The roles of middle managers in schools: A study conducted in the Itsoseng Circuit KEAUTLWILE EMILY MABOE STUDENT NUMBER: 12704504 1111111 1111111111 11111 11111 11111111111111111111 111111111 1111 0600456120 North-West Un1versity Mafikeng Campus Library MINI-DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS IN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT IN THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AT THE NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY (MAHJKENG CAMPUS) SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR C VANWYK August 201 3 t U6RARY __ _!11A ffM f. G CAMPUS c .,u No .: 2014 10- 2 2 DECLARATION I, Keautlwilc Emily Maboe, declare that the mini-dissertation fo r the M.Ed. Educational Management at the North-West University: Mahikeng Campus hereby submitted, has not previously been submitted by me at this or any other university, that it is my own design and execution and that all material contained herein has been duly acknowledged. K.E. Maboc .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... . .. .. .. ...... .. .. . . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: ....................... ........ ........ . ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people and institutions for their selfless support and encouragement during the process of writing this research: • My supervisor Prof C. van Wyk for his unparalleled patience, professional and incessant inspiring guidance; had it not been his endeavours and support, the impact of my research study would not have been a fraction of what it is today. • To Mrs Doepie de Jongh for editing the work, scrutinizing the whole document, letter after letter and chapter after chapter has been something very arduous, strenuous and taxing. • To my three children, Neo, Keitumetse, Jtumeleng, my nephew, Tsakanc and my granddaughter, Matlbogonolo for their unwavering moral support during the course of my studies. • To my parents (my late mother Sarah Bilankulu). my in-laws, my sisters and brothers, my niece and nephews for their good wishes and support. • To my nephew Dr T.P. Maboe, for his guidance and words of encouragement, throughout my studies and his wife Petunia. • To the Area Manager of the Area Office of the Department of Education and Training in Lichtenburg, Mr C.F. Matabane, for allowing me to conduct interviews in schools in his area. • To the participants in the interviews from Itsoseng Circuit schools, thank you for sharing your experience with me and for making time available for this research. • To the school principals for their generosity and their welcoming attitude at their schools during the period of this research. • To all my friends for their unequivocal support throughout. • To Professor Lesley Greyvenstein for assisting me with the language editing in this study. • Lastly to my Almighty God who gave me the strength and wisdom to complete this study. 11 LETTER OF LANGUAGE EDITOR LANGUAGE EDITING CERTIFICATION This is to certify that the language editing of this dissertation by Ms E Maboe was done by Prof L A Greyvenstein. Prof L A Greyvenstein was a member of the South African Translators' Institute. membership number: 1001691. She completed her primary, secondary and tertiary education. including a doctoral thesis. in English. She has done the English language editing of many proposals, dissertations. theses and scientific articles. Lesley Ann Greyvenstein (Prof} P 0 Box 6601 Flamwood Klerksdorp 2572 Tel : 018 468 7335/ 082 9744 505 Ill ABSTRACT The quality of teaching and learning is the first priority of the Dcpa11ment of Education and Training. Middle managers are responsible for quality of teaching and leamjng. For them to monitor teaching and learning effectively and efficiently, they should be able to manage specific tasks such as planning, leading and evaluating successfully. Middle managers need to assist the teachers in imparting the knowledge they have to the learners. This will happen only if middle managers arc knowledgeable and have slUlls in management and administrative roles. They arc expected to give support to teachers and learners. Instead middle managers do not understand the departmental policies and Acts. They should be well equipped for them to perfonn their duties with confidence. A literature study and empirical research was undertaken and the roles of middle managers were explored. A number of their duties were also explored. Qualitative in-depth interviews fonned the basis of the empirical research. Finally a content analysis was used to categorise and evaluate data. The findings revealed that middle managers are experiencing many challenges in their roles. These challenges contribute to a large extent to their personal effectiveness. They should be given relevant support. The Depa.trneot of Education and Training should take an upper hand in training and inducting middle managers and teachers for them to excel in their roles. Recommendations in this study showed the need to train middle managers in their roles. An induction programme for newly appointed SMTs is viewed as ideal. Workshops are recommended for both middle managers and teachers. The study finally identified areas where further study shou ld be done. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEGEMENTS LETTER OF LANGUAGE EDITOR ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER 0 E GENERAL ORIENTATION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7. 1 ] .7.2 1.7.3 1.7.4 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.1 1 1. 12 INTRODUCTION RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT PROBLEM STATEMENT RESEARCH AIM AND OBJ ECTNES SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Research Design and methodology Data Collection Techniques Population and sampling Data analysis LIMITATION OF THE STUDY RE LIABILITY, VALIDITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS ETlliCAL ISSUES CHAPTER DNISION SUMMARY CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2.2 DEFIN ITION OF CONCEPTS 2.2.1 2.2.2 M iddlc managers Development v ii iii 1 1 2 3 5 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 II 12 12 12 12 13 13 2.2.3 Training 14 2.2.4 Management 14 2.2.5 Roles 15 2.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 15 2.4 TilE FUNCTIONING AND IMPORTANCE OF MID DLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 17 2.5 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOLS 2.6 2.6. 1 2.6.2 2.7 THE ROLES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS TN SCHOOLS Rol es related to teaching and leaming Administrative roles SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER CHAPTER THREE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6. I 3.6.2 3.6.3 3.7 3.7. 1 3.7.2 3.7.3 3.7.4 3.8 3.8. 1 3.8.2 3.9 INTRODUCTION RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH POPULATION OF THE STUDY SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNlQUES OAT A COLLETION METHODS Interviews Observations Document analysis METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS Transcribing and saving data Summarising data Organising data Coding TRUSTWORTHINESS Verifying raw material and validating findings Reliabi lity of the study ETHICAL ISSUES VI 20 22 23 26 30 32 32 32 32 33 34 34 36 36 37 39 40 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 43 3.10 SUMMARY 45 CHAPTER FOUR 46 DATA ANALYSIS Al"JD DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS 46 4.1. INTRODUCTION 46 4.2 INTERPRETATION OF QUALJTATJVE DATA 46 4.3 DATA ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEWS 48 4.4 THEMES EMANATING FROM THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION 48 4.4.1 Theme 1: The functioning and importance or middle managers in school leadersh ip 48 4.4.2 Theme 2: The challenges experi enced by middle managers in schools 51 4.5 ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONS 54 4.5.1 The functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership 55 4.5.2 Challenges experienced by middle managers in schools 56 4.5.3 The roles of middle managers in schools 57 4.6 ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN DOCUMENTS 58 4.6.1 ELRC Documents 58 4.6.2 Subject Policies 59 4.6.3 Monitoring Policy 59 4.6.4 Y car Plan 59 4.7 SUMMARY 59 SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5. 1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 5.3 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY FINDINGS FROM THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS 61 61 61 62 5.3.1 Findings on research Aim 1: What arc the functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership 62 5.3.2 Findings from research Aim 2: What arc the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools 5.3.3 Findings from research Aim 3: What are the roles of middle managers in schools 5.4 5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTI IER RESEARCH VII 64 66 68 70 5.6 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY 70 REFERENCES 71 APPENDIX A 79 RESEARCH SCHEDULE FOR MIDDLE MANAGERS 79 APPENDIX B 81 PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH INTERVIEWS ITSOSENG IN SCHOOLS 81 APPENDIX C 82 INFORMED CONSENT FORM 82 viii .... CHAPTER ONE GENERAL ORIENTATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION It is cause for a great deal of concern that schools in South Africa generally do not perform up to expected management standards. The so-called collapse of the culture of teaching and learning is a perennial outcry. McLennan and Thurlow (2003:5), refer to the absence of a 'culture of teaching and learniJlg' in South African schools: "The virtual collapse of the culture of teaching and learning in many urban and rural schools has eroded the confidence of education managers. They have little idea of what would be required to restore the culture." It is imperative that school managers that is, school principals, deputy principals and heads of departments should be well prepared and skilled for their enormous management tasks. Giving a prominent place to leadership for learning within the middle managers ' training and development programmes would make a valuable contribution to the restoration of an appropriate culture of teaching and learning and to the development of schools as leaming organisations (Thurlow, 2003:5). This situation calls for a management development approach that amongst others will ensure that there is development of middle managers at school level. Effective management is a central clement for successful education. A key aspect of successful management is understood as securing of quality educational activities in schools. In order to achieve success in education, effective management structures must be in place and the management roles of officials need to be clearly defined. Principals have to work effectively and manage efficiently to secure quality activities in schools. This is, however, not where quality management stops. A committed middle management (deputy-principals and beads of departments) is necessary to assist in the process to secure quality activities in schools. It involves the day-to-day responsibility for ensuring good planning and promoting better teaching in order to secure and sustain high quality standards, both in management and in the implementation of functional educational work. Efforts to secure quality management are thus not only the responsibility of the principal, but also of mjddlc managers. There is a need for middle managers to carry out their roles efficiently (Blandford, 2004:20). In order to introduce these issues in a systematical way the following will be discussed: • Rationale for the study • Background and context, and • Problem statement 1.2 RATIO ALE FOR THE STUDY The new policy framework possesses a challenge for leadership and management in schools. Since 1994 the idea of what it means to be a school leader has changed. The National Department of Education bas created new polic ies and new laws to redefine the roles of leading, managing and goveming schools Department of Education, (DoE, 2003:Sec 4-30). The new system Department of Education has necessitated a new organisational structure for the implementation of these educational policies. Each level in the school's organisational hierarchy plays an important role in facilitating the achievement of its vision, mission and objectives. There has been devolution of education administration from the National Education Department to the Provincial Education Departments, and the enactment of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 South African Schools Act (SASA), the introduction of Curriculum 2005 as well as the Culture of Learning, Teaching and Services (COLTS) campaign (Department of Education, I 998: 1 I). A landmark change relates to the change in educational management at school level from the past individualistic, autocratic and top down practices to a school-based, participatory and consultative management system (Department of Education, 1996:28). The changes afore­ mentioned have major implications for the way middle managers at schools operate and can succeed if they arc part of and are allowed to build on a firm foundation of skilled leadership and management. The present middle managers arc not always trained or equipped with apposite management skills and knowledge to manage in a democratic and participative matmer. One of the reasons for this situation could be that middle managers are not trained sufficiently to enab le them to cope with their managerial duties. In fact, the pattern for promotion to management positions in the past and to a large extent currently; was always a steady progression through the ranks (Van der Westbuizen, 1995:3; Legotlo, 1994:3; McMahon & Bolam, 1990:5). It seems as if School Management Teams are also not adequately prepared and may not even be equipped to change from long internalised management practices to the new management systems of democratic participation. This 2 means that middle managers could be going through the motions of their tasks only with little or no improvement or development in their management perfom1ance. This could lead to gross dissatisfaction on the job, evident in conflicts over involvement in decision-making where educators assert they have a right to pa1ticipate in decision-making on management issues that affect them (cf. Reeves, 1994). A fwiher implication could be that most educators at schools, including middle managers operate with limited guidance and suppo1i, and that the majority of schools have staff development programmes in place. Finally, it is possible that the quality of education in public schools started deteriorating because middle managers do not understand their roles properly. 1.3 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The South African democratic government was ushered in with numerous changes and challenges in 1994 (Wessie, 2004: I). The imperatives of the new democratic order had to be embraced by all citizens. Without doubt the education sector, perhaps even more than any other sector, was hard hit with continuous pressure to advance the democratization process in the country. Various attempts were made to broaden the basis of decision making in schools and to change the culture of management of the school itself (De Bruyn, 2007:1 R). Tranter (2006:97) states that in the past, teachers were led by a head-teacher but as the job became more complicated jobs of heads of subjects and deputy head teachers that can be called middle managers were developed. The introduction of promotion posts such as deputy heads and phase co-ordinators are comparatively recent and underline the complexity of leadership and management roles. b1 the later part of the 1990's, policy-makers began to realise that a new breed of leader was required at middle management level in schools in order to cope with the increasing burden of responsibilities. School Management Teams (SMTs) and School Goveming Bodies (SGBs) were introduced and the principal is supposed to share the work with these bodies (SASA, 1996: 11). In South Africa middle managers are deputy principals, heads of departments and senior teachers. Earley (2007: 149) states that management at senior or middle management level is about getting things done by working with and through other people and it is likely to consist of a combination of activities such as pla1ming, organising, rcsourcing, contro!Jing, evaluating and leading. Bennett ( 1999: 18) said: "Leaders need assistants who can transmit the vision on through the organisation, articulate it in practical tenns, and work with their colleagues to tum it into reality". This is a key role for that group commonly refeiTed to as "middle 3 managers". So while leaders will make decisions and decide on policies they will have much less influence on how things actually work in practice. The responsibility of the SMT in particular is to control and manage lhe school, which is predominantly composed of middle managers (Makaudi, 2008:2). Rutherford (2000:7) said in this regard that activities that define middle managers include managing the work of a team or colleagues. This means that heads of department control the teacher"s profiles, lesson plans and the learner"s written work at the end of each term. There is also a significant body of research done in South Africa supporting the view that effective leadership and management arc essential to develop good schools, (Christie, 2001 :30; Department of Education, 1996; Roberts & Roach, 2006: 148). IL is crucial that staff in schools learn to work together, and that leadership is distributed throughout the school (Lingard. Hayes & Christie, 2003 :47). According to Southworth (2002:74), it is also imperative that schools provide relevant and meaningful professional development at the middle management level. The main aim of developing middle managers is to define expertise in a key role such as a subject leader and to help teachers at di ffcrent points in the profession to plan and monitor their development, training and perfonnance effectively and to set clear and relevant targets for improving their effectiveness. From an international perspective it was also found that the majority of professions were organised in a hierarchy of seniority, wiU1 an associated ladder of promotion (Tranter, 2006:97). Bureaucratisation and profess ionali zation of the leading professions led to the notion of a career as a systematic preparation and training followed by regular progress to a senior pos ition in an establ ished and respected occupation, particularly at the middle level. A great deal of work in managing the teaching and learning process is being done at middle management level in schools. The literature on school leadership often overlooks the critical role that middle managers play in leading teams of teachers to ensure that curricula are developed, delivered and assessed, programmes are evaluated and teachers are appraised (Fitzgerald, 2004: I). More importantly, management development often occurs at the senior management level, and middle managers remain the forgotten tier in schools (Fitzgerald, 2004:1 ). Wilkinson (2002: 17) stated that middle leaders are central to the improvement of educational standards. They carry out a wide range of responsibilities critical to the effective operation of schools. As middle leader himself, Planter (2002: I 8) stresses that, ·'Middle Managers arc important people. It is clear that you need a head who is a leader with clear 4 vis ion, but ulti mate ly it' s the people in the middle who implement the vi ion.'· According to Fi tzgerald (2004:3), middl e managers arc respons ible fo r curriculum planning and resource provision . Blnnford (2004:20) asse11s that managing structures and processes arc the responsibility of the middle managers . Fi tzgerald (2004:3) continues to say that the acti vities of middle managers arc the evaluation of teachers work and learning progress. A middle manager is s imultaneously a leader. a manager and administrator (Bush, 2007: 17) who works with and through other people to ach ieve key tasks and activities (EYcrard, 2004: 163). 