Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-173).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 13, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Bonnie Mennell Includes bibliographical references (leaf 300).

Thesis (EDD)--University of Montana, 2009. / Contents viewed on November 24, 2009. "Major Subject: School of Education" Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

In the past thirty years, oracy has received prominence as a means to enhance teaching styles and assist with learning. Much of what has been written in this field has been by those interested in a 'language across the curriculum' approach, such as Barnes (1969) who developed the terms 'exploratory talk' and 'final draft talk'. The linguist, M.A.K. Halliday {1989} and others have suggested that the teacher's approach should be to encourage what he terms 'heuristic talk' i.e. relatively unstructured exploratory language used by the pupils in talking towards an understanding of a concept. It is more evident in certain school subjects that pupils may have difficulty in understanding abstract or complex concepts. In this regard, English, mathematics and physical science were selected for the purpose of this study, as each has its own metalanguage, specific to that subject. It is presumed that some pupils may find difficulty in these subjects because of the subject-specific language inherent in each. This work explores whether a programme of increased oracy alleviates some of these problems and it makes recommendations for the implementation of such a programme. The period involved for the purpose of this study was five weeks, during which teachers of three selected classes presented lessons in such a way that oral work was stressed. At the completion of this programme, a test was written for comparison with past experiences. Pupils answered a comprehensive questionnaire and staff involved were interviewed; the results of this feedback, in conjunction with what has been written by others in this field, forms the basis for this work. The primary recommendation emerging from this and other studies is that a shift away from a teacher-/ and textbook-dominated approach is necessary. Pupils need to contextualise knowledge in their own terms. One important way of accomplishing this is by affording them theopportunity to interact orally with each other and with the teacher.

The current study sought to add to the literature on applying interdependent group-oriented contingency systems with randomized components to academic performance. This study expanded previous work, which has only examined effects on elementary classrooms and students with disabilities, by implementing a similar intervention within a general education, secondary classroom. Given the restricted time that teachers have to learn and implement interventions, while simultaneously carrying out all their additional responsibilities in the classroom, it is necessary for school psychologists to consider these limitations when recommending interventions. In previous work involving interdependent group-oriented contingencies, the delivery of reinforcement has been relatively immediate. While this is an ideal arrangement, it may be infeasible for middle and high school teachers to ensure reinforcement of academic performance occurs immediately within the class period. This study examined whether the delivery of reinforcement can be delayed within an interdependent group-oriented contingency system and still improve the academic performance of students in the classroom, which will allow the teacher more time for evaluating the quality of student work and, in turn, impact the acceptability of the intervention. One middle school, general education classroom served as the setting for this study. Academic performance data, including in-class work completion and accuracy rates, were collected class-wide and data on social behavior variables were gathered for 3 students exhibiting moderate to high levels of off-task behavior, based on teacher perception. An alternating treatments design was employed with two intervention conditions: one condition included immediate reinforcement and the other involved delivering reinforcement to students a day later. The interdependent group-oriented contingency intervention implemented included procedures for randomly selecting target behaviors, criteria, and reinforcers.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2004. / Corporal punishment was abolished in schools in June 1995 (Benson:1995). The suspension was sudden, and the Education Department provided very Little guidance with regard to alternative means of maintaining discipline. Teachers, who for years had the option of resorting to corporal punishment as a final means of instilling and maintaining leaner discipline, now had very little to fall back on to. An upsurge in disciplinary problems seemed to follow the suspension, and many schools struggled to maintain effective learner discipline. As with many other schools, Silverlea Primary School battled to come to grips with learner discipline in the post-corporal punishment era. Educators had little or no training in alternative methods of maintaining discipline, but still had to deal with the same, or worsening, levels of learner discipline. It is because of this perceived erosion of learner discipline that this study was undertaken. It is grounded in the belief that a positive, disciplined ~environment is essential for effective teaching and learning to happen consistently, and moves from the premise that the system of discipline and, to a large extent its effectiveness, is the creation of the staff of that school. This system, though, should operate within a supportive framework of the Department of Education. Discipline impacts strongly on the quality of education offered and received. It also affects the ability of educators to maintain consistently high standards. Although the environment from which the learners come affect their behaviour and discipline, the management of this discipline at school is dependent on the management skills and systems present at the school. Four concepts - effective discipline, curriculum, management styles, and the abolition of corporal punishment - are identified as being central to the study of discipline. They affect the running of the school, and thus the discipline adhered to at the school. This discipline in turn impacts on the educators who have to constantly be dealing with disciplinary problems rather than teaching. A descriptive research method was used

