In this study the ownership, governance and funding of schools in South Africa are examined in time perspective in order to show the development of the above-mentioned aspects in South Africa through the ages, and to provide recommendations for the future. In the historical survey the ownership, governance and funding of schools in South Africa from 1652 to 2004 are indicated. This has been done for the Whites, Coloureds, Indians and Blacks. The historical pattern of the provision of education in South Africa has often changed during the period under discussion. The education of Whites, Coloureds, Indians and Blacks was provided, and funded separately (1652 to 1993). Imbalances and inequities were common phenomena. Attempts to address the above issues (1994 to 2004) are also indicated. Finally, some recommendations for redressing the present imbalances and inequities with regard to the above three aspects are provided. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (History of Education)

The purpose of this study was to look at how principals and educators managed and experience the implementation of Quality Assurance policies in secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal focusing on the bttegrated Quality Management System that is currently in place. This study was designed as a qualitative exploratory and descriptive survey. Data was collected in 2007 by visiting schools and conducting interviews with the principals and educators. School managers fell into two groups. One group was positive about Integrated Quality Management System and other group negative. Even though there were differences, all agreed that lntearated Quality Management System was good if it was to be introduced at a pace suitable to the educators. Educators preferred Integrated Quality Management System to systems that were not transparent. They then recommended that Integrated Quality Management System should not be linked to the educators' remuneration as this destroys what could be good about IQMS / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this study was to determine how teachers experienced transformation in education and what the implications were for education management. The approach was qualitative, exploratory and descriptive. In a case study design six redeployed teachers from an ex-model C school were purposefully selected as sample. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers. Informal interviews and observation were also used to collect data. The results focussed on the teachers‟ views of transformation and their experiences of transformation policy and how it was managed; the financial implications of transformation and the impact thereof on the teachers. It was concluded that individual teachers experienced some aspects of transformation positively, for example promotion opportunities. Negative experiences were related to transformation that was enforced overhastily and did not consider all role players or prepare teachers well. Recommendations were made for managing transformation and for further study. Key concepts: transformation; education management; case study design; redeployed teachers; positive experiences of education transformation; negative experiences / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. ((Onderwysbestuur) Further Teacher Education)

The study identifies the challenges in the implementation of Inclusive Education in the Umgungundlovu District of Education and establishes the possible solutions. The basis for this investigation is the Education White Paper 6, Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (Department of Education, 2001). The study was conducted in the Umgungundlovu District of Education in the area of Pietermaritzburg. A qualitative research method was used. Data collection strategies that were used are structured interviews, observation and a questionnaire. The study reveals the following challenges that hamper theimplementation;Negative attitudes of some educators and parents towards inclusion, lack of Skills Development Programmes for educators, minimal involvement of parents as well as lack of infrastructural development. These challenges could be dealt with by appointing a Manager within the District to ensure that advocacy on Inclusive Education, training of educators and infrastructural improvement in all schools are done. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Text in Afrikaans / Die ontstaan en verloop van Christelik-nasionale onderwys as die histories-geworde onderwysideaal van die Afrikaner word in hierdie studie ondersoek en evalueer ten einde die moontlike toekomstige voortbestaan daarvan in Suid-Afrika te kan aantoon. Die verband tussen lewensbeskouing en onderwys is allereers aangetoon, met besondere verwysing na die ontstaan en wese van die Christelik-nasionale lewensbeskouing en onderwysleer. In die terugskou is die verloop en posisie van Christelik-nasionale onderwys vanaf 1652 tot en met 1997 van nader beskou. Aandag is aan die volgende onderwysfasette gegee: onderwysdoelstellinge, onderwysbeheer, onderwysinhoud (met spesiale verwysing na godsdiensonderrig) en medium van onderrig. Ten slotte is bevindinge en 'n gevolgtrekking rakende Christelik-nasionale onderwys in Suid-Afrika verwoord. Enkele aanbevelings vir die voortbestaan van Christelik-nasionale onderwys is ook gemaak. / In this study, the genesis and course of Christian National Education, as historic cultivated educational ideal of the Afrikander, are examined and assessed in order to be able to predict its future in times to come. First of all, the relation between view of life and education is indicated, with special reference to the genesis and nature of the Christian National view of life and doctrine of education. In the historical survey the course and position of Christian National Education from 1652 to 1997 are indicated. Attention is focused on the following educational aspects: aim of education, governance of education, content of education (with special reference to religious instruction) and medium of instruction. Finally, findings and a conclusion regarding Christian National Education in South Africa are expressed. Some recommendations for its continued existence are also provided / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)