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT Blandford (2004: 147) points out that it is clea rly evident that midd le managers' roles have become increasingly more complex, vari ed and demanding and accountabili ty has a lso increased and th is has resu lted in issues re la ting to the role ambiguit y, ro le conflic t. role overload and role underload, being under-ut ili sed in the roles of middle managers . He (Blandford, 2004:147) continues to sta te that middle managers fulfil the dual role of both teaching and managing. The roles o f middle managers are, ho,:vcvcr, not a lways c learly defined and described (Adcy, 2000:77). This has resulted in middle managers being unsure of exactly what the ir roles are. Fleming (2000:9) supports Blandford by saying that mirldl e managers arc a lso constantly faced with " role ambiguity and role connicl' '. According to Adey (2000:77), research find ings indicate that middle managers arc not rece iving the relevant support and tra ining they require to fulfil the ir roles. Recent research indicates that whil e there has been some improvement, there continues to be a lack of adequate and effective training for middle managers prior to them taking up the ir roles, including those aspiring to these pos itions (Brown, Boyle & Boyle, 2000:23). Brown, Boyle and Boyle (2000:23) al so state that there is a need for middle managers to develop skills in monitoring and evaluati on as well as clear guidelines about the ir roles as well as training in conducting staff appraisal and professional development for other staff. According to Fit zgerald (2004:2) , the role o f middle managers 111 schools is not widely understood. As a consequence, the litera ture re la ting to the functions and roles of middle managers is insuffi cient. Fitzgerald further states that what is apparent is the dual role that middle managers play. They have both an administrative role with in the school as well as a teaching responsibil ity. Fitzgerald (2004:3) further indicates that the roles of middle managers have become increasingly more comp lex, varied and demand ing. Not only has the role become multi faceted, but the respons ibilit y and accountability have also increased 5 (Turner, 2004:3). Fitzgerald (2004:2) states that one of the more critica l challenges that middle managers face is teaching and managing a team. Based on the above-mentioned exposition the main research problem is to investigate the roles of middle managers in schools as they pertain to the ltsoseng Circuit. The research questions can be fom1Ulated as follows: • What is the functioning and importance of middle managers in sehoolleadership? • What are the chall enges experienced by middle managers in primary schools? • What arc the roles of middle managers in schools? 1.5 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The general aim of this research is to determine the ro le of middle managers in schools in Itsoseng Circuit. In order to adhere to the general aim of this research study, the following specific objectives are formulated: • To determine the functioning and importance of middle managers in leadership. • To detem1ine the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools. • To dctcm1ine the roles of middle managers in schools. 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The findings and recommendations could provide information to the Department of Education and insight into challenges that middle managers arc facing concerning their roles. Different ways of upholding middle managers roles will be suggested from the research findings and literature review. The findings should also benefit the schools' heads of departments, deputy-principals and senior teachers in the Itsoseng Circuit. They will understand the legislative roles and their responsibilities better and how to deal with the challenges they face. It is on the basis of these expectations that the study is significant and justified. 6 1.7 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 1.7.1 R esear ch Design and methodology Research design accord ing to Nieuwenhuis (20 I 0: 70), is a plan or strategy which moves from the underlying philosophical assumption to specifying the selection of respondents, the data gathering techniques to be used and the data analyses to be done. It involves identifying the participants' beliefs and values that underlie the phenomena and understanding. Henning, Van Rensburg and Smith (2007:36) state that research methodology refers to the coherent group of methods that complement one another. Johnson and Clu·istensen (2004:29) suppor1 the statement above by defining research methodology as a systematic and purposeful framework for conducting research through scientific methods in order to yield data of a particular research question and expand knowledge in a particular field of study. Tbi:; study was an undertaking from a complete qualitative research underpinning an understanding which according to Creswell, Ivankova and Plano Clark (20] 0:259), states that the researcher develops a complex, holistic picture, analyses of words, reports detailed views of infom1ants and conducts the study in a natural setting. The researcher preferred this method because it enabled her and the participants to discuss and describe the roles of middle managers in depth, with openness and in detail. The researcher employed a qualitative research design because she wanted to focus on person's lives, behaviour as well as organisational functioning. 1.7.2 Data Collection Techniques Bernard (2002: 157) describes data collection as the steps that involve setting boundaries for the study, collecting information through observation. interviews, documents and visual materials and the protocol for recording the information. For the purpose of this study these data collection methods were used. The major tools of data collection will be observation, interviews and analysis of documents. The observation method will be used to gather infonnation on how middle managers perfom1 their roles in schools. The researcher visited the selected school to observe how middle managers perform their roles. On observation, in this study, the researcher focused on a participant as an observer. In this situation the researcher will not intervene in the dynamics of the situation and even try to alter it. Face-to­ face interviews will also be used to meet middle managers and ask them the research 7 questions in order to gather the relevant infonnation. The researcher wi ll also scrutinize the documents that middle manager 's use in schools and different departments to record their work. The researcher chose the interview method because it is a two way process whereby she will be able to have an individual discuss ion with the interviewers. The researcher used structured open-ended interviews to collect data because such interviews offer a versatile way of collecting data and a llow the interviewer to probe with a view to ask for elaboration in cases of incomplete responses. Since documents enrich wbat a researcher sees and hears by supporting, expanding and challenging perceptions, in this study the fol lowing documents were analysed: the sc hool policies, minute book, circulars, ELRC Document , Departmental policies, in-school monitoring and moderation tool s. 1. 7.3 Population and sampling Babbic (200 I : 173) defines the study population as an aggregation of e lements from which the sample is actually selected. The population for this study is deputy princ ipals and heads of department of all the primary schools in the Itsoscng Circuit. "T here arc 25 primary schools in Itsoseng Circuit wh ich arc a ll involved in this study. " The central focus is on the roles of middle managers in schools amongst deputy principals and heads of department of the 25 schools in Itsoseng Circuit. Qualitative research is generally based on non-probability and purposive sampling: this research focused on purposive sampling. The common characteristic that is used for purposive selection of patticipants is middle managers who have at least five years' experience in School Management Teams. This was verified prior to meeting them as parti c ipants. The intention of the purposive selection was to have participants who have ri ch insight information pertaimng to the roles of middle managers. 1.7.4 Data analysis Data analysis (Niewe11huis, 2010:99) is an ongoing and interactive process, implying that data collection , process, analysis and repo11ing a rc intertwined and not mere ly a number of successive steps. The researcher u sed content analysis to analyse data and achieved the aims of this research. The researcher listened to the audio-tapes, read transcripts and studied fields notes in order to fami liarise herself with the data. The researcher conducted open cod ing by marking or hi ghlighting and coding sentences and phrases in the transcripts according to 8 analytical and theoretical ideas developed during the literature study (Wi llig, 2008:35). Focused coding was applied to develop a set of analytical categories to be used for grouping of topics that relate to each other to arrive at major themes (Creswell, 2003: 192). The various major categories or key themes were used to develop an overall description of the data (McMillan & Schumacher. 200 I :468; Henning, 2004: I 04-1 09). 1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The findings o f the study may be di storted because of the perceived special attention given to roles of middle managers in schools as an issue in se lected schools. This will be influenced by time constraints, which in turn may influence the feedback from the respondents. The researcher focused only on five primary schools in Itsoscng Circuit thus the findings of th e study can and may change if a larger number of schools arc included in a similar investigat ion. 1.9 RELTABI LITY, VALIDITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS Merriam in Marce, (20 I 0:38) describes reliability as "results which are consistent with the data collected". ln qualitative research, the issue of quality can be addressed by dealing with issues of validity, practicality and effectiveness. It required the usc of various strategies to enhance va lidity including obtaining the services of an extemal coder to verify the quality of the results (Maree, 2010:38). The researcher has to facilitate quality assurance which is data veri fication. In qualitati ve resea rch , validity and reliability are refetTed to as trustworthiness and can be obtained through attending to aspects such as the period of data coll ection, for example the researcher wil l collect data for three weeks, starting at two o'clock every day. The researcher will do the interviews in the selected school with participants face-to-face, where participants will be given time to express their opinions in answering the research questions, conducting research in natural settings, providing verbatim accounts of transcripts and recording interviews mechanically (Maree, 201 0:80). Trust\vorthincss was achieved by ensuring the validity and the reliability of data through mechanical recorded data and participant reviews. 9 1.10 ETHICAL ISSUES Maree and Vander Westhuizen (201 0:41-42) state that it is important to highlight the ethical considerations with regard to research. An essential ethical aspect is the issue of the confidentiality of the results and findings of the study and the protection of the participants' identities. This could also include obtaining pennission to interview the participants. The prescribed research requested documents from the Lichtenburg Area Office of the North West Department of Education and Training were completed and submitted for approval to conduct research in purposefully selected schools. The requested documents were not in any way used as official instruction to persuade participants to be involved in the research. It is also important for the researcher when conducting a research to note that she works with human beings and, therefore, needs to constitute behaviour that is acceptable in tem1s of protecting participants. The researcher had adhered to ethical measures during the research in order to ensure the safety and rights of participants. Participants completed the Informed Consent Forms, which declared that they participated willingly and have the right to withdraw from the research at any time without adverse consequences. 1.11 CHAPTER DIVISION This study is divided in the following chapters: Chapter one This chapter covers an overview of the study. This includes the rationale for the study, background and context, problem statement, aim and objectives, methodology and design, significance. justification of the study and theoretical framework. Chapter two This chapter covers the literature review related to the roles of middle managers in schools. The nature and sign ilicance of middle managers, the legislative roles and responsibilities of middle managers and challenges fac ing middle managers are also discussed. Chapter three 10 This chapter deals wi th the discussion of research design, methodology and rccoding of r:l\.\ data. It fu r1her explains the empirical stuuy which comprises of sampling and selection. Chapter four In chapter four the research results arc presented and analysed. Chapter five This chapter covers the conclusion of the study. Recommendations as well as summary of tJ1e study arc provided. 1.12 SUMMARY Middle managers arc faced with role conflict, curriculum challenges and leading and managing their departments. This chapter introduced the research study. The most important aspects discussed also include, statement of the research problem, research design, ethical issues, significance and justification of the study. limitations and division of the chapters. I I CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVlEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter a review of the literature on the roles of middle managers in schools, is undertaken. One of the ideas with a literature review is to learn from other scholars on bow they have theoriscd and conceptualised issues, what they found empirically, what instrumentation they used and to what effect (Mouton, 2005:87). He1ming (2004:27) is of the opinion that a literature review is first and foremost used in the contextualisation of a study and to argue a case. Tt thus seems as if the first function or idea witb a li terature review is to look at what other scholars have done in areas that are similar but not necessarily identical to the study that is bci11g undertaken. In this pa11icular study the literature that was studied will be focused on the roles of middle managers in schools. The researcher consulted a wide range of literature related to the topic and the research questions with the intention of obtaining relevant information. Primary and secondary sources such as books, research articles, newspaper articles and documents were also used as references. ln the rest of this chapter a definition of concepts is followed by a discussion of the • Theoretical framework. • The functioning and significance of middle managers in schools. • The roles performed by middle managers in schools. • Challenges faced by middle managers in schools. 2.2 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS To ensure that this research is being conducted in accordance with the research purpose the following concepts will be defined: • Middle managers • Development • Training 12 • Management • Roles The concepts arc obviously defined with special reference to the topic. 2.2.1 Middle managers According to Fleming (2000:2), middle managers in schools arc seen as those individuals who have additional responsibilities to those of the classroom teacher. Fleming says that middle managers in schools constitute the layer of management between the senior management team and those at the chalk face. Clarke (2007: 12) confirms that middle managers are people who have the day-to-day responsibilities for managing departments or sections in the school, or for co-ordinating some form of activity or initiative or leading some form of staff team. Middle managers are at the middle of the hierarchy in the traditional bureaucratic structures (Blandford, 2006:73). In South Africa middle managers are beads of departments and deputy principals who arc responsible for leaming areas (subjects), moderation of teachers' work and controlling learners' books and their pcrfom1ance. They (middle managers) also undertake roles involving whole school co-ordination such as pastoral work. They play vital roles in planning for moving a school towards its goals, ensuring the smooth day-to-day operation of schools and monitoring the progress of other staff members. 2.2.2 Development Noe (2008:315) sees development as fom1al education, job experience, relationships and assessment of personal abilities that employees perform effectively in their current positions. According to Nowlan (2000: 10) and Moroa11c (2000:25), development enables middle managers to give a clear sense of direction and purpose in order to achieve the school's vision and mission and inspire staff and learners alike. Development helps middle managers to anticipate problems, make judgements and decisions in order to adapt to changes and new ideas. It helps middle managers to solve problems, negotiate, delegate and consult and co­ ordinate the efforts of others. Development enables middle managers to pursue policies that are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed efficiently and effectively in practice. Well­ developed middle managers will understand the current educational and management issues 13 and identify their relevance to the school and are able to communicate effectively with staff at all levels as well as learners, parents, govcming bodies and the school's wider community. 2.2.3 Training Noe (2008:4) refers to training as a planned effort by a company to facilitate ''learning of job­ related competencies". These competencies include knowledge, sk ill s or behaviours that arc critical for successful performance. Training is essential to ensure successful management of the school in order to have quality education. According to Beckman (2006:520), training could be seen as the assistance, or introductory or continuing training, provided to middle managers who intend to assist management teams. The broad aim of training should be to empower middle managers to perform their duties better so that quality education can be provided more effectively in schools. It is important for all key role players such as middle managers to be trained, in order to evoke an image of positive commitment and meaningful participation in the del ivcry of education. According to W essie (2004: 12), unmotivated managers will improve their own perfonnance and wi ll also be able to monitor the educator's success if they are trained. Training motivates middle managers to evaluate themselves positively in doing and completing their management and leadership tasks. They are also confident in what actions to take during crises since they have been provided with the skills and have practical knowledge of change management and leadership. 2.2.4 Management Management is defined by Wess ie (2004:21) as a process that gives the necessary direction to an enterprise's resources so that its objectives can be achieved as effectively as possible in the environment. Cuban cited by Bush (2007:3) states that good management often ex hibits leadership skills. Leovy (2003:23) defines management as planning, organising, leading and control ling of subordinates working activities, leading and influencing people to attain specific goals, achieving goals and through resources. Earley and Wcindling (2004:5) discuss the terms "management" and "manager'' in tem1s of a more structured role or approach of working within the confines of the rules, regulations, and boundaries provided in a school's s ituation. Seen in this way management is about getting systems to operate effectively in schools. 14 2.2.5 Roles From the Free Encyclopaedia, a role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. Wise and Bennett (2003:4) define a role as what an individual, or the ' role holder' understands about his/her jobs. Roles arc detennined by official job descriptions. The main role of middle managers is to see that learners arc being taught and p~rfom1 outstandingly in their learning areas or subjects. Blandford (2006: 16) states that a role is a set of activities or tasks expected from an incumbent in a particular position or office and within a specific level in an organisational structure. Middle managers as such form the part of an organisational network that exists within a school's organisational stmcture. From this it can be deducted that a school has a specific hierarchy of positions on different levels, which in tum indicates management activities on various levels. 2.3 THEORETICAL FRAi"lEWORK The theoretical design of this study is based on leadership and management in schools. Various authors like Matoti (2007:143), Sighn (2005: 12), Manser (2005:25) and Mestry and Grobler (2004:30) have written extensively about leadership and management in educational institutions. Bush is one of the most prominent writers in the field of Educational Management and Leadership. He (Bush, I 986) published one of his first books and more recently wrote an article in which developments in his thinking are illustrated. In this article he discussed a wide range of theories or models (Bush, 2007:394-404). What is relevant in his expos ition for the purpose of this study is that he is basically working within two extremes, namely a top-down approach on one hand and a bottom-up approach on the other hand. Dambe and Moorad (2008:576) also usc this kind of approach. They distinguish in broad tenns between power based and empowerment based perspectives. The power based perspective or paradigm is where ·'leaders arc basically commanders who control everything that goes on in the organisation". The empowerment perspective is based on the participative decision-making tradition where it is believed that "power is an infinite commodity which means that involving other people in the decision-making process does not exhaust the power source, in fact, the leader gains more power by giving it away"' (Dambc & Moorad. 2008:576). 