Teacher experiences in performance management system in Zimbabwe: focus on training

Abstract

The study investigated teacher experiences regarding their level of training to enable them to implement Performance Management System (PMS) in Zimbabwe. Interest in the system had been evoked by the lack of the compatibility between policy expectation and implementation process. Focus was on Gweru and Gokwe South districts o f the Midlands Province. Participants in the study were 5,2% o f the Primary teachers and 3,5% of the secondary school teachers randomly drawn from the two Districts of the Midlands Province. School heads and Education Officers were selected purposively. The mixed methods paradigm undergirded adoption of multiple designs that included the case study design, survey design and phenomenological methodologies employed where we used questionnaires, interviews, non-participant observation and the content review techniques to collect data. Quantifiable data were analysed using descriptive statistics (numbers and corresponding percentages), and thematic patterns in qualitative data. The major finding was that training was inadequate for both teachers and school heads. This manifested in difficulties with setting objectives and performance standards and failure by supervisors to guide and capacitate teachers on PMS. Consequently, teachers disliked the system and tended towards cheating to meet demands and expectations of supervisors.