THE MEANING OF MANAGEMENT IN MANAGING CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT

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CHAPTER TWO A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CURRICULUM CHANGE

INTRODUCTION

Chapter one contained the introduction and background of the study, the research aims and a brief account of the research methodology and design. Chapter two provides the conceptual framework for the study as generic interpretations and analyses on the research topic are presented. Onwuegbuzie, Leech and Collins (2012:1) remark that a literature study allows the researcher to distinguish which studies have been done by other researchers on a subject in question. In a conceptual framework literature study, the researcher identifies factors that are relevant to the research undertaken, identifies possible links between theory and practice, finds good research, avoids unnecessary duplications, identifies the main research methods and designs in other studies, identifies inconsistencies and contradictions, advantages and disadvantages of approaches by other researchers (Onwnegbuzie, Leech & Collins 2012:1).
The study relies on general management theory from which the study derived its conceptual framework, a part of which also serves as the lens or theoretical framework for understanding the phenomenon. Thereby researcher was familiarised with the development of knowledge in the area of research. The researcher was kept abreast with the gaps which prevailed in the knowledge and the identified weaknesses in the previous conducted studies. The conceptual framework review provided the researcher with an opportunity for discovering connections between research results, as some scholars postulate (Mutombo & Mwenda 2010:1; Dellinger 2005: 41-54; Galvan 2009:46; Green, Johnson & Adams 2006:101-114; Hart 2008:67; Christopher 2012:85). The literature review in this chapter assisted the researcher to identify variables that needed to be considered in the research and those which were perceived as irrelevant to the study. The researcher was able to comprehend the definitions and concepts to be used (Mutombo & Mwenda 2010:1). The role of a literature review is to describe theoretical and conceptual perspectives and previous research findings regarding the problem at hand (Dellinger 2005: 41-54; Galvan 2009:56; Green, Johnson & Adams 2006:101-114; Hart 2008:77 Christopher 2012:75).
The decision to reflect on other writers’ notions and viewpoints helps the researcher to assess what Briggs and Coleman (2007:98-99) refer to as the “credibility, applicability, reliability and trustworthiness” of the research findings. Three fundamental research concepts have been used in this study. These research concepts comprise: ‘management,’ ‘change’ and ‘curriculum.’ The researcher discussed these basic research concepts in detail to allow the reader to have a clearer understanding of how the concepts become relevant in managing curriculum change (see paragraphs 2.2, 2.3, 2.4). The other emerging functional concepts that will comprise the focus of this study are also discussed in this chapter.
The above stated three fundamental research concepts are closely integrated in the described management functions model for managing curriculum change (see Fig. 2.1). There are several core management functions that all school managers need to perform proficiently in their schools to manage curriculum change effectively. These core management functions include: planning, organising, leadership and controlling. These concepts not only form a part of the conceptual framework of the study, but also provide a theoretical lens or framework for understanding the phenomenon discussed. Controlling encompasses and pertains to supervising, monitoring and evaluation. The management functions model is aligned to these core management concepts to elicit the processes of change (see Fig. 2.1).
Harris (2007:1) claims that there are a number of external and internal forces that exert the management pressure faced by most school managers in various educational circumstances with regard to the management of curriculum change. This also applies to the management of curriculum change in the Zambian basic schools. The Zambian education fraternity has faced a considerable number of unprecedented challenges that have affected the total management of the national curriculum: The Zambia Teacher Education Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2008b:25). The school managers in the country have had considerable difficulties with managing curriculum change. The basic school managers in Mongu Township are no exception in this respect. Education policies in Zambia have undergone marked reformation or restructuring aimed at realigning the new curriculum to the global educational concerns. Furthermore, Zambia is a signatory to certain external or international education policies such as the Education For All (EAF) policy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Ministry of Education 2008b:25). As discussed earlier on in chapter one (see paragraph 1.2), the changes in the education policy in Zambia from independence to date have resulted in the changes of the national curriculum on which the current foundation of the basic school curriculum was formulated. The conceptual analysis undertaken in this chapter will provide the required perspective needed from which the local curriculum changes may be studied and analysed.
The following paragraphs 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 focus on the discussions of the fundamental research concepts, namely ‘management,’ ‘change’ and ‘curriculum.’ Thereby essential conceptual background is provided to place the empirical study referred to above in context.

