histograms indicate a slight negative skewness and as such one should preferably use non–parametric testing procedures when testing the independent groups for possible significant differences.
4.5.1 Significance of differences between two independent groups
When testing for significant differences between the factor mean scores of two independent groups then Levene’s t-test can be used. Levene’s test is used to see whether the variances are different between the two groups involved. If the variances are similar (p>0.05) then equal variances are assumed and if they are significantly different (p<0.05) then equal variances are not assumed. The non-
63 | P a g e parametric alternative is the Mann-Whitney t-test where the median value is used in place of the mean and converts the interval scores to ranks and then evaluates whether the ranks for the two groups differ significantly. However, as the graphs were only slightly skewed the more sensitive parametric tests were used.
The hypotheses for gender could be stated as follows:
Ho - There is statistically no significant difference between the mean scores of the two gender groups with respect to:
the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position (Hot.FB1.1)
frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person (Hot.FB1.2)
Ha – There is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the two gender groups with respect to:
the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position (Hat.FB1.1)
frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person (Hat.FB1.2)
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4.5.1.1 Gender (A1)
Table 4.3: Significance of differences between the gender groups regarding FB1.1 and FB1.2
Factor Group Mean t-test Effect score size (p-value)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Male 1.99 0.12 - bullying towards leadership Female 1.83 position(FB1.1)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Male 1.94 0.42 - bullying towards you as person (FB1.2) Female 1.86
The data in Table 4.3 indicate that the null hypotheses cannot be rejected as none of the factor mean scores differ statistically significantly from one another. Both male and female respondents have perceptions that upward bullying behaviour towards leadership and to them as persons rarely occur, with females having the lower mean score in both factors.
With respect to the other two independent groups, only those groups where statistically significant differences were found are discussed.
4.5.1.2 Population groups (A4)
The population groups were collapsed to two groups namely others (African, Indian, Coloured) and whites. This was selected because this research was conducted in schools which had mostly white teachers and hence they formed a group on their own. Hypotheses are not set as they are similar to the ones set for gender.
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Table 4.4: Significance of differences between the population groups regarding FB1.1 and FB1.2
Factor Group Mean t-test Effect score size (p-value)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Other 2.10 0.02* 0.27 bullying towards leadership White 1.80 position(FB1.1)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Other 2.01 0.16 - bullying towards you as person (FB1.2) White 1.84
* = Statistically significant at the 5 % level (p> 0.01 but p<0.05)
Both others and whites have the perceptions that upward bullying seldom occurs towards both leadership and towards their persons. However, the other population group believes that upward bullying towards leadership position, although occurring seldom does occur more often than whites perceive this to be the case. The reason for this difference in perception is probably cultural or could lie with the more individualistic and hence competitive nature of the white population group compared to the more collectivistic nature of the other groupings. It should also be noted that in many Model C and independent schools that white teachers are still in the majority and the other ethnic groups could feel intimidated by this.
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4.5.1.3 Marital status groups (A6)
Table 4.4: Significance of differences between the marital status groups regarding FB1.1 and FB1.2
Factor Group Mean t-test Effect score size (p-value)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Single 2.08 0.03* 0.25 bullying towards leadership Married 1.81 position(FB1.1)
Frequency of perceptions of upward Single 1.93 0.58 - bullying towards you as person (FB1.2) Married 1.87
* = Statistically significant at the 5 % level (p> 0.01 but p<0.05)
The data in Table 4.4 indicates that single persons among the respondents had a statistically significantly higher perception regarding the frequency of upward bullying behaviour towards leadership positions than did married respondents. Although both single and married respondents both believe that upward bullying towards leadership occurs seldom, single persons believe this to a larger extent. Being single means you have to fend for yourself and possibly they are more competitive when it comes to power plays between themselves and people in positions of leadership.
4.5.2 Significance of differences between three or more independent groups
When testing three or more independent groups for possible significant differences then one can make use of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). If differences are found among all three groups taken together then post-hoc tests can be used to make a pair wise comparison. The only statistically significant difference that could be found was between the various post level groups in the school. Possible hypotheses would be:
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HoA – There is statistically no significant difference between the four present post groupings with respect to:
HoA.FB1.1 - the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position.
