An evaluation of the present status of the certificate in, school business management

By almost any measure, most South African public schools, and especially schools in the Western Cape, have under-performed academically. For a number of years, there has existed a wide degree of consensus among education stakeholders, and particularly in government, that the problems in our schools extend beyond mere academic under-achievement. Principals need to be occupied with the tasks of managing and leading teaching and learning, that is, instruction leadership, and not managing routine administrative matters only. In recognising the potential of school administrative personnel to provide relief and support for the administrative role of principals, the Western Cape Government initiated a training course in July, 2008 for school business administrators. The course was modelled on a very successful training course developed in the United Kingdom

Report on review of the current status of the pilot Certificate in School Business Administration (CSBA) 2008-2009: Guidelines for CSBA 2010

Executive Summary: By almost any measure, most South African public schools, and schools in the Western Cape, are underperforming academically. For a number of years, there has existed a wide degree of consensus among education stakeholders, and particular government, that the problems in our schools extend beyond academic under-achievement. Massive budget allocations, overhauling curricular, restoring skewed learning resources, retraining educators and attempting to deal with the more pressing community problems and social ills that influence the results of a school are all necessary interventions. But, unless there is a concurrent improvement of schools from a „business‟ management point of view, there is no guarantee that the resources allocated to schools, both materially and in the form of educators, will be optimally deployed. Principals need to be occupied with the tasks of managing and leading teaching and learning i.e. instruction leadership, not managing routine administration. In recognising the potential of school administrative personnel to provide relief and support for the administrative role of principals, the Western Cape Government initiated a training course – the CSBA – in July 2008 for school business administrators. The ground-breaking pilot programme was completed in February 2010. Thereafter the WCED commissioned an evaluation of the results achieved. The purpose of the evaluation is to inform the WCED‟s plans for development of the course going forward. This report represents a synopsis of the findings of the evaluation.Western Cape Education Departmen

Towards an Understanding of How School Administrative Clerk’s Negotiate Their Work in Public Schools: A Social Worlds Perspective

There is a dearth of literature concerning the social worlds of school administrative staff. The aim of the presentpaper is to understand the complex (social) reality of their work. Hence, the researchers used the notion of social worlds as a theoretical lens. The theoretical lens challenged us as researchers to understand the administrative clerk not as individuals but as participants within the social world of public schools. A qualitative methodology and case studies with multiple levels of input from participants were used. The researchers argued that the agency of the school administrative clerk lies in reworking, reconstructing, and influencing the social world of the school. The researchers asserted that the social worlds of school administrative clerks are closely tied to their perspectives, that is, their subjective understanding of their social context. The researchers argued that school administrative clerks are an integral part of the school social world-much more than the current discourse gives them credit for. The researchers findings suggestedthat the role of school administrative clerks needs to be re-imagined and reconceptualized to recognize the existing commitments that they are dedicated to. Finally, using social world’s theoretical lens clarifies the crucial role of administrative clerks for the successful running of their schools

A pilot emperical investigation into student perceptions of service quality at the Department of Management of the University of the Western Cape

Magister Commercii - MComThis pilot research survey was undertaken as a result of the need to assess the service quality within Higher Education in general and the Department of Management at UWC in particular. This report focuses on the complexities of measuring service quality in higher education. The quality of service delivery within education is becoming more important as the competition for students increases.The literature was searched to find a suitable measure with a sound theoretical structure. This measure was then adapted for the department.In a preliminary way this instrument was then applied to students in the department and initial results are reported on.The results revealed that undergraduates overall were uncertain in their attitude to the service quality in the department. On the other hand, postgraduate students tended to rate the service quality rather more negatively (p < 0.004). Furthermore there were no gender differences except for tangibles (p = 000.5).This pilot study could serve as a pilot study of the service quality in an academic environment. It is the main contention of this report that students themselves should be part of defining quality.South Afric