15 In applying the information about the two perspectives more directly to this investigation it should be noted that the features of the models or theories are in practice closely linked to different leadership styles. From within the power based prospective, leadership is ascribed to the person at the apex of the hierarchy. The official leader is U1ought to have the major role in goal-setting, decision-making and policy fonnation. It is assumed that this individual sets the tone of the organisation and establishes the major official objectives (Bush, 2007: 145). In South Africa before 1994 the main purpose of the education system, which was characterised by hierarchical and authoritarian relations, was to restrict wider participation and to ensure political control by the top echelons of the Education Departments (African National Congress Education Department, 1994:20). The authoritarian nature, rigid bureaucracy and rule bound hierarchy of the various departments were often replicated at school level where most of the local power was vested in the school principals. The leadership style of school principals was rigid and domineering with close and constant control over teachers a11d school activities (Coleman, 2003 :465). This situation militated against teachers such as middle managers in South African schools fulfilling their potential as leaders. During the Apartheid era most South African teachers with the inclusion of middle managers were in this way effectively prevented from fulfilling meaningful roles as leaders at school level. The empowem1cnt based perspective leadership is practiced from within a participative framework. A leader is expected to be able to adapt to strategies which acknowledge issues that may emerge from different patis of the organisation and be resolved in a complex interactive process (Bush, 2007:64). From a theoretical point of view the cmpowem1ent practices are seen as "an emergent property of a group or network of individuals in which group members pool their expertise" (Gronn, 2000:324). It requires the "re-distribution of power" (Gronn, 2000:324) and "the capacity to relinquish, so that the talent , creative powers of teachers can be released". For Spillane (2006:26) the distributed leadership perspective foregrounds leadership practice which is "constructed in the interaction between leaders, followers and their situations". Shared decision-making within this distributed practice requires a school context and culture which is supportive, collaborative and collegial and which opens up a safe space for life-long learning and continuing professional development. This necessitates a range of leaders. whether senior teachers or middle managers who are 16 , ·~vvu · 1 liB !tla o~, emotionally intelligent, purposefu1, and courageous and are willing to take considered risks in the quest for school improvement. Coleman (2003:245) also emphasises that leadership can and should be shared throughout an organisation. Elaborating fUJiher, Coleman (2003 :465) states that the allocation of tasks can simultaneously reflect management delegation, a division of responsibi lities between individuals and sharing of mutual responsibility that creates the distribution of leadership. This distribution of leadership incorporates the view that different hJds of leadership expertise are dispersed across the field. Middle management is such a position that illustrates that leadership practice is widely disbursed over leaders, followers and situations (Coleman, 2003:245). If the power-based model is applied to educational situations, principals are acknowledged as individuals who set the tone in schools and establish the major objectives. They are expected to play key roles in policy-making and adoption of innovati.ons (Bush, 2007:43). Principals are supposed to have their own values, interest and policy-objectives which they have to advance at meetings of committees and informal settings (Bush, 2007:87). When the empowennent based model, on the other hand, is applied to education, both the official position of principals as well as the bureaucratic and authoritative execution of their leadersbjp [·unctions, present practical problems. The principal is now seen as a key participant in the process of motivation, communication, bargaining and negotiation and not anymore as the one and only head. What is more important for this study is that the importance of other leaders and managers such as heads of depmtments, deputy principals and subjects heads are being recognised officially when this perspective is applied. These middle managers are seen as staff that have crucial roles to play in schools and who have been appointed in key posts such as that of heads of departments and deputy principals to demonstrate the critical importance of these positions. 2.4 THE FUNCTIONING AND IMPORTANCE OF MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOL LEADERSHJP In South Africa like in most countries, schools ex ist for a particular purpose, that is, to teach learners. Educational management and leadership within a school context centres on creating a culture of life-long learning and teaching tluough effective value-driven education, (Van Deventer & Kruger, 2003:147). Tbis could be achieved through the expe1ts ' guidance and leadership oftbe members of the SMT including middle managers within the areas of human, 17 financial and physical resources. To be able to manage these areas successfully specific tasks such as planning, leading and evaluating have to be performed. Management and leadership in schools arc obvious ly not confined to principals, but should be devolved to other members of the staff such as deputy principals, beads of department and senior teachers (Van Dcvcnter & Kruger, 2003:89). The School Management Team (SMT) consisting of the principal, the deputy principal, heads of departments and senior teachers have important leadership and management functions to perform either as members of the SMT or as individuals performing specific leadership tasks. The beads of departments, for example, arc members of the SMT, but they are also expected to provide expert professional guidance in a particular learning area. As educators, middle managers arc expected to perform the seven roles that are stipulated in Norms and Standard for Educators, (DoE. 2000:44). It is important to emphasise that management and lcadershjp of a lea rning area is a critical role of the middle manager. Day (2000: 113) states that the school principal , however, should steer the ship in the right direction by directing school activities as well as motivating and inspiring the middle managers. A middle manager is then the person, who rewards performance, sol icits people's views, motivates colleagues, empowers people and values creativity. Middle managers have to consu lt wi th members of tbe staff, instead of impos ing their viewpoints and should also be visionaries (Day, 2000: 114). It is important that middle managers leadership practi se be unleashed and engaged in the interest of the school as organisation. It is the responsibility of middle managers to facilitate this process by creating the requis ite orgarusational conditions and climate and by providing the required support in order to unleash "the kinetic and potential energy of leadership'' (Day, 2000: 11 5). It is vital for middle managers to be able to lead and manage their departments. These functions can only be performed efficiently and effectively if middle managers arc trained and developed properly. They will only understand their positions clearly when given the relevant ongoing professional development they need to support them in this role. What is required is a professional development framework that includes a major re-definition of the role, expectations and pcrfonnance of middle managers (Harris, Busher & Wise, 2001 :43). Only when middle managers are we ll developed w ill they be able to manage and develop staff members in their departments It is furthe r important that a middle manager must be operating from within a structure in which to delegate functional and operational decisions to locations closest to task 18 pcrfonnance. The structures include a vatiety of committees, for example, subject and class committees. Schools are usually organised in a tlat pyramid structure with very few layers between the principal, commit1ecs, dcpatiments, staff and community (Van Deventcr & Kruger, 2003:89). While all these structures are functional, the middle managers make final decisions on a number of issues, for example, discipline, stationery, textbooks and learning aids material purchases, and distribution of mater ial in classes. Van Deventer and Kruger (2003:65) postulated that efficient middle managers provide opportunities to motivate educators towards improving learn ing outcomes and learning excellence, to have clarity of focus in one's role, respons ibilities and accountability and to challenge the process. Middle managers also inspire shared vision, enable others to act, model the way and encourage the heart, reinvent relationships and establish leadership arow1d the school"s purpose. As a manager and leader a middle manager is responsible for training, activating and motivating all the people who work with him/her so that the objectives of the school should be achieved (VanDeventer & Kru ger, 2003:65). The example s/he sets will to an important degree determine what value system will exist within the school. For school to be true learnjng organisations middle managers should be engaged in challenging and interesting academic work and educators should also be collaboratively involved in learning about the most effective distribution of work and tecl1nologies (Coleman, 2003 :245). 1n this world of knowledge-based schools, middle managers perfonn their functions by enhancing the quality of thinking of those within the organjsation rather than by issuing edicts or directives. ln order to do that they will have to create learning opportunities which enable the departmental committees and staff to become leaders capable of anticipating and leading productive change (Coleman, 2003:249). Middle management is also closely linked to the idea of distributed leadership. Distributed leadership is not meant to di splace the crucial role of the middle manager. Middle managers are closely associated with innovation and change through their capacity to motivate people to do more than what is nonnally expected of them and to transcend their expected performance. They take an organisation through major change. Middle managers are closely involved in making important changes in a school's mission, structure and human resource management through distributing leadership. Through distributive leadership they are enabled and empowered to achieve extraordinary things to their own and to the school's benefit. According to Day, Harris, Hadfield, Tolley and Beresford (2006:83), middle 19 managers need to be involved in decision-making and policy fonnation. Successive research studies have shown that successful implementation of distributed leadership implies and emphasises the importance of middle management positions in schools. 2.5 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOLS Many education ystcms arc implementing radical refonns in order to adapt to a changing world (Fleisch, 2002: 120). A current intcmational trend in education refonn is the devolution of decision-making powers from central level to school level. This refom1 initiative system rests on the assumption that participation of middle managers can enhance the implementation ofthc desired transformation (Lumby, 2003:104). Increased middle managers ' patticipalion also includes the possibility of engendering increased enthusiasm, intC'rcst, commitment and effectiveness of middle managers. Significant changes in schools can only be attained through shared dec ision-making that allows middle managers to address educational problems directl y. Processes of shared decision-making and suitable structures arc related to a move towards institutional anatomy, the so-called school-based management of schools (Department of Educati on, 1996:29). It includes the devolution of authority and responsibility to middle managers (Mosoge & Van der Westhuizcn, 1998:83). All this implies that middle managers have to execute their functions in an ever changing environment. lt is not only their official roles that arc becoming more complex but expectations and demands are also increasing constantly. According to (Gunter, 2001: 108), the complexity of the middle management position goes beyond that of just perfonning a role or following a job description to understanding of the location and exercise of power and authority. Middle managers are in a unique position. On the one hand they arc being kept accountable and have to work in accordance with a clear job description and on the other hand they have to accept responsibility for performance management of other educators (BaJber, 1993:25). It is through performance management and staff appraisal that they have to link school development and individual staff development. Gunter (200 I: I 08) points out those middle managers have to focus on both the implementation of structures and systems and on teacher development. At the same time it is one of their main challenges to be concemcd with child welfare and a Gunter (200 I: 1 08) calls it, !he pedagogy of the school. 20 Another challenge that middle managers face concerns their key roles of managers as " leadership of a subjects" and as "managers of people" (Fitzgerald, 2004: 72). According to Day et a/. (2006:83), middle managers need to be involved in decision-making and policy fom1ation but they also have to display a clear subject area leadership focus (Professional Standards, 1999:23 ). Middle managers fonn part of an organisational network that exists in an educational organisational structure and must be able to function effectively and efficiently at these di ffcrent levels. Reitzug (2002:3) notes that networks are a crew of personnel, from across different schools that interact regularly to discuss and share practices around a particular focus. For example, Reitzug (2002:3) found that networks were effective in assisting middle managers to get educators more actively involved in teaching, while Lieberman and Grolnick ( 1996:8) state that networks have a number of positive effects on middle managers profess ional development. According to Jackson aud Straude (200 I: 15), one of the main concerns that middle managers face is that it is not realised that one of the key issues in the success of a school lies in lhe development of middle managers competencies, such as knowledge, skills aud behaviour. These attributes contribute to a large extent to their personal effectiveness. Reitzug (2002:5) is of the opinion that these competencies should include communication, plam1ing and administration, teamwork, strategic actions, global awareness and self-management. Then only one can say that due attention bas been given to professional development of middle managers. Recent research indicates that while there has been some improvement, there continues to be a lack of adequate and effective training for middle managers prior to them taking up their roles, including those aspiring to those positions (Adcy, 2000:25; Brown, Boyle & Boyle, 2000:50). Furthermore, the fact bas been identified that the number of positions in middle management is increasing in number as well as complexity, yet middle managers are still being appointed to these positions in many education systems without the relevant support and training. In South Africa, tbe complexity of the roles of middle managers bas increased at an alarming rate in the last decade. This is mainly due to systems changes such as the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) and Whole School Evaluation (WSE), Development Appraisal (OA), Performance Measure (PM), all of which fall within one Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), which has been introduced. In fact these changes were necessitated by the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 21 1996) which provided the basis for curriculum transformation and development in South Africa (Department of Education, 2003: I). This is compounded by the fact that the Schools Act (RSA, 1996) in particular introduced School Based Management with all its complications and implications for its members in school. 2.6 THE RO LES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOLS As extension of the defin ition of management and roles in Chapter One paragraphs 2.2.4 and 2.2.5 it can be stated that before attempting to make a distinction the different roles of middle managers in schools it must be pointed out that a precise job definition or description wi ll always be fu ll of difficulties and dilemmas. The roles of middle managers in schools are diverse and challenging and difficult to comprehend in terms of exact definitions. They operate in an area where innovation and change and the capacity to motivate people can be seen as basic requirements. They have to take organisations through major changes and make important changes in the organisation's mission, structure and human resource management. By appl yi ng distributive leadership they have to enable and empower teachers to achieve extraordinary things on behalf of the school. A middle manager should also have an understanding of hi s or her role as detailed in the job description (Blandford, 2006: 15). In this regard the job description is a mechanism for on-going dialogue about accounting and it "acts as a keystone for all aspects of performance management" (Chetty, 2007: 15). It is general knowledge that some middle managers themselves regard their role expectations as unclear and uncertain (Fleming, 2000:430). Middle managers are teaching; take care of departmental budget and teaching resources. They also appraise and develop educators, hold meetings, advices and guide educators and learners. They arc responsible for curriculum, school-wide deci sion-making and they are actively involved in professional associations. They are responsible for learners discipline and welfare activities within their departments and extra-curricu lar activities. They are also to take care of administration, which is record keeping and assessment of learners. However, middle managers may also perform other tasks, as well as contend with the changing nature of their TOles. Adey' s (2000:258) study also revealed that middle managers require clearer guidelines about their role as well. Middle managers are performing many roles, therefore, that is why they regard their role as unclear and uncertain. They work at the interface between teaching and managing. Traditionally the main role of middle managers was regarded as being responsible " to sec that learners are being taught and perfom1 outstandingly in their learning areas or subjects" (Blandford, 22 2004: 16). They were required to engage in class teaching, to be responsible for the effective function ing of the dcpattment and to organ ise relevant extra-curricular activities so as to ensure that the subject, learning area or phase and the education of learners were promoted in a proper manner to produce quality results. More recently their roles have been regarded as predominantly undertaking administrative tasks "expressed as organising the subject teaching so that the right staff are in the right place with the right equipment to teach the prescribed scheme of work" (Glover, Gleeson, Gough & Johnson, 1998:281 ). [n line with viewpoints in the foregoing discuss ion the roles of middle managers can be discussed as • Roles related to teaching and learning and • Administrative roles 2.6.1 Roles related to teaching and learning Managing staff in departments is a crucial role that middle managers perform. This is an impottant element of the teaching and learning process and can be seen as the driving force behind any school and the key to improve the quality of the learning process (Fitzgerald, 2004:72). Ofsted ( 1995:45) indicates that only by accepting and implementing the process of quality assurance as a key part of their duties and responsibilities can middle managers monitor and evaluate the work of staff in departments effectively. In general, bowever, it seems as if middl.e managers arc still reluctant to monitor quali ty of teaching and learning systematically. Middle managers have to ensure that t1Je education of learners is promoted in a proper matmer and in accordance with approved policies. Thus, the task of being a middle manager is demanding, requiring energy, drive and many personal qualities such as commitment, dedication, resilience and skills. If the school is a locum for improvement, middle managers have the key role in designing, developing, monitoring and evaluating these improvements. Middle managers should possess skills, knowledge, attitudes and values to manage their departments effectively and efficiently (Day, 2000:75). The following aspects can be highlighted as part of middle manager's role in teaching and learning. • In-school monitoring Monitoring is seen as checks on teacher's competence and the quality of learning and teaching. According to Bem1ctt (2003:3), middle managers play a crucial role in developing 23 and