Marking Learners’ Work and Feedback

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Working Assumptions

My primary working assumptions are that members of governing bodies of public primary schools situated in middle-class areas generally tend to enjoy a high social standing within the community because they are often well educated and people perceive them as successful. A large number of parents are experts in their professions and are aware that high standards and quality education are of paramount importance to the future of their children, and they therefore tend to place high demands on educators to deliver high quality teaching and learning. However, some members of a school governing body tend to appear adversarial in their approach and in respect of their expectations of educators.
They may frequently visit the school and appear to “check up” on educators. The educator may interpret their frequent visits as interference in the professional management of the school, which may result in uncalled for conflict. It is reasonable and acceptable for parents to expect educators to be totally dedicated and fully involved in all aspects of teaching and learning but excessive expectations and demands may negatively affect the quality of education we strive to improve. Another working assumption, which I intend to explore in this study, is that the apparent broadening and increase in governing body and parental expectations has necessitated educators who teach at public schools situated in middle-class contexts to devote more time to administrative duties and extra-mural activities than they did in the past. The apparent intensification of their work in these areas leaves them less time to plan and prepare lessons with the necessary care and interest and to mark and assess learners’ work. Educators may attribute the increase in the time they devote to administrative duties to frequent curriculum changes and new methods of lesson planning, preparation, presentation and assessment. They may attribute their increased involvement in fundraising activities to the need for self-managed schools to maximise their income because of reductions in state funding and subsidies. Educators also appear to devote a large portion of their time to extra-mural activities owing to the importance placed on sport in many middle-class schools. In South Africa, sport may be regarded as a lucrative “industry” in its own right. Middle-class parents appear to believe that sport offers employment opportunities and may therefore expect their children to have access to a variety of sports and high standards of coaching. In light of the above- mentioned assumptions, governing bodies and parent associations in some schools plan fundraising, cultural and sporting activities, which often involve the participation of educators. Educators are sometimes responsible for the administrative and organisational aspects of fundraising, cultural and sporting activities, which may be time-consuming and may encroach on scheduled teaching and learning time. My assumption and concern is that if educators commit themselves to too many activities their workloads will intensify and they may in future devote less time to teaching and classroom management, which is their primary function. Significant intensification of educators’ workloads may hold negative effects for educators and learners, as well as for education.
It is unfortunate that learners may ultimately bear the negative effects of the intensification of educators’ workloads. The most compelling negative consequence will be the decline in the quantity of teaching time and the quality of learning. In addition, unlike most other professions, educators do not have an official lunch hour and many extra-curricular activities and staff development courses begin directly after school and continue until late afternoon or early evening. Once at home, educators need to prepare lessons or mark and assess learners’ work for the following day. This means that educators often work more than 12 hours per day. The threats and repercussions of educator burnout and stress have received much attention in the literature dealing with educator workloads (See § 2.3). The second negative effect of educator workload intensification is that overworked educators may become disillusioned and seek employment opportunities in other sectors, outside of education, which could result in a loss of experienced educators and high educator turnover. High educator turnover could hinder and delay the development of teamwork in the school, as “old staff” and “new staff” members need time to know and understand each other, in order to work together effectively. Learners’ routines may be disrupted and their sense of security affected, as they will constantly need to adapt to different ways of working and establish new relationships of trust with replacement educators. A further negative effect of high educator turnover is that schools may lose the services of experienced or talented educators, which is detrimental to the maintenance of quality in education, the ideal for which partners in education continually strive. It would seem, therefore, that current South African labour law creates a space in which governing bodies could influence the workloads of educators. I therefore argue that there is a possibility that governing bodies’ use of such space might militate against children’s right to education and even the best interests of children.

Research Design and Methodology

This section of the chapter covers the research design, approaches, methodology, data collection instruments and strategies and data analysis procedures, which I intend implementing in my research. It is important to note that one should refrain from viewing the research design as being rigid or “cast in stone”. The research design needs to be flexible to accommodate changes or alterations, should the circumstances require it. Mouton (1996:108) is of the opinion that the rationale of a research design is to plan and structure a research project in such a way that the eventual validity of the research findings is maximised through either minimising or, where possible, eliminating potential error.

Data Collection Approaches and Methods

I justify my decision to use qualitative inquiry as opposed to quantitative methods as follows: I intended to explore and understand the expectations that school governing bodies have of primary school educators at public schools in middle-class contexts and compare them to the actual duties and responsibilities performed by educators on a daily basis. I therefore do not intend implementing a quantitative research paradigm since a quantitative inquiry would prove to be unsuitable for my research. I shall, should the need arise, include some quantitative and statistical data gathered by means of one of my data collection instruments, namely the educator time-use diary (See § 1.7.7).