HoA.FB1.2 - frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person.
HaA - There is a statistically significant difference between the four present post groupings with respect to:
HaA.FB1.1 - the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards your leadership position.
HaA.FB1.2 - frequency of perceptions of upward bullying behaviours towards you as person.
Should a statistically significant difference be found between the four groups as a whole then post-hoc tests will be used to determine which pairs of groupings differ from one another.
4.5.2.1 Present post level occupied
The post level groupings were collapsed to form three groupings, namely principals and deputy principals were group A, HODs were group B and educators’ were group C.
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Table 4.5: Significance of differences between the post level groups regarding FB1.1 and FB1.2
Factor Group Mean ANOVA Scheffé/Dunnett score T3 (p-value) A B C
Frequency of perceptions of A 1.97 A - - upward bullying towards B 1.89 0.61 B - - leadership position(FB1.1)
C 1.82 C - -
Frequency of perceptions of A 2.06 A - * upward bullying towards you B 1.88 0.04* B - - as person (FB1.2)
C 1.73 C * -
* = Statistically significant at the 5 % level (p> 0.01 but p<0.05)
Figure 4.3: Graph of factor mean score versus post level groups for the frequency of perceptions of upward bullying towards one’s person
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The data and the graph indicate an inverse relationship between perceptions of upward bullying towards leadership and towards one’s person. This was expected as persons in promotion posts such as principals and deputies are more exposed to upward bullying behaviours than lower post levels. The effect size was small (r=0.21).
4.6 SECTION C OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
According to De Vos (1998:341-343) in the process of data collection, the process begins by making sense of the data collected and the researcher starts to make sense of the setting and learns what is going on. The true stage of comprehension is reached when the researcher has enough data to be able to write a complete, detailed, coherent and rich description.
This researcher used Tesch’s approach to comprehend, synthesise, theorise and re-contextualise the data that was collected in section C of the research questionnaire.
Tesch (1990:154-156) makes use of qualitative methodology. She (id.) proposes eight steps that have to be considered in data analysis.
Step 1: All transcripts have to be read carefully, so that the researcher can get an accurate sense of what was answered.
Step 2: The researcher has to select one response and has to think about the underlying meaning in the information and write down thoughts that arise from the response.
Step 3: The above step has to be completed for several respondents and a list of all topics needs to be compiled. Similar topics are grouped together and put into a column that might arrange major topics, unique topics and leftovers.
Step 4: The researcher takes the lists and returns to the data. The topics that have been identified are abbreviated as codes which are written next to the appropriate segments of the text. Through this the researcher tries to see if new categories and codes emerge.
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Step 5: The researcher finds the most expressive words depicting the topics and forms categories, these categories are further regrouped in order to reduce the list of categories, and lines are then drawn between the categories to show inter- relationships.
Step 6: A final decision on the abbreviation for each category is made by the researcher.
Step 7: A preliminary analysis is formed by assembling the data belonging to each category in one place.
Step 8: The existing data is recoded by the researcher if it is necessary.
In section C of the questionnaire, respondents were asked what they understood by the term “upward bullying”. One hundred and forty seven respondents provided their understanding to this question. Of these respondents, seventy two point seven eight nine percent (72.789%) seemed to have a good understanding of what the term “upward bullying” meant. Only 17.01 % admitted to having no understanding of what the term “upward bullying” meant and 1.36 % of the respondents admitted that they had never heard of the term “upward bullying” and only after reading and answering the questionnaire did they actually have some understanding of the term.
The use of Tesch’s method in the analysis of all respondents’ answers to Section C of the questionnaire enabled the researcher to identify various themes perceived by respondents to cause upward bullying.
The question that the respondents were asked was “What do you understand by the term “upward bullying?”.
