Research 

This case study attempts to develop an understanding of the impact the local context of the school has on policy implementation. It does so by examining the implementation of the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) in a primary school. Local context is conceptualised as the interplay between a schools structure, culture and micro-politics. This conceptualisation is developed through a review of literature on school culture, structure and micro-politics. The literature on policy implementation and teacher appraisal is also reviewed and issues pertinent to this study are highlighted. This study argues that the policy text makes projections about the local context it enters into. The actual conditions in the school do not always match these projections made in the policy. This results in a mismatch between the policy projections and the actual conditions in the school. The approach adopted in this study is to provide an analysis of the policy text in terms of the projections it makes with regard to the school. This is to compare it with an analysis of the data on the local context of the school in order to see if there is compatibility between the policy projections and the actual conditions in the school. The study also argues that the policy implementation is enhanced when the policy provides the means or conditions of possibility for its own implementation. In the case of the DAS policy these means are limited since the policy only presents structural change, in the form of committees, to support its implementation. The study concludes by suggesting that the success of implementation depends partly on the compatibility between the policy projections and the actual conditions in the school. Successful implementation also depends on the practicability of the policy and the extent to which there is coherence between this policy and other policies. 

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Cape Town, 2003