Instructional Leadership Capacity of Secondary School Science Heads of Department in Gauteng, South Africa

Malinga, Cynthia B; Jita, Loyiso C.; Bada, Abiodun Adekunle

doi:10.26803/ijlter.20.12.16

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Studies in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong made similar observations of secondary school department leaders' position and importance in their schools as instructional leaders and managers (see Brown & Rutherford, 1999;Chow, 2013;Tam, 2010). A study in South Africa also noted similar role expansion-to what Mayers and Zepeda (2002) observed in the United States-between the multiple responsibilities of curriculum management, instructional leadership, and a perception of insufficient time in some schools to lead in all areas of their official responsibilities (see Malinga et al, 2021).…”

Section: Domains Of Distributed Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 77%

A Content Analysis of Secondary School Department Leader Position Descriptions

Attwood

2023

International Journal of Curriculum Development and Learning Measurement

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This study examines a sample of secondary school department leader position descriptions in the United States to compare understanding of the change and continuity in the role of the secondary school department chair as a curriculum leader and manager of learning. Position descriptions include general descriptions for all content areas as well as a specific position description for K-12 computer science, art, and social studies. These are compared for their thematic similarities and differences with implications for how the role of secondary school department leader has been officially envisioned and what these data suggest in comparison to the literature. As such, this study addresses a gap in the literature on department leader roles in reference to their official job descriptions. Implications for teacher leadership are discussed for instructional leadership and the department chair's role in learning measurement.

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Section: Domains Of Distributed Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 77%

A Content Analysis of Secondary School Department Leader Position Descriptions

Attwood

2023

International Journal of Curriculum Development and Learning Measurement

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“…In addition to NS teachers being generalists, school leaders allocate teachers who are poorly qualified in science or who do not have any science specialization to teach the subject. Malinga and Jita (2015) tell the story of a language teacher who was allocated to teach NS when the language that teacher had taught was phased out as a subject in the school. At another school, a life orientation teacher volunteered and was allowed to teach NS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the Organizational Infrastructure for Instructional Leadership in Natural Sciences Teaching Among Formerly Segregated Schools in Gauteng

Malinga

Jita²,

Bada³

2022

IJEBP

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School organizational conditions influence teaching and learning. Instructional leadership is context-based, and the practices of the leader are contingent upon the school’s organizational context. In this paper, we examine how different schools create the organizational infrastructure for teaching and learning natural sciences (NS) and the adequacy thereof in providing a supportive environment for the teachers and students in the subject. Using a mixed methods approach, we compare the extent to which the organizational infrastructures in schools enable and/or constrain NS instruction and its leadership. We use survey data on NS teachers and their heads of department on school conditions and infrastructures, management and administrative processes, and subject leadership practices. A total of 77 schools and 15 participants responded to the questionnaire and participated in the interview/observation respectively, from 4 districts in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The findings showed that schools sharing similar socio-economic contexts have similar organizational infrastructures and arrangements around which the core work of teaching and learning was organized. The study concludes that school organizational infrastructures (shaped by contexts) may either promote or constrain effective instructional leadership for NS. We recommend that schools need to review their organizational arrangements and infrastructures to support instructional leadership and enhance their capacity to strengthen NS instruction more effectively.

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Teachers’ opinion and experiences of the application of instructional leadership: evidence from history teachers

Musandu,

Jita,

Bada

2023

International Journal of Leadership in Education

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While there is overwhelming evidence regarding the impact of instructional leadership on student learning and outcomes (Leithwood et al., 2014;Mendels, 2012), there is far less knowledge and little systematic research on how teachers respond to the practice of instructional leadership (Bellibas, 2014;Isaiah & Isaiah, 2014). This study arises out of the concerns that instructional leadership has not received sustained attention from educational researchers in Zimbabwe. Much of the research work in Zimbabwe has tended to focus on separate aspects of leadership without looking particularly at the phenomenon of instructional leadership per se. This is evidenced by recent studies on leadership conducted by Mapolisa and Tshabalala, (2013); Samkange, (2013); Sibanda and Mutopa, (2011) and Zikhali and Perumal, (2014). The idea of teachers' perceptions and experiences of instructional leadership remains largely unexplored (Bellibas 2014).Therefore, little is known about how teachers perceive and experience instructional leadership.The study drew on the mixed-methods research inquiry with the explanatory sequential design as the guiding framework. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. Three data gathering instruments namely, the questionnaire, the focus group discussion and observation were used to tap History teachers' perceptions and experiences of the central phenomenon.Overall, the key findings of the study reveal that the majority of the teachers perceive instructional leadership as of great benefit as it enhances school effectiveness and improves student attainment. As such, the school head should provide leadership aimed at improving teaching and learning. The school head should share this type of leadership with other formal school leaders such as the deputy head, senior master/senior lady and heads of department. The idea of taking informal leaders on board also enjoys widespread support. However, results on the ground showed that informal leaders are not recognised in the Zimbabwean school system. The study has established that contrary to the popular position in instructional leadership literature, the vi majority of the respondents are of the perception that the school head should concentrate more on administration and managerial roles.History teachers prefer to be supervised by school leaders who share the same area of specialisation with them and who possess formal training in the area of school leadership. However, these expectations by the teachers are not met by the reality on the ground as History teachers are at times supervised by leaders who are the opposite of what they expect.The majority of teachers support the idea of a school having a vision on student learning and mission statement created by the school head in consultation with other staff members. Teachers expect formal and informal channels of communication to be utilised in communicating the school vision, mission statement and goals. However, available evidence showed that only formal channels of communicat...

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Instructional Leadership Capacity of Secondary School Science Heads of Department in Gauteng, South Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

A Content Analysis of Secondary School Department Leader Position Descriptions

A Content Analysis of Secondary School Department Leader Position Descriptions

Comparing the Organizational Infrastructure for Instructional Leadership in Natural Sciences Teaching Among Formerly Segregated Schools in Gauteng

Teachers’ opinion and experiences of the application of instructional leadership: evidence from history teachers

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