3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Partners for possibility: experiences of cross-sectoral partnerships designed to improve school leadership in South Africa(2017) Kirori, Maureen WambuiThis study explores a partnership model designed by Partners for Possibility (PfP), a South African non-profit organization (NPO) attempting to reform the country’s education system. Through its partnerships, PfP aims to address the identified problem of weak school leadership in order to improve the educational outcomes in schools. In this model, school principals of underperforming schools are paired up with business people with leadership experience for a period of one year to address the challenges facing their schools. The model includes a 12-month structured training programme which seeks to capacitate and support the paired principal and business leader in their partnership-building process. This study provides an in-depth investigation of the experiences of the partnerships and of the influence of the structured programme on these partnerships from the perspectives of the principals and of the business leaders. The effect of social differences on the partnerships was also considered. Among the theories used in this study are critical action learning and common ingroup identity. A qualitative research design was employed and data was collected from 10 school principals of “no fee” schools and from 12 business leaders. The results of the study reveal that the functionality of these partnerships is determined by their focus, which can be long-term and transformative or short-term and tending towards resolving the school’s immediate material needs. Further, these partnerships were found to be capable of improving school performance if the partners engaged in activities that promoted teaching and learning. Despite this potential, there was little monitoring of school performance. The results also indicate that the group-learning aspects included in the structured programme could encourage the partnership to focus on short-term goals which tend not to lead to long-term sustainable change in the school. The social tensions attributed to race and class divisions were found to have a minimal effect on the partnerships studied since the partners’ common vision, namely, to improve schools, allows them to maintain their unique identity either as principals or as business leaders. Because education reform is a complex and long-term project, the recommendations following this study point to the need for a more integrative approach in the PfP process, and a greater awareness of the need for a longer time scale in order to bring about the desired transformation in schools and consequently to South Africa’s education system.Item The impact of development planning on learner achievement: a case study of four Johannesburg East District primary schools(2016) Ndayeni, JavierSchool development planning (SDP) is a major driving force to achieve improvements in the quality of teaching and learning, and participation of stakeholders in school management. This study discusses research findings on the planning practices in primary schools based on the perceptions and experiences of principals of the impact of development planning towards improving learner achievement in Johannesburg District East in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative methods approach involving survey and case study was utilized to address research questions. This study identifies principals’ leadership, networking and teamwork amongst stakeholders, and improvements in teaching and learning as some of the benefits of SDP. This is premised on the fact that SDP is a highly technical process that requires skills and know-how to be executed successfully. However, the implementation of development planning is limited by inadequate Department of Education support, resources and continuous professional development of principals. It is argued that SDP is fraught with numerous challenges that require an approach that focuses on its, that is, school improvement and management of planned change. The findings will assist the district to design strategies to improve management schools through SDP.Item School-focussed staff development: opportunities and challenges: a case study(2014-05-28) Meer, Naeem SuliamanThis report sets oat to establish the need for a school-focussed staff development programme within South African schools given the changing educational imperatives in teacher education. It challenges the notion that a person with a university degree or teaching certificate is equipped for lifelong service as a teacher, by addressing the role that institutions can play in promoting professional development. The study focuses on the experiences of one school to evince teacher enhancement strategies. The methodology employs observation, interviews and a questionnaire pertaining to both the success of and the need for school-focussed staff development. The study found that the importance o f staff development increases as teachers develop new rationales and create new strategies to fit their particular context and needs. It further found that giving teachers the opportunity to make instructional innovations enhanced whole school development It stresses the need tor educational authorities to devolve more autonomy to schools, by supporting initiatives which integrate staff development and problem-solving approaches. Lastly, it makes recommendations on the induction o f professional dev elopment to facilitate structural and ideological evolution within schools. By locating this within the case study school, it found links between staff development and school achievement. Finally it stresses the need for schools to design programmes to suit fheir particular context. The study concludes by encouraging further research in the area of school-focussed staff development applicable to the South African context