Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the conceptualisation, practices and
experiences of Education managers and practitioners regarding service
delivery in the Botswana basic education sector. The study used a qualitative
multiple case study, which employed social constructivism to investigate the
quality-of-service delivery in the basic education sector in Botswana.
Thematic analysis was used to analyse data generated through semi-structured
interviews, document reviews and questionnaires. The findings of the study
show that all 23 participants did not efficiently and effectively deliver services
to customers. It was revealed that this was due to a top-down approach,
inadequate resources, insufficient support during training and non-compliance
to the implementation of service delivery policy reforms. The contribution of
this study comes from the use of Public Service Dominant Theory (PSDT) and
Expectancy theory in the basic education sector. This theoretical framework
shifts the paradigm towards new ways of looking at things.The findings of the
study call for policymakers and policy implementers to be equipped with skills
and competencies, so that they would be able to understand their expectations
and/or the different roles they play in policy implementation and compliance.
The study found that there was a gap between policy and practice and this gap
can be closed by policymakers fully interacting with policy implementers in
the formulation of policy reforms aimed at improving service delivery. More
research is required to identify efficient and effective ways of implementing
and complying with service delivery policy reforms.
