Editorial

From text: Many of the articles published in our 2016 edition have focused on the issue of quality education from a number of different perspectives. The current issue continues this journey and exploration but focuses more closely on three important aspects of the quality education debate: first, the focus is on higher education. Zeroing in on two professional programmes, one for teachers and another for engineers, several of the articles probe pertinent questions about the graduates’ knowledge, competences and attributes

Instructional leadership for the improvement of science and mathematics in South Africa

AbstractThe role of leadership in the improvement of teaching and learning has long been established in the literature. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of attempts to influence (or lead) classroom teachers, especially in the areas of science and mathematics. What remains unclear and somewhat contentious however, is what kinds of leadership matter for the improvement of learning and achievement in schools. This paper presents findings from a large-scale, qualitative research project on the leadership practices of 102 successful schools serving formerly disadvantaged children in South Africa. Data from a rich set of interviews with school administrators and subject specialists, document analysis, and school observations suggest that the more successful schools, in the group, distinguish themselves in the way they define and construct the overall goals of leadership around instruction and have developed fairly elaborate structures and processes for monitoring instruction (especially in mathematics and science). Using the framework of distributed leadership, we develop an account of how leadership for instructional improvement is constructed in the more successful schools in South Africa. We conclude the paper by puzzling over the rather strained (or non-existent) relationship between leadership and instruction in most (South African) schools, and explore why improvements in school achievement are rather rare among such schools serving the poor and (formerly) disadvantaged learners

Editorial

From text: Many of the articles published in our 2016 edition have focused on the issue of quality education from a number of different perspectives. The current issue continues this journey and exploration but focuses more closely on three important aspects of the quality education debate: first, the focus is on higher education. Zeroing in on two professional programmes, one for teachers and another for engineers, several of the articles probe pertinent questions about the graduates’ knowledge, competences and attributes

Correlates of South African subject leaders’ perspectives and their perceived competence on instructional leadership

Too often, instructional leadership is perceived as an area of competence for principals with less focus on teachers, especially those with subject leadership responsibilities. In the study reported on here we investigated the perspectives of subject leaders and their perceived competence in instructional leadership as a basis for its correlation. Two hundred and five subject leaders from a purposive sample of 100 primary schools across 5 education districts of the Free State province in South Africa were surveyed on their knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of instructional leadership, in relation to their perceived competence. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and regression. The results show that beliefs about instructional leadership tend to correlate negatively with perceived competencies and make no impact on such competencies. On the other hand, knowledge and perceptions showed significant correlation and are thus considered to be the better predictors of subject leaders’ perceived competencies on instructional leadership. Further examination using regression analysis shows that perceptions may have a high impact on perceived competence. Consequently, we recommend interventions to deliberately target subject leaders’ perceptions of instructional leadership to promote a more distributed practice of subject leadership in schools. Keywords: distributed leadership; heads of departments; instructional leadership; perspectives; South Africa; subject leader

School leadership practices for science and mathematics in high-stakes testing environments: An integrated school leadership approach

High school science and mathematics achievements in high-stakes testing environments are often characterised by poor performance and reduced participation by learners. The poor performance and reduced participation by learners in science and mathematics is often on the school improvement agendas. Making sense of how to improve learner achievements in science and mathematics is a school leadership function in addition to being a function of classroom practice. This study used an integrated model of school leadership to explore how a Pretoria high school made sense of how to achieve and maintain high learner performance in science and mathematics under the pressures of high-stakes testing. The single case study was purposely selected for consistently achieving high learner performance in science and mathematics. Narratives were elicited from conveniently selected positional leaders, a science teacher and a mathematics teacher. The study highlights integrated school leadership practices for resource and material mobilisation, fit-for-purpose teacher professional development and cultivation of a school culture defined by attitudes, values and work ethics to achieve and maintain high performance is science and mathematics. A recommendation for a further study is made

Followership and sustainability of school leadership for Science and Mathematics: A distributive perspective

