Strategic management framework for collaborative reources sharing between schools for sustainable learning environments

[摘要] English: Many historically black schools are faced with a challenge of producing qualityeducation with limited resources. Considering the historical backlog on resourcingand the current financial constraints, it does not seem that equity with reference toresourcing will be attained soon. Even notwithstanding the situation as depicted,there seems to be little evidence of schools taking own initiative to engender sharingof limited resources among themselves. Recorded instances of resources sharingbetween schools seem to be those initiated by government alone, government andbusiness as well as government with donor countries. The collaborative sharing ofresources between schools is not sustainable due to the perception of it being animposition due to top-down approach by the powers that be and the challenge offunding.The perceived top-down and lack of funding seems to thwart initiatives from the sideof the schools to come up with own initiatives to share limited resources amongthemselves. It thus became critical to use a research strategy that would motivateand enthuse those affected to do something about their situation. This participatoryaction research, conducted within the critical emancipatory theoretical framework,formulates a strategic management framework for collaborative resources sharingbetween schools such that it is sustainable.In terms of participatory action research, research is not done on people but withthem. It was against this background that I formed a team to facilitate engagement,interactions and participation of the affected schools in the study. In laying thefoundation for the study, the team engaged the participants in coining the vision,doing SWOT analysis, setting priorities, evaluating legislative mandates andengendering collaborative planning. The critical emancipatory research objectivesand principles that underpin the relationships between participants as well as thelanguage used became handy in opening the communicative space among theparticipants.The communicative space that allowed free discussions was further enhancedthrough that application of the free attitude interview technique. The technique allowthe use of the preferred language of the participants. The involvement of the affectedparticipants helped to address the research objectives namely, the need to establishstrategic management framework for resources sharing that is sustainable,determining the components on which the framework is pillared, determining theconditions that ensures success, the threats that hinder successful implementationand testing the applicability of the framework.The interactive engagement between the participants helped to generate data thatwere used in the study. In order to make sense of the volumes of date generated,the critical discourse analysis was used. This method allows those handling datafrom discourses not to take it at face value but to dig for deeper meaning. In this wayknowledge creation becomes possible from what may seem everyday conversations.Knowledge created from planning of activities and priorities, their implementation,monitoring, observations and reflections was used to confirm or negate what waslearnt from related literature study. Furthermore this knowledge was used to closethe gaps that existed in the models or frameworks studied from other countries andlocal. In this way it became possible to design the framework that has build-inmechanisms that make it to be sustainable and thus engender sustainable learningenvironments.The active participation of people from diverse backgrounds as equals, as coresearchers,as creators of knowledge helped the study to present a strategicmanagement framework for collaborative resources sharing such that it issustainable. The experiences that unfolded during the whole process from inceptionto actual presentation of the framework, informed the observations, conclusions andrecommendation that round off the study in the last chapter.

[发布机构] University of the Free State