In presenting what I have learnt from the historical case study of the SMTs in the UCCZ mission schools, I adopt an approach of restating the research questions. The lessons in a
181 summary form are presented under these key research questions as extracted from Chapter One and Chapter Four.
7.2.1 What were the Practices of Leadership enacted by the SMTs in the UCCZ Mission Schools during the period 1995-2010?
The aim of the study was to explore in-depth the practices of leadership enacted by the SMTs in the UCCZ mission schools during the period 1995-2010. It described how the SMTs construct or interpret their own realities in relation to these practices. It has been revealed that schools can no longer be led by a lone figure at the top of the hierarchy. The only way that schools will be able to meet the challenges is to tap the potential of all staff members, allow teachers to experience a sense of ownership and inclusivity and to lead aspects of the change process. It has been indicated that the scope is broad and may include leadership around curriculum issues, assessment, teaching and learning, community and parent participation, school vision building, networking, and the development of partnerships. I strongly believe that giving teachers the autonomy to manage their own teaching and learning motivates them to do their best. Through sharing of power and support in schools, leaders are developed while accountability is collective. I understand that shared leadership practice, combined with a collegial team that is willing to make an extra effort in a school where structures are in place with a relationship- oriented leadership, is a recipe for success. The findings were that the four schools in the study were not in the same stage of development in their organisation but each exhibited leadership practices that suited the stage of development in the school.
However, the study found that both schools relied on collegiality and team teaching.
Through collegiality, both learners and teachers benefited while teachers took responsibility for their own development. It would then be reasonable to conclude that the teachers had the ability to initiate, drive and sustain the change process in the UCCZ mission schools. Team teaching was introduced by teachers as a way of supporting one another during the shortage of teachers in the study schools. These teachers saw the values as it impacted on teacher class performance while improving learner achievements.
Further, the leadership practices of both schools affected the achievement of students and the SMTs changed leadership practices according to needs at the time. Another important lesson revealed by the study is that relationships could make or break the school. School
182 heads, through their relationship-oriented approach, were able to communicate their vision and drive the schools in the required direction. Through building relationships around the core values of trust, respect, Ubuntu, equality and caring for each other, teachers in the UCCZ mission schools were able to learn new things, knowing that they had the support of the school. It is evident from the study that successful leaders relied on relationships to drive their vision and set direction for their schools.
The research revealed that when teachers are given necessary support in the field of teaching they become committed and work even harder for the benefit of the school. The school heads and SMTs in this study were the chief central characters who had the vision and overview of the school systems to come up with the required resources at the school.
They had the mandate for creating and maintaining the processes, systems and support structures to help the teaching staff develop and improve the knowledge, skills and attitudes to mobilise resources and effectively teach the learners. The study confirmed the importance of the „modelling‟ function of the school leaders. It was important for them to do the right things the right way. Effective professional learning involves intensive, sustained, theoretically-based yet practically-situated learning, with opportunities to observe good practice to be involved in the coaching and mentoring processes and to take time for reflection. It is therefore the role of the SMTs to coordinate the best practices for resource mobilisation and effective teaching, and to direct the efforts of the teachers to meet the set goals and targets. By so doing the teachers are forced by these circumstances to emulate their leaders, resulting in the best ways of mobilising resources and teaching of the learners in their respective schools.
7.2.2 How did the Leadership Practices of the SMTs in the UCCZ Mission Schools Respond to the Contextual Demands?
The study discussed the responses made by the SMTs to the contextual demands in the UCCZ mission schools during the period 1995-2010. It revealed that the SMTs responded to the contextual realities through sustaining the schools despite the economic hardships, transforming them and distributing leadership roles among other colleagues to meet the demands of the day. The focus on student achievement in challenging contexts such as UCCZ mission schools served as a clear indication that school change relies on school
183 leadership being transformational, distributive and context-responsive leaders at the initial stage of the reform. The SMTs in the UCCZ mission schools have achieved this goal through teacher staff development and made them understand what it means to be a teacher in an unstable and changing environment. Leadership skills can be emulated, created and achieved in order to become effective school leaders who can transform struggling schools in a harsh economic context such as Zimbabwe. The complex process of empowering the leadership team can be successful only if collegiality prevails in the organisation. The best work in institutions is achieved only when team spirit and commitment prevail among the SMTs and teaching staff. In order to achieve good outcomes as a result of professional empowerment, effective school leaders usually cultivate mutual trust and inter-personal relationship with the teachers. The school leaders should be willing to distribute leadership roles with fellow colleagues of the teaching staff, and the SMTs are able to extract resource mobilisation ideas from the teachers since they are the baseline supervisor who works closely with them.
