In this study, a literature review and qualitative research design are used in an attempt to establish the obstacles to the effective governance of schools in previously disadvantaged communities. From the research, it emerges that the SGBs govern their schools intuitively. This is because they lack knowledge of how schools should be governed. Various strategies to build the governance capacity of these SGBs are formulated in this study to assist them to govern their schools effectively. Effective governance is an important instrument that can restore order, protect the rights of both learners and educators, prevent discipline problems amongst learners and establish the provision of quality education in these communities. / Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The United Arab Emirates are challenged to include the national workforce into their increasingly diversified and knowledge-based economic vision. The federal Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development incubates Sougha, a non-profit company acting as market intermediary for Emirati artisans. This study aims at providing an insight into Sougha‘s potential to become a social enterprise. A pragmatic and exploratory approach is followed. An iterative process underpins the concept of social enterprise from established literature, re-visits it through a social constructivist lens as an emerging topic in the GCC region, and benchmarks Sougha against two selected social enterprise frameworks, based on data analysis from documents and interviews. Sougha demonstrates social value creation while its commercial value creation is restricted to social mission activities. Financial motives are insufficiently reflected in Sougha‘s strategic documentation; leaving doubt to whether Sougha is genuinely seeking financial sustainability, which endangers its eligibility as a social enterprise. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The changes within the South African education system have turned-around the view that regards principals as “sole” people responsible for leadership and management of schools. The task of the school principal has undergone a radical change. Over the years the notion has been replaced by the view that sees management and leadership as prerogative of many, including stakeholders within and outside education. The move has become world-wide phenomenon compelled by the dual imperatives changing societal values and the rate of change. This study is aimed at investigating the perceptions and experiences of School Management Teams (SMTs) on teamwork as an alternative to school management. The investigation was framed within the mixed-method approach, and sought to unpack the experience of SMT members with regard to teamwork. An interpretive paradigm made it possible for me to gain an in-depth understanding of SMT members’ experience of teamwork within their school contexts. I used interviews and questionnaires as research tools to gather data. This study has found that, although the concept of teamwork is well-received, there are still significant obstacles to the implementation of teamwork as an alternative form of school management / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Previously, studies in the intersection of power and development have predominantly concentrated on power as domination; how powerful actors can force recipient countries into embracing specific policies due to economical asymmetries. Yet, with the introduction of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) approach to development employed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI), conditions on certain policies have decreased and it is said that the approach allows for country ownership as development strategies are written by the countries themselves. As a critical response, the conception of power is broadened here through the separate employment of governmentality theory and neo-Gramscian International Relations theory. They share among them a theoretical premise which allows for an understanding of power that extends beyond domination to the realm of discursive practices which, it is argued, allows for influence despite the notions of ownership and without power as domination. The object of this thesis is to suggest how the discourses of the PRSP regime can influence subjects whom they addressed. The two theories have different assumptions here. More specifically, the neo-Gramscian theory argue that discursive practice may render ideological issues as common sense why they can come to be embraced by subjects, whereas the governmentality theory assume that discourses can, perhaps without conscious recognition, reshape the very identities of subjects. The theories differences are retained and bracketed when a discourse analysis of the PRSP regime is conducted which concludes that the BWIs require that suitable skills are embraced by subjects appropriate for a good governed market economy. These skills are located to basic capacities in calculating, accounting and social capital accumulation. Thereafter a practical example of discursive practice in a capacity building mission is reviewed to explicate how these skills are actualized through training modules enabling influence towards preferred standards of the BWIs without power as domination. The two theories are brought in for a discussion on how these discursive practices may be understood according to their respective premises, but also to discuss the usefulness of these theories for studies of this kind. It is argued, among other conclusions, that the neo-Gramscian understanding of power as operating on the conscious level can fruitfully be coupled with the proposition of governmentality that powers also work on an unconscious level for understanding practises of capacity building. As concerning the weaknesses of the theories it is put forth that the neo- Gramscian theory suffers from an assumption of class identity presented as a “brute fact” before the realm of the political, whereas the governmentality theory suffers from an exclusive focus on discourse and leaves behind how different actor constellations may seek to appropriate discourses. To remedy these weaknesses, the thesis concludes with an argument that a combination of these theories can provide a lucrative foundation for further studies.