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, 2006 / Teachers often complain of a lack of discipline in the school environment. In addition, these breakdowns in discipline become, on occasion, media headlines when violence, bullying, vandalism and intimidation flare up into major incidents. This, coupled with the desire of the national Department of Education (DOE) to encourage teachers to use more co-operative disciplinary methods, has led to this investigation. This dissertation explores the perceptions of senior secondary pupils around school discipline, with a particular focus on collaborative rule-making. Pupil perceptions were ascertained through a structured interview process. A framework of understanding was established by examining the pupils' interpretation of the meaning of discipline; the state of discipline in their school and recommendations to address problem areas; authority; corporal punishment; power and prefectship; power and non-prefect matrics; prefect versus nonprefect views on discipline; the prefect system; the fairness of school rules; and pupil input into school rules. The understanding gleaned from the pupils' perceptions of these notions established a solid base from which an investigation into collaborative rule-making was launched. Thereafter, the notion of collaborative rule-making, the viability of collaborative rule-making, the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative rule-making and the implementation of collaborative rule-making were examined. The pupils came out strongly in support of collaborative rule-making and were keen to have an input into the school's disciplinary structures. The potential advantages far outweighed any possible disadvantages. These findings support both Bernstein's (1996) principle of pupil participation and the premise of pupil input into Codes of Conduct as detailed by the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996).

M.Ed. / Globalisation is a worldwide phenomenon it poses enormous challenges in the new world of work of which schools are not exceptions. As a result of globalisation the world has become small, interconnected and interdependent. The researcher argues that the interconnectedness and interdependence of the world poses a number of immeasurable challenges for South African township schools today. Therefore, a new paradigm in viewing education is eminently important to improve the South African township schools. This study focuses on reconceptualising classroom-management practices using global education trends in South African township schools. Furthermore, it presents evidence and arguments that it is significant for township schools to contribute to the creation of learning communities by offering a sound body of knowledge that enhances learners capacity and high performance. A single case study was used to explore the concept of thinking globally and acting locally whilst rethinking classroom management in township schools. The study was conducted at J.E Malepe Secondary School situated in a township called Tsakane. Data was collected through focus-group interview, observation and document analysis. A qualitative research method was employed with 6 educators as respondents for the focusgroup interview. Lincoln and Guba's (1985) model of trustworthiness of qualitative research was employed for validity and reliability of the study. The analysis in this study was carried out according to the following framework: comparing units applicable to each category; integrating categories and their properties; delimiting the construction; and using an independent coder. The following themes emerged from the analysis: the influence of globalisation on education; traditional approach versus transformational approach to classroom management practices; learnercentredness; knowledge implementation; resistance to change; and life-long learning. Findings suggested that globalisation has significant implications in managing classrooms in South African township schools; and that global .education is a critical aspect in effective classroom management. In general, this study found it is imperative that all learners be equipped with requisite skills to survive in the global village.

This study examined the relative impact of two different question types (multiple choice and short answer) on individual student behavior when using response cards and the potential role of teacher preference as it pertained to question type. Using an alternating treatments design across participants, the study focused on identifying the type of question that was more effective in reducing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement and correct response when using response cards and investigated whether implementation of teacher preferred question type enhanced student behavioral outcomes. The results indicated that response cards effectively decreased disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement and correct responses in all four participating students. However, changes in the students’ behavior and performance did not differ between question types. The results also indicated that implementation of the teacher preferred question type further decreased disruptive behavior across students.