Browsing by Author "Ntombela, M. A."
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- ItemThe challenges of whole school evaluation for school governing bodies in Hlabisa district Kwazulu Natal Province(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-12) Ntombela, M. A.; Taylor, D. J. L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a long history of apartheid and other forms of unfair discrimination in education. In the past there were separate and unequal school and education systems based on ethnicity, race and colour. Following the democratic elections of April 1994 a new era in education commenced. The education system was transformed to a unitary system and a programme of legislation was launched aimed at promoting democratic ideals and practices. Of particular importance to schools was the South African Schools Act (Act No 84 of 1996), which granted significant powers to school governing bodies (SGBs) at local level. The composition of SGBs was based on elected representation from four main stakeholder groups, namely parents (in the majority), educators, non-educator staff and learners (in Grade 8 or above), plus the principal ex officio. The powers and functions granted to SGBs were intended to promote participative decision-making, a sense of ownership and responsibility aimed at promoting the best interests of the school. The innovation of SGBs had far-reaching potential to improve school effectiveness and more importantly to contribute to the growth of democracy in South Africa. In 2001, aimed specifically at ensuring quality education, the government introduced the National Policy on Whole Schools Evaluation (WSE). The policy unified and integrated previous approaches to school and teacher assessment and was centred on a school-based and holistic approach to the monitoring and improvement of school quality. Using objective criteria and performance indicators on nine areas of functioning, the WSE model relied on an ongoing process of school self-evaluation, supported by external auditing and feedback, leading to each school having a school development plan (SDP). Ownership and direction of this was envisaged to be an important responsibility of SGBs. In this way, school improvement and educational quality became strategically linked to effective school governance. As an educator in the Senior Secondary School phase, the researcher has gained fruitful insights into schools in the rural and semi-rural areas of Hlabisa District in the province of KwaZulu Natal. This first-hand experience has made him keenly aware of problems and challenges for SGBs in fulfilling their role in implementing the processes of monitoring and evaluating school performance in line with WSE. The research therefore aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the particular needs of SGBs in meeting the requirements ofWSE. The research was structured therefore around two aspects: firstly, a conceptual and policy analysis that tried (a) to identify and explain significant concepts relevant to understanding both school governance and school evaluation and (b) to identify and explain the legislative and policy context by dealing with the relevant documents. This included a brief explanation and contrast of the policy approaches to governance and school assessment in the pre-1994 and post-1994 dispensations. The second, more empirical part of the study aimed to investigate the experience of SGBs in practice, by using questionnaires and interviews to collect data from a sample of ten schools in the Hlabisa district. Based on the responses collected the researcher was able to conclude that there are many positive signs of healthy development in school governance in the schools sampled. Particular challenges were also identified relating to the needs of SGBs in order to implement WSE programmes successfully. These challenges included drawbacks caused by illiteracy among school governors, the need for more effective training of SGBs in reaching a full understanding of the governance rights and responsibilities, and the need to bring about a more inclusive participation of all stakeholders, especially also by learners and non-educator staff in exercises such as WSE. In the light of these challenges, the study was able to make certain practical recommendations and suggest questions for future research on the role of school governance in improving school effectiveness through the Whole School approach.