Principal earns PhD
With over 33 years of teaching experience and having served as principal at Port Edward Primary since 2019, Teresa McKay has steadily advanced her academic career.
Port Edward Primary’s principal, Dr Teresa MacKay, recently earned her PhD in Education Management and Policy Studies from the University of Pretoria.
With over 33 years of teaching experience and having served as principal at the school since 2019, MacKay has steadily advanced her academic career.
For her PhD, MacKay’s thesis focused on the application of the duty of care outside formal teaching hours.
She explained that the idea was sparked by a concern for children who were dropped off at school early in the morning and often left waiting long after formal school hours ended.
“My concern is who is responsible for these learners, and when do parents take accountability for their children?” she said.
MacKay’s passion for teaching started when she was still in Grade 1.
She explained that her calling was affirmed when she was in matric, and sitting in church on a Sunday when her priest looked at her and said: “You know you are going to teach, don’t you?”
“And that was it. I knew it was my path in life,” she said.
It took her over three years to complete her PhD.
The principal’s thesis highlighted how schools are doing all they can to ensure that learners are taken care of as safely as possible.
“However, as much as we take care of learners, even beyond hours when we should have handed the responsibility back to parents, teachers are often kept waiting with children. Parents change contact details, do not adhere to collection times, and in some cases, do not take accountability for collecting their children on time, which adds significant burdens to teaching staff who also have families of their own,” said McKay.
“With the increasing number of reports of learners, especially of primary school age, falling victim to various crimes while waiting to be collected, it is a concern as to who takes responsibility and is held liable for the safety of these children.”
She explained that a small group of parents don’t collect their children on time, saying that these parents are the ones they need to reach concerning the safety of their children.
Meanwhile, MacKay will officially graduate later this year.
She said it was important for teachers to continue studying because with the world changing and technology being updated frequently, they cannot rely on the same methods and systems that were in place when they studied.
“If we do not expand our knowledge, how do we encourage children to look beyond their current situations and explore what education and learning have to offer them,” asked MacKay.
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