Despite a growing body of literature on women in leadership, few studies have empirically investigated the leadership and management experiences of female academic heads of department. It is against this background that this study investigated the experiences of these women in universities in South Africa and the United Kingdom. The position of women in higher education in these countries, together with the status of their representation in senior positions in the academe and obstacles to their advancement into such positions was reviewed. The study was carried out within the framework of a cross-sectional survey research design employing both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) data collection methods. The study consisted of thirty two female participants who were either currently or previously heads of academic departments in universities. For the interview a separate group of nine female academic heads of department, from the same universities as the participants in the survey, were selected. Purposeful sampling was used to select all the participants. A structured, pre-coded questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from one group of twenty three female participants with a minimum of two years' experience in the position. A video conference focus group interview was used to obtain in-depth (qualitative) information on a number of selected issues. The quantitative data was analysed using a relevant statistical package. Key-findings from both survey and interviews were then co-ordinated. The major findings indicated that, apart from lack of mentorship and formal preparation for the position, the women did not experience any major obstacles prior to becoming head of department. The women were confident about several skills related to managing an academic department. They were not certain, however, about stress management, delegation and entrepreneurial skills. Leadership style tended toward 'interactive leadership' which is considered appropriate for today's leadership in organisations. The findings suggested that institutional and other barriers to women's advancement still exist, and that the challenges and demands women experience may be a source of stress and tension for them. Recommendations, using these findings, were made for aspiring women managers, for institutions, for policy makers and for future research. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Information and Communication Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Research has become one of the major activities of higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Increasingly important is research information that emanates from the published research as it has now become one of the major sources of funding especially within the South African higher education landscape. However, many HEIs are facing numerous problems managing research information to sustain and attract more funding. The lack of resources to build or acquire appropriate systems for managing research information has been identified as one of the major challenges in HEIs. However, recent studies show that advancements have been made in some countries to address the challenge. For instance, in South Africa, a proprietary research information management system (RIMS) has been implemented in some HEIs. Nevertheless, some HEIs still face problems regarding the use of RIMS. Studies further show that most proprietary systems do not adequately satisfy requirements as desired by the HEIs. This is mostly because proprietary systems are developed without fully understanding the user requirements of individual HEIs. Moreover, most proprietary systems are developed following ad hoc approaches which neglect the requirements specification stage in the development life cycle. Requirements specification is important as it brings developers and users to a common understanding about the requirements of the system before development. The initial lack of consensus about system requirements results in systems that have technical barriers which make users shun from using them. For instance, such systems do not adapt very well to devices with small screens such as mobile phones, and do not have attractive interfaces to make users want to use them. Proprietary systems are also costly to acquire and maintain. Moreover, HEIs may not be able to immediately implement the new desired features in the system because proprietary systems usually do not allow them access to the source code. This study develops a web-based research administration and management system (RAMS) as a proposed solution to the problems of using a proprietary system to manage research information at a South African higher education institution. The study emphasises the use of formal methods for requirements specification to build an optimal system. Consequently, the Zermelo-Fraenkel Z specification language was used to specify the requirements of the proposed system which was developed in close collaboration with the intended users who also assessed its usability. The system evaluation responses were made on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. The overall results of the evaluation show that RAMS is usable and suitable for managing research information, nonetheless improvements are recommended. / M

This study describes and implements a necessary preliminary strategic planning procedure, the Internal Environmental Scanning (IES), and discusses its relevance to strategic planning and university-sponsored lifelong learning program model selection. Employing a qualitative research methodology, a proposed lifelong learning-centric IES process based on Bryson's (2004) strategic planning model was tested at a large public university in the American Southwest with the intention of both refining the IES process for general use in the field as well as providing a set of useable reference documents for strategic planners at that university. The prototype lifelong learning IES process as tested proved to be highly effective in identifying and categorizing previously unrecognized lifelong learning programming and organizational structures and, was reasonably efficient in process execution. Lessons learned from the application of the prototype lifelong learning IES procedure led to the development of a revised scanning procedure. This revised procedure is considered more reliable and can be accomplished by a single investigator in as little as 35 production hours, providing a detailed snapshot of the total university lifelong learning system and a point of departure for the larger strategic planning effort.

In this dissertation, I examine the ways white women teachers construct whiteness as they teach students of primarily Asian, African and Latina/o heritage. The primary purpose of this study is to conduct a preliminary examination of how white women construct whiteness as an embodied racial identity in educational contexts. More specifically, my goal is to examine how whiteness is constructed through narrative and to critique how the constructions of whiteness perpetuate and/or resist the discourse of white supremacy. To frame the study of teacher narratives, I draw on theory from critical pedagogy, communication education, interpersonal/intercultural communication and critical cultural studies. Furthermore, I employ a critical-interpretive methodology to examine how teachers construct their personhood within complex relationships of power. This methodology is practiced through the use of three methods: Interactive classroom observations, dialogic interviewing and narrative analysis. Five women teaching at a Southern California high school acted as "co-researchers" during this study. Herein, I interpret their narratives in order to understand how whiteness is constructed within the stories each teacher tells about her personhood/identity, the stories teachers tell about the personhood/identity of the students she teaches and how each teacher accounts for her relationship and the relationship of her students to the social world. Titular terms include whiteness, personhood/identity, narrative, critical pedagogy, communication education, intercultural communication and critical cultural studies.

