Involvement of teachers in school management and students’ academic performance: a case study of Ngoma District, Rwanda

Abstract

Involvement of teachers in school management is an aspect of creating an environment in which teachers can be consulted on decisions and actions that affect their job. Many scholars are in agreement that individuals who participate in decision making are more satisfied with the decision they make collectively leading to high performance in their organizations. The study was therefore intended to establish how teachers are involved in management of public primary schools in Rwanda. The Specific objectives of the study were to investigate how teachers were involved in planning and management of schools to achieve academic performance, To identify some of the challenges encountered during involvement of teachers in management of schools and to suggest best practices on how teachers can be involved in school management as a way of achieving good academic performance in Ngoma district. The study was important to the researcher to assist him master knowledge on the existing literature on involvement of teachers in management of schools, to provide richness to underpin the inputs of teachers in school management as well as making a theoretical contribution to the body of knowledge related to management of schools .The study targeted all 45 public primary schools in the district, as well as the DEO,14 SEOs, 45 head teachers and 820 public primary school teachers in Ngoma district who were in charge of 73,512 students. Both quantitative and qualitative research designs were used. Random sampling was used to select teachers while census was applied for the rest of the respondents to ensure representativeness and authenticity of the data. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Descriptive data analysis, frequency distribution tables, inferential statistics involving percentages, correlations and frequencies were used in data analysis. A survey was carried out to check how teachers were involved in management of schools, the challenges encountered and best practices put in place to involve teachers in school management to acquire quality results. Questionnaires were administered to teachers, while interviews were conducted to the key informants such as the DEO, SEOs and the head teachers. Most teachers in the study felt that they should be involved in management in major areas in their schools. The study revealed that teachers were not fully involved in management in the core areas. Reasons why teachers were not willing to participate effectively in decision making included witch hunting, victimization, divisions among staff members, fear and double standards by head teachers. They mentioned ways that could enable them to fully participate in decision making which included: delegation of duties, team building, empowerment, motivation, collective setting of standards, avoiding witch-hunting, open administration and being involved throughout the decision making processes. As part of recommendations, school administration and management should be made a key component of training programs in teachers’ colleges in Rwanda. The curriculum should include courses such as decision making, financial management, supervision and personnel management among other areas.