The role of school leadership in mediating the IQMS at school level

Integrated Quality Management System is a model used for appraising teachers in South Africa and has been in use post-1994. The study shed light on the historical development that shaped the current model used for appraising teachers, especially after 1994. IQMS as a model for appraisal was introduced as a direct response after the collapse of the inspection system which was autocratic and highly subjective. Using a case study approach, two schools in Soweto were purposefully selected because of the strong leadership and data was collected from eleven teachers and two principals. The study aims to investigate the role of the school leadership in mediating IQMS at school level. The study employed interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. The research is concerned with the lived experiences of individual teachers in the confines of the environment that they are most comfortable in. This research was taken from the interpretivist position which views the world as constructed by means of multi perspectives. The study argues that the leadership at school level has a prominent role to play in mediating IQMS despite the tensions inherent therein.