maintaining the nature and quality of pupil's learning experi ence, but the ways in which they do this is strongly influenced by the circumstances in whi ch they work. They show great resistance to the idea of monitoring the quality of their coll eagues· work, espec ially in observing colleagues when teaching (Nxumalo, 2009:23). To have someone observing your work is sometimes seen as a chall enge to professional norms of quality and privacy. It seems as if middle managers who have been successful in monitoring classroom activities introduced their monitoring as a collaborative learning activity for the entire department rather than as a control function (Bennett, 2003 :3). Middle managers' authorities come from their competence as teachers and their subject knowledge rather than from their official positions. They sometimes doubt their own abilities and level of subject knowledge which makes it even more difficult for them to monitor colleagues' work (DeBruyn, 2009:23). • The implementation of new curricula The role of middle managers in implementing curricula is to work with teachers whilst simultaneously managing the curriculum. The process of leadership and management is linked to middle managers' roles of implementing the new curriculum. The curriculum cannot merely be dealt with within the four walls of the classroom. One of a middle manager's roles in this dispensation is to manage the current changes that are taking place in the education system. McLennan (2003: I 04) affirms that the National Department of Education took the initiative to restructure South African education to be in line with the Constitution. This, she argues, will help to expedite curri culum transformation to accommodate all races. She (McLennan, 2003:120) purports that the challenges facing middle managers are to strike harmony between the vis ion for transfonnation and the day-to­ day realities for change to take effect on the education system. According to Fleisch (2002: 120), the biggest obstacle of this new curriculum and its implementation process was translating what was a highly abstract set of ideas into state policy and institutional practise. In this regard middle managers have a key role to play. McLennan (2003: I 20) goes on to highlight three main reservations and concerns expressed by individuals and organisations about the new curriculum. Firstly there is too littl e capaci ty, secondly there is too little money and lastly there is too much jargon. Capacity, according to Fleisch (2002: 120), is essentially understood as a criticism of the lack of provincial training and the general poor training middle managers received. Poor training can be seen in the sense that the duration of time given was insufficient for middle managers to understand it. Davey (2006:8 1) further 24 enunciates that training was poor since planning of time frames which affected the success of the process was not properly done. This is critica l for middle managers as they themselves have to oversee the further appropriate implementation of the curri culum. Thus it poses a double challenge for middle managers as they arc not fu lly capacitated with the nitty-gritty of the curriculum and cannot, therefore, supervise and transfer new learning to their subordinates. • Jnductjon Vi llani (2002:43) defines induction as a comprehensive, coherent and sustained professional development process. It is organ ised by schools and other organisations to train, support and retain staff. It guides teachers Lnto a life-long learning programme. Dean (2002:261) indicates that induction should ensure that people new to positions in schools must always be given the necessary support and guidance. When induction programmes are embedded in school cultures, professional learning as part of a middle manager's daily work promotes continuous improvement in teaching and teaming. When induction programmes are well designed, it is an indicator that middle managers have a deep commitment to quality teaching and the professional learning that feeds it (Dean , 2002:75). Effective induction ensures that anyone new to a role or new to the school feels supported and confident, ready to join an effective team, and will ing to contribute to their own and school development {Blandford, 2006:261). When middle managers conduct induction programmes in the school, they enable new teachers to carry out their duties in effective ways, while at the same time providing a proper base or foundation for their further development. • Mentoring According to Thrupp (2003:256), mentoring facilitates transfer of knowledge, ski lls, attitudes, beli efs and values benveen experienced and less experienced practitioners. Villani (2002:24) adds that through mentoring, emotional support and encouragement, cultural norms and cognitive coaching can be uncalculated. The essence of the mentoring relationship in education is that the middle manager takes a direct and personal interest in the education and the development of the younger or less experienced teachers. The middle manager is entrusted with tutoring, educating and guiding 25 educators who arc typically new or new to a given post. Those being mcntorcd depend upon their mentors to help them, protect them, show them the way and develop their skills and insight more fully (Portner, 2005: 193). Mcntoring provides an obvious and needed opportunity for teacher leadership and is an opportunity for middle managers to sec their profession from a different perspective. During this process. middle managers and the school experiences growth. Middle managers gain more than they give in terms of their own practice and deep-felt sati sfaction is achieved (Dean, 2002: 193 ). • Coaching Robertson (2007:4) defines coaching as a special, sometimes reciprocal, relationship between (at least) two people who work together to set professional goals and achieve them. The tem1 depicts a leaming rela ti onship, where participants arc open to new leaming. Coaching is used as a method for improving instruction and teaching strategies. experimenting with new approaches and techniques, problem solving, and building coUegial relati onship. Middle managers and teachers engage together as professionals equally committed to faci litating each other's developmental and well-being (both cognitive and affective), and gain a greater understanding of professionalism and the work of professionals. By conducting coaching middle managers help new appointees to a better understanding of work issues and improvement of their capabilities. Middle managers have primary ownership of the coaching process and are directly involved in ex trinsic feedback. Robertson (2007:5) also alludes that the term depicts a learning relationship, where middle managers are open to new learning strategies. Megginson (2005:4) explains that coaching relates to the performance improvement in a specific ski ll area of middle managers. Apart from helping others to understand their work issues better, middle managers' own capabilities arc also improved in the process. 2.6.2 Administr ative roles Apart from their responsibilities with regard to teach ing and learning middle managers have the responsibility to ensure effective administration throughout the school. They ha ve to set up systems, policies, procedures and time-tables to enhance efficiency (Clarke, 2007:3). Middle managers manage aspects of physical facilities. finances and human resources to ensure that a conducive environment is created for quali ty teaching and learning. 26 In South Afric~ the roles of middle managers in public schools is officially outlined in the Educators Em ployment Act, 76 of 1996 and confim1cd by the Department of Education (DoE, 2003:Scc 1-7) as well as the North West Department of Education (NWDE, 2007:19- 2 1 ). In the o called "core duties and responsibilities' ' reference is al so made of non-teaching administrative duties as well as coordination, planning and control (NWDE, 2007: 19). The DoE (2003:2- 16) refers to tJ1e task of acting as representatives of the school by dealing with di fferent takeholdcrs like parents, educators, non-teaching staff and learners at the level of the school and community. In addition Blandford ( 1997: 17) reminds us tbat middle managers have am todirect influence on policies regarding quality management and other important school matters. The following specific administrative roles can be mentioned: • Conductin g meetings The main purpther and so that middle managers can provide mutual support (Menoe, 2007:28). Phase meeti11gs. 27 These meetings arc held once a month in order to discuss problems that educators come across in their classes. They arc also important because educators arc able to discuss any prob lems they arc faced with in their classes, such as discipline, absenteeism, learner perfom1ance and strategies that can be applied to so lve the above problems (Menoe, 2007:28). Parents meetings. Nxumalo (2009:50) states that the execution of parents ' meetings involves listening skills, leading of discuss ions, communicating ideas, empathy, conducting meetings with people from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds and assessing differing viewpoints. Paren ts' meetings benefit both middle managers and parents as they discuss the learner performance. Middle managers are able to meet parents face-to-face and discuss learners ' written work, thei r general behav iour, assessment, tests and examinations. • Human-resource management The dramatic changes in South Africa's educational landscape since 1994 have produced major cha llenges for school leaders and managers, notably in respect of human resource management. Bush and Heystek 's (2006:25) survey of middle managers shows that this aspect was perceived as a major training need. Thurlow (2003: 15) shows that" school managers arc expected to assume greater responsibility, under difficult circumstances, for the management of all those who work in the schools". In a school situation human resource management deals with empowering people by developing appropriate competencies, recogni sing competence and training and support techJ1iqucs. Empowering people will need capacity building that will focus on three aspects of people development, viz. objective empowerment, subjective empowerment and competence (Department of Education, 1996:46). Middle managers occupy a unjque position in the field of human resource management. It is not limited to follO\·ving a job description but entails an understanding of the location of the exercise of power (Dean, 2002:108) within the school. They operate in a structure within which functions such as planning, delegation, organ isation and control can be accommodated easily (Employment of Educators Act, 76 o f 1998). They provide professional leadership, gu ide, supervise and offer professional advice on the work and performance of all staff members. They also ensure that the work loads of teachers are cquall.y distributed (Dean, 28 2002:4 ). They advise the principal regarding the division of work among the staff. Last but not least they shou ld participate iJJ the agreed educator appraisal process in order to review the professional practice regu larly with the aim of improving teaching and leaming and management. From a human resource perspective middle managers shou ld focus on the learning opportunities provided in an organisatioDal setting. They are co-responsible for the development of staff-trainjng programmes, school-based development and school-focused community interventions. They have to ensure that all evaluation of fom1s conducted in the school are properly and efficiently managed. They also assist educators, particularly new and inexperienced ones in developing and achieving educational objectives in accordance with needs of the school. • Communication The Oxford English Dictionary (1998) defines commllllication as "the imparting, conveying, or exchange of ideas, knowledge, information (whether by speech, writing or signs)". Middle managers should utilise every oppottunity to inspire educators to strive towards the vision (Kann, 2000: 15). A prerequisite for alignment around the organisation's vision is that the vision should be communicated to followers. The communication should be done in such a way that educators are inspired by the vision and willingly align with the vision. Middle managers need to co-operate with members of the staff and the school in maintaining the efficient and smooth running of the school (Hoogervorst, Van der Flier & Koopman, 2004:299). They should liaise with the relevant structures regarding school curricula and curriculum development. In order for middle managers to run the school in a vision-driven way, tbe vision needs to be communicated in an inspirational way to all stakeholders so that it infuses all school activities (Kann, 2000:1 0). It is much easier and more credible to commu11icate a vision that has been developed collaboratively with all the stakeholders (Blandford, 2006:46). Middle managers need to meet parents and other stakeholders in vision development. They should also co-operate with colleagues in order to foster a positive administrative climate within the department and the school. Middle managers should also collaborate with educators of other schools in developing the department and conducting extra-curricular activities. They also need to participate in departmental and professional commit'tees, seminars and courses in order to contribute and update professional standards in the school. 29 Communication is a task that cannot be done in a haphazard and uncoordinated way if successful realisation of the vision is the object ive. There are many possible ways of communicating but the most important is that the desired effect is attained, wh ich is that al ignment around the vision of the school is built up and the required focus on attaining the school vision is brought about around effective communication. If the vision of the school is communicated successfully, the middle managers will attain the alignment (Blandford, 2006:47). The priority areas can be facilitated and teams can be created for implementation purposes (Neuman & euman, 2006:253). • Delegation Delegation means giving middle managers responsibility to make decis ions regarding all aspects of the school development. Delegation of responsibilities and strategies is for ensuring accountability and i3 clearly evident in the best managed and effective schools. Murdock and Scutt ( 1997:38) mentioned that delegation can also be seen as an excellent way of ski ll development. Murdock and Scutt point out that those middle managers in successful organ isations delegate tasks and responsibilities. The expansion of the principal's role in self-managed school (Cardno, 2004:299) has resulted in tasks being delegated to other senior managers and middle managers. Kemp and Nathan ( 1989: 165) define management as achieving objectives through others. This implies that delegation is a skill that middle managers are supposed to have. Delegation is beneficial to both people, who arc delegating and who are delegated. The principal delegates the work to the middle managers and middle managers may delegate it to their subordinates (Blandford, 2006:49). According to Xaba (1991:91 ), delegation develops middle managers skills for assigning responsibilities and assisting in achieving of objectives, communication and interpersonal relationship. Middle managers should also delegate school activities like: planning of tasks, time management, guiding, control and organising to educators. Delegation also enhances participatory and democratic management and builds team work. 2.7 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER The chapter has explained the functioning and importance of middle managers in school leadership. The chapter highlighted the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools. There arc challenges that middle managers experience in curriculum management 30 and also in administration and management and they bavc been outlined. A number of middle managers roles are given. The roles related to teaching and learning, in-school monitoring, the implementation of new curricula and administrative roles are also given in this chapter. The next chapter will present the research design and methods to be used in this study. 31 CHAPTER THREE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 3.1 INTROD UCTIO The previous chapter focused on a review of rela ted literature on the nature and s ignificance of middle management in schools. respons ibilities of middle managers in schools and the cha llenge fac ing middle managers. This chapter wi ll focus on the research design, research approach, and research methods employed in the study. The recording o f data, ethical consideration, trusrwor1hiness, observation, interviews and document analys is will al so be highlighted. The research methodology will be outlined with reference to the research questions, problem and aim of the study. The chapter will end with a summary. 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY According to N iewenhui s (2010:70), research des ign is a plan or strategy which moves from the underl ying philosophica l asswnption to specify ing the selection of respondents, the data gathering techniques to be used in the study, and the data analys is to be done. Selecting a research design for this study was based on getting the best possible data from respondents on the topic. McMillan and Schumacher (2001 :30) contend that research design describes the procedures for conducting the study, including when, from whom, and under what conditions the data will be obtained. Cohen, Manion and Morri son (2007:78) state that research design is governed by the notion of fitness of purpose. This means that research design is determ ined by the purpose o f the research. According to Mouton (2005:55), research design is ta ilored to address di ffercnt kinds o f questions. When one attempts to classify different kinds o f studi es, it is not surprising that it is done according to the kind of questions that have to be answered. Tn this study the world view o f the participants was explored in their natural setting with the view of understanding the role of middle managers in schools. Leedy and Orrnrod (2005: I 33) state that to answer research questions, the research cannot skim across the surface, the researcher must dig deep to get a complete understanding of the phenomenon she is studying. l n qualitati ve research, researchers do indeed dig deep. They collect numerous forms of data and examine them from various angles to construct a rich and 32 meaningful picture of a complex, multifaceted situation. That is why research questions such as the following arc asked: • What are the functions and imp011ancc o f middl e managers in school leadership? • What arc challenges experienced by middle manager in schools? • What are the roles of middle managers? This study focuses on a qualitative research design to carry out the empirical in vestigation. 3.3 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Research is conducted by making use of a particular approach or paradigm. A research paradigm is an-all inclusive system of interconnected practice and philosophy that defines the nature of the investigation along the three clements of ontology, epistemology, and methodology (Terre Blanch, Durrheim, & Painter, 2006:6). The t\vo broad main conceptual frameworks of research paradigms are qualitative and quantitative research paradigm (Punch , 2009: 114). The researcher regarded the qualitative approach as important to this study as most of the descriptions and interpretations arc portrayed in words rather than numbers (Punch, 2009:3). The focus of attention is on the perceptions and experience of deputy principals and heads of departments in performing their roles in schools. According to Niewenhuis (20 I 0:78), qualitative research is naturalistic. Thus, the resea rcher did not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest. The research was carried out in real-life situations in the selected schools and not in an ex perimental situation. McMillan and Schumacher (2001 :395) define qualitative research as an interactive inquiry in which researchers coll ect data in face to face s itua tions by interacting with selected persons in their environment. Creswell (2002:37) states that a qualitative approach involves the collection of data in a natural setting that should be sens itive to the people and places under study, and a data analysis that is inductive as well as establishing patterns or themes. Deputy principals and heads of departments were interviewed and data collected were recorded. This study was also descriptive; in so far as it invo lved collecting data to answer questions concerning the status of the subject of the study. According to McMillan and Schumacher (200 1 :397), a descriptive research study is aimed at describing and explaining the patterns related to the phenomenon by scrutinjzing the events, beliefs, attitude and policies that impact on the phenomenon under investigation. The researcher visited the selected schools and 33 scrutinised all the documents that middle managers used and also observed them when they pcrfom1ed their roles. Notes were taken in order to be analysed. Since this study is concerned with the way deputy principals and heads of department perform their roles in the school, the qualitative research method was employed to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of deputy principals and heads of departments perception towards the challenges they are facing and what can be done to improve existing problems. 