This study is aimed at investigating the role of the School Management Team (SMT) in school improvement. The investigation was carried out using the qualitative approach and the study is underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The declining performance of some schools academically as reflected by the end of year results, as well as the confusion that engulfed me on assuming duty on my appointment as a head of department of Science and, therefore, becoming part of the SMT in my school, encouraged me to investigate the role of the SMT in school improvement. The study covers, among others, the following areas: § Functions performed by the SMT members. § Challenges faced by the SMT members in their management practice. § Ways of addressing these challenges. Methods of data collection used in this study were interviews, questionnaires, own observations as well as the analysis of documents. The main recommendations emanating from the study are that SMT members should be better equipped for their roles through workshops and in-service training and that the respective roles of SMT and School Governing Body (SGB) members should be better demarcated by the Department of Education.

This 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

D.Ed. / The new millennium is considered to be a period of empowered social change, having profound implications for schooling. The transformation of education in present-day South Africa emphasises the need for quality education for all. This is necessary in order to be able to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Thus even the most competent educational institutions are forced to improve and change in order to keep up with worldwide innovations. As the poor matric results of the last decade indicate, it seems that schools' performance is not up to standard. It became increasingly clear that certain factors precipitated the pathological situation in schools and that assistance and interventions are required. The main focus of this study is to establish what schools can do in order to improve and become more effective. It is well known that schools in South Africa are facing a crisis. South Africa's education system is therefore compelled to find solutions against the idiosyncratic backdrop of the country's unique socio-economic and socio-political problems. In order to develop a world-class education system suitable of meeting the challenges of the 21' century, school improvement seems necessary. The problem investigated by this study was: How can schools improve with the help, advice and expertise of external agents, namely school consultants. In order to improve schools there must be various agents or participants who must be actively involved and play a part in any reform process. These role players have been identified as: the school principal, teachers, parents and learners. However, it became clear that the subjective involvement of these protagonists is not sufficient to contribute towards a significant educational improvement endeavour. The aim of this study is to analyse and describe how schools can improve through the expert advice and contribution of external school consultants. This aim was realised by: undertaking a theoretical investigation in the form of a literature study; undertaking an empirical, qualitative investigation in order to establish in what way the assistance of an objective advisor in the form of a consultant, can contribute to improving the intricate problems currently facing schools. During this qualitative investigation it was established that: South Africa has problems endemic to this country which precipitate pathology at school level; The main role players in schools are not sufficiently equipped to initiate change; External consultants as change and improvement agents are a solution suggested by international literature; If consultation is done in a professional, ethically correct manner it can indeed lead to school improvement.

Sublllitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the DEGREE Of DOCTOR Of EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at theUniversity of Zululand, 2003. / This study examines teachers' perceptions of the elements of whole school development and the extent to which certain essential features of such development are associated with school effectiveness. The study aims at determining the extent to which school effectiveness is associated with the following four elements (or sets of elements) in terms of respondent dimensions: (1) access to technical and human resources; (2)adoption of a clear culture, vision and identity; (3) involvement in efficient strategic planning, structural arrangements and procedures; and (collectively) (4) gender, age, teaching qualifications and teaching experience. To this end an instrument was constructed based on the Government bluebook for inspection of schools. The bluebook-based instrument was found to be descriptive and, therefore, intended to collect data of a qualitative nature. On the grounds of this serious omission the instrument had to be adapted so as to yield quantitative data covering all the essential features of school organisation. Care was taken to ensure that the instrument has content validity that covers all the essential features of school organisation. The findings revealed that there is a very strong association between the essential features of whole school development and school effectiveness. The analysis of responses in respect of these essential features has enabled us to arrange them in a rank order. The factor that covers adoption of a clear culture, vision and identity was rated in the first position. This was followed by a factor dealing with access to technical and human resources. The last position was occupied by the factor dealing with involvement in efficient strategic planning, structural arrangements and procedures. The study revealed that while age, gender and teaching experience, as aspects of teacher characteristics, did not influence teachers' opinions on the essential features of school organisation, the variable of teaching qualification was found to be influential in this regard.

