The subject of professional leadership development, training and empowerment for curriculum change was a theme that appeared repeatedly throughout the interviews and in the suggestions section it was consistently portrayed as a pertinent issue. Du Plessis (2013) emphasises the importance of schools receiving adequate training before implementing a new curriculum and states that training is a prerequisite for its success. In addition, he argued that managing change is a complex task and one needs to have a complete understanding of it before being able to have control over the process. Bush, Kiggundu and Moorosi (2011) supports this view in stating that prospective principals need to be prepared before they are appointed as well as get professional development after their appointment. With regard to the effective implementation of curriculum changes, principals felt that teacher training and development was crucial to providing support and preparing teachers to effectively implement curriculum changes. Further, as mentioned throughout this chapter, overwhelming demands are being placed on school principals. A question that arises is whether principals get the professional leadership development required to meet all their needs when it comes to facilitating curriculum changes. Principals claim that the newness of their roles and responsibilities is challenging and necessitate them acquiring a new knowledge and skills
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base. In response to the following question: When you took on the role as principal, did you have the opportunity to go on any principal transition workshops?
P4 quite angrily claimed that there was no principal workshop and commented as follows: Yes, I was a part of the management team prior to becoming the principal at the school but I did not realise all the intricacies involved in managing the curriculum, let alone curriculum changes. No one really tells you what to expect.
P2 of school B had a similar response:
I don’t think that there are enough workshops out there for principals on how to manage curriculum changes and how to deal with the issues we encounter on a daily basis.
In summary, it is clear that principals do not have the comprehensive knowledge or the skills to meet the demands of facilitating curriculum changes. It is my contention that principal preparation in facilitating curriculum changes effectively is fundamental to the development in not only the skills and knowledge of curriculum leadership, but the perceptions of principals that such a role is significant in the provision of quality education.
The study revealed that principals generally received once off training sessions on curriculum changes and as such they do not have the required skills and knowledge to successfully facilitate the curriculum change. Furthermore, gauging from the principal’s responses it appeared that they were mostly involved in the curriculum at the delivery point and did not lead the process of curriculum change right down to the implementation stage. On a similar point, MacLaughlin (2002:187) states that the training of principals and teachers in a new curriculum is deemed to be ineffective if it is concentrated and scheduled to take place prior to implementation only as in the form of once-off training. The training should be preceded by an awareness campaign on the curriculum change which allows principals and educators to discuss salient points of the intended curriculum change.
This finding also confirms that of Offor (2005) who found principals lacking in a range of curriculum pedagogy skills and teaching skills. This could be attributed to the principals’ lack of knowledge and creativity in instructional leadership processes as observed by Bhengu (2005). It was brought to light through the interviews that principals need to develop their curriculum and instructional leadership competencies. Furthermore, with the challenges and
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complexity that comes with managing curriculum changes, principals expressed their need for a deeper understanding of their role as curriculum change managers. They deemed it necessary to increase their curriculum knowledge and skills to manage their multidimensional roles and responsibilities as leaders of curriculum change. The study revealed that principals have to be able to provide adequate resources to their teachers for curriculum implementation and must be able to communicate the changes effectively. These responsibilities are highly demanding on the principal and as suggested, proper and continuous training and a reduced administrative workload are of paramount importance. This sentiment is supported by HOD 1 from School A who stated that principals need to have good people skills to keep staff focused and motivated; they also need to have knowledge and keep updating themselves on new trends in education.
P1 proposed that, with regard to the curriculum change programme, teacher training and development is crucial in supporting and preparing teachers to adapt their practice in order to successfully implement curriculum changes. P1 suggested that they should have access to different forms of support including workshops, in-service training, refresher courses and seminars:
Absolutely, ISASA and the IEB do provide workshops but they are not always specific to curriculum changes. Staff development and training are really important so that teachers get the support they need in their particular subject and also so that they are prepared, updated, and guided when it comes to curriculum changes. Further, training and development could help teachers adapt their practice to meet the changed requirements. Teachers should have free access to a variety of workshops, in-service training, refresher courses and seminars.
Principals further proposed that training and development should take place on an on-going basis and should be structured on the curriculum challenges teachers experience in the classrooms. The responses noted regarding this category indicated that the participants understood the importance of the principal having certain skills in order for them to effectively manage the curriculum. Participants in the study further felt that the principal should be skilled in curriculum management and that they should be the ones facilitating internal staff development workshops.
