Instructional leadership perspectives and practices of heads of departments for science in Lesotho secondary schools

Abstract

Successful leadership is one of the strongholds of a high-quality education system. Instructional leadership is an important factor affecting classroom activities because principals ensure that all decisions target the enhancement of instruction. However, principals are no longer sole instructional leaders because they cannot effectively monitor and support instruction. Therefore, decision-making in schools is the responsibility of many people hence, a distributed perspective rather than an individualistic view of instructional leadership is necessary. It is against this context that subject departments have become the centre of interest. However, the significance of HoDs as instructional leaders has not been fully acknowledged in practice and research for secondary schools. This study recognises this gap in scholarship and therefore, explores the perspectives and practices of heads of science departments, aimed at improving instruction.

This mixed-methods research of a convergent parallel design is based on the distributed instructional leadership (DIL) framework which is a product of two complementary concepts, namely the instructional leadership model and the distributed leadership theory. Instructional leadership models highlight the leaders' functions while the distributed leadership philosophy acknowledges the contribution of all members towards leadership. Data were collected from a multi-stage concurrent nested sample of 67 schools through a questionnaire, interviews and document analysis. Responses from the questionnaire were analysed through statistical analysis software (SAS) whereas qualitative data were thematically analysed.

Descriptive data reveal that sampled HoDs had an above-average engagement with instructional leadership. However, these HoDs were most active in having high expectations about their department’s performance (M=4.6) and least active in assessing teachers’ professional development (M=2.64). The HoDs who held permanent positions were also more actively engaged with leadership (M=3.31-4.03) than their counterparts who were temporarily employed (M=3.20-3.87)) and they had significant differences linked to providing materials (p=0.01, F=7.05) and supervising instruction (p=0.02, F=5.36). Qualitative data disclose that selected HoDs knew instructional leadership even though they neglected some subjects due to a lack of content knowledge, large workloads, and lack of confidence, among other challenges. The recommendation is that the leadership responsibility needs to be distributed beyond the HoDs to include leaders for each subject to promote effective instruction in all the areas within the science department.

Suksesvolle leierskap is een van die hoekstene van ’n hoëgehalte onderwysstelsel. Onderrigleierskap is ’n belangrike faktor wat klaskameraktiwiteite beïnvloed, aangesien skoolhoofde toesien dat alle besluite gerig is op die bevordering van onderrig. Nietemin is skoolhoofde nie meer die enigste onderrigleiers nie, aangesien hulle nie in staat is om onderrig doeltreffend te moniteer en te ondersteun nie. Gevolglik rus besluitneming in skole by verskeie rolspelers; daarom is ’n verpreide perspektief, eerder as ’n individualistiese siening van onderrigleierskap, noodsaaklik. Binne hierdie konteks het vakdepartemente die fokuspunt geword. Die rol en betekenis van departementshoofde (DH’e) as onderrigleiers word egter nog nie volledig in praktyk en navorsing vir sekondêre skole erken nie. Die studie besef hierdie leemte in die onderwysveld en ondersoek gevolglik die perspektiewe en praktyke van die hoofde in wetenskapdepartemente, met die doel om onderrig te verbeter. Hierdie gemengdemetode-studie, wat ’n konvergente parallelle ontwerp volg, is gebaseer op die raamwerk van verspreide onderrigleierskap wat gebou is op twee aanvullende konsepte: die model van onderrigleierskap, en die teorie van verspreide leierskap. Modelle van onderrigleierskap beklemtoon die funksies van die leiers, terwyl die filosofie van verspreide leierskap die bydrae van alle lede tot leierskap erken. Data is ingesamel uit ’n multistadium, samelopende geneste-steekproef van 67 skole deur middel van vraelyste, onderhoude en dokumentontleding. Die antwoorde op die vraelyste is met behulp van statistiese analisesagteware (SAS) verwerk, terwyl kwalitatiewe data tematies geanaliseer is. Die beskrywende data het getoon dat die geselekteerde DH’e ’n bogemiddelde betrokkenheid by onderrigleierskap gehad het. Hulle was egter die aktiefste in hul hoë verwagtinge rakende hul departement se prestasie (M=4,6), en die minste aktief in die evaluering van onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling (M=2,64). Departementshoofde in permanente poste was ook meer aktief betrokke by leierskap (M=3,31–4,03) as hul tydelikaangestelde eweknieë (M=3,20–3,87), met beduidende verskille in die verskaffing van materiaal (p=0,01, F=7,05) en toesig oor onderrig (p=0,02, F=5,36). Kwalitatiewe data toon dat geselekteerde DH’e bewus was van onderrigleierskap, maar sekere vakke verwaarloos het – onder meer weens uitdagings soos ’n gebrek aan inhoudskennis, groot werksladings, en ’n tekort aan selfvertroue. Die aanbeveling is dat leierskapsverantwoordelikhede verder as die DH’e versprei moet word om leiers vir elke vakgebied in te sluit, ten einde doeltreffende onderrig in alle areas van die wetenskapdepartement te bevorder.

