The development of an employee assistance programme (EAP) model for secondary school educators in KwaZulu-Natal : an exploratory study

Abstract

The intended contribution of this empirical study was the development of an exploratory employee assistance programme (EAP) model for secondary school educators in KwaZulu-Natal. The academic EAP model formulated was hybrid as it relied on the synthesis of traditional and contemporary paradigms that encapsulated System, Gestalt and Leadership theories. The main problem revolved around the lack of an effective on-site EAP model for secondary school educators in KwaZulu-Natal. Hence the need for this study. The objective of this study was to conduct an audit of EAP policy and action plans at secondary school level in KwaZulu-Natal and develop an exploratory EAP model. The research design adopted a quantitative methodological approach using a self-administered questionnaire that was mailed to a representative sample of 512 secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal. A significant response rate of 59.7% was obtained as 311 respondents returned the questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the computerized Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0 for Windows). Some significant findings emerged from this study. The respondents reported that 69.2% of schools did not have an EAP policy, while 66.9% of schools did not have action plans to implement EAP. A further 71.8% of respondents required training on EAP frameworks. The respondents also indicated that 79.1% of educators would use an EAP due to work-related stress and only 9% of schools had a budget to pay external EAP service providers. The Pearson Chi-Square test showed a significant correlation for 25 out of the 27 hypotheses that tested the variables of the exploratory EAP model. One of the recommendations suggest that, for fair and consistent treatment of the troubled and underperforming educator, on- site EAP policy and action plans be developed and implemented. Another recommendation highlighted that, in the absence of specialized EAP professionals, school management teams use the exploratory EAP model as a strategic intervention to assist troubled and underperforming secondary school educators in KwaZulu-Natal. The study concluded with suggestions for future research in this field.