Abstract
In most organisations, Human Resource Development (HRD) functions have become the traditional responsibility of human resource professionals. The main purpose of HRD is to improve the competencies and performance of employees for the benefit and effectiveness of their organisations. There are various HRD interventions that can be chosen and implemented by organisations, including: off-the-job and on-the-job trainings, mentoring and coaching, induction and formal programmes. In recent times, organisations are under pressure to train and develop their employees in order to meet the demands brought by internal and external factors. These demands stem from the changes exerted by advances in technology, globalisation, climate change and in some instances, fierce competition from other organisations.
In the education sector, the need to improve and deliver quality education to learners and students is imperative, considering the past laws which discriminated against the majority of African people in South Africa. Educators and lecturers are crucial for South African education institutions to achieve the goal of improving quality in education. Similarly, managers in the sector are also responsible for the effective utilisation and development of human resources. The present study explores the effectiveness of HRD by line managers in the South African education sector. The study assumed that line managers in most educational institutions are educators, lecturers, and/ or academic personnel with substantial teaching background. The primary research question the study sought to answer is: how effective is the implementation of HRD as a key performance area of line managers in the South African education sector? To answer this primary research question, the study adopted a qualitative research design approach in terms of which twelve (n=12) participants were purposively sampled from three subsectors, namely: private and public schools; Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges; and private higher education institutions (HEIs). The participants included Heads of Departments (HODs), Deputy Principals, a Senior Lecturer, and a Curriculum Coordinator; all of whom were involved in the study through semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analysed thematically.
The three themes that emerged from the data analysis include: key responsibilities, guidance and support, and the evaluation of HRD interventions. It is in that context that the study made the following findings: line managers in the education sector effectively perform certain HRD responsibilities and need guidance and support from relevant stakeholders when performing some of these HRD functions.
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Furthermore, line managers in the education sector are able to identify and implement effective HRD interventions, but do not use evaluation models to measure these interventions. Consequently, they require feedback and reports from employees, observe the performance of employees, and analyse learner results to determine improvements. The study contributes to the body of knowledge in HRD, training and development, performance management, stakeholder involvement and measurement of HRD interventions. The study’s practical contribution is realisable in its proposed reciprocal support for the HRD stakeholder model, which can be a useful basis for the allocation of HRD responsibilities to key stakeholders and the continuous and mutual support that is necessary for the effective implementation of HRD activities.