Boetapele bo atlehileng ke e nngwe ya ditshiya tse matla tsa tsamaiso ya boemo bo phahameng ba thuto. Boetapele bo laolang ke bohlokwa bo amang se etsahalang phaposing hobane dihlooho tsa dikolo di nnetefatsa hore diqeto tsohle di toba matlafatso ya ho ruta. Leha ho le jwalo, dihlooho tsa dikolo ha e sa le tsona feela tse etellang pele mokgwa wa ho ruta, hobane ha ba kgone ho hlokomela ka matla le ho tshehetsa thuto. Kahoo, ho nka diqeto ho batho ba bangata sekolong, ke kahoo ho leng bohlokwa, ke kahoo sena se abetsweng batho ba bangata se le bohlokwa. Ke ka lebaka lena mafapha a thuto a fetohileng setsi sa kgahleho. Leha ho le jwalo, bohlokwa ba Dihlooho tsa Mafapha, jwaloka baetapele ba ho ruta, ho sa ananelwa diketsong le diphuputsong dikolong tsa Sekondari. Mosebetsi ona o bona sekgeo sena diskholashiping, mme ho hlahlojwa botebo le ditlwaelo tsa dihlooho tsa mafapha a Saense e le ho phahamisa boleng ba ho ruta. Tsela ena ke mekgwa e kopantsweng ya diphuputso e itshetlehileng ketapeleng e phatlaladitsweng, e hlahisitsweng ke mehopolo e mmedi e tlatsanang, e leng mokgwa wa boetapele ba ho ruta, le ketapele e phatlaladitsweng. Ena mekgwa e hlakisa mesebetsi ya boetapele ha boetapele bo phatlaletseng dikolong tse 67 bo amohela diphehiso tsa bohle ho leba ho baetapele. Datha e bokelletswe ho hlaha disampoleng tse ngata tse maemong a mangata a fapaneng dikolong tse 67 ka mokgwa wa ho botsa dipotso, dipuisano le tlhahlobo ya ditokomane. Dikarabo di ile tsa hlahlojwa ho ya ka manollo ya SAS ha ya boleng yona e hlahlobilwe ho ya ka kamano le tsebo. Datha ya tlhaloso e bokelletswe e hlahisa hore Dihlooho tsa Mafapha tse hlahlobilweng di na le bokgoni bo phahameng ba ketelopele. Leha ho le jwalo, dihlooho tsena tsa mafapha di ne di kgothaletse ho ba le tebello tse hodimo ka tshebetso ya mafapha a bona (M=4.6) mme ba sa kgothalla ho hlahloba tswelopele ya bona boemong ba mosebetsi (M=2.64). Dihlooho tsa mafapha ba mesebetsing e tsitsitseng ba ne ba shebile feela tsa boetapele (M=3.31-4.03) ho feta bomphato ba bona ba neng ba tshwere mokobobo (M=3.20-3.87) mme ba bile ba na le diphapano tse kgolo mabapi le ho fana ka disebediswa (p=0.01, F7.05 le ho hlokomela ho ruta (p=0.02, F=5.36). Datha ya boleng e bolela hore Dihlooho tsa Mafapha tse kgethilweng di tseba boetapele ba ho ruta leha ba ne ba kgetholla dithuto tse ding ka lebaka la ho hloka tsebo ya tsona, mosebetsi o mongata, le ho hloka ho itshepa, di ba neha phephetso e matla. Kgothalletso ke hore boikarabelo ba baetapele bo nehelanwe ho Dihlooho tsa Mafapha ho kenyeletsa baetapele bakeng sa thuto ka nngwe, e le ho matlafatsa le ho phahamisa ho ruta ha boemo bo phahameng dibakeng tsohle tsa mafapha a Saense.

