Author's Name:	Regis Fanuel Gutuza & Thembinkosi Tshabalala
Subject Area:	Social Science and Humanities
Subject	Education
Section	Research Paper

Early childhood development, school head, supervision, district and role.

The aim of this present study was to examine the role of the head of school in supervision of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Zimbabwean primary schools with special reference to Mutare Urban in Manicaland Province. The population comprised of all the 350 ECD teachers within the district. The respondents were selected using a random sampling technique and were made up of 90 teachers and 9 heads. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and the questionnaire was used as the only instrument for collecting data and contained both close-ended and open-ended questions. The study established that most heads did not have adequate knowledge about early childhood education to effectively supervise early childhood centres. Heads did not commit adequate time towards supervision of ECD classes. Most teachers also indicated that heads did not prioritise allocation of resources to the ECD classes. The study recommends that there must be a well-planned programme of supervision of instruction for the ECD classes in order to guide teachers in their delivery of lessons. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should organize staff development sessions for heads on ECD supervision.