Curriculum Implementation: A Mammoth Task for Instructional Leadership

Abstract

South African secondary education is marred by crises of varying dimensions and magnitude, which combined; suggest that the system is at a crossroads. Poor examination results are always related to failure and they tarnish the image of the school. However, satisfactory results are related to success, and they reward the instructional leader and his or her team by giving them a good reputation. Although the overall Grade 12 results in South Africa reflect an improvement in performance, the Eastern Cape (EC) and Limpopo (Limp), as usual, are at the bottom of the provincial list. Learners fail dismally in Mathematics and Physical Science and this has a profound effect on the training of the country’s future professionals such as medical doctors and engineers. It is against this backdrop that the study explored the factors that contribute to the low pass rate of Grade 12 learners, in the two above-mentioned provinces, from 2010 to 2013. A qualitative approach was adopted in the study and interviews were conducted to collect data. The findings that emerged from the study were the unsafe environment and lack of job security. On the basis of the findings, recommendations were formulated to equip instructional leaders with strategies for the effective implementation of the curriculum.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n6p203