Development of Educational Management: United Republic of ...

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Development of Educational Management: United Republic of Tanzania

GENERAL INFORMATION ❖

Implementing Institution: Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM)

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Head: Mr. S.S. Masunzu (Chief Executive)

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Details of Institution: Address: Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM), P.O. Box 71, Bagamoyo, Tanzania Tel.: (+255) 23 244 0022 E-mail: : [email protected] Web site: www.adem.ac.tz, www.emeoffice.com

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Implementation Period: The Leadership in Education for African Development (LEAD-link) project was initiated in 2002 and is ongoing.

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Costs: To date, US$86,500 have been received from various donors, the most important of which are the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (US$50,000), Plan Netherlands (US$31,500) and the South Africa-based Shuttleworth Foundation (US$3,000).

SUMMARY Leadership in Education for African Development (LEAD-link) is a regional network of ten organizations from six sub-Saharan countries (Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia) working in the field of the development of educational management. The network was established in 2003 at a meeting in the United Republic of Tanzania. Each of the member organizations plays an important role in the training of department heads, head teachers and principals in their respective countries. LEAD-link contributes to the development of primary, secondary and teacher education through improved educational management and leadership based on indigenous knowledge systems. Before the creation of LEAD-link, there was an obvious lack of knowledge-sharing, information flow and cooperation between leading educational management institutions in the eastern and southern Africa region. The aim of LEAD-link is to provide a means for like-minded institutions in the region to connect with one another in efforts to address these challenges. In order to realize this aim, the main

activities of LEAD-link are to: • exchange staff in order to share experiences and lessons learned; • organize regional conferences and workshops for the dissemination of information and knowledge-sharing; • undertake joint research and consultancy activities; and • develop and promote educational management and leadership based on indigenous knowledge systems. To achieve these goals, each member of LEAD-link has appointed a Local Network Coordinator, who stimulates communication and knowledge exchange between staff members of the organizations. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used as the main facility for efficient, effective communication and information-sharing. In particular, the network uses EM E-Office (www.emeoffice.com), a dedicated knowledge portal and communication platform.

BAC KG RO U N D A N D J U S T I F I C AT I O N Prior to the LEAD-link initiative, each of the member organizations was working more or less in isolation with regard to


other African countries. Several members, however, had strong relations with similar organizations outside the region, including, for example, the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM); the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), France; the International Network of Principals’ Centers (INPC), United States; Interstudie, the Netherlands; the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), United Kingdom; and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Canada. In each case, the focus was on the North providing support for the South rather than countries in the South assisting one another. Although there were institutionalized contacts within the sub-Saharan Africa region dedicated to education, none focused exclusively on educational management at either the school or the district level. The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), for example, focuses on teacher management, while the Southern African Development Community (SADC) focuses on education policy planning and management for senior officials of ministries of education.

DESCRIPTION The idea of a sub-Saharan Africa network of organizations working in the field of the development of educational management was conceived by the United Republic of Tanzania-based Agency for

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the Development of Educational Management (ADEM). Previously, ADEM had had a positive experience of linking with three Netherlands universities of professional education (the EMLink Project, 2000-2004, funded by the Netherlands Board of Higher Education). Through this EMLink Project, ADEM refocused its efforts from being an organization that provided direct training to one that develops training materials; trains trainers working in teacher colleges, including those trainers who will train head teachers; and provides the support and quality control of educational management training in some 40 colleges all over the United Republic of Tanzania. ADEM also became more independent of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) and is now an executive agency working in a more business-like environment. Through the EMLink Project, ADEM was also able to establish a knowledge portal and communication platform, namely, EM E-Office. The web site provides overviews of links to most of the major sites on educational management development ordered by theme and the type of organization (see www. emeoffice.com > EM Knowledge > EM Sites and EM Themes). The site, which also provides reviews of relevant books and journals, was created as a dedicated entrance to the Internet for the trainers of ADEM. Having developed this Internet portal, ADEM realized that the next step in its development required collaboration