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze different forms of North-South development assistance with regard to its widespread critique and to examine whether the field of international research capacity building holds alternative development cooperation strategies that have the potential to reconcile some of the criticisms. The focus is on the International Science Programme (ISP) and the empirical research carried out in Bangladesh and Sweden on the ISP-Bangladesh collaboration in the form of semi-structured interviews constitutes the core case study evidence. Three theoretical perspectives – realism, interdependence liberalism and constructivism – provide the framework of the case study and serve as guiding tools to understand the ISP’s role and motivations as an actor in international relations. The main goal is to investigate whether the ISP can be best perceived as an instance of self-interest, interconnectedness or social empowerment.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of implementing capacity building strategies on the provision of health services in the central region of Malawi. The study intended to determine why a lack of quality services is still prevailing in the health services in the central region despite implementing capacity building strategies aimed at improving the delivery of health services. In addition to this, to come up with recommendations to improve the implementation of the existing capacity building strategies so that the implementation results in the intended impact, that is efficient and effective provision of health services in the central region of Malawi. The studies reviewed what various scholars have written on capacity building in order to ground capacity building in Public Administration and provide the study with a conceptual, theoretical and legislative framework. This enabled the researcher to describe the nature and place of capacity building in Public Administration. It was evident from the review that the implementation of capacity building strategies is a systematic process which requires that chief officials follow all the steps in order to effectively and efficiently implement the capacity building strategies so that the intended impact is achieved. In this regard, capacity building is a management function which requires that chief officials play an enabling role by providing the necessary resources (both human and financial) and policies that support the implementation of capacity building strategies. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods whereby thirty-five respondents composed of political office-bearers and chief officials from Lilongwe, Dedza, Mchinji and Dowa districts and Ministry of Health Headquarters in the central region of Malawi were given self-administered questionnaires to complete. Face-to-face interviews and document analysis were also used as research methods. The intention was to determine the problems that are being experienced in the implementation of the existing capacity building strategies and find out if the strategies are resulting in the intended impact. The study findings confirmed that there are indeed problems being experienced in the implementation of the existing capacity building strategies, namely: inadequate human and financial resources, corruption, political interference, lack of consultation with stakeholders and lack of political will to make sure that the implementation of the capacity building strategies is effectively and efficiently done. It was also revealed that the implementation of the existing capacity building strategies is impacting negatively on the provision of health services in the central region of Malawi, hence indicating a need to change in approach. The study concludes that in order for the capacity building strategies to achieve the intended impact there is a need to broaden the scope of the legal framework on health capacity building strategies in Malawi, enforce the use of performance standards and improve the operational framework to gain efficiencies and effectiveness from current investments in capacity building.

Contesting international strategies for combatting child labour that derive from modern, Western conceptions of childhood, several developing country organizations have embraced the principle of child protagonism by declaring that working children can become the leading agents in struggles to advance their interests when they are mentored in forming their own independent organizations. This thesis first explores how an African NGO, informed by its urban animation experiences, developed its own specific discourse of child protagonism and employed it as the basis for establishing an African working children’s organization designed to provide compensatory literacy and skills training and to empower members to improve their own and other children’s working conditions. The thesis considers this foundational child protagonism discourse in light of data collected in Senegal by means of participant observation and interviews in grassroots groups and associations of working children, as well as in the offices of both the local NGO and its international NGO donor. Fieldwork revealed limitations of the specific child protagonism practice pursued over the past two decades. Specifically, redirecting resources from direct pedagogical accompaniment of grassroots working child groups towards bureaucratic capacity building for the “autonomization” of higher hierarchical levels of the organization, as well as towards international meetings, has resulted in the organization’s diminished impact for vulnerable groups in Dakar, particularly migrant girl domestic workers. Deepening implication with international donors has forced shifts in the priorities of the local NGO and the working children’s organization it facilitates, yet the two have been largely successful in buffering donor probes precisely into the ground level effectiveness of their child protagonism strategy. No previous independent research has sought to confront the discourse of child protagonism with a comprehensive examination of a working children’s organization’s practice, from its most local processes to its international dimensions and donor relations.

