New year, same challenges in the education sector, Part 1

It is the beginning of a new school year. However, education systems around the world are faced with the same set of challenges that have been dogging them for many years. While, some systems have been making much progress in coping with the challenges that beset them, other systems have been stymied by them.

In this post, I will examine the overarching pervasive challenge with which education systems the world over have been grappling for much of their existence. That is, improving the performance of the education system, a system made up of a number of parts which need to be functioning well to yield the performance that government craves.

Therefore, in a number of subsequent posts I will examine the performance of the Minister of Education, performance of workers in the Ministry of Education, performance of principals, performance of teachers and the performance of the administrative staff.

Improving the performance of the education system

One challenge, and probably the most significant one that all systems have had to grapple, is that of improving the performance of the education system. This primarily means improving the performance of students.

This is a challenge that is thrown out to schools from time to time by Ministers under whose portfolios education rests. This challenge, in many cases, represents the policy position of governments as regards their expectation of the education system.

School administrators react in different ways to this challenge.

Administrators allow constraints to dictate action

Some of them interpret this challenge as one that is intended to put pressure on them and their staff. They point to the quality of the students that they enroll in their schools every year - students who are performing below their grade level, students with multiple disabilities and/or disadvantages, among any other challenges that these students face, and wonder how they are expected to work miracles with their limited resources.

Moreover, these school administrators point to the inability/unwillingness of parents to assist their children with homework or to provide them with the resources that they need to do well in school, thus putting extra pressure on teachers. Furthermore,  they point to the severe levels of resource deficiency in their schools, noting that the government is giving them 'baskets to carry water'.

As a result of these deficiencies, among a longer list of deficiencies in their schools that these administrators manage to cite, they conclude that the government is talking 'foolishness'. So, they go about their business as usual,  doing their best to control the behaviour of their students until they graduate,  while taking pride in the achievements of the few students who, in spite of everything with which they have had to contend at home, at school and in the wider society, have done well.

Some of these students have 'passed' examinations to enter prestigious secondary schools. Some of them have 'passed' exams to enter other secondary schools. Some of them have 'passed' some subjects in the school leaving examinations. And, some students who entered their doors without being able to read are now able to do so. Therefore,  they believe that their schools are performing. They are happy.

Administrators jump over constraints

Other administrators are stirred into action. The government wants improved performances. They will get improved performances. So, they begin to innovate.

Some of these administrators examine the statistics that have been compiled on the performance of their schools. If their schools have been deemed to be performing satisfactorily or better, they continue to do what they have been doing all along, while devising and implementing plans to improve their performance.

If their schools have been deemed to be performing unsatisfactorily, some of these administrators allow their creative juices to flow freely. Their schools have been deemed as being 'low' performing schools based primarily on the performance of their students in external examinations.

How do they improve this situation? Some of them embark on a process of screening. 'From now on,' they tell their staff, 'we'll only allow students who can pass these examinations to sit these examinations.' It does not matter to them that those students who can 'pass' the examinations are only a small number of the cohort.

The fact that some students will be negatively impacted by this decision comes up for discussion in staff meetings but is eventually dismissed. So, they 'send up' to do the examinations only those students who have the potential to 'pass' these examinations. The results are eventually published. Their schools get a significant pass rate. They are now ranked among the top performing schools. They are happy.

Some administrators examine the statistics that have been compiled on the performance of their schools and they, too, are stirred into action. They agree that the performance of their schools need improvement and they believe that it is possible to make this improvement in spite of the challenges that their institutions face. So they too innovate - in a different way.

They manage to communicate their vision of improving the performance of their schools to the entire school community - Boards, community members,  parents, administrative and ancillary staff, students, teachers - in a way that they can understand, and in a way that stir their spirit of cooperation,  instead of their spirit of animosity.

They create a well thought out template for this change. Built into this template are systems of accountability for each stakeholder in the system. Monitoring of the performance of all stakeholders in this system is routine. Improvements to the system take place as a result of this monitoring.

Most important, though, is the leadership from these administrators who lead by example. As a result of their initiative, these administrators, over time, have been seeing a gradual increase in the levels of performance of all stakeholders in the system. Most stakeholders are happy.

The Reality

You can see that the reaction by school administrators to the call by education policy makers to improve the performance of the education system differ.

• Some administrators are adamant that they are doing the best that they can with the resources that they get and their best is good enough - in their eyes. They do not take seriously anything the policymakers say, because they are living a reality that does not gel with that of education policymakers.

• Some administrators go about business as usual if their schools have 'passed' at inspection. 'If it is not broken, why fix it?' they ask. 

• Some administrators 'game' the system to give the policymakers the results that they demand. Having got the 'good' results that were demanded, these administrator bask in their manufactured reality which is divorced from that of the school.

• Some administrators accept the challenge of policymakers, dig deep in their resourcefulness toolkit and find solutions to improving the performance of students in their schools.

The answer to improving the performance of education systems lies in the response of the administrators who find ways to be effective and efficient, in spite of all the negatives in their schools which they could have allowed to derail their efforts, but didn't. The question now remains: what action will the powers that are in charge of the education systems take to elevate the performance of those administrators who lack the will or the creativity to manage the number 1 aim of schools?


Please read my other posts about challenges in the education system  at the following links:
Part 2 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here