Change is the single most important element of successful business management today. To remain competitive in increasingly aggressive, competitive and dynamic markets, organizations have to adopt a positive attitude to change. Ignoring or trivializing changing trends can be very costly. The best organizations are the trendsetters that monitor the environment, embrace the need for change and effectively lead change in order to survive. Effective management of change is, therefore, of great importance if organizations are to stay ahead of rivals and attain a sustainable competitive edge in the industry (Heller, 1998). The main focus of this dissertation is to evaluate the management of transformational change at the National University of Lesotho (NUL), with the intention of formulating management of change strategies that NUL can adopt for the successful implementation of its strategic transformational change process. The text further explicates the correlation between leadership, change and the management of change within the context of NUL's ongoing transformational change process. A case study approach has been used to conduct the research. The report has been divided into five chapters. Chapter One provides the background to the study as well as the research methodology that has been employed to conduct the study. It further provides a brief outline of the structure of the dissertation. Chapter Two describes the theoretical framework of the change process, management of change and implications of different leadership traits on the management of transformation change in transforming organizations. The theoretical framework forms the foundation on which the study has been based and also provides guidelines and benchmarks of the management of change strategies that NUL can use for the successful implementation of its strategic transformational change process. At the end of Chapter Two, a case analysis model has been developed to conduct the case analysis in Chapter Four. In Chapter Three, a brief overview of an evolutionary background to the study problem is provided. The chapter also provides a critical analysis NUL's strategic transformational change process. Chapter Four offers an evaluation of NUL's strategic transformational change process. The discussion is based on the case study change model developed at the end of Chapter Two. It also highlights on the strengths and weakness of the NUL's change process. Lastly, in Chapter Five, recommendations emanating from the analysis conducted in Chapter Four, are outlined as suggestions what NUL can do and things that it should avoid doing if it is to achieve the objectives and goals of its transformational change successfully. Moreover, the chapter concludes the dissertation by providing a summary of the entire case study and maps the way forward for NUL to meet its strategic objectives and goals, as well as achieve a successful transformational change process with long-term strategic development. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

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This study was designed to determine: (a) the nature and extent of programmatic changes that occurred in the nine Indiana "High Schools That Work" pilot sites, (b) how the implementation of these changes has impacted administrative roles and responsibilities, and (c) whether the principal's role is different in program implementation when another educator is directly responsible for a specific school-improvement initiative. Questionnaires were mailed to principals and site coordinators at each pilot site, and personal interviews were subsequently conducted with each of them.Findings and conclusions were:1. All pilot sites used some form of integrated, non-linear planning. Integrated, non-linear planning helped pilot-site principals and site coordinators gain support for their programs and implement a greater number of changes than the researcher expected to find.2. Communication and finding time to plan were the two most significant planning problems. When there was a breakdown in communication among constituent groups, the level of support for various initiatives diminished. Releasing teachers from classroom activities to plan this initiative provided help in the planning process.3. Administrators at each school incorporated programmatic changes to reflect changes in philosophy, curriculum, and instruction. These changes included: (a) raising academic expectations, (b) eliminating the general track, (c) revising curriculum and instructional techniques, (d) integrating subject areas across academic disciplines and between academic and vocational subjects, (e) restructuring guidance programs, (f) collaborating with business communities, (g) modifying student assessment methods, and (h) changing the structure of the school day. Changes made through the "High Schools That Work" initiative have impacted all constituent groups affiliated with the pilot-site schools.4. Educators in dual roles of principal and site coordinator maintained direct control of their projects, and their time commitments were significantly greater than those of principals at schools with separate site coordinators. In situations where a site coordinator was present, the principal primarily assumed the role of supporter. This support role was especially critical with regard to communication and problem-solving.5. When there was no separate site coordinator, the principal assumed a broader range of responsibilities and acted as initiator, supporter, facilitator, and problem-solver for the initiative. When a site coordinator was present, the principal delegated power and leadership responsibilities to him or her. / Department of Educational Leadership

