The role of teachers and principals in system improvement

Dr Nic Spaullnicholasspaull@gmail.com

August 2015

Outline1. The case for early intervention

2. What can teachers and principals do to help?

3. New research on principals in SA

4. Politics, SADTU and the teaching profession

5. Concluding remarks

3No early co

gnitive

stimulation

Weak culture of T&L

Low curric

coverage

Low quality teachers

Low time-on-task

MATRIC

Pre-MATRIC

Matric pass rateNo. endorsementsSubject c

hoice

Throughput

Low accountability

50% dropout

HUGE learning deficits…

Quality?

What are the root causes of low and

unequal achievement?

Vested interests

Media sees only this

The case for early interventionMaths-Mathematics is a cumulative process where increasingly

more complex concepts build on earlier understandings -Weak foundations are a recipe for disaster

Language - Students need to master the skill of learning to read for

meaning in their HL and LOLT by the end of primary school.

- “All children must read fluently in their home language by the end of grade 3 (age 9)”

5

Maths: Insurmountable learning deficits

Spaull & Viljoen, 2015

Gr3 Gr4 Gr5 Gr6 Gr7 Gr8 Gr9 Gr10 Gr11 Gr12(NSES 2007/8/9) (SACMEQ

2007)Projections (TIMSS 2011) Projections

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Quintile 1Quintile 2Quintile 3Quintile 4Quintile 5Q1-4 TrajectoryQ5 Trajectory

Actual grade (and data source)

Effec

tive

grad

e

Figure 10b: South African mathematics learning trajectories by national socioeconomic quintiles using a variable standard deviation for a year of learning (0.28 in grade 3 to 0.2 in grade 8 with interpolated values for in-between grades (Based on NSES 2007/8/9 for grades 3/4/5, SACMEQ 2007 for grade 6 and TIMSS 2011 for grade 9, including 95% confidence interval

Language: Focus on reading in Grades 1-3

Learning to read in the Foundation Phase (Gr1-3) is arguably the most important skill to be acquired in primary schooling.

“Professional educators and the public at large have long known that reading is an enabling process that spans academic disciplines and translates into meaningful personal, social, and economic outcomes for individuals. Reading is the fulcrum of academics, the pivotal process that stabilizes and leverages children’s opportunities to success and become reflective, independent learners” (Good, Simmons & Smith, 1998: p45).

By Gr 3 all children should be able to read, Gr 4 children should be transitioning from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”

Language is the LOLT not home language

South Africa

Afrikaans

English

isiNdebele

isiXhosa

isiZulu

Sepedi

Sesotho

Setswana

siSwati

Tshivenda

Xitsonga

291210

3138

2957

3634

2453

47

71

88

90

69

62

71

43

64

66

76

47

53

Did not reach Low International benchmark

Red sections here show the proportion of children that are completely illiterate in Grade 4, i.e. they cannot read in any language

2013 NEEDU Rural Grade 5: Distribution of oral reading fluency scores (WCPM) for rural South African English Language Learners (ESL) relative to

Broward Country ESL learners (Florida, US) (Broward County, 2012). (Draper & Spaull, forthcoming) Broward County A2

Gr2 / B1 Gr1 Non-English Speaker or minimal knowledge of EnglishDemonstrates very little understandingCannot communicate meaning orallyUnable to participate in regular classroom instruction

Matric 2014 (relative to Gr 2 in 2004)

9

51%

12%

23%

14% Did not reach matric in 2014Reached matric & failedReached matric & passedReached matric and passed with bachelors

NumbersGrade 2 (2004) 1085570Grade 9 (2011) 1049904Grade 12 (2014) 532860Passed (2014) 403874Bachelors (2014) 150752

550,000 students drop out before matric 99% do not get a non-matric qualification (Gustafsson, 2011: p11)

What happens to them? 50% youth unemployment…

10

Education and inequality?

Type of educati

on

Quality of

education

Duration of

education

SA is one of the top

3 most unequal countries

in the world

Between 78% and 85% of

total inequality

is explained by wage inequality

Wages

• IQ• Motivation• Social networks• Discrimination

Atta

inm

ent

Qual

ityTy

pe

12

High SES background

High quality primary school

High quality

secondaryschool

Low socioeconomic

status background

Low quality primary school

Low quality secondary

school

Unequal society

15%Legislators

, managers, assoc professionals

Semi-Skilled (32%)

Clerks, service workers, shop personnel, skilled

agric/fishery workers, plant and machinery operators)

Unskilled(18%)

Elementary occupations & domestic workers

Unemployed

(Broad - 35%)

Labour Market

High productivity jobs and incomes (15%)

• Mainly professional, managerial & skilled jobs

• Requires graduates, good quality matric or good vocational skills

Low productivity jobs & incomes

• Often manual or low skill jobs• Limited or low quality

education

University/FET

• Type of institution (FET or University)

• Quality of institution

• Type of qualification (diploma, degree etc.)

