Contribution of school management committees in quality improvement of primary education: the case of Shinyanga district in Tanzania
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Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Dodoma
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which School
management committees (SMCs) influence quality improvement of the overall
school performance of primary schools in Shinyanga district. The study employed a
qualitative approach using comparative case studies. A total of 75 respondents from
three schools were purposely selected and involved in the study. The instruments
used were semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary
review. The conceptual framework used was adopted from Stafflebeam, the CIPP
model. Two theories; the General Systems Theory (GST) and the Total Quality
Management (TQM) theory were also used together with the model.
The study found that to a large extent SMCs are aware of their roles, despite the fact
that 33% of the members did not get any training. It was found that the organs are
not aware of the planning responsibility. It was found that the committees manage
most of basic activities responsive in quality improvement. However; SMCs‟
performance was found to differ from one school to another, depending on the head
teacher‟s leadership skills, resources the school possess and community
participation. The study found that despite the good job done by the committees; the
schools still almost solely depend on the government for funds to sustain the needs
of their schools. The study concludes that, SMCs influence quality improvement but
not satisfactorily. Nevertheless, the organs play a fundamental role in school
management in general and quality improvement in particular. The study
recommends that there should be interventions, in training of SMCs and monitoring
their functioning so that they can fully understand and play their roles in improving
quality.
Description
Dissertation (MA Education)
Keywords
School management committees, Primary schools, Shinyanga district, School performance, School leadership committees, School administrative committees, Quality improvement, School leadership, School Management Committees
Citation
Shemahonge, K. (2012). Contribution of school management committees in quality improvement of primary education: the case of Shinyanga district in Tanzania. Dodoma: The University of Dodoma