Internal Monitoring and Evaluation of Teaching in Secondary Schools of Kabwe District in Central Province, Zambia. Challenges and Possible solutions.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Internal Monitoring and Evaluation of Teaching in Secondary Schools of Kabwe District in Central Province, Zambia. Challenges and Possible solutions.

Steven Lungu, Harrison Daka (PhD)
Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, University of Zambia,

Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the challenges and possible solutions of conducting internal monitoring and evaluation of selected secondary schools teachers’ performance in Kabwe district. The study was conducted within the framework of mixed methodology using an embedded mixed design. The study collected data from 114 participants drawn from ten secondary schools in Kabwe district. The data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The findings included the following challenges; minimal frequency of internal monitoring and evaluation, head teachers’ challenges of multiple roles, teachers’ divided attention between teaching in class and personal development, head teachers not being conversant with processes of monitoring and evaluation thus tended to be fault finding and intimidating in nature as opposed to providing constructive criticism and encouragement. The recommendations for addressing the challenges that emerged from the findings included; Head teachers to undergo training in educational management and administration, to increase frequency of internal monitoring and evaluation, roles of head teachers to be reduced to administration only, to introduce peer to peer monitoring, to encourage monitoring through intertwining of secondary schools in the district, and teachers to regularly attend Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

Keywords: Internal monitoring, evaluation, challenges, teacher performance

1.0 Introduction

Internal monitoring and evaluation is an important aspect in schools as it is utilized to enhance the academic performance of learners. The effects of internal monitoring and evaluation depend on how well the procedures are done and whether the recommendations by school monitors are followed as a tool to improve school performance of learners. The ministry of education in Zambia has established performance standards as indicators for quality education which are checked by school administrators (MOE, 2010). Daka, Banda and Namafe (2020) and Silwamba and Daka (2021) stated that schools that meet the most performance standard indicators are the schools which also perform well academically. When all the necessary procedures of internal monitoring and evaluation are put in place and the recommendations implemented, the monitoring process is bound to yield positive results. In Zambia, internal monitoring and evaluation is conducted by school head teachers, deputy head teachers and heads of departments (Ministry of Education, 2010). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD (2009) asserts that the responsibilities for education monitoring and evaluation are typically shared between educational authorities, including quality assurance agencies such as inspectorates, schools and their leadership, and teachers themselves. There are various activities that are monitored and evaluated in the day to day teaching and learning process. These include teacher’s preparation documents, the physical attendance of classes by teachers and students, students and teachers reporting time. The learner’s reaction is also used to determine if the learners enjoyed the lesson therefore leading to conclusion as to whether learning has taken place. However, there are many challenges which impede the effective implementation of internal monitoring and evaluation and these lead to poor academic performance of learners.

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