Principals and educators' perceptions of the implementation of the quality management system in Gauteng

Abstract

Studies indicate that educator performance management systems and continuous educator development and support in the provision of quality teaching and learning in all classrooms are of importance, however lacking. Consequently, nations worldwide are investing heavily in educational systems to establish strong quality management frameworks that will ensure excellent educator performance and provide high-quality education for all students. South Africa is no exception as the government recently revised the Integrated Quality Management System to (IQMS) to the Quality Management System (QMS). This study uses a qualitative research approach inspired by the interpretive paradigm to identify the perceptions that principals and educators have on the implementation of the new Quality Management System (QMS) in the South African education system. Six secondary schools in the Gauteng East district of the Gauteng province were used as research sites, each school resembling a case in this multiple case study. A purposive sampling was used to select eighteen participants, which included six principals, six departmental heads and six educators, with an equal representation of fee-paying and no- fee- paying schools. Data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, in order to extract a detailed account from the participants, with document analysis used to triangulate the findings. The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) was used as a theoretical lens indicating how quality education can be managed in schools. The data was analysed thematically, and gave rise to five themes. The findings show that there are differences in how educators interpret the QMS document, which inevitably influence how it is implemented. Furthermore, although the QMS is re-branded after the IQMS, some participants are of the opinion that the QMS will not yield the expected results due to its close association with the IQMS. A number of factors that threatened the possible prosperity of the QMS were uncovered. This study suggests that educators should be central in policy formulation processes and be sufficiently capacitated regarding all performance management systems.