In the new democratic dispensation, the Gauteng Education and Training Council (GETC) is the first statutory council instituted in South Africa, allowing civil society to participate in education policy-making. Against this background, this study explored the policy process and the participation of stakeholders. A literature study investigated the theory on policy and the participation of civil society in the policy process. The inception of the GETC was fully documented and a qualitative study undertaken to determine the role of the GETC in education policy-making. Data gathering was done mainly through semi-structured interviews with GETC members. The data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings were that stakeholders valued the opportunity to participate and members had high expectations of the contribution they could render in the policy-making process. Although most members had a good grasp of the policy process, lack of administrative resources and participative skills founded in the exclusion of large segments of society from partaking in such consultative structures in the past, was evident in some organisations. The function of the Administrative Secretary is deemed important in facilitating the functions of the GETC and training for this incumbent was emphasised. The lines of communication between the GETC and the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) need to be clearly structured in order to expedite the movement of documents between them. The I'vfEC needs to be more visible to GETC members. The GETC, MEC and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) have to explore ways and means of establishing a sound relationship to serve the cause. Consensus between the GETC and the GDE should be reached regarding the role and place of the GETC in the GDE Policy Route. Areas for further investigation that would enhance the role of the GETC in the policy-making process have been identified. The study concluded that the GETC renders a valuable contribution empowering citizens to become involved in formal participative structures which will contribute towards broadening the basis of acceptance of responsibility for education, by society. This will assist in attaining its declared vision to improve the level of education in South Africa / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Submitted in fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology: Human Resource Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Since the advent of democracy in 1994, South African society has been undergoing a rapid transformation. By the time the second democratic elections had come around, the focus had turned to transforming and restructuring the higher education sector. Mergers became an instrument in the hands of the Government to restructure and configure the higher education landscape. Mergers are not new and have been used by many countries to transform or restructure their higher education sector. However, comparison with higher education mergers in other countries would point to the most ambitious change programme ever undertaken in recent times, especially given the large scale of mergers and incorporations that were planned for the South African higher education sector. The Durban University of Technology merger which took place in 2002 preceded the main wave of the Government decreed mergers that took place in 2004 and in 2005. This thesis focuses on contributing to the knowledge of higher education mergers by investigating higher education mergers in South Africa from a micro as well as macro perspective. At a micro level the study undertaken is a case study of the Durban University of Technology (DUT), the first merged higher institution in the country, while from a macro perspective, an examination into the impact that mergers have had on the transformation of the higher education sector. This second part has been undertaken through a perception survey of staff at merged institutions. The emphasis is on providing a detailed analysis of DUT merger in terms of its problems, pitfalls and peculiarities. It covers an examination of the processes, procedures, practices and trials and tribulations when two or more higher education institutions merge. This study is guided by two central research questions. The first is: What can be learned about higher education mergers as examined through the Durban University of Technology (DUT) case study? The second question, whether higher education mergers have been successful or otherwise in South Africa? In particular this question seeks to elicit whether the broader goals and objectives of higher education transformation have been or are being achieved or accomplished through mergers in the sector. The literature review emphasized a conceptual understanding of higher education mergers, merger processes and steps. The review also touches on the limitations and gaps in higher education literature when examined from a iv South African perspective. In particular a detailed study of the South African merger policy development was undertaken. The DUT merger experience allows one to draw a distinction between what is termed the technical merger issues and the soft issues. Technical aspects of a merger would simply be those aspects that have to be done to ensure the physical merger of two or more institutions. In a sense it is the soft issues which shape the merger process. These soft issues largely relate to people, the consultation with stakeholders, the negotiations and the cultural dimensions. Despite the assumption that voluntary mergers are generally easier to negotiate and execute because of the perceived greater involvement of stakeholders, the DUT case provides no evidence to support this position. If anything, the DUT merger although voluntary was at best difficult and beset with people and human relations problems. The findings from the case study point to the following: Government initiated mergers (forced mergers) are less likely to failure because of a greater national agenda; that an all new embracing style of leadership is needed when institutions undergo great changes such as through a merger; that where trade unions exist they will become powerful forces if people management issues are neglected or dealt with poorly during the merger. A genuinely co-operative and consultative process is the way to go; that to overcome past cultural differences a new cultural identity must be established early in the merger by sharing the new vision and mission of the new entity; that mergers could be understood and managed in three distinct phases, which are, the pre-merger phase, the integration phase and the consolidation phase. Equally there are a number of merger steps. By reviewing the processes, procedures and practices of the DUT merger, a model has been developed to understand how mergers take place. In respect of the perception survey of merged institutions, respondents saw some benefits accrue to the academic goals and there were some efficiency gains. More students came into the higher education system. Not many were complementary about their state of physical resources including teaching and learning facilities. Some even felt that teaching and learning were set back during the merger period and this is backed up by key statistics for example like pass rates and dropout rates. Given the difficulty with the softer issues in mergers, much of the blame seems to have been directed at Management and Leadership. Nearly 50% of respondents felt that mergers did not result in high quality Management, while a slightly lower percentage of 42% thought that v mergers did not help establish high quality Councils. Many thought that their governance structures and systems were also weakened. Mergers are complex and it invariably affects the entire institution. It requires careful planning and preparation, inclusivity and a developmental approach to mergers. It also requires effective leaders to manage change of such magnitude. These are the ingredients to ensuring successful higher education mergers.

