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Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study of rural primary teachers' life histories, their sources of motivation and their views of teaching, is an attempt to discover the conceptual frames out of which teachers conduct their lives and work in order to improve the theory and practice of teacher development The research methodology used in the study combined grounded theoty (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) with narrative and life history approaches (Goodson, 1992; 1995; Thomas, 1992; 1995). Comparative interview data was collected from sixty eight rural primary teachers, and ten teacher developers. advisers and educators. In a second phase of data collection, the preliminary findings were reopened to teacher educators, advisers, and inspectors in four workshops, as a way of testing emergent theory. Observation and participant observation were used in these workshops. Document analysis, journal writing and the methodological tools of coding data and writing analytical memos during data analysis fonned the basis on which theory was generated. As a study in life history method, the study sought to bring to the 'story of action' a 'theory of context', placing teacher narratives within their broader relationship to schooling, society, and history (Goodson, 1992a, p.241). The particular life histories of rural African teachers in South Africa marked them as both powerless and powerful; as victims and agent'; in post-Apartheid society. On the one hand, teachers represented themselves as victims of poverty and oppression, while on the other they regarded their aspirations to join the educated middle classes as having succeeded. They were 'somebodies'. Ambivalence played itself out at many levels in the narratives. This was most evident in the way in which teacher stories about career motivation and the practice of teaching shifted between the instrumental and the relational. Status, salary, 'knowledge' and results were held in tension with idealism, nation-building and pedagogic love in their narratives. The analysis of teacher 'frames' (Barnes, 1992) thus worked towards reflecting these tensions, ambivalences and contradictions. The study makes a contribution to knowledge in three areas. Firstly, it combines the methodologies of grounded theory, narrative and life history method in a way which allows for the expression and representation of teacher 'voice'. Secondly, narrative and life history methods are applied in a new context, with rural primary teachers in South Africa; and with a new purpose in that context, that is towards a theory of teacher development. The third contribution the research makes to knowledge is in its use of a combination of narrative and matrix analysis in theorising the complex and contradictory frames of teachers. This allows narrative methodology to move beyond the telling of teacher stories to a more complex level of analysis for which the matrix diagrams provide the conceptual tools.

Demands by higher education stakeholders in the late 1980s to early 1990s, led the higher education sector to focus on issues of effectiveness, accountability and efficiency. This was as true in the West Indies as elsewhere in the world. The University of the West Indies (UWI) reviewed its governance structure and established an academic quality assurance mechanism to respond to these challenges. More than a decade has passed since the implementation of this major initiative, and quality has since formed an integral part of the UWI’s strategic plans since 1997. Concerns have continually been raised however about the quality of the service provided. This is the focus of this study. This topic was explored and evaluated through the use of three units of analysis using a qualitative case study of the Mona campus. The methods used to gather data were essentially qualitative, using interviews, focus groups, and documentary research. The theoretical orientation was grounded in the quality literature, drawing on both the industrial literature as well as that in higher education. My findings paved the way for judgments which indicated that various quality procedures are employed in different parts of the UWI, Mona Campus. Some of these procedures do not seem to have produced the overall quality culture of excellence which was intended. Out of the information and commentaries produced by the respondents a unified quality framework has been produced that pays attention to effective procedures, processes, and systems. These criteria were assembled in a model to inform practice at the UWI and enhance the overall transformation process of the 2007-2012 Strategic Plan.

Research Purpose: This study aims to build a new model of quality for education based on a Saudi-British consensus regarding the major factors contributing to education quality and after considering other models (such as EFQM) and other authors’ perspectives. Research Methodology: The research relies on realism philosophy and as a multiple case study with 15 cases, it utilises a mainly qualitative research design that employs semi-structured interview as its research instruments. This study has adopted an ‘Inductive’ approach to build a new model. Primary data in this study was collected by interviewing 33 Saudi and 30 British academics and higher education authorities from six Saudi and nine British universities. Content Analysis was used for analysis. Research Findings: While the degree of agreement with each of the 11 propositions was varied (a range from totally agree to totally disagree), all of the Saudi and British participants believe that eleven pillars/criteria of quality education are: Leadership and Strategic Management; Students, Academics and Staff Recruitment; Syllabus/ Curriculum; Research/Teaching; Pedagogy; Learning & research support; Knowledge management; Academics’ achievements; Students’ progress, success & satisfaction; Universities/Schools’ achievements; and Innovation and Change Management. Recommendations: Decision makers in education sector are recommended to consider all eleven identified factors and their connection to each other while developing policies for quality of education. Universities and other educational institutes should plan and allocate required budgets for implementation and maintenance of all aspects of quality in education. Research Contributions: The main contribution of this research is developing the 'Education Quality Model’. Although there has been some research regarding the quality of education, seemingly they have not led to the development of a research-based customised model such as the Education Quality Model. Another contribution is preparing a new and broad ‘Taxonomy of Quality’. In previous taxonomies, either the only focus is on education or in contrast, education is missing in these taxonomies. Furthermore, possibly for the first time, perspectives of Saudi academics are presented alongside their British counterparts regarding quality of education.