• Field of study (Engineering, Arts etc.)

• Vocational training• Affirmative action(few make this transition)

Majority (80%)

Some motivated, lucky or talented students make the transition

Minority (20%)

- Big demand for good schools despite fees

- Some scholarships/bursaries

Statistics from Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) 2014 Q4

ECDNone or

low-quality

ECD

Teachers and principalsVery strong case to be made that we should be focusing the

majority of our energies on PRIMARY SCHOOLING and especially numeracy and literacy in the FP

If we get it wrong there then we have lost before we have started

We need to focus on both ACCOUNTABILITY and CAPACITY. Not one or the other – both (see Richard Elmore’s work).

(Solution) Find substance and reject form

14

- If we want to make headway with teacher development (which is in everyone’s interests) we need to be basing interventions on reliable evidence NOT on politics or fads or what looks good on paper

- Nothing is properly evaluated. Evaluation is always an after-thought in education. Imagine if we used the same logic in health “This treatment for cancer looks great on paper, let’s do it”, “This homeopathic remedy worked for my cousin’s daughter so let’s roll it out to the whole country”

- We currently don’t know what works when it comes to in-service teacher training programs. Maybe we know what works in those 5 schools with that one inspirational manager and those few academics in that one circuit, but no one knows what works at anything like scale (circuit+). No one. Not the academics (educationists or economists), not the NGOs, not DBE, not the unions, not GPLMS, not LITNUM, not Pearson, not NEEDU. No one.

(Solution) Commitment to substance not form

Evaluation is key – unless we are evaluating what we are doing we don’t know if it works. We are scattering bricks in a room as opposed to building a wall. We should only ever take things to scale IF they have been evaluated and shown to be effective in various settings and at various scales (ala Borko).

Identify master-teachers – To improve the quality of teachers currently in schools we need a small army of high-quality teacher-trainers (GPLMS?). - We have to find a way of identifying master-teachers and create the institutional

frameworks to give them time and incentives to develop programs that help teachers. - There are brilliant teachers in all different types of schools but we currently have no idea

who they are or where they are- Serves the dual purpose of giving prestige (and benefits) to excellent teachers AND they

are our best bet if getting out of the quagmire (not academics or NGOs or government)

What is NAPTOSA going to do tomorrow, next month, next year to put in place the systems to identify MASTER teachers in each subject and phase. Based on two factors ONLY – (1) competency and (2) willingness to help other teachers

15

What can unions do going forward?

Stage 1 - Develop well-specified professional development

programs which aim to improve

mathematics teacher content knowledge (CK) & pedagogical content knowledge

(PCK)

Stage 2 – Evaluate the best candidates from Stage 1 in a

small-scale setting (i.e. 50-150 teachers).

(If programs are successful proceed to

stage 3)

Stage 3 – Determine whether programs

that were successful at Stage 2 (i.e. small

scale) can be enacted with

integrity in different settings and by

different professional development

providers (i.e. 300-1000 teachers)

Stage 4 – If programs can have been

shown to be effective at raising teachers’

mathematics content knowledge at scale (i.e. Stage 3). Roll out to an entire

districts/provinces. Evaluate province-wide interventions.

16See Borko, H. (2004) Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.

Main contribution of unions.Identify master-teachers from

existing members, provide time and resources to develop teacher-

training programs

Part 2: Principals

This presentation has drawn extensively from research conducted by Gabrielle Wills (Stellenbosch University) on principals in South Africa.

See the upcoming special issue of the South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE)

Importance of principals• There is convincing evidence that school principals matter

considerably for student learning across both education & economics literature: o Leithwood et al (2004) – review of case studies of school

leadership in the U.S. and Europe: school principals are only 2nd to teachers in terms of their importance for student learning & school effectiveness in general.

“Indeed, there are virtually no documented instances of troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful

leader. Many other factors may contribute to such turnarounds, but leadership is the catalyst”

(Leithwood et al., 2004: 7)

National Development Plan

A) Improve the principal

appointment process

• Competency based-testing

• Increase min. qualifications to include having an ACE in school management and leadership

B) Managing their performance

• Performance contracts for school principals

• Replace underperforming principals with better ones

C) Greater powers over school

management• More autonomy for

principals in functional schools

• But hiring and firing remains at the principal level

See: NPC (2012), pp 309-310

The need to strengthen the policy framework governing principals has arguably gained traction through the NDP which proposes policy improvements in three areas:

1) The aging profile of school principals

Principal replacements: substantial & increasing

Age distribution of principals, 2004 & 2012

26-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60+0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2

10

19

26 26

13

4

03

14

23

27 25

8

2004 2012Age of principals

Perc

enta

ge

Source: Wills (forthcoming)

2004: Average age 48 yrs2012: Average age 51 yrs

2004: 17% aged 55+ yrs2012: 33% aged 55+ yrs

> 7000 principal

replacements (2012-2017)

No major differences in the age profile by phase level

Age profile of school principals in 2012 by the phase level of the school they lead

26-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60+0

5

10

15

20

25

30

350.