This study sought to determine the beliefs of curriculum directors within the public school districts of Indiana with regard to the purpose of education and to the impact of high-stakes testing. The six cultures of curriculum described by Joseph et al. (2000) were utilized to provide the lens through which curriculum directors could view the overall curriculum of their individual districts. For the purpose of this study, the curriculum director was defined as the person at the district level most responsible for the organization and implementation of the curriculum. The researcher first sought to determine the culture supported personally by curriculum directors and the culture believed to be most prevalent within their districts. In relation, the researcher further wished to learn if directors believed high-stakes testing served a valid purpose within the context of their personally supported culture or the one perceived to be most prevalent. Finally, the researcher sought to determine if directors believed the pressure to perform well on high-stakes tests had an influence upon their decision-making in relation to curricular changes. Data from 136 (46.6%) of Indiana’s 292 public school districts showed Constructing Understanding, defined as “Developing in students the ability to think independently and to build knowledge from the information they gather through observation and collaboration” (Appendix E), was selected by 64.4% of the respondents as the curriculum culture most in agreement with their personal beliefs. When asked to identify the curriculum culture perceived to be most prevalent within their school districts, Training for Work and Survival, defined as “Providing students the necessary skills to allow them to be both effective and adaptive in the workplace and in society” (Appendix E), was selected by 66.9% of respondents. With respect to perceived pressure related to high-stakes testing, 73.5% indicated the pressure significantly impacts or has the greatest impact on my decision-making; 73.7% felt significant to extreme pressure for their students to perform well on ISTEP+ and the ECAs; and, 63.6% reported feeling moderate to extreme pressure to encourage teachers to teach to the test. / Department of Educational Leadership

This study is undertaken to investigate the students’ learning experiences in second year Augmented Economics tutorials. Augmented Economics tutorials is a second year academic development (AD) programme for students in the extended Bachelor of Commerce degree. The investigation into the students’ learning experiences is done by interrogating the causal relationship between the learning environment at a higher education institution on the one hand and the student learning approaches and the students’ performance outcomes on the other. The study focuses on the students in the AD programme who are enrolled in the extended Bachelor of Commerce degree. The rationale for the study stems from the non-existence of research data on the effectiveness or lack thereof in the extended Bachelor of Commerce since the programme started in 2004. The study is intended to identify possible areas of strength and weaknesses in all the Augmented Economics modules. The study uses Biggs’ 3P theory of students’ approaches to learning to explain the interrelationship between the presage, process and product vriables. The Course Experience Questionnaire is used as an instrument with which to gather data from the second year Augmented Economics students. A questionnaire with 29 items was used, of which data from 26 of these items was used. The study found strong positive linear correlations between the institutional factors but very weak positive and negative correlations between grade 12 and institutional factors. Significant gender difference in the deep learning approach but no gender difference in the surface learning approach was found. This study found that the second year Augmented Modules are perceived by the students as positively empowering them with generic skills. The study recommends a relook at the curriculum structure and the workload as well as the assessment models being used in second year Augmented Economics. Further research is also recommended over a longer period and a bigger sample to establish the generalizability of this study’s findings. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

This study is scientifically aimed at the problematic question of the present situation regarding the climate in the Bible Education classroom in secondary schools. A possible cause of the problems experienced with Bible Education and the negative view prevalent with regard to the subject, can be ascribed to the prevailing climate in the Bible Education classroom in the secondary school. An empirical study was conducted by means of a structured questionnaire distributed to the Bible Education teachers and a stratified sample of ten pupils per class at four Afrikaanse secondary schools. The four schools were chosen at random and served as test sample. According to the answers of the respondents, it became clear that the present classroom climate puts a very high premium on rules and control in the classroom. Therefore it would appear as if a lot of work needs to be done concerning the mutual relationship between teacher and pupil for the effective improvement of the climate in the classroom. / Skripsie (MEd (Didaktiese Opvoedkunde))--PU vir CHO, 1995