Whilst a significant body of research exists related to quality assurance in UK higher education (HE), few questions appear to have been raised about the commonplace practice of validation or approval of degree courses. Overall, current research tends to focus on complications arising from the procedural effects of the process, rather than exploring ways that staff dealt with the demands of these systems. This study examined staff experiences of course approval within Allied Health Profession degree courses in a UK university. The research focused on how governance structures surrounding the regulation of health professionals and universities shaped the practice(s) of approval, alongside ways in which this experience affected staff. Influenced by the work of theorists in critical and social theory traditions, this indepth study adopted narrative inquiry. Purposive sampling was used to locate twelve participants and included academics, manager-academics, staff who worked in professional bodies and within teams supporting quality in HE. In order to examine the issues related to the approval process, data was collected through interview conversations, participants’ drawings and prose, along with documentary analysis. This research revealed the narrative of approval as complex and akin to a journey involving a series of challenges, contradictions and multiplicity of stakeholders. Interpretation of the data illustrated that those participating were both constituted by, and contributed to the nature of approval. In other words, rather than being docile recipients’ of policy, it was apparent that staff appeared to take various approaches to thinking, acting and relating. A sense of adopting a position (termed here as positional identities) emerged and influenced not only participants’ journey through the approval process, but also that of others, as well as the shape and nature of courses being approved. Four positional identities were identified, namely: the Governance Trustee, Professional Guardian, Enabling Strategist and Boundary Broker. Each of these positions was subsequently explored through an exploratory conceptual map of positional identity. The emergent map stimulated the re-assessment of current conditions. Consequently, future possibilities in which approval scenarios may evolve are presented. Considering how policy changes within HE have promoted increasingly performative practices, and the ways in which participants in approval events have presented them ‘selves’, it is likely that the positional identities adopted by staff here may have resonance for academics across the sector, and that this study will inform wider debates about policy and validation of courses within HE in general.

A qualidade da arquitetura de software pode impactar diretamente a satisfação do usuário, uma vez que define se os atributos de qualidade serão atingidos, principalmente os requisitos não funcionais. Apesar disso, os conceitos de qualidade de arquitetura de software não são tratados com a devida importância pelos currículos dos cursos de graduação e pós-graduação dos cursos de Computação. A ausência de conhecimento sobre qualidade de arquitetura de software, dos trade-offs entre atributos de qualidade e de como medir esses atributos durante o ciclo de desenvolvimento de software faz com que egressos dos cursos de Computação somente aprendam que os atributos de qualidade de arquitetura são fatores crucias para o sucesso de um projeto da pior forma possível, ou seja, após muitos projetos fracassados em sua vida profissional, colocando em risco toda sua trajetória de carreira. Este trabalho de pesquisa propõe um método experimental (roteiro) para o ensino de qualidade de arquitetura de software guiado por atributos de qualidade, principalmente requisitos não funcionais, utilizando uma abordagem prática, iterativa e dirigida pelo processo de negócio com o objetivo de auxiliar no processo de aprendizagem da importância dos atributos de qualidade de arquitetura de software e medição desses atributos durante todo o ciclo de vida de um sistema. Para a elaboração do roteiro de ensino proposto foram utilizadas normas relacionadas à qualidade do produto e do processo de software, modelos de referência para sistemas de processamento distribuído, métodos de avaliação de arquiteturas de software e teorias pedagógicas relacionadas ao processo de ensino/aprendizagem. Para avaliação do roteiro de ensino proposto, o mesmo foi aplicado em disciplinas de graduação e pós-graduação em Engenharia de Computação, mais especificamente em disciplinas da área de Engenharia de Software. / The software architecture quality directly affects user satisfaction, since it defines if quality criteria will be achieved, especially regarding the non-functional requirements. However, software architecture quality concepts are not handled with due importance by undergraduate and graduate computer curricula. The lack of knowledge about software architecture quality, quality attribute trade-offs and how to measure these attributes during the software development cycle makes computer graduates/engineers only learn that software architecture quality is a key to a successful project in the worst way possible, i.e., after many failed projects in their professional lives, jeopardizing their entire career trajectory. This research proposes a experimental method (roadmap) for teaching software architecture quality guided by quality attributes, primarily by non-functional requirements, using an iterative and practical approach, driven by business process. This will help to teach the importance of software architecture quality and of measuring these attributes throughout the system life cycle. For developing the proposed roadmap, standards related to software product and process quality, reference models for distributed processing systems, methods for software architectures evaluation and pedagogical theories related to the learning process were used. To evaluate the proposed roadmap, it was applied in undergraduate and graduate Computer Engineering courses, specifically in Software Engineering disciplines.