2 2.8

14.1

22.0 26

.3

26.5

8.1

0.3 3.

7

16.2

23.6 26

.8

23.1

6.4

0.1 2.

8

13.5

23.6

30.0

22.8

7.1

Primary/Intermediate Combined Secondary

Age of school principals

Perc

enta

ge

Replacements:primary schools

2.6 X Replacement secondary

schools

An aging profile of school principalsSchool principals in 2012 aged 55 years or older, by quintile

Source: Wills (forthcoming)

Quintile1 Quintile2 Quintile3 Quintile4 Quintile50

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

27.2 28.9

36.240.1

48.5

% of principals aged 55 years or older Number of principals aged 55 years or older

Perc

enta

ge o

f pri

ncip

als

Num

ber

of p

rinc

ipal

s

An aging profile of school principals

"The imminent retirement of the majority of principals brings both challenges and new opportunities for OECD education systems. While it means a major loss of experience, it also provides an unprecedented opportunity to recruit and develop a new generation of school leaders with the knowledge, skills and disposition best suited to meet the current and future needs of education systems“

(Pont, Nusche and Moorman, 2008: 29)

Policies need to be crafted to ensure that the right leaders are positioned in schools. - Although too slow, some of this opportunity still can be leveraged.

2) The unequal distribution of school principals

The unequal distribution of principalsPrincipal qualifications (REQV), 2012

All schools Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 50%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2114 19 24

3138

29

2728

3033

32

3438

3431

2928

16 21 18 14 8 3

REQV10-12

REQV 13

REQV 14

REQV 15

Source: Persal-EMIS matched dataset, own calculations. Notes: …Percentages add up to 100 per cent in each sub-group.

The unequal distribution of principals Unequal distribution of principals in terms qualifications and

experience across poorer and wealthier parts of the system. Mechanisms by which this happens 1) Initial sorting or 2) systematic

transfer across schools (Loeb, Kalogrides & Horng, 2010)

Unique to SA- Sorting of principals to schools in accordance with institutional

Apartheid policies. o Average principal has 25 years of service. Positioned into

schools as teacher during Apartheid.o Over 55% of principals in South Africa are promoted from

within the same school. But patterns of sorting have persisted…

Two sources underlying principal sorting

Inequity in principal

sorting across schools

1) Preferences of principals

2) Variations in the

recruitment and selection

process across schools

a larger pool of well-qualified candidates applying for posts

in wealthier schools?Wealthier schools impose

more stringent appointment criteria?

• Over 55% of principals are promoted from within schools

• Less than 3% of moves are across provincial moves

Incentives: Moves to wealthier schools?Quintile of receiving school

1 2 3 4 5 Total

Quintil

e of

sending

school

1221 107 82 24 4 438

50.5% 24.4% 18.7% 5.5% 0.9% 100%

271 99 61 12 12 255

27.8% 38.8% 23.9% 4.7% 4.7% 100%

349 56 100 22 5 232

21.1% 24.1% 43.1% 9.5% 2.2% 100%

47 16 26 34 22 105

6.7% 15.2% 24.8% 32.4% 21.0% 100%

57 8 14 8 56 93

7.5% 8.6% 15.1% 8.6% 60.2% 100%

  Total355 286 283 100 99 1 123

31.6% 25.5% 25.2% 8.9% 8.8% 100%Source: Persal-EMIS matched dataset. Notes: Transition matrix is calculated for school principals in 2008 (or 2010) who move to another principal post in different

school by 2010 (or 2012). For this group, 1 158 transitions should be observed but data is missing on quintile ranking for some schools. Frequencies are in the top of each

cell, and percentages are at the bottom. Quintile rankings refer to DBE rankings.

Summary1. Rising age profile of principals implies a substantial & increasing no. of principal

replacements in schools. - proportionally more retirements are taking place in wealthier schools, but higher

absolute demand for principal replacements in the poorest schools. 2. Principals are unequally distributed across schools with less qualified & less

experienced principals overly represented in poorer schools. - Initial matching of new principals to schools continues to persist in line with historical

patterns.3. The value principals bring to schools is not signalled through their observed

credentials as measured through traditional academic qualifications &years of service.

