Research in Educational Policy and Management (E-Journal)
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Legal Execution of Curriculum in Primary Schools: School Management Teams’ Perspectives
Full text linkIn terms of curriculum management in primary schools, the study's main goal was to examine the roles and experiences of school management teams (SMTs). Therefore, it was intended to look at the functions of SMTs as instructional leaders. A qualitative research strategy was adopted, and data were gathered through non-participant observation, individual interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. The participants' meanings of their lived experiences were described using the interpretivist paradigm. The management of curriculum implementation was viewed through the lenses of instructional leadership and traditional management ideas. SMTs, or participants with plenty of information, were chosen through purposeful sampling. It was discovered that the SMTs must apply both management and leadership constructs to manage the execution of the program effectively. Ineffective management and leadership prevent effective teaching from taking hold in classrooms. For schools to be effective, leadership and management must be of a high calibre. Additionally, it was discovered that while SMTs were able to recognize their tasks, some of them lacked expertise in managing the execution of curricula. Only primary schools were examined, and the study mostly relied on the opinions of the SMTs, which include the principle, deputy principal, departmental heads, subject heads, and senior teachers
Enhancing Academic Development: A reflexive exploration of Staff and Students’ Experiences on curriculum co-creation
Full text linkAcademic development of students and staff is a critical element in higher education, especially with reference to their engagement in curriculum development. While higher education institutions advocate for the inclusion of students in curriculum co-creation, in practice, this has not been easily implemented. The urgency to create this collaborative ecosystem necessitates a reflexive contribution. In this article, I explore the experiences of academic staff and students on their engagement in curriculum co-creation with a specific focus on developing a study guide for the newly developed module, which is part of the decolonisation process. The emphasis on meta-cognitive skills and the social justice element in the curriculum development process ensures a responsive curriculum that meets the needs of society, students and staff in a cohesive and integrated manner. I underpin this reflective study on Schon’s theory of reflection on action. I argue that engaging students in curriculum creation stimulates deep learning, an empowerment attribute which I explore as it enhances innovative and critical thinking. This study employed qualitative methods of collecting and analysing data, followed by identifying important themes from the data. The reflections and emergent themes provide pathways to enhance academic development to encourage curricula co-creation processes in higher education
Debunking Critical Theory’s ‘Indoctrination’ Charge: Provisional Notes on Critical Diversity Literacy Pedagogy
Full text linkSeveral decades after the abolishment of the formal slave trade, the administrative colonisation of Africa by Europe, and the adoption of progressive international human rights laws for equality, there is no doubt that pro-social justice education is facing a massive backlash from the far right globally. As critical diversity studies teaching and learning practitioners and facilitators, we address how the normative order seeks to legitimise anti-social justice discourses using invalidated assumptions, including the myth that critical theoretical education employs indoctrination. We show how our work is about making visible the baseless and groundless nature of arguments made by the far right in their dismissal of critical theory (CT). Using experiences from teaching and learning in the Theories of Diversity, Otherness & Difference postgraduate course at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (WiCDS), we show how CT is a pivotal pedagogical banister for the 21st century. A banister is a support structure along the rails of a staircase. CT in critical diversity studies (CDS) incorporates anti-foundational thinking, which assumes no fixed theoretical resting place as this simplifies the complexity of diversity issues. Overall, this article concludes that far from being a form of ‘indoctrination’, as is argued by the far right, CT is a useful pedagogical banister for our existence in the 21st century
The multidimensional role of the principal in post-apartheid-South-Africa
Full text linkThe end of apartheid in 1994 brought about radical changes in the South African education system, especially for school principals to manage their own affairs as promulgated in the South African Schools Act. These developments have changed the principal's position irrevocably. However, these changes did not result in the expected outcome in the majority of schools for a number of reasons. Teachers are frequently unsure whether the anticipated changes will have the desired impact in schools. Moreover, principals and teachers have different views on how these changes will affect schools and their work. This paper adopts a conceptual approach that draws on various theories and concepts from the literature on school leadership and management. Understanding the challenges of the school principal's job after apartheid was the aim of the research. The Standards for School Principalship (2015) provided the theoretical framework and basis for this conceptual paper. It should be noted that principals are the most crucial persons in education since they serve as managers and major delivery agents in the educational system. They are the driving force behind improved educational outcomes in South Africa after apartheid. However, it is increasingly uncommon for principals to carry out their multifaceted tasks alone because of how significantly their positions have altered since 1994. All the parties concerned with running a school should receive training and orientation in this respect. The main findings of this paper are that, since the end of apartheid, principals face various challenges in their role, such as lack of resources, support, autonomy, accountability, collaboration, diversity, equity, quality, innovation, and professionalism
Developing a Media Literacy Perception Scale
Full text linkThe purpose of this research was to develop a scale to determine the perceptions of media literacy. For this purpose, trial forms have been created and submitted for expert opinion. The scale items were revised based on the feedback received after the trial forms were examined about the content validity according to expert opinion. A pilot study was conducted with a sample group with characteristics similar to the general population in order to assess the construct validity, sub-dimensions, and reliability level of the draft scale, which was finalized after expert opinions were obtained and appropriate revisions were made. The working group of the pilot study was composed of students selected apart from the research sample. In order to reach the students, the “Simple Random Sampling” method was used. The construct validity of the scale was tested by performing factor analysis (EFA + CFA). To determine the reliability of the scale, item-total score correlations and Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient values were used.
