Factors Affecting South African District Officials’ Capacity to Provide Effective Teacher Support

Bongani D Bantwini, Nolutho Diko

.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2011.23031                

Abstract

The role of district officials as education reform agents is undeniable. Through perspectives analyses, we explore factors that affected the capacity of eight South African districts to provide effective teacher support during the last implementation of natural science reforms. We argue that district officials’ capability and reality issues are some of the factors that are likely to determine the success or failure of reforms. Further, they have the gravity to nullify the efforts to improve school performances. Lastly, we propose ways to bridge the gap between theory and practice and strategies to promote partnership between district officials and schools.

Keywords

School Districts, District Officials, Curriculum Specialists, Curriculum Reforms, Natural Science, Science Education, South Africa

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Abele, M., Iver, M., & Farley, E. (2003). Bringing the district back in: The role of central office in improving instruction and student achievement. Baltimore, MD: Centre for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk, John Hopkins University.
[2]	Anderson, S. E. (2003). The school district role in educational change: A review of the literature. Toronto: International Centre for Educational Change, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
[3]	Bantwini, B. D., & King-McKenzie, E. (2011). District officials’ assumptions about teacher learning and change: Hindering factors to curriculum reform implementation in South Africa. International Journal of Education, 3, 1-25.
[4]	Bantwini, B. D. (2010). How teachers perceive the new curriculum reform: Lessons from a school district in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 30, 83-90. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2009.06.002
[5]	Bantwini, B. D. (2009). A Researcher’s experience in navigating the murky terrain of doing research in South Africa’s transforming schools. Perspectives in Education, 27, 30-39.
[6]	Chisholm, L., & Leyendecker, R. (2008). Curriculum reform in post- 1990 Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 28, 195-205. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2007.04.003
[7]	Corcoran, T., Fuhrman, S. H., & Belcher, C. L. (2001). The district role in instructional improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 83, 78-84.
[8]	Davis, K.S. (2003). “Change is hard”: What science teachers are telling us about reform and teacher learning in innovative practices. Science Education, 87, 3-30. doi:10.1002/sce.10037
[9]	Department of Education (2005). Conceptual and operational guidelines for the implementation of inclusive education: District-based support teams. Pretoria.
[10]	Fiske, E. B., & Ladd, H. F., (2004). Elusive equity: Education reform in post-apartheid South Africa. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
[11]	Grossman, P., Thompson, C. S., & Valencia, S. W. (2002). Focusing the concerns of new teachers: The district as teacher educator. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (p. 129-142), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[12]	Hargreaves, A. (2005). Educational change takes ages: Life, career and generational factors in teachers’ emotional responses to educational change. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 967-983. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.007
[13]	Hightower, A. M., Knapp, M. S., Marsh, J. A., & McLaughlin, M. W. (2002). The district role in instructional renewal: Setting the stage for dialogue. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (p. 1-6), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[14]	Jansen, D. J., (2002). Political symbolism as policy craft: Explaining non-reform in South African education after apartheid. Journal of Education Policy, 17, 199-215. doi:10.1080/02680930110116534
[15]	Jansen, D. J., (2004). Race and education after ten years. Perspective in Education, 22, 117-128.
[16]	Lemon, A. (2004). Redressing school inequalities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies, 30, 269-290. doi:10.1080/0305707042000215392
[17]	King, M. B. (2004). School- and district-level leadership for teacher workforce development: Enhancing teacher learning and capacity. In M. A. Smylie, & D. Miretsky (Eds.), Developing the teacher workforce: 103rd yearbook of the NSSE Part I (pp. 303-325). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[18]	Marsh, J. A. (2002). How districts relate to states, schools, and communities: A review of emerging literature. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (p. 25-40), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[19]	Massell, D. (2000). The district role in building capacity: Four strategies. Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania.
[20]	Massell, D., & Goertz, M. E. (2002). District strategies for building instructional capacity. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (p. 43-60), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[21]	Miles, M. B., & Huberman, M. A. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
[22]	Murphy, J., & Hallinger, P. (2001). Characteristics of instructionally effective school districts. Journal of Educational Research, 81, 175- 181.
[23]	Nakabugo, M. G., & Sieb?rger, R. (2001). Curriculum reform and teaching in South Africa: Making a “paradigm shift”? International Journal of Educational Development, 21, 53-60. doi:10.1016/S0738-0593(00)00013-4
[24]	Roberts, J. (2001). District development—The new hope for educational reform. Johannesburg: JET Education Services.
[25]	Rorrer, A. K., Skrla, L., & Scheurich, J. J. (2008). Districts as institutional actors in educational reform. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 307-358. doi:10.1177/0013161X08318962
[26]	Speck, M., & Knipe, C. (2005). Why can’t we get it right? Designing high-quality professional development for standard-based schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
[27]	Spillane, J. P., & Callahan, K. C. (2000). Implementing state standards for science education: What district policy makers make of the hoopla. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 401-425. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(200005)37:5<401::AID-TEA2>3.0.CO;2-D
[28]	Spillane, J. P. (2000). Cognition and policy implementation: District policy makers and the reform of mathematics education. Cognition and Instruction, 18, 141-179. doi:10.1207/S1532690XCI1802_01
[29]	Spillane, J. P. (2002). Local theories of teacher change: The pedagogy of district policies and programs. Teacher College Record, 104, 377- 420. doi:10.1111/1467-9620.00167
[30]	Spillane, J. P., & Thompson, C. L. (1997). Reconstructing conceptions of local capacity: The local education agency’s capacity for ambitious instructional reform. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 19, 185-203.
[31]	Spillane, J. P., & Thompson, C. L. (1998). Looking at local districts’ capacity for ambitious reforms. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
[32]	Stein, M. K., & D’Amico, L. (2002). The district as a professional learning laboratory. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (pp. 61-75), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[33]	Tyack, D. (2002). Forgotten players: How local school districts shaped american education. In A. M. Hightower, M. S. Knapp, J. A. Marsh, & M. W. McLaughlin (Eds.), School districts and instructional renewal (pp. 9-24), New York: Teacher College, Columbia University.
[34]	Walberg, H. J., & Fowler, J. T. (1987). Expenditure and size efficiencies of public school districts. American Educational Research Association, 16, 5-13.
[35]	Narsee, H. (2006). The common and contested meanings of education districts in South Africa. Pretoria: Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03232006-094442/unrestricted/00front.pdf