TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY ORIENTATION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
- INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE OF THIS STUDY……………………………………. 01Poor discipline and corporal punishment……………………………………………………. 03Poor salaries and benefits…………………………………………………………………………. 04Persistent overcrowding and lack of resources…………………………………………….. 06Corruption………………………………………………………………………………………………. 06Learners and gangsters assaulting teachers…………………………………………………… 07Sexual abuse of learners by teachers………………………………………………………….. 07Severe inroads made by HIV/Aids on numerical strength of teaching staff and learners populations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 08Teachers’ own shortcomings (eg lack of professionalism)……………………………… 09Researcher’s personal observation………………………………………………………………. 12Lack of parental involvement……………………………………………………………………. 12High pupil-teacher ratio…………………………………………………………………………….. 12Poverty and high illiteracy………………………………………………………………………… 13
- DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………….. 18
- School governing body……………………………………………………………………………. 19
- RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD……………………………………………………. 21
- Method 22
- Interviews………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24
- Focus-group interviews…………………………………………………………………………….. 25
- Phenomenological interviews…………………………………………………………………… 25
- Unstructured (in -depth) interviews……………………………………………………………. 26
- Interviews………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24
- Method 22
- CHAPTER DIVISION…………………………………………………………………………….. 28
- DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………….. 18
CHAPTER 2: INTENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW
- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
- POOR DISCIPLINE AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT……………………………………… 32
- Poor discipline…………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
- POOR SALARIES AND BENEFITS…………………………………………………………………. 35
- Poor benefits………………………………………………………………………………………… 37
- PERSISTENT OVERCROWDING IN CLASSROOMS AND LACK OF RESOURCES 42
- Persistent overcrowding of classrooms……………………………………………………… 42
- LEARNERS AND GANGSTERS ASSAULTING TEACHERS…………………………….. 46
- Members of public/gangsters assaulting teachers……………………………………….. 47
- POOR DISCIPLINE AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT……………………………………… 32
………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….50
- Lack of professionalism……………………………………………………………………………. 51
- RESEARCHER’S PERSONAL MOTIVE…………………………………………………. 51
- Lack of parental involvement………………………………………………………………….. 52
- High pupil-teacher ratio………………………………………………………………………….. 53
- RESEARCHER’S PERSONAL MOTIVE…………………………………………………. 51
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS……………………………………….. 55
- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
- AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH STUDY………………………………………………………………… 55
- RESEARCH METHODS………………………………………………………………………………….. 59
- Ethical measures……………………………………………………………………………………………… 59
- Influence exerted by sponsor…………………………………………………………………. 62
- Measures to ensure trustworthiness………………………………………………………… 64
- Truth valued ensured by the strategy of credibility……………………………………… 64
- Data collection……………………………………………………………………………………… 66
- The researcher as an instrument………………………………………………………………… 69
- Ethical measures……………………………………………………………………………………………… 59
- Focus-group interviews……………………………………………………………………………. 70
- Phenomenological interviews………………………………………………………………….. 72
- Unstructured (in-depth) interviews…………………………………………………………….73
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH
RESULTS…………………………………………………………………………………. 79
- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
- RESULTS ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
- Phenomenological interviews……………………………………………………………………. 87
- Phenomenological interviews on persistent overcrowding in classroom………….. 91
- Phenomenological interviews on researcher’s personal motives…………………….. 93
- Lack of parental involvement…………………………………………………………………. 93
- High pupil-teacher ratio………………………………………………………………………….. 94
- Poverty and high illiteracy………………………………………………………………………. 95
- Unstructured (in-depth) interviews…………………………………………………………… 96
- In-depth interviews on corruption,……………………………………………………………… 96
- In-depth interviews on sexual abuse of learners by teachers…………………………… 98
- In-depth interviews on learners assaulting teachers…………………………………….. 99
- In-depth interviews on community members/gangsters assaulting teachers…… 102
- In-depth interviews on severe inroads made by HIV/Aids on numerical strength of teaching staff and learners populations……………………………………………………………………… 103
- In-depth interviews on teachers’ own shortcomings eg. (lack of professionalism)… 105
- Phenomenological interviews……………………………………………………………………. 87
- FIED NOTES………………………………………………………………………………………. 116
- APPOINTMENTS………………………………………………………………………………… 106
- INTERVIEWS…………………………………………………………………………………….. 107
- TRANSCRIPTIONS……………………………………………………………………………… 107
- RESULTS ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS…. 108
- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………… 108
- RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………………………. 108
- Dealing with poor discipline and corporal punishment……………………………………….. 109
- Paying teachers attractive salaries and improving their benefits………………. 113
- Improving teachers’ benefits………………………………………………………………… 114