This study was undertaken with the purpose of analysing the public accountability system of secondary schools in the Johannesburg North District. It also tested the relationship between the accountability system and the effectiveness and efficiency of secondary schools. Over and above principals, learners and parents, the study also utilised numerous published literature to analyse the current accountability system. The findings of the empirical study revealed that there were disparities between the literature review and the current accountability system. Three major findings were made by this study. Firstly, there is a lack of synergy between internal and external accountability systems. Secondly, there are different accountability systems used by different secondary schools in the same District and lastly grade twelve results are used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of secondary schools in the chosen District. In conclusion, proposals which may assist in improving the current accountability system were made. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

South Africa is currently undergoing a process of change from a segregated education system to a more democratic system of education. The country is characterised by drastic policy shifts in the social, economic and political arenas. The problem that called for this research is that education managers at national, provincial, district, and circuit levels are facing challenges in the understanding, interpretation and implementation of education policies as they apply to support staff, educators, learners and their parents or guardians. Lack of access to and knowledge of acts, policies and procedures in educational leadership and management seem to impact negatively on the effective functioning of public schools in the provisioning of quality education in Limpopo province of South Africa. A qualitative research methodology coupled with ontology and epistemology theories were used in a phenomenological interpretive perspective. The rationale for choosing the qualitative approach was that the subject of this research study required data on the experiences, perceptions and views of the research participants. Three research instruments of data collection were employed, namely participant observation, document analysis and interviews. Purposive sampling was chosen to select the education managers as participants who were likely to be knowledgeable about and experienced in the phenomenon under study. Focus group and individual interviews were conducted with educators, education managers, and educator union representatives. I used content analysis method to catergorise data into themes. The findings in this study revealed that knowledge of the education policies is a pre-requisite for the implementation of such policies for quality education. It was evident that education managers have inadequate understanding of the formulation, interpretation and implementation of policies. Education managers had contrasting perceptions of education quality and divergent interpretationsof education policies. The deployment of circuit managers undermined the value of management qualifications, experience and expertise in such management posts. The absence of a policy enforcement agency and a lack of coordination within different levels of education management in the province have led to unresolved cases of misconduct and non-compliance with education policies. The researcher recommends that induction of newly appointed education managers, continuous training of the serving education managers, mentoring and monitoring of the implementation of education policies should receive priority for the provision of quality education in public schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education and Training (HET) bands in South Africa are characterised by major challenges resulting in the high rate of unemployment in the country despite the promulgation of a plethora of transformative pieces of legislation post-1994. These challenges include failure by post-matric applicants to meet minimum university requirements for admission; unemployed graduates; and tension within the higher education and Training (HET) band among various quality assurance bodies and explicit mutual doubt about each other’s capacity to perform quality assurance of HE learning programmes. In an endeavour to find solutions to these problems, the researcher contemplated whether the cause could not be the current system of quality assurance in South Africa. This perception has dominated the current discourse on quality assurance, which has warranted a need for research in this area to find concrete answers to the current problems, as well as potential solutions. In this study, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are used as units of analysis to determine the veracity of the arguments pervading the current quality assurance discourse that there are uneven levels for quality and different and presumably inconsistent varying capacities for quality assurance in the current education system. The objective of the study was to test the veracity of this hypothesis for the purposes of making recommendations informed by concrete and scientific empirical data. The major findings of this study are that the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) policy, requiring CHE and the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) to coordinate the entire HET band, has not been implemented as envisaged. The degrees of quality assurance and capacity for quality assurance in South Africa vary dramatically between the SETAs and CHE and also among the SETAs when compared with one another, and there is a lack of consistency and co-ordination at National Qualification Framework (NQF) Level 5. Furthermore, the current legislative framework underpinning the SETAs and CHE is fundamentally contradictory. On the basis of these findings it is recommended that the current quality assurance and accreditation system be overhauled by bringing about one council responsible for the quality assurance and accreditation of all workplace and vocationally orientated learning programmes in line with international best practices. CHE should concentrate on learning programmes that are academically orientated. Lastly, the current legislative framework governing the operations of SETAs and CHE should be amended.