An exploration of staff development team's promotion of quality education within the context of integrated quality management system.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the Staff Development Team’s (SDT) promotion of quality education within the context of Integrated Quality Management System. The study explored aspects that the SDT does to promote quality education, processes by which the SDT engages itself in to promote quality education and the reasons why the SDT promotes quality education. Provision of quality education in South Africa passed different stages that eventually culminated in Integrated Quality Management System being gazetted in 2003. With this instrument in place, the Department of Education (DoE) hoped schools, in particular and the Education Department in general, would perform well. Mixed responses from the respondents reflected that there are numerous factors that hamper the implementation of IQMS. These factors range from inadequate training of teachers for IQMS, scanty meetings in which discussions about IQMS are held, lack of involvement of all teachers in the school on issues related to IQMS, implementation of many quality education improvement strategies by the DoE within a short period of time and fear by teachers of being evaluated. The main findings showed that there is a dire need for teachers to be retrained on IQMS and frequent holding of IQMS related meetings. The main findings also revealed that the monetary component of IQMS, namely, pay progression, is a cause for concern in that it compels teachers to be dishonest in evaluating one another. This suggests that if IQMS is to be successful, the pay progression component should be divorced from it (IQMS). The study recommends that there should be regular meeting for IQMS at school so as to bring every teacher on board about IQMS. The study further recommends that although it is good to learn from other countries, but the context should be taken into consideration if a new strategy has been copied from other countries because what is good for one country may not be good for another country. Finally, the study recommends that while counter opinions always exist when a new initiative is being implemented, steadfastness should be upheld and adherence to the policy will ensure the realisation of its (policy) intended aim.