TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SUPPORT GIVEN BY SUBJECT EDUCATION SPECIALISTS: A CASE STUDY OF THREE SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE MALUTI EDUCATION DISTRICT

Abstract

The issue of support given by Subject Education Specialists (SES’s) to subject teachers in the High schools of Maluti Education District has continued to be a subject of debates in the last five years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of subject teachers on the support given by Subject Education Specialists in the High schools of Maluti Education district. Again, the study sought to understand and explain the gap between policy on teacher support and its implementation in the High schools of Maluti Education district wherein Subject Education Specialists seemed to be grappling with the implementation process thereof. This action was prompted by the researcher’s observation and the documentary analysis on poor learner academic performance. A qualitative research approach was undertaken to develop a better understanding of the research problem under investigation. The case study design of three selected High schools was deemed appropriate for the study. Purposive sampling was used to gather data from three High schools selected on the basis of their Grade 12 results in the last three years. This meant that the best performing, average performing and the lowest performing schools in the Grade 12 results in the last three years were selected for the study. Structured and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and the pilot system was used to ensure reliability and validity of data collected. Content analysis followed by the development of themes was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study revealed that the SES’s support given to subject teachers was minimal and the majority of them lacked content knowledge and pedagogical skills to enhance subject teachers to improve learner academic performance. Based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were made, inter alia, the provision of relevant support such as the computers equipped with relevant content knowledge and pedagogical software skills, provision of teaching and learning resources, on-the job training and bursaries to improve their skills in institutions of Higher Learning.