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

• ABSTRACT
• LIST OF KEY ORDS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH
• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Rationale
• 1.3 Conceptual Framework
• 1.3.1 The Abdicators
• 1.3.2 The Supporters Club
• 1.3.3 The Partners
• 1.3.4 The Adversaries
• 1.3.5 School Governance in the South African Context
• 1.3.5.1 The Conceptual Definition of Class
• 1.3.5.2 The Emergence of South Africa’s Middle-Class
• 1.3.5.3 The Implications of Class for School Governance
• 1.4 Research Questions
• 1.5 Aims of the Study
• 1.6 Working Assumptions
• 1.7 Research Design and Methodology
• 1.7.1 Data Collection Approaches and Methods
• 1.7.2 Ethical Clearance and Considerations
• 1.7.3 Approval for the Research
• 1.7.4 Gaining Access to the Research Samples and Sites
• 1.7.5 Obtaining the Participants’ Consent
• 1.7.6 Sampling
• 1.7.7 Data Collection Instruments
• 1.7.7.1 The Open-Ended Questionnaire
• 1.7.7.2 The Educator Time-Use Diary
• 1.7.8 Management of the Raw Data
• 1.7.9 Data Analysis
• 1.7.9.1 Content Analysis of the Data
• 1.7.9.2 Document Analysis of the Data
• • • • 1.7.9.3 Data Interpretation
  • 1.8 Reliability and Trustworthiness
  • 1.9 Significance of the Research
  • 1.10 Conclusion of Chapter One and Preview of Chapter Two
• CHAPTER TWO THE THREE-DOMAIN MODEL OF LITERATURE WITH FOCI ON EDUCATOR WORKLOAD
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Approaches Used in the Literature Search and Review
    • 2.2.1 Category 1 – Coverage
    • 2.2.2 Category 2 – Synthesis
  • 2.3 First Domain: International Literature with Foci on Educator Workload
    • 2.3.1 The Three-Domain Model of Dinham & Scott
      • 2.3.1.1 The Implications of Decentralisation for Schools
    • 2.3.2 The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation Reports
    • 2.3.3 The Time-Use Study
    • 2.3.4 The Work Intensification Thesis
    • 2.3.5 The Job Demands-Resources Model
    • 2.3.6 The Work-Life Conflict Study
    • 2.3.7 Riccio’s Educator Expectations
    • 2.3.8 Summary of the First Domain: International Literature with Foci on Educator Workload
  • 2.4 The Second Domain: South African Literature with Foci on Educator Workloads
    • 2.4.1 The Educator Workload in South Africa Survey
    • 2.4.2 Chisholm and Hoadley’s Report on the Educator Workload in South Africa Study
      • 2.4.2.1 The Integrated Quality Management System
      • 2.4.2.2 The Revised National Curriculum Statement
    • 2.4.3 Morrow’s Report: What is Teachers’ Work?
    • 2.4.4 Govender’s Policy Images and the Contextual Reality of Teachers’ Work in South Africa
    • 2.4.5 Summary of the Second Domain: South African Literature with Foci on Educator Workloads
  • 2.5 The Third Domain: The South African Education Labour Law Context
    • 2.5.1 Statutory Law
      • 2.5.1.1 The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No 108 of
      • 2.5.1.2 The South African Schools Act, No 84 of
      • 2.5.1.3 The National Education Policy Act, No 27 of
      • 2.5.1.4 The Employment of Educators Act, No 76 of
      • 2.5.1.5 The Integrated Quality Management System for School Based Educators
      • 2.5.1.6 The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No 75 of
      • 2.5.1.7 The Labour Relations Act, No 66 of
    • 2.5.2 Common Law
      • 2.5.2.1 The Principles of Natural Justice
      • 2.5.2.2 In Loco Parentis and Duty of Care
      • 2.5.3 Case Law
      • 2.5.3.1 Moletsane v Premier of the Free State and Another (2) SA 95 (OPD)
      • 2.5.3.2 Knouwds v Administateur, Kaap 1981 SA 544 (C)
    • 2.5.4 Summary of the Third Domain: The South African Education and Labour Law Context
  • 2.6 Implications of the Literature for my Research
  • 2.6.1 Implications of the Literature for the Research Question
  • 2.6.2 Implications of the Literature for the Aims of the Study
  • 2.6.3 Implications of the Literature for the Working Assumption
  • 2.6.4 Implications of the Literature for the Research Design and Methodologies
  • 2.7 Conclusion of Chapter Two and Preview of Chapter Three
• CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY: IMPLEMENTING THE RESEARCH PLAN
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Research Philosophy and Theory
