Institutional factors affecting teachers’ effectiveness in rural primary schools

Abstract

This study explored the institutional factors affecting teachers’ effectiveness in rural primary schools in the Tshwane North District of Gauteng Province, South Africa. The qualitative study, which aligned to the interpretivist paradigm, adopted an inductive approach. Two rural primary schools were purposefully sampled, after which semi-structured interviews were held to gather data from 25 participants: one principal, one deputy principal, two heads of department, one acting head of department, and 20 teachers. The data were analysed using Tesch’s method of open coding. The major findings of this study revealed that various institutional factors affect teacher effectiveness in rural primary schools, including a serious shortage of physical, technological, human and financial resources; poor infrastructure; inadequate teacher support; language barriers; and insufficient parental involvement. The study recommends rural primary school teachers be provided with the necessary educational resources, and that quality teacher development workshops be organised for educators at all levels.

Keywords

• learner academic performance
• learning environment
• rural school
• teacher effectiveness