Limitations Facing the Development of Learner Leadership in Education

The Namibian Basic Education Act No. 3 of 2020 mandates schools to establish Learner Representative Councils. Learner Representative Councils are management bodies at schools comprising of learner leaders, as supporting leaders to the overall school leadership. The purpose of the study was to establish the challenges facing the development of learner leaders in schools. A case study design was used for the study, involving a school principal, teachers, and learners in Oshana Region. All participants were selected using purposive sampling technique. The data was collected using document analysis, semi-structured questionnaires, and interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse textual data. The study found out that the development of learner leadership was constrained by the absence of policy directives which could drive development efforts for learner leadership. Apart from the Education Act which provides a legal framework for establishing learner leadership structures, important Regulations for enforcing and developing learner leadership were missing at the case study school. Learner leaders were also found to be influenced by peer pressure in the conduct of their leadership work. Learner leaders were not confident enough to stand by their own position and perform their leadership roles as they were afraid of losing relationship with their peers, making their peers approve most of their actions. In addition, learner leaders were finding it difficult to express themselves in English, which difficulties has lowered their confidence levels as leaders, becoming shy to express themselves as capable leaders. It becomes clear that the development of learner leaders in schools was faced by challenges that inhibited effective development of learner leaders into capable junior leaders of the school.