Dr Lorinda Minnaar – EMASA Conference, Bellville, 2011

1. What do members of governing bodies of public primary schools situated in middle-class contexts expect of educators with respect to educator workloads?
2. To what extent are governing body expectations of educators, in respect of their workloads, aligned with or divergent from prevailing education labour law?

1. International Literature:
Dinham & Scott – Rush to Reform Education
Naylor & Schaefer – BCTF Reports on Educator Workload
Naylor – Time-Use Study
Hargreaves – Work Intensification Thesis
2. South African Literature
Educator Workload in South Africa Study – HSRC&ELRC
Chisholm & Hoadley Report – IQMS&RNCS
3. Legislation
Constitution
South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 (Section 20)
National Education Policy Act, 27 of 1996 (Seven Roles)
Employment of Educators Act, 76 of 1998 (Core Duties)
Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 75 of 1997
Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995

PARADIGM
RESEARCH DESIGN
Qualitative
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STYLE Interpretive
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SAMPLE Public Primary Schools in Middle-Class
Contexts (Bellville, Durbanville, Paarl,
Stellenbosch and Somerset- West)
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PARTICIPANTS SGB, Educators & Principals
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DATA
COLLECTION
INSTRUMENTS
Open-Ended Questionnaires (SGB)
Time-Use Diaries (Educators - 2 weeks)
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DATA ANALYSIS
Informal Conversations with Principals
Content and Document Analysis

FINDINGS THAT EMERGED FROM QUESTIONNAIRES
SGB EXPECTATIONS OF EDUCATORS IN TERMS OF CORE DUTIES
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Teaching Responsibilities
Plan and prepare lessons thoroughly.
Teach creative, lively lessons.
Mark learners’ work promptly and accurately.
Provide meaningful feedback and ensure remediation.
Furnish parents with regular, informative progress reports.
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Extra-Mural Activities
Be fully involved in sport, cultural, social and fundraising activities and committees.
Know learners in contexts other than the classroom.
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Pastoral Duties
Guarantee learner safety.
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Classroom Management
Create a positive teaching and learning environment.
Maintain consistent, fair discipline.
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Administrative Duties
Follow up on absent learners.
Assist learners to catch up on work missed due to illness.
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Professional Duties
Keep abreast of developments in education.

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
QUESTIONNAIRES
SGB expectations of educators with respect to the core duties are aligned with prevailing education labour law because of its open-ended nature. It is not clearly defined, specific and explicit. It is characterised by silences and omissions, which afford members of SGBs legitimate opportunity to assign additional, unspecified duties and responsibilities to educators.

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FINDINGS THAT EMERGED FROM EDUCATOR TIME-USE DIARIES,
SHOWING THE CORE DUTIES ON WHICH EDUCATORS SPENT THE
MOST TIME OVER TWO WEEKS
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Highest: 50 hours
Teaching lessons
Very High: 12 – 23 hours
Maintaining discipline
Creating a positive teaching and learning environment
Other extra-mural activities, e.g. charity and community work
Marking learners’ work and providing feedback
Sport activities
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High: 5 – 10 hours
Planning and preparation of lessons
Other classroom management duties, e.g. assisting student teachers .
Other administrative duties, e.g. photocopying modules
Attending courses and meetings
Keeping record of learners’ assessment and profiles

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
EDUCATOR TIME-USE DIARIES
 Educators in middle-class public primary schools are presently meeting, and in many cases exceeding the expectations of not only the
SGB, but also the expectations prescribed in prevailing education labour law.
 Educators often perform duties and carry out responsibilities of which most people are unaware.

• The SGBs of public primary schools in middle-class contexts attach high value to education and hold high expectations of educators in terms of their workload.
“Teaching is a calling” and “Walk the extra mile”.
• High expectations lead to an intensification in the workloads of educators who teach at public primary schools in middle-class contexts. “The pressure on educators is a daily occurrence”.
• Prolonged intensification of educator workload could in future proliferate high educator turnover due to stress and burnout, which holds serious implications for middleclass schools in terms of the delivery of sustainable quality education for learners.

To what extent will educators in future be able to respond to even greater parental expectations in regard to educator workloads?
Will this trend continue or will policy writers intervene?