The study examines the evolution of academic support programmes (ASPs) at predominantly White universities in South Africa. The participating institutions include: University of the Witwatersrand, University of Natal, Rhodes University, and University of Cape Town. Since they are selected on the basis of pioneering the establishment of ASP in South Africa and the extent of effectiveness achieved by ASP programmes, the relationship between the stated goals of academic support and the approaches, as well as strategies used to achieve them, are assessed. Throughout the focus is on whether or not the programmes are effective in reducing the failure and drop-out rates at these universities. The important variables in the intervention process are scrutinised. They include the conceptual framework guiding the formulation and implementation of the programmes and the environment in which ASP operates. A more wider context of ASP is explored to determine those factors that have a significant influence on the successful implementation of the programmes. Among those identified are institutional policy regarding the perceived requirements of disadvantaged students and what are considered to be appropriate strategies for dealing with their disadvantages. For this purpose the experiences of international ASPs are investigated to establish similarities, or lack thereof, with the South African experience. The measures adopted in the United States to deal with the inadequacies of the schooling system, as it impacts on the tertiary sector of education, have especially appealed to educationists in South Africa, since the educational context of Blacks in the United States of America is believed to have many parallels in South Africa. For different reasons racism in the educational arena has resulted in Blacks being underprepared for tertiary education in both countries. The important task then is to ascertain whether the strategies used to resolve the problems encountered by these students at colleges and universities in the United States have any relevance for the South African situation. The focus then shifts to what appropriate measures are necessary to bring about a dispensation that will allow maximum benefit to flow from ASP for both disadvantaged students and educational practice in tertiary institutions. It is the author's firm belief that, without scientifically derived solutions, the mistakes committed by local ASPs and elsewhere will be repeated in South Africa, thus delaying ASP from realising its full potential so that institutional policy-makers, staff and students may reap the fruits of functional ASPs that are both efficient and effective. South Africa has the advantage of entering the ASP field when accumulated knowledge on the subject will provide the opportunity to build on the strengths of others and learn from their weaknesses, and so enhance the chances of success for the programmes here. In an attempt to contribute towards making this objective a reality, wenty-four criteria have been formulated from ASP experiences at the four universities surveyed which participated in the investigation. From conducting interviews with ASP personnel faculty staff and students and personally visiting campuses and, among other things, perusing their records and scrutinising annual reports, it was possible to decide that the best way to address the problem of ineffective ASP is to draw up criteria that can be used, in future, for purposes of setting up ASP units and evaluating the performance of both newly established ones and those already existing. Regular attendance at ASP conferences and the invaluable exposure, through presentation of papers at these and other fora and subsequent exchanges of information and sharing of perspectives, have convinced the writer of the urgent need to approach the problem systematically, scientifically and rationally. Finally, it is contended that without a procedure for the implementation of the criteria, there is the risk of selecting and using them randomly. Hence the grouping of the criteria according to their common characteristics and functioning will expedite the implementation process and reduce the risk of failure as a result of poor sequence and incorrect utilisation. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban,1994.

Several researchers have reported that the perceptual-motor skills of today’s children are not optimally developed. Furthermore, childhood obesity has increased worldwide and is a cause for concern due to the effect that it has on the present and future public health of children. Childhood obesity has a bearing on a rise in chronic paediatric diseases and an increase in hypertension, as well as on motor and physical deficits. In spite of the inadequate perceptual-motor development that is reported, few studies have been reported that examine the effect of school-based movement development programmes to improve the motor proficiency of school beginners. Firstly, in this thesis, an attempt was made to establish a general profile of the motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners in the North West Province of South Africa, and to determine possible gender and racial differences. Secondly, the relationship between the body composition and blood pressure of Grade 1 learners was examined. Thirdly, the relationship between the body composition and motor, physical and object control skills of these learners was examined. The fourth objective was to determine the effect of school-based movement development programmes on the perceptual-motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners. For objectives one to three, data were collected by means of a stratified randomised sample of 816 Grade 1 learners (419 boys, 397 girls) with a mean age of 6,78 years (+ 0,49) who participated in the NW-CHILD study. The short form of the “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2” (Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005), which consists of eight subcomponents, was used to determine the learners’ motor proficiency and the “Test of Gross Motor Development-2” was used to determine the learners’ object control skills. Stature, body mass, skinfolds (subscapular, triceps and calf) and waist circumference were measured according to standard kinantropometric protocols. International cut-off points for body mass index (BMI) were used to classify learners in normal, overweight or obese categories. Blood pressure was measured by means of an Omron 705CP-II. With regard to objective 1, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics