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This is a qualitative exploratory, descriptive study to ascertain the feasibility of public administrators at the local government level using an Appreciative Inquiry approach to increase direct citizen participation. It is framed by the interpretive paradigm. Twenty city managers or their designees from cities of between 40,000 and 250,000 citizens were interviewed. Specifically, respondents were asked twelve semi-structured interview questions. Content analysis was used to identify six themes in the data. Ultimately, this study found that Appreciative Inquiry may be useful in limited circumstances as long as barriers to implementation were adequately addressed. However, the potential risks may outweigh the benefits. / Ph. D.

Schools develop organizational cultures of their own; these cultures establish traditions and norms that guide everyday life in schools. The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of how a positive school culture has been shaped, maintained, and sustained over the past four decades at one midsized Catholic high school in Southeastern Ontario. The qualitative research design combined document analysis and qualitative interviewing with the aim to establish a greater understanding of the school’s history. The interviews were conducted with current and former teachers and administrators who have worked at the school between 1970 and 2013. By looking at this school as a case study, I have attempted to gain a deeper insight to the subjective experiences that different teachers and administrators have had with the school over the course of its recent history, and have thereby developed an understanding of the motivations and actions undertaken to both preserve and change the school’s normative structure over the course of time. The results of the study indicate that the school has been able to maintain and sustain a positive culture over the past forty years. The findings have determined the school’s cultural manifestations at each of the three levels of organizational culture, and recognize the fundamental importance of the role of selected stakeholders in projecting, and reflecting the existing culture in order to preserve core underlying assumptions in the process of adaptation to internal and external changes. The school’s long-standing history, tradition of excellence, and strong focus on Catholic education and “educating the whole person” have allowed for the establishment of a close community network within the school. From an ecological perspective (recognizing schools as living systems) these networks, supported by strong leadership, have served to sustain the healthy elements of the school’s culture allowing it to evolve over time. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-03 14:26:59.744

Historically, institutions of higher education have been perceived to be isolated from the real concerns of the world. They have appeared to be ivory towers and bastions of knowledge to which mere mortals can only aspire. There is currently still a call in the South Africa for education that is relevant and applicable to the development of South Africa. Through emphasizing community engagement and implementing service learning various dynamic approaches are now being considered to link “traditional domains of foundational knowledge and professional knowledge with a new emphasis on socially responsive knowledge” (Altman in Kenny & Gallagher, 2000:1). Altman suggests that service learning links the knowledge, skills and experiences of learners in a way that enables them to act and respond to social problems and engage with communities. The aim of the research was to through an appreciative inquiry framework determine what is being done in respect to and how best to support and encourage the continued implementation of community engagement and service learning in South Africa. The research focuses on how service learning and community engagement can be made sustainable in South Africa. It identifies what service learning practices are being established by higher education institutions in South Africa following the period typified as the era of the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme. Over a period of nine years, higher education institutions received external support from the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme. In 2008, the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme was transferred to the Higher Education Quality Committee and the support and funding, previously supplied by the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme, was terminated. The research investigates how service learning and community engagement has since continued to be sustained and implemented in higher education institutions. Service learning and community engagement, as an entity, is positioned to “produce powerful transformative effects for learners, teachers, schools, universities, communities and policy-makers” (Le Grange, 2007:8). These developments in higher education serve as a backdrop for the need for transformation and change in South Africa. In response to the fundamental changes occurring in South Africa, there is an imminent need to transform the function, role and purpose of higher education institutions. The findings of the research should generate a greater understanding of the current status of service learning and community engagement in South Africa.

Det finns mycket forskning som pekar på en tärande arbetssituation för den myndighetsutövande delen i socialtjänsten inom barn och unga. Denna kvalitativa studie influeras av förhållningssättet Appreciative Inquiry för att undersöka de positiva faktorerna, arbetsglädje och arbetsmotivation, med att arbeta som socialsekreterare inom den myndighetsutövande delen i socialtjänsten. Sju stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes, där socialsekreterare fick dela med sig av sina upplevelser av arbetsglädje och arbetsmotivation i deras profession. Resultatet visar att det som ger arbetsglädje och arbetsmotivation är klientarbetet i sig, där möjligheten att kunna göra skillnad och hjälpa är viktig. En förtroendefull relation till klienten där det finns en ömsesidig förståelse är också av betydelse. Relationen till kollegor, både genom en mer stödjande roll i arbetet och en vänskapsrelation, är ytterligare en viktig faktor. Appreciative Inquiry upplevdes positivt då socialsekreterarna upplever att de sällan pratar om det som är positivt. Genom att lyfta det som är positivt vill vi stärka yrkets positiva faktorer.

A journey comprised of three paths is the metaphor through which I i) reflect and report on my involvement with four New Zealand primary school Boards of Trustees (BOTs) investigating the emancipatory potential that applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) may have on their governance processes, ii) analyse appreciative inquiry through application(s) of critical theory, with specific reference to the investigation above so as to deepen understanding of the research method, and iii) reflect on my personal development, as achieved through my engagement with participants and the research process. Stemming from an interest in improving school governance I was keen to identify current use of ICTs by BOTs and to work with them to identify potential applications. Appreciative inquiry with its focus on enhancing existing positive organisational attributes seemed to provide an appropriate structure for my investigation. At the back of my mind however, a concern was formulating: Does this method of research deliver the benefits the literature espouses? What influence would the positive orientation have on the research process and on the power dynamics within the research environment? Complementary streams of critical thinking and reflexivity were invoked to assist my analysis. Applications of ICTs which may appear 'helpful' to BOT governance processes are identified in this report. However, uncritical uptake of these applications may not necessarily be consistent with the emancipatory intentions I aspire to. Framed within Habermas' theory of communicative action, the potential colonisation of the BOT lifeworld by the system is considered. Domesticating influences may potentially constrain democratic processes at local school and societal levels. The participatory action research process undertaken facilitated a deepened understanding of governance for all involved. Identification of time and funding constraints indicates BOTs may be prevented from reaching their true potential. Attempts to enhance governance through additional applications of ICTs will be of minimal effect unless efforts are made to better understand and resource the governance efforts of Trustees. Purported empowerment of the community as mandated in the Education Act 1989 comes with a heavy cost, for schools and individuals. Care must be taken to ensure that 'efficiency' gains are not made at the expense of democratic processes. Critical analysis of appreciative inquiry as a research method highlights the influences of power and language use within the research process. Appreciative inquiry should be seen as a process for, rather than a master of change. The contribution of appreciative inquiry to organisational and personal transformation may be drawn from the ontological basis of the approach rather than from the technicalities of a specific form of implementation. I suggest the focus on what is 'good' be made more complex, to recognise that appreciation may also mean 'to know, to be conscious of, to take full and sufficient account of'. Application of an enhanced definition of appreciation has deepened my understanding of not only the situation under investigation but also the research process itself. Through my enhanced concept of 'appreciation' embedded and sometimes obscured influences were highlighted, better understood, and at times transformed to serve the emancipatory aspirations of participants. In keeping with the reflexivity mandated by my commitment to critical theory and action research, I applied this enhanced definition of appreciation to my personal development during my engagement with participants and the research process. My struggles to apply my chosen social constructionist and critical theory lenses to this work are evident in my attempts to work with the largely functionalist literature in this field and the influence of my undergraduate education. Recognising the theoretical and personal developments I gained as I travelled the three paths of my PhD journey, the scene is now set for me to challenge the predominance of functionalist, mechanistic metaphors which dominate organisational literature. In doing so, I seek an alternative approach to understanding organisational activity; and a new vocabulary through which I might extend my understanding, and negotiate new and emancipatory meaning(s) with others.

The goal of nursing is to promote health and alleviate suffering. Using Appreciative Inquiry, this study explored the possibilities for the nursing profession to reduce the health implications of poverty. Select Saskatchewan registered nurses (RNs) engaged in appreciative interviews that identified positive experiences working with low income clients. The participants were activists challenging the status quo through their practice. Analysis illuminated the best practices of these RNs, constructing a vision for change rooted in their understanding clients realities and communicating those realities through advocacy. By bringing their personal passions to client interactions, and connecting with a broader social justice context, RNs create an opportunity to respond to the effects of income inequities on health.

The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of mentoring amongst administrative women in higher education from an appreciative perspective. In 1985, Kathy Kram published her book on mentoring entitled, Mentoring at Work. This seminal work provided an initial body of knowledge that helped scholars conceptualize mentoring and encouraged a proliferation of research, in what was then an emerging topic for academic inquiry. However, twenty years after Kram advanced her understandings of mentoring, Chandler and Kram (2005) reported that [t]o date, multiple definitions of a mentor have been advanced, but researchers in the field have not unconditionally accepted any specific one (p. 5).<p> Mentoring has suffered from a lack of definitional and conceptual clarity. This lack of clarity has hampered research efforts and rendered research vulnerable to criticism. This lack of clarity has also made implementation of mentoring programs difficult with respect to whom or what exactly is providing the benefit.<p> This study explored the concept of mentoring through focus groups with administrative women in higher education. The study was conducted within a qualitative paradigm, adapting elements from the work on grounded theory by Corbin and Strauss (2008). Focus groups were used to gather the data, with the questions based on the appreciative inquiry method. The worldview underlying the methodological orientation and study design is best described as constructionist. A constructionist worldview assumes that knowledge is constructed as persons explain or try to make sense of their experiences in the context of conversing with others.<p> I anticipated the findings of this study would be significant to mentoring research in three ways. In the study, I addressed the lack of definitional and conceptual clarity of mentoring that have presented academic and practical challenges; I employed a methodological orientation and study design that focused on understanding the participants recollected experiences of relationships that have worked; and the population of interest (administrative women in higher education) was one that had been understudied in mentoring research.<p> In addition to my academic interest in mentoring I was intrigued by the myth behind mentoring. References to the mythical figure, Mentor, in Homers Odyssey abound and yet two important points about Mentor have gone largely unnoticed. First Mentor was actually a woman. Mentor was Athena. That Mentor embodied both male and female characteristics may be interpreted to suggest that features of both sexes are necessary to mentoring. The second point is that Mentor was only one of the disguises Athena wore in order to provide advice and guidance to Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus. The second point may be interpreted to suggest that it takes more than one kind of person or relationship to provide the full range of support that an individual requires over the course of their career. It was my hope that this study would help reconcile the myth of Mentor with the reality of mentoring.

The goal of nursing is to promote health and alleviate suffering. Using Appreciative Inquiry, this study explored the possibilities for the nursing profession to reduce the health implications of poverty. Select Saskatchewan registered nurses (RNs) engaged in appreciative interviews that identified positive experiences working with low income clients. The participants were activists challenging the status quo through their practice. Analysis illuminated the best practices of these RNs, constructing a vision for change rooted in their understanding clients realities and communicating those realities through advocacy. By bringing their personal passions to client interactions, and connecting with a broader social justice context, RNs create an opportunity to respond to the effects of income inequities on health.