Perspectives in school level planning and implementation for school improvement in Ghanaian Junior High Schools
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Perspectives in school level planning and implementation for school improvement in Ghanaian Junior High Schools
This study aims to explore diverse perspectives on school level planning and implementation for school improvement and their associated challenges in Ghanaian Junior High Schools (JHSs). The study being conducted in a single Ghanaian district employed a qualitative case study design within an interpretive paradigm. The study’s population consists of headteachers, teachers, School Management Committee (SMC) Chairpersons, school improvement support officers (SISOs), and a planning officer. From this population, a sample of 19 was selected employing the maximum variation variant of the purposive sampling technique. The sample includes 5 headteachers, 5 teachers, 5 SISOs, 1 planning officer, and 3 SMC chairpersons. Semistructured interview guides were used for data gathering, and the data were subjected to thematic analysis. The study found that schools did not follow standardized planning and implementation procedures coupled with limited autonomy in planning, which affects the quality of plans developed by schools and the success rate of implementation. Furthermore, stakeholder commitment to planning and implementation emerged as a key challenge to the planning and implementation of school improvement programmes. Parents and SMC members had little time for the school and exhibited a feeble understanding of educational policies, which affected their level of participation in the school’s affairs. The study therefore recommends that Ghanaian Junior High Schools need to formalize their planning and implementation practices and learn to adopt best practices in implementation. Finally, the government needs to reduce its influence in the schools’ planning and implementation functions to make the schools more effective.
The ultimate goal of educational leadership is to make schools more functional in the sense of repositioning schools to improve their performance. Every objective pursued in this study is connected to this goal. It has been established in this study that schools in the accessed districts have become less effective because school improvement planning and implementation were feeble. The needed collaboration to spice up the planning process has not been encouraging because the commitment level of some of the stakeholders was very low. Meanwhile, stakeholder mobilization and the need for their collaboration in schools are cherished ideals in contemporary educational leadership practices. This means educational leaders at the district and school levels have a responsibility to innovate to make schools more attractive to stakeholders. For them to achieve this, they need some level of autonomy in their professional practice as educational leaders. On the contrary, this study found headteacher autonomy in schools to be problematic. Leaders need some level of autonomy to make decisions and to innovate and bring improvement. The findings of this study on headteacher autonomy implied that educational leadership in basic schools in Ghana needs serious reforms tilted towards training and empowerment for headteachers. Training is crucial here because headteachers’ leadership practices with regard to planning were not up to the expected standards.