3. How does the existing resource demand influence the remote rural ECD school management?
5.4 Existing resource demand influence on remote rural ECD schools management For the final critical research question three, it was mainly directed to school administrators,
5.4.5 Mitigating of challenges experienced by the school heads in resource mobilisation This section is mostly interested in how the school heads responded to the challenges outlined
Remote rural schools agreed on the challenge of accommodation in their schools. Most of them were lamenting on the need to prepare for ECD trained teachers‟ accommodation. They cited accommodation problems as one problem that made them unable to get ECD trained teachers. These teachers refused to be posted to remote rural schools because of the poor standards of accommodation. One of the school heads said:
We have a shortage of teachers’ accommodation here. Once; a qualified teacher went away due to the shortage of accommodation. We had allocated her a ‘box room’ and an outside kitchen, but she complained of insecurity. Then she went to the district office to further complain and she was transferred to another school. We were supposed to have two qualified teachers by now. If we had enough accommodation, that would have relieved us from having the untrained (as well as wasting a lot of money) paying many para-professionals (Goko School Head).
The notion of facing challenges in remote rural ECD schools by the school head is focused on by Steyn (2014) who reflects the prime function of an optimistic leader is keeping hope alive.
In extending this argument, Stillion and Siegel (2005) posit that an optimistic leader embraces tricky situations as opportunities and regards the impossible as merely difficult.
Faced by these challenges that are posed by resource demand, optimistic leaders have the opportunities to prove their effectiveness in transforming the remote rural ECD schools.
Stillion and Siegel (2005) argue that these effective leaders embrace challenges, anticipating that after such endurances the end result will be positive (Steyn, 2010).
5.4.5 Mitigating of challenges experienced by the school heads in resource mobilisation
what emerged from the participants as the roles of the school heads in securing resources for the ECD classes.
The school heads emphasised the conception that they were the leading professionals in the schools. They broadcasted their accountability in setting the school vision, leadership and motivation of teachers to pursue the vision for the school to meet the aims and targets of the ECD programme. They said that they were mandated to undertaken the development of policies and programmes to ensure that resources were mobilised and used efficiently and effectively for improved teaching and learning in the ECD classes. This was explained by one of the school heads, who said:
Through our SDC and community we have a committee for ECD which complement the SDC committee. We established the committee to look into ECD issues. It focuses particularly on ECD matters. The objectives of this committee are to: 1) Mobilise the payment of levies by the parents; 2) Encourage the buying of school uniforms for children and feeding; 3) Improve the provision of user friendly infrastructure; 4) Provide security that is needed to the learner; accompanying the learner to and from. This committee has succeeded in mobilising funds for the purchase of chairs that are child friendly (Vukosi School Head).
The use of the SDCs has relevance to Myers (2006) paying attention to the importance of local governance in ECD schools (Statutory Instrument, 87 of 1992). This is supported by Rose (2010) who affirms on Malawi and its school committees. School governing bodies in ECD schools mobilise parents to meet to the needs of the children. Participating school heads were in agreement that they recognised the benefits of having good rapport with the parents and the community. They were acknowledging the progress they made through such involvement. They believed that, whenever they involve the parents and community in good faith, they made positive results. One of the school heads gave her story thus:
On meeting the parents we discuss issues concerning the school. We call them to observe what is going on at the school. Usually we call them twice a year. We actually take the parents to see the situation at school. We tour the school with them, the classrooms, furniture, books, play areas, cooking place, the toilets, washing stations and even the water sources. We discuss and come up with solutions. Usually
when we do that we have positive results, like having parents brings needed resources (Dambara School Head).
Heads‟ perspective on successful teacher-parent partnerships at the school level was supported by the welcoming school climate they established. They described an attitude of mutual respect given to the parents, in sharing issues together as a means to fully involve them in the education of their children. They believed that though most parents were poor, they could do more if the school leadership and SDC informed them what to do. They raised the point of involving the local leaders and the chiefs as part of the community in resource mobilisation. They were empathetic about this idea of involving the chief whom they referred to as the „big man‟ in the community who could assist only when they were involved. The school heads showed that the survival of their ECD was because they gave the chiefs their due respect. They proclaimed that consultation of the local leaders on school programmes was one of the roles of the school head. This is what one of the school heads had to say:
We have talked to the chief in the area to resettle nearby families to expand the school area to build the outdoor play centre for ECD. Our school has a small area for further constructions. We are happy because the chief responded positively on that.
So we are only waiting for these people around the school to resettle then we expand our territory (Hlolwa School Head).
Further, the school heads highlighted the importance of consulting the chiefs in the process of resource mobilisation. It was clear from the comments given that the chiefs had powers over their people. Instead of the schools having direct confrontation with the defaulting parents, school heads were using the local leaders to mobilise their people to pay levies or effectively contribute to ECD programme. This is what one of the school heads had to say:
Our traditional leaders like the headman and the chiefs are helping to mobilise for resources from the local communities. People in our community respect the leadership of the headmen, kraal head and the chiefs. They respond well when they are given an order by their leaders, unlike when they are told by the SDC (Muzorori School Head).
