Chronicling the Causes of School decline in Zimbabwe

Presentation by

Mr F. Chiororo

&

Dr S. E. Mthiyane

Background

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Faul (2009) notes that the Zimbabwean education system has been on the verge of decline and this has been evident in the public examination results that show a sharp decline from 2005 there were above 70% then in 2006 they dropped to a mere 11%.

The overall pass rate for November 2013 is 20,72% — showing a 2,32% increase from the 2012 results and the highest in the last 11 years up to 2013 (Zhangazha, 2014).

Gorard, Taylor and Fitz (2002) consider that when a school is in a downward trend of decline it becomes less popular and pupils will start moving out of the school joining other reputable schools leaving the school in a spiral decline in terms of learner enrolment.

As researchers, we felt understanding the relationship amongst school decline, leadership and management approaches and learner migration and the causes thereof might deepen our insights into this phenomenon.

From the discussion made thus far, we became aware that decline is not triggered by one factor, but by a conglomeration of factors (both inside and outside the school).

Literature

Literature on decline in schools and in other organisations can be considered as a strange and interesting phenomenon in that, while little is known about it, few people seem to want to know about it (Recker, Goldsby & Neck, 2002; Duke, 2008, Hawk, 2008; Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2009; Hochbein, 2011).

Literature on organisational decline has not produced any commonly agreed upon definition of this phenomenon (Duke, 2008).

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Underpinning frameworks

Weitzel and Jonsson (1989) reviewed the model of organisational decline that predicts decline to under-go five stages.

Kanter (2006) (used to understand how schools as organisations go through decline over time)

instructional leadership (used to understand the different leadership and management approaches used by the school management in schools)

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Research questions

What are the causes of school decline in the selected secondary schools in Zimbabwe?

What is the relationship, if any, between leadership and management approaches used in schools and the decline in the selected schools?

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Methodology

This was a qualitative study located within an interpretive research paradigm

The sampling was purposive

Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, observations and documents review.

The transcripts were subjected to content analysis utilising the model by De Vos (2010).

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Ethical & Trustworthiness issues Ethical issues: (ethical clearance certificate from

the University of KwaZulu-Natal; permission from the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (Chipinge District Education Office); Consent; Confidentiality and Voluntariness) were observed in order to protect the participants from harmful effects of research (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007).

Trustworthiness issues: multi-methods to generate (interviews, observations and documents review) and cross-checking of data were used. Triangulation of instruments served to verify and validate the generated data.

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Findings

Seven major themes emerged as the major causes of school decline.

a) socio-economic conditions and the poor economy of Zimbabwe -Mr Zizha also had the following to say:

The other issue is the economy of Zimbabwe. From the year 2000 up to today, the economy of Zimbabwe has been in shambles. The economy of Zimbabwe has not been working and it has affected so many other things including education.

(b) politics both (national and school politics) (c) lack of funding and resources towards

education (d) incentives for teachers8

Continue….

e) poor leadership and management and the leaving of qualified and experienced teachers to neighbouring countries (South Africa and Botswana) - Mr Sazi highlights that:

Leadership qualities of a school principal will generally affect the performance of the teachers and that of the students within the particular school.

(f) low teacher morale (g) poor attitude of students to learning and

children’s rights.

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Conclusions

While participants mentioned a number of factors as causes of school decline, ineffective instructional school leadership was prominent among these factors.

It is concluded that weak and autocratic management (not involving teachers in decision making) causes schools to decline.

In contrast, it is also shown that management can be used as scapegoat in school decline due to the poor state of the economy which has led to the collapse of the educational sector as a whole affecting most schools.

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Recommendations

Zimbabwe needs to identify school decline early so that proper intervention strategies are implemented before decline is spiral.

This can only be done if the policy-makers can define school decline and its major causes so that they can come up with appropriate solutions for schools across the country.

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Implications for further study

A further comparative study of the three phenomena (school decline, choice and learner migration in Zimbabwean schools) can be done across districts and provinces and an increased sample size, sample population and time framework (years) to come to a conclusive agreement amongst the three.

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References

Carmeli, A. & Sheaffer, Z. (2009). How Leadership Characteristics Affect Organisational Decline and Downsizing. Journal of Business Ethics, 86, 363-378.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods in Education. (6th Edition). London and New York: Routledge.

De Vos, A.S. (2010). Qualitative data analysis and interpretation. In A.S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C.A. Fouche & C.S.L. Delport (Eds.), Research at grass roots (3rd ed.) (pp. 333-348). Pietermaritzburg: Van Schaick Publishers.

Faul, M. (2009). Zimbabwe children suffer as schools stay closed. Mail and Guardian, (7 February), p.5.

Gorard, S., Taylor, C. & Fitz, J. (2002). Does school choice lead to ‘spirals of decline’? Journal of Education Policy, 17 (3), 367-384.

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Duke, D. L. (2008). Understanding School decline. International Studies in Educational Administration. 36(2), 46-65.

Hawk, K. (2008). School Decline: Predictors, Process and Interpretation. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education. Massey University, Auckland (New Zealand).

Hochbein, C. (2011). Overlooking the descent: Operational identification, and description of school decline. Journal of Educational Change. 12, 281-300.

Recker, G., Goldsby, M.G. & Neck, C. P. (2002). Organisational survival within a declining industry: An analysis of a single sex boarding school. The International Journal of Educational Management, 16 (3), 137-143.

Weitzel, W. & Jonsson, E. (1989). Decline in organisations: A literature integration and extension. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(1), 91-109. 14

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

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