and ttesting, and by making use of the Statistica computer program, that Grade 1 learners exhibit below average (49,63%) to average (48,16%) motor proficiency. The poorest skills exhibited by the learners were in strength, fine motor integration and fine motor precision. The motor proficiency of the boys was mostly average (63,96%) as opposed to that of the girls, which was largely classified as below average (64,74%), although the girls’ manual dexterity and bilateral co-ordination was significantly better compared to the boys. The motor proficiency of most of the white children was average (69,27%), compared to 58,73% of the black children, whose motor proficiency was below average. White children performed significantly better in fine motor precision, fine motor integration, manual dexterity, bilateral co-ordination, upper limb co-ordination and strength skills, and black children in balancing and running speed and agility skills. Concerning objective 2, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, the Spearman correlation coefficients and one-way analysis of variance, that the overall incidence of prehypertension and hypertension was 8,5% and 24,9% respectively. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure exhibited a significant relationship with BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference. Boys and girls exhibited the same incidence of hypertension. A higher percentage of the black children were hypertensive compared to the white children, although the difference in the blood pressure of the groups was not significant. A high percentage of children of normal weight also exhibited high levels of blood pressure. As far as objective 3 is concerned, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation coefficients and one-way analysis of variance, that 1 out of every 10 learners (11,64%) was overweight (7,84%) or obese (3,80%). Fine motor precision, balance, running speed, agility and strength exhibited a significant relationship with body mass index (p<0.05), while no clear relationship was found between object control skills, upper limb co-ordination and body mass index. For objective 4, two schools were selected from the total sample in one urban area, which consisted of 75 learners (school 1=40 and school 2=35) who had a mean age of 6,66 years (+ 0,24) and who participated in two different perceptual-motor movement development programmes. The perceptual-motor movement development programme of School 1 was based on a process-oriented approach, as opposed to the programme of School 2, which was based on a product-oriented approach. Motor proficiency was measured by making use of the short form of the “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2”. The results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, independent t-testing and a covariance of analysis, showed that both movement development programmes contributed to significant improvements in some of the motor proficiency subcomponents. However, the process-oriented movement programme contributed to a greater extent to improvement on an individual level, which was attributed to the improved underlying neurological processes of motor proficiency and bilateral integration that underwent improvement as a result, while the level of motor proficiency mastery of the product-oriented movement development programme remained unchanged. On the grounds of the above results it is advised that educators, such as the Physical Education teachers who work with Grade 1 learners, take note of the possible deficits with regard to motor proficiency, overweight and obesity, and implement suitable intervention programmes, taking into consideration the gender and racial specific differences that were found in this study. The measuring of blood pressure for basic screening purposes is important in the child population and interventions that include physical activity are advised to reduce the potential cardiovascular complications of obesity amongst children. It could also be recommended that school-based movement development programmes, which are presented by specialists, be implemented in order to improve the motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners and to also contribute to the improvement of the skills of learners with perceptual-motor and physical proficiency problems. / Thesis (PhD (Human Movement Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Several researchers have reported that the perceptual-motor skills of today’s children are not optimally developed. Furthermore, childhood obesity has increased worldwide and is a cause for concern due to the effect that it has on the present and future public health of children. Childhood obesity has a bearing on a rise in chronic paediatric diseases and an increase in hypertension, as well as on motor and physical deficits. In spite of the inadequate perceptual-motor development that is reported, few studies have been reported that examine the effect of school-based movement development programmes to improve the motor proficiency of school beginners. Firstly, in this thesis, an attempt was made to establish a general profile of the motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners in the North West Province of South Africa, and to determine possible gender and racial differences. Secondly, the relationship between the body composition and blood pressure of Grade 1 learners was examined. Thirdly, the relationship between the body composition and motor, physical and object control skills of these learners was examined. The fourth objective was to determine the effect of school-based movement development programmes on the perceptual-motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners. For objectives one to three, data were collected by means of a stratified randomised sample of 816 Grade 1 learners (419 boys, 397 girls) with a mean age of 6,78 years (+ 0,49) who participated in the NW-CHILD study. The short form of the “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2” (Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005), which consists of eight subcomponents, was used to determine the learners’ motor proficiency and the “Test of Gross Motor Development-2” was used to determine the learners’ object control skills. Stature, body mass, skinfolds (subscapular, triceps and calf) and waist circumference were measured according to standard kinantropometric protocols. International cut-off points for body mass index (BMI) were used to classify learners in normal, overweight