School principals’ understanding of managing public-private partnerships related to information and communication technology in under-resourced public secondary schools

Abstract

This study investigated principals’ perceptions of their responsibilities in managing technology infrastructure in underresourced public secondary schools within the Tshwane West district, using a public-private partnership (PPP) approach. 2017,the Telkom Foundation initiated the ‘Connected Schools Project’ 2017, which introduced advanced tech-enabled resources and support to enhance technology-driven education in select underresourced public secondary schools in Gauteng’s Tshwane West district. This study explores how school principals interpret their roles in managing this infrastructure and executing these responsibilities within a PPP setting. Public-private partnerships are cooperative ventures between government entities and private sector organisations designed to achieve specific goals that serve the public interest (Robertson, et al., 2012). In the education sector, PPPs involve collaboration between state institutions and private entities to undertake various initiatives to improve education. For this research, PPPs specifically refer to the collaboration between the Telkom Foundation, a private entity and four public secondary schools in Gauteng.

This study was grounded in the interpretivist paradigm and adopted a qualitative research approach with a case study design, utilising individual interviews for data collection. The research was conducted across four under-resourced public secondary schools in the Tshwane West education district of Gauteng Province, as well as at the Telkom Foundation office complex and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) district office. The participants included each school’s principal, the information and communication technology (ICT) coordinator, a Telkom Foundation representative, and a GDE district official responsible for facilitating the partnership, totalling ten participants. Data analysis used an inductive approach to interpret the interview responses. The findings indicated that the principals understood their responsibilities in managing ICT infrastructure within a PPP framework. In doing so, they established effective management structures that streamlined ICT infrastructure oversight. These innovative structures offer a replicable model for principals seeking to effectively manage ICT resources in schools.