This study investigated the self-efficacy (also often referred to as self-confidence) of principals as determined by school administrator certification credentials and teaching endorsements at low performing middle schools in Mississippi. In educational literature, the term “self-confidence” is often referred to under the nomenclature of self-efficacy. In the context of an educational environment, self-efficacy pertains to a principal’s capability to organize and execute courses of action required in leading and managing a school. Successful school management requires a leader who is task oriented, consistently stays focused, employs effective strategies, and utilizes managerial skills. The investigation focused on the self-efficacy, as determined by credentials and endorsements, of the principals charged with leading and managing the 24 Mississippi middle schools that received Mississippi Department of Education accountability ratings of “D” or “F” in relation to student academic performance. The overall research question that guided the investigation asked: Did the self-efficacy of the principals charged with leading and managing the 24 Mississippi middle schools that received low accountability scores suggest any connection to the ratings? Based on the findings of the investigation, it may be concluded that the self efficacy of the principals charged with leading and managing the middle schools that received low accountability scores didn’t appear to have any connection to the ratings. Also, neither the principals’ certification credential levels nor teaching endorsements appeared to be factors.

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of tracing the history of state level laws and resolutions which affected the elementary school curriculum in Texas' public schools during the years 1950-1983. The roles of the legislature, the State Board of Education, and the State Department of Education in relation to the curriculum are presented. The purposes of the study are to review state level legislation since 1950 that affected the curriculum, to update the work of earlier historical accounts of public education in Texas, and to provide a basis for understanding the current state of curriculum by focusing on its evolution. Inspection of the data reveals that numerous topics were added to the elementary curriculum during the years under study, resulting in a fragmented and complex curriculum. Many of these topics were repealed in 1981. The study concludes that the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education, as well as the legislature exert considerable influence over the curriculum, and that this influence seems likely to increase as the result of reform legislation enacted in 1981. Further study relating to the implementation effects of the new curriculum is recommended.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Hierdie studie handeloor die aanwending van 'n trilogie van aksienavorsingsprojekte in 'n skool wat daartoe gelei het dat 'n outokratiese bestuurstyl in 'n koëperatiewe skoolbestuurstelsel verander is. Gegee die feit dat skoolbesluitneming grotendeels in die persoon van die skoolhoof gesentreer was, is daadwerklike pogings aangewend om alle betrokkenes in die besluitnemingsproses by Betel Skool vir Epileptici , Kuilsrivier, te betrek. Hierdie pogings het daartoe gelei dat die skoolhoof, personeellede, die Raad van Bestuur en die ouergemeenskap gesamentlike bestuurders van die skool geword het. Die gevolglike koëperatiewe skoolbestuur en gesamentlike verantwoordelikheid vir besluitneming het duidelik in veral die betrokkenheid van bestaande personeellede in die aanstelling van nuwe personeellede by die skool gemanifesteer. Waar hierdie verantwoordelikheid voorheen slegs op die skouers van die skoolhoof en die Raad van Bestuur gerus het, is personeellede met behulp van aksienavorsing in hierdie benoemingsproses betrek en vind geen aanstelling van personeellede tans plaas sonder die insette van die huidige personeel nie. Hierdie tesis beskryf voorts hoe die skool 'n eis van die Departement van Onderwys en Kultuur (Raad van Verteenwoordigers) gehanteer het dat dertien onderwysers geïdentifiseer moet word wat op 7 Augustus 1991 aan 'n protesoptog deelgeneem het. Dié opdrag is geïgnoreer en die Departement is met 'n georkestreerde teenreaksie van die skoolhoof, die personeel en die Raad van Bestuur gekonfronteer. Aksienavorsing is weer eens aangewend om hierdie intimiderende en hooghandige opdrag van die Onderwysdepartement wat die potensiaal gehad het om die dertien onderwysers te isoleer en aan die moontlikheid van ernstige dissiplinêre stappe bloot te stel, ter syde gestel te kry Hierdie werk toon dat dit moontlik is om met behulp van aksienavorsing, fundamentele veranderings in die bestuur van In skool aan te bring, te help met die demokratisering van besluitnemingsprosesse, die verskillende betrokkenes by die skool te bemagtig en nuwe betekenis te gee aan wat in die kantoor en klaskamers van die skool plaasvind.