This research has as its objective to discover the extent to which Grade 12 learners receive the appropriate support required in conducting their studies efficiently and effectively. The main aim of the study is to help to improve the quality of the results and the pass rate of Grade 12 learners in the Mankweng Area, Limpopo Province. The aim of the investigation is to gather information about the learner support structures in use in sampled schools. There is a need for a Learner Support System to assist learners to perform well at schools. A literature study is conducted to explore and to identify gaps in the literature. The study will assist the researcher to emerge with ways and means of improving the quality of effective use of Learner Support Systems in schools. It is anticipated that the findings and recommendations of the study will enhance the plans of the Limpopo Department of Education strategies of improving the quality of teaching and learning support in the province. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Education Management)

Submitted in fulfilment of part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / The study is based in the Mpumalanga Province and focused on a sample of 18 externally evaluated underperforming secondary schools across all four districts of the province. The schools obtained less than 30% average pass rate of learners in the 2011 Grade 12 examinations. The main objectives of the study were to analyse the purpose of Whole School Evaluation (WSE) from a quality assurance perspective, investigate the significance of a key component of WSE, namely, teaching, learning and educator development, analyse the Grade 12 results of externally evaluated underperforming secondary schools prior and post evaluation, analyse monitoring and evaluation reports for changes in teaching, learning and teacher development, as well as identify factors impeding teaching, learning and teacher development in underperforming secondary schools. The mixed methods approach was used. This approach made it easy to reconcile findings through triangulation and complementing qualitative and quantitative data (both primary and secondary).This study relied on secondary data (WSE external evaluation reports and Grade 12 results), as well as primary data obtained from questionnaires administered to school management teams (SMTs) of the sampled underperforming secondary schools. The study exposed the great level of acceptance of the external WSE process by SMTs in Mpumalanga Province underperforming secondary schools, as a means of quality assurance towards improvement. Furthermore, it revealed the extent to which improvement and development of schools in the underperforming schools as a result of the external WSE process. The study also indicated that the results of seventeen of the eighteen schools (94.4%) improved. Furthermore, the study confirmed that what was revealed in the external WSE as areas for development became a revelation to SMTs. As a result, the manner in which teaching, learning and teacher development (AFE4) as a key component of WSE is viewed by teachers and SMTs, has been positively influenced. The study produced new knowledge through the development of a theoretical model. This model is based on the view that effective external WSE process, as a dependent variable, is significantly influenced by predictor (independent) variables. The predictor (independent) variables are planning for teaching; teaching strategies; assessment of learners; teacher development; and management of teaching and learning processes (curriculum management). This emerging theoretical model is based on the belief that, the more one increases independent variables (they can be from any of the nine AFEs’ criteria), the more the dependent variable (effectiveness of external WSE process) is strengthened. / D

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the motivation for the proposed Education Management Development Centres (EMDCs). It also addresses what improvements to the current system EMDCs are supposed to make and how EMDCs hope to enhance collaboration between the Western Cape Education Department and local schools. It also look at the role of the proposed EMDCs and specifically focus on how they hope to promote better inter-sectoral support between the Western Cape Education Department and local schools.

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Masters in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, March 2017. / This 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. / XL2018

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether a Physical Science intervention programme that has been running for three years at St John’s College for selected Grade 10-12 students from under-resourced schools in inner city Johannesburg, has had any impact on the final academic results of these selected students in the National Senior Certificate examination. There is little international or local research that deals with third world academic extension and enrichment programmes, particularly with respect to South Africa. A mixed methods case study on the programme was carried out. Numerical data was collected over a period of three years to be used to determine the effectiveness of the programme. Interviews with the participants and teachers on the programme were conducted and surveys were carried out with participants on the programme as well as students who were not on the programme from the three partner schools. The three instruments used in the research provided different forms of data which produced findings that were combined to look for common trends and understandings. The data collected from the surveys, interviews and term scores were coded, captured organised, analysed and interpreted. Among the more significant findings were: (a) Not all of the participants on the programme showed academic improvement; (b) The overall academic improvement of the two groups researched was marginally better than their peers who were not part of the programme; (c) In the view of the participants, the intervention had a greater influence on their academic achievements than the actual findings from analysis of the numerical data indicated; (d) There are a number of factors that determine the success of the programme; (e) The self-motivation is an important determinant for success of individuals on the programme. These findings could assist current programme organisers and institutions that seek to introduce similar types of intervention programmes in the future. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the motivation for the proposed Education Management Development Centres (EMDCs). It also addresses what improvements to the current system EMDCs are supposed to make and how EMDCs hope to enhance collaboration between the Western Cape Education Department and local schools. It also look at the role of the proposed EMDCs and specifically focus on how they hope to promote better inter-sectoral support between the Western Cape Education Department and local schools.