Implementation of leadership standards in advancing school governance in Malawian schools: A case of selected ISEM schools in central west education division

Abstract

School governance increases participation, accountability and transparency in a school (Supriadi, 2021). To guide school leaders towards improved school governance, National Education Standards (NES), including those on leadership, were put in place in Malawi. However, the implementation of the standards in relation to school governance has not been documented. This study was conducted to examine the implementation of leadership standards in advancing school governance in Malawi's secondary schools, specifically, the Central West Education Division ( CWED). A mixed method approach was used to enhance in-depth enquiry through qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The sample comprised 7 head teachers, 7 deputy head teachers, 21 heads of departments, 106 prefects and 21 SGBs who were purposively selected. Schools were randomly selected from all schools under the ISEM project in CWED. Closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from all respondents, while an interview guide was used to collect qualitative data from selected School Governing Bodies (SGBs) representatives. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS to find frequencies and relationships, whereas qualitative data was analysed using thematic approach and general inference. The findings of this study revealed that SGBs in CWED understand leadership standards 17, 18 and 24, but they can not relate aspects to a particular NES; SGBs in CWED are greatly involved in the implementation of leadership standards 17, 18 and 24 and that decentralisation in the secondary education sector is a factor to the implementation of leadership standards 17, 18 and 24. These findings can inform policymakers on the implementation of leadership standards for further action, that education policies and NES be put in native languages to help SGBs fully understand, that SGBs be periodically trained to achieve in-depth understanding and that secondary education be fully decentralised while gradually providing adequate support, resources and training to the local leadership to equip them with the new areas of responsibility.