The school cluster system as an innovation: Perceptions of Zimbabwean teachers and school heads

School clusters, that is, the grouping of schools within the same geographical location, for economic, pedagogic, administrative and political purposes (Bray, 1987), have arisen as one possible solution to developing countries' battles to achieve both quantitative and qualitative advances in th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Africa education review 2007-06, Vol.4 (1), p.42-57
Main Author: Chikoko, Vitallis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
capacity building
innovation
non-resilience
perceptions
school cluster
threats
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:School clusters, that is, the grouping of schools within the same geographical location, for economic, pedagogic, administrative and political purposes (Bray, 1987), have arisen as one possible solution to developing countries' battles to achieve both quantitative and qualitative advances in their education systems within the framework of financial austerity. However, there remain questions regarding how those tasked to implement this innovation perceive it. Through a multi-site case study of five schools using a questionnaire and interviews with teachers and school heads, findings suggest that both macro and micro problems prevented the cluster from achieving its capacity building goals. Key threats included the nature of the cluster model adopted, the centralisation tendency of the education system, the dual ownership of schools, resistance to change and the under-utilisation of resources.
ISSN:1814-6627
1753-5921
DOI:10.1080/18146620701412142