School board ‘visibility’ during the COVID-19 pandemic: Education management musings from a tripartite case study of schools in Central Uganda

School level education management requires the active involvement of both school administration and the board of governors. Without board’s supervisory eye, school administration may end up with many lapses to the detriment of education quality. How, then, did school boards execute their oversight mandate during the difficult times of COVID-19? Using a tripartite case study design, I examined school board ‘visibility’ in school management during COVID-19 with focus on ensuing education management lessons. I discovered that during the pandemic the visibility of different school boards varied from ‘considerable’ to ‘no visibility’ depending on certain interesting factors. I concluded that there is no single uniform descriptor of board’s visibility during an emergency such as COVID-19. Secondly, there are both materialistic and altruistic antecedents of board’s visibility level. The study serves as a correction to the stakeholder model’s excessive faith in board members’ disinterested commitment to service of the common good. It also recasts the question of board membership in view of better school management.

___

  • Adong, J. (2017). The school management committee roles and performance of primary schools in Lamwo District, Uganda. Kampala International University.
  • Agih, A. A. (2015). Effective school management and supervision: Imperative for quality education service delivery. African Research Review, 9(3), 62-74. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.4314/afrrev.v9i3.6
  • Beauchamp, G., Hulme, M., Clarke, L., Hamilton, L. & Harvey, J. A. (2021). ‘People miss people’: A study of school leadership and management in the four nations of the United Kingdom in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 49(3), 375-392.
  • Carlitz, R. (2016). Promoting active engagement of school management committees in Tanzania. University of California.
  • Chitpin, S., & Karoui, O. (2021). Covid 19 and educational leadership: Resolving educational issues. Academia Letters, #229. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL229
  • Connolly, M., Farrell, C., & James, C. (2017). An analysis of the stakeholder model of public boards in England and Wales. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143215607879
  • Craig, I. (2021). Whatever happened to educational management? The case for reinstatement. Management in Education, 35(1), 52-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020620962813
  • Creswell, J. W. (2015). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications
  • Cucinotta, D., & Vanelli, M. (2020). WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Biomedica, 91(1), 157-160. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i1.9397.
  • Davis, D. (2020). School committee leadership during COVID-19 school closures. Massachusetts Association of School Committees. https://www.masc.org/member resources/coronavirus
  • Fernandez, A. A., & Shaw, G. P. (2020). Academic leadership in a time of crisis: The Corona virus and COVID-19. Journal of Leadership Studies, 14(1), 39-45.
  • Fornaro, C. J., Struloeff, K., Sterin, K., & Flowers, A. M. (2021). Uncharted territory: Educational leaders managing out-of-school programs during a global pandemic. International Studies in Educational Administration, 49(1), 101-108.
  • Francisco, C. D., & Nuqui, A. V. (2020). Emergence of a situational leadership during COVID-19 pandemic called new normal leadership. International Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research (IJAMR), 4(10), 15-19.
  • Freeman, R.E., Wicks, A. C., & Parmar, B. (2004): Stakeholder theory and “The Corporate Objective Revisited”. Organization Science, 15(3), 364-369. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc. 1040.0066.
  • Gokuladas, V. K., & Baby, S. S. K. (2020). Challenges and responsibilities during school reopening post-COVID-19: A strategic approach. Educational practices during the COVID-19 viral outbreak: International perspectives (pp. 199–220). ISTES Organization.
  • Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82.
  • Harris, A. (2020). COVID-19 – school leadership in crisis? Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 5 (3/4), 321-326.
  • Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2020). COVID 19 – school leadership in disruptive times. School Leadership & Management, 40(4), 243-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2020. 1811479
  • Howard, C., & Dhillon, J.K. (2021). Outstanding primary leadership in times of turbulence. Education Sciences, 11(714). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110714
  • Hylton, K., & Hylton, K. (2021). Building educational resistance – A COVID-19 Jamaican perspective. International Studies in Educational Administration, 49(1), 59-65.
  • Kaggwa, T. N. W, Onen, D., & Kimoga, J. (2017). The effect of school governance and curriculum management training on the performance of Head teachers in managing primary schools. European Journal of Education Studies, 1(3), 37-48.
  • Kanyiri, J. W., Nganga, M. W., & Kiprono, F. J. (c. 2009). An Assessment of school management committees’ capacity in the implementation of FPE funds in public primary schools. 10th Annual International Conference.
  • Kombo, K.D., & Tromp, L.A.D. (2006). Proposal and thesis writing: an introduction. Pauline Publications Africa.
  • Lannert, J., & Derenyi, A. (2020). Internationalization in Hungarian higher education: Recent developments and factors of reaching better global visibility. Hungarian Education Research Journal, 10(4), 346-369. https://doi.org/10.1556/063.2020.00034
  • Lee, C. (2017). School management and public-private partnerships in Uganda. MPRA https:// doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejx021.
  • McCormick, J., Barnett, K., Alavi, S. B., & Newcombe, G. (2006). Board governance of independent schools: A framework for investigation. Journal of Educational Administration; 44(5), 429-445.
  • McCrone, T., Lucas, M., & Sims, D. (2021). School and trust governance during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: Findings from investigative research. National Foundation for Educational Research.
  • MoES (2008). The Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary) Act, 2008. MoES.
  • Muwagga, M. A., Genza, G. M., & Ssemulya, R. R. (2018). How effective is the diocesan educational leadership in enhancing a denominational education philosophy in Uganda? Reflections from Roman Catholic schools in Greater Kampala. American Journal of Educational Research, 6(1), 88-95. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-6-1-14.
  • Nkundabanyanga, S. K., Tauringana, V., & Muhwezi, M. (2015). Governing boards and perceived performance of secondary schools. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 28(3), 221-239.
  • Ojijo, K. O., Ajowi, J. O., & Aloka, P. J. (2020). Role of Board of Management towards academic achievement in sub-county schools in Kenya. Education, 10(2), 25-32. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.edu.20201002.01.
  • Oloka, F. (2017). Assessment of the role of school management committees on the academic achievement of learners in universal primary education schools in Bugiri District. Uganda Technology and Management University (UTAMU).
  • Pollock, K. (2020). School leaders’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-pronged approach. International Studies in Education, 48(3), 38-44.
  • Steadland, J. C. (2015). Higher education governing boards and stakeholder governance of intercollegiate athletics. University of Minnesota.
  • Stone-Johnson, C., & Weiner, J. M. (2020). Principal professionalism in the time of COVID-19. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 5(3/4), 367-374. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/JPCC-05-2020-0020.
  • Tatlah, I. A., & Iqbal. M. Z. (2011). Role of Board of Governors and parent teacher associations in district public schools in the context of conflicts and challenges. Management, 1(1), 35-40. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.mm.20110101.04.
  • Thompson, H. M. (2021). Stakeholder experiences with gender identity data capture in electronic health records: Implementation, effectiveness and a visibility paradox. Health Education & Behavior, 48(1) 93-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120963102.
  • Varela, D. G., & Fedynich, L. V. (2020). Leading schools from a social distance: Surveying South Texas school district leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 38(4), 1-10.
  • Yin, R. K. (2011). Qualitative research from start to finish. The Guildford Press.