Ubuholi obuyimpumelelo bungezinye zezinqaba zenqubo yezemfundo esezingeni eliphezulu. Ubuholi bokufundisa buyingxenye ebalulekile enomthelela emisebenzini yaseklasini ngoba othishanhloko bayaqinisekisa ukuthi zonke izinqumo zihlose ukuthuthukisa ukufundisa. Nokho-ke, othishanhloko abasebona abaholi abazimele ngoba abasakwazi ukuqaphela ngempumelela futhi besekele ukufundisa. Ngakho-ke, ukuthatha izinqumo ezikoleni kungumsebenzi wabantu abaningi okusho, umbono owabiwe kunokuba ngumbono womuntu oyedwa wobuholi bokufundisa. Kungenxa yalesi simo ukuthi iminyango yezemfundo seyiphenduke izizinda zokubukwa. Nokho-ke, ukubaluleka kwama-HoDs njengabaholi bokufundisa akukaziswa ngokugcwele emsebenzini kanye nasocwaningweni lezikole zamabanga aphezulu. Lolu cwaningo luveza leli gebe olwazini futhi ngakho-ke, luphenya imibono kanye nemisebenzi yezinhloko zeminyango yesayensi, ehlose ukuthuthukisa ukufundisa. Ucwaningo lwezindlela eziyingxube lohlaka oluhambisanayo ngokuhlobanisa luncike ohlakeni lobuholi bokufundisa obabiwe, idistributed instructional leadership (DIL) okuwumqhikizo wamakhonsephthi ahambisanayo, abizwa ngemodeli yobuholi bokufundisa kanye nenjulalwazi yobuholi obabiwe. Amamodeli obuholi bokufundisa aveza imisebenzi yabaholi ngesikhathi ifilosofi yobuholi obabiwe iveza umnikelo wawo wonke amalunga uphokophelele ebuholini. Imininingo yaqoqwa esampulweni yokuhlanganiswe kanye nezigaba eziningana zezikole ezingama-67 ngendlela yohlamibuzo, izingxoxo kanye nokuhlaziywa kwamadokhumenti. Izimpendulo eziphuma kuhlamibuzo zahlaziywa ngesofthiwe yokuhlaziya izinombolo, istatistical analysis software (SAS) ngesikhathi imininingo yekhwalithethivu yahlaziywa ngezindikimba. Imininingo echazayo iveza ukuthi ama-HoDs asampulwa anokuhlanganyela okungaphezu kokulindelekile nobuholi bokufundisa. Nokho-ke, lawa ma-HoDs ayesebenza kakhulu ekubeni nokulindelekile okuphezulu mayelana nokusebenza kweminyango yabo (M=4.6) futhi besebenza kancane ekuhloleni intuthuko yokusebenza kothisha (M=2.64). ama-HoDs abanezikhundla zanomphelo babenokuhlanganyela kakhulu nobuholi (M=3.31-4.03) kunabalingani babo ababeqashwe okwesikhathi esinqunyelwe (M=3.20-3.87) futhi babenomehluko omkhulu kakhulu ohlobene nokunikezelwa kwezinsiza (p=0.01, F=7.05) kanye nokwengamela ukufundisa (p=0.02, F=5.36). Imininingo yekhwalithethivu iveza ukuthi ama-HoDs akhethiwe abe azi ngobuholi bokufundisa yize noma bebenganaki ezinye izifundo ngenxa yokwesweleka kolwazi lezifundo, imithwalo emikhulu, kanye nokwesweleka kokuzethemba, phakathi kwezinye zezingqinamba. Iziphakamiso ukuthi umsebenzi wobuholi udinga ukuthi wabiwe ngaphezu kwama-HoDs ukufaka kuwo abaholi bezifundo ngasinye ukugqugquzela ukufundisa okuyimpumelelo kuzo zonke izindawo phakathi kuwo umnyango wesayensi.