Challenges Facing Secondary School Principals in the Implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province

Abstract

The recent changes in Capricorn Education District have placed new external pressures on secondary school principals. The implementation of the new curriculum policy is fraught with challenges such as lack of physical resources, human resources, lack proper coordination at meso-level, lack of clarity on policy guidelines and other related problems. One of the major challenges is caused by principals who do not want to adhere to the principles of democratic values. This process requires them to involve all stakeholders in the decision making. To understand the total context of the challenges on the implementation of the curriculum, an in-depth study of this was made by means of empirical study and variety of other suitable research techniques. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and structured interviews from twenty secondary school principals in the area of the study. The study has revealed that policy implementation is not determined by one factor. It emerge that there are various factors that prohibit secondary school principals to manage and implement the new curriculum policy in their sphere of operation, hence the recommendations stated in this paper.