or obese categories. Blood pressure was measured by means of an Omron 705CP-II. With regard to objective 1, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics and ttesting, and by making use of the Statistica computer program, that Grade 1 learners exhibit below average (49,63%) to average (48,16%) motor proficiency. The poorest skills exhibited by the learners were in strength, fine motor integration and fine motor precision. The motor proficiency of the boys was mostly average (63,96%) as opposed to that of the girls, which was largely classified as below average (64,74%), although the girls’ manual dexterity and bilateral co-ordination was significantly better compared to the boys. The motor proficiency of most of the white children was average (69,27%), compared to 58,73% of the black children, whose motor proficiency was below average. White children performed significantly better in fine motor precision, fine motor integration, manual dexterity, bilateral co-ordination, upper limb co-ordination and strength skills, and black children in balancing and running speed and agility skills. Concerning objective 2, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, the Spearman correlation coefficients and one-way analysis of variance, that the overall incidence of prehypertension and hypertension was 8,5% and 24,9% respectively. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure exhibited a significant relationship with BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference. Boys and girls exhibited the same incidence of hypertension. A higher percentage of the black children were hypertensive compared to the white children, although the difference in the blood pressure of the groups was not significant. A high percentage of children of normal weight also exhibited high levels of blood pressure. As far as objective 3 is concerned, it appeared from the results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation coefficients and one-way analysis of variance, that 1 out of every 10 learners (11,64%) was overweight (7,84%) or obese (3,80%). Fine motor precision, balance, running speed, agility and strength exhibited a significant relationship with body mass index (p<0.05), while no clear relationship was found between object control skills, upper limb co-ordination and body mass index. For objective 4, two schools were selected from the total sample in one urban area, which consisted of 75 learners (school 1=40 and school 2=35) who had a mean age of 6,66 years (+ 0,24) and who participated in two different perceptual-motor movement development programmes. The perceptual-motor movement development programme of School 1 was based on a process-oriented approach, as opposed to the programme of School 2, which was based on a product-oriented approach. Motor proficiency was measured by making use of the short form of the “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2”. The results, which were analysed with descriptive statistics, independent t-testing and a covariance of analysis, showed that both movement development programmes contributed to significant improvements in some of the motor proficiency subcomponents. However, the process-oriented movement programme contributed to a greater extent to improvement on an individual level, which was attributed to the improved underlying neurological processes of motor proficiency and bilateral integration that underwent improvement as a result, while the level of motor proficiency mastery of the product-oriented movement development programme remained unchanged. On the grounds of the above results it is advised that educators, such as the Physical Education teachers who work with Grade 1 learners, take note of the possible deficits with regard to motor proficiency, overweight and obesity, and implement suitable intervention programmes, taking into consideration the gender and racial specific differences that were found in this study. The measuring of blood pressure for basic screening purposes is important in the child population and interventions that include physical activity are advised to reduce the potential cardiovascular complications of obesity amongst children. It could also be recommended that school-based movement development programmes, which are presented by specialists, be implemented in order to improve the motor proficiency of Grade 1 learners and to also contribute to the improvement of the skills of learners with perceptual-motor and physical proficiency problems. / Thesis (PhD (Human Movement Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This study focuses on the induction of novice teachers in Community Junior Secondary Schools (CJSS) in Gaborone, Botswana. The point of departure is that induction is an important factor that is essential to the success of every beginner teacher. It is the responsibility of the school management to provide comprehensive induction programmes that will support beginner teachers and retain them in the teaching profession. This problem was investigated by means of a literature study and an empirical investigation using a qualitative approach. A small sample of beginner teachers in six selected schools in Gaborone formed the sample for this study. Findings indicated that the extent to which novice teachers are given professional guidance and support in schools is not enough. It is recommended that induction programmes receive more priority in schools since the first year of teaching is the most important determiner in the teaching career of an individual. / Education management / M.Ed. (Education Management)