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with organizations that worked in the same cultural context and under the same difficult circumstances. Therefore, in 2001, ADEM decided to pursue the option of developing regional cooperation and the LEAD-link project was established. Between April 2002 and June 2003, ADEM staff identified and visited several educational management institutions in eastern, central and southern Africa to share with these institutions the idea of the creation of a network of cooperation. These organizations were then invited to attend a regional workshop in November 2003 in Bagamoyo, United Republic of Tanzania, with the aim of creating a regional network. At a second regional conference, held in June 2004 in Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania, the network was formally established and members signed a memorandum of understanding. Thanks to the support of Plan Netherlands (www.plannederland.nl), the network was able to commence its activities and to organize training on web site development for the staff of its member organizations, emphasizing the fact that Internet communication facilities would be crucial for the efficient functioning of the network.

PRINCIPLES

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The network organization is based on the following principles: • the network aims to foster school leadership and management in the spirit of the ideas of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD);

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• the network focuses not only on educational managers as head teachers and heads of schools but also on education development issues relating to the professional development of district staff involved in the management of education through local government authorities; • the network should be lean, efficient and effective, and require few financial and human resources in order to avoid unnecessary burdens on the participating institutions; • the network is built on mutual trust among the network partners in assisting one another in their development; • network partners should share responsibilities for the network programme, a factor that requires maximum transparency regarding all LEAD-link issues; • as of June 2006, the network will be open to all institutions in the eastern and southern Africa region that are working in the field of, or can be linked to, the development of educational leadership and management. It will collaborate with other network organizations in Africa and elsewhere to create opportunities for information- and knowledge-sharing at regional and international levels; • bilateral and multilateral working relations exist within the network, depending on the activities in which a network organization is involved or wants to be involved;


• network organizations pay their own costs for the activities in which they are involved although the network will seek funding for both the support of the network and bilateral and multilateral activities implemented through it; and • LEAD-link works on the principle “at the lowest cost”, meaning that network organizations and their representatives make use of existing facilities offered by the partners (e.g., accommodation, catering, and Internet access), travel by the least expensive means (taking into consideration appropriate safety precautions), and provide per diem allowances based on actual expenditure.

Table

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MEMBERS The following table shows the organizations that constitute LEAD-link, while a more complete description of each individual organization follows. The Malawi Institute of Education is an institution mandated by the Government to design, develop, monitor and evaluate the national education curriculum, including teacher education and programmes for continuing professional development of teachers and other educational personnel. Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional de Ensino and Universidade Pedagogica both play important roles in the development of the country’s education sector through teacher training programmes

Member organizations of LEAD-link and their host nations.

INSTITUTION

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Malawi Institute of Education

Malawi

Instituto Nacional de Ensino

Mozambique

Universidade Pedagogica

Mozambique

Management of Schools Training Programme (MSTP)

South Africa

Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG)

South Africa

Transforming Institutional Practices (TIP)

South Africa

Western Cape Education Department Educational Management and Development Centre (EMDC): Metropole South

South Africa

Kyambogo University Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM) Ministry of Education, Human Resource Department

Uganda United Republic of Tanzania Zambia

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and capacity-building for education managers at all levels. The LEAD-link members from South Africa differ in scope and focus. The Management of Schools Training Programme (MSTP) and Transforming Institutional Practices (TIP) are independent providers of training and consultancy/research that have a distinct role in educational management. The Educational Management and Development Centre (EMDC) of the Western Cape Education Department is part of a provincial department, Metropole South. It supports rather than governs schools and acts mainly as a broker between providers and schools. The role of the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG) is to take the lead in the development of educational management and to structure and control provisions in the province of Gauteng. In the United Republic of Tanzania, ADEM is in an ongoing transition from a full government institute to an autonomous government executive agency. It is involved in the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) through the preparation and implementation of new training programmes for primary school head teachers, school committees, ward education coordinators and heads of secondary schools. The organization offers certificate courses and a two-year diploma course leading to the awarding of a Diploma in Educational Management and Administration (DEMA).