3.4 POPULATION OF THE STUDY As mentioned in paragraph l. 7.3 the population can be defined as any group of individuals who have one or more characteristics in common that of interest to the researcher. DeVos et a/. (2002: 198) indicate that the selection of a population of a study refers to taking any pot1ion of a general population as representative of that population. Therefore. everybody in the general population cannot be part of a study, but the views of the selected portion of a population can be generalised to the general population. Kruger and Tiwani (201 0:70) contend that selection process is used to determine who and what the researcher is going to study. The first step in designing is to choose the population that wi ll participate in the study. The population for this study is deputy principals and beads of departments of all primary schools within the Ttsoseng Circuit. There arc twenty-five primary schools in the Itsoseng Circuit and only five schools will be involved in this study. Central focus is on the roles of middle managers in schools of the twenty-five schools in Jtsoscng Circuit. The majority of deputy principals and heads of departments in this area live in areas such as Itsoseng and Lichtcnburg. 3.5 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES According to Kruger and Tiwani (20 10:70). a sample comprises of clements with most features, representati ve of the typical attributes of the population. Sampling is defined by Zikmund (2000:338) as a process of using a small number of items or parts of a large population to make conclusion about the whole population. The reason for sampling in this study is feasibility, that is, time, money and effort can be concentrated to produce better quality research and get more in-depth information. According to Moles and Huberman (as cited in Punch, 200 I :54), "a ll empirical research 34 [ involves sampling as one cannot study everyone, everywhere, doing everything". For qualitative research, sampling is generally based on non-probability and purposive sampling rather than on probabil ity and random sampling approaches. There arc twenty-five primary schools in the ltsoseng Circuit and only fi ve schoo ls will be involved in thi s study. The main aim was to interv iew only a few deputy principals and heads of departments who arc close ly involved in the issues of management. This was because there were deputy principals and heads of department who knew, in-depth, what their roles were and the implication of such roles for leadership and management of the schoo l, and they were regarded as the ones who would be able to give rich information. Since this research is o f qual itative orientation, focus is on one sampling technique (purposive sampling) . According to Niewenhuis (20 I 0:79), purposive sampling means that the participants arc selected because of some defining characteristics that makes them the holders of data needed for the study. Niewenhuis (20 l 0:79) further states that purposive sampling decisions arc not only restri cted to the selection o f the parti cipants but also involves the settings, incidents, events and activities to be included for data collection. Purposeful sampling, as a dominant strategy in the qualitative approach, has been adopted for this particular study. The schools sampled are eas il y accessible and also the middle managers are experienced. The general characteristic that requires the participants to be purposefully selected in this study is that the selected deputy principals and heads o f departments to the study have experienced challenges in their roles and related management. The participants who are deputy principals and beads of departments have at least fi ve years' experience in which they had experi enced management problems and are also members of the School Management Teams of their schools (see Appendix A). In thi s study, the researcher purposefully selected five primary schools. One deputy principal and one head o f department was selected fl-om each of the selected schools. The selected deputy principals and heads of departments will be interviewed. Thus the total sample population is ten participants. Two from each school took part in the study. Tbe defining characteristic for selecting the participating primary schools were schools that are in the Itsoseng area of work . These schools were selected for convenience purposes. The researcher is the deputy principal of one of the primary schools. The other schools are neighbouring schools that are easily accessible. 35 3.6 DATA COLLETION METHODS Data collection involves the different techniques the researcher uses to gather information in research writing. With qualitative approach. a variety of data collection methods may be employed such as interviews producing nan·ative data, document ana lysis, renectivc journals and field notes, panicipant and non-participant observation (Creswell, I 998: 12). These arc approaches to obta ining data in qualitative study: Firstly the deputy principals and HODs were observed as they worked, secondly, infom1ation was requested verball y, and thirdly read or looked for traces of other evidence to verify whatever was investigated (Wilson & Fox, 2009:76). ln this study the following data collection methods were used namely: • Interviews • Observation • Document analysis 3.6.1 Interviews Nieweu.buis (20 I 0:86) defines an interview as a two way conversation m which the interviewer asks the participant questious to collect data and to learn about the idea, beliefs, views, opinions and behaviours of the participants. The aim of qualitative interviews is to see the world through the eyes of participants. Briggs and Coleman (2007:208) share a similar definition and view an interview as a preferred tactic to explore people's views and report findings in their own words as reasonable as possible. Thomas (2009: 162) states that interview questions can take the form of open and closed-ended questions. Open ended questions allow respondents to reply in whatever way they wish. Terre Blanch and Ourrheim (2006: 127) maintain that interviewing gives the researcher the opportunity to get to know the partic ipants quite intimately as one wi ll know how they think and feel. The purpose of interviews is to find out what is on someone else's mind. Participants were asked open-ended questions with the objective of not suggesting responses, but to access the perspective of the person being interviewed. Interviews arc conducted to find out from people those things that cannot be directly observed like feelings, thoughts and intentions. In collecting qualitative data through open-ended interviews, the researcher also particularly recorded direct words of the interviews. The tape recorder was used to record all the interviews. The participants were informed that the tape recorder will be used during the 36 interviews and asked whether they are comfortable. All the participants welcomed the request and were requested to sign the informed consent fonn. Direct quotations arc a basic source of raw data in qualitative inquiry, revealing respondents ' depth of emotion, the way they have organised their words, their thoughts about what is happening, their experiences and their basic perceptions. According to De Vos eta/. (2002:292), qualitative interviews attempt to understand the world from the pa11icipant's point of view and to unfold the mcan•ng. Ln-dcpth individual interviews in this study involved asking open-ended questions, listening to and recording answers, and following up answers with additiona l relevant questions (Bless & Smith, 2000: 1). The researcher used English for communication because the interviewing arc professionals. In this kind of interviewing, the researcher limited her contribution to absolute research questions as a starting point to gain an in-depth understanding of participant's experience and opinions on the nature and significance of middle managers, the legislative roles and responsibilities of middle managers and the challenges facing them. From the central research questions, follow up questions were pursued and probing was used to gain insight in the study. When respondents deviated from the topic, the interviewer tactfully steered them back. The researcher used English for communication hecause the interviewing are professionals. Five sets of in-depth individual interviews were conducted with the deputy principals and heads of departments from each of the five selected schools within the ltsoscng Circuit, that is, two sets of individual interviews per school (one for deputy principal and one for heads of departments). In al l, ten individual in-depth interviews were conducted in this study. Each participant was interviewed between 20-25 minutes and the interview took place after school at the selected school. 3.6.2 Observations Nicwenhuis (20 I 0:83) states that observation is the systematic process of recording the behavioural patterns of participants, objects and occurrences without necessarily questioning or communicating with them. Observation as a data collection technique is different from interviews in the sense that the observation techniques rely on the researcher seeing, and hearing things and recording, rather than relying on the subject's responses to the questions and their statements. According to Cohen et a/. (2007:396), observation offers a researcher 37 the opportunity to gather li ve data from naturall y occuning situations. The researcher did not seck to manipulate the s ituations or subj ects, did not pose questions to the subjects, nor deliberately create new provocations. According to McMillan and Schumacher (200 I :40-4 1 ), the researcher does not collect data to answer speci fie hypothesis, rather the explanations arc inductively derived from the fields notes. According to DeVos eta/. (2002:280). participant observation refers to a qualitative research procedure that studies the natural and everyday set-up in a particular community or situation. It further enables the researcher to obtain the participant's perception of events and processes expressed in the partic ipant 's actions as feelings, thought and beliefs. The researcher observed five deputy principals and five heads of departments for two weeks while they performed their roles. The issues that were observed included how middle managers performed their roles related to teaching and learning, how the educators taught in the classroom and control the learners' books during the teaching time, their administrative roles, which arc th e recording sheets of learners' tasks marks, the learners class registers and how they control in-school monitoring, what prob lems they encounter when implementing new curricula. There were newly appointed educators during the observations, the middle managers inducted, mentored and coached them. The researcher also observed the procedure of conducting meetings with educators and parents. The type of observation used for this study is the observation as a participant model which Marce (20 I 0:85) describes as the researcher getting into a situation but focus ing mainly on his/her role as an observer in the situation. The researcher only observed fi ve deputy principals and five heads of departments to understand the values, beliefs and experi ence in managing their roles. The researcher remained uninvolved and did not influence the dynamics of the setting. After observation, the researcher presented a thorough description of what actuall y transpired without criticizing judgements and reflecting on the process. Both the researcher and the participants were aware of the fact that a field work 1 clatiun~hip existed between them. To allow the flow of activities in a natural setting. the researcher tried to gain the trust of the participants. Throughout the observation period in this study, the researcher remained on s ite for a direct, eyewitness account on the actions and settings before the school started until the end of the day. As mentioned in previous paragraphs, the study targets five primary schools in the Jtsoseng Ci rcuit and the researcher observed the roles that middle managers performed in each of the selected schools. 38 3.6.3 Document analysis According to Thomas (2009: 170), gathering data from documents represents an entirely different proposition from gathering data from people. Niewcnhuis (20 1 0:83) contends that when a researcher uses documents as a data gathering technique, s/he should focus on all types of written communication that may shed light on the phenomenon that the researcher is investigating. Written data may mclude published and unpublished documents, reports, memoranda, agendas, administrative documents, letters and reports, or any documents that are connected to the investigation. ln selecting the documents to be analysed in this study, the researcher, aligned to the ideas of Niewenhuis (2010:82), suggests that in selecting documents for research, tbe research must verify the following: • What kind of document iss/be dealing with? • What is the publication date? • What was the purpose or intent of the document? The researcher visited the selected schools to analyse documents such as. SMT, subjects and staff minute's books which were held from January to March 2013. The school policies like monitoring, unifom1, written work and examination policies documents were analysed. The subjects meetings, workshops and accountability sessions' ci rculars were also analysed. The Grade 6 learner's books such as classwork, monthly tests and Annual National Assessment books for Mathematics were also analysed to check if middle managers do their work as indicated in the monitoring policy. The researcher visited the school for two weeks. The researcher was analysing different documents in order for her to be able to finish analysing all the above mentioned documents. For the purpose of this research, the researcher had to analyse the School Management Teams' (SMT) policies of selected schools, their allocated management roles and school policies. These documents were analysed to enable the researcher to correlate the findings in the policies with those of the interviews and observation. According to Henning, Van Rcnsburg and Smith (2004:98), many novice researchers arc inclined to use documents only for their content value. Data from the documents arc also the main analytical tool in the research process. Documents of a private nature, such as used dairies need to be treated with the utmost care and with the full ethical implication in mind. According to McMillan and Schumacher (200 l :451 ), artefacts are used as manifestations 39 that describe peoples' experience, and knowledge in the form of personal documents such as letters and objects. There is a need to find out if the ways in which middle managers perceive and manage thei r roles in the school arc according to the policies of the school. Analysis of administrative policies, subject policies, monitoring policies for deputy principals and heads of departments and school policies wil l provide the measuring rod to evaluate the extent to which middle managers arc conversant with their roles. 3.7 MfETHOD OF DATA ANALYSTS According to Niewenhuis (201 0:99), data analysis techn iques are an on-going and interactive process. This implies that the collection, processing and reporting of data arc intertwined. McMilla111 and Schumacher (200 I :467) contend that data analysis implies the integration of operations of organising, analysing and interpreting data. Once the data from interviews and observati on have been collected, the next stage invo lves the allla lysis of data. Obviously the researcher had to work through the data to arrive at conclusions. All the field notes, interview transcripts and documents must be available and completed. In this study, analysis data was be managed by breaking down data into four key stages: • Transcribing • Summarising data • Coding • Organising data 3.7.1 T ranscribing and saving data Nicwenhu is (20 I 0: I 04) states that all data collected by electronic or digital means must be transcribed. Audio tapes were transcribed verbatim. This wats done by the researcher and was include some non-verbal cues in the transcript. Once data were typed and sorted, the researcher made a copy of all of it and saved data in a separate file. 3.7.2 Summarising data According to Ary et a/. (2006:499), the research examined all entries with the same code and then merged these categories into patterns by finding links among them. The researcher 40 investigated the roles of middle managers in schools; she coded the data into categories of research questions as follows: • What arc the functioning and importance of middle managers in sehoolleadcrship? • What arc the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools? • What arc the roles of middle managers in schools? 3.7.3 Organising data Organising data is a large process of cutting and sorting. According to Nicwenhuis (20 I 0: I 04), field notes, recording of interviews and observations tend to be lengthy and require intensive examination, understanding and reading. Tn order to keep a dean mind and not become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the data, researchers need to approach data analysis in a highly organised manner. To this study, the researcher dec ided to familiarise herself with the collected data by rereading the field notes of the observation and interview notes and transcripts, continuously reviewing the documents that were required for analysis, and li stening repeatedly to audiotapes. 3.7.4 Coding According to Niewenhuis (2010:105), coding is the processes of carefully reading through transcri bed data and dividing it into meaningful analytica l units. Coding is, therefore, defined as marking the segments of data with symbols or descriptive words. It simply means that whenever a researcher finds a meaningful segment of test in a transcript, the researcher must assign a code to signify that particular segment. For example, a coded interview was as follows: natTative from interview with deputy principal (DP), head of department (HD) and by researcher (R). Coding was utilised for the purpose of data organisation. McMillan and Schumacher (200 I :466) describe coding as the translation of question responses and responded infonnation to spcci lie categories for the purpose of analysis. After cod ing all data, the researcher placed all units which have the same coding together. Struwig and Stead (2004: 169) state that codes should be interpreted within a certain context and in relationship to other codes. McMillan and Schumacher (200 I :466) contend that coding is the process of dividing data into parts by classification system. 41 3.8 TRUSTWORTHINESS Trust'.vorthiness refers to the way in which the enqui rer is able to persuade the audience that the find ings in the study arc worth paying attention to (Maree, 20 I 0:299). This aspect is of utmost importance in qualitative research. The researcher needs to follow recognised procedures to ensure the trustworthiness of the data analysis. Inviting individuals to participate in research means that the researcher must protect participants from ha1m and violation of privacy, whilst at the same time maintain ing the integri ty of the research and its ethical standards. The researcher pertaining to this study made sure that the participants fully comprehended the nature and outcomes of the research and they were assured of anonymity and confidentja lity (sec Appendix E). According to Bless. Higson-Smitb and Kagee (2006: 143), researchers usuall y assign a number to a participant's data instead of participant's name to ensure that the data remain anonymous. To ensure all these, the names of parti cipants were not mentioned and parti cipants were not forced to participate. The following symbols were used to instead of numbers: Deputy Principal (DP), Head of Department (HD) and Researcher (R). 3.8.1 Verifying raw material and validating findings Maree (20 I 0:299) describes internal validi ty as the accurate presentation of a particular event described by the researcher. According to Niewenhuis (20 I 0: 113), at the completion of interviewing or other data co llection strategies, the researcher could submit a transcript or field notes to the participant to correct errors or facts. During subsequent interviews with participants, the researcher may ask them to verify the data gathered in earlier interviews as to verify whether interpretation of what they have shared is correct. In this study, findings were taken back to the deputy principals and heads of departments of the participating schools fo r them to verify if what was captured was actually what they said. The same applies in the case of using observation as criteri a for collecting data; the researcher used the member checking strategy. Marec (20 I 0:86) refers to member checking as a situation where the researcher verifies hi s/her understanding of what has been observed with those observed. All the respondents coofim1ed that the data was captured accurately. 