While sharing their views on DOs’ role in supporting teaching and learning, the EDMTs came out as central in planning for the district. While there were similarities in the way these districts carried out their planning, there were slightly different approaches. It emerged from all participants that the EDMT, when planning, conceptualised how they could improve learner performance and then involved the District Management Team [DMT] (DD2). The DMT then involved the district's entire management team before they communicated with all principals and other stakeholders. This is what the DD2 had to say;
In terms of our business processes as a district, the executive of the district, EDMT conceptualises the thinking. It brings it to the District Management Team, which is bigger than the Executive, comprising eight people to ratify, consolidate and adopt as a strategy. From there, we go to the principals. When we present to all principals, we present it as a strategy that is adopted by the management of the district, but we present it for ratification, further so that the principals can then make their inputs.
DD1 shared a similar view; however, he indicated that EDMT involved a group of principals in the planning process before the strategic plan was communicated to the entire stakeholders in the district. This DO believe that they involved principals in the planning so that they give inputs. DD1 stated;
We have what we call consultation processes. As Executive Management Team, we go out on a planning session, we have planned, now are bringing to the next layer of supervisors, District Management Team to say this is the plan. They must know what is it that we are managing. Then from there, then we will invite our principals.
Each circuit must give me four principals; we rotate them for a year. How they choose them is up to them. Those principals are going to look at our plan, making
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inputs. So, every unit, including them, contributed in this, you know. So, each unit has actually participated in terms of ensuring that we come up with a plan.
DD1 suggested that involving these sixteen principals in the development of the strategy encouraged participation by principals in the implementation of the strategic plan. This is what he said;
The first principals’ meeting, that is where now we unveil the plan. And we will say to principals; when you have got challenges, you have these principals, who have been part of ratifying and refining the strategy. So, you can also use them in terms of support. Then in the first principals’ meeting is like the opening of Parliament because they know that they cannot miss that meeting. Because if you miss that meeting, you have missed the whole year.
This quote seems to give the impression that DOs regarded principals’ involvement in district planning. Also, most participants shared that; principals were involved regularly during the year through scheduled meetings. This was done through quarterly meetings with principals.
For example, DD2 said;
In terms of the year plan, we have got four scheduled meetings, where we give a plan of what we are doing in this particular term, at the principals’ meeting, and we call for inputs, we adopt, and then we ratify, we certify it as a plan for the term.
But then in that meeting, we also give feedback in terms of the term that we will be ending, okay. So, we then give them, how the schools have performed, and what support are we going to put in place to support the schools that have underperformed, in the previous term, in the new term. So, there are meetings to mediate these processes. There are also unplanned meetings that would then be called for a particular purpose, short-term meetings with the principals, and deliver on the plans and get feedback.
From the above quotes, DOs appeared to ensure that principals owned district endeavours of improving learner performance in schools by having frequent meetings with the principals.
Furthermore, the central role taken by the district management gives the impression that it positively affects the way principals viewed DOs’ involvement in supporting teaching and learning. Data also revealed that district strategic planning is important to ensure that DOs and all stakeholders in the district understand the vision and targets set for schools. Furthermore,
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communicating with all stakeholders so that everybody understands what is expected emerged as important from many participants. As CLI1 put it: We communicate it to all stakeholders in the district through meetings. This is how DD2 expounded;
Now to carry the vision through, we go down to the last person on the ground, the stakeholders, the parents, the learners, our SGBs, our stakeholders with interest in education to share how we are taking the district forward. DD2
DD2 further stated that meeting with stakeholders every term allowed her to understand the district better;
In quarterly meetings, is where a report card is being presented; those are meetings of the District Director. No one else speaks at those meetings. The District Director would stand there, present that whole report, even if it means it is about sixty slides.
I talk to each of the slides, and it puts you in the position where, as a District Director, you can pronounce your understanding of the districts to the stakeholders.
You can also get feedback immediately. It is a two-way type of meeting because after we present, we allow principals to engage.
Most participants perceived communication as important because everyone understands what is expected. This is what CM1 had to say
So, they talk to that, to say, and like for example, the curriculum will say, now is the time for the schedules, this is a memo that talks to the whole process…It starts with planning. Ja, it starts with planning. Every term, each Directorate or each Unit will submit their action plan to one person, and then they do an action plan for the district. And then all the dates are there. When you want to check things, you check. There was a training of this and this, did you send your people, your principal? He will say, okay, yes, I did, or I did not, or I forgot or whatever. Then we look at what can be done if you have missed it because this is important. So, there is that communication. We communicate a lot. We communicate; maybe it is one of the strengths of leadership that we do have, that we communicate with the schools, we communicate among ourselves.
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DD1 believed that communication was such that everyone understood what the district stood for because he ensured that communication cuts across the whole district across all levels. He said
And what I know, I can leave now for two weeks, nobody will say, I do not know what is happening in the district, there is no one. Even the cleaner. They may not know the details, but they will tell you there to say, this is what we stand for in the district.
