The impact of teacher accountability on underperforming schools at Mapela circuit in Mogalakwena district in Limpopo province

Abstract

The majority of South Africa's government-run public schools are experiencing serious challenges with learners’ performance. The Circuit, District, and Province are all impacted by subpar performance. Under pressure, the government is enacting programs to improve the majority of the schools. Public schools, especially those in rural areas, are still far behind in terms of the curriculum due to a lack of funding, inadequate staffing, outdated facilities, and inadequate training for teachers. These encourage teachers to accept accountability for learners’ development. This study will help the government by ensuring that teachers receive the proper training to implement policies in their classrooms to help teachers understand the need of being accountable to their learners. Teachers frequently believe that they are teaching learners without giving their responsibility to the Departmental Heads, Principals, or even the Circuit Managers any serious thought. This qualitative study aims to investigate the impact of teacher accountability on poorly performing schools on the Mapela Circuit in the Mogalakwena region. Qualitative research approach was used to further learn how teacher accountability affects student performance. The researcher used a phenomenology approach to understand the effects of teacher accountability on underperforming schools at the selected schools in the Mapela Circuit. The researcher used a population of 20 primary schools in Mapela Circuit that had learners in grades R through 7. In total, there are 400 primary teachers in the circuit. Teachers from five (5) distinct schools in the circuit were deliberately recruited for this research study. The sample consisted of 16 participants, 5 principals, and 11 department heads. In this study, teachers who participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews were questioned about their sentiments, beliefs, experiences, and convictions regarding teacher accountability. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The study produced four key themes. First off, the school and community systems actively promote the causes of poor performance. Second, it can be difficult to hold teachers responsible for learners' poor performance in the classroom. Thirdly, teachers need to address learners who perform poorly during instruction. The improvement of teacher responsibility in schools is mandated under the fourth theme.