GENDER AND COMMUNICATION IN SCHOOL MANAGEMENT: RISING ABOVE CULTURAL BARRIERS

GENDER AND COMMUNICATION IN SCHOOL MANAGEMENT: RISING ABOVE CULTURAL BARRIER

Fighting the scourge: violence at school plagues teachers and learners

Violence and crime are antisocial maladies beleaguering a significant number of schools in South Africa. These ailments have debilitating effects on learning and teaching, posing a major management problem for school principals and their management teams. TSHILIDZI NETSHITANGANI reports on a pilot study that investigated the internal dynamics of schools where these incidents occur.

Views of parent governors’ roles and responsibilities of rural schools in South Africa

This article is based on the findings of a qualitative case study, which formed part of a nationwide research project. The project named 500 Schools Community Engagement Project was conducted by the academics of the University of South Africa in five provinces of South Africa. It used a mixed methods approach. However, for this article, only qualitative data were utilised. As part of gathering data, a case study was also used to enhance the findings of the larger project on the role of parent governors. Six parent governors from two schools belonging to two rural provinces, namely, Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal were purposefully sampled for the case study; three from each province. The case study aimed to investigate the views of parent governors’ roles and responsibilities. In-depth individual interviews were utilised to gather data from participants. Data analysis was conducted thematically. Findings suggested that problems still exist around issues of the understanding and implementation of the South African Schools Act in the sampled schools. It was evident from the findings that parent governors unintentionally or intentionally shifted their governance roles and responsibilities to principals. A suggested, a strategy to improve cooperation among School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams is to involve universities in the training of newly elected School Governing Bodies

Summative evaluation of the West Coast Further Education and Training College

Commissioned by the Monitoring and Evaluation of Danida Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD) Programme (Phase II), March: final document released JuneThis document reports on the evaluation undertaken at West Coast Further Education and Training College in February 2009. The evaluation was undertaken as part of the roll out of Danida's Support to Education and Skills Development, Phase II (SESD II). The SESD programme aims to support transformation in the Further Education and Training (FET) college sector at the national level; in the three targeted provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, North West and the Western Cape and in the participating colleges. The development objective is to increase the employability of male and female youth and adults, through supporting the delivery of practical and labour market oriented education and skills training within the FET band. The SESD programme consists of two phases: SESD I (from 2003 to 2006) and SESD II (started in July 2007). While SESD I focused on seven colleges, two more colleges were included in SESD II, bringing the total number of colleges supported during this phase up to nine. The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) was engaged during SESD I to design and implement a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system that measured the transformation in SESD supported colleges and provinces. The M&E system was designed as an incremental evaluation model to be employed over the three year period of SESD I. It took the form of a baseline study at each of the seven participating colleges. These were followed by a series of formative assessments at approximately six-monthly intervals and a summative assessment at the end of the three year phase. At the baseline assessment and each successive assessment colleges were rated against various characteristics that formed the elements of seven key dimensions in which improvements at college level are likely to lead to better education and more employable learners in the FET sector. The dimensions are: values and vision, leadership and management, knowledge sharing, institutional health, responsiveness (partnerships and programmes), teaching and learning, and learner support. A baseline study equivalent to that conducted at the seven colleges participating in the SESD I programme was carried out at West Coast College in June-July 2007. The current assessment is designed to monitor and evaluate the achievements at the college since the baseline assessment. A brief overview of the main SESD II programme interventions at West Coast College from 2006 is provided in the next section

Baseline evaluation of the Mnambithi Further Education and Training college

Commissioned by DANIDA, Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD) Programme Phase II, JanuaryThis document reports on the evaluation undertaken at Mnambithi Further Education and Training College in November 2008. The evaluation was undertaken as part of the roll out of DANIDA's Support to Education and Skills Development, Phase II (SESD II). The SESD programme aims to support transformation in the Further Education and Training (FET) college sector at the national level, in the three targeted provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, North West and the Western Cape and in the participating colleges. The development objective is to increase the employability of male and female youth and adults, through supporting the delivery of practical and labour market oriented education and skills training within the FET band. The SESD programme consists of two phases: SESD I (from 2003 to 2006) and SESD II (started in July 2007). While SESD I focused on seven colleges, an additional two colleges were included in SESD II, bringing the total number of colleges supported during this phase up to nine

The Mveledzandivho (knowledge creation) final evaluation: summary report

Commissioned by JET Education Services, SeptemberThe overall purpose of the Mveledzandivho is to improve the quality of learing and teaching in the 27 participating schools. The proposed objective s of the project were to: 1. improve quality of education and life of the children of the BHP Billiton emploees 2. ensure long-term sustainablity and impact of the project in the participating schools 3. improve the employability and life chances of ciommunities anrund the BHP Billiton (SA) mining plants. This report is the summary-level or executive report. The technical and summary version of the report should be read jointly

Creating knowledge (Mveledzandivho) - a task without finish: final evaluation report

Paper presented at the Closing-out Conference, 25-26 Novembe