No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

The curriculum for Senior Primary students at a college of education was selected for study as it is a curriculum that seems to be more problematic than other curricula at the college. The study sought to gather a range of evidence from lecturers and students and about the issues that they identified as being of concern and about the learning milieu. The evaluation aimed to engage students and lecturers in a process of critical reflection on the assumptions and values which underpin practice at the college. The overarching research design was multiple operationalism located within a naturalistic paradigm. Interviews were used to generate critical issues from participants. Further interviews, questionnaires and documentary analysis provided thick descriptions of the critical issues. The ways in which the position of the evaluator as a member of the management team influenced the choice of methods and role as evaluator are discussed and the problem of incompatibility between the ethos of the college and the assumptions which support democratic evaluation is considered . In discussing the strengths and limitations of the Senior Primary course, the dichotomy between general and vocational education for teachers is explored and the problematic nature of a knowledge base for teachers is considered. Curricular principles of balance, relevance and cohesion are related to the college curriculum. In considering the obstacles to curriculum change at the college, institutional values of privacy, territory and hierarchy are discussed. Throughout the study an attempt is made to reveal the different perceptions of participants and the many views of reality on which these perceptions are based. The evaluation report concludes by posing key questions which highlight the essential issues which need to be addressed by the college. These are the need to achieve a shared sense of purpose about education for the Senior Primary phase, to make students more responsible partners in the teaching and learning relationship, to forge closer links with primary schools, to move away from subject-centricity and a transmission mode of teaching and to empower lecturers to bring about the changes that they feel are necessary. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1991.

This study was based on the Promat Educational Studies (Curriculum) course which introduced curriculum concepts to a group of forty-two rural KwaZulu in-service teachers, studying for the final year of their Primary Teachers' .Diploma in 1996. The study was primarily interested in the responses of these teachers as they explored -curriculum concepts and developed their own understandings of curriculum. Research questions focused on the teachers' personal views of the notion of curriculum and the suitability of various curriculum models that could be used in their classrooms. Action research was proposed as a valuable tool for teachers to reflect on their classroom practice in a systematic and participatory manner, with a view to improvement in the process of teaching and learning. Action research was also used as a teaching methodology in presenting the Educational Studies programme, thus providing the teachers with an opportunity to experience action research. The questions also focused on the views of teachers concerning their possible role in the process of curriculum development, change and decision-making in schools. Prior to the programme, data on teachers' notions of curriculum were obtained by means of a questionnaire. Journal writing, lecturer diaries and classroom discussions were used as a means of collecting data during the course of the programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as a summative form of data collection and triangulation. Findings suggested that teachers, prior to the Educational Studies programme, had a limited notion of the concept of curriculum. They had a restricted view of teacher professionality and understood their role as implementers of a received curriculum. The programme broadened teachers' views on curriculum concepts and accompanying theories and models. The exposure to curriculum theory increased teachers' confidence in their ability to bring about change in their classrooms and schools. They expressed feelings of empowerment and recognised the important role they could play in the curriculum process. What was significant, however, was that despite the fact that the teachers were able to articulate these views within an "educationist context" (Keddie, 1971), they did not realise these within the Educational Studies classroom. While they recognised and embraced the potential of action research, their own actions as learners did not support a fully-developed form of action research because of the power differentials and situational constraints which they experienced. They were acutely aware of the imperative to pass, which appeared to take precedence over democratic participation. Findings suggested that INSET programmes which expose teachers to curriculum theory and the fundamental notion of themselves as curriculum developers, are useful for changing mindsets and are essential preconditions if teachers are to begin to take ownership of change in classrooms. Whether they are able to do so successfully, is a question for further research. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This study explores and describes the processes of formative evaluation as carried out by content experts and instructional designers. It assumes that formative evaluation is an ill-defined, complex, problem solving task. Six experts (three Content Experts and three Instructional Designers), participated in this descriptive study. Subjects reviewed and revised a unit from a draft version of a self-instructional module on microbiology, while thinking aloud. Two coding schemes were developed and applied to the think-aloud protocols. Overall inter-coder reliability exceeded 89%. Qualitative data were used to describe the processes of formative evaluation, convergence patterns, and the degree of specificity of comments across subjects. Results suggest that there were between group differences in task representation, in the employed strategies, and in features of the text which were commented upon more frequently. Within group similarities in the outcome of formative evaluation were salient on a superficial level. Within group differences were more apparent when comments were compared qualitatively.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the Turkish Language Teaching Program for Foreigners at Minsk State Linguistic University in Belarus. The study aims to answer the following two main questions: 1) what are the discrepancies between the current status and the desired outcomes of the Turkish program at MSLU? 2) What aspects of the Turkish program should be maintained, strengthened or added? In order to answer these questions, data were collected from students who were attending the program in the 2002-2003 academic year, instructors who were teaching in the program in the same academic year, the graduates of the program, former instructors of this program, the parents of the students who were currently attending the program, the authorities at the institution, the employers of the graduates of this program in Minsk. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the study. The quantitative data were collected through questionnaires. The qualitative data were collected through interviews and written document analysis. The results of the data showed that the Turkish Language Program at Minsk State Linguistic University partially meets the needs and demands of all the involved parties. However, it was observed that enthusiasm and interest for the Turkish language among the current students, graduates and the University authorities were high. Some changes and additions could be made in the program to make it better suited to the needs and demands of its under goers and institution.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-136).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2002. / Typescript. Includes appendices. Bibliographical references: leaf 736-768.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002. / "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy" Bibliography : leaves 241-266.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-100). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1999. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-66).