The publication of the Curriculum Development Centre's discussion paper 'Core Curriculum for Australian Schools' in June 1980 stimulated discussion of the concept of core curriculum in Australia. The driving force came from the Foundation Director of the CDC, Dr Malcolm Skilbeck. This study discusses the themes and directions to which Skilbeck was committed through a study of his work prior to his return to Australia in 1975 and his subsequent writings. The study considers Skilbeck's work against general thinking on educational matters in Australia and overseas. The initial discussion centres on Skilbeck's work in the United Kingdom prior to 1975. This concludes that his views were moulded by his own research on the American progressive educator John Dewey and that Dewey's ideals of a democratic society moulded and sustained by a democratic core curriculum have been dominant in all Skilbeck's subsequent thinking. The study reviews the establishment, working and conclusions of the CDC Core Curriculum and Values Education Working Party. In two subsequent chapters, the study looks at Skilbeck's approach to cultural mapping and school-based curriculum development as the two fundamental Planks of his approach to the development and implementation of a core curriculum for Australian schools. The study shows that Skilbeck's concept of cultural mapping is helpful but does not succeed in providing an effective basis for the articulation of national guidelines. In consequence, the CDC did not succeed in providing a framework sufficient to hold together the infinite range of possibilities opened UP by school-based action. The study considers the limited published reactions to the CDC Paper. It notes that the termination of the CDC by the Committee for Review of Commonwealth Functions in early 1931 prevented the fuller dissemination and debate of the topic during 19S1 and subsequently. The study notes that responses were disaapointingly few and in many cases failed to address the central questions raised by the CDC paper, in particular the idea of national curriculum guidelines and their application through school-based curriculum development. The major responses came in the State of Victoria where local circumstances encouraged discussion of the issues raised by the CDC. The study concludes that the CDC discussion paper was a valuable stimulus to discussion of curricular foundations at the time it was released but represented a point of view that was not fully understood or appreciated at the time. It laid the foundation for the renaissance of the general concept as 'democratic curriculum' in 1986 and provides important indications of the potential for the development of the Participation and Equity Program.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / The concept of empowerment has become a mantra in the development discourse as a result of the redefinition of development to entail building the capacity of the people to effect change in their lives. This study is an attempt to provide insight into the impact of empowerment activity of Zonkee Community Development Centre on the participants. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research method the study illuminated on the aim and objectives of the study. The World Bank empowerment framework guided the collection of data and the data was analysed in relation to the study aim and objectives. The study findings indicate that Zonkee Community Development Centre through its activity endowed and increased different resource base of the participants and subsequently their individual growth and development. More importantly, the resources they were endowed with aided their ability to make choices and decisions that reflect their value and interest. Furthermore, the findings of the study shows that access to resources which include material and development of sense of self is indispensable for empowerment to take place. In other words power over resources without power within will fall short of bringing about requisite empowerment experience. Nevertheless, the findings point to the complexity of empowerment and unpredictability of empowerment outcomes with regards to choice making. The findings of the study in its entirety indicate that empowerment efforts by civil society group have the potential to diminish sense of powerlessness and enhance capacity of the poor to control their lives.

Doctor Educationis / In view of my extensive experience as an educator and currently as an Educational Psychologist serving schools in the eastern Education Management and Development Centre (EMDC) of the Western Cape, I have become acutely aware of the occurrence of truant behaviour particularly among fourteen to fifteen year old secondary school learners. On the one hand I am moved by the plight of many learners particularly in the afore-mentioned age group, for whom the education system appears irrelevant or of little value and is apparently failing them. Some communicate this attitude by their frequent and at times prolonged absence from school. On the other hand, many educators have little sympathy with truants, since as professionals, educators feel that consistent school attendance is essential if learners are to make satisfactory progress. Moreover, it is also my perception that educators' work loads and the organisation of schools, currently ensure that very few educators have the time to become closely acquainted with those individual learners who manifest their displeasure with schools - and them - by truanting. In turn, this breakdown in communication between educators and truants, makes implementing successful reintegration strategies immensely difficult. In fact, such is the pressure on today's educators, that some staff are greatly relieved at the prospect of instructing fewer learners, especially if the absentees are those who may be troublesome, backward, require extra attention in class or behave badly (Reid, 2002:5). Furthermore it has also come to my attention that educators feel that their prime duty and responsibility is to regulate attendees, higher achievers, as well as learners who conform and wish to do well at school. Hence, regular attendance appears to be the best barometer of this conformist attitude.