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Based on the work of the Education Policy Review Commission that began in 1987, the Government of Uganda published a White Paper on Education in 1992. An important element of that paper was the introduction of the Teacher Development Management System (TDMS) for training primary school head teachers. The Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo, now Kyambogo University, was asked to spearhead the training programme. Kyambogo University is responsible for the professional development of all levels of teaching staff. Educational management training is part of the curriculum of the university at certificate, diploma, bachelor, post-graduate and master’s degree levels. The Zambian Ministry of Education developed and implemented a training programme for head teachers, deputy heads and senior teachers under the Basic Education Sub-sector Investment Programme (BESSIP). The programme was named the Human Resource Development Programme (HRDP) for Basic School Managers.

O R G A N I Z AT I O N The core of the network is a virtual hub, which is currently located as an Internet community on the EM E-Office web site (www.emeoffice.com). The hub is used as an interactive filing system that members use to access knowledge from other partners and elsewhere. EM E-Office itself, for example, is a portal to knowledge on


the Internet on all aspects of the development of educational management. Beyond the Internet portal, LEADlink will also facilitate communication between the partners by: • holding meetings of the heads of the member organizations twice each year to evaluate how the network is functioning and to discuss future initiatives; • selecting and appointing a Network Person from the staff of the member organizations to foster communication within the network and to be responsible for the management of the virtual hub; • recruiting and appointing an ICT Coordinator to further develop EM E-Office and make it suitable for the goals of LEAD-link; • appointing, within each member organization, a Local Network Coordinator who will be responsible for making the knowledge of that particular organization available to all partners through the EM E-Office community. The Local Network Coordinator will also stimulate communication among the colleagues in her/his organization as well as with colleagues throughout the network; • providing additional training to Local Network Coordinators twice a year to allow them to exploit the possibilities of the communication platform to its maximum; and • producing a newsletter twice a year that will be sent to all interested persons and organizations.

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NETWORKING Together, the member organization of the LEAD-link initiative aim to foster the development of educational management in sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening the cooperation of the members of the network through exchange, training, consultancy and curriculum development for the training of head teachers or by undertaking research in African educational leadership. Network members feel strongly the need to support one another in their capacity development, carrying out joint development activities in a more efficient, effective way and, perhaps, moving away from the current orientation towards concepts used in the developed world to concepts of educational leadership that are relevant to the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. It is intended that the activities of the network will result in: • knowledge about African educational leadership and the specific context of and problems for this leadership; • staff members of the participating organizations having better knowledge, skills and attitudes with respect to their training, research and consultancy activities; • jointly developed curricula and training resources; • staff members and head teachers having professional contacts with colleagues in other sub-Saharan Africa countries;

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• African research and development being presented to international forums; and • a knowledge portal and communication platform for sharing knowledge on and training resources for the development of educational management. Although each organization plays a leading role regarding the support of education managers, the members of the network are in different stages of development. Young organizations, however, can learn a great deal from those organizations that have more experience, and one of the strengths of the network is that those organizations are eager and willing to share their experiences and support other members. Examples of assistance provided to other network members include: • Malawi and Mozambique: organization of training on a regular basis; • South Africa: design of a professional development ladder, quality control of existing training delivered by other organizations, integration of management support and educational support; • Uganda: increasing the effectiveness of the training; • United Republic of Tanzania: decentralization of training, staff becoming trainers of trainers and developers of training materials; and

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• Zambia: establishment of a dedicated organization offering more than basic leadership training.

INTERNET HUB The virtual hub of LEAD-link, located on the EM E-Office web site, was created using Easy-Site/Communit-E. With this intelligent software, users can quickly build professional-looking sites that include additional functions such as newsletters, questionnaires, document archiving, forums, web logs and statistics. Not only is it simple to change the framework of the site, but new modules can also be “clicked” easily into the framework. Using a series of passwords, different persons or groups can be allowed access to different parts of the site. More information about the many modules can be found at www.easy-site.nl (in Dutch). The materials and information available at EM E-Office are meant not only for members but also to support teacher training colleges and other institutions that have a role in the training and support of education managers. It is hoped that the site will create a shortcut compared to traditional models of cascade training that often require a great deal of time for relevant information to reach end-users such as head teachers and principals. This year, the functionality of the LEAD-link site will be extended with e-learning modules.


