Abstract
M. Ed.
The widespread quest for quality education and the urgency to improve learner
achievement make educator competence in South Africa essential. The tide of
educational change since 1994 marked a dramatic shift in attitudes towards
accountability and control of education in South Africa. Davidoff and Lazarus
(1997:95) contend that the demands of democracy and efficiency require some form
of accountability. They point out that all stakeholders have to be held accountable for
their responsibilities and decisions they make.
Educator appraisal was and still is a thorny issue for school leadership throughout
the world. The National Department of Education (NDoE) has attempted to place
appraisal within the context of the South African educational system (Mathula,
2004:3). All role players in the education environment have agreed over the years
that there is a need for change - to introduce an appraisal system acceptable with
educator unions that will enhance the competency of educators and the standard of
education in South Africa. There is no doubt that this new model (IQMS) for quality
management in schools holds significant benefits for learners, educators and schools
alike.
The purpose of this research study was to investigate the critical role of decisionmaking
and accountability as aspects of performance measurement and enhancing
educator competence and ultimately school effectiveness. The focus in this research
study was the need for accountable decision-making, empowerment and democratic
participation for successful implementation of the Integrated Quality Management
System (IQMS) in schools.
The introduction of the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), a national
initiative is essentially associated with the enhancement of teaching and learning.
According to the Collective Agreement Number 8 of 2003:4, of the Educator Labour
Relations Council (ELRC), the tenets of IQMS are underpinned by the purpose of
quality management systems which are to determine competence; to assess
strengths and areas for development; to provide support and opportunities for
development; to ensure continued growth; to promote accountability and to monitor
overall effectiveness of an institution.
One of the objectives of this research was to assist educators in ensuring that they
receive quality developmental support on an ongoing basis as well as to have an
appraisal system that is workable and effective. The focus was therefore on the
levels of preparedness of the principal and SMT members in relation to IQMS as well
as accounting for decisions made when evaluating educator performance.
The researcher opted for a quantitative research approach. The advantage of the
quantitative approach is that it measures the reactions of a great many people to a
limited set of questions thus facilitating comparison and statistical aggregation of the
data (Creswell,1994:117; Macmillan & Schumacher, 1993:114). In order to determine
the perceptions of educators about decision-making and accountability pertaining to
the implementation of IQMS in their schools, a structured questionnaire was used to
collect data.
In this research study thirty-one (31) items were designed to secure information on
the perceptions of educators at various post levels in order to determine the
implementation of IQMS at schools. The construct validity of the structured
questionnaire was investigated by means of successive first and second order factor.
These procedures resulted in the thirty-one (31) items being reduced to three factors
namely:
· Democratic participation consisting of 12 items with a Cronbach-alpha-reliability
coefficient of 0.887 with 10 items rejected.
· Empowerment consisting of 6 items with a Cronbach-alpha-reliability coefficient
of 0.895 with 7 items rejected.
· Accountable decision-making consisting of 6 items with a Cronbach-alpha–
reliability coefficient of 0. 849 with 4 items rejected.
It should be noted that both the first and second order factors are valid and have high
reliability coefficients, which could serve as a basis for providing guidelines for the
implementation of IQMS in schools.
Based on the research conducted, it was found that collaboration and decisionmaking
at all levels are key to successful implementation of systems. This is equally
applicable to the successful implementation of performance management systems in
schools.
Thus, the researcher recommends that:
· Principals must be trained in effective system implementation.
The leadership role of the principal is one that influences the effective performance of
educators. By virtue of their positions, principals are responsible for implementing
education systems and change, including, managing performance management
systems. One way of doing that is to become skilled leaders and change managers
that have the professional abilities and skills for intelligent decision-making and a
willingness to be held accountable for their actions.
· Develop support structures at district level to improve the sustainability of
new systems and continuous professional growth.
The district must invest time and resources in professional development opportunities
for collaboration so that educators are provided the means to build the capacity over
time. People at all levels need to be made competent and confident to implement
policy.
· Training and development
Training strategies for successful implementation must be strengthened. Many
implementation efforts fail because of insufficient training on the skills and knowledge
required for effective implementation. One of the criticisms levelled at appraisal
systems of the past, is that educators did not receive adequate training.
New systems mean dealing with changes, which means dealing with challenges. In
order to manage change, it is imperative to look at quality, quantity and complexion
of implementation.
The department needs to put in strategic steps whenever introducing new systems,
such as the IQMS. Training can only be worthwhile if properly executed.
The following should be included for implementation: resources, time and contextual
factors. Educators must have sufficient time to interact with the material, at all levels,
in order to gain ownership of the process.
· Empower principals to manage systems
The leadership role of the principal is one that influences the effective performance of
educators. By virtue of their positions, principals are responsible for managing
performance management systems. One way of doing that, is through good
leadership, good decision-making and a willingness to be held accountable.
· Supporting continuous implementation
The district must invest time and resources in professional development opportunities
for collaboration so that educators are provided the means to build the capacity over
time.
· Intervention strategies
Training strategies must be strengthened. Many implementation efforts fail because
educators have not been trained on the skills required. One of the criticisms levelled
at appraisal systems of the past is that educators did not receive adequate training.
From the research conducted, it can be concluded that decision-making and
accountability of the performance instrument revolves around the constructs of
democratic participation, empowerment and accountable decision-making. These
constructs were shown to have construct validity, high reliability and could thus serve
as a basis for implementing the process of IQMS effectively.