<p>During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, not only physical assets were eroded but more importantly, human capital were destroyed and left the country living hardly on qualified personnel at almost all levels of the economy to play a meaningful development role. While capacity building is needed in many sectors of the economy, it is especially important in the education sector. This study focuses on one particular issue namely to what extent sending academic staff for training in foreign countries can effectively contribute to capacity building in Rwandan higher education institutions (HEI). Various options exist to improve a strategy to build capacities in higher education institutions / amongst others is the training of human resource which is the most important of all.</p> <p>In order to investigate the above, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Techniques such as documentation, semi-structured interview, questionnaire and direct observation were also used in order to reach the research objectives. With regard to the main question of this study, findings reveal that funding academic staff for foreign training is believed to effectively contribute to capacity building in Rwandan higher education. As respondents explain, academic staff sent for training in foreign countries acquires new knowledge that is needed to build the country. This gained knowledge is spread all over the country through teaching at universities where most sectors of the country find their human resources. Being open minded, trained academic staff will be able to update his knowledge and therefore train in turn his students accordingly. However, findings inform also that Rwandan HEI are faced with multiple problems amongst others the problem of defining the real institutional needs for appropriate training. In this regard, findings suggest that for the training to be effective in Rwandan HEI there is a need of putting in place appropriate mechanisms and assessing institutional needs before training a person and training according to those specific needs in order to help the process of capacity building being more effective.</p>

Els dos principals objectius d'aquesta tesis són: (1) la realització d'un estudi global, (2) anàlisi i caracterització d'alteracions recurrents, en els canvis de metilació genòmica associats al càncer de còlon. Amb la finalitat d'assolir aquests objectius, vàrem desenvolupar una nova tècnica d'anàlisi dels canvis de metilació. Amplification of InterMethylated Sites (AIMS). A partir de la descripció d'aquesta tècnica, la tesis consta de dos grups de resultats, obtinguts a partir de la mateixa tècnica AIMS, i clarament diferenciats. Un primer bloc de resultats on realitzem dos estudis globals (objectiu número 1), i un segon bloc format per dos estudis específics (objectiu número 2) . En el primer treball global es va analitzar la contribució dels guanys i les pèrdues de la metilació genòmica en el procés tumoral. La principal conclusió d'aquest treball va ser el paper independent que juguen els dos tipus de canvi, tant a nivell de característiques tumorals (fisiològiques i genètiques), com de valor pronòstic i contribució al llarg de la progressió tumoral. En el segon estudi global, ens vàrem centrar més amb les pèrdues de metilació genòmica. En aquest, mostrem l'estreta associació entre aquestes pèrdues amb el grau de dany genòmic i mal pronòstic. El segon bloc de resultats ve constituït per els estudis específics. En un primer treball, descrivim el silenciament epigenètic del gen sintasa de prostaciclines (PTGIS). Aquest silenciament, es dona en una freqüència elevada de tumors i presenta una associació estadísticament significativa amb el grau d'aneuploidia del tumor. Finalment, un segon treball específic on mostrem el silenciament epigenètic de tota una banda citogenètica, concretament 2q14.2. En aquest silenciament no tant sols s'hi troba implicada la metilació genòmica, sinó que també descrivim un efecte general de silenciament a través de la modificació post-transcripcional de les histones. / The main focus of this thesis is to better understand the role of genomic methylation changes in colorectal cancer. We approached it at two different levels: (1) global assessment and (2) analysis of specific recurrent changes. A new technique called Amplification of InterMethylated Sites (AIMS) was developed to obtain information at both levels. At global level we report the relative contribution of losses and gains of DNA methylation on the tumour progression. DNA methylation signatures associate with different tumour features, including physiological, genetic and clinical characteristics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that global genomic demethylation correlates with cumulated genomic damage and poor prognosis. At specific level we show the epigenetic silencing of the prostacyclin synthase gene (PTGIS) in 43% of colorectal cancers. PTGIS inactivation is associated with the aneuploid status of the tumour, suggesting a possible role of this gene in the maintenance of the genomic integrity. Finally, we have detected a new type of epigenetic alteration affecting a large proportion of colorectal cancers. It consists in a long range epigenetic silencing due DNA methylation and Histone modification changes and affects an entire cytogenetic band (2q14.2). All the genes and transcripts present in this region showed downregulation independently of the promoter methylation status suggesting that the regional condition prevails over the local status.

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The problem addressed in this study is the identification of perceived and preferred goals in post-primary educational institutions in Kaduna-State, Nigeria. The purposes of the study are to identify and analyze the most important goals and to make recommendations for improvements based on these findings. Chapter I discusses the background and significance of the study and the procedures used in collecting and analyzing data; Chapter II surveys related literature. Methodology and analysis of data are presented in Chapters III and IV. Chapter V offers the study's findings, summary, conclusions, and recommendations.