Abstract:

Evidently, the drive towards achieving social justice remains a pivotal goal in many countries. The importance of uplifting local and international communities to correct educational injustice and exclusion from the past is not yet fully realised. In South Africa transformational leadership is on the agendas of both private and public HEIs, but real progress is lacking. Renewed efforts are needed including all role players to bring about equity and to work towards a sustainable future. As such, the question begs: can PHEIs in South Africa be considered as change agents and leaders in transforming the educational landscape in South Africa? Through the lens of a critical realist paradigm and informed by recently reported studies on transformational leadership, globally and in South Africa, qualitative data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with the senior leadership teams at PHEIs. Through reflective thematic analysis key themes were identified from the rich data collected. Key constructs contextualising this study include inclusivity and transformation in a post-apartheid era. Findings are that the PHEIs in this study consider transformational leadership within their institutions towards positive chance in higher education critically important, but that they are excluded from the broader forum of transformational efforts. Participants shared their experiences and praxis in creating conducive and inclusive learning spaces. The study identified the need for better collaboration among all leaders in higher education. The study identified the need for more leadership strategies to address factors such as race and socio-cultural factors in social inequality, prevailing socio-economic strata and the inclusion of all role-players. PHEIs have an important role to play in transforming HE and in achieving the much-needed change and social justice in a still unequal education landscape.

Keywords:

Transformation, private higher education, social justice, socio-cultural tradition critical realism, Third Space Leadership.