42 3.8.2 Reliability of the study Reliability in qualitative research is regarded as a fit between what the researcher records as data and what actually occurs in the natural setting that is being researched. which is the degree of accuracy and comprehensiveness of the coverage of the investigation process. lL refers to what actually occurs in the natural setting that is being researched. The researcher triangulated all data collected during the research process. including the results of the interviews and field notes in order to search for common themes to provide reliable findings. The researcher strived to eliminate any bias that might be brought to the study by constantly reflecting on tJ1e research process. Neuman (2003:184) adds to his definition of reliability the issue of dependability. Dependability of data was established by capturing all interviews on a tape recorder and transcribing into written fonn. During the transcription exercise, the researcher decided to e liminate only those parts of tbe respondent 's stories that were not commensurate with the research topic or had no significance to the research. Attempts were, however, made to reproduce the interview scripts as accurately as possible. Following the transcription, the researcher listened again to rhe tapes while reading the transcript. Furthermore, the interviews were unbiased and the researcher took care not t'o ask leading questions or to be over-impressionistic in observations. 3.9 ETHICAL ISSUES In research, ethics arc usually referred to as "the moral principles, guiding conduct, which arc held by a group or even a profession" (Wellington, 2000:54). In planning and executing research, ethical aspects such as access, consent and participants protection arc fundamental (Punch, 2009:56). Since a researcher cannot demand access and participant consent, the researcher must rely on assistance and permission (Punch, 2009:56). Carefu l consideration should be given to the procedures involved in gaining access to the research sites. The researcher must acknowledge that is very rare for the research to be conducted without the co-operation of a number of people (Day eta!., 2006:77). The key to gaining adequate co­ operati on and approved access is through good planning and good planning is derived from a well-designed and carefully thought-out research plan (Day eta/., 2006:77). 43 The following ethical considerations that should be taken into account during a qualitative study arc based on research done by Wellington (2000:54-57), Punch (2006:56-57) and llcnning (2004:73). For the purpose of this study, consent included: • Confidentiality and anonymity: This is essential at every stage of the research process to avoid putting the participant in any fonn of danger. The participant was given the consent form to sign it to reassure him/her that the infonnati on s/hc gives is confidential (sec Appendix C). • Use volunteers: The researcher may not exercise power over participants or force participants to participate in the research. Participants have the right to withdraw from research at any time. The researcher must not place the pat1icipants in any fom1 of danger or force them to participate to anything they arc unwillingly to do (sec Appendix C). • Honesty/Deception: The researcher must be honest with the pat1icipants about exactly what the research process entails. The researcher must also advise the parti cipants to be honest so that the data collected will be va lid and tntstworthy. This is important as to avoid any fom1 of deception by the researcher or participants which could negatively affect the participant, research process and fwuiugs (see Appendix C). ln this study, the participants have given consent in the form of a letter that promises them that any information given will be strictly confidential and no identification of a specific school or name of deputy principal and head of department will be given when the report is completed. McMillan and Schumacher (200 1:42 I) state that informed consent is regarded as a dialogue and procedure in which individuals choose whether to participate after being infom1cd of the purpose of the study and facts that would influence their decisions. The infonnation obtained in this study will be used to prepare a research report. Any information obtained from participants in connection with the study, will be confidential, in fact the names of the participants wi ll not appear on any of the data fon11S. The participation is voluntary, participant is free to withdraw his/her consent and discontinue participation at any time. Pcm1ission to undertake the study has been obtained from the Area Office Manager, the Circuit Manager, and the principals of the schools that are participating in the study (sec Appendix D). 44 3.10 SlUMMARY This chapter provided a description of the research design and methodology employed by the researcher. The research study used an empirical , qualitati ve and exploratory design and methodology; this involves using compatible and complementary research methods in the form of a literature review, observation, interviews and document analysis. These clements made it possible for the researcher to interact with the participants in their natural environment in order to gather rich data pertaining to the purpose of the study. Empirical research formed the core of this research. The research des ign acknowledges the relation of trust between the researcher and the participants. Ethical considerations were strictly adhered to. The design also took careful account of dimensions of trustworthiness and validity to ensure the quality of the data and findings. The next chapter presents the data collected using the methods and processes discussed in this chapter. The findings were analysed and interpreted in a critical manner in responding to the research questions. 45 CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS 4.1. INTRODUCTION The aim of this chapter is to set out the findings of the study. An investigation was done to explore bow middle managers can be assisted in implementing their roles in schools effectively. To achieve the objective, the individual in-depth interviews were conducted with selected schools and deputy principals and heads of departments. The interviews were tape­ recorded and transcribed. A total number of I 0 participants were interviewed. Pa1ticipants were selected from t\venty five schools in the Itsoseng Circuit of the Department of Education and T raining in the Area Office of Lichtenburg. A drawn schedule of interviews was easily followed with the exception of few postponements necessitated by prior urgent commitments; all appointments with interviewees were honoured. 4.2 INTERPRETATION OF QUALITATIVE DATA Interpretation means relating one's results and findings to existing theoretical frameworks or models and showing whether these arc supported or fa lsified by the new interpretation. lt also means taking into account rival explanations or interpretations of one's data and showing what levels of support the data provide for the preferred interpretation (Mouton, 2005: I 09). Jacelon and O'Dell (2005:219) note that the successful interpretation of the data depends on the researchers' ability to creatively identify the findings. Interpretation of data in this study was informed by middle managers' expenence and theoretical views on the roles of middle managers, in the functions and importance of middle managers in schools leadership, the challenges they experience and their roles in schools. Tables 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 below summarise the most important infom1ation about the participants and the schedule of interviews. 46 Table 4.2.1: Information on participants Code given Age to part1c1pants AI M 54 HOD BEd Hons 30 years School A A2 M 42 Deputy ACE 19 years School A Principal A3 M 45 IIOD ACE 20 years School B A4 F 45 Deputy BED Hons 20 years SchooiB Principal AS F 39 llOD ACE 18 years School C A6 F 40 Deputy ACE 16 years School C Principal A7 F 54 HOD ACE 33 years School 0 A8 F 49 Deputy ACE 23 years School D Principal A9 M 54 IIOD HED 28 years School E AIO M 45 Depu:y BA 14 years School E Principal Table 4.2.1: Information on participants . Code given Gender Age Position of Highest Experience Research site to management Qualifications in middle participants management Table 4.2.2: Jntea·view schedule 47 Part icipant Date of interview T ime Position of management At 27.05.2013 14h00 HO D A2 27.05.2013 14h30 Deputy Principal A3 27.05.2013 17h35 HO D A4 28.05.2013 14h00 Deputy Principal AS 28.05.2013 14h30 HOD A6 28.05.20 13 I ShOO Deputy Principal A7 29.05.2013 14b00 H O D A8 29.05.2013 14h30 Deputy Principal A9 30.05.2013 14h00 H O D AlO 30.05.2013 l4h30 Deputy Principal 4.3 DATA ANALYSIS OF INT ERVIEWS Content analysis was used in this r esearch to organise a nd evaluate data systematically. Content analysis is a process of classifying words into categories to indicate their theoretical importance (Bums & Grove, 2005:731 ). Words of the text were categorised by way o f using coding. Coding is the process of categorising and classifying words that appear now and then in the data (Bums & Grove, 2005:548). The information provided by table 4.2. I was used to analyse and interpret data. 4.4 THEM ES EMANATING FROM THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGAT ION It should be indicated that these categories or themes are directly in line with research questions. 4.4.1 Theme 1: The functioning and importa nce of middle managers in school leadership The purpose of this theme is to explain the functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership. This theme is divided into sub-themes from paragraphs 4.4. 1.1 to 4.4. 1.3. Both the deputy principals and HODs were interviewed. 4.4. 1.1 The importance of middle managers in school leadet·sbip 48 The beads of departments and deputy principals were asked to elaborate on the functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership. The theme is based on the general knowledge of middle managers on leadership in schools. Participant A I in school A has this to say: A school is also an organisation: it need'i the middle managers to manage the human resources and the general running of the school. To ensure that eve1ything runs smoothly, the school functions properly and to make sure that the aim, vision and mission are accomplished. Pa11icipants from school A-E indicated that the functions and importance of middle managers is to see to the smooth running of the school. They indicated that the middle managers control the work of the teachers and give them support. The participants also indicated that the middle managers manage the human resource and ensure that quality teaching and learning takes place and the protection of teaching time. They also indicated that they see to it that the school finances and curriculum are checked. They also assist the principal in management and administration of the school. The responses distinguished HODs and deputy principals as a structure are faced with huge leadership responsibilities. Participant A3 from school B said: Middle managers are there to control, monitor and moderate teacher's work. To ensure that quality teaching and learning takes place. They are better placed to promote the smooth running of the school. They work closely with teachers, learners, parents and all the other government departments like, social development, health department and home affairs. They are the liaison officers of the departments. It is important to have middle managers in school leadership because if they were not there everybody would do as he/she likes. Everybody would have been the manager and nobody would control the work of the teachers and advise the principal. The principal would have much work on his/her bands and this could cause him/her stress. The middle managers assist the principal in order for him/her to be able to run the school efficiently and effectively. 4.4.1.2 The roles of middle managers with regard to teaching and learning The importance of HODs and deputy principals in managing teaching and learn ing also surfaced dming the interviews. Responses notably included the following: Participant AS from school C remarked: Most important aspect of the middle managers is to support teachers. Find the gaps that they may be in teaching and learning experienced and to monitor as well as moderate the work that they do. AIJ the participants from school A-E indicated that their roles are to ensure that teaching and learning should take place. 49 Participant A4 from school B sa id: To provide the teachers ll'ith the support with anything 1ha11hey would need.for the curricular, !he policy implementation. monitoring o.ftheir H'Ork is the main fimclion of 1he midclle manager. Their co-duties arc to monitor curriculum, and support the teachers and IIODs in implementing the policies. All the participants from school A-E indicated that they participate in the planning of the curriculum and time-tabling. They also indicated that they gu ide the teachers in different subjects as they arc subject specialists. They also monitor the effective deli very of the curriculum. They indicated that they also assist where there arc curriculum gaps and conduct moderation assessment tasks. They arc also class teachers and subject teachers. Middle managers are the curriculum specialists and it is important for them to make sure that they visit teachers in the classroom to sec if learners are being taught and educators do their work according to the work schedule. They also make sure that leamers are assessed accord ing to the plan or policies of the school (cf. 2.4). 4.4.1.3 The va lue of in-school monitoring as an important cur.-iculum management strategy for schools The respondents were requested to state their point of views on the value of in-school monitoring as an important curriculum management strategy. In response to this question, participant AlO from school E remarked: The value of in-school monitoring is to ensure that teachers are teaching, whether teachers are administering formal tasks and also whether learners are gh·en feedback and I hal learners get what they deserve based on covering the topic~ and also for improving the results of learners. All the participants from school A-E indicated that they sec to it that teachers are doing the work in line with the specification of the policy of the curri culum. They monitor syllabus completion by checking continuously progress made in the schedules. They also quality assure progress made in the work schedules. They also assure work given to learners. This is done through school control activities. What is important is to check the number of infom1al and formal tasks. They ensure that feedback is given to both learners and parents. Participant AS said: The middle managers ensure that departmental policies are implemented and curriculum is monitored. Participants from school A-E indicated that the in-school monitoring is very important and they use it to measure their pcrfonnance and learners. They usc it to improve. Middle managers arc aware that in-school monitoring is one of their roles they have to perfonn for them to control the work of their departments effectively. 50 4.4.2 Theme 2: T he challenges experienced by middle manager s in schools This theme is divided into sub-themes from paragraphs 4.4.2. 1 to4.4.2.2. Both deputy principals and HODs were interviewed. 4.4.2.1 The curriculum management challenges experienced by middle managers The aim of this theme is to discuss different challenges mentioned by the respondents relating to their curriculum management responsibilities . Staffing and administrative factors are also linked with the challenges discussed in thi s theme. T he discussions of these factors will demonstrate how they affect the middle managers in the executions of their duties. Participant A4 from school B had this to say: One of the challenges is the changing of curricula. the material that is being supplied late by the department. Most of the PSF that are being arranged at the circuit level, they are to preach policy not to preach the content. they are not helping the teachers teach the subject, how to do what, that is the challenge. AIL the participants indicated that the changing of curricula affects their performance because they learn the methods of teaching every curriculum that is introduced. They were still learn ing the RCN and the assessments. ln response to this question, participant AS from school C remarked: Jffe should realise that CAPS has been implemented this year, 2013. The way the assessment has been changed has made a serious impact on learner assessment. The midd le managers were st ill in the process of learning the assessment strategies of the previous curricula for them to be able to assist the teachers they supervise while the new one is introduced, and this gives them a chal lenge. The participants also spoke about the curriculum workshops. The workshops they attended only concentrated on the po licy not on teaching the new curricula. Such workshops are intended to capacitate teachers to perform their duties effectively. Participant A3 from school B has this to say: Curriculum challenges are based on the quality of workshops the middle managers receive. The duration of the workshop is too short and is not done in detail. The participants assert that workshops called by the Department of Education are rather too short. They did not trajn teachers on content. Middle managers arc still faced with a challenge of training the teachers as they arc not also well trained. 4.4.2.2 The management and administrative challenges encountered by middle managers 51 Participant A 10 School E sa id: There is lack of administrative assistance in schools. Lacking some administratil•e skills as middle managers to assist the principal is a challenge. There are no li'Orkshops based on the using (?(com pulers. As middle managers ll'e do not hare the k1wwledge of some adminislrative records. Participant A I 0 from school E complained about a Jack of support staff for administrative functions. It is expected that every school is supposed to have an administrative assistance to attend to all administrative functions. Some of the schoo ls arc without such officials. Middle managers arc compelled to leave th eir classes and their work from time to time to attend to the vis itors. In this way lea1ning and teaching time is compromised. Participant A8 from school D had this to say with regard to this question: Shortage of teachers (human resources) is a challenge. Most of the teachers do not have experience for the subject based on the changing of the curriculum. It is also been dctem1iJ1cd that there is a serious shortage of teachers. The training of teacher is not done in line with the curriculum needs of all the schools. The new curriculum has come along with many new subjects which demand specialisation of some kind. Teachers end up teaching the subjects they are not qualitied to teach. This is the same with the middle managers; they end up controlling and moderating subjects they arc not quali tied for. The in-depth interviews revealed also a list of challenges which arc li sted by the responses below: • Late submiss ion of files by teachers for control ; • Teachers failing to complete topics in their work schedules on time; • The late coming of teachers and learners at school; • Lack of parental involvement; • Teachers absenteeism, and • Shortage of Learner Teacher Support Material (L TSM) and other resources such as photocopiers, computers etc. 4.4.3 Theme 3: The roles of middle managers in school The third theme of this research study is based on the roles of middle managers in schools. This theme is divided into sub-themes from paragraphs 4.4.3.1 to 4.4.3.3. 52 Both I IODs and deputy principals were interviewed. 4A.3.1 T he legislated administrative roles of middle managers In this regard participant A 1 from school A has this to say: As a middle manager y co-duties are basicafly reaching. Secondly, monitoring educators II'Ork. managing rhe curriculum. and meaning I have to ensure that each teacher is allocated teaching subjects s/he is qual[fied for. l have ro manage resources like LTS/If. 1 also have to support educators in terms of professional support. I have to support them all the time and have answers to all questions as a specialist in that .field. Participants from schools A-E indicated that they monitor and contro l the work of the teachers and give them support. They also manage the curriculum and teachers arc allocated teaching subjects. In this regard participant A 7 from school D said: One of my role as a middle manager is to ensure that school time-tables are drawn up and all the school registers are controlled and monitored. All participants from schools A-E indicated tha t they arc responsible fo r drawing up school time-tables and control all the registers such as, summary, admission, class and time registers. They manage resources such as, LTSM and textbooks. The middle managers are responsi ble for developing plans which are year plans, quarterly and class visits plans. Midd le managers make sure that there is a link between the teachers, learners and the principa l. 4.4.3.2 T he induction of newly appoin ted educator s/HODs In regard to this question participant A I from school A had this to say: it is vel)' important to take someone on board when they atrive so that they are on par with what is transpiring at school. As a middle manager my main focus is inducting or orientating newly appointed educators on management. To make sure that I give them support in the learning area or subjects that they are appointed to teach. 