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In elaborating this,T2 at School A commented:
As much as we teachers love to attend external workshops, this is not always possible. Most of the workshops are scheduled for half past two, this is the time my teaching day ends. By this time we are exhausted and the thought of driving 30km just doesn’t help. My personal feeling is that the principal and the deputy principals should be the ones going on these workshops and they then should share what they have learnt with the rest of the staff. Their times are much more flexible.
HOD 1 from School D shared a similar feeling when she asserted the following:
I can’t remember when last I have been to a workshop. I just do not have the time. After school I am busy with marking, planning, moderating tests, attending Grade meetings and meeting parents. There is just no time to attend workshops. My suggestion is that the principal should be the one attending some of these workshops and they should be the ones presenting internal workshops at the school. This would be just great, wouldn’t it?
With curriculum changes taking place on an on-going basis, teachers need time to adjust to new teaching methods, planning and assessment. P3 felt strongly regarding this point of view stating the following:
Well, I mentioned earlier on, we need on-going training. Implementing curriculum changes is not a once-off process. It requires monitoring, it requires time to adjust to new ways of planning and assessing and we need support and the resources to go with. But, I also think that it is important for the new curriculum to not be too rigid. Teacher’s creativity should not be stifled. I also feel that curriculum changes are happening rather fast and it is confusing us in such a way that we do not know whether to use one method or resort to the old method of teaching that the other teachers are used to.
Similarly, P4 commented on the various challenges experienced when curriculum changes are introduced and stressed on the importance of teachers receiving the necessary support. This is what P4 had to say:
I think that the main challenge has been a lack of on-going curriculum training, the lack of financial resources remains a challenge and poor communication continues to be a stumbling block. I think this has already been covered but are definitely common
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challenges. We are expected to ensure that new innovations are implemented in our schools, but the Department of Education do not provide us with support. It makes our task that more difficult as we are not guided on curriculum expectations.
The inferences that are drawn from the above responses is that if principals are to be successful in fulfilling their role as instructional leaders in facilitating curriculum changes, then workshops and courses must be redesigned and restructured to provide them with the relevant theoretical knowledge that are currently lacking in the general principal instructional leadership population. Principal preparation in facilitating curriculum changes effectively is fundamental to the development in not only the skills and knowledge of curriculum leadership, but the perceptions of principals that such a role is significant in the provision of quality education.
The findings from the responses of the participants in this study further reveal that principals should also take the initiative to conduct internal staff development workshops. The principals’ in this study also indicated that the level and quality of professional leadership development they receive from the department is important and should create opportunities for them to be empowered and capacitated to carry out some of the internal teacher development workshops by themselves. A conclusion that can be drawn from this finding is that improving the professional capacity of principals will empower them build the capacity of their teaching staff.
Participants in this study expressed the need for curriculum change training, implementation workshops, and practical assistance and it can be inferred from the responses that they were not adequately trained to fulfil their roles and responsibilities when it came to curriculum change management. In this regard, P3 made a very interesting and valid statement:
For me, personally, I need support on how I can manage my time first before I can help with the facilitation and monitoring of curriculum changes. Once I am able to manage my time, I would like to get more involved with the actual teaching and learning practices. The entire SMT requires training for the effective implementation of change.
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While P4 of School D commented:
The Department needs to take more time planning workshops and not after school when teachers are exhausted, you’re falling asleep, you are not listening to anyone. Not even in holiday time because that is the only time teachers get to have a rest.
All four principals asserted that the lack of training of principals hampered their role as instructional leaders. This was highlighted by the interviewees in the following extracts:
Principals need to have training on how to effectively manage curriculum changes… I lead from my experience. I have not had any training or attended any workshops on school leadership in the past three years of my principal position (P3).
In order for us to successfully manage curriculum changes at our schools, I believe that it is absolutely essential for us to attend courses and workshop (P1).
Findings from the data obtained indicate that the poor training of principals hinder successful facilitation of curriculum changes and lessen their commitment to providing quality education at their schools. The findings also indicate that principals felt that they are not supported by the DoE in their efforts to ensure that they receive the necessary training in managing curriculum changes. In order to manage curriculum changes effectively, it is imperative that the principal promote staff development programmes in schools. Thus, I am convinced that although the education and training policy places importance on the need for professional leadership development it is the most neglected activity in schools. They further indicated that they are not considered for separate training sessions by the DoE when changes are introduced in the curriculum; instead, the focus is mainly on the teachers yet they feel that they are the ones responsible and accountable for the successful implementation of changes in the curriculum. This finding led to the discussion of the lack of departmental support which is a significant category in this theme.