Un modelo de competencia oral para la enseñanza-aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera basado en niveles de progreso

Although districts do not feature directly in the data and literature, this dimension of the model is worth examining because all the cases studied were selected from the two districts in Limpopo Province. In the South African education context, a district is a level of a system where the daily operations of the system and schools are planned. It is at this level where principals or SMTs and educators are mobilised through various circuit offices to achieve the vision of the provincial and national Departments of Education. In my view, the strategies formulated by the provincial Department of Education fail or

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succeed at this level. I view the local districts as key stakeholders that translate the strategies of the provincial Department into action by formulating specific, tangible and measurable goals. Therefore, the goals of the district need to have a primary focus on learner achievement and they must relate to the expectations or vision of the Limpopo Department of Education. The district-wide goals should focus on narrowing achievement gaps between high and low performing schools and learners in the district.

For schools to embrace and translate these goals into reality, the district must communicate them to schools in a clear and regular manner. Coupled with this communication should be district support to schools because effective school leadership depends on support from district officials. Except for the most extraordinary ones, principals are unlikely to proceed with a leadership style focused on learning if the district and the province are unsupportive, disinterested, or pushing other agendas.

Therefore, the district officials need to re-culture themselves so they focus in a balanced fashion on administration as well as supporting principals and SMTs to improve instruction. Once the district leaders have formulated their own goals, they need to build a coalition of leaders who are willing to pursue the goals in practice.

Having district leadership teams with people who are committed to high engagement with others in the district and schools, advocating a two-way communication that deepens shared ownership of and commitment to the goals will ensure smooth implementation at school level. At school level, the SMT should formulate its own strategic plans to ensure the accomplishment of the goals communicated to it. To successfully implement these goals, it is recommended that schools build capacity among teachers to be responsible and responsive to the learning needs and concerns of learners. This means fostering strong relationships among the teaching staff and supporting their in-depth intellectual work, and this will create a teaching profession that ensures that all teachers have the knowledge and commitment they need to teach diverse learners in their schools.

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If district-wide goals are communicated effectively, the goals will give direction to the efforts of staff, parents and learners resulting in improved learner achievement at all levels, including the provincial level. The widely owned district goals will also motivate staff, parents and learners, and they will serve as a yardstick for measuring progress. The successful school management teams are those that are able to effectively articulate the district-wide goals and are able to state the outcomes which are the building blocks of such goals. This can only be possible in an environment where the school, circuits and districts all work together to make improvement possible and sustainable.

However, the creation of the culture where collaboration exists between the districts, circuits and schools to enhance the attainment of goals demands the presence of effective district teams led by effective district managers who, although recognising the power and role of advocacy groups and political affiliations, are able to resist some pressure from these interest groups in order to maintain a focus on school improvement within the district. To resist such pressures and maintain focus on improving schools requires that the leadership work of the district managers be driven by deep moral purpose. In this way, the district manager can be committed to holding the circuits and schools accountable for their standards of performance without fear of political interference.

Therefore, the important aspect of the district manager’s moral purpose should be to assume a role of leadership that is responsible for the success of all learners. This means that district leadership is about having the courage to primarily focus on learner achievement that is related to the goals and expectations of the provincial Department of education. The moral purpose articulated by the district managers needs to be one of equity and equal educational opportunity for all learners regardless of ability, race, ethnicity, class or gender. This means they need to be clearly aware of the differences of opportunities provided in the schools and are compelled to address the achievement gaps among learners.

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Another aspect of the district manager’s moral purpose should be to ensure that all learners are adequately prepared in the classrooms for post-school life. The key point here is that the district managers should recognise the importance of all learners assuming increasing amounts of responsibility for their own learning so they may eventually become independent learners at tertiary institutions. This needs a fair distribution of resources that builds schools and classroom capacity, including the employment of well-qualified teachers and leaders and the provision of adequate materials in decent conditions for the teaching and learning of all learners. The process of allocating teachers to vacant posts needs to be reviewed to allow placement of quality teachers to schools, teachers who will be fully responsible for the learning needs of all learners. In addition, the district managers should find a way to overcome prevailing bias in the process of filling management posts, especially those of school principals. School principals must be appointed on merit. The crisis of timely delivery of teaching and learning support materials needs to be addressed in Limpopo Province in order to achieve this aspect of the district managers’ moral purpose.

Generally, I suggest that the current district managers in Limpopo Province transform their leadership approaches to involve two important functions. Firstly, the work of current district managers needs to involve initiating and sustaining requests for ongoing input from circuits and schools for policy decisions. This collaborative decision making is important to ensure the formulation of effective policy implementation strategies which should be embedded in a district-wide vision directed to meeting the expectations of the provincial department. The district manager should also be able to recognise the inadequacy of translation and interpretation of previous policies and involve the expertise of school managers; teachers and circuit officials to formulate strategies to translate and interpret policies into action.

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Secondly, the work of district managers should involve being interested in dealing with value conflicts, difficult issues, and underlying tensions within the district. When personal values of school managers, teachers, and circuit staff downplay the value system described for the success of the district value conflicts occur causing tensions within schools. It is the responsibility of the district manager to take interest in engaging legitimate stakeholders in dialogue and deliberation about difficult issues in the district such as disciplinary cases of teachers in schools. This dialogue is only possible in an environment which fosters development of significant professional and working relationships between the district managers, circuit managers, school principals, and teachers’ unions.