In 2003, Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) introduced policies on performance management in an endeavour to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. With these policies, schools are supposed to be constantly audited, monitored, and supported by district officials. Within district offices, there are unit supervisors who are responsible to manage PMDS to inculcate a performance culture. This performance culture is subsequently cascaded down to schools to yield quality matric results and yet this remains to be seen. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of supervisors and officials on the PMDS management within districts. With an interpretive paradigm, the researcher was able to analyse data from interviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that PMDS is generally acknowledged and positively perceived albeit with significant challenges to its implementation in the GDE districts. / Educational Leadership and Management / M.Ed. (Education Management )

In 2003, Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) introduced policies on performance management in an endeavour to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. With these policies, schools are supposed to be constantly audited, monitored, and supported by district officials. Within district offices, there are unit supervisors who are responsible to manage PMDS to inculcate a performance culture. This performance culture is subsequently cascaded down to schools to yield quality matric results and yet this remains to be seen. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of supervisors and officials on the PMDS management within districts. With an interpretive paradigm, the researcher was able to analyse data from interviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that PMDS is generally acknowledged and positively perceived albeit with significant challenges to its implementation in the GDE districts. / Educational Leadership and Management / M.Ed. (Education Management )

As modern gender movements shift our cultural norms, the literature describing Title IX suggests possibly concerning trends in both hiring and policy. Many university administrations and recent legislation have promoted a defensive, legal-minded and objective approach to handling Title IX cases. Since the April 2011 Dear Colleague Letter, which delivered a mandated timeframe and eased the burden of evidence, the number of cases the Office for Civil Rights have grown significantly. The number of cases continues growing despite huge increases in labor hours and financial resources being diverted to Title IX enforcement. In contrast, research has demonstrated that education, such as bystander training is a proven deterrence to campus sexual assault. By prioritizing investigation and limiting compliance officers legally acceptable options, we have perhaps shifted officers time away from actions which might lead to more positive outcomes including reducing the overall campus-wide criminal incidence frequency. This qualitative case study was designed to explore how higher education compliance officers learn to manage new requirements in a dynamic regulatory environment. The site for the study included private and public colleges and universities in the northeastern part of the U.S. The primary sources of data were in-depth interviews with nineteen Title IX compliance officers supplemented by an extensive review of relevant documents. Key findings that emerged include: (1) A majority of compliance officers defined the need to interpret new regulations with general counsel before communicating resulting changes to stakeholders. (2) All regulators learn through informal learning means; dialogue and critical reflection were universally reported as the most frequent pathways by which regulators made meaning of new regulations. (3) Most compliance officers described sharing information with peers as most helpful to them in completing regulatory tasks. Trends in Title IX compliance hiring and labor hour allocation appear to not address the growing frequency of OCR investigations. Real changes to campus policy, including budget priorities, training and the use of student activists may allow universities to better optimize the money and personal they invest toward Title IX.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Eliane Garcia de Brito Edir - 2014.pdf: 1343651 bytes, checksum: d732ad4278d671435c978cd9a5a286b9 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-28 / Outros / This study was part of the research line Education, Labour and Social Movements from Graduate School of Education Program at Federal University of Goiás. We had as main goal to study the genesis and development historical movement of the Assistant Educational Activities‘s job, whose workers act alongside teachers in service to children in Municipal child Education Centers and municipal schools that have pre-school classes from Goiânia‘s Department of Education. We start from the understanding that knowing the structure and evolution of the post of an Assistant Educational Activities in Goiânia‘s Municipal Education is an aspect of fundamental importance for the understanding of the early childhood education reality which today legally makes up the first step of Basic Education in Brazilian educational system. This research work is guided by a socio-historical vision of man and society. To achieve the objectives this study proposes, we