School leadership is crucial in supporting teaching and learning, especially in the context of limited resources. School leaders and the responsible authority in the UCCZ mission schools were supportive to the teachers, bolstering their commitment while encouraging a wise use of the hard-won resources in order to effectively teach the learners. Teachers were the core players in the teaching process; hence empowerment was not empowerment at school until it reached the players in the teaching arena. Empowerment was not only necessary to the teachers but vitally important, since these teachers delivered the knowledge and content to the learners at all levels of their studies. The effect of resource shortage in the study schools was strongly felt by the teachers. Therefore, it is vital to empower the remaining teachers in Zimbabwe as a means of equipping them with the necessary technical resource required to boost the education sector.
Teachers in the UCCZ mission schools have been transformed and became capable in mobilising resources as well as using the available resources economically. Teacher empowerment is a process whereby a teacher develops both personally and professionally.
Empowered teachers in the UCCZ mission schools displayed professional growth, developed in their competences and were better positioned to solve their own problems in their schools and classrooms. With this empowerment, they were believed to have accumulated skills and knowledge of improving the situation in which they operated.
184 Hence, when teachers were empowered they possessed such traits as having access to decision-making in the school, their status was improved and their knowledge increased.
Empowered teachers have the potential to participate in critical decision-making that directly affects their work. This involved issues relating to departmental budgets, staff development programmes, resource mobilisation programmes and some other critical issues. These empowered teachers in the UCCZ mission schools were confident, genuine and could make sound decisions that were effective in their respective schools.
All schools in the study revealed that the role of staff development was managed by the Ministry of Education and UCCZ as the responsible authority. Teacher development was a crucial matter in the UCCZ mission schools, more so as research showed a lack of knowledge of subject content as the cause of poor performance. By having grown professionally, the teacher‟s perception was open to accommodate the opportunities offered by the schools for growth and development. This gave the teacher vision to continue increasing knowledge and expanding skills as they worked in the UCCZ mission schools. Usually when one is empowered, he or she is entitled to respect granted on the strength of knowledge and expertise demonstrated, resulting in support given by other teachers. Empowerment brings „self-efficacy‟ which gives teachers the knowledge and confidence that they are equipped with the skills and abilities to effectively mobilise resources as well as teach their learners during this trying times in Zimbabwe.
Empowerment gives teachers autonomy to consider themselves as sources of knowledge and skills in the working circle. When teachers were empowered they were no longer slaves to their classroom scenario, but rather they had a perception that they could make an improvement to their general school situation and their classrooms in particular. Teacher development and empowerment helped to alleviate resource mobilisation problems in the UCCZ mission schools.
Teachers‟ believed that they could make a difference in their working area, and had the perception, competence and ability to prepare teaching and learning in their schools. The study revealed that teachers could work successfully and effectively with little, without supervision, carrying out extra duties beyond normal working hours, and felt satisfied to be over-committed. They became more enthusiastic to contribute to the development of their schools. Overcommitted teachers, with the respect and admiration from their colleagues, would not sit back and wait for teaching and learning materials from the administration
185 office. These teachers would definitely improvise, and dedicate their time to look around in local environment for teaching and learning materials for their classes. Teachers‟
commitment to organisational development was stimulated by a supportive environment and proficient growth.
7.2.3 What are the factors that Promote or Hinder the Practices of Leadership in the UCCZ Mission Schools?
The study identified the factors that promote the practices of leadership in the teaching and learning process in the UCCZ mission schools during the period 1995-2010 as follows:
good support systems; relationship-orientated modelling and mentoring; and inclusive leadership practice. The findings from the study indicate that good support systems for teaching and learning should be in place and are essential. The study revealed that most schools in the UCCZ institutions now had books through UNICEF and ETF. Support from the SMTs has been identified as a crucial component in the success of leadership;
therefore, teaching and learning were highlighted as the core business and purpose of the UCCZ mission schools, despite the challenges faced by the schools. The SMTs and teaching staff were entrusted with a major role by the responsible authority to bring effectiveness to the study schools.
Schools in challenging circumstance were found to be ineffective and the SMTs‟ role was firstly to improve a situational factor which ensured that teaching and learning did take place. Research evidence constantly proved that quality leadership determines the motivation of teachers and the quality of teaching in the classroom. Good support systems in schools create a good learning environment for learners and the teaching staff finds it much easier to manoeuvre their way out. The provision of these support systems in the UCCZ mission schools enabled the SMTs to survive and develop in contexts of extreme adversity. Further, school leaders in the UCCZ mission schools believed that good relationships were crucial for the school‟s success and did everything in their power to ensure that relationships were maintained. The study revealed that there was a strong relationship between the SMTs, teachers, parents, SDC and the responsible authority among the UCCZ mission schools which enhanced the practices of leadership.