Rural and urban primary school heads’ perspectives on staff appraisal systems in Zimbabwe: A phenomenological approach

The study sought to explore rural and urban primary school heads’ perspectives on staff appraisal systems in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe and utilised a qualitative approach based on a phenomenological design. Five rural primary school heads and five urban primary school heads with at least 14 years of experience were purposely selected. In-depth, face-to-face phenomenological interviews were conducted to collect the lived experiences of participants in relation to performance appraisal systems for teachers. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Three major themes emerged: (a) implementation of performance appraisals; (b) feedback and professional development; and (c) challenges with regard to the implementation of performance appraisals. The economic crisis in Zimbabwe has had a negative impact on school performance appraisal systems. Both school locations had implemented such systems, but were faced with limited resources, time constraints and teachers’ lack of interest in being promoted. In looking at the differences between rural and urban school head participants, the focus was on observation and feedback processes. This study has important implications for staff appraisal systems in Zimbabwe.

Administrative Staff Perception of Human Resource Management in Tertiary Institutions in South Eastern Nigeria

This study investigated the extent administrative staff perceived human resources management in tertiary institutions in South Eastern Nigeria. The focus was on the conduct staff training and development, staff appraisal and promotion. Two research questions guided the study. This study was carried out in South Eastern Nigeria. The study was a descriptive survey. All the government owned tertiary institutions in the area were studied. The population of this study comprised 2083 principal officers, unit heads and senior registry staff from colleges of education, polytechnic and universities in South Eastern Nigeria. A sample size of 336 principal officers, unit heads and senior registry staff colleges of education, polytechnic and universities was selected based on a normal confidence level of 0.05 to determine the sample size using Taro Yamane’s formula. Proportionate sampling technique was used. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used in data collection. The instrument was duly validated in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the instrument was obtained a pilot study conducted in South-South, Nigeria. Data got from the pilot study were analyzed using Cronbach alpha. The reliability coefficient was 0.81 Copies of the instrument were administered directly on the respondents by the researcher and with the help of 4 research assistants.

Managing Leadership Dilemmas

Some of the most complex and challenging problems that arise for educational leaders are actually “leadership dilemmas.” This type of dilemma, which must be owned by the leader, contains a strong tension between a desire to achieve the goals of the organization and simultaneously preserve positive relationships. Performance appraisal is one of the main contexts in which this dilemma arises for the leader. In most cases it is not recognized or is avoided because of its potential to create conflict and unpleasantness. Common avoidance approaches include polarizing the strands of the dilemma and attending to either an organizational demand or a relationship concern, and in such cases the problem is only partly solved and resurfaces at a later date. Because there is often a high level of anxiety experienced by both parties in staff appraisal situations, the avoidance of dilemmas is ubiquitous and poor performance is not confronted. Consequently, many significant issues that impact on student learning are not attended to effectively, and these problems persist and recur. When educational leaders are motivated to deal with these extremely difficult problems, they must engage in a learning loop that allows them to reflect on and change values that do not lead to long-term problem resolution. They must be willing to surface and confront the conflict inherent in a leadership dilemma. This involves understanding the nature of a leadership dilemma and being able to analyze the defensive theory of action that blocks learning when conflict is present. It involves knowing about and practicing an alternative theory of action that can guide efforts to be productive in addressing the problem. In order to manage leadership dilemmas, specific skills for double-loop learning, such as the Triple I approach, must be acquired and internalized so that productive conversations can occur.