In leadership-followership relationships, roles are exchangeable, portraying followers as co-constructors of school leadership processes. Leadership literature largely focuses on the effectiveness of leaders and neglects the role of followership. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of followership in the construction of leadership processes for secondary school Science and Mathematics. We used a narrative inquiry in the form of a single school case study purposefully selected for being a top performing school in Physical Sciences and Mathematics. Narratives were elicited from seven participants who included positional leaders and teachers. Follower role identities and the leader-follower trade (LFT) were used as conceptual frameworks. An active follower role identity enabled teachers to co-construct and sustain leadership processes for Science and Mathematics. Significant teaching experience, subject expertise and proven records of good results in learner attainments activated the identity. The teachers co-constructed and sustained leadership processes for Science and Mathematics through participative leadership, continuous teacher learning and classroom practice

Effect of brain-based teaching method on secondary school physics students’ retention and self-efficacy

Inequality in education is a challenge that have persisted and still likely to persist for a long time in the field of education because students come into the classroom with different characteristics thus posing a great concern to the realization of classroom objectives. The use of adequate teaching strategy might break this limitation thereby making every student to engage in meaning learning. The two objectives of this study include i) to investigate the effect of brain-based teaching (BBT) method on students’ retention on the topic, heat energy (ii) to investigate if self-efficacy influence physics students’ retention on the topic, heat energy, when taught using brain-based teaching method. We adopt the design, pre-test post-test control group quasi experimental design for the investigation. The participants were 99 (experimental group, n= 46; control group, n=53) students and were selected from two schools in Ondo using random sampling technique. A researcher designed data collection tool titled heat energy test (HET) was used to collect data in this study. HET’s validity was achieved by giving the draft to three science education experts and two secondary school physics teachers for validation. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (Mean, t-test. ANCOVA) were used for analysis. Brain-based teaching method significantly improved the retention of students in physics (heat energy) and also, self-efficacy did not influence physics students’ retention in physics (heat energy). In conclusion, brain-based teaching method enhanced the retention of physics (heat energy) thus breaking the limitation posed by differences in the characteristics of the studentsPeer Reviewe

A comparative study of knowledge, beliefs, and opportunities to learn afforded to physical science B.Ed students

Large-scale studies show country and institutional differences in the preparation of pre-service teachers. Subsequently, there is growing interest in the determination of the opportunities-to-learn afforded to pre-service teachers at various universities and the effects thereof in South Africa and elsewhere. There are however few studies that provide a contextually nuanced view of the effects of teacher education on pre-service teachers. This study therefore compares opportunities-to-learn afforded to pre-service teachers and their levels of competence i.e. knowledge and beliefs at four universities in South Africa. Quantitative analysis reveals that some universities afforded pre-service teachers more opportunities-to-learn in agreement with the nature of the universities. Furthermore, some opportunities-to-learn afforded to pre-service teachers are related to beliefs measures but they are not related to knowledge measures. The findings suggest while the pre-service teachers seem to be afforded sufficient opportunities-to-learn at some universities, this does not readily translate into higher levels of competence

Teachers’ concerns on integrating information and communications technologies into physical science in Lesotho

The integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into teaching depends on teachers’ viewpoints manifested as concerns. This paper investigates teachers’ concerns in selected Lesotho schools regarding the new reform namely, the integration of ICTs into physical science instruction. Data were collected from a random cluster sample using the stages of concern questionnaire with an 8-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis software (SAS) was employed to analyse the data to get the descriptive results and the ANOVA of the hypothesis. The percentile score for the informational self-concerns was the highest at 87.5. This demonstrates that the teachers were concerned about gaining knowledge of ICT integration. These teachers therefore require ongoing support providing more information on available ICTs and their potential to improve teachingInstitute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE

Student’s rating of secondary school physics teachers’ classroom practice: Implications for teaching and learning

Evaluation in secondary schools has been left in the hands of school management, administrators, and teachers. Little or no attention has been paid to the concerns of students, who happens to be another important stakeholder in the teaching-learning process. Students’ voices regarding teachers’ classroom practice can have great implications for teaching and learning. This study investigated students’ ratings of secondary schools’ physics teachers with particular reference to teachers’ use of instructional material(s), methods, and classroom management. This study adopted the descriptive survey design, which involved 1,256 physics students randomly selected from the three senatorial districts in Ondo, Nigeria. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect data for this research and the data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from this study revealed that physics teachers were rated low in their use of instructional materials and instructional methods. However, physics teachers were rated high in the area of classroom management. This study concluded that the use of good instructional materials and methods while still adopting the best classroom management is crucial to the realization of classroom objectives. The paper contributes to the scholarship on how students’ views of their teachers can have great implications for teaching and learning