Can Instructional Coaching Be Integrated into South Africa’s Education System? A Study of External Coaches, Subject Advisors, and Department Heads

• In Event: Examining the role of technology, coaching, and indicators on teachers and teacher professional development

Proposal

External instructional coaching, conducted by coaches outside the formal education system, has been shown to be a critical driver of improved learning outcomes in South Africa. However, this form of coaching is typically expensive and challenging to implement at scale. This study explores whether actors within the country’s formal education system—namely, subject advisors (SAs) and department heads (DHs)—have the potential to effectively deliver instructional coaching.

Drawing on interviews and observations conducted with stakeholders in government schools where external coaching interventions are currently underway or have recently concluded, this study analyzes the types of support provided to teachers by department heads (DHs), subject advisors (SAs), and external coaches. t also examines the relationships between these actors, their interactions with teachers, as well as their perceptions of the support being provided. The findings suggest that SAs DHs face a variety of barriers—both small and large—that external coaches do not in delivering effective instructional support to teachers.

Key challenges for SAs and DHs include significant time and resource constraints, as they are responsible for various administrative and supervisory tasks that leave minimal time for instructional coaching. Additionally, unlike external coaches, SAs and DHs often lack the intensive, targeted training necessary for delivering effective coaching. This gap results in inconsistent practices and a lack of coherence in the support provided to teachers. Furthermore, the authority held by SAs, in particular, can act as a barrier, as their role as evaluators may inhibit the trust and rapport required for effective coaching relationships with teachers.

This study provides evidence that under current conditions, external coaches are the only actors equipped to provide effective instructional coaching to teachers in South Africa’s government schools. While there may be an expectation on paper that instructional coaching is part of SAs’ and DHs’ roles, this does not happen in practice; neither SAs nor DHs have the time or capacity to provide teachers with the kind of attention that successful coaching demands.
Shifting instructional coaching responsibilities to in-system actors would require system-wide changes to address both the minor and major barriers they currently face.

Finally, this study provides recommendations, and raises questions for further research and future experimental interventions. Although previous studies suggest that virtual coaching alone has not been effective in the South African context (Cilliers et al., 2020), this research invites further exploration of how digital tools might support in-person coaching or facilitate system-wide changes for integrating coaching at scale. Future research could explore hybrid models of coaching that integrate digital platforms with face-to-face support, offering a potential solution to both the resource and capacity limitations currently faced by SAs and DHs.

Authors

• Kaitlin Alsofrom

• Jonathan Stern, RTI International

• Kolosa Nonkenge, Department of Basic Education

• Nompumelelo L Mohohlwane, Department of Basic Education