The role of school leadership in improving the quality of teaching and learning : the case study of the Gambia's basic and secondary education

Abstract

Quality in education has been the central tenant in most educational policies in the globe, including the Gambia. Thus, leadership has been perceived as a critical agency for ushering in that quality through various means. As a result, scholars in education and related fields have extensively explored the parallel between the two, including this study. Hence this thesis investigates the role of school leadership in improving the quality of teaching and learning, focusing on the Gambia’s Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education as a case. Schools in the lower basic category under this ministry were selected as participants hoping to understand leadership at the elementary level.

The study aims to contribute to leadership discussion in the educational leadership discipline by providing Gambian context. Given that school leadership in connection to teaching and learning needs to be studied more in the Gambia, I hope to add to the existing literature on leadership through this thesis. I hope to provide a context for MoBSE on the nature of school leadership in elementary schools and how it relates to teaching and learning. In addition, I propose a framework that could help school leaders in their quest for school improvement. Furthermore, the study adopts a multidisciplinary approach using a sociological lens to explore the case. In doing so, I viewed schools as a social system encompassing agents and structures. As a result, I used the Realist social theory to guide the analysis process. This theory enables the researcher to explore the interplay between agency and structure (structure and culture).

In light of this, the study used a qualitative research approach based on a case study design in order to investigate and provide comprehensive information on the context and dynamics of school leadership in the chosen primary schools. A purposive sampling technic was used to carefully select the participating schools in this study in consultation with the Regional Education Directorate Five South. The directorates database was accessed to identify performing and underperforming schools in the region using NAT and BTA as a yardstick. Furthermore, various data collection method was used, including interview, focus group discussion, observation, and document review. These methods allow me to comprehensively explore school leaders' and teachers’ experiences, perspectives, and practices in relation to teaching and learning in the selected schools. To analyze the data collected from the above sources, the study adopts thematic analysis to identify and interpret key themes connected to school leadership and its contribution to teaching and learning.

Based on the evidence gathered through different data sources, I came up with the following conclusion. First, school leadership contributes immensely to improving quality teaching and learning coupled with the involvement of relevant stakeholders like SMC, mothers’ clubs, parents, and RED through cluster monitors. This suggests that, despite leadership having the potential to improve quality in the instructional process, they will be limited if they exclude the above mention partners in the process. Second, professional development is essential to equip teachers with more sophisticated and advanced pedagogies for improved instructional processes. Schools offering regular and required professional development opportunities have registered success in their instructional practices, eventually resulting in better performance. Third, organizational structures developed by the leadership were more helpful in addressing existing structural and cultural problems, while those inherited could not effect meaningful changes.

Finally, several factors informed the leadership orientations and decision-making process of leaders in the participating schools, including cultural, social, and religious. Given that the study includes only four schools using a qualitative approach as the investigative method, the study’s findings are limited to the participating schools. Therefore, the study’s findings cannot be generalized, which is considered one of the limitations of this study. As a result, I recommend that future researchers use more generalizable methods to provide a broader context to the subject. This could be done by choosing a more diverse sample; preferably, a quantitative approach would suffice. By adopting a quantitative approach, they could take samples across the board and examine leadership roles relating to teaching and learning. Yet still, if they wish to maintain a qualitative approach, I recommend adopting an ethnographic method. This will give them more time to directly observe the participants to gather in-depth information for more relatable conclusions.