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PA R T N E R S H I P S

LESSONS LEARNED

Currently, the LEAD-link network consists of 10 organizations (see table) although it is intended that other interested institutions from throughout the eastern and southern Africa region will be invited to join the scheme in the near future.

The major investment required by the network is needed during the implementation period when staff members become familiar with one another and with the technical facilities of the Internet portal. After that, individuals must understand that the use of the facilities of EM E-Office should become a regular element in their daily routine, using it to consult one another on day-today problems experienced in their work.

REPLICABILITY It would be highly relevant to consider the same kind of multinational cooperation and Internet-based support for countries that share a common background of underdevelopment and a common language, such as those in francophone West Africa or Spanish- and Portuguesespeaking Latin America. In such instances, networks modelled on LEADlink could yield similarly positive results.

P O L I C Y I M P L I C AT I O N S The availability of training materials and e-learning facilities on such web sites as EM E-Office will have major consequences for the design of training and support strategies at national levels. The main consequence will be enhanced speed of planning and implementing new programmes as the traditional ways of working are replaced by the use of the new technology.

The training provided to Local Network Coordinators must keep pace with both developments within their respective organizations and the potential provided by the technical environment. To achieve this, each member organization’s nominated Local Network Coordinator is provided with support via the communication facilities of EM E-Office. In addition, Local Network Coordinators will meet twice annually to discuss problems and learn from one another.

I M PA C T LEAD-link is still a relatively young organization; therefore, it is difficult, at this stage, to measure the impact of activities. However, it is envisaged that the number of people who can be trained and supported and the quality of the training and the support in the long term will be increased and the production process for new training and support products will be accelerated. A major indicator of success

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will be the satisfaction of the education managers at both school and district levels with the relevance of the information available and the adequacy of the training and support received.

FUTURE PLANS The LEAD-link network has instigated an ambitious series of activities for the coming years. These activities, relating to the core functions of the partner institutions, involve training, consultancy, research and development. In addition, in November 2004, the heads of the member institutions resolved to focus also on activities relating to the following themes: • educational leadership in Africa; • leadership in schools in complex, challenging situations; • schools and HIV/AIDS; • gender issues and women’s leadership; • school governing boards; • governance and community; • leadership and instruction; • case studies on good principalship; • professional development for trainers and consultants; • exchange programmes on observing each other’s practices, using action learning; • representation of LEAD-link at major events; and

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• organization of a conference to present results of the activities of the network to colleagues worldwide. Among the activities planned for 2005 are: • A publication on leadership role models in Africa In the training of school leaders, there are very few publications in Africa and elsewhere that seek to make positive role models of African leaders and highlight their specific leadership strategies. This initiative seeks to compile a short, reader-friendly publication that captures key lessons on education and management from African leaders that can be used as a resource in training school leaders. • Research and publishing on instructional leadership in African schools This project will investigate and document the multiple roles of school leaders in various subSaharan African contexts, focusing particularly on the impact of health and social issues on education. Using a comparative approach, it will document case studies of exceptional leaders in challenging contexts and highlight which leadership attributes are necessary for school leaders in these contexts. In addition to developing an understanding of educational leadership in challenging contexts, the project will also explore the role of the leader in developing the core purpose of the school, i.e., teaching and learning.


