Chikoko, V.
Abstract:
On attaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe invested heavily in its
education system in order to redress the colonial inequalities and to 'grow its
own timber' in terms of the knowledge and skills desperately needed by the
new nation. However, 10 years later, the heavy government expenditure on
education was no longer sustainable or defensible. The rapid expansion of the
education system gave rise to grave concern for economic efficiency. Critics
noted the tumbling pass rates and evident decline in the quality of education,
with the concomitant high unemployment rates for the school graduates.
Furthermore, the highly centralised, top-down system of education
governance made it difficult, if not impossible for stakeholders at the various
levels of the system to participate effectively in decision-making. In response
to these and other pressures, Zimbabwe adopted a decentralised system of
school governance.
While decentralisation of school governance and school clustering have
become internationally acclaimed reforms targeted at improving the quality of
educational provision, and are consistent with the notion of good governance,
there remain outstanding questions regarding, among other things, how those
tasked to implement such reforms understand, experience and respond to
them, and the impact this has on the success or failure of these innovations.
This inquiry investigates teachers', school heads' and parents' understandings
and experiences of, and responses to decentralised school governance in one
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cluster of five primary schools in the Gutu District of Masvingo Province in
Zimbabwe.
Through a multi-site case study research design, involving each of the five
schools in the cluster as a site, this study utilised triangulation of a
questionnaire, interviews, observations and document analyses to investigate
three issues: stakeholders' understanding and experiences of, and responses
to decentralised school governance; their views regarding their capacity to
function effectively in a decentralised school governance system; and their
experiences and views of the factors that hinder and/or enable decentralised
school governance in the cluster.
Informed by three theoretical frameworks, namely the locus of decentralised
decision-making power, policy implementation, and educational change, the
findings show that decentralised school governance has developed a sense of
ownership of schools on the part of stakeholders. However, a number of
factors hamper the decentralisation process. These include the rigid national
educational regulatory framework, the uneven distribution of power within
schools, and the school and community contexts that are not conducive to
decentralisation. Findings also suggest that stakeholders feel incapable of
functioning effectively in a decentralised school governance system. These
findings imply that there is need for capacity building on the part of all
stakeholders, as well as research into how clusters can be made more
effective.