Eleven themes were identified from the 147 valid answers and they are briefly discussed as follows:
4.6.1 Emotional abuse
One respondent suggested the following: “When colleagues have impacted negatively on my emotional state which I feel then impacts on my work.” Another
71 | P a g e respondent indicated: “It is a continual bullying which is not physical. A person can be affected or be instilled psychological by fear. It is when the environment or atmosphere is unfriendly to work in because of fearing someone even when he/she is not around.”
The researcher took words such as “emotional state” and “be instilled psychologically by fear” from responses and identified the above theme from these and other answers that expressed the same or similar emotion. Inducing fear in order to obtain control over the actions of others can be considered to be a form of emotional abuse.
4.6.2 Professional jealousy
One of the respondents indicated that upward bullying was “present where colleagues, especially in senior positions, undermine and disrespect another. These bullies often have a hidden agenda, possibly to get rid of the other person or to cause the ‘bullied’ person to appear incompetent.”
Another respondent indicated that “Feeling victimised etc. because of the position you hold. Feeling pressure, tension because of expectations. Being criticised because of jealousy.”
The researcher took phrases such as “hidden agenda”, “possibly to get rid of”, “cause the ‘bullied’ person to appear incompetent” and “being criticised because of jealousy” to identify the above theme. The word professional comes from the term “teaching profession” and all persons in management positions in such professions are aware of the term professional jealousy as it is often used to mask feelings of incompetence.
4.6.3 Pressure on management to change decisions that were taken
A respondent indicated that “Upward bullying takes place when a subordinate makes you look bad because of their wrong doing. It can also take place when your decisions and instructions that you take or give are questioned.”
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Another respondent indicated that upward bullying was ” When what I decide as a manager is questioned by the people I need to work with and when they don’t like the idea, you get broken down as an individual.”
The researcher took phrases such as “when your decisions and instructions that you take or give, are questioned” and “when they don’t like the idea you get broken down as an individual” to identify the above theme.
4.6.4 Lack of appropriate management knowledge
One respondent indicated that upward bullying was “Criticism on your knowledge or the way you lead”. Another respondent wrote that “Some colleagues often make you and others understand that you know very little about the law governing education or labour in general”.
The researcher used phrases such as “Criticism on your knowledge” and “others understand that you know very little about” to identify the above theme.
4.6.5 Challenging legitimate authority regarding expectations of work
One respondent indicated that he thought that upward bullying was “bullying that was done by your subordinates, challenging your authority and defying you because you expected work from them.” This response is correct in the sense that it is conducted by subordinates but the reason given is one of work expectations and is more an explanation of why it occurs.
Another respondent also indirectly referred to work allocation as his response was “As an HOD – when senior management is either the Deputy Principal or Principal mistreats you and forces you to do over and above what is required of you, against your wishes.” This is not upward bullying as an HOD is in a lower position in the authority hierarchy of the school structure but the reason given involves the allocation or delegation of work.
The researcher took phrases such as “defying you because you expected work from them” and “forces you to do over and above what is required of you, against
73 | P a g e your wishes” from responses and identified the above theme from these and other answers.
4.6.6 Management lacked respect for subordinates
One person responded as follows: “Staff in senior positions uses their positions in a negative way to manipulate an outcome to their own benefit. This is often not a ‘once off’ situation but is continuous and deliberately demeaning in nature.” However, this respondent did not answer the question appropriately and this response is one of downward bullying or the use of a source of power namely formal or legitimate authority.
A similar response was “Being bullied by superiors either overtly (physically) or in a manipulative, subversive way (psychological manipulation) in order to convince you to do something that you feel is wrong / morally reprehensible or goes against your core values / ethics.” Again this is a form of downward bullying but of a more sinister form by using power to get someone to do what he/she may otherwise not have done. However, one should bear in mind that authority becomes effective only to the extent that it is legitimised from below.
To identify the above theme, the researcher extracted words such as “deliberately demeaning in nature” and “in a manipulative, subversive way” from responses. Thus the theme identified is more a reason of why bullying occurs and does not necessarily resonate with an understanding of upward bullying.