Similarly, DCLI1 noted: Communication is very, very important because that hampers you or stops you from working in your own little, you know, it brings about synergy. Apart from general meetings led by the DD, CES for curriculum met with principals for both high schools and primary schools. In contrast, DCESs meet with deputy principals and HoDs meet with subject advisors to mediate the intervention. The following quotes illustrate this; we analyse performance against the set targets, then set up interventions to deal with areas of non- performance.
The CESs and the director are meeting principals, DCESs deputy principals on the first day of reopening. Actually, it is two days, the first day is high schools, and the second day is primary schools. It is happening religiously. And HoDs are met by Subject Advisors. We, as EDMT, we are having meetings with schools, where we meet the principals. CLI1
The modes of communication participants used to communicate with principals, stakeholders, and DOs were social media and print tools. Most participants indicated that they used to the fact that districts used social media, particularly WhatsApp, to facilitate information sharing and cascade information to all principals. This is what DD1 said;
We have also established some form of, you know, this technology or WhatsApp communications so that there is a core group of principals. When we send a critical message then they cascade it to the next group, just like so that, at whatever point in time, people have information, you know. Like now, if I can say, I am in a meeting; I will not be available until five o’clock. I only send it to four people then they chain it. In no time, all schools will have received that message.
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DD2 attested to the idea that group chat communication with the principals not only facilitates information sharing but is also a system of supporting each other.
We have an open discussion, an open WhatsApping line of communication with the principals, all principals in my district, and have systems for urgent communication. With WhatsApp, we post memos; so, the information goes very, very fast. We have got a group chat of communication with the principals. We chat frequently, and we sharpen one another, we track, we also give support, you know.
CLI2 shared a similar view regarding the use of WhatsApp communication and further indicated that when there was a need for urgency, they would have a meeting using WhatsApp group communication in real-time.
We also have, like, chat groups. Like when they need information, we communicate on a daily basis; they have my email and so on. So, I have a direct impact. These chat groups, it really helps because we can deal with an issue and finish it in a chat group instead of meeting face-to-face. CLI2
From the above quotes, DOs use of different modes of social media as a way of real-time communication with principals is an interesting finding. Social media's use seemed to have allowed for the development of engagement and communication despite physical distances between district offices and schools. Apart from using social media, participants had a similar understanding regarding the tools and memos to facilitate communication with principals.
Some participants shared how the use of monitoring tools as a way of communicating with schools assisted DOs to have a common understanding and to be able to communicate among themselves when they give feedback in their management meetings. For example, CLI1 said that when visiting schools, DOs had tools that they adapted depending on the objective of the visit. This is how she expressed her view;
When we go to schools, we are using tools, and we are adapting them per term, depending on what is it that we want to achieve. If we are saying - especially in the lower classes, our emphasis is on reading, then obviously you are going to adapt the tool, based on that…Obviously, from the tools, the tools are indicating to us, if ever, whatever, because I say we do not get into the class. But getting learners books and it is very important. If you look at our tools, our tools have sections where we are writing the names of learners so that we are not giving the same learners.
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DD1 shared this view on how tools were used to give feedback among the DMT members.
We have teams, the School Support Teams, it is a multi-pronged team, these teams will go out with a tool and they go and monitor what is happening. Then there is a team that analyses those instruments. And then at a management meeting, that CES who’s responsible for will come and present, to say, this is what we are identifying from this particular area. Therefore, we will need either more resources or we will need to change the strategy and all those things.
While the use of these tools helped DOs communicate with principals and among themselves as officials, participants also highlighted the importance of giving regular feedback to all stakeholders on the district's performance. DD2 said;
Every quarter, we give our stakeholders a quarterly report card because they are the ones who have an interest because they are the ones who can unblock issues of education challenges on the ground. Our stakeholders include our SGBs, our structures with interesting education. In the report card, we give them the status of education in the district, and every term, we give them the plans for the new term.
So that is being done every term throughout the year.
What seems to transpire from this theme is that DOs believed that their role was to develop different strategies to communicate with school principals, school personnel, and all stakeholders. DOs’ involvement of principals through regular meetings corroborates the studies by Johnson and Chrispeels (2010; see also Honig, 2012). These studies found that DOs’
engagement with principals enhanced principals’ leadership for teaching and learning as well as increased a sense of agency among principals. The Policy on the roles and responsibilities of DOs further affirms that the DOs’ role is to work collaboratively with principals; this, in turn, helps schools achieve excellence in learning and teaching (RSA, 2013). Interestingly, it emerged that DOs believed in the use of social media to facilitate information sharing among DOs and between themselves and schools. This supports the research that suggests that social media provides school district leaders with many possibilities to share their district’s endeavours to support teaching and regularly learning with stakeholders (Cox, 2012). The importance of giving regular feedback on the performance of the district came out as an interesting finding. This shows how DOs’ involvement in monitoring teaching and learning could enhance the involvement of all stakeholders in the school communities. These findings
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are consistent with previous research. Literature indicated that when educational leaders involve stakeholders, they proactively build and maintain healthy relationships with parents and the community (Leithwood & Louis, 2012; Myende, 2018). The following theme is the provision of support for schools on curriculum-related issues.