THE MEANING OF MANAGEMENT IN MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE

The reader requires a thorough and clear understanding of the concept of ‘management’, which explicitly appears in the research title in order to perceive how it fits into the study. The meaning of management discussed here promotes a better understanding of how the new curriculum was managed in the basic schools in Mongu Township. Two research terms that are often confused by researchers are the verbs ‘to manage’ and ‘to administer.’ The accessed Computer Thesaurus English Dictionary (2013) defines to ‘manage’ as “to direct, supervise, organise, deal with, control and survive. » It also defines the concept to ‘administer’ as “to process, mete out, oversee, govern, order, run, deal out, dispense, give out and hand out.”
According to Blandford (1997:58), management simply refers to “directing, supervising, organising, dealing with, controlling, making work done and surviving.” On the other hand, ‘administration’ implies “processing, meting out, overseeing, govern, ordering, running, dealing out, dispensing, giving out, and handing out.” For the purpose of this study, the researcher defines management with regard to managing curriculum change as “… a systematic process of effectively planning, organising, leading and controlling the set practices, values, ethics, ideals and objectives for the learning institution. » The idea behind linking these definitions to the management of curriculum change is to assess how effectively curriculum change is managed in Mongu Township basic schools. The researcher had a keen interest to examine how the basic school managers managed their daily practice with regard to the implementation of curriculum change and in achieving school management affairs of directing, supervising, organising, dealing with, controlling, making work done, surviving, processing, meting out, overseeing, governing, ordering, running, dealing out, dispensing, giving out, and handing out. This exposition also correlates to the definition provided in Chapter 1 paragraph 1.6.
The Ministry of Education (2008b:25) states that management is all about rational activities concerned with finding the most effective and efficient possible avenues of deploying resources to achieve the purposes of the organisation. To this end the basic school managers have the obligation to execute rational activities in the basic schools to find the most effective and efficient way of deploying resources to achieve the purposes of the school as a social organisation. In addition, Mullins (2005:165) explains that management is precisely the implementation of both the national and school policy guidelines and the efficient and effective maintenance of the school’s current activities.
Furthermore, Mullins (2005:165) points out that management relates to work or activity that includes the duties of the “organisational managers as determined by the terms and conditions of their employment contract.” The terms and conditions of the school managers’ employment contract are often referred to as ‘specific job descriptions’ as discussed below in paragraphs 2.5.1.4 and 2.5.1.5 in which the specific job descriptions of school management teams are elucidated.
Mullins (2005:165) feels that the purpose of management in all activities is to enable the creation and support of conditions for quality teaching and learning to occur. Mullins (2005:165) also indicates that important functions of the school management include planning, organising, leading, and controlling (see discussions in paragraphs, 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 2.5.3, 2.5.4.). Mullins (2005:165) accentuates that:
…planning is regarded as integral to instructional success and hence the principal or school head should assist teachers to develop suitable and meaningful instructional activities and learning experiences. The organising function develops the structures needed to achieve instructional goals of the school and involves prioritising the various instructional resources available in a school system.
For the purpose of effectively managing curriculum change in the basic schools in Mongu Township, management can be applied as the process of accomplishing educational activities efficiently and effectively with and through other people to achieve the set organisational objectives in the changing school environment (Ministry of Education 2010:18). Blandford 34
(1997:1) believes that management is the achievement of objectives through a process in which managers are responsible for the work of others and where school managers manage the policy, learning, people and resources in an institution. For the school managers, management is concerned with the process designed to maintain the total involvement or participation of individuals that are concerned with the implementation of institutional objectives through the co-ordinated and collective efforts of the staff and the management of the institution (Blandford1997:1). Therefore, if one considers the management of curriculum change in the studied basic schools in Mongu Township in Zambia, management would not be considered to be an activity that exists in its own right, but rather as a description of a variety of activities carried out by those members of the organisation who assume the role of a manager. The basic school managers in Mongu Township are, therefore, obligated to apply the basic management functions or tasks (planning, organising, leading, and controlling) in managing curriculum change. Accordingly, these management functions or tasks are taken up in a management functions model for managing curriculum change (see Figure 2.1 in paragraph 2.5).
In managing curriculum change, school managers must develop the mission statement and vision that embody and drive the purpose and direction of the school management functions (see presentation and discussion in paragraphs 2.5.3.1 and 2.5.3.2). In a school environment such as the basic schools in Mongu Township, the managers should be seen to work with others and through their subjects to qualify the definition of management. The researcher believes that the goal of working with and through others is to achieve the school objectives in situations where the school curriculum changes in accordance with the changing government policies. The basic school management team, which comprises the school head teachers, the deputy heads and the senior teachers collectively manage curriculum change at the basic school level and is functionally charged with certain basic school management responsibilities and tasks which it must carry out for the common good of the entire basic school system.