4. Despite rising levels of retirement related attrition, low levels of mobility & high levels of average tenure characterise this market. While the no. of within sector transfers is low transfer patterns tend to operate in the same direction as existing inequalities.

Policy recommendations

• Policies should be aimed at improving the initial match of principals to schools while developing incumbent principals over the length of their tenure.

Broad recommendation 1)

• Where qualifications and experience provide weak signals of quality, policies guiding the selection or principals and those that reward performance should extend beyond observed credentials to identify expertise and skills that may be better quality signals.

Broad recommendation 2)

Politics, SADTU and the teaching profession

Now widespread recognition that there is undue (illegal) influence in the appointment of principals and teachers (see NDP for example)

SADTU executives allegedly approached SACE and asked them to drop an investigation after names of top SADTU officials started cropping up - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/SACE-told-to-drop-jobs-for-cash-investigation-20150712 - “SACE CEO said it had finished its work and nothing was found”- What will happen with the Volmink report?

In 2012 NATU protested in Durban against SADTU provincial secretary Mbuyiseni Mathonsi’s alleged sale of director position in PED for R100,000- http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/How-Sadtu-sells-its-posts-20150429

Limpopo education department spokesperson Pitsi Maloba said that the provincial chairman of SADTU Ronald Moroatshehla forwarded a list of 6 names to the MEC demanding that they be appointed to senior positions in circuit and district offices - http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/How-Sadtu-sells-its-posts-20150429

Ex SADTU union leader Thobile Ntola has not been at his job for more than a year after being removed as president of SADTU last year, handing in sick notes yet still speaking at political rallies - http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-30-truant-union-leader-too-sick-to-teach

Politics, SADTU and the teaching profession

NEEDU report of 2013 quotes numerous interview subjects that explicitly accuse members of SADTU of interference:- “Heads of department and principals are promoted to positions in circuits, districts and

provinces without necessarily exhibiting superior subject knowledge, pedagogical skills or management capacity… A large part of the problem is the pressure to appoint officials to promotion posts using considerations other than merit”

- “Some subject advisers have only matric as their highest qualification…The process followed to appoint subject advisers following the advertisement was maneuvered and tampered with” – Departmental official

- “In a climate of union militancy…teachers and their curricular concerns are collateral victims in a battle for promotion posts between the union and government” – NEEDU report

- Across the country, in more than 50% of the provincial and district offices visited, NEEDU evaluators were privy to tales of inappropriate HR practices

Those in academia, in the Department and Umalusi have all stated categorically that matric markers should be required to write competency tests. Every year the Minister says this will happen and every year SADTU opposes it and it’s scrapped (except in WC). This is ridiculous.

What is NAPTOSA’s role?Very little genuine research on union meddling, but what

research there is (for example Patillo, NEEDU etc) is extremely damning

Complex dynamics RE wage negotiations, union solidarity and the need for legitimate evidence (not just news reports)

Surely the status quo is unsustainable? The real victims in all of this are the children in poor schools

where there are few competent principals and teachers and no accountability

“When the elephants fight, the ants are the ones who get hurt”

Concluding remarks1. Need to focus on everyone acquiring the basics

o Prioritization of primary school and FP FP children must learn how to read FP teachers need to know how to teach reading

(training/capacity) and this needs to be monitored and reported on (accountability)

2. Stronger push for principal & teacher selection on competence ALONE, not politics.

Identification & utilization of master teachers Development of teacher training/interning/observing/mentorship

programmes befitting a PROFESSION

Thanks you

EndPresentation available at www.nicspaull.com/presentations

C) Providing principals with greater power?

Providing principals with greater powers over school management

• No local evidence linking management powers to increased learning in schools.

• International evidence generally supports the decentralisation of decision making to the school-level in raising school outcomes (Hanushek & Woesmann 2007).

• However increased autonomy must be packaged with accountability measures

• “Local autonomy without strong accountability may be worse than doing nothing” -Hanushek & Woesmann, 2007:74

Rele

vanc

y

A) Improve the principal appointment process

Competency based-testing

• HIGH • Substantial & increasing no. of

principal replacements• Target the initial sorting of

principal into schools to address unequal distribution

• Traditional academic qualifications are poor signals of principal quality. Other competencies are likely to matter more

Increase min. qualifications to having an ACE in school

management &leadership• LOW TO MEDIUM• Will this reduce the available

pool of candidates?

Rele

vanc

y

B) Performance Management?

Performance contracts for school principals

• HIGH • With low levels of principal

mobility, it is necessary to improve the calibre of incumbent principals over the course of their tenure.

• Reward performance rather than qualifications.

• But careful thought to design and implementation!

Replace underperforming principals with better ones

Rele

vanc

y