1 also need to induct them on their level. for example, managing the classrooms, managing their attendance registers. eve1ything that is i11 the hands of the teachers, 1 have to inducr them not only on the subjecT deliverance. All participants from schools A-E indicated that they arc also responsible for induction of educators. They orientate teachers and show them all the tools that are being used in the school. They say the main reasons for inducting teachers are to acclimatise them with the new environment. Participant A5 from school C sa id: Most of the teachers are new .from the colleges and universities they acclimatised so well because of the induction process we have done. All the indicated also that teachers who are new from the colleges or universities 53 should be gtvcn induction for them to be able to manage their classrooms, anendancc registers and be informed with routines of the school. Participant A4 from school B remarked: £1·e'J' instiflltion has its own culwre, the new~l' appointed teachers and HODs must know the culture of the school. Every institution has its own vision and mission which newly appoimed teachers and I fODs IIIllS/ knoll', so it is important 10 induct newly appointed teachers and 1/0Ds. They should know the culture, vision and mission of the school. Tn this way they will be able to perfom1 their duties ciTcctivcly. They arc also introduced to their new jobs and the curriculum. They also indicated that they induct teachers because policies arc changing from time to time. 4.4.3.3 T he impo1·tance and strategies followed in call ing staff meetings The participant A4 from school B in this regard remarked: Strategy is to HTite a circular. make sure thai evel)' teacher at school signs the circular to say that there is a meeting. The importance of the meeting is to discuss the problems that middle manager are faces with. To discuss how one can ilnpro,•e the curriculum at school. We cannot nm any i11stitution without having meetings. It helps to solve problems (f there are any problems. Partic ipants from schools A-E indicated that it is important that middle managers call meetings. They indicated that meetings are called to discuss or update the teachers with important issues of the school like learner performance, information from the Department of Education and Training and the problems or developments in the school. There is a procedure that should be followed in calling meetings which is informing teachers by a circular seven days before. Information that should be included in the circular is the agenda, time, date and venue of the meeting. Meetings inviting parents, teachers, subjects and middle managers should be called once a month. Every institution is compelled to hold meetings to indicate it is functional. 4.5 ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONS The researcher visited the research site:, (the (j vc primary schools) several times to observe the actual sites. The funct ions and importance of middle managers in school leadership, the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools and the roles of middle managers in schools were observed. The fo llowing observations were noted from the visits. 54 4.5.1 The functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership Data from this study indicate that the research site's HODs and deputy principals performed as follows: Middle managers have their plans in place. The plans included the class visits, monitoring of leamers books and teachers' lesson plans. The time-table for control of Ieamer's books, assembly, toilets and the surroundings were also observed. The plans also include the submission of lesson plans, tasks tbat shou ld be written and the control dates. The homework time tables are also followed. All circulars with important information are circulated to educators. The HOD responsible for circulars distributed them to educators in time. Impo11ant information from the Department of Education and Training which is urgent is circulated to the educators by the deputy principal through an instruction book. Protocol is being observed as the info•mation is from the principal to the deputy principal, HODs and to the educators. Each department has files for each subject and are kept in a safe place. The files arc also well arranged and visible in the wooden cabinets. During the observations I attended assembly. One of the middle managers shared the scriptural read ing with educators and learners. The middle managers took a lead in motivating educators and learners. I was also fortunate to observe the parents meeting which was held during my presence. The middle managers addressed the parents and pleaded w ith them to help their children with school work at home. Educators were also given a platfom1 to address the Ieamer's performance and the school results. During the observations I realised that the school environment was clean and neat. The middle managers have made a roster for cleaning after school. Educators and leam crs were allocated duties. They adhered to the duty roster. Everybody was committed to his/her work and the middle managers as one of thei r roles made sure that the point mentioned above is taken care of. Middle managers followed the correct protocol to communicate the in fom1ation. For example, there was a circular inviting educators to a meeting with the Circuit Office. The principal received the circular and passed it to the deputy principal, 1100 and to the teachers. The message was passed timeously to the educators for them to prepare them timeously. One 55 of the schools I observed held briefing meetings every Tuesday and Thursday in the morning at 07h30. The staff members were given important information and discussed the programme of the day. Before the in fom1ati on is given to the educators it is given to the middle managers lirst. rt shows that the middle managers commUinicate the in fonnation to the teachers as this is one of their duties. The time-tables fo r all the grades and individual educators were available. During the observation middle managers bad a problem of educators attending their periods. Some educators were late for classes especiall y the li rst and a period after break. The learners also were late after break because of the distance they walk. Educators did not attend the whole period meaning that when they were supposed to teach leamc:rs for thirty minutes they will only teach twenty minutes and the deputy pri ncipals and beads of depart ments had to report to the principal. The time wasted had to be recovered and the recovery plan was drawn up in order to cover the time lost. Middle managers were doing in-school monitoring. Educators submitted the Ieamer's books to the middle managers to check if educators are giving learners work and they controlled them. They were also busy with educator's files. The problem they encountered is that other educators did not submit the ir files to be monitored. The written work that learners were given was insufficient. The work was not according to the policy of the school. Educators were call ed one by one to the office to explain the reasons that made them to be behind the schedule. Some educators did not follow the work schedule and the programme of assessment. In-school monitoring is good because the educator measures his/her and the learner's ]progress. Middle managers are also able to assist the educator to catch up. Some educators were absent during the observations. The middle managers were having a problem because they were fo rced to attend the classes of educators who were absent. Learners where educators were absent moved up and down outside classrooms. This also had an impact on the educator's and learner's progress. 4.5.2 Clhallenges experienced by middle managers in schools By the end of the year the syllabus for every grade should be completed. Duri ng the observation 1 realised that the rate at which the educators and middle managers were moving, they will be unable to enforce syllabus complet ion. but not at all the schools observed. The 56 reason is that in other schools the rate of absenteeism is high. The other reason is that the middle managers. most of the time, attend workshops and are not teaching. They also attend School Management Team (SMT) meetings more often because of some urgent matters. Quality results and effective assessment programmes are important for learners and educators. The deputy principals and heads of departments in other schools that I visited do not analyse the results of educators and learners on a quarterly basis. Educator's performance is analysed per subject and per grade. Deputy Principals and HODs do not strive to achieve excellence in their departments. Learners arc also not encouraged to work hard. Parents meetings are not held. I attended one of the parents meeting in one of the schools; the attendance was poor. These are some of the factors that make learners not to perform wei I and cause problems to the management of the school. According to my observation learners and educators' absenteeism is a challenge to the deputy principals and heads of departments. They tried to use different strategies to solve this problem but all in vain. The absent educators were requested to hand in the recovery plan; they did submit it but was a problem to stick to it. Some middle managers did not understand their roles. They were unable to resolve problems in their departments. They refer most of the problems they are supposed to solve to the principal. If the educator fai ls to submit the documents requested in time there are disciplinary measures that should be taken. Not every problem should be referred to the principal. Educators and learners arrived late at school but the middle managers do not discipl ine them. The principal will be the one who sees to it that educators and learners are called to order. 1J1 some schools learners will move up and down and they will not discipline them. The principal ended up calling a meeting to address all the problems the middle managers are encountering in their departments. 4.5.3 Tl1e roles of middle managers in schools Some middle managers were not aware that they arc supposed to do administrative work, like analysing the results for each term. The work is done by the Administrative Assistance {AA). Curriculum matters such as supplying new educators with policy documents of different learning areas was done by the principal but not the middle managers because it is one of their roles. The master files of all the learning areas must be kept by middle managers in 57 their offices as they arc curriculum specialists. but these documents were in the principal's office. In another school visited the middle managers did not understand their roles concerning meetings because parents meetings arc ca lled by the principal instead of the middle managers to discuss the learners' problem. The Grade 3 and 6 parent's meetings arc also called by the principal to discuss the Annual National Assessment (ANA) examination. Phase meetings with educators were also not held. Middle managers expect the principal to call sucb meetings. It is clear that some middle managers do not understand their roles. Induction of newl y appointed teachers and middle managers is important because some of them do not under tand their roles. The principal also inducted and mentorcd the new educators and new heads of departments. What was observed is tha t middle managers needed information from the teachers. Some teachers, who arc experi enced, performed their duties far bette r than the middle managers. 4.6 ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN DOCUMENTS Document analysis according to Briggs and Coleman (2007:28 1 ), as iuLiicated in Chapter Three (cf. 3.6.3) is a form of qualitative research that requires the researcher to locate, collect, interpret and analyse data and draw conclusions that e ither describe, interpret, or explain what bas occurred from written documents. In this study, the research scrutinised and analysed the Educators Labour Relation Council (ELRC) document on the roles of middle managers in schools, subject policies. Leamer Attainment Improvement Plan (LAIP), monitoring policies, the year plan and subject policies in an attempt to respond to the research questions raised. 4.6.1 ELRC Documents The participating schools have copies of ELRC documents which explain the roles of the heads of departments and the deputy principals (sec Appendix F). 58 I 4.6.2 Subject Policies The subject po lic ies indicate the number of in fom1al and fom1al tasks to be written in a week and a tcm1 and the numbers of meetings to be held in a month by the examinati on committee. They also highlight the number of phase meetings to be conducted in a tcnn . The policies also include the number of parents meetings especially Grade 3 and 6. The subject polic ies also highli ght that middle managers should moderate the fo rma l and examination papers before they arc written. The d isciplinary measures that are taken when learners have not written some of papers are a lso indicated. The promotion and progression requirements are clearl y explained. The amount of homework to be given to learners per week is a lso indicated . 4.6.3 Monitoring Policy The parti c ipating schools have the monitoring poli cy whereby th e deputy principal and heads of departments monitor the work of the educators. The policy states the number of learner's books to be controlled . The policy indicates when the educators are expected to submit their lesson preparations, work schedules, and programme of assessment and the time frames, and the class vi sits programmes and time frames. The developmental workshops arc al so indicated in the policy. 4.6.4 Year Plan All the acti viti es that are going to happen for the who le year arc included in the yea r plan. The dates when these activities are going to be implemented are indicated . The progress on acti vities is indicated on this plan. The heads o f departments and deputy principals draw their plans from the school year plan. 4.7 SUMMARY This chapter analysed the presentation and di scussions of data collected through empirical research methods. The chapter has been able to respond to the problem statement fo rmulated in Chapter One. These problems have been investigated and also the a ims have been met. The researcher presented and discussed the data in sub-topics related to the categories derived from the research questions through an open coding analys is. The findings discussed emerged from the analysis of written documents, observational and interview data. T he next 59 chapter will provide synthesized findings and recommendations in relation to the findings and conclusion to the study. 60 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, FINDJ NGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 INTROD UCTION The aims of this chapter arc three fold. The chapter \:viii present the summary, the find ings and finally the recommendations. The findings of the study are based on the research aims in Chapter One of this study. Tbe chapter will further provide recommendations for further research. Fina ll y the chapter will close with a summary. 5.2 SUMMARYOFTHESTUDY Chapter one presented the rationale of the study. The problem statement related to the problems of the roles of middle managers in schools were explained (cf. 1.4). rt was pointed out that middle managers' roles have become more complex, varied and demanding and accountability has also increased. Middle managers roles are not always clearly defmed and described. It was pointed out also that middle managers are not receiving the relevant supp01t and training required to fulfil their roles. These challenges highlighted that there is a need for middle managers to be effectively trained for them to assist teachers to perform their duties effectively and efficiently. The chapter presented the framework of the entire study which included research questions, aims of the study, research methodology and design and the chapters of the study. Chapter two was the literature study. The ro les of middle managers in schools were discussed thoroughly. The presentation on the concepts relating closely to the topic was given (cf. 2.4). The challenges experienced by middle managers were also presented (cf. 2.5). The roles of middle managers in school were also indicated and extensively discussed (cf. 2.6). Finally the chapter gave the summary. In Chapter Three, the research design and methodo logy were given in details (cf. 3.2). The methodology used was presented and discussed (cf. 3.3). The population of the study was discussed (cf. 3.4). The role played by trustworthiness and validity in qualitative research and achievement thereof was mentioned (cf. 3.8). The chosen method of data collection was in-depth interviews with HODs and deputy principals, observation of the roles that middle managers perform and finally the analysis of documents which confirm the roles of middle 61 managers in schools (cf. 3.6). The collected data were analysed through open coding (cf. 3.7). Chapter Four presented the data analysis, interpretation and discussion of the research results. In-depth interviews were conducted with selected schools. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The useful techniques in analysing interviews are provided in this chapter. Both the categories and themes are accounted for in this chapter. The next section presents the findings of the study. 5.3 FINDINGS FROM THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS The discussions wi ll indicate how findings relate with the research aims' in Chapter one (cf. 3.2). 5.3.1 Findings on research Aim 1: What are the functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership The.findings on the importance of middle managers in school leadership are as follows: • Findings from the research study indicated that pruiicipants understood the concept "the functions and importance of middle managers in schools" (cf. 2.4). Tbe participants indicated that they were aware of their co-duties and the roles they played in middle management (cf. 2.2). The response centred on the way the middle managers run the school and control the work of the teachers. The participants indicate that in running the school the aim, vision and mission of tbe schools are of importance and should be implemented (cf. 2.2). They understand that middle managers monitor, control and moderate the work of the teachers and HODs (cf. 2.6.1 ). For the school to run properly mjddle managers make sure that all the resources are available especially human resources. Teaching and lcaming is important, therefore, middle managers should make a point that leamers are being taught ( cf. 2.6.1 ). Teaching time should be protected and the cun-iculum should be followed, for the school to produce good results ( cf. 2.6.1 ). Policies are drawn by the Department of Education and Training; middle managers should interpret them, draw the school policies from them and implement them. They use work schedules and programmes of assessment to see whether tbey correlate with lesson plans. TI1e 62 patiicipants have the following documents that they usc to refer to whenever they have a problem: ELRC documents, subject policies, year plan and monitoring policies, which make their work easy when they control the teachers and I!ODs work (cf. 4.6.1). Every teacher is supplied with the above documents. The administrative and managerial work is essential and middle managers are also expected to do this work as one of their roles. They have to develop school time-tables; class visits plans, monitoring tools for both control and moderation (cf. 4.6.2). Plans for assembly, toilets and surroundings should be available whenever they are needed. The middle managers are a structure that makes the school run smoothly, so, it is important to have them in schools. The following were the findings on Lhe roles of middle managers with regard to teaching and learning: • Participants 111 this study know their co-responsibilities. They arc involved in developing teachers and HODs by monitoring their work (cf. 4.6.5). Teaching and learning are their first priorities because they adhere to the departmental policies and the implementation thereof (cf. 4.6.2). They are expected to become class teachers if there is a shortage of class teachers. They are supposed to support teachers in all their duties (cf. 2.6). Participants are aware that they are subject specialists; they need to guide teachers where possible. They assist the principal in terms of curriculum planning, finances and other related duties in his absence (cf. 2.6). They draw the time-tables for all the grades and teachers because they catmot teach without time­ tables. Subject policies are used to indicate the number of fonnal and informal tasks to be written (cf. 4.6.2). Grade 3 and 6 meetings should be held every tcnn in order to discuss the learners work and what measures should be taken in case they arc absent from school when tasks are written (cf. 2.6.2). The monitoring policy is also available to control the teachers' and HODs' work, it also includes submission of lesson plans, work schedules, class visits and developmental programmes (cf. 4.6.2). The year plan includes all the activities that will happen every day (cf. 4.6.4). As teaching and learning is an important issue in the Department of Education and Training, the middle managers are required to monitor the learner' s books, syllabus coverage and administrative issues of curriculum (cf. 2.5. l ). 