This study sought to investigate and redefine the initial training of pastors, including the management training of student pastors at the colleges of the International Assemblies of God Church (IAG) of South Africa. Unlike in the past when pastors could lead churches without proper formal training based on their spirituality as viewed by the IAG and them professing to be called as ministers, today in this church tradition the need for the formal educational formation of pastors is taken for granted. This stance raises questions about the quality of graduates as well as matters of curriculum development, as the world is continually in a state of flux with far- reaching consequences for training institutions. It is generally accepted that churches play an important role in the lives of citizens in a predominantly Christian country like South Africa. On the other hand there is a continuing contestation and debate regarding the role pastors play in their churches in management and administrative issues. This also relates to the preparedness or unpreparedness of graduate pastors for their job. The day to day performance of duties by serving pastors in their organisations is generally viewed as below expectation compared to their counterparts in other occupations. A qualitative research approach was followed to elicit the necessary information to answer the research questions. Participants who were regarded as information rich cases on the training of pastors of the IAG were selected to shed more light on this particular aspect. Two focus group interviews and seven individual interviews were conducted. The interviews included members of the national and provincial executive committees, serving pastors, directors of the training colleges, pastor trainees in their final year of study and a newly graduated student. The current curriculum of initial training programmes was reviewed. Within a transformational management framework and utilising a purposeful intervention strategy, the study posits the Community Needs Responsive Management Training Model (CNRMTM) to enhance the initial training programmes of pastors and to use aspects of this model in the development and presentation of life-long learning programmes arranged for serving pastors. Recommendations and suggestions for future research were made. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

This study investigated the contribution of staff training and development programmes to effective library and information services in selected university libraries in Ghana. The rationale of the study was to establish the relationship between training and development of library staff and work performance of individual library staff, university libraries and the institutions as a whole, which should reflect in effective and efficient provision of library and information services. The researcher reviewed extensively literature on relevant subject areas related to staff training and development including: the concept of training and development, training needs analysis and assessment, staff training and development, monitoring and evaluation of training, effects of training on job performance, measuring return on investment in training and effectiveness of library and information services. The researcher adopted a survey research method because of the large geographical areas over which the university libraries are located and therefore dispersed population. The researcher adopted mixed methods research approach and thus data was collected using interviews, observations and questionnaires. The researcher also used a mixed sampling method where the researcher combined both probability and non-probability sampling methods in sampling the population. The population for the study comprised library staff, faculty and students from five selected universities in Ghana. The total population from the five universities was 139,463 based on which a sample of 860 was chosen. Thematic content analysis technique was use to analyse qualitative data, while statistical package for service solution was used to analyse quantitative data. The main findings of the study were that staff training and development programmes contributed to the improvement of the knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences of library staff in the universities in Ghana, thereby made university library staff in Ghana more effective and efficient in the provision of library and information services to the university community. However staff development practices alone did not contribute to job performance. Staff development practices were supported with human resource management strategies such as rewards, promotions, bonuses, salary increase and other motivational strategies. Finally the study identified inadequate funding and short falls in the training policies as some of the challenges facing the implementation of staff training and development initiatives in the university libraries in Ghana. It recommends the establishment of training units within the university libraries and adequate budgetary provisions to invest in staff training and development programmes for library staff as well as the adoption of train the trainer concept where staff who participated in training and development programmes are asked to train colleagues and submit a report for the benefit of colleagues as a way of improving staff development practices in the university libraries in Ghana. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on staff training and development and work performance in university libraries. / Information Science

In the 21st century, there is a growing realisation that providing principals with the necessary opportunities of training in leadership and management skills has become increasingly important as a way to increase school effectiveness and achieve quality performance. Central to this argument is the fact that principals are merely accorded a status and role without the necessary training. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the effectiveness of state-funded professional development programmes of school principals with specific reference to Soshanguve secondary schools and also to ascertain the extent to which principals’ training meets the schools’ and principals’ needs given the changed conditions that exist in the country. The study employed a quantitative research methods approach to collect data from 100 educators and 20 Head of Departments (HoDs). This was done through administration of questionnaires. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), which was used to generate the frequencies and descriptive statistics that were used to answer research questions. While it is expected that principals should effectively and rigorously be developed to enable them to improve teaching and learning at their schools, the study, however, found that training of school principals in Soshanguve was elusive and ineffective, and as result, the majority of these principals lack basic management training prior to and after their entry into principalship. The study has shown that apart from being faced with various challenges and being promoted to principalship without the necessary leadership experience, principals rely on trial-and-error experience and common sense in leading and managing schools. The study also showed that a majority of principals are in great need of being professionally developed in some specific areas. Furthermore, the study discovered that the Department of Basic Education does not seem to be making efforts in ensuring that principals are professionally developed. Consequently, principals develop on their own through informal professional development strategies. In conclusion, the study recommended, amongst others, that principals should be encouraged to take personal responsibility and initiative in preparing and developing school leadership through self-study, reading literature, attending seminars and workshops out of their own personal volition. That Department of Basic Education (DoBE) needs to look into ways of subsidising the training of school principals. DoBE should also find ways of formally incorporating more of the private sector and non-governmental organisations to help in the preparation and development of principals for school leadership by allowing them to offer in-service courses for potential principals and serving principals. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this thesis is to extend sport career transition knowledge by developing and evaluating a psycho-educational curriculum for sport career transition practitioners. Study 1 provides an extensive overview of organisational intervention programmes for sport career transition, as well as of training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners from 19 countries worldwide. The purpose of Study 1 was to examine the following five features of sport career transition organisational intervention programmes and training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners: 1) At the government level, which organisation is responsible for the delivery of sport career transition organisational intervention programmes? 2) What is the typical strategy of sport career transition organisational intervention programmes? 3) Which activities and events are included in sport career transition organisational intervention programmes? 4) Who is responsible for the delivery of sport career transition organisational intervention programmes? and 5) Do sporting organisations have training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners? Findings from Study 1 were used to inform Study 2 and to supplement the literature review. According to the literature, training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners remain scarce, while the number of sport career transition organisational intervention programmes is gradually increasing. The purpose of Study 2 was to develop and evaluate a novel psycho-educational curriculum for sport career transition practitioners. There were three stages of development and evaluation: (1) content development, (2) curriculum design and (3) curriculum evaluation. To achieve the goal of Study 2, a focus group and a two-round Delphi method were implemented. The final version of the psycho-educational curriculum is presented in Chapter 5. The purpose of Study 3 was to test a key aspect of the psycho-educational curriculum developed in Study 2 concerning 38 competences of sport career transition practitioners. A curriculum package consisting in the key parts from the overall curriculum was developed for Study 3. The findings revealed that the curriculum package positively affected the confidence of the study participants in 38 competences concerning sport career transition. This demonstrates that the curriculum is effective for the development of sport career transition practitioners, as the study participants exhibited greater confidence on all four factorsDual Career Transition Management, Skill Transfer, Social Support, and Career Planningwhen completing the curriculum package. The discussion in Chapter 7 focuses on both the theoretical and practical implications of the research, limitations and future research directions. In conclusion, the findings presented here deepen the knowledge of sport career transition in the areas of organisational intervention programmes for high performance athletes and training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners. In addition, a novel psycho-educational curriculum for sport career transition practitioners is developed and evaluated.

The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the use of the funds of European Union for the development of tourism in the Czech Republic and France and find out what financial resources are invested in the support of tourism and if they are allocated effectively. The comparison between these countries was accomplished by two similar regions Central Bohemian Region and Lower Normandy.

In spite of Sweden´s lack of formal regions, the country is evolving towards regional administrations. The regional level are to a growing extent viewed as important bases for economic growth and development. The concept of the triple helix implies that interaction between the public sector, the industry and universities is a source to economic and social development. Research has though implied that the interaction between the triple helix actors could be problematic from a multi-level governance perspective. It has been shown that since the institutional setting is horizontal and vertical fragmented, cooperation between different institutions and actors becomes difficult. In year 2005-2006 the Värmland region was one of fourteen regions in twelve countries that was included in a OECD project, that was a response to the multiplicity of initiatives across the OECD countries concerning regional development. In the report that evolved from the project actors in Värmland was recommended to improve the cooperation concerning regional development in the county. This thesis investigates the cooperation between the triple helix actors for regional growth and development in the Värmland region 1998-2008. My research questions are: Is there evidence of a lack of cooperation between the university, the public sector and the industrial actors in Värmland? And if this is the case, could these problems be related to the fragmentation of the institutional setting? The thesis is a qualitative case study, conducted through elite-interviews and document analysis. My findings implies that the cooperation between the triple helix actors in Värmland has developed dramatically the last decade. From a strive for coordination that was pervaded by institutional fragmentation to an increased closeness and mutual involvement that has come to over-bridge the institutional fragmentation on the regional level. Although, it seems like the vertical fragmentation between the regional and national level, which could impede growth and development in the region, to a great degree remains.