School inspectors’ perspectives of their instructional leadership support to schools in Zimbabwe-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

School inspectors’ perspectives of their instructional leadership support to schools in Zimbabwe

Published:2024-08-31 Issue:3 Volume:44 Page:1-12
ISSN:2076-3433
Container-title:South African Journal of Education
language:
Short-container-title:SAJE

Author:

Muswere Michael¹^ORCID,Jita Loyiso²^ORCID,Chimbi Godsend³^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

2. Dean Faculty of Education and SANRAL Chair in Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa and School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

3. Department of Curriculum Studies and Higher Education, Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Abstract

Over the past 2 decades, worldwide research has established that the district office of education matters. Various policy initiatives are directing district offices to shift from limited managerial functions and begin to directly support learner instruction. The intention of this article, therefore, was to tease the question: How do school inspectors provide instructional leadership support to schools in Zimbabwe? Guided by the instructional leadership conceptual framework, we employed a qualitative research methodology in which we used 2 case studies focusing on 6 officers purposively drawn from 2 district offices in the Masvingo province of Zimbabwe. Data collection tools used were document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that school inspectors carried out school staffing; spearheaded need-driven circuit-level and district-level professional development; instituted supervision of schools; supported school development efforts; and ensured stakeholder and partner engagement. But school inspectors provided limited support to scaffold learner instruction. To improve district instructional leadership support at school level, we recommend strategic human and material resource mobilisation and utilisation. Inevitably, more research is needed to allow deeper insight into the observed inadequacies of the current district office in Zimbabwe.

Publisher

Education Association of South Africa

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