In this paper I argue that the ability to make a difference by having the chance to make rapid changes and witness significant, fast and tangible improvements and immediate positive impact in a disadvantaged rural peasant community makes school leadership satisfying and enjoyable. This argument is based on my experience as school leader at Shindi Secondary School for eight years and also draws from the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) series titled, What’s good about leading schools in challenging circumstances?. While acknowledging the constraints leaders in disadvantaged schools face, NCSL captured stories of what make the work of school leaders in such schools so rewarding and their enthusiasm for working in what are traditionally seen as challenging schools. Embracing challenges as opportunities to make a difference and making a positive immediate impact brought satisfaction and joy to me, as a school leader. The successes I experienced ranged from improvements in pupil academic outcomes; infrastructural, physical and material developments; a motivated teaching workforce; and the establishment of a positive school/public relations image. The last challenge, the establishment of a positive school/public relations image with the community, fed into the improvements of all other areas and shall be the focus of my discussion here.
I began as head of Shindi Secondary School in January 1996. This school is located in a rural peasant community in Zimbabwe. It boasts an average student population of between 490 and 520 students per year, equitably balanced in terms of gender. Students’ ages range from 12 to 17. The school offers four years of secondary education and enrolls pupils who have completed 7 years of primary education. With a staff compliment of 15 teachers comprising 6 females and 9 males, this meets national policy staff/student ratio of between 33 to 40 students per teacher. The bulk of the staff is untrained, which has led to instability among the staff.
I started with a lot of enthusiasm when I first moved to lead Shindi Secondary School. The idea of being in charge appealed to my ego. I had been a classroom social studies teacher in a Catholic boarding Christian Secondary School which was, in many respects, well funded, resourced, and staffed, and where students had to adhere to a particular moral ethos. Upon arrival at Shindi, I came face to face with the harsh and challenging realities of public schools.
Through my experience I have found that some level of discomfort is acceptable and even desirable, while being too comfortable is not desirable if changes have to be made. A myriad of challenges I faced and dealt with at Shindi Secondary made my leadership experience at this school satisfying and enjoyable. The challenges ranged from inadequate infrastructure, inadequate learning and teaching resources, pupil and staff indiscipline and strained community/school relations. All these challenges, when put together, impacted negatively on pupil educational outcomes. Since I had no previous experience of leading a school and working in a challenging environment like this one, I was hesitant at first to confront the challenges. But on closer consideration, I saw that this was a place where I could make a difference and see positive changes unfold.
While all the challenges were equally significant, I draw here on my experience in dealing with the community relations as a source of satisfaction. There were key moments in my dealings with the School Development Committee (SDC) which are worth recounting. According to the NCSL, ‘……the capacity to have an immediate impact and secure rapid tangible progress within a wide canvas of change potential, energizes and excites school leaders… they are also motivated by the prospect of achieving a wide range of successes, both within and the school and its wider community development’ (p. 6).
The School Development Committee (SDC) at Shindi is a board of five members elected by the local parents and who represent the community at the school. SDC approves school development plans, finances, projects, and contract workers on school jobs. In short, the school leader presents proposals of what the school should do and the SDC approves or rejects the proposals. As such, the SDC is a crucial organ in the running of the school. The ability of the school leader to influence this committee positively goes a long way in his/her success story. I clearly remember that when I assumed my first appointment at Shindi secondary school, the SDC was in a stalemate with one contractor who was building a classroom block. The job had taken well over two years and the contractor wanted a review of the costs and an increase in the amount agreed to in the contract. The SDC would not accept the request for a review and the contractor would not accept to continue the job. Legally the committee could not engage another contractor without resolving the issue with the first contractor. In one of the first meetings I attended to resolve this case, I asked how much of an increase the contractor wanted, a question no one had asked before. Even the contractor had not mentioned hoe much increase he wanted. Everyone was amazed by the amount he requested; it was just insignificant, considering how much a new contractor would require. The job got done and the project was completed. While this appears to be a minor case, I found that my ability to resolve points of contention where key moments in my career as a school leader in that by resolving these points of contention, I influenced change and development positively.
My experience with the SDC at Shindi Secondary School illustrated the kind of delicate power relations which I, as a school leader, had to balance. While I had the professional and legal mandate to be the leader of the school, the SDC also had a stake in school issues which I had to recognize. Giving them their due recognition without compromising my professional mandate was a hard balance to maintain. This meant that I had to align the two power bases for the progress of the school, to establish a common sense of purpose, to involve them at every stage of planning so that they felt ownership of the project, and to listen to their dreams. These strategies were helpful in forging our success story at Shindi. Confrontation with this committee would have stalled progress and reduced my ability to make changes. This ability to develop a working relationship with the SDC is an area which I identify as an accomplishment and this alone was satisfying and pleasurable.
However, there are dark clouds hovering over this bright side of the episode, but since it does not constitute the focus theme of this conference, I will leave them for a future discussion.
Discuss presentationABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr Alfred Masinire is currently a PhD student in education at the University of Western Ontario, in Canada. His research interest is in school leadership and masculinity in education as it relates to school discipline and violence. He graduated with BA in Economic History in 1989 and a Master of Education in2001 at the University of Zimbabwe. He taught in high school in Zimbabwe and was school principal from 1996 to 2004 before joining the University of Zimbabwe as a Faculty Administrator in 2005.