The Views of Education Development Officers on Their Educational Leadership Practices

There is no significant improvement in South African learner outcomes. This is particularly so in provinces such as the Eastern Cape where grade 12 results always lag behind those of other South African provinces, and literacy levels continue to plummet. This paper therefore investigated how Education Development Officers in Eastern Cape view the practice of school visits. Six Education Development Officers in two education districts were purposively selected. This study was premised on the qualitative research approach and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. The findings revealed that the purpose of Education Development Officers’ school visits was mainly to check if teachers performed their teaching duties. It also emerged from the data that visits to schools were mainly for the purpose of controlling policy implementation. This means that there was no coherent supportive strategy for school visits. This study recommends that the Department of Basic Education develop a framework for more supportive school visits.