A qualidade da arquitetura de software pode impactar diretamente a satisfação do usuário, uma vez que define se os atributos de qualidade serão atingidos, principalmente os requisitos não funcionais. Apesar disso, os conceitos de qualidade de arquitetura de software não são tratados com a devida importância pelos currículos dos cursos de graduação e pós-graduação dos cursos de Computação. A ausência de conhecimento sobre qualidade de arquitetura de software, dos trade-offs entre atributos de qualidade e de como medir esses atributos durante o ciclo de desenvolvimento de software faz com que egressos dos cursos de Computação somente aprendam que os atributos de qualidade de arquitetura são fatores crucias para o sucesso de um projeto da pior forma possível, ou seja, após muitos projetos fracassados em sua vida profissional, colocando em risco toda sua trajetória de carreira. Este trabalho de pesquisa propõe um método experimental (roteiro) para o ensino de qualidade de arquitetura de software guiado por atributos de qualidade, principalmente requisitos não funcionais, utilizando uma abordagem prática, iterativa e dirigida pelo processo de negócio com o objetivo de auxiliar no processo de aprendizagem da importância dos atributos de qualidade de arquitetura de software e medição desses atributos durante todo o ciclo de vida de um sistema. Para a elaboração do roteiro de ensino proposto foram utilizadas normas relacionadas à qualidade do produto e do processo de software, modelos de referência para sistemas de processamento distribuído, métodos de avaliação de arquiteturas de software e teorias pedagógicas relacionadas ao processo de ensino/aprendizagem. Para avaliação do roteiro de ensino proposto, o mesmo foi aplicado em disciplinas de graduação e pós-graduação em Engenharia de Computação, mais especificamente em disciplinas da área de Engenharia de Software. / The software architecture quality directly affects user satisfaction, since it defines if quality criteria will be achieved, especially regarding the non-functional requirements. However, software architecture quality concepts are not handled with due importance by undergraduate and graduate computer curricula. The lack of knowledge about software architecture quality, quality attribute trade-offs and how to measure these attributes during the software development cycle makes computer graduates/engineers only learn that software architecture quality is a key to a successful project in the worst way possible, i.e., after many failed projects in their professional lives, jeopardizing their entire career trajectory. This research proposes a experimental method (roadmap) for teaching software architecture quality guided by quality attributes, primarily by non-functional requirements, using an iterative and practical approach, driven by business process. This will help to teach the importance of software architecture quality and of measuring these attributes throughout the system life cycle. For developing the proposed roadmap, standards related to software product and process quality, reference models for distributed processing systems, methods for software architectures evaluation and pedagogical theories related to the learning process were used. To evaluate the proposed roadmap, it was applied in undergraduate and graduate Computer Engineering courses, specifically in Software Engineering disciplines.

The role of information and communication technologies in the development of modern societies has continuously increased over the past several decades. In particular, recent unprecedented growth in use of the Internet in many developing countries has been accompanied by greater information access and use. Along with this increased use, there have been significant advances in the development of technologies that can support the management and decision-making functions of decentralized government. However, the amount of data available to administrators and planners is increasing at a faster rate than their ability to use these resources effectively. A key issue in this context is the storage and retrieval of spatial and temporal data. With static data, a planner or analyst is limited to studying cross-sectional snapshots and has little capability to understand trends or assess the impacts of policies. Education, which is a vital part of the human experience and one of the most important aspects of development, is a spatio-temporal process that demands the capacities to store and analyze spatial distributions and temporal sequences simultaneously. Local planners must not only be able to identify problem areas, but also know if a problem is recent or on-going. They must also be able to identify factors which are causing problems for remediation and, most importantly, to assess the impact of remedial interventions. Internet-based tools that allow for fast and easy on-line exploration of spatio-temporal data will better equip planners for doing all of the above. This thesis presents a spatio-temporal on-line data model using the concept or paradigm of space-time. The thesis demonstrates how such a model can be of use in the development of customized software that addresses the evaluation of early childhood education quality in Peru.

The role of information and communication technologies in the development of modern societies has continuously increased over the past several decades. In particular, recent unprecedented growth in use of the Internet in many developing countries has been accompanied by greater information access and use. Along with this increased use, there have been significant advances in the development of technologies that can support the management and decision-making functions of decentralized government. However, the amount of data available to administrators and planners is increasing at a faster rate than their ability to use these resources effectively. A key issue in this context is the storage and retrieval of spatial and temporal data. With static data, a planner or analyst is limited to studying cross-sectional snapshots and has little capability to understand trends or assess the impacts of policies. Education, which is a vital part of the human experience and one of the most important aspects of development, is a spatio-temporal process that demands the capacities to store and analyze spatial distributions and temporal sequences simultaneously. Local planners must not only be able to identify problem areas, but also know if a problem is recent or on-going. They must also be able to identify factors which are causing problems for remediation and, most importantly, to assess the impact of remedial interventions. Internet-based tools that allow for fast and easy on-line exploration of spatio-temporal data will better equip planners for doing all of the above. This thesis presents a spatio-temporal on-line data model using the concept or paradigm of space-time. The thesis demonstrates how such a model can be of use in the development of customized software that addresses the evaluation of early childhood education quality in Peru.