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No description available.

This dissertation explores the experiences of nineteen individuals assigned to six collaborative Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) development teams across four university sites. Based on an analysis of these semi-structured interviews and process artifacts, findings reveal that collaborative MOOC development teams are composed of members with cross-campus affiliations who possess distinct knowledge, skills, and attitudes that—when combined with specific resources—facilitate the interdependence needed to effectively collaborate on MOOC curriculum. This research suggests that process behaviors that cultivate empathy and expedite trust among members positively mediate states that emerge from the diversity of power and affiliations commonly found on MOOC teams. Further, these process behaviors and emergent states are found to have an impact beyond the MOOC itself, on faculty behaviors in the classroom, staff behaviors with regards to future curriculum collaborations, and institutional acceptance and promotion of cross-campus collaborations with regards to online learning and collaborative curriculum development. While existing MOOC research has focused on the historical, pedagogical, and technical aspects of MOOC curriculum development, this dissertation contributes to a better understanding of how MOOC teams effectively collaborate to develop curriculum that leverages existing scholarship. This research therefore has implications for advancing scholarship on effective teams, collaborative curriculum design, online learning, and MOOCs, as well as informing practical recommendations for stakeholders engaged in strategically composing and working within collaborative curriculum development teams.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study investigated effects of selected demographic variables and styles of leadership on the self-perceived leader effectiveness scores of vocational administrators at two-year postsecondary institutions in Texas. Demographic variables were type of institution represented, teaching experience, age, trade experience, administrative experience in vocational education, highest degree earned, institutional enrollment and vocational enrollment. Seventy-eight administrators were mailed copies of the Leader Behavior Analysis II—Self (LBA) and a demographic questionnaire. The LBA contained twenty supervisory situations. Respondents were to select the alternative approach that most closely resembled action they might take. Scoring determined the respondents' primary leadership styles and leader effectiveness scores. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine if selected demographic variables or primary leadership style was significant in determining a difference in their effectiveness scores. Primary leadership style and degree held were significant in determining leader effectiveness scores at alpha .05. It was determined that 84 percent of the administrators completing the questionnaire preferred the supporting style. None of the administrators preferred delegating or directing styles. Recommendations included studies using the LBA with supervisors in associations serviced by the institutions to provide an understanding of relationships between the leadership style of the administrators of training institutions and those of the associations served. Additional studies should be done to ascertain any differences in the self-perception of the administrators' leadership style and perceptions of their subordinates. A final recommendation included the implementation of programs to assist administrators in the utilization of the broader situational leadership approach.

Several issues have impacted on district nursing practice and education within the UK, which can be conceptualised within four main areas: national policy; local organisational structures and practice; professional and disciplinary theory; and practice of individuals (Bergen and While 2005). However, there has been a lack of direction in district nursing in recent years within the UK, with a decline in the number of district nurses being educated (Queen’s Nursing Institute 2014a) and the educational standards supporting district nurse education being over 20 years out of date (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2001). In addition to this, the standards of education for pre-registration nursing (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2010) have supported a graduate workforce with an increasing focus on nursing in the community. This was identified as a consideration for me as an educator when examining the future educational requirements of nurses beyond the point of registration in the community, and became the focus of this study. Knowing in practice is a key concept within this thesis, that is, the particular awareness that underpins the being and doing of a district nurse in practice (Chinn and Kramer 2008). This study explores the unique knowing of district nursing in practice, and how this professional knowing is developed. Understanding the knowing of district nurses and how this is developed will contribute to future educational frameworks and ways of supporting professional development within community nursing practice. A question that is often asked is what makes district nurse knowing different from nursing in inpatient settings, and this emerges in this thesis. A qualitative study using an interpretative approach within a case study design was adopted using three Health Boards within Scotland as the cases. Within each Health Board area, interviews were undertaken with key informants and also, group interviews with district nurses were undertaken using photo elicitation as a focussing exercise. The data were analysed using framework analysis (Spencer et al. 2003). This approach illuminated a depth and breadth of knowing in district nurse practice and how this knowing is developed. The study findings depict the complexity of knowing in district nursing, acknowledging the advancing role of district nursing practice, where the context of care is an essential consideration. The unique knowing can be described as a landscape that the district nurse must travel: crossing a variety of socio-economic areas; entering the private space of individuals, and the public space of communities; as well as acknowledging professional practice; navigating the policy agenda while maintaining clinical person-centred care; and leading others across the terrain of interprofessional working. The unique knowing in practice that characterises the expertise of district nurses is a matrix of elements that incorporates different aspects of knowing that contribute to leadership, as suggested by Jackson et al. (2009). The participants in this study recognised that due to the complexity of the district nurse role, and its continuing advancements, that district nurse education needs to move to a Master's level preparation and it needs to continue to be supported by a suitably qualified practice teacher. Furthermore, the findings within this study demonstrate that the development of the unique knowing in district nurses does not happen in isolation and it is very complex. It consists of networks, conversations, engagement with policy, understanding of professional contexts, adhering to organisational boundaries, and interaction with complex and challenging situations. Theory and practice are mutually dependent on each other; change is inevitable and is unpredictable; and practices change by having experiences, therefore change is integral to practice. Consequently, it was concluded that the interdependent elements, which interact, develop the unique knowing of district nurses in practice. Finally this thesis makes recommendations and discusses future implications for policy, practice and research.