School leadership role reflections: teachers living with HIV/AIDS

Introduction: Good leadership has become recognized as important requirement within all sectors addressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related issues, as the epidemic approaches its fourth decade. The study aimed to explore the school leadership role reflections in the context of teachers living with HIV/AIDS. Material and methods: To obtain qualitative data, narrative inquiry rooted in a social constructivism paradigm was used, along with narrative interviews. Theoretical framework was made up of transformational leadership and ethics of care theories. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis method. Results: Key findings showed that South African school principals face several management challenges, resulting directly from of HIV/AIDS-related issues concerning teachers living with HIV/AIDS who lack support to deal with the challenges. There is need to empower principals’ knowledge and skills to deal with the challenges faced by HIV/AIDS-positive teachers. Conclusions: Department of Education should establish a support structure providing principals with a forum to share experiences and access support. Further research is necessary to conduct among school principals to determine the leadership and management strategies, which empower principals to deal with managerial challenges in the context of HIV/AIDS amongst teachers.