Exploring the School Management Team’s Perspectives about the Challenges of Addressing Learner-on-teacher Violence in Secondary Schools: Implications for Invitational Leadership.

Addressing learner-on-teacher violence remains a severe challenge to school management Teams worldwide. School violence is a worldwide challenge, and it also seems to be getting worse in South Africa, where it is not sufficiently reported or addressed. Thus, this study aims to explore School Management Teams' perspectives on the challenges of addressing learner-on-teacher violence in selected South African secondary schools. The paper adopted the Invitational Leadership theory to guide and interpret the findings. A qualitative research approach was used to understand leadership challenges in addressing learner-on-teacher violence in secondary schools. Eight participants were purposively selected for the study. The data was generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with principals, Heads of Departments, and teachers. The findings revealed that the challenges SMTs face when addressing learner-onteacher violence include inadequate policies, lack of parental involvement, insufficient Department of Basic Education support, and lack of support from other stakeholders. Therefore, this paper recommends that the Department of Basic Education capacitates SMTs in reviewing policies and supporting them in implementing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]