4.6.7 Compliance to authority
One respondent thought upward bullying was when “subordinates’ lacked respect for those in a position of authority as displayed in various forms e.g. direct by verbally and (often not professionally) questioning or defying orders”. This is again a reason for why upward bullying occurs as a dialectic view of compliance to authority is that it often generates its opposite namely resistance. This answer indicates that the respondent believed that respect was something that was associated with compliance.
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4.6.8 Lack of commitment from subordinates
One of the respondents believed that “This type of bullying is executed by the subordinate colleague choosing to intimidate, spread gossip, point out faults; attempts to sabotage any work that the manager may undertake for the work in/at that institution.” This researcher believes that this answer is again more about the reasons or causes of why upward bullying occurs than what it actually means. This could be because upward bullying is about organizational politics where the focus is on the relationships between interests, conflict and power (Morgan, 1997:161). This diversity creates a tension which must be resolved by political means and it could be resolved autocratically, namely “we will do it this way”. The response to the use of autocratic power is one of resistance from followers and it is often viewed as intimidation or fault finding by persons in positions of authority.
4.6.9 Lack of confidence in management
One of the respondents believed that upward bullying was the “Manipulation and intimidation by subordinates either due to an unpopular management style, personality clash or a valid grievance which was not handled using correct procedures”. This answer could indicate that upward bullying results from a conflict situation which must be resolved by somewhat questionable means such as manipulation and intimidation. Such an answer is more likely to reflect an understanding of the concept “bullying” than explaining the “upward” sense of the concept. The “correct procedures” could also refer to the use of bureaucratic policies to resolve the conflict arising from a valid grievance.
Another respondent indicated that “It is a situation where subordinates have no respect for your position and tend to question your judgement. In almost all cases a simple task can lead to conflict and tension.” The relationship between interests, conflict and power is the essence of organizational politics (Morgan, 1997: 160) and hence this answer again indicates that upward bullying can be seen to be a political activity where the use or abuse of power plays a predominant role.
The phrases “unpopular management style” and “question your judgement” are more a reason for upward bullying than what the concept means.
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4.6.10 Attempting to control management
One respondent perceived upward bullying to be “when a person, who is subordinate to a second person, uses intimidation or other social methods to influence and sometimes even control their superiors. This can include physical threats or organising a group to resist the instructions of the superior”. This answer is correct in that upward bullying is when a person in a lower position of authority in the school makes use of some form of exerting power to influence someone in a higher position of authority. However, the use of intimidation and control is more in line with the use of forms of resistance as a form to counter control by management which again indicates the political nature of upward bullying. The use of social methods could have the underlying meaning of union membership as this gives rise to countervailing power to influence the established power in an organisation.
Another respondent also indicated the use of control when indicating that upward bullying as a “Bottom-up empowerment in a negative way by trying to disrespect superiors; complaining about rules and innovations / challenges without giving possible solutions.” This answer is one that is typically provided by persons in positions of management and is more a response to resistance experienced by managers. Management gives instructions and this generates the opposite of resistance or counter control by subordinates which leads to further forms of control by management. This leads to the negation of the negation as the one form of control attempts to undermine the other (Morgan, 1997: 287).
4.6.11 Use of expert power
According to one respondent upward bullying occurred because “Any human being tends to test boundaries, not only youngsters. It will always happen in any workplace. In my environment you have a staff with exceptional qualifications in a large part experience. These staff members are passionate in their work. They will never merely accept rules etc. it will always be questioned for fairness applicability etc.” This indicates that power may also be exerted by persons who are regarded as being experts in a particular field who are capable of addressing dominant concerns. This type of power is regarded as a legitimate use of power and as such
76 | P a g e will probably be used to a large extent in professional organizations such as schools. This answer thus reflects an understanding of the upward influence of power but does not necessarily indicate bullying.
