Qualitative research was conducted to develop a better understanding of maintenance substitution education in relation to their role in enabling the introduction of the FET curriculum in schools. The SMT members who were interviewed felt that no stakeholders in the schools participated in the interviews prepared for the implementation of the FET curriculum.
Introduction
The National Qualification Framework provides the structure for the new curriculum in South Africa and this framework is the key element in the transformation agendas of the two sectors, namely education and employment. For this capacity building to occur and flourish, SMTs must be comfortable with all the dimensions and complexities of the new curriculum.
Background and motivation to the study to be undertaken
Since our school is a secondary school, more stakeholders are expected to participate in the affairs of the school. It cannot be expected that the implementation of the new curriculum will be solely within the SMT domain, but all stakeholders are expected to contribute.
The focus of the study
My view is that any development of educational structures is expected to pay more attention to the cultural context and environment of the people. One of the most critical challenges facing transformation efforts in the South African education system is the tendency to borrow foreign models without attempting to adapt.
Research questions
Numerous attempts to bring about successful change have failed, largely because not enough attention has been paid to the potential impact of school culture and professionalism (Fullan & Steigebauer, 1991). The aim of this research is to develop a better understanding of the readiness status of the SMT in relation to the roles they can play or the contribution they can make to the knowledge production regarding the professional development of their employees.
Significance of the study
This study also considers how development programs such as retraining initiatives through professional development and in-service training provided outside of school can be implemented and complemented by SMTs' own professional development programs provided within their schools to deliver the FET curriculum . readiness for school. It is hoped that the officials of the Department of Education will benefit from the study in that it will show their shortcomings in terms of their initiatives in providing professional support to SMTs in schools.
The layout of the study
The NCS informs a system that seeks to create a South African identity that includes critical awareness, transform South African society, promote democracy and increase student engagement in education.
Introduction and orientation
Literature review and theoretical framework
Research design and methodology
Emerging stories from the field
Limitations to the study
Conclusion
Introduction
Legislations and Policy Framework
Some other pieces of legislation that cannot operate in isolation and outside the field of FET include the Basic Education and Adult Training Act (Act 52 of 2000), the South African Qualifications Authority Act (SAQA) 1995. SAQA provides for the establishment of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF), which forms the basis for a national learning system that includes education and training at all times.
Elucidation of concepts .1 Profession
- Professionalism
- Development
- Professional Development
The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (1996) as well as Steyn and van Niekerk (2002) have a similar view of professional development. Professional development is very crucial, especially in light of the new FET curriculum and its implementation.
Teamwork
School leaders essentially encourage and support the development of a collaborative school culture, with clear educational mission and processes, structures and resources that allow educational change to flourish. Everyone in a group agrees to a decision even if no one in the group sometimes supports the decision.
Managing Change
Fullan (1993); Sparks (1993), as well as other researchers, point out that school leaders must understand the change process in order to effectively lead and manage change and improvement efforts. Peterson (1993) states that the process of change should be accepted as a positive experience to be understood and embraced, rather than a negative experience to be feared and avoided (Fullan & Miles, 1992). When the SMT is ready to begin the school improvement process, there is a need to bring in experts and change facilitators to build the capacity of school staff to lead change efforts. Leaders of improvement efforts must address the problem of resources (time, money, and support), the need to train and retain knowledgeable and motivated staff, and the challenge posed by the shifting goals of the Department of Education's central office, the state, and local community (Siencowics, 2001).
International perspective
Training programs should focus on training department heads to prioritize objectives. Curriculum audit, management and evaluation skills, evaluation techniques and process were considered a necessary component of the training program. The core of the professional development training needs in North West England relates to the development of departmental leaders.
African perspective
This can be linked to the South African experience, as there is an outcry even in South Africa, especially for the lack of training of educators (Financial Mail, July 2007). It also attempted to explore local responses to the education decentralization reform that the government introduced to the education system in the 1980s. In 1987, Ghana's Ministry of Education (MOE) seemed to have lost its plans for (LCC).
Discussion
Conclusion
Introduction
Research objectives
The research design and methodology
This happens when participants express their ideas as well as their feelings about the topic at hand. Participants were asked to provide suggestions which they thought might be relevant to the topic at hand. Qualitative researchers often enter the natural field of the people they are studying and have face-to-face interviews with participants.
Selection methods used
For the purpose of this study, a rural area refers to an area under the authority of a traditional leader in terms of the legislation KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Leadership and Governance Act (No. 5 of 2005) and Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act (No. .41 of 2003). In this way I ensured that I received a balanced view from three different contexts and that would enrich the findings of the research. Being a member of the SMT myself somehow contributed to the participants considering me as one of them.
