Chrispen Chiome

Students’ failure to submit research projects on time: a case study from Masvingo Regional Centre at Zimbabwe Open University

The study sought to determine lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of factors contributing to students’ failure to submit research projects on time in three departments of the Zimbabwe Open University. The study employed a descriptive survey design and was both quantitative and qualitative. The questionnaire used as a data‐gathering instrument had both closed and open‐ended sections. In this study, a sample of 76 research students and 17 research supervisors was extracted using the purposive sampling method. The study found out that both lecturers and students contributed to inconsistency in meeting for consultations and this also led to late feedback on submitted work, which, in turn, affected the research progress. It also became apparent that there was no follow‐up from the institution to find out how the research in departments was progressing. Among other matters, the study recommended regular research workshops and seminars for supervisors and supervisees and research presentations by students.

Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World: Lessons from Zimbabwe

This chapter seeks to describe the historical context of the Zimbabwe Education system and identifies four programmes that were used to provide school leaders in Zimbabwe with the necessary tools and training to successfully ensure quality in educational provision. It will examine the lessons learnt from the Zimbabwe experience and identify the challenges met in training school heads in Zimbabwe, especially as it applies to developing opportunities for leadership for learning.

Zimbabwe in Transition: Rethinking the School Leadership Conditions Fostering Transition

This chapter seeks to synthesize research and literature on the kind of leadership that is needed to preside over the transitional period faced in Zimbabwe. It seeks to identify innovative and successful initiatives and practices that the Zimbabwe government might adopt to foster smooth transition in schools and policy options that it can pursue in order to achieve the heightened expectations of schools and their leaders in a changing environment. The chapter hopes to provoke discussion about the changes necessary to meet the leadership challenges facing Zimbabwean school heads in a transitional period and to provide policy makers with information that will assist them in formulating and implementing school leadership policies that lead to quality teaching and learning. Finally, it hopes to encourage all those with a stake or an interest in education to consider rethinking the role of school leadership in a changing environment.