The school cluster system as an innovation: perceptions of Zimbabwean teachers and school heads - Vitallis Chikoko

School clusters, that is, the grouping of schools within the same geographical location, for economic, pedagogic, administrative and political purposes (Bray, 1987), have arisen as one possible solution to developing countries' battles to achieve both quantitative and qualitative advances in their education sytems within the framework of financial austerity. However, there remain questions regarding how those tasked to implement this innovation perceive it. Through a multi-site case study of five schools using a questionnaire and interviews with teachers and school heads, findings suggest that both macro and micro problems prevented the cluster from achieving its capacity buidling goals. Key threats included the nature of the cluster model adopted, the centralisation tendency of the education system, the dual ownership of schools, resistance to change and the under-utilisation of resources.
From: Africa Education Review 4(1) 2007