Hamilton Themba Mchunu

Linking Appraisal with Professional Development: Quality Management System in South African Schools Hamilton Themba Mchunu

The aim of conducting this study was to explore how staff appraisal and PD can be linked in the IQMS in South African schools. From the aim, an objective was formulated, namely, to probe perceptions of principals, SMTs and educators regarding the need to link appraisal with PD in the IQMS in sixteen schools located in Mafukuzela-Gandhi circuit at KwaMashu Township, north of Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The study introduced the reader to the appraisal systems that were used to evaluate performance of educators prior 1994. Furthermore, since then, there has been a paradigm shift from the traditional appraisal practices like those conducted by inspectors to appraise educators to the developmental approaches that place greater emphasis on their PD. A research question was formulated, namely: How can appraisal and PD can be linked in the IQMS in South African schools?