Educational Leadership and Quality Education in Disadvantaged Communities in Ghana and Tanzania.

Abstract

Achieving quality in education has increasingly become crucial in strategic improvement plans of developing countries. While the concept of quality and its priority indicators may differ from country to country, it is commonly considered as a determining factor in facilitating the implementation of education for all initiatives (Boissiere, 2004; World Bank Independent Evaluation Group, 2006). Quality in education is also viewed as an influential factor in implementing plans for bridging the poverty gaps between the developing and the developed worlds. At the centre of strategies for accelerating the achievement of quality education is effective leadership at all levels of the school system. This paper seeks to examine country context perspectives of quality education and leadership challenges associated with their implementation. It will compare existing basic education quality improvement policy initiatives within Ghana and Tanzania. Of particular interest will be the identification of some major similarities and differences in the way Ghanaians and Tanzanians educators perceive and conceptualize their school leadership roles in the context of quality education