It appears to this researcher that the persons do not necessarily have a good understanding of the concept of upward bullying as their answers mostly reflect the “why” of upward bulling and not the “what it is”. This is probably because they have a reasonable grasp of bullying as a concept but the upward part is not something they experience on a regular basis as most teachers accept the notion that a school principal has legitimate authority invested in him/her and that it is their duty to obey. Thus the respondents all gave answers that indicated the reasons of why upward bullying occurred without providing concrete answers of what facets are involved in upward bullying. It also appears that a common concept underlying all answers was power as it is the medium through which conflicts of interest are ultimately resolved. The position of formal authority in a bureaucracy, like the educational system, is determined by the position one holds in the hierarchy and such positions are usually defined in terms of rights and obligations wherein one can legitimately operate with the formal support of those with whom one works. Such a structure lends itself to the use of power or legitimate authority where conflict is normally resolved using rules, regulations and procedures and hence upward bullying as a form of resistance from those in lower positions should be seen as arising from the nature of organizations where healthy systems of management are held in check by some form of opposition. Upward bullying is thus probably best described by analysing the reasons of why it occurs rather than searching for the core constructs of which it is composed.
4.7 CONCLUSION
In this chapter the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire was presented, as well as the descriptive statistics and the synthesis of the empirical findings derived from the items in the questionnaire that were subjected to factor analytic procedures. This chapter has helped to arrive at a conclusion of how upward bullying manifests itself in the school and how it is experienced by those who are exposed to it.
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The next chapter will consist of a summary of the research findings and what appropriate recommendations emanated from the research.
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CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In chapter 1 the specific research aim was presented. The aim of chapter 5 is to address the final research aim, which is to clarify the possible impact and the reasons for the occurrence of upward bullying and how it affects the victim. Before the possible impact is clarified and the reasons for the occurrence of upward bullying is given and how the latter affects the victim, this chapter will briefly review the research problem; the research aims; and summaries of chapter two to four. The chapter ends with a conclusion.
Upward bullying is a term used to express a bullying behaviour, which is when managers are the targets of bullies, the bullies being staff members lower in the hierarchy of the school. This type of behaviour is multi-faceted which can be triggered by the need for power and dependency. This need for power and dependency can be attributed to the manager’s behaviour towards his subordinates, namely the level of power over and dependency on his/her staff. The higher the dependency on the staff member, the higher the level of power the staff member will have over the manager.
A manager’s decision is very often influenced by the behaviour of his/her staff members. A manager’s leadership ability to lead his/her staff will be seriously impacted on if the manager is subjected to upward bullying. It is of utmost importance that managers not be victims of upward bullying.
The researcher is of the opinion upward bullying will no doubt have a negative impact on a manager’s ability to act as a leader. The manager will be hesitant to take risks or have initiative for fear of increasing the likelihood of being subjected to further bullying.
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The above statement led to the following problem (cf.1.3):
Are school managers perceptive to the occurrence of upward bullying in Gauteng Secondary Schools and what are the implications for school management?
From the above problem question, the following research aims were adopted for this study (cf.1.3):
To explain the essence of upward bullying and the influence that it can have on the leadership of the school;
To determine how upward bullying manifests itself in Gauteng Secondary Schools by probing the perceptions of educators; and
To clarify the possible impact and the reasons for the occurrence of upward bullying and how it affects the victim.
In order to achieve the abovementioned goals different methods were applied. To have a clear understanding of what the term “upward bullying” is, a literature review was carried out in chapter two.
Chapter two introduced, defined and contextualised the term “bullying” and the different types of bullying that can take place and where, that is “workplace bullying and “upward bullying”. Who will be classified as the bully or the victim, what the bullying culture will comprise of and who the bystanders are? The reasons, manifestation and the consequences that “upward bullying” potentially will have were also explored
In chapter three the research methodology was discussed. The research study followed a quantitative approach, which used a questionnaire to obtain information from school managers on their perception of the occurrence of upward bullying in Secondary Schools and what the implications for school management are? The data was analysed using SPSS 20.0. utilising factor analytic procedures.
In chapter four the data collected was presented and interpreted. The factors obtained were analysed for any possible associations between the perceptions of the various respondents (independent variables) and the dependent variables.
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The findings were used to explain the essence of upward bullying and its influence on leadership, how educators perceive its manifestation and the possible impact and reasons for its occurrence and how the victim is affected by it.