- Addressing persistent overcrowding in classroom and lack of resources….. 115
- Addressing persistent overcrowding in classroom……………………………………… 115
- Tackling researcher’s personal observation (lack of parental involvement, high teacher pupil ratio, poverty and high illiteracy)…………………………………………………………………… 117
- Poverty and high illiteracy………………………………………………………………………. 118
- Tackling severe inroads made by HIV/Aids on numerical strength of teaching staff and learners’ population…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 123
- CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………… 128
- RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………………………. 108
- APPENDICES AND TABLES…………………………………………………………………. 141
- Appendix A: Observational schedule…………………………………………………………………… 141
- Appendix B: Biographical questionnaires and focus-group interviews…………………….. 142
- Appendix C: Biographical questionnaires and phenomenological interviews….. 144
- Appendix D: Biographical questionnaires and unstructured interviews……………………. 147
SELECTED SCHOOL–RELATED FACTORS INFLUENCING THE MIGRATION OF TEACHERS FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSION: AN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY ORIENTATION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
- INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE FOR THIS STUDY
The rate at which teachers abandon the teaching profession is shocking, and it is accelerating all the time. Schools in South Africa are characterised by a severely inhibited and inhibiting culture that offers their teachers little or no professional satisfaction (SADTU 2003: 3), with the natural result that teachers begin to look further afield for better opportunities. The problem has now reached epidemic proportions in that a mass migration is in progress from the teaching profession to industry and other sectors. The government and other stakeholders urgently need to address this wholesale migratory movement. The researcher believes implicitly that school management has a responsibility to be positive, optimistic and loyal to the cause of education by doing their utmost to address this problem.
Teachers’ widespread demonstrations, picketing and strikes have been the order of the day in South Africa. Haffajee and Bisseker (2002: 31) reports teachers’ picket and stay away in protest against poor working conditions and low salaries. Furthermore, these teachers’ protests and picketing are mostly held against their fringe benefits such as housing allowances and medical aid.
The government and the teachers’ unions are ever at loggerheads over various issues relating to education, with the result that many competent and experienced teachers feel constrained to abandon the teaching profession and join other public and private sectors (Haffajee and Bisseker. 2002: 31).
Instead of attracting energetic, bright young minds, various problems in the teaching profession seem to be a stumbling block which repels them. Poor salaries are a major reason why the Department of Education has failed to attract bright young minds and to keep competent and experienced teachers in the teaching profession. Mona (2004: 3) reports that the National Education Statistics survey found that teachers are leaving the profession in thousands (7 % yearly), and they leave due to reasons such as poor student discipline and poor salaries.
The above-mentioned defection has left many schools derelict because they have lost their most important asset, the hard-working and motivated teachers. As noted by SADTU (2003: 3), this is not a new problem. Many good teachers left the profession before 1994, so the reasons why teachers abandon the teaching profession should be investigated. The present study is an attempt at such an investigation.
The onus is on school management to deal effectively with the factors or reasons why teachers abandon the teaching profession. According to Zulu et al. (2004: 174) school management must manage and motivate all concerned pupils, teaching staff, associates et cetera. It entails making sure that the school as a whole is functioning effectively and achieving its vision. The South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) requires that the professional management of a public school be undertaken by the principal under the authority of the Head of the Department of Education, namely the Superintendent General of the Provincial Department of Education, (see Van Niekerk et al. 2003: 72 and Calitz [ed.] 2002: 77). The authority of school management to make decisions in this regard should be urgently extended to the professional school management team (SMT) formed by the principal as head in assembly with the school governing bodies (SGB).
The quest for quality and relevant education in post-apartheid South Africa has led to substantial changes in education policies, but among other things these changes created conditions that were not conducive to attracting and retaining the services of people of professional integrity and competence. The conditions referred to include the following:
- Poor learner discipline and corporal punishment
- Poor salaries and benefits
- Persistent overcrowding and lack of resources
- Corruption
- Learners and gangsters assaulting teachers
- Sexual abuse of learners by teachers
- Severe inroads made by HIV/Aids on numerical strength of teaching staff and learner populations
- Teachers own shortcomings (eg. lack of professionalism)
- Researcher’s personal observation