Improving Leadership and Management in Schools

Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education

May 2015

Outline• Purpose• Background• Introduction• Management programmes• South African Standard for Principalship• Advanced Diploma in Leadership and

Management• Competency Assessment for principals• Induction for newly appointed principals• Training of principals on curriculum management• Training of principals on financial management

2.

Purpose

To provide the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education with the Department’s strategy to improve Leadership and Management in schools

3.

Background• The Teacher and Professional Development

Branch is mandated to improve teacher capacity and practices through provision of effective, coordinated and high quality professional teacher development programmes.

• It aims at improving teacher supply through effective recruitment and support strategies.

• It also aims to strengthen school management and governance by ensuring that all schools are functional through proper and appropriate management and governance processes.

4.

Introduction• Effective school management is universally

accepted as being the critical element in the success of a school.

• Challenges of leadership in schools is considered to be the main contributor to underperformance and dysfunctionality.

• This is usually related to the capacity, competence and nature of the school management teams, particularly the principal.

5.

Management ProgrammesThe Department is implementing programmes that are aimed at improving leadership and management in schools. This involves programmes that will enhance and protect the image of principalship, together with capacity building programmes to improve the quality and competence of school principals.

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List of programmesThe planned programmes on improving leadership and management of principals are as follows:a)Developing standards for South African principls;b)The development of an Advanced Diploma in Leadership and Management;c)Review of appointment procedure of School Management Teams (SMTs) to ensure that appropriately qualified and competent teachers are appointed as school managers;d)Competency assessments for principals;e)Training of principals on curriculum management;f)Training of principals on financial management; andg)Induction programme for principals.

7.

South African Standard for Principalship• PROBLEM STATEMENTCurrently, very little has been documented in South Africa on

what the country’s education system expects of those responsible for leadership and management of its schools. Both the Personnel Administrative Measure (PAM) and Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) provide limited information on the roles and responsibilities of school principals

NOTING• Noting that standard setting for principals is an international

phenomenon which has been implemented successfully throughout first world countries, South African education system will benefit from developing its own standard to enhance the professional image and competencies of schools.

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Aim of the SASPThe standard for principalship will serve many purposes which include: •Providing clearly defined roles of principals and the key aspects of professionalism and expertise required in such positions; •Serving as a template against which professional leadership and management development needs may be addressed; •Providing information to all stakeholders in education about what is expected of a principal; •Informing better recruitment and selection procedures and providing the basis for improved performance management processes applicable to principals; •Being used by principals to identify their personal professional development needs throughout their careers; •Guiding those aspiring to be principals on what is expected of a school principal; and•Providing explanations to QMS Evaluation Tool.

9.

Progress• On 7 August 2014, the Minister of Basic Education published, in the

Government Gazette (National Gazette no: 37897 of 2014, Volume 590) a call for public comments on the SASP. Comments were received from teacher organizations, PEDs, SAPA, SGB Associations, non-governmental organisations, the Commission for Gender Equality, teachers, university lecturers, members of the public and from the DBE directorates such as Whole School Evaluation and Legal Services.

• The DBE established a Task Team to analyse the public comments and incorporate them into a draft document for the Minister’s approval.

• Teacher unions were consulted individual before the completion of the final draft.

• The SASP has served at both HEDCOM and CEM for approval.

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MANAGEMENT PLAN

ACTIVITY TIME LINE

Discussions at HEDCOM 19/20 April 2015

Discussion at CEM June 2015

Professional editing 27 May 2015

Gazetting by Government Printers 8 June 2015

Printing of the gazette for every school and

stakeholders

15 June 2015

Distribution of gazette to provinces 22 – 27 June 2015

Mediation of the policy to PEDs and

districts

July– September 2015

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Advanced Diploma in Leadership and ManagementProblem statement•The training that teachers go through prepares them for the classroom alone and not to be school managers. Successful education systems across the globe take aspirant principals through a specially designed training programme for preparing them for leadership and management position.Noting•that there is no qualification specifically designed for principals. All principals in the country are teachers who have been promoted to management positions and learnt on the job.

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Motivation for the qualification • The NDP call for the implementation of entry qualification for

principals and for the appointment of appropriately qualified and competent principals

• School management is a fundamentally different role to that of a classroom teacher and as such requires specialised skills and preparation.

• The demands on school management have changed, with emphasis growing on managing learning, safe, diverse, integrated, and challenging, school environments appropriate to a 21st Century progressive African country.

• We need principals with the ability to interpret the demands of their jobs and determine how they will perform this within the context of national development.

• The principals need to tap into the full potential of themselves and the rest of the school community, while seeing their job within the context of improving teaching and learning in the school.

13.

Progress• The DBE is working with the Department of Higher

Education and Training together with universities in partnership with Zenex Foundation to develop and Advanced Diploma in Leadership and Management.

• This is the qualification that will eventually become an entry level qualification for principals. The following has been developed:– Literature review;– Programme outline;– Module design template; and– Bid specification requirements for the advertisement of the

tender for the development of the qualification and modules.

14.

Reviewal of appointment measures• The Department is reviewing and developing new measures

for the appointment of principals and other SMTs members such as HODs and Deputy Principals as per the prescript of the NDP.

