The relationship between funding in education and quality education

Abstract

My entire career in lecturing and research in the field of financial management in education, have led to me becoming more and more intrigued by questions related to the amounts of money being spent on education and the performance of learners in the Senior Certificate Examination in public secondary schools in South Africa. The South African education system has changed dramatically since 1994 and is aimed at restoring the injustices of the past by providing equitable quality education. Despite many reforms our system is not rendering acceptable results as is evident from our participation in international and national tests (TIMSS, PIRLS, SACMEQ and ANA)2. Internationally UNESCO is driving the Educational for All campaign in an attempt to address issues related to quality education. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the funding of education and the quality of education in selected diverse top performing secondary schools in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The results of the sample schools in the National Senior Certificate examination was used as indicator of the quality of education provided. Towards this end, I have done multiple case study research in six schools selected using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Semistructured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. I found that there is a definite link between funding and the quality of education provided. This manifests itself in allowing schools to reduce class size by appointing additional teaching staff, access to technology and staff development. However, all the schools in the sample indicated that the crucial factor determining their success was their teachers! In addition to the role of the teachers, I found that structures created for and the manner in which academic performance was managed and parental involvement also played determining roles. Contrary to what was expected, the use of technology as teaching aid, although convenient, was not playing a decisive role. The research led to a much better and deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between funding and the quality of education, but additional investigation is required in order to highlight this matter even further to allow for the informed improvement of efforts to raise the quality of education in South Africa and the world.