External School Quality Assurance and its influence on instructional leadership practices in secondary school education in Zanzibar

Abstract

This study investigated External School Quality Assurance (ESQA) and its influence on instructional practices in secondary school education in Zanzibar. The mixed-method research approach was employed coupled with a convergent parallel design. The study was conducted at Kaskazini Region in Unguja and it involved 167 teachers, 12 HoSs, 11 ESQ assurers, 2 District Educational Officers (DEOs), and the Regional Educational Officer (REO), making a total of 193 participants. The study employed purposeful and simple random sampling procedures. Data was collected through interviews, documentary reviews, and questionnaires. Quantitative data were anlysed using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient and qualitative data were anlyzed using content and thematic approach. The results indicate that although ESQA plays a significant role in the improvement of instructional practices in secondary schools, however, statistically, the results indicate that there was no significant relationship between ESQA practices and HoSs and teachers’ instructional leadership improvement in secondary education. It was also found that the ESQA reports and recommendations were not implemented by the respective authorities to bring about effective improvement of the instructional process. ESQ assurers evaluated the performance of HoS based on administrative roles and teachers’ professional documents whereas classroom observations were not effectively carried out. The results further indicate that HoSs and teachers needed professional support to improve instructional practices. The key argument in this paper is that if secondary schools have to improve the quality of teaching and learning through instructional practices, ESQ assurers need to support the HoSs and teachers professionally. For this to be a reality, the government needs to commit its resources for the training programmes to the Department of ESQA, and classroom observation needs to be a central focus of the ESQ assurers to improve the teaching and learning in secondary school education.