I det här examensarbetet har vi studerat Trafikverkets huvudprocess Planera åtgärder och gått på djupet i delprocessen Tidig planering med andra. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga hur arbetet utförs i verkligheten kopplat till processen Tidig planering med andra. Utifrån kartläggningen av problemet är studien ämnad att ta fram ett lösningsförslag till Trafikverket. Genom tio intervjuer, två observationer och 35 mottagna frågeformulär har vi kunnat skapa oss en djupare bild och förståelse över förbättringsområdet För omfattande process. För omfattande process innebär att processen i sig beskriver i stora drag hur en samhällsplanerare arbetar men lämnar utrymme till egen tolkning, vilket i sin tur leder till att kommuner får olika bemötanden. Med hjälp av verktygen paretodiagram, histogram och korrelationsmatris kunde vi tydliggöra nuläget. I analysen framkom det att grundorsaken till att förbättringsområdet För omfattande process uppstått är på grund av avsaknad av kunskap om ämnena process och processledning. Genom teorikoppling har vi tagit fram ett lämpligt lösningsförslag för att ta tag i grundorsaken. Lösningsförslaget innefattar kompetensutveckling inom offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. Till lösningsförslaget tillkommer en implementeringsplan för att underlätta framtida förbättringar i Trafikverket. Slutsatsen som tagits är att Trafikverket har svaga kunskaper om processer och för att kunna arbeta med processer samt ständigt utveckla processerna behöver de genomgå en utbildning. Utbildningen kan lägga grunden för att Trafikverket i framtiden ska kunna ta fram en önskvärd process som alla i enheterna Samhällsplanering kan arbeta efter och känner för. / In this examination paper we have studied the Swedish Transport Administrations main process Plan measures and thoroughly analysed the subprocess Early planning with other stakeholders. The purpose with this study was to chart how the work is conducted in real life connected to the process Early planning with other stakeholders. From the mapping of the improvement area is the study meant to propose a solution to the Swedish Transport Administration. By conducting ten interviews, two observations and 35 received questionnaires we have created a more in depth knowledge and understanding about the improvement area Too extensive process. Too extensive process means that the process describes generally how a planner works but leaves space for interpretation, which leads to that different municipalities gets different refutation. Using the tools, pareto charts, histogram and correlation matrix we where able to clarify the present situation. In the analysis it appeared he improvement area Too extensive process emerged by a lack of knowledge within the subject of process and process management. Through theory linking we are presenting a suitable solution proposition to handle the main reason for development. The solution contains capacity building through a total quality management. To the solution proposition resides an implementation plan to facilitate future improvements within the Swedish Transport Administration. The conclusion is that the Swedish Transport Administration has flickering knowledge about processes. To be able to work with processes and constantly improvements the processes do they need to conduct a capacity building. The capacity building can lay the foundation for the Swedish Transport Administration to in the future be able to present a desired process which all in The infrastructural planners division can work with and work for.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Over the years major changes have occurred in the focus, approach and application of monitoring and evaluation systems as a result of increased levels of emphasis towards achieving results (outcomes) as opposed to activities and outputs. As the focus of management changes from activities to results, so too has the focal point of M&E shifted from the traditional M&E system of progress monitoring that only deals with assessing inputs and implementation processes, to a results-based M&E system that emphasizes the need to assess the contributions of intervention to development outcomes. Nowadays funders, stakeholders and donor agencies want to see the difference that development initiatives make in the livelihood of project beneficiaries.Results-based M&E systems are essential components of most organisational structures responsible for development services and this is very fundamental as it provides vital information and empowers policy makers to take better informed decisions. The foundation of an M&E system is the very first step which is in essence called a ‘readiness assessment’. Such an assessment must be conducted before the actual establishment of an M&E system. Just as a building must begin with a foundation, constructing an M&E system must also begin with the establishment of a readiness assessment. Without this assessment and an understanding of the preparedness and commitment of the organisation, establishing an M&E system may be fraught with difficulties and failure.The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme of Ikamva Labantu has always been in the form of a reporting-type check list. The Centre is in a process of establishing an effective M&E system. The problem being investigated in this study is whether Ikamva Labantu has achieved a sufficient level of readiness to establish a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. However, the study shall also highlight crucial aspect of PM&E and RBM&E that will have to be taken into consideration with the establishment of the actual M&E system.With the use of the qualitative research method, the aim of this study is to analyse and assess the readiness assessment phase for establishing a monitoring and evaluation system in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programmes of Ikamva Labantu Centre, Khayelitsha.

MEd (Educational Management) / Department of Educational Management / The aim of the study was to investigate the capacity-building of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in the area of policy interpretation and implementation. The research was carried out in schools under Klein Letaba Circuit in the Mopani Education District, in the Limpopo Province. This was a qualitative study where the researcher used purposive sampling to select schools and participants and interviews and document analysis to collect requisite data. In analysing data collected, content analysis was used. On the basis of data analysed and interpreted, the research findings revealed that SGBs do not have the necessary capacity to interpret and implement policies in schools. This is as a result of the inadequate training that they receive during their term of office, high level of illiteracy among them and lack of monitoring and support by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The study therefore recommends that SGBs be adequately trained in their home languages and encouraged to form cluster committees to share experiences to develop their capacity. The DBE should continuously monitor and support SGBs in the execution of their duties.