Management and Administration in Education: What do …

1 International J. Soc. Sci. & education 2013 Issue 3, ISSN: 2223-4934 E and 2227-393X Print 635 Management and Administration in education : What do school heads do? A focus on primary school heads in one district in zimbabwe . By Wellington Samkange zimbabwe Open University, Box MP 1119, Mount Pleasant, Harare, zimbabwe Abstract A study was conducted in twenty primary schools in Chegutu education District of zimbabwe . The purpose of the study was to establish the perceptions of primary school heads on Administration and Management of schools in zimbabwe . It further sought to establish the extent to which primary school heads were conversant with their duties and responsibilities and whether they viewed themselves as either school administrators or school managers or both.

2 The study used the qualitative research methodology. Data was collected through the use of open-ended questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. The study used purposive sampling and came up with twenty schools whose school heads became respondents. Among other things the study indicated that there was no clear distinction between Administration and Management among the school heads. At the same time, it was noted that administrative responsibilities tended to consume school heads time to the extent of ignoring Management functions and instructional leadership roles. It was also noted that allocating a school head a class compromised pupils learning as the school heads were often away from the station on school business.

3 It was also noted that some school heads tended to over-burden themselves with responsibilities as they were reluctant to delegate duties. In instances they delegated, they tended to delegate peripheral responsibilities. The study recommends that the roles of administrator and manager be performed by two different people in schools. It further recommends that school heads should not be allocated classes or required to teach specific number of periods as such classes tended to suffer in the absence of the school head on school administrative and Management business. Keywords: Administration ; Management ; school head; instructional leader; function; periods. 1. Introduction and Background to the study Educational Management and educational Administration have become terms that are at times used synonymously.

4 In most of the cases they are used to refer to what school heads and principals of schools do in their daily routine at schools. However, in other instances the terms have been used to denote two different functions that are most likely to be performed by two different offices, thus an administrator and a manager. The question we have to answer with regards to the two concepts is: Do these two play the same roles and perform the same functions within an organization? Westhuizen (1991) noted that total confusion surrounds the use of the two concepts. Schools in zimbabwe , regardless of whether they are government or non-government, have the school head as the chief executive officer.

5 They are employed by the government, except in cases of private schools. They have to ensure that government regulations are adhered to at the same time managing both human and material resources at the school. As such, the role of the school head involves performing administrative and Management functions. Among other duties and responsibilities the Ministry of education , Sport and Culture; Vacancy Announcement No. 8 of 2005 states the duties and responsibilities of a school head as follows: To be a link between the school, the district office, the community and the general public; To ensure that school buildings, furniture, equipment and other facilities are maintained in good state of repair; To ensure correct interpretation and implementation of curriculum and syllabi; To assess teachers performance regularly and writing reports as may be required; To evaluate the curricular objectives as well as school projects; To ensure that official records are kept up-to-date; Management and Administration in education : What do school heads do?

6 A focus on primary school heads in one district in zimbabwe . 636 To implement performance Management in the school; To ensure adherence to regulations, procedures and rules by all staff members. The duties and responsibilities noted above appear to be a cocktail of administrative functions and Management functions. These were expected to be performed by all school heads, regardless of whether they were at primary school or secondary school. In addition to the administrative and Management functions noted above, the school head was supposed to be an instructional leader. In some instances, the school head was assisted by School Development Committees and School Development Associations (Chikoko, 2007).

7 These had been formed with the view of not only assisting the school heads with school governance matters, but as a democratization gesture within the education system, as well. In addition to performing the functions already alluded to, the responsibilities of the school head correspondingly increased with the decentralization of education functions in zimbabwe . Faced with such additional tasks, the decentralization of education functions if not well handled would end up with the negative effect of overburdening school heads in addition to their job descriptions. The possibility of them neglecting their administrative functions and Management functions remained very high.

8 In order to build capacity within schools, the government of zimbabwe embarked on a number of programmes aimed at developing both the administrative skills and Management skills of school heads. First were the modules on Management and Administration for school heads. Another attempt to improve the Management and administrative skills of school heads was the mandatory requirement that by 1984 school heads in zimbabwe had to have 5 Ordinary level subjects in addition to a teaching qualification. It was envisaged that an improvement in educational qualifications would enhance their understanding of Administration and Management of schools. Furthermore, senior teachers and school heads had to go for for in-service training to up-grade their qualifications.

9 Such work-shops and in-service training included modules ran by the Ministry of education in collaboration with UNESCO (Chivore, 1995). In 1993, the Better Schools Programme was launched. The aim of the programme was to assist with the development of administrative and Management skills among teachers and school heads. Within the same context, the government of zimbabwe launched the Bachelor of education in Educational Administration , Planning and Policy Studies in 1993 with the University of zimbabwe . This was a degree programme specifically for school heads, which aimed at equipping them with educational administrative and Management skills. Despite all these efforts reports indicate that there is an increase in cases of financial mismanagement.

10 Recent press reports in zimbabwe show that more than 200 school heads were facing charges involving misappropriation of school funds and charging fees without approval (The Sunday Mail, 6 January, 2013). In one case four school heads in Gutu District of zimbabwe were charged of fraud and jailed for 18 months and one head in Bikita District was reported to be on the run after embezzling US$14 000 from his school. On a related case, some school heads were accused of not following normal procedures when buying school items. Statement of the problem The problem affecting the Administration and Management of schools has raised concerns in different circles. Among other concerns is whether school heads are not over-burdened by duties and responsibilities that require the expertise of two different people.