THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENIOR EDUCATION MANAGER

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DELIMITATIONS OF THE FIELD OF STUDY

This research project notes that several studies have been made on in-service training and staff development with regard to the subject teacher, departmental head, deputy principal and the principal. Studies by Cawood and Gibbon (1985), Knoetze (1978), Schreuder, du Toit, Roesch and Shah (1993) and Calitz (1990) provide sufficient evidence to that effect. There seems, however, to be inadequate evidence of research conducted, if any, on the professional development of senior managers in education in the ranks of Deputy Directors of Education (or equivalent ranks) and above. The focus of this research project, therefore, is on the professional development of educators with reference to the senior managers in education in the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces (as defined in paragraph 1.7.2 below). The target respondents included circuit managers, subject/curriculum specialists, deputy directors and above responsible for various functions.

Professional development

The word professional refers to belonging to a calling, a vocation requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation (Longman Dictionary of the English language 1984: 1178). Professional also refers to belonging to, or connected to a profession/someone who is engaged in a pursuit of activity professionally. The South African Council for Educators (SACE) as a registered professional council, was established as per Government Gazette No 16037 of October 1994. With this development, the professionalism of the teaching profession was enhanced. In terms of the provisions of the SACE, educators have, since its establishment, been required to register and discharge their duties in a professional manner. The SACE Code of conduct regarding the educator and the profession provides that an educator should promote the ongoing development of education as a profession and that he/she has a professional obligation towards education and the induction of new members into the profession (De Villiers and Wethmar, 2000:37). Authors have varying definitions of the concept development. According to Gregorc as quoted by Cawood and Gibbon (1985:15), there are four phases of a teacher’s development, viz. becoming, maturing, growing and full functioning. Cawood and Gibbon (1985:12) hold the view that in-service training and staff development promote the teacher’s continued professional growth. Prinsloo and Beckman (1988:325) assert that all professions are subject to a process of development. The emphasis on what is developed varies. This means that different professions emphasize or highlight their characteristics in different ways.

Educator

The word educator (instead of teacher) is used in recent South African education legislation like the Employment ofEducators Act (EEA) (Act 76 of 1998). In the SACE Code of Conduct (1999:9), the word educator means any person who teaches, educates or trains other persons or provides professional therapy at any school, technical college or college of education or assists in rendering professional services or performs education management services or education auxiliary services provided by, or in a department of education and any other person registered with the Council. Such a person’s conditions of employment are also regulated by the Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998) and by the Manual for Development Appraisal (Department of Education, 1999: I 0). To teach is to give systematic information to a person about skills or a subject, to enable a person to do something by instruction or training; to advocate a moral principle (e.g. tolerance) or to influence a person by example. The concept educate as defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990:373) has a broader meaning than the word teach. To educate is to give intellectual, moral and social instruction to somebody, especially as a formal prolonged process; a development of character.

Rights

According to Bray (2000:41), the right to ownership denotes having the power and capacity to do or exercise or account, the capacity to sell, use or destroy anything. This suggests that the word right has more than one meaning as will be seen in the following paragraphs. Squelch (1999: 14) observes that the term right implies the ability to claim something. This ability is synonymous with what Bray (2000:41) calls capacity or power as discussed above. The words right and duties should be understood within the context of a framework of relationships. While right refers to capacity or ability, duty implies an obligation to perform, e.g. a manager has a right to a salary while the employer has an obligation to ensure that he/she pays the employed manager. From the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990:1037) there is evidence that the word right has numerous meanings depending on the usage, e.g. right away, which means immediately; right means just or that which is morally or socially correct or fair. Prinsloo and Beckmann (1988:32) observe that the concept right is etymologically related to right in the sense of right 16 and wrong, and as such it is linked to justice. They acknowledge that it is also linked to the idea of entitlement. They also refer to Barrow who states that to have a right means to claim something. Cohen as quoted by Prinsloo and Beckmann (1988:32) observes that justified claims, which are regarded as entitlements, are contrasted it seems there is some subtle distinction perceived by Cohen. If you are allowed, permitted or favoured, it does not necessarily means that you are entitled to the claim concerned.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LAW

Before the functions of the law are discussed, it is desirable to highlight the fact that there is a distinction between the mode of control of natural phenomena and that, which is applicable to human beings. It is important to note that natural phenomena (forces) such as gravity, motion and others are said to have no social law to obey or disobey. According to Hosten, Edwards, Nathan and Bosman (1983:3) natural phenomena are governed by the laws of the universe, which produce unifonnity amongst the phenomena themselves. In this sense law is seen to connote a rigid unifonnity. On the other hand, human beings are subject to what is called a mechanism of social control which includes all the means at a society’s disposal to  » … persuade its members to think and 23 act in compliance with the norms (normative systems), that make up its culture » (Hosten et al., 1983:2). These include legal systems, ethics, etiquette and social conventions. Law is therefore one of the instruments of social control. The views of various authorities concerning the functions of the law will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

udicial Control

Much has been said about administrative control as a form of the law of education. If a decision taken by the internal (administrative) control office is perceived by parents, teachers, etc. to be unfair, unreasonable, unlawful or unprocedural, the aggrieved has  » … the right to have access to the courts, or where appropriate, another independent and impartial tribunal, to have legal disputes settled in a fair and public trial » (Rautenbach and Malherbe, 1999:18). This is provided for in Section 34 of the Bill of Rights. An appeal by an aggrieved person will lead to a judicial review in which the court may decide to uphold or reject the previous decision. The judicial decision constitutes an authoritative decision that may be published in the law reports (Bray, 2000:86).