Since several items had low item-total test correlations and some items had loadings for two distinct variables that were close to one another, these items were gradually excluded from the study until there were no extreme values present in the analysis and statistical errors were eliminated. Validity analyses (EFA + CFA) and Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of the obtained data were performed and the statements were finalized and the “Media Literacy Perception Scale” (MLPS) consisting of 16 items and three dimensions (factors) was created. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the entire scale in this research was found to be .86
Strategic Leadership Policy Strategies to Optimize Justice and Equity for Children of Child-Headed Households
Full text linkSystemic inequalities pervade our education systems worldwide. No time, like the present, is more apt for school principals to thwart inequalities and ensure that quality is infused in all classrooms and permeates the entire schooling system. This article contributes to the paper on how school principals may utilize their strategic leadership role to enhance the socially just experiences of learners in child-headed households (CHHs). The aim is to investigate and counter justice and equity violations of learners in CHHs, from the perspective of social action leadership theory (SALT) with the help of deconstruction of texts in the Children’s Act, Policy on the South African Standard for Principals, and Revised White Paper on Families. The findings call attention to the human agency role of the principal to resist oppression in schools and promote equity and achieve justice and equity for learners in CHHs. Implications for a just strategic leadership plan to advance anti-oppressive practices for CHHs are shared. This article recommends that principals consider the recommended strategies to advance equity, enact human agency, and perform social justice to counter justice violations and prevent inequalities in school systems in their quest to realize equitable societies
Unpacking Continuous Assessment: Teacher Knowledge and Attitudes in Zimbabwe Rural Secondary Schools
Full text linkThe paper explores the implementation of continuous assessment in the context of teacher knowledge and attitudes in Zimbabwean rural secondary schools. Continuous assessment is a new curriculum assessment regime in the curriculum reform agenda in Zimbabwe introduced in the 2015 updated curriculum.The study defines continuous assessment as the mechanism where thelearner performs over timeconstitutes the final gradingof the learner.The researchers explain the teacher-related implementation challenges in continuous assessment in rural secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Ten teachers and five secondary school heads from Goromonzi District of Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe participated in the study. The five participating heads were conveniently selected, while theten teachers were randomly sampled to participate in the case study.Semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect qualitative data on rural teachers’ conceptualisationof continuous assessment and how this had shaped their attitudes towardthe concept. The general finding from the study was that the new assessment regime had empowered the teachers to make critical decisions about the students they teach and allow learners to co-create knowledge relevant to their life contexts.However, their concerns were around the absence of knowledgeable professionals in the area who can cascade and message the correct and accurate information regarding the implementation of the assessment reform.The study further found that this weakness in the implementation chain had resulted in negative attitudes of teachers and school heads. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education revisit the current continuous assessment to takeon board all educational stakeholders’ concerns for effective implementation of the assessment reform
Constructing a Social Justice Curriculum Policy in the 21st Century
Full text linkIn the dynamic and ever-changing educational landscape, it is crucial to rethink and construct social curriculum policy in the 21st Century. At the same time considering integrating skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving into the curriculum, and reflecting the evolving needs of a dynamic society. The endeavour of developing a robust social justice curriculum policy requires a clear understanding of the diverse and ever-changing needs of learners and education practitioners, as well as the commitment to fostering inclusivity, equality, equity and empowerment within educational systems. There are twelve articles published in this special issue. We believe that these articles will assist policymakers in various countries, provinces or states, and districts to frame and construct the socially justice curriculum policy for 21st Century
Engendering Technology-Assisted Pedagogy for Effective Instructional Strategy in the University of Namibia Language Centre
Full text linkThe advent of COVID-19 disrupted existing socio-economic activities and has unveiled digital inequities and injustices. The pandemic led to a forced migration of education activities towards the new normal using technology-assisted pedagogies around the globe, Africa and Namibia is no exception. This paper attempts to report on how the blended-learning strategy for the Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students course was developed in the University of Namibia. The study used the Flipped Approach as a framework which guides self-reflection, active cognitive processing, interaction and peer-teaching. The paper used a combination of empirical as well as theoretical-based research. Firstly, a Google Form questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data that profiled students. A conveniently sampled respondents participated in the study. Secondly, a reflective practice is applied to highlight the use of a technology-assisted learning strategy that enables effective pedagogic access to Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students at the University of Namibia’s Business School. The student-profiling results showed that more students preferred the blended learning mode, which makes them less likely to resist the proposed strategy. It also emerged that all the students have technology devices, which makes it possible to engage in the learning processes that involve the usage of technology. Post-COVID-19, stakeholders in the higher education context should re-imagine the traditional stances in order to transform the way teaching, learning and assessment shall be enabled after the crisis. This calls for educators to re-invigorate, re-imagine, re-think, re-construct and de-construct the way they conduct pedagogic activities
Introduction to Special Issue: Re-imagining Teaching and Learning in the Context of Current Crises
Full text linkIn this editorial, we describe the reasons for the special issue, namely the need to understand and re-imagine the “new normal” of teaching, learning, and teacher professional development in light of the societal inequities and economic injustices laid bared by the COVID-19 pandemic. We summarize the extent to which the articles in this issue help us take a new look at classroom practices of teachers within higher education and K-12 spaces, and re-envision of educational policies and theoretical frameworks within and beyond learning spaces to enhance inclusivity