Exploring Principals’ Reflections of Curriculum Management Changes in South African Rural Primary Schools

Soane Joyce Mohapi

doi:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1221

Abstract

The educational processes constantly change and put much pressure on principals of primary schools in South Africa. This paper explores reflections of primary school principals and challenges they encountered when implementing and managing curriculum. The reflections will be sought from grade 6 rural primary principals in Mpumalanga province. A qualitative method of inquiry was used in this paper were data was collected using individual interviews with three principals and focus group discussions with School Management Teams (SMTs) of three primary schools. Findings show that the techniques used to administer the Annual National Assessment (ANA) are problematic; the timing of administering the ANA tests poses a challenge to principals. The National guidelines indicating aspects to be covered during ANA tests are not distributed to schools. The findings imply a need for greater capacity building of principals and further research into continuous curriculum changes in South African education system DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1221

Highlights

Curriculum management is critical aspect in ensuring effective teaching and learning
The premise of this paper is that Department of Basic Education (DBE) may need to rethink about changes in curriculum implementation and management and how to ameliorate factors that affect learner performance
With new changes in South African education system, such as the introduction of Annual National Assessment (ANA), Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), principals must be able to diagnose the capacity of teachers and help them to teach effectively, because a primary determinant of learner achievement is effective curriculum management and implementation, quality teaching and learning

Summary

Introduction

Curriculum management is critical aspect in ensuring effective teaching and learning. There are many curriculum changes that have resulted in tremendous impact on teaching and learning in South African schools. The premise of this paper is that Department of Basic Education (DBE) may need to rethink about changes in curriculum implementation and management and how to ameliorate factors that affect learner performance. With new changes in South African education system, such as the introduction of ANA, Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), principals must be able to diagnose the capacity of teachers and help them to teach effectively, because a primary determinant of learner achievement is effective curriculum management and implementation, quality teaching and learning. Curriculum changes that have occurred in most South African schools have been influenced by several factors such as political influences, legal framework and learner performance. The objective of this paper was to explore principals’ reflections on curriculum changes which have been implemented in primary schools and determine the challenges faced by rural primary schools ‘principals when implementing these changes

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Conclusion