TAPLE OF CONTENTS :

• Title Page
• Declaration
• Opsomming
• Chapter Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• Summary
• List ofAbbreviations
• CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION
  • 1.1 Introduction
  • 1.2 Problem Statement
  • 1.3 Hypothesis
  • 1.4 The purpose ofthe study
  • 1.5 Delimitation of the field of study
  • 1.6 Research Methodology
  • 1.6.1 Choice of Method
  • 1.6.2 Pilot Study
  • 1.6.3 Literature Study
  • 1.7 Definitions
  • 1.7.1 Professional Development
  • 1.7.2 Educator
  • 1.7.3 Senior Education Manager
  • 1.7.4 Rights
  • 1.7.5 Legal
  • 1.8 Organisation of Work
  • 1.9 Conclusion
• CHAPTER 2: THE FUNCTION OF THE LAW OF EDUCATION AND THE SENIOR EDUCATION MANAGER’S RIGHTS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Sources of Law
  • 2.3 The functions of the law
  • 2.4 Classification and types of rights
  • 2.4.1 Types of rights
  • 2.4.2 Categories ofhuman rights
  • 2.5 The Senior Education Manager’s duties and rights
  • 2.5.1 Ordinary Citizen’s Rights
  • 2.5.2 The Senior Education Manager’s Employment Rights
  • 2.6 Conclusion
• CHAPTER 3: THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENIOR EDUCATION MANAGER
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Characteristics of a profession
  • 3.2.1 Service Orientation
  • 3.2.2 Professional autonomy or right to self determination
  • 3.2.3 Developing and maintaining a clear professional ethical code of conduct
  • 3.2.4 A true profession offers its practitioners a vocation and full career opportunities
  • 3.2.5 In-service training <i
  • 3.3 The desirability ofprofessional development
  • 3.3.1 Introduction
  • 3.3.2 Principles
  • 3.3.3 Assumptions
  • 3.4 Aims and functions of professional development
  • 3.5 The aims ofmanagement development
  • 3.5.1 Introduction
  • 3.5.2 The requirements of a management development programme
  • 3.5.3 Compiling a self-development plan 8§
  • 3.6 The senior education manager’s responsibility for own professional growth
  • 3.7 Performance Demands
  • 3.8 Conclusion
• CHAPTER 4: TIlE SENIOR EDUCATION MANAGER’S LEGAL STATUS
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 The senior education manager’s status
  • 4.2.1 Meaning of the word « status »
  • 4.2.2 Sources of status
  • 4.2.3 Distinction between authority and power
  • 4.2.4 The power base of the senior education manager
  • 4.2.5 Authority base of the senior education manager
  • 4.3 Some problems negatively affecting the senior education manager’s professional development
  • 4.3.1 internal factors negatively affecting the senior education manager’s professional development
  • 4.3.2 External factors undermining the professional development of the senior education manager
  • 4.3.3 Some requirements for establishing the defamatory nature ( wrongfulness) of words
  • 4.4 Conclusion
• CHAPTER 5: THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS AND DISCUSSION OF TilE RESPONSES
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Administrative arrangements
  • 5.3 Description ofthe structure of the questionnaire and the types of questions
  • 5.4 Analysis of responses
  • 5.4.1 Biographical Data
  • 5.4.2 Responsibility for professional development
  • 5.4.3 The degree of importance of the professional development of senior education managers
  • 5.4.4 The degree to which services are provided to managers
  • 5.4.5 Views, opinions and level of agreement on a number of Aspects
  • 5.5 Conclusion
• CHAPTER 6 : OVERVIEW, SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 Overview
  • 6.3 Findings
  • 6.3.1 Main Findings
  • 6.3.2 Dimensions of professional development
  • 6.3.3 Findings from literature
  • 6.3.4 Partnership in the provision of professional development opportunities ofthe senior education manager
  • ·6.3.5 Training needs analyses (TNA)
  • 6.3.6 Performance appraisal 2Q
  • 6.3.7 Improvement ofthe educators condition of services and his/her qualifications
  • 6.3.8 Attendance of courses, workshops on labour relations, performance management and the training in managers in work ethics
  • 6.3.9 Involvement of senior education managers in course design
  • 6.3.10 The manager’s knowledge ofhislher rights, protection against unfair labour practices, application of disciplinary measures and the code of conduct
  • 6.3.11 Important requirements for the improvement of management quality and service delivery of senior education managers in education
  • 6.4 Conclusion based on hypotheses
  • 6.5 Recommendations
  • 6.5.1 Recommendations aimed at employers
  • 6.5.1.1 Partnership in the provision of compulsory professional development courses
  • 6.5.1.2 Training needs analysis (TNA)
  • 6.5.1.3 Design and development of courses for senior education managers
  • 6.5.1.4 Improvement of conditions of service and qualifications
  • 6.5.1.5 Labour relations 208 – 6.5.1.6 Knowledge ofone’s own rights (employment and human rights)
  • 6.5.1.7 Code of conduct
  • 6.5.1.8 Establishment of management development centers
  • 6.5.1.9 Workshops on best practices in examinations procedures – and policies
  • 6.5.2 Recommendations aimed at individual senior education managers themselves
  • 6.5.2.1 Responsibility for upgrading of own professional development
  • 6.5.2.2 Responsibility for own professional growth
  • 6.5.3 Recommendations aimed at other stakeholders 211 – 6.5.4 Recommendations regarding further research
  • 6.6. Conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • Appendices
  • Appendix A: Questionnaire
  • Appendix B: The map of South Africa
  • Appendix C: Covering letter to questionnaire
  • Appendix D: Permission to conduct research

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THE SENIOR EDUCATION MANAGER’S LEGAL RIGHT TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT