How do public high schools in Ekurhuleni South District (Gauteng) implement educational reform?

Abstract

The advent of democratic governance in South Africa necessitated changes in all sectors of the country; the education sector also required urgent reform. The policy framework for education reform was passed nationally and implementation strategies were cascaded to provinces and districts nation-wide. The outcome of national policies manifests itself at district levels where implementation takes place in schools. This study assesses the manner in which public high schools in Ekurhuleni South District of the Gauteng Department of Education, implement educational reforms. The research was conducted as a qualitative study to determine the role and experiences of key stakeholders in the implementation of educational reform in the district. The investigation focused on what I termed the „basic drivers of reform‟ in education, namely: school governance (SGBs); performance management (IQMS); Outcomes Based Education (OBE); and redeployment of teachers. Other aspects that influence change in education were not excluded from the discussions, but were treated as complements of these basic drivers. An in-depth literature review was conducted to assess the views of other researchers on the topic. The study found that there has been lot improvement in the education system, especially in public high schools, since 1994. However, there are serious challenges related to policy directives and implementation strategies, which need to be addressed in order to reap the full benefits of a reformed education system. Some of these challenges are the results of policies formulated out of excitement for the newly created democratic order after 1994 while others are associated with shortage of skills and resources. Underestimation and exaggeration of education-related challenges also seem to prevail in public discourse, hence the reality is sometimes distorted. The results of the fieldwork and literature review were used to formulate recommendations to improve implementation of the reform process. Building the confidence of teachers in the education system by involving them in all reform initiatives seems to be a realistic solution.