  • 3.3 Knowledge Claim
  • 3.4 Qualitative Research
  • 3.5 Working Assumptions
  • 3.6 Style of the Research
  • 3.7 Ethical Clearance and Considerations
  • 3.8 Approval for the Research
  • 3.9 Data Collection Approaches and Methods
  • 3.10 Gaining Access to the Research Samples and Sites
  • 3.11 Obtaining Participants’ Consent
  • 3.12 Sampling
  • 3.13 Data Collection Instruments
  • 3.13.1 The Open-Ended Questionnaire
  • 3.13.2 The Educator Time-Use Diary
  • 3.13.3 Interviews with Principals
  • 3.14 Methodological Limitations
  • 3.15 Summary of Research Design
  • 3.16 Conclusion of Chapter Three and Preview of Chapter Four
• CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Implementing the Open-Ended Questionnaires
  • 4.3 Presentation and Discussion of the Analysis, Findings and Interpretation of the Data
  • 4.3.1 Teaching Responsibilities
    • 4.3.1.1 Planning and Preparation of Lessons
    • 4.3.1.2 Teaching Lessons
    • 4.3.1.3 Marking of Learners’ Work and Feedback
    • 4.3.1.4 Keeping Record of Learners’ Assessment and Profiles
    • 4.3.1.5 Assisting Learners with Learning Problems
    • 4.3.1.6 Enriching Bright Learners
    • 4.3.1.7 Progress Reports to Parents
    • 4.3.1.8 Other Comments
    • 4.3.2 Classroom Management
  • 4.3.2.1 Creating a Positive Teaching and Learning Environment
  • 4.3.2.2 Maintaining Discipline
    • 4.3.2.3 Other Comments
    • 4.3.3 Extra-Mural Activities
    • 4.3.3.1 Coaching and Involvement in Sport
    • 4.3.3.2 Involvement in Cultural Activities
    • 4.3.3.3 Involvement in Fundraising Activities
    • 4.3.3.4 Involvement in the School’s Social Functions
    • 4.3.3.5 Involvement in School Committees
    • 4.3.3.6 Other Comments
    • 4.3.4 Pastoral Duties
    • 4.3.4.1 Playground Duty
    • 4.3.4.2 Bus and Gate Duty
    • 4.3.4.3 Scholar Patrol Duty
    • 4.3.4.4 Sick Learners
    • 4.3.4.5 Other Comments
    • 4.3.5 Administrative Duties
    • 4.3.5.1 Collection of Money in Class
    • 4.3.5.2 Handing Out Newsletters
    • 4.3.5.3 Keeping Attendance Registers
    • 4.3.6 Professional Duties
    • 4.3.6.1 Professional Development
    • 4.3.7 Discussion of Participants’ Concluding Comments
    • 4.4 Final Analysis, Findings and Discussion of Data Gathered from the Open-Ended Questionnaires
  • 4.4.1 What are the Relationships in Meaning between the Core Duties and the Participants’ Expectations?
  • 4.4.2 Which Expectations are Aligned with or Diverge from Prevailing Education Labour Law?
  • 4. 5 Synthesis and Presentation of Primary Argument
  • 4.6 Conclusion of Chapter Four and Preview of Chapter Five
• CHAPTER FIVE THE EDUCATOR TIME-USE DIARIES
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Implementing the Educator Time-Use Diaries
  • 5.3 Presentation and Discussion of the Analysis, Findings and Interpretation of the Data
  • 5.3.1 Discussion of Category One Core Duties that Scored Very High Averages
  • 5.3.1.1 Teaching Lessons
  • 5.3.1.2 Maintaining Discipline
  • 5.3.1.3 Creating a Positive Teaching and Learning Environment
  • 5.3.1.4 Involvement in Other Extra-Mural Activities
  • 5.3.1.5 Marking Learners’ Work and Feedback
  • 5.3.1.6 Coaching and Involvement in Sport
  • 5.3.2 Discussion of Category Two Core Duties that Scored High Averages
  • 5.3.2.1 Planning and Preparation of Lessons
  • 5.3.2.2 Other Classroom Management Duties
  • 5.3.2.3 Other Administrative Duties
  • 5.3.2.4 Attending Seminars, Workshops and Courses for Professional Development Purposes
  • 5.3.2.5 Keeping Record of Learners’ Assessment and Profiles
  • 5.3.3 Discussion of Category Three Core Duties that Scored Medium to High Averages
  • 5.3.3.1 Other Teaching Responsibilities
  • 5.3.3.2 Assisting Learners with Learning Problems
  • 5.3.3.3 Involvement in Cultural Activities
  • 5.3.3.4 Progress Reports to Parents
  • 5.3.4 Discussion of Category Four Core Duties that Scored Medium Averages
  • 5.3.4.1 Involvement in School Committees
  • 5.3.4.2 Bus and Gate Duty
  • 5.3.4.3 Involvement in the School’s Social Functions
  • 5.3.4.4 Other Pastoral Duties
  • 5.3.5 Discussion of Category Five Core Duties that Scored Low to Medium Averages
  • 5.3.5.1 Other Professional Duties
  • 5.3.5.2 Enriching Bright Learners