5.2 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
The researcher now summarises the various findings of this research by providing possible answers to the various problem questions posed.
5.2.1 Explain the essence of upward bullying and the influence that it can have on the leadership of the school.
This research adopted the definition of upward bullying by Branch that upward bullying is where managers are the targets of bullies, the bullies being their staff. The influence that upward bullying can have on the leadership of the school will be one of negativity. This research was not able to find the extent of the negative influence that upward bullying has on the leadership of the school as the perception of most of the respondents that occupy leadership positions was that they are seldom exposed to upward bullying.
5.2.2 How upward bullying manifests itself in Gauteng Secondary Schools by probing the perceptions of educators
The respondents felt that the following factors were the cause for upward bullying taking place at their respective schools. The factors appear in no particular order.
1. Emotional abuse; 2. Professional jealousy; 3. Pressure on management to change decisions that were taken; 4. Lack of appropriate management knowledge; 5. Challenge legitimate authority regarding expectations of work; 6. Management lacked respect for subordinates; 7. Compliance to authority; 8. Lack of commitment from subordinates; 9. Lack of confidence in management; 10. Attempting to control management; and
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11. Use of expert power.
5.2.3 Clarify the possible impact and the reasons for the occurrence of upward bullying and how it affects the victim.
The possible impact that upward bullying will have on the victim will be one of being unable to lead his/her staff which will result in a lack of confidence as a leader and feelings of worthlessness. The reasons would be the same as stated in 5.2.2 above.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
5.3.1 RECOMMENDATION 1
The Department of Education needs to establish and define the minimum qualification requirement that a person should have in order to apply and qualify for a position of leadership within a South African school.
A leader of school within our modern society needs to have obtained a certain level of knowledge in the subject of “management” as just a normal standard educational qualification is not sufficient. Formal “management” qualifications are also needed.
In today’s modern democratic society, people question the one that is in authority, so the one in authority needs to be knowledgeable not only in management but also in the psychology of mankind.
From the research it was established that most of the leaders did not have the perception that they had experienced upward bullying, but the researcher is of the opinion that this was felt mainly due to lack of understanding of the concept. It is also possible that leaders will not readily admit to being bullied by subordinates.
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5.3.2 RECOMMENDATION 2
School leaders and managers should on a regular and continuous basis do a self- evaluation of their leadership, management and communication skills. This should be done once a term through informal personal interviews with all staff members. By doing such an evaluation, the leader and manager will become more aware of how staff had perceived and experienced his/her ability to lead them and the organisation towards the common goal of achieving the school’s vision. The leader will also be able to confirm the commitment of staff to the shared vision and gain insight into any grievances so that these can be addressed before it becomes problematic and the school has an unhappy negative staff member.
5.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This study has highlighted the understanding and perceptions of a few leaders in Gauteng Secondary Schools of the term “upward bullying”. The literature study defined and explained what the term ‘upward bullying” was, what factors typically cause “upward bullying” and the effects and impact on management thereof.
The majority of the respondents had an understanding of what the term “upward bullying” meant and their perception was that they were not exposed to it. The researcher’s personal experience as a headmistress and anecdotal evidence gathered in her interaction with other school leaders over more than a decade suggest otherwise. The researcher is of the opinion that the respondents’ perception is inaccurate due to a lack of skill and experience to objectively identify the characteristics of “upward bullying”.
The Department of Basic Education has a specific policy on the occurrence of bullying. It is strongly suggested that this document be reviewed to include a comprehensive definition for upward bullying, examples of bullying behaviour that would constitute upward bullying, possible causes of upward bullying and how to deal with it. In other words, the researcher suggests that an awareness of the concept is created so that it is not merely ignored and allowed to detrimentally affect the ability of managers to lead their institutions effectively towards the achievement of their institutional mission and vision.
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School leaders should be equipped with greater management skills.
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APPENDICES
Appendix A: Gauteng Department of Education approval to conduct research
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Appendix B: Letter to principals
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Appendix C: Questionnaire
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