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Dissertation

Education district office support for teaching and learning in schools: the case of two districts in the Eastern Cape

01 Jan 2013-
About: The article was published on 2013-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 8 citations till now.
Citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the experiences and perceptions of school educators on how school principals monitor curriculum delivery and investigate the principal-agent problem and accountability in education in the Eastern Cape.
Abstract: This study aims to explore the experiences and perceptions of school educators on how school principals monitor curriculum delivery. It investigates the principal-agent problem and accountability in education in the Eastern Cape. Two types of data are used: qualitative data from interviews with school principals and teachers, and quantitative data from an international educational evaluation. The interview data were collected in 2015 at selected primary schools within three Eastern Cape education districts. Respondents at each school included the school principal and three foundation phase teachers. To triangulate findings from interviews, the association between school leadership and student academic scores in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 dataset was examined for both Grade 5 and 9. The association between measures of instructional leadership (e.g. teachers’ understanding of curricular goals and teachers’ degree of success in implementing curricular goals) and student scores for mathematics and science was explored using linear probability models. Findings confirm the existence of the principal-agent problem in education, since many school respondents indicated that curriculum delivery monitoring was not conducted as expected. From the multivariate analysis, instructional leadership variables, such as teachers’ understanding of curricular goals and teachers’ degree of success in implementing the curriculum appear as important correlates of student achievement, though significance differs according to level of schooling and whether the questions were answered by principals or teachers. Policy implications point to a need to hire, empower and support principals to create a culture of accountability in schools.

6 citations


Cites background from "Education district office support f..."

  • ...Mavuso (2013) (citing Lugaz & De Grauwe, 2010, and De Grauwe & Carron, 2007) also points out that district support serves a monitoring function to achieve quality teaching and supervision of schools....

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  • ...Mavuso (2013) distinguishes between district roles of inspection and support by stressing that the former is perceived as undemocratic, while the latter is understood to be developmental....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article investigated how education development officers in Eastern Cape view the practice of school visits and found that the purpose of EDO's school visits was mainly to check if teachers performed their teaching duties.
Abstract: There is no significant improvement in South African learner outcomes. This is particularly so in provinces such as the Eastern Cape where grade 12 results always lag behind those of other South African provinces, and literacy levels continue to plummet. This paper therefore investigated how Education Development Officers in Eastern Cape view the practice of school visits. Six Education Development Officers in two education districts were purposively selected. This study was premised on the qualitative research approach and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. The findings revealed that the purpose of Education Development Officers’ school visits was mainly to check if teachers performed their teaching duties. It also emerged from the data that visits to schools were mainly for the purpose of controlling policy implementation. This means that there was no coherent supportive strategy for school visits. This study recommends that the Department of Basic Education develop a framework...

3 citations


Cites background from "Education district office support f..."

  • ...EDOs are the district officials who are tasked with leading and managing schools through the provision of resources and professional support to educators (Mavuso 2013; Department of Education 2008)....

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  • ...Their role includes the management of administration and pedagogical issues in schools (Mavuso 2013; Department of Education 2008)....

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Dissertation
01 Oct 2018

3 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...They have moved from ‘inspection’ and ‘supervision’ to ‘support’ and ‘development’ so 71 that they may adequately assist schools (Mavuso 2013:3)....

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References
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Book
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The eagerly anticipated fourth edition of the title that pioneered the comparison of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design, John W, Creswell as discussed by the authors, includes a preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions, a review of the literature, an assessment of the use of theory in research approaches, and reflections about the importance writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry.
Abstract: The eagerly anticipated fourth edition of the title that pioneered the comparison of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design. for all three approaches, John W, Creswell includes a preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions, a review of the literature, an assessment of the use of theory in research approaches, and reflections about the importance writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry.

20,949 citations

Book
31 Dec 1969
TL;DR: This chapter discusses the construction of Inquiry, the science of inquiry, and the role of data in the design of research.
Abstract: Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY. 1. Human Inquiry and Science. 2. Paradigms, Theory, and Social Research. 3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research. Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 4. Research Design. 5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement. 6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies. 7. The Logic of Sampling. Part III: MODES OF OPERATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 8. Experiments. 9. Survey Research. 10. Qualitative Field Research. 11. Unobtrusive Research. 12. Evaluation Research. Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 13. Qualitative Data Analysis. 14. Quantitative Data Analysis. 15. The Logic of Multivariate Analysis. 16. Statistical Analyses. 17. Reading and Writing Social Research. APPENDICES. A. Using the Library. B. GSS Household Enumeration Questionnaire. C. Random Numbers. D. Distribution of Chi Square. E. Normal Curve Areas. F. Estimated Sampling Error. Preface. Acknowledgments.

14,990 citations

Book
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: The Making of Meaning Interpretivism For and against Culture Interpretivism The Way of Hermeneutics Critical Inquiry The Marxist Heritage Critical Inquiry Contemporary Critics and Contemporary Critique Feminism Re-Visioning the Man-Made World Postmodernism Crisis of Confidence or Moment of Truth? Conclusion
Abstract: Introduction Positivism The March of Science Constructionism The Making of Meaning Interpretivism For and against Culture Interpretivism The Way of Hermeneutics Critical Inquiry The Marxist Heritage Critical Inquiry Contemporary Critics and Contemporary Critique Feminism Re-Visioning the Man-Made World Postmodernism Crisis of Confidence or Moment of Truth? Conclusion

11,580 citations


"Education district office support f..." refers background in this paper

  • ...“It is not possible for qualitative researchers to be totally objective, because total objectivity is not humanly possible” (Crotty, 1998; Schutz, 1994 in Ahern, 1999)....

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