Secondary school departmental heads’ experiences of instructional supervision in a South African District.

Abstract

he study explored departmental heads’ experiences of instructional supervision in secondary schools at uMzinyathi District in South Africa. The qualitative approach and case study design infused within an interpretivist paradigm were adopted in the execution of this study. The study was underpinned by McGregor’s (1960) theory of instructional supervision. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with six departmental heads sampled from two selected secondary schools located of uMzinyathi District to generate data that answers the study’s research questions. Data were analysed using the inductive thematic approach. The findings of the study reveal that departmental heads do not fully understand their duties as instructional supervisors. Although they carry out some instructional supervisory duties, departmental heads do not execute instructional supervision in the way it should. Departmental heads are experiencing either internal or external challenges which include the lack of instructional resources, lack of training on instructional supervision, teacher resistance and negative attitudes towards instructional supervision as well as unbearable workloads. Training sessions are short and theoretical, adopting the one-size-fits-all approach. Management tasks such as planning, organising, leading and controlling are some of the strategies that were adopted by departmental heads in addressing the challenges. In addition, delegation of tasks, communication, collaboration and networking were other strategies used by departmental heads in addressing the challenges. The study unveiled the need for the provision of more training on instructional supervision and that should cater for departmental heads from different schools. Training sessions on instructional supervision should be longer and more practical. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education should provide sufficient instructional resources to all schools. The Department of Education should hold induction for all teachers, principals of schools and departmental heads on the significance of instructional supervision. Departmental heads’ workloads should also be minimised. More research should be conducted on the departmental heads’ experiences of instructional supervision in South Africa.