63 The findings on the value of in-school monitoring as an important curriculum management strategy Jc9r schools are: • In-school monitoring according to the partic ipants is an important issue because it monitors and moderates the fonnal tasks, cxaminatiol1l papers and memorandums or ru brics (cf. 2.6. 1 ). Learners a re supposed to be given feedback from what they have written. They make sure that all topics in the syllabus arc covered and correspond wi th the work schedule. Delivery and im plementation of the curriculum is taken care of (cf. 2.6. 1 ). Partic ipants understand this concept because they make sure that teachers and HODs do not fall behind with syllabus a nd that the right curriculum is de li vered. Findings from the interviews and observations indicated that the partic ipants arc conversant with their roles (cf. 3.6.1 ). Teachers and llODs submitted the learner's books, files and lesson plans for control. Some teachers and learners absent themselves from school and thi s is a challenge to the middle managers (cf. 4.5.2). Partic ipants give themselves time to meet tbe teachers and HODs to discuss their problems and solve them where possible. Teachers and HODs arc supported for quality teaching and learning to take place. Participants gauge themselves by conducting in-school monitoring and correct their mistakes (cf. 2.6). It can, therefore, be concluded that participants are conversant with the value of in­ school monitoring because the findings from the document analysis indicated that subject and moni toring policies arc drawn from th•e ELRC documents and the Department of Education and Training polic ies. 5.3.2 Fi1I1dings from research Aim 2: What are the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools Thefindings on the curriculum management challenges experienced by middle managers are as fo lloH'S: • Shtortage of human resources (teachers) is a very serious problem and learners are left unattended in the classes. Most of the teachers Jack experience in the subjects that they teach. and this is caused by insuffic ient training and knowledge of the subject (cf. 1.4). The changing of curriculum affects a lso the learner's assessment (cf. 2.5). Curriculum Assessment Programme Statements (CAPS) bas been implemented this 64 year (20 13) for the intermediate phase. This is a challenge because the assessments programmes changes (cf. 2.5). The methods also change and it gives the pat1icipants a challenge to assist the teachers and HODs as they are also not conversant with the new curriculum, and it has an impact on leaner' s performance (cf. 2.5. 1 ). The workshops that are being attended by middle managers are too short and are not of quality, they do not address the problems that they encounter with subject content, and do not help teachers who do not have the knowledge oftbe subjects (cf. 4.4.2.1). The late supply of texthooks by the Department of Education and Training makes it difficult for the participants to supply each learner with a textbook because of the shortage (cf. 4.3.2). PSF meetings are communicated late by the subject advisers. Participants arc compelled to attend the PSFs and this affects their classes. The participants are expected to attend all the PSFs meetings of the subjects they head. The learner's performance is affected by this (cf. 4.5.2). The teachers and learners absent themselves from school sometimes with no valid reasons. Teachers and learners falJ behind with the syllabus. A Ieamer misses the subject content of that day and is it impossible to teach one Ieamer who was absent, so this will affect the learner performance and the school results. For teachers it will be a problem to complete the syllabus and they are forced to have a recovery plan which they do not adhere to (cf. 4.5.2). Some participants did not specialise in the subjects they are heading and they are unable to assist teachers when they experience problems. Participants are encountering problems as they have much of work to do because they are expected to monitor and moderate the teacher's work. This gives them a challenge as they cannot perfom1 their co-duty of teaching and it disadvantages them in curriculum delivery (cf. 4.5.2). ne following are the findings on the management and administrative challenges ncountered by HODs and depury principals: Participants in this study concerning management and administrative challenges are that some participants beftiend their subordinates and it becomes difficult for the middle managers to handle the problems they are experiencing (cf. 4.5.2). Some participants, in some schools wbere there is no deputy principal, indicated that they 65 cannot perfonn their duties effectively because they are doing the deputy principal's work. Teachers and lcamers arrive late at school and this is a challenge. The participants do not lmow how to solve this problem as it continues even if it is addressed. Teachers are not observing teaching time, tJ1ey ani.ve at their classes late in the morning and after break. Parents are not involved in their children's work and do not attend meetings. Some schools do not have an Administrative Assistant and the participants indicated that they do all the administrative work (cf. 4.4.2.2). The middle managers are drafting different policies, for example, subjects, induction, and monitoring policies. The photocopying machines and computers are a challenge as schools cannot afford to purchase them because the section 21 allocation is too little (cf. 4.4.2.1). Some participants are not conversant with their roles as middle managers and they are unable to assist the principal with his/her other functions especially in finances (cf. 4.3.2). It can be concluded that the participants have serious challenges of cuniculum management and management and administration. They are unable to perfonn their duties effectively and efficiently because of these challenges. Learners and teachers cannot be assisted accordingly. 5.3.3 Findings from research Ajm 3: What aa·e the roles of middle managers in schools The findings on the legislated administrative roles of middle managers are as follows: • Participants indicated that they assist the principal in organisational matters of the school. They order the L TSM for teachers and make sure they are avai I able in time (cf. 4.4.3.1). They also take care of staff developmental programmes. They make sure that IQMS is monitored in schools (cf. 2.5). They assist in the absence of the principal by making sure that the surroundings are kept clean and the school runs smoothly. They are responsible for teaching and learning, allocating teachers to their subjects and the welfare of learners. They induct the teachers and support them (cf. 4.4.3.2). Participants are liaison officers because their co-duty is to liaise with different depatiments. Every teacher and HOD should be supplied with the school policies, draw the school plans, draw up the school time-table, control the class registers and all the registers found in the school, for example, summary registers, 66 admission registers and time registers. They I iaise with a ll the stakeholders; for example, learners, parents, teachers, HODs, deputy principals, principals and community (cf. 4.3.3). The.following are the findings on the induction o.fnewly appointed teachers and HODs: • It is important that teachers and HODs be inducted in schools. The departmental poicies change from time to time, so teachers and HODs should be abreast with all the changes. Teachers from the colleges of education and universities shou ld familiarise themselves with the new environment, policies, vision and mission of the school and also the culture of the school (cf. 4.4.3.2). Newly appointed teachers and HODs arc to be introduced to their new posts and job description (cf. 2.6. 1 ). They must also be shown their offices and given documents that they are expected to usc. The curriculum also changes and they should know all the changes that have been made. Thejindh1gs on the importance and strategies when calling meetings are as .follows: • Meetings are of importance in every institution (cf. 2.6.2). There is no organisation that can run without meetings. Meetings are called to update the staff with the running of the school, the changes from the Department of Education and Training, important information that is needed urgently, and the problems that are encountered in the school discuss the Ieamer's progress and curriculum management problems that arc encountered by middle managers and staff (cf. 4.4.3.3). Teachers or middle managers give feedback from the meetings that they attended at the Department of Education and Training or PSFs. The middle managers and the teachers discuss the year plan and make amendments where necessary and all the activities that will transpire the whole year are included. The middle managers meeting is held before the staff meeting for drawing of the agenda (cf. 4.3.3). There is a procedure that is being followed to call the meetings, firstly, the notice should be written in a circular or instruction book, secondly the agenda, time of the meeting, date and the venue shou ld be indicated. The notice should be given to the staff members seven days before. There arc different meetings that should be called and must appear in the year plan of the school, for example, parents, teachers, subjects, emergency and middle managers ( cf. 2.6). 67 It can be concluded that participants arc conversant with their roles because they know that meetings are to be held in order to improve the school' s pcrfom1ance. 5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS ln this section. the researcher intends to provide recommendations to assist the Jtsoseng Circuit school s to implement positive and effecti ve middle managers roles. • As has been established , the current Department of Education and Training requires middle managers to teach as teaching is one of the core duties and responsibilities of their job. The middle managers monitor, moderate and control the work of the teachers. They also plan for class visits, time-tables, assembly roster, toilets and surroundings. The middle managers work is too much; their work should be revisited by the Department of Education and Training. Their work should be reduced for them to be effective, to produce quality results and for quality teaching and learning to take place. • Subject policies and programmes of assessment should be implemented by middle managers. Some middle managers are not adequately conversant with the contents of these documents. Teachers need to be thoroughly trained for them to be able to implement them effectively. • Middle managers attend workshops and PSFs to be equipped with the subject content. Most of the workshops or PFSs do not address the problems that they experience. The officials from Advisory Unit at the Area Office should make sure that middle managers arc thoroughly workshoppcd. Workshops should be conducted for at least a week. Matters relating to curriculum and assessment must be dealt with thoroughly. • Middle managers should be trained to understand their roles in order that they implement them correctly. In this regard, the Department should refrain from offering workshops with limited opportunities for continual support. Training strategies that include long term courses offered by accredited service providers may be implemented as a viable alternative. • Middle managers should be encouraged to convey the attitude that all leamcrs can achieve academically and behave properly as expected. In this regard, schools should obviously be provided with adequate resources and appropriate programmes to ensure that expectations are met. It shouJd be understood that meeting such 68 expectations is a responsibility o f al l stakeholders including the teachers, learners, the school and the community. • Learners whose parents arc closely involved in their education arc more likely to experi ence school success and less likely to become involved in antisocial activities. Middle managers should, therefore, make parents feel welcome at school, address the barriers to their meaningful and active participation, keep them positively engaged in their support and address parents' concerns about their children. • The induction programmes of newly appointed teachers and HODs should be incorporated in the schoo l policies. Induction progranuncs are essential to new employees about their condition of service. The imparting of the subject matter to children represents the core business of teaching and learning. The new employees must be reminded of the school policies and the implementation thereof. • The Department of Education and Training should conduct training workshops for all middle managers on their roles. Capacity training will be good to check w hether all the middle managers arc still abreast with their roles. Such training will help all middle managers with the interpretation and the application of their roles. Statutes are also amended from time to time. Therefore, annual capacity trainjng wi ll provide the middle managers with new changes. • All middle managers arc to conduct in-school monitoring in compliance with the school. All teachers must be encouraged to promote teaching and learning in their classrooms. A monitoring tool for compliance must determine whether teachers are up to scratch on issues related to teachjng and learn ing. The tool must emphasise whether teaching and learning emphasise the perfom1ance of learners. • The Depat1ment of Education and Training must supply schools with textbooks timeously. The textbooks should equal the number of learners. This will help the middle managers to curb the shortages. Teaching and learning will take place effectively. Parents will be able to assist their ch ildren at home. • The middle managers head more than five subjects in primary schools. This has a negative impact on the middle manager's work. They cannot perform their duties or roles effectively. The Department of Education and Training should apply the same system as in high schools. Middle managers shou ld bead two to three subjects at most. This wi ll assist middle managers to do management and administrative roles efficiently and they wil l be able also to assist the principal. 69 • The middle managers should be capacitated in the implementation of CAPS. They must familiarise themselves with the changes for them to be able to assist teachers. • Teachers and learners aJTive late a t school. There should be actions taken against the late coming. Schools should have policies where they address this kind of behaviour. Parents must also be taken on board in the drawing up of the policy. 5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH This study has raised several implications for further resea rch. recommendations for further research are proposed: The following • Research should be conducted to evaluate the workload of middle managers especially in primary schools. • Research may be undertaken to train middle managers on the departmental policies, especially on CAPS and how to implement it. • There is a need to conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of the traini ng programmes used by the Department of Education on the roles of middle managers. 5.6 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY The chapter has presented the synopsis of the entire study. The summary of all the chapters of this study were presented. The fmdings and recommendations of the study were also provided. The chapter also gave an account of recommendations for further study. 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The questionnaire consists of three sections: PART ONE Number Gender (F/M) Age Qualifications Experience Participants I 2 3 4 5 PART TWO Number Date of interview Time Position occupied by interviewee SMT l 2 3 4 5 PART THREE Schedule for individual in-depth- interviews for Deputy Principals and HODs. I. What are the functions and importance of middle managers in school leadership? • The importance of middle managers in schools. • The roles of deputy principals/heads of department with regard to teaching and learning. • The value of in-school monitoring as an important curriculum management strategy for schools. 2. What are the challenges experienced by middle managers in schools? • The curriculum management challenges experienced by middle managers. • The management and administrative challenges encountered by middle managers. 79 ,,, I 3. What arc the roles of middle managers in schools? • The legislated administrative roles or middle managers. • The induction of newly appointed teachers. • The importance and strategies followed in calling staff meetings. 80 AP PENDlX B PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARC II INTERVIEWS ITSOSENG TN SCHOOLS The Circu it Manager Itsoseng Circuit Department of Education and Tra ining P rivate Bag X12005 ITSOSENG 2744 Dear Sir P.O. Box 122 ITSOSENG 2744 23 Apri l 20l3 REQUEST FOR PERM ISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARC H INTERVIEWS IN SCI IOOLS I, K.E. Maboe, MEd student in Educational Management at the North West Uni versity­ Mafikeng Campus in the North West Province (South Africa) request permission to conduct research interviews in your circuit. The research topic is "THE RO LES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS IN SCHOOLS IN THE ITSOSENG CIRCUIT'. The interviews wi ll be conducted after 14hrs in the sampled schools to respect teaching time. I hope that my request will be cons idered. Thanks in anticipa ti on. Yours sincerely Name: K.E. Maboe Student number: 12704504 81 SUPERViSOR ProfC. van Wyk APPENDIX C INFORMED CONSENT FORM RESEARCl l TOPIC: THE ROLES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS TN ITSOSENG CIRCUIT Dear participant I am inviting you to participate in a research project a imed at the nature and signi fi ca nee of middle management, the legislative roles and responsibilities of middle managers, the chall enges faced by mjddle management and the legislative roles, responsibilities and challenges fac ing middle managers in the Itsoseng Circuit. The research seeks to establish whether the middle managers, (Deputy-Principals and Heads of department) perfo rm their roles according to the policy in place. Your partic ipati on in this resea rch project is vo luntary and confidential. You wi II not be asked to reveal any information that will a llow your identity to be establi shed, unless you are w illing to be contacted for individual follow-up interviews. Should you decla re you rself wi lling to participate in an indi vidual interview, confidentiality will be guaranteed. You may decide to w ithdraw at any stage should you wish not to continue with an interview. If you arc willing to participate in thi s study, please sign this letter as a decla ration of your consent - tha t is, that you parti c ipate in this proj ect willingly and that you understand that you may withdraw from the research project at any time. Parti cipati on in this phase of the proj ect does not obligate you to participate in follow-up individua l interv iews; however, should you decide to partic ipate in fo llow-up interviews your partic ipation is still voluntary and you may withdraw at any time. Under no c ircumstances will the identi ty o f interview partic ipants be made known to any parties or organisations that may be involved in the research process and/ or which have the some form of power over the parti cipants. Partic ipant's signature................................. Date . . .. ................ . Researcher's signatme .. . ................................ Date .................... . Yours Sincere ly K.E. Maboe 82 I !'. I Your Role in the research process I propose to conduct about one interview session with you as a participant , and these will be recorded on audio tape. The interview will last for 30-45 minutes. I hope to carry the interviews over a period of up to a month. The interviews will look at your legislative roles, responsibilities and challenges facing middle managers in the Itsoseng Circuit. The interviews will be recorded on audio tape to avoid leaving out any important information and to avoid disrupting the interview process. If you consent to the usc of the tape recorded, please sign below. Participant's signature: ............................................ Date: .................... ......... .... . 83 I' I ,I I