Policy implementation and street-level bureaucrats' discretion, autonomy and coping mechanisms : a case study of national curriculum statements at a school in Pietermaritzburg.
Loading...
Date
2009
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The link between public policies and their desired outcomes has remained an important subject
among scholars and policy makers. Public policies made at the ‘top’ will have to be implemented
at local level by street-level bureaucrats who enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy and
discretion in the execution of their duties. The implementation of the National Curriculum
Statement (NCS) by teachers (street-level bureaucrats) is one such case. Using Lipsky’s streetlevel
bureaucracy as a theoretical framework, this study sought to explore the levels of
discretion, autonomy and coping mechanisms employed by school teachers at a private Christian
school in Pietermaritzburg in the implementation of the NCS.
The study sought to discover if the exercise of autonomy and discretion enhanced the
implementation of NCS. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected by the insider
participant using interviews with school teachers and observational methods. Analyses revealed
that school teachers have considerable discretion in determining the kind of task they assign their
learners. However, there were no significant relationships according to the level of discretion and
teaching experience or level of professional qualifications. Furthermore, the study shows that
most teachers made discretional choices to advance the goals of the Department of Education
and to enhance the understating of learners.
Factors which forced these teachers to use their discretion are due to poorly defined goals,
inadequate resources and excessive workloads. In the face of challenges associated with their
work, the teachers employ coping mechanisms which include ‘creaming’, private goal definition,
modification of the conception of work, ‘rubber stamping’, referrals and real or psychological
withdrawal. The findings of this study also show that school management through routine
supervision and the Department of Education’s Common Tasks Assessments (CTAs) as well as
national examinations curtail the autonomy and discretion of teachers in the implementation of
NCS.
The research reveals that the combination of individual decisions made by each street-level
bureaucrat in effect constitute the policy of NCS through its implementation at school. The
findings also underscore the need for management at all levels to find ways of harnessing the
discretion of street-level bureaucrats which enhance the Department of Education’s goals and
curb those which hamper policy implementation.
Description
Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.
Keywords
Theses--Policy and development studies., Education--South Africa., Curriculum planning--South Africa.