EDUCATOR QUESTIONNAKE SCHEDULE
63.1 Recommendation for successful policy implementation .1 Inclusion of educators in the planning
It is recommended that educators are included in the process of planning.
Policy should shift from prescribing a particular practice. This is a challenge for policy makers to start as close to the school level as possible to identify key points of leverage to bring about the desired changes. Christie, (1997) in the same vein, states that policy makers need to recognise that changing established patterns and dynamics in schools cannot be mandated by policy directives and is likely to take time. Exclusion of educators from policy processes will often precipitate resistance (Taylor, 1997:173).
If policymakers include the educators in planning up to implementation, the issues of context and "classroot realities" could be addressed at an earlier stage and implementation would not be as problematic because the environment would be well prepared beforehand to be conducive to implementation by all the relevant stakeholders. Policy implementation, according to De Clercq, (2000), is an interactive process which cannot be separated from policy formulation. Educators should therefore be included in both policy formulation and policy implementation.
According to De Clercq, cited in Le Grange (2000), curriculum change at the level of policy is unlikely to lead to substantive changes in South African classrooms unless policy development processes are broadened to include the
"importance of building the professional capacity and involving teachers centrally as key agents in both the design and implementation of new curricula." Le Grange (2000) provides an example of how top down curriculum and policy processes as well as contextual realities millitate against change. This present study (Gule), makes it clear that it may be naive to believe that the shift from policy into practice is a simple process. This may be particularly so, given South Africa's complex challenges as a consequence of its historical legacies. From the present study it is evident that policies that do not take into consideration the realities of classroom practice (or realities in which teachers work) may militate against the very intentions of that policy.
6.3.1.2 Individuality of the system
There is a need to abandon the assumption that all schools, teachers and classroom will develop as one. It should be considered that there are individual differences and individual rates of change. This applies to individual teachers, classrooms and schools. It is therefore recommended that in our efforts towards policy implementation, individuality of the system is considered. For example, when planning for workshops historically disadvantaged schools need to have different workshops from the ex - Model C schools.
Schools are at different levels of development. In this present study, both Mulberry and Blueberry schools were historically disadvantaged but at
different levels. Educators from these schools would not benefit equally from the same workshop because they have different needs which were not addressed in the workshops. If schools with similar needs attended the same workshop, the workshops would be relevant and constructive. The goals which would be set for these schools would be within their reach and achieving them would instil a feeling of confidence.
The workshops for the historically advantaged schools, ex - Model c, or the already competent schools would aim at improving in certain areas and help them to introduce sophisticated teaching and learning methods of the kind that would characterise Curriculum 2005 at its best.
Rogan (2000:119) affirms the individuality of the system when stating that an event is a global affair that does not occur in a particular context. This implies that events occur in different contexts with several factors affecting these contexts which result in individuality of the systems. Decrees on educational policy such as Curriculum 2005 are examples of events, but the process of change is an intimate affair that will play out differently in each and every school.
It is also recommended that future Curriculum 2005 training workshops for educators needs to be different and linked to educators' performance.
Performance of educators cannot be expected to be consistent because individual educators are at different levels of professional development. The training of educators should therefore not be the same for all educators.
6.133 Support for implementation
For an implementation to be successful, there must be a balance between pressure and support as indicated in 6.2.3 above. It is therefore recommended that there be a balance in the allocation of resources and addressing the needs of individual schools. Principals and School Management Teams (SMTs) need to be empowered so that they can offer relevant and constructive support which would be ongoing.
To the researcher it has become apparent that if C2005 is to be implemented in any meaningful way in classrooms, educators need a great deal of support and this includes:
support from SMTs resources (like furniture)
ongoing workshops to monitor the progress learner support material
teacher pupil ratio to be adjusted accordingly so that educators can manage individual group learning.
This kind of support will make educators feel that they are not left alone and know that they are implementing policy as they are mandated unlike when they lack assurance obtained from support.