• The measures will include clear selection criteria for each level on management in terms of teaching experience, minimum years at managerial level, competency, learner results in the position, cases of misconduct, criminal cases.

• The PAM has to be also amended to include the reviewed minimum qualification years to include serving at a managerial position compulsory for the appointment of principals and deputy principals.

• The measures will strengthen the role of education departments by requiring candidates to undergo competency tests.

15.

Competency Assessments for principals• PROBLEM STATEMENTDespite concerns around the involvement of governing bodies

and the alleged influence of unions in the appointment of SMTs, shortlisting and interview processes alone remain inadequate as means for appointing quality school managers. Additional mechanism need to be included in the selection and appointment of school managers.

• NOTINGIt has been noted that some candidates go through interview

processes and impress panellist because of their good command of the language while lacking in managerial skills. 20 to 30 minutes interviews are used to determine the future of schools during interviews without considering other aspects of selection process.

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Proposed solution• A variety of batteries should be used to select

experienced, appropriate and competent school managers.

• Competency assessments for SMTs should be rolled out across the whole public schooling system, partly to ensure that everyone who is appointed into a managerial post fulfils at least the minimum requirements for the advertised job, and partly to provide a profile of the existing group of school principals, including capacity gaps that need to be addressed through training.

• This is also a requirement of the NDP.

17.

Progress• The Western Cape has a working system for

competency assessments managed by the Premier’s office while Gauteng has taken 80% of their principals and deputy principals through competency assessment. The two provinces are not using the results of the assessments as a prerequisite for appointment yet.

• Elements of the assessment have been identified and summarised.

18.

Induction for newly appointed principalsPROBLEM STATEMENT•Newly appointed school managers find themselves in promotional posts unprepared because of lack of programmes to prepare them for their new role and responsibility. Their learning on the job takes more time than required in the absence of a focus programme to make them ready for the new task•It has been noted that there is a need for a national driven induction programme for school managers. •Some provinces conduct inductions for new appointees

19.

Planned induction programme• Induction programmes are part of the capacity building

programmes for school managers which set the scene for the proper introduction of a teacher into a management position.

• Newly appointed SMTs must be taken through a year-long induction programme which will be broken into sessions.

• The first session must take place before the new appointees take up a post at the school.

• The first week of the induction programme will exposed principals and SMTs to the basic expectations by the department in carrying out their responsibilities.

• It will include a package of important legislations, good practices and non-negotiables and how the circuit and district offices function.

• The subsequent sessions will cover all aspects of leadership and management over a period of time as indicated in the induction framework.

20.

Training of Principals on Curriculum Management• Over the years when the department introduced a

new curriculum, no dedicated training was provided for principals leading to teachers being more knowledgeable on curriculum matters than their supervisors.

• It is noted that school principals, by legislation, are expected to be instructional leaders who lead the management of curriculum implementation in schools.

• Performance in the Annual National Assessment (ANA) and the National Senior Certificate (NSC) requires good curriculum management which include curriculum planning, curriculum coverage and improved school based assessment.

21.

Progress• The Department of Basic Education has

completed the training of provincial officials in Management & Governance section and Circuit Managers through the Teacher Union Collaboration Fund in March 2015.

• The training was provided by the department in collaboration with Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU).

22.

Progress continueProvince Expected

NumberActual Number

Eastern Cape 238 0

Free State 72 93

Gauteng 206 230

KwaZulu Natal 295 206

Limpopo 141 154

Mpumalanga 128 125

Northern Cape 77 61

North West 118 54

Western Cape 107 0

Total 1,382 923

23.

Plan• The DBE has planned to have all principals

trained on curriculum management during the June/July school holidays.

• Trained provincial officials and Circuit Managers will lead the training under the supervision of the DBE.

• PEDs are required to submit training and management plans to the DBE in May 2015.

24.

Training of Principals on Financial Management

Problem statementThe Department allocates millions of rands to schools each year. Not all the schools are able to manage the allocated funds appropriately. The Department and public offices that deals with corruption reports are inundated with complains from members of the public about the misuse of funds in schools.Lack of proper financial management is one of the causes of poor working relations in schools, leading to schools becoming ungovernable and dysfunctional.

25.

Benefits of the training• The training of school principals will go a long way towards

reducing the number of poor performing schools and improving the management of curriculum delivery in schools.

• The training will enable Principals to provide professional leadership and management of the curriculum and therefore ensure that the schools provide quality teaching, learning and resources for improved standards of achievement for all learners.

• It will also strengthen the professional role of Principalship, through strengthening the Principals competency level by:o Encouraging self-reflective practitioners;o Enabling the school leaders to manage the curriculum and

schools as learning organisations; ando Instilling values supporting transformation in the South African

context.

26.

Progress• Pilot trainings have been conducted in the

Gauteng West district with the intention to improve the training manual.

• A draft memorandum of Agreement between the DBE and ABSA has been developed.

• After the signing of the Agreement, the DBE, working with provinces and districts will identify principals who deserve to be trained on financial management.

• Departmental officials together with financial specialists from ABSA will provide the training to the principals.

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27.

Thank You

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