Scoping the aspects and capabilities of South African School Administration and Management Systems (SA-SAMS)

Abstract

The main purpose and focus of this paper is to determine the aspects and capabilities of the South African School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS). This is necessary to assist and inform schools on how this system can support their administrative duties. This paper describes a scoping review of relevant publications on SA-SAMS, with the aim of ensuring that all aspects of the system are identified. The scoping review includes papers written between 2011-2019. SASAMS is described in detail in terms of its definition, history, aim, design rationale, function, maintenance for effectiveness, modules, people affected, and its disadvantages and advantages. The literature was obtained from ACM digital library, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, and through the use of Harzing's Publish or Perish and Google Scholar. The topic of the paper was used as a search term for the literature review. The data was analyzed in terms of school management systems (SMS), SASAMS and its importance, its modules, and people affected by SA-SAMS. Results: The search identified 500 publications, of which 18 were found to be best suited to the purpose of the study. Three (3) tables with the most important aspects and capabilities to take into account when using SA-SAMS in the school environment were developed.