Patriarchal culture as a determinant of School Governing Bodies’ office bearers’ choice in rural South Africa

Author : Vangeli Wiseman Gamede, Mr Vuyani Simon Sunduza

Abstract : The post-apartheid era in South Africa witnessed the promulgation of the South African Constitution of 1996, which advocates social justice and fairness, including gender and racial equity. However, detractors have observed that women in leadership positions, around the world in general and in South Africa in particular, still constitute a meagre percentage, hence transformative initiatives and measures need to be implemented to tackle this gender imbalance of the past. This study sought to investigate the role played by patriarchal culture in determining the constitution of the SGBs’ office bearers in rural South Africa. This study explored and analysed the role of patriarchal culture in determining the choice of SGBs office bearers in rural South Africa. A qualitative research approach, based on a purposive sampling method and interviews, was espoused by engaging members of the SGBs in ten selected high schools of the Harry Gwala district in KwaZulu-Natal. The findings of the empirical study investigation divulged that patriarchal culture plays a significant role in determining the choice of the SGBs in rural South Africa. The study further demonstrated that males were the ones that are elected to occupy the chairpersonship position and the females are elected either as secretaries or treasurers. The study recommends that the setup and status core should be left uninterrupted as it works perfectly well for the communities within which they exist. The study recommends that there should not be tempering with the practice which bear good fruits for the communities in which it exists.

Keywords : South African Constitution, School Governing Bodies, Patriarchal Culture, Office Bearers, Communities, Rural South Africa.

Conference Name : International Conference on Policy, Governance, and Teacher Education (ICPYGTE-26)

Conference Place : Istanbul, Turkey

Conference Date : 17th Jul 2026