  • 5.3.5.3 Playground Duty
  • 5.3.5.4 Collecting Money in Class
  • 5.3.6 Discussion of Category Six Core Duties that Scored Low Averages
  • 5.3.6.1 Involvement in Fundraising Activities
  • 5.3.6.2 Scholar Patrol Duty
  • 5.3.6.3 Handing Out Newsletters
  • 5.3.6.4 Sick Learners
  • 5.3.6.5 Keeping Attendance Registers
  • 5.4 Additional Data Gathered from an Educator’s “Job Description”
  • 5.5 Additional Data Gathered from an Educator’s Personal Diary
  • 5.6 Conclusion of Chapter Five and Preview of Chapter Six
• CHAPTER SIX REFLECTIONS ON INTERVIEWS WITH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 Categories Emerging from the Interviews with Principals
  • 6.2.1 Category One – Denial
  • 6.2.2 Category Two – No Comment
  • 6.2.3 Category Three – Concurrence
  • 6.3 Conclusion of Chapter Six and Preview of Chapter Seven
• CHAPTER SEVEN COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND INTEGRATION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
  • 7.1 Introduction
  • 7.2 Teaching Responsibilities
  • 7.2.1. Planning and Preparation of Lessons
  • 7.2.2 Teaching Lessons
  • 7.2.3 Marking Learners’ Work and Feedback
  • 7.2.4 Keeping Record of Learners’ Assessment and Profiles
  • 7.2.5 Assisting Learners with Learning Problems
  • 7.2.6 Enriching Bright Learners
  • 7.2.7 Progress Reports to Parents
  • 7.2.8 Other Teaching Responsibilities
  • 7.3 Classroom Management
  • 7.3.1 Creating a Positive Teaching and Learning Environment
  • 7.3.2 Maintaining Discipline
  • 7.3.3 Other Classroom Management Duties
  • 7.4 Involvement in Extra-Mural Activities
  • 7.4.1 Involvement in Sport
  • 7.4.2 Involvement in Cultural Activities
  • 7.4.3 Involvement in Fundraising Activities
  • 7.4.4 Involvement in the School’s Social Functions
  • 7.4.5 Involvement in School Committees
  • 7.4.6 Other Extra-Mural Duties
  • 7.5 Pastoral Duties
    • 7.5.1 Playground Duty
    • 7.5.2 Bus and Gate Duty
    • 7.5.3 Scholar Patrol Duty
    • 7.5.4 Sick Learners
    • 7.5.5 Other Pastoral Duties
    • 7.6 Administrative Duties
  • 7.6.1 Collecting Money in Class
  • 7.6.2 Handing Out Newsletters
  • 7.6.3 Keeping Attendance Registers
  • 7.6.4 Other Administrative Duties
  • 7.7 Professional Duties
  • 7.7.1 Attending Seminars, Courses and Workshops for Purposes of Professional Development
  • 7.7.2 Other Professional Duties
  • 7.8 Discussion of Findings
  • 7.8.1 Relationships in Meaning between the Findings
    • 7.8.2 Collective Interpretation of Findings
    • 7.8.3 Striking Disparities and Correlations in the Findings
    • 7.8.4 Core Duties that Moved to the Foreground
    • 7.8.5 Core Duties that Moved to the Background
    • 7.8.6 Findings in Relation to the Purpose of the Research
    • 7.8.7 Findings in Relation to the Research Questions
    • 7.8.8 Findings in Relation to the Working Assumptions
    • 7.9 Reasons for Intensification of Educators’ Workloads
  • 7.9.1 Contextual Implications of Decentralisation
  • 7.9.2 School Governing Bodies’ Understanding of the Roles and Functions Described in Section 20 of SASA
  • 7.9.3 Proliferation of Sport and Professional Development Duties
  • 7.9.4 Proliferation of Other Responsibilities
  • 7.9.5 Differences in Understanding of Professionalism
  • 7.9.6 Management and Leadership Style of the Principal
  • 7.10 Forces that Appear to Drive Parents’ Expectations of Educators
  • 7.11 Conclusion of Chapter Seven and Preview of Chapter Eight
• CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 8.1 Introduction
  • 8.2 Overview of Research Findings
  • 8.3 Conclusions Drawn from Research Findings
  • 8.4 Recommendations
  • 8.4.1 Recommendations for the Improvement of Practice in Research on Educators’ Workloads
  • 8.4.2 Recommendations for Further Research and New Scholarship on Educators’ Workloads
  • 8.5 The Significance of this Research
  • 8.6 The Unique Contribution of this Research
  • 8.7. The Necessity for this Research
  • 8.8 Implications of this Research for the Future
  • 8.9 Final Comment
• CHAPTER NINE BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • 9.1 Bibliography of Literature Consulted and Read
  • 9.2 Bibliography of References Cited in Text

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