Investigating the perceived impact of the SDCs/SDAs on school development in High Glen district primary schools in Harare

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the perceived impact of the SDCs/SDAs on school development in High Glen district primary schools in Harare. The research was motivated by poor or no meaningful development in schools supporting learning /teaching in primary schools. As such, the study has come out with four research questions, which are; what are the perceived roles of SDC/SDA in primary schools? , how does SDC/SDA promote development in primary schools on High Glen district in Harare? , in what ways can SDC/SDAs be retrogressive when it comes to school development? And how can the functioning of the SDC/SDA are enhanced in primary schools in Highglen district in Harare? The constructivist theory of learning was used to guide the research study. A number of researches and scholars were consulted over the roles of SDA/SD bodies in school development and related studies as well as the research gaps were reviewed. The study adopted interpretive research philosophy which assumes multiple truths. A case study research design was used. As such, qualitative research methods were adopted where interviews and observations were used to elicit information from the participants. The findings were analysed and presented in themes. The findings of the study revealed that SDA/SDC play crucial roles in school development. Further, it was found out that SDA/SDC bodies and similar other parent bodies are common in spear heading the development of schools promoting the creation of suitable learning environments worldwide. Thus, workshops and pre elective training courses are necessary to enhance the effectiveness of these parent bodies in resource mobilisation and utilisation. Therefore, the study recommended that policy makers should provide policies that compel the schools to provide training, workshops and set academic qualifications for a potential candidate to represent parents in these bodies of school development. Furthermore, the study recommends that school heads work hand in glove with these school development bodies so that the task of school development flows smoothly and promotes the pollination of new management ideas as the world is ever becoming sophisticated in the light of technology. The study further recommended that the school administrators be transformational leaders in order to create world class primary schools.