opted for developing a predominantly qualitative research. For the analyzes development, we initially seek to conduct a comprehensive literature review on the work, the women work, the teaching work, the childhood and their education. We also developed a documentary analysis considering the contents of the Federal Constitution (FC, 1988), the Statute of Children and Adolescents (1990), the Law of Directives and Bases of National Education (1996), National Curriculum guidelines for early childhood education (2009). At the municipal level, we analyzed City Board of Education Resolutions, Goiânia‘s Early Childhood Education Regiments as well as other data and documents that we collected at the Department of Education. The next step was the interviews‘ proposition with the intention of recognizing the historical context of the Assistant Educational Activities‘ job in Goiânia. With this task, we seek to identify the actors involved and learn about the circumstances and the elements of the need to found the position of Assistant Educational Activities in order to compose a chart that would illustrate the post of Assistant Educational Activities‘ creation process and that would allow us to reflect about the implications of that job‘s creation for early childhood education in Goiânia. The study indicated that the proposition of the post of Assistant Educational Activities occurred in the course of transition of responsibility from childhood education to the Municipal Department of Education and it was based on a triple topic: the immediate need of hiring staff, the job‘s transience intention and the impending rise in staff training to work in early childhood education. This survey revealed, however, dissension of these topics, since the need of hiring staff was not surpassed; there has been a throwback in demanding training of these professionals and, in spite of this transience, the regulation and the effectiveness of the post of Assistant Educational Activities point, instead, to its consolidation definitively. / Este estudo está inserido na linha de pesquisa Educação, Trabalho e Movimentos Sociais do Programa de Pós-Graduação da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal de Goiás. Tivemos como objetivo principal analisar o movimento histórico de gênese e de desenvolvimento da ocupação de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas, cujas trabalhadoras atuam juntamente com as professoras no atendimento às crianças, nos Centros Municipais de Educação Infantil e nas escolas municipais que possuem turmas de pré-escola da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Goiânia. Partimos do entendimento de que conhecer a constituição e a evolução do cargo de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas na Rede Municipal de Educação de Goiânia é um aspecto de fundamental importância para a compreensão da realidade da educação infantil que hoje compõe legalmente a primeira etapa da educação básica do sistema educacional brasileiro. O presente trabalho de pesquisa é orientado por uma visão sócio-histórica de homem e de sociedade e para alcançar os objetivos a que este estudo se propõe, optamos pelo desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa predominantemente qualitativa. Para o desenvolvimento das análises inicialmente buscamos realizar uma ampla revisão bibliográfica acerca do trabalho, do trabalho exercido por mulheres, do trabalho docente, da infância e de sua educação. Desenvolvemos também uma análise documental considerando o conteúdo da Constituição Federal (CF, 1988), do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (1990), da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional (1996), das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Educação Infantil (2009). Em âmbito municipal analisamos Resoluções do Conselho Municipal de Educação, Regimentos da Educação Infantil no Município de Goiânia e outros dados e documentos que levantamos na Secretaria Municipal de Educação. O próximo passo foi a proposição de entrevistas com a intenção de se reconhecer o contexto histórico da criação da ocupação de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas em Goiânia. Buscamos nessa tarefa identificar os atores participantes e inteirar-nos das circunstâncias e dos fundamentos da necessidade de se criar o cargo de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas no intuito de se compor um quadro que pudesse ilustrar o processo de criação do cargo de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas e que nos possibilitasse refletir a cerca das implicações da criação dessa ocupação para a educação infantil no município de Goiânia. O estudo mostrou que a proposição do cargo de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas ocorreu no percurso de transição da responsabilidade da educação infantil para a Secretaria Municipal de Educação e baseou-se em um triplo argumento: a necessidade imediata de contratação de pessoal, a intenção de transitoriedade dessa ocupação e a iminente elevação da formação do pessoal para o trabalho na educação infantil. Essa pesquisa revelou, entretanto, os dissensos desses argumentos, visto que a necessidade de contratação de pessoal não foi superada; tem havido retrocesso no nível de exigência de formação desses profissionais e, a despeito dessa transitoriedade, a regulamentação e a efetivação do cargo de Auxiliar de Atividades Educativas apontam, ao contrário, para a sua consolidação em caráter definitivo.