• Analysis of the influence of school leadership on teachers’ work attitudes, behaviour and motivation Although many school managers receive some form of management training, it is obvious that there are many schools that perform poorly. It is assumed that this is caused by the differences in leadership styles. Although theoretical debates and empirical studies on the role of school leadership in school effectiveness have been undertaken in several countries such as the United Kingdom, elsewhere in western Europe and the United States, very little has been done in Africa. ADEM, in collaboration with colleagues from Malawi and Uganda, intends to contribute to and clarify the impact of leadership on the effectiveness of schools in the African context. • Analysis of issues surrounding women’s leadership in education in Malawi and Zambia The importance of education for women and girls is well documented. Research has shown that female teachers and women leaders in education act as role models, inspiring girls to continue their schooling. Increasing the number of women leaders in schools and colleges is likely to assist in the promotion and improvement of the participation and continuation of girls in school. In addition, more women leaders in education would create a situation where society at large would dispel the stereotyped cultural beliefs and

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attitudes that women cannot be leaders. Furthermore, women leaders in education would build confidence in other women to accept the challenges of leadership roles in society. In most of the countries participating in LEAD-link, very few women have leadership positions in development sectors such as agriculture, education and health. In Malawi, for example, women in the education sector hold fewer than 25 per cent of the decision-making or leadership positions. In Zambia, efforts have been made to stimulate the participation of women in leadership roles in education but the results are still minimal. It is against this background that research into the factors preventing women from taking up leadership in education will be carried out, with the aim of developing a range of practical measures that can be implemented to help to improve the situation. • Training leadership trainers A number of LEAD-link partners are involved in developing and running training programmes for school leaders and governing board members. Trainers in these training programmes require opportunities to reflect on and improve their practices and to learn from the practices of others. Opportunities to share training materials and curricula as well as to observe others in practice hold the potential for the exchange of ideas and best practices between institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

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• Exchange, research and learning programme for principals on the H-Project in South Africa, with school leaders elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa Currently, 36 principals are enrolled in a leadership course at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, known as the High Impact Project or H-Project. All these principals are linked with historically disadvantaged schools, which present real challenges to leadership. As part of their personal and professional development, they are required to embark on an action research project to develop aspects of their own leadership. These principals need exposure to other contexts in which they can build cooperative relationships with leaders and schools in other sub-Saharan countries. This project provides an opportunity for an exchange of ideas and learning between countries and schools and seeks to add to the research and reflection that they are currently undertaking as part of their academic development. • E-learning LEAD-link, through its web portal, intends to include e-learning facilities. Such facilities will be aimed at meeting the needs of both the trainer and the trainee in participating institutions.

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P U B L I C AT I O N S The text of the memorandum of understanding that was signed prior to the establishment of LEAD-link is available in the sub-community of the EM E-Office portal dedicated to LEAD-link. Case Study Prepared by: John C. Mandia (network person) Address: ADEM, P.O. Box 71, Bagamoyo, Tanzania Tel.: (+255) 23 244 0022 E-mail: [email protected] Project Participants: Each of the following people played a critical role in the development of the project: Albert J. Lutalo-Bosa, Kyambogo University, Uganda: Preparation of memorandum of understanding. Albertina Moreno, Instituto Nacional de Ensino, Mozambique: Design of organizational structure. Zandile Kunene, MGSLG, South Africa: Design of organizational structure. Evelyn Lemani, Malawi Institute of Education, Malawi: Design and preparation of activities. Alipio Matangue, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique: Design and preparation of activities.


Trevor van Louw, Western Cape Education Department EMDC, South Africa: Design and preparation of activities. Brenda Sonn, TIP, South Africa: Design and preparation of activities. Miranda Malele, MSTP, South Africa: Costing of the activities and budgeting. Steven S. Masunzu, ADEM, United Republic of Tanzania: Preparation of schedules of activities. D.S. Bowasi, Ministry of Education, Human Resource Department, Zambia: Preparation of schedules of activities. Current Local Network Coordinators are: Billy Kanjala, Malawi Institute of Education, Malawi. Alipio Matangue, Universidade Pedagogica, Mozambique. Albertina Moreno, Instituto Nacional de Ensino, Mozambique. Lucretia Shivuri, MSTP, South Africa. Grace Nurden, MGSLG, South Africa. Joseph Moses, Western Cape Education Department EMDC, South Africa. Cheryl Ontong, TIP, South Africa. Hilary Mukwenda, Kyambogo University, Uganda.

Lazarus Mpondo, ADEM, United Republic of Tanzania. Kaoma L. Bwalya, Ministry of Education, Human Resource Department, Zambia.

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