Consultation of the chiefs over land issue is in line with Makahamadze and Tavuyanago, (2013) and COPAC (2013) acknowledging chiefs as occupying the ancestry leadership positions in their areas and expected to administer justice and democracy in their areas of jurisdiction. Parent and community involvement is supported by Warrilow (2012) and Ngwenya (2010) purporting it as transformational leadership which mobilises others to innovative positions. It is further supported by the socialistic ideology that communities and families should be involved in the education of the nation for a better nation through a strong foundation in ECD (CFSs UNICEF, 2006). Consistent with the aforementioned statements is Greer (2012) emphasising that all stakeholders must be encouraged to take part in the establishment and management of ECD education. This is also supported by the Government of Zimbabwe (2000) and Statutory Instrument (87 of 1992) confirming the decentralisation of power in school governance.
Steyn (2010 & 2014) pronounces that unity of purpose in the organisations is a result of effective leadership qualities as developed by the invitational leader who invites all interested stakeholders to take part in the organisation. Stillion and Siegel (2005) augment this idea by saying that the assurance of the Invitational Leadership Theory is to invite all interested stakeholders to successfully work together for the benefit of the school. The school heads felt that they were responsible for managing and monitoring the implementation of the resource mobilisation process in their schools. They were applying various ways of luring the donor communities into school matters. All the school heads emphasised the importance of consulting the donor community in the ECD matters. Some schools running feeding programmes, have at least one standard classroom, play centres and toilets (though insufficient) but donated by various donors. So they acknowledged their role of liaison between the school and the donor community. Among many heads cited is one below:
I managed to build a friendship with the above mentioned donors who provided us with material resources. Presently Malilangwe Development Trust has promised to build ECD classrooms and to provide furniture for ECD (Mande School Head).
The school heads also believed that incorporating teachers help would take their school a mile further. As one of their roles, they all agreed that when teachers were encouraged, they could make the most of the teaching and learning materials for their classes. Although the ECD teachers were directly involved with the ECD children, the whole school including the
TICs inclusive were helping in the process of making learning materials for ECD. One of the school heads had this to say:
Our teachers here helped with the building of the climbers, the water tank at the outdoor play centre. I am happy because they are not the ECD teachers only who get engaged in planning and working for the ECD play centre. In fact all the ECD teachers are females who cannot do constructions. The main-stream male teachers are showing interest in assisting (Muzorori School Head).
Similar sentiments were also echoed by the participating TIC of the same school who supported the view that the whole school community was involved in working at the ECD play centres.
The terrain of the outdoor play centre was slippery so I came to the school head with the issue. It was not safe for the children to play there. I managed to get assistance to level the play centre. We used the upper classes boys and most of the work was done by the parents (Muzorori School TIC).
The school heads felt that it was their duty to co-ordinate the SDC and provide security to the already accrued resources as well as maintaining an inclusive, safe and stimulating school environment. Their SDC was linking the school with the parents and community to make the school environment conducive to safe and effective teaching and learning. Most school heads cited vast developments as a result of these effective SDCs. The following is an extract from one of the participants:
Provide security that is needed to the learner; accompanying the learner to and from.
We encourage parents to come to school and collect their children after school, especially those who are near the school. For those who stay far away we keep the children at school till the upper grades are dismissed, they go together. We are also providing security for ECD resources e.g. from vandalism during weekends and holidays. We have a security guard who patrols during the weekends and during school holidays (Vukosi School Head).
According to the participating school heads, setting of the school vision, selling and its achievement were some of their duties as school leadership. The vision of the school as seen by them had to do with the improvement of school resources. Besides the displayed charts with strategic development plans and school visions, school heads articulated ECD development plans already in place for the school. Usually, I interviewed school heads in their administration offices. They had plans for building classrooms and toilets for the ECD children. Some schools had vision 2020, others vision 2015. Below is one selected ECD developmental plan item taken from one of the schools.
The school administration and SDC have planned to build a Block for ECD with independent toilets then electrify the block. Those are our hopes. The building of the block is our strategic plan item number 12. Where there is a will, there is a way. It means by 2020 we would have finished building and electrifying the block (Dambara School Head).
The school heads of the visited schools were visionary and were working very hard to transform the learning standards of their ECD children. They believed that donor engagement was effective in bringing resources for the ECD; however, they were cautious that donations were short lived. So they had plans to supplement donor efforts so that when donors ceased their humanitarian assistance, they could continue without any problems. What they actually want was to refrain from relying solely on donor assistance.
Our school has a Strategic Development Plan for 2014-2015; ‘to make a nutritious garden for the ECD’. This, we think will go a long way in helping us feed our children instead of waiting for the donor to bring food. Humanitarian assistance is an unsustainable means which can cease any time, so we want to reinforce this feeding programme with a long term one to meet the needs of the ECD children. Yes! We are planning to have plants like potatoes, sugar beans and soya beans, tomatoes, onions, beets, carrots, garlic and an assortment of dark green leafy vegetables (Goko School Head).
This notion of vision is supported by Purkey and Novak (2008) who affirm that Invitational leaders seek to involve workmates in an important vision and explain the intended outcomes which people need to pursue, and the leaders express high hopes about the future with strong
expressive terms of self-assurance and passion. The school heads believed in fund-raising projects as part of the school head‟s responsibility. The idea was of raising funds for needed items in the school were developed from the technical vocational subjects that were recently introduced in the primary school curriculum (Nziramasanga, 1999). The school heads felt that the fund-raising projects could help them give relief to the poor peasant parents as well as train the children in life skills to fight poverty.
We have started a poultry project to raise funds to buy ECD requirements. We thought that if we can fund-raise that will help our parents since money to them is a problem (Hlolwa School Head).
The notion of participating in fund-raising projects in schools is supported by Purkey and Novak‟s (2008) framework for establishing positive and successful organisations through the use of useful programmes (Alderman, 2011).