Leadership for effective teaching and learning: the effective application of educational connoisseurship in the eyes of Masvingo District School

Abstract

Craft competence by school leadership in the application of supervision theories is the engine that propels quality implementation of syllabuses by teachers in schools. The study sought to investigate the effective application of connoisseurship supervision theory by school leaders in Masvingo district, Zimbabwe. This was a qualitative study which aimed at interpolating into the effective use of connoisseurship supervision in Zimbabwean schools. The case study design was employed with semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions used as the main data generation tools. The school leaders who had a workshop were conveniently sampled then purposive sampling was employed to get information rich cases of school leaders who were holders of a Master of Education degree in Educational Management to participate in the study. The major findings of the study were that connoisseurship helps to describe and evaluate ongoing processes and events in the classroom, it helps school leaders to see the breadth and depth of qualities of work, helps in the examination of a plan and helps in increasing understanding of the classroom activities. Connoisseurship also helps in the analysis of pedagogical methods and their relevance over and above helping the school leader to recognise the missing elements in the teaching and learning process. The study concluded that school leaders have theoretical knowledge of connoisseurship supervision but they do not put that into practice. The study therefore recommended a series of workshops and training sessions on the practical application of connoisseurship supervision in schools to improve the quality of instruction.