Characteristics of poor performing schools within Tshinane Circuit in Vhembe District

Abstract

While for the past three years Tshinane Circuit has been producing good results on average, there was a sudden decline in the pass rate with seven out of ten secondary schools performing below the provincial norm. Hence, the circuit was declared dysfunctional. The aim of this research was to investigate the characteristics of poor performing schools within Tshinane Circuit in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. The questionnaire was used to get the views from the respondents in order to determine what might be regarded as characteristics of poor performing schools. The target population were learners who failed Grade 12 in 2010. National Senior Certificate Examination, performing below the Limpopo Department of Education minimum average pass of 50%, parents who were School Governing Body Members, teachers who taught Grade 12 in 2010 and principals from each of the seven out of ten secondary schools in Tshinane Circuit. The study revealed these common characteristics among underperforming schools: inadequate physical resources, lack of discipline, ineffective and unclear policies, poor content knowledge of teachers and dysfunctional school management teams. The study recommends that intervention strategies such as provision for more extra teaching, adequate supply of resources, and retraining of teachers on content knowledge be put in place in order to improve performance in all our public schools.