THE MEANING OF CHANGE IN CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT

Change is the second basic research concept that is discussed. Change is bound to occur any time and is inevitable. Change can be taken to be a continuous and constant occurrence in contemporary society. As an organisation, a district or a school needs well-qualified managers, teachers and support personnel to fulfil the stipulated mandate of the organisational change (Rebore 2011:179). Fundamentally speaking, change can simply be defined as a planned systematic process of management in a school environment as postulated by the Central African Correspondence College (CACC) (2002b:179). This is more applicable to the management of curriculum change in the basic schools in Mongu Township where the processes of implementing the curriculum change is an ongoing one. According to CACC (2002b:179-180), in the context of educational management and in relation to the curriculum that is in place, change means that school head teachers are exposed to new school controls and regulations, growth, increased competition, technological developments and changes in the workforce. Essentially, changes that are made in the curriculum entail a continuous process in refining the content of the curriculum to suit the relevance, needs and priorities of the nation. The content of the Zambian curriculum has undergone massive changes to suit the local needs and national priorities of the education system and to meet the societal expectations.
A school that fails to change in accordance with the demands and needs of the society may fail to develop, which might result in organisational stagnation or the total decline of the institution (CACC 2002b:179). Thus, change and renewal have been identified as important elements of organisational (school) development. This is true for the Zambian schools and, in particular, for the studied Mongu Township basic schools in which the implementation of change requires the concerted efforts of all the school managers to respond to the demands of change processes. Again according to CACC (2002b:179), the school as an organisation has to be seen as a dynamic entity where changes are put in place and implemented with regard to developments that occur. Schollaert and Leenheer (2006:36) refer to change as a number of educational transformations that are either externally imposed by government laws and decrees or by self-imposed changes in the very schools that have felt the need or the desire to do something differently. In the case of the Zambian education set up, educational changes are enforced by government laws, but to a greater extent, external influences are exerted by the corporate world and donor communities (Ministry of Education 2010:25).
Change can be referred to as the processes during which fundamental issues are being highlighted with regard to accomplishing the change project with considerations to specific procedural matters (Schollaert & Leenheer 2006:35). Moreover, it is important to note that change, within the context of managing curriculum change, can be taken to mean changes in the curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning approaches and any practices relevant to schooling that have to be changed in some way or another. Many changes have been experienced in the Zambian curriculum in terms of changing the content or core-curriculum by focusing those changes on the nature of assessment, the teaching and learning methods, techniques, strategies and approaches. Mongu Township schools are no exception with regard to the changes that have occurred in view of managing curriculum change. West-Burnham and O’Sullivan (1998:44-46) state that change should be focussed on professional learning and school development. According to Fullan (1993:138), “teachers should think of change and innovation as they would about their own lives and that the very first place to begin the change processes is within each of us.” It is a moral responsibility of the school managers and teachers in Mongu Township schools to accept change first before they implement it.
CACC (2002b:179) attests that changes in legislation, in view of the availability of resources and social priorities in schools, often force managers to redesign the organisation’s structures and procedures to redefine priorities and to redeploy resources for the management of change. According to CACC (2002b:179), “change is a deliberate effort to alter the “status quo by influencing or modifying the functions, structure, technology and or purpose of an organisation.” The process of implementing curriculum change was done to conform to the change in legislature and policy imperatives in Zambia. CACC (2002b:180) asserts that “change is a complicated process that requires thorough strategic planning in order to reach the prescribed goals.” It is important to note that curriculum change may be seen to embrace two dimensions of curriculum implementation, namely, “planned and unplanned change” (CACC 2002b:180). With regard to curriculum change in the Zambian context, planned change occurred according to formulated specific change imperatives, goals and objectives. Other issues in the implementation of curriculum change occurred as incidentals because they were considered to be unplanned changes.
Change is perceived, interpreted and put into action in different cultural contexts because cultural factors in the change processes have a considerable bearing on the implementation of educational change in a school at macro, meso and micro levels (Servais & Sanders 2006:87; Sullivan & Glanz 2005: 49; Coles & Southworth 2005: 53; Loughrige & Tarantino 2005: 4; Fullan 2005: 58; Elbot & Fulton 2008: 1-5; Davis 2006: 30). Furthermore, the implementation of curriculum change has been contextualised and inhibited in institutions of learning by both cultural factors and historical frameworks to a large extent (Holbeche 2006: 180; French, Atkinson & Rugen 2007: 140; Kruise 2009: 100; Ramsey 2008:1). The basic schools in Mongu Township comprise school communities in which many tribes exist with different traditional and cultural contexts. Essentially speaking, the basic school managers in Mongu Township are expected to accommodate both the traditional or cultural factors and the historical frameworks in the management of curriculum change. Therefore, the adherence to the traditional and cultural contexts in managing curriculum change is cardinal because it satisfies, to a greater extent, the aspirations of all concerned institutional management teams and learners. Taking this into account creates support from change agents.