One of the most important issues facing the South African democracy is that of breaking the grip of poverty on a substantial portion of its citizens. In South Africa, Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) play a major role in the development of assistance for the poor and in reducing poverty. As an NPO, the Greater Midrand Development Centre (GMDC) has played an important role in supporting and encouraging the development aspirations of Region A of the City of Johannesburg community in the areas of Agricultural projects, bakery, poultry and paper making. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the Development Centre Approach (DCA) on poverty alleviation in the Region A of the City of Johannesburg community and to make recommendations on policy priorities and challenges that will fast track developmental social service delivery within a Development Centre Approach. The study focused on the GMDC poverty alleviation projects in five selected areas. The study followed a qualitative research approach. Data was collected by means of one-on-one interviews and focus groups by means of semi-structured interview schedules. The participants of the focus groups involved both those beneficiaries who were still attending the GMDC poverty alleviation projects, and those who have exited the development centre poverty alleviation projects. The one-on-one interviews involved five project leaders, members of the board, staff members, and officials from the Department of Social Development. The findings indicated that the GMDC has played a crucial role in terms of poverty alleviation of the beneficiaries. From the study it was concluded that the poverty alleviation projects of the GMDC appear to be alleviating the poverty of the beneficiaries by addressing some of their basic needs to a certain extent by improving a livelihood, but nonetheless still not reducing their poverty levels. The study recommends the development of a clear exit strategy which is understood and supported by beneficiaries. The exit strategy should include factors and elements which will promote sustainability, such as business and entrepreneurial skills; knowledge on equipment; material; a marketing strategy; and a strategy or guidelines on networking, including donors and financing institutions. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Social and Clinical Pharmacy Candidate: Vojtěch Vitásek Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Babica Title of diploma thesis: Archives of the Czech Pharmaceutical Museum XIII. Archival collection Pharmacy Development Centre II. In my thesis I addressed the activity of the Pharmacy Development Center. In particular I dealed with the building up and internal equipment of the pharmacies. My goal was to create an inventory of the part of the archive of the Fond of Pharmacy Development Center which is related to the building up of the pharmacies and to sumarize the norms and their ammendments over the years on which the Pharmacy Development Center took part. Norms in this thesis are presented according to how they were ammended and what they concerned during the building up of the pharmacies. I inventorized a part of the Fond archive according to the registry key. I categorized, moved and discarded the documents. I created an archiving tool - inventory to ease the work of further developers.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Education)) - Rhodes University, 2007. / Half thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Environmental Education)

An investigation into an appropriate urban design response to the development of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link station in the Pretoria CBD, which acts as a catalyst for urban renewal and social development. Focus is aimed at the technical resolution according to the climatic conditions. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Architecture / unrestricted

Nieuwenhuis (2007) defines Education Development Centres (EDCs) as teacher support centres consisting of activities and services that support the school curriculum and contribute to the teacher content knowledge and skills development. In addition, Johnson and Maclean (2008) suggested that an ideal EDC programme should be built on the foundation of an information infrastructure that includes materials, equipment and facilities, and direct services to teachers. However, EDC activities and services are shaped and influenced by multiple factors contributing to the teacher classroom practices. Attention to the EDC programme is further given to areas like: the organisational support to effect changes in teacher practices; the type of activities and services; learning through technology; and teacher perception towards the EDC activities and service. Looking more closely at the way EDCs function and noting the benefits of keeping EDCs as teacher support centres, this study explored the EDC activities and services guided by the following sub-questions:  What professional development activities and services do EDCs provide;  What is the rationale behind the development of EDC activities and services;  What is the quality of EDC activities and services in relation to the professional development of teachers;  What are the teachers’ perceptions of EDC activities and services? The main objective of the study was to establish the extent to which activities and services in Mpumalanga EDCs relate to teacher classroom practices. A sample of 16 teachers responded to the questionnaire designed specifically for teachers while two subject advisors who facilitated activities at the EDCs and two EDC managers were interviewed. Currently the approach to professional development programmes tends to be fragmented. Hence, this study sought to improve the quality of EDC activities and services by alerting programme designers and advising against such a practice. Furthermore, the intention was to provide feedback to programme designers and encourage the promotion of collegial planning in structuring such offerings. The qualitative study approach followed, used the interview schedule as a primary source to collect data to gather as much evidence as possible and was backed by the teacher questionnaire, field notes and personal journal. The basic logic model guided the planning for the evaluation process in identifying elements to be evaluated and indicated relationship between the components: the input (resources that go into the EDC programme); output (activities the EDC programme undertakes to offer); and the outcome (teacher behavioural changes and benefits that resulted because of the activities conducted). This study focused mainly on the implementation processes to yield intended results. The study identified various factors as significant to deliver quality activities and services to enhance teacher knowledge and develop skills: creation of realistic centre vision, develop quality activities to integrate content knowledge and pedagogical skills, promote teacher collaboration and active participation; and designing coherent activities aligned to the schools improvement strategies to meet teachers’ need. Workshops were facilitated in a reform approach allowing active participation of teachers, for example, simulations in computer lessons and science experiments. However, the inadequate resources and EDC financial constraints limited the quality of activities and services. Nonetheless, EDC activities and service possessed the quality to enhance teacher knowledge and skills, if they are designed to incorporate the research based key features (Haslam, 2008). Furthermore, the study noted that EDCs play a critical role in shaping the activities and services by designing reform activities, creating pedagogical space for teachers to come together and providing teaching and learning material including technological tools, like Internet, to advance with curriculum changes and spare teachers’ time and cost for travelling to meeting venues. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Utilising a case study design in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, this study explores the perceptions of ECD practitioners regarding the professionalisation of the ECD sector. With a purposive sample of fifteen ECD practitioners teaching children aged between birth and four years this study sought to find out what is exactly happening in the sector regarding the birth of the new qualification for ECD teachers in the South African education system; which attempts to standardise a B.Ed. curriculum for new teachers in the ECD sector. Adopting the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) as a lens, the study revealed that the Government and the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were not giving adequate support to the sector while parents viewed ECD centres as places of play and sleep rather than educational. The study concludes that the ECD sector is indispensable for the South African Education system to perform on par with other world countries and recommends that everyone; not only government; should come to the party to fix this challenge of the education system. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Thesis (M. Admin.)--University of South Africa, Pretoria, 2002.