This study investigates information literacy and scholarly communication within the processes of doctoral research and supervision at a distance. Both doctoral candidates and supervisors acknowledge information literacy deficiencies and it is suggested that disintermediation and the proliferation of information may contribute to those deficiencies. Further to this, the influence of pedagogic continuity—particularly in relation to the information seeking behaviour of candidates—is investigated, as is the concomitant aspect of how doctoral researchers practise scholarly communication. The well-documented and enduring problem for candidates of isolation from the research cultures of their universities is also scrutinised. The contentious issue of more formally involving librarians in the doctoral process is also considered, from the perspective of candidates and supervisors. Superimposed upon these topical and timely issues is the theoretical framework of adult learning theory, in particular the tenets of andragogy. The pedagogical-andragogical orientation of candidates and supervisors is established, demonstrating both the differences and similarities between candidates and supervisors, as are a number of independent variables, including a comparison of on-campus and off-campus candidates. Other independent variables include age, gender, DETYA (Department of Education, Training & Youth Affairs) category, enrolment type, stage of candidature, employment and status, type of doctorate, and English/non-English speaking background. The research methodology uses qualitative and quantitative techniques encompassing both data and methodological triangulation. The study uses two sets of questionnaires and a series of in-depth interviews with a sample of on-campus and off-campus doctoral candidates and supervisors from four Australian universities. Major findings include NESB candidates being more pedagogical than their ESB counterparts, and candidates and supervisors from the Sciences are more pedagogical than those from Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Education. Candidates make a transition from a more dependent and pedagogically oriented approach to learning towards more of an independent and andragogical orientation over the duration of their candidature. However, over tune both on-campus and off-campus candidates become more isolated from the research cultures of their universities, and less happy with support received from their supervisors in relation to their literature reviews. Ill The study found large discrepancies in perception between the support supervisors believed they gave to candidates in relation to the literature review, and the support candidates believed they received. Information seeking becomes easier over time, but candidates face a dilemma with the proliferation of information, suggesting that disintermediation has exacerbated the challenges of evaluation and organisation of information. The concept of pedagogic continuity was recognised by supervisors and especially candidates, both negative and positive influences. The findings are critically analysed and synthesised using the metaphor of a scholarly 'Club' of which obtaining a doctorate is a rite of passage. Recommendations are made for changes in professional practice, and topics that may warrant further research are suggested.

Evaluation is not unfamiliar : educators in classrooms use constant feedback from learners as the basis for self-evaluation. What may be less familiar is for groups of educators in a school to carry out a self-evaluation or experience a whole-school evaluation process, which in the latter case means more than a single educator. Whether familiar or not school evaluation has increased in importance in recent years, particularly at the level of the whole school. The introduction of WSE, notwithstanding its worthy intentions, has proved to be a contentious issue for educator unions, which expressed considerable reservation both about which led to the introduction of WSE and the underlying purposes of the process. In addition, there is no widely available, if any, assessment of the success or failure of the pilot project. Within this broad context, this small-scale research project, subject to limitations, attempts to investigate the experiences and reactions of one school in which an attempt has been made to implement the process. Based upon the responses of the participants in this research study, it became clear that there is a desire to be involved in the traditions of 'school improvement'. If one assumes that the sample group is representative of stakeholders at the pilot school, then this study believes that some important principle of WSE are implicit in the way things are now being done and thought of at the school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The realisation of the objectives of the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE) is influenced by the national education system and the environment it operates in. This thesis accordingly studies the SASCE within the organisational framework of the Department of National Education. It provides a comprehensive description of the factors that influence the achievement of the objectives of the SASCE in the FET band in the Motheo district of the Free State Province. South African national education policy provides for a single unified democratic system for the organisation, governance and funding of schools. The Department of National Education formulates policy and provinces are responsible for its implementation by means of district offices. In this respect the education system is regarded as an organisation consisting of different sub–organisations that must provide effective education in line with the educational needs of the country. A generic five–point model of effective organisational structure accordingly was applied to determine the factors impacting on the realisation of the objectives of SASCE. Data were gathered and analysed by means of personal observations, document analysis and semi–structured interviews with education officials, school principals and choir conductors. The challenges of the national education system with regard to appropriate facilities, equipment, funding, appropriately trained officials and educators, support staff and effective policy implementation are consistent with the challenges facing the Department of National Education’s enrichment programmes, of which the SASCE forms part. Findings and recommendations are offered for all research questions. A general recommendation pertains to a proposed restructuring of the provincial enrichment programmes sub–directorate in order to address some of its organisational shortcomings and also the challenges facing the SASCE. / Thesis (Ph.D (Music))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.