The participants
Gaining access to the research site and participants is an important step in the research process (Henning, 2004; Cohen, Marion & Morrison, 2007). Each participant was considered gatekeepers in their own right and permission to participate in the study was also sought from each of them. What is the perceived role and functions of the SMT in preparing educators for the introduction of the FET curriculum in schools.
Ethical considerations
That said, I also made sure to negotiate with them personally, explain the purpose of the study, and actually ask their permission to voluntarily participate in the study. I also informed them that they had the right to withdraw from the study entirely at any stage of the research process. The same thing happened when we had our conversations with the educator from School-B; interruptions took place in the same way as with the HOD of the same school.
Coding of schools and participants .1 Coding of schools
We had to make an appointment to have our interview on the same day I was interviewing the director. On the day scheduled for the interviews, I ended up interviewing the principal and a teacher. The deputy director and a HOD apologized for that day and we arranged another day. DP-C: Refers to the Deputy Head of School-C HOD-A: Refers to the Head of Department of School-A HOD-B: Refers to the Head of Department of School-B HOD-C: Refers to the Head of Department for School -C EDU-A: refers to a teacher from School-A EDU-B: refers to a teacher from School-B EDU-C: refers to a teacher from School-C.
Conclusion
The data presented in this chapter was collected using the methodology described in the previous chapter. It starts by describing the profile of the participating schools, and then the circumstances of the interview and the presentation of the gender issues. The general data presented in Chapter Four includes the views, opinions, experiences and suggestions of the principals, deputy principals, heads of departments (HODs) and teachers.
Profiling the participating schools
- School-A
- School-B
The conditions in which the school operated were poor due to the lack of all-weather roads. The school is in an urban context, it is located in the Central Business District (CBD) of a city that is growing enormously. Most of the participants stated that the budget in the form of school fees was not enough to cover their teaching and learning needs.
Gender presentation
Emerging themes from the data
- Department’s workshops are the only tools for educators’ professional development
- School readiness is a serious issue: Are schools ready?
- Perceptions about plans and staff developmental programmes for the FET curriculum
- Perceptions about information and training received by the schools for the FET curriculum
- Professional development as a tool for the implementation of FET curriculum Members of the SMT (principals, deputy-principals and HODs) believed that staff
- Support structures for ensuring professional development for the FET curriculum
- Positive and Negative features of the FET Curriculum
I mentioned in the previous sections that the SBS did not prepare educators for the implementation of the FET curriculum. The question remains, what is the role and function of the SBS in preparing educators for the implementation of the FET curriculum. Staff development programs were considered crucial for the preparation of the teaching staff for the implementation of the FET curriculum.
General ideas about change and the FET curriculum
This scenario is worrying given that the Ministry of Education views principals and the SMTs as drivers of change and transformation at the school level, but the data in this study suggest otherwise.
Conclusion
Introduction
What are the perceived role and function of the SMT in leading professional development for the introduction of the FET curriculum?
What plans and procedures for implementing the professional development has the SMT initiated in the school?
How effective is the professional development programmes in schools to ensure school readiness?
Another finding related to that expressed in the above paragraph is that it was mainly the educators who felt they were ready to implement the FET curriculum. The HOD of School B stated that the school was ready to implement the FET curriculum. The educator of School C also said that the educators were competent and responsible for the implementation of the FET Curriculum.
The IQMS has a crucial role to play in implementing the FET curriculum
He went on to say that principals know their direct responsibilities and that they instruct teachers and other members of staff to do what is required of them. The HODs were directly involved and the parents were informed about the shared responsibility of guiding their children into adulthood. Most pedagogues believed that the channels of communication between the heads of department and the principals of the schools should always be open.
Recommendations
One area that needs to be addressed by the Department of Education is the willingness to engage in a robust and constructive debate on the future of the FET curriculum. The second recommendation to the Ministry of Education is that it should take into account school principals and other members of the SMT when introducing new programs. Directors must be aware of all developments and be able to facilitate development at their school.
Conclusion
Related to this discussion is the issue of the professional development of educators, which must be part of the discourse in education. In conclusion, principals from municipal and rural settings do not necessarily know less about the FET curriculum. This study covered only three schools and more information is needed on the current situation in schools regarding the implementation of the FET curriculum.
The role of the principal in staff development, unpublished MEd dissertation, University of Zululand, Durban. The role of SBS in leading professional development for the introduction of the FET curriculum at 3 schools within the Pinetown district.