It is important to place a particular emphasis on the needs of teachers at a school level and in the classroom where change is enacted. Consequently, Schollaert and Leenheer (2006:38) believe that no change should happen unless there is a good reason for the change to occur. Curriculum change, which some writers refer to as ‘educational change’, is about learning and reviewing practices (Schollaert & Leenheer 2006:183; James, Black, McCormick, Pedder & William 2006a:101-118). It is against this background that policy makers at a national level and those in decision-making positions in schools should understand the fundamental need for time to allow individuals to do the changing. This factor might have affected the way in which the education policies were interpreted and how the new national curriculum was implemented in basic schools in Mongu Township in Zambia (see the discussions of research findings in Chapter five).
Change is not a passive process but an active engagement involving what Fullan (1991:77) calls “new meaning, new behaviour, new skills and new beliefs.” In actual fact, where change processes, innovations and improvements are supported within the rich and coherent educational programmes of staff development, for instance, sustainable and manageable change is more likely the outcome (Schollaert & Leenheer 2006:183). A thorough discussion is given in Chapter three (see Chapter 3, paragraph 3.5: the Uganda case study) regarding the need for staff development or continuing professional development (CPD) that has helped a small rural district in Uganda to succeed in the management of the curriculum. Furthermore, due to effective school management resulting from staff development in the Ugandan case study, the pass rates in schools had increased considerably. The need to deal with change also applies to the basic school managers in the two studied basic schools in Mongu Township in Zambia with regard to supporting the rich and coherent school programmes for staff development as far as the management of the curriculum change is concerned.
For Schollaert and Leenheer (2006: 35), change is a universally recognised process that is experienced and constrained in various cultural contexts. They, furthermore, point out that any change demands a response to the fundamental question “why change?” Schollaert and 38 Leenheer (2006: 35) further state that the individual needs of staff development in a school are paramount to the process of change, and ultimately the psychological bases of resistance need to be understood by the change agents as discussed below in paragraph 2.8. The formulation of the new basic school curricula in Zambia resulted from the need to change the curriculum. For Schollaert and Leenheer (2006: 35), time to reflect and to “stop and think” in managing change are crucial elements regarding the professional development of teachers in schools.
The professional development of teachers enables them to develop change-readiness, because potentially change invariably leads to further change, thus, the need to develop change-readiness (Schollaert & Leenheer 2006: 35). It is important to point out that school managers are held accountable for what they do with regard to schools’ administrative and management affairs (Middlewood, Parker & Beere 2005: 27; Early & Weindling 2004: 78; Joubert & Bray 2007: xv). The basic school managers in the two studied schools in Mongu Township in Zambia are expected to respond practically to the national educational policy imperatives and global concerns about universal education for all. The following paragraph links the meaning of ‘change’ to the fundamentals of curriculum change which occur in basic schools as social organisations.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 CURRICULUM CHANGES AND INNOVATIONS IN ZAMBIA
1.3 MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
1.6 CLARIFICATIONS OF CONCEPTS
1.7 CHAPTER DIVISION
1.8 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER TWO: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CURRICULUM CHANGE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THE MEANING OF MANAGEMENT IN MANAGING CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT
2.3 THE MEANING OF CHANGE IN CURRICULUM CHANGE
2.4 THE MEANING OF CURRICULUM IN MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE
2.5 MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS MODEL
2.6 OTHER RELEVANT ISSUES IN MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL
2.7 NEGATIVE FACTORS AFFECTING THE MANAGEMENT OF CURRICULUM CHANGE
2.8 MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CURRICULUM CHANGE
2.9 CONCLUSION
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 CURRICULUM CHANGE AND CHANGE PROCESSES IN EUROPE
3.3 MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE AND CHANGE PROCESSES IN SELECTED EAST ASIA COUNTRIES
3.4 THE MANAGEMENT OF CURRICULUM CHANGE IN TWO SELECTED SCHOOLS IN THE USA
3.5 THE MANAGEMENT OF CURRICULUM CHANGE AND CHANGE PROCESSES IN UGANDA
3.6 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
4.4 THE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH
4.5 THE ROLE OF A QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER
4.6 CASE STUDY
4.7 THE SELECTION OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
4.8 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
4.9 OBSERVATIONS
4.10 FIELD NOTES
4.11 DOCUMENT INFORMATION
4.12 TRIANGULATION
4.13 DATA ANALYSIS
4.15 TRUSTWORTHINESS: CREDIBILITY, RELIABILITY, VALIDITY AND TRANSFERABILITY
4.16 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN DATA COLLECTION
4.17 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER FIVE PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS AND CONDITION OF SCHOOL PREMISES AND OFFICE SPACE
5.3 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
5.4 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 A SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS
6.3 RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS
6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STUDY
6.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
6.6 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
6.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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