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Qualitative research approach is the approach used in this study. According to Katanga (2016:36) and Crossman (2018:1), qualitative research is the type of scientific research that seeks to understand a research topic or problem from the perspectives of the population that the problem involves. It is an effective approach in terms of obtaining socially and culturally specific information about the values, behaviours and opinions of particular populations. Particularly, qualitative research approach’s strengths are that it is able to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience the particular research problem. It therefore, seeks to answer the problem in question as it systematically uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the research question. It also collects evidence and produces findings that were not determined. This is the reason why this study considered the qualitative approach as suitable for the study as its main aim was to investigate the effect of school governance and parental involvement in raising the Grade 12 academic achievement in rural schools of Mpumalanga. Therefore, the qualitative was appropriately used in this study.

According to Katanga (2016:37), qualitative research approach focuses on the meanings attached to particular viewpoints and since people differ in their views and they may have many different meanings in the same phenomenon. A phenomenon, according to Van de Ven (2016:245-264), can be any problem, topic or issue that is chosen by a researcher as the subject of investigation. The phenomenon can originate from a theoretical discipline, a personal experience or insight or may even originate in the practical world of affairs. A phenomenon may be perceived to represent an

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unsatisfying circumstance, a promising opportunity or simply a topic of interest. In this study, the phenomenon is the effect of school governance and parental involvement on raising the Grade 12 academic achievement in rural schools of Mpumalanga. The qualitative approach used in this study helped the researcher and will help the reader of the study to have an understanding of the world, their society and instructions far better (Katanga, 2016:36). In view of the above, the researcher investigated the effect of school governance and parental involvement on raising the Grade 12 academic achievement in rural schools of Mpumalanga. Therefore, the perspective of the participants, which are the principal, teacher, SGB, learners and parents were considered in illuminating why the relationship and connection exists between the SGB, parental involvement and Grade 12 academic performance by going to the source which are the principal, teacher, SGB, learners and parents. Qualitative research approach is interactive, rich and holistic as it focuses on real-life and lived experiences in a specific environment and it shows the researcher how reports and policies constitute reality and even questions that we have.

The qualitative approach is interactive in the sense that Katanga (2016:37) argues that it insights into what people believe and feel about the way they are. It involves their spoken words during interviews, as evidence that the researcher later uses when analysing data. This means that by interviewing the participants or respondents, the main question of the study, which is to investigate the effect of school governance and parental involvement on raising the Grade 12 academic achievement in rural schools of Mpumalanga will be vocal (human voice), there will be no contamination with any slanting from the researcher (Katanga, 2016:36).

In addition, since the data collected in a qualitative approach are in the form of words, these words are usually transcribed from the questions where participants’ experiences and viewpoints regarding particular issues, circumstances or events are recorded. These words are normally combined with documents or any visual resources, which may include letters, reports, minutes of meetings, policy documents, correspondence, memos, oral history and so on from people’s actions so that the phenomenon studied is understood more clearly. The researcher in this study used policies of the SGB and the school. Minutes of meetings were also a rich source of

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data, as well as correspondence between SGB, principal and parents as a collective (Crossman, 2018:3)

The case study method was used in this study. Creswell (2013:97) and Zainai (2007:2) define a case study as a method that enables a researcher to explore and closely examine the data within a specific context. In most cases, a case study excels at bringing researchers to an understanding of complex issues and can either extend experience or add strengths to the known through previous studies. Therefore, a detailed contextual analysis for a limited number of events and their relationships is emphasised by case studies. In short, the case study method selects a small geographical area or few individuals as the subjects of study, as they are aimed at exploring and investigating contemporary real-life phenomenon within its context. However, in cases where boundaries between phenomenon and context are unclear, multiple sources of evidence can be used (Zainai, 2007:2).

In view of the above, the use of multiple site sources of data can enable the researcher to evaluate a variety of experience from different sites by interviewing different participants to acquire at least a more holistic idea or picture of the issue being studied or researched (Katanga, 2016:42). In this study, the researcher’s focus was on the effect of school governance and parental involvement in raising Grade 12 academic achievement in rural schools of Mpumalanga. The focus was on the principal, teacher, SGB, Grade 12 learners and parents in the school. The mentioned individuals had similar experiences, namely that they hold the same position at each school visited. The main aim for the focus is to understand the phenomenon at each school chosen (Katanga, 2016:42).