The study presented in this thesis is a case study analysis of decentralization and quality assurance in a decentralized set up of the Ugandan Primary Schooling. The research looked at how the monitoring and evaluation informed the policy formulation process to regulate quality assurance in a decentralized governance of primary education. The Study was positioned in the critical realist paradigm, interpretive in orientation and used both coding and thematic techniques to understand the teachers’, SMC members’, and officers’ (at district and ministry levels) experiences and perceptions of quality assurance in a decentralized set up. Data was gathered using interviews, document analysis and observation methods. The findings indicated that the study was affected by eleven themes: Management System and Leadership, Human Resource Management, Finance Administration and Management, Parenting and Nutrition, Politics, Motivation, Social Structures and Patterns, Legislative Process and Policies, Infrastructure Development and Management, Community Involvement in Education and Curriculum and Professionalism. The monitoring and evaluation system had a framework in which it operates, though there was no quality assurance policy to guide the provision of quality education. The study finally indicated that there are more threats in a decentralized set up that put Quality in danger. Secondly, there was absence of supervision/inspection in schools as there was no evidence to prove this due to absence of reports. However, document analysis indicated visits of officers to schools. Records management was a problem to schools. Decentralization was adopted at different levels by different countries to address specific problems identified in view of service delivery. Finally, though monitoring and evaluation results informed the policy and decision makers, there was no quality assurance policy to guide the provision of quality education in institutions.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / The research problem addressed in this project focuses on the role of pictorial information in reading comprehension of grade six pupils in rural primary schools in the Northern Province. The investigation was carried out with the aim of identifying and exploring the possible influence pictures might have in helping to contextualise the reading text. The inquiry was conducted by means of a quasi experimental design study, which included both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. The research population was divided into experimental and control groups. The over-riding rationale which initiated the investigation came about as a result of the observation that young children are able to interpret and understand television programmes communicated to them through the medium of second languages. Teaching reading comprehension to pupils in a rural environment was assumed to need additional teaching and learning media than the teacher's oral instruction plus the verbal text to help pupils to contextualise and understand the written text. The hypothesis underlying the study is that the use of pictures in reading comprehension can improve pupils' reading performance as well as facilitate the learning of English second language within a particular context at the same time. The literature review in this investigation was confined to the role of schema or background knowledge in relation to understanding of reading content and also a brief review of socio-cultural influences on the reading process. The literature review stresses the pedagogical significance of relevant schema and culturally based reading text as well as the role of pictorial information assisting text comprehension. Data collection took place in the classroom set-up. The data were collected from three major sources namely test scores, interviews and observation. The investigation indicated that there appeared to be some positive relationships between the use of pictures in reading comprehension and reading performance for grade six pupils in the experimental group. The findings of the investigation can be used as a stepping stone towards implementing communicative teaching strategies as well.

The literature sees community members of Mexican ancestry as persons who are denied full participation in matters of school policies and practices. It also cites that forty percent of children of Mexican ancestry who enter school drop out before they graduate from the twelfth grade. In view of these perceptions, this study was designed to examine what relationship existed among three factors: (1) the goals of a school district; (2) student academic achievement as indicated by GPA; and (3) the intra- group variability among Chicano, Mexican American and Mexican students. This study assumed that if students, parents and teachers prioritized goals congruently, students would do better in school than if there was not a congruity of ranking. However, data results revealed that the existence or nonexistence of goal -ranking congruence among students, parents and teachers made no practical significant difference in student GPA. The research sample included 267 middle school age students of Mexican ancestry, their parents and 74 teachers. The three groups of students, that is, Chicano, Mexican American and Mexican, each ranked communication, work skills, logical thinking, critical thinking skills, study of one's own heritage and other ethnic groups, and accomplishing one's own potential among the seven most important goals. It is recommended that school districts develop their goals with representative input from the total community and that goals be coherently and consistently publicized among professional and lay people in order that the purpose and consistency of school practices be underscored.

"The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of establishing routines in nursery schools and kindergartens. It will discuss the factors to be considered, procedures to be followed, and examples of establishing routines. This paper will not attempt to discuss in detail the establishing of routines in the home, but will show the relationship of the home and the school"--Introduction. / "August, 1951." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Sarah Lou Hammond, Professor Directing Paper. / Typescript. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59).

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The object of this study was to determine teacher stress in primary schools at Ensingweni Circuit. The first aim was to determine through literature the characteristics of stress, its causes and effects. The second aim was to conduct an empirical investigation into stress among educators at Ensingweni Circuit. The last aim was to present finds, and recommendations, which emanate from the study. A questionnaire was developed by the investigators, which measured the extent to which educators experienced stress in their working environment. By using the questionnaire the investigator was interested in determining which teaching stressors educators found most stressful. Some 71% females and 29% males educators of primary schools at Ensingweni Circuit filled out questionnaires. The teaching stressors which this sample of educators found stressful, in order of most to least stressful, were curriculum changes, work load pressures, job insecurity, poor relationship with colleagues, reward and recognition, learners discipline problems, poor rapport with management and role ambiguity. In terms of factors associated with teacher stress, the results showed that a combination of outside and inside were associated with teacher stress. In terms of inside factors, organisational stressors and classroom stressors were associated with teacher stress. In terms of outside stressors minimal general life stressors were also found to be associated with teacher stress. The problems educators viewed as most stressful are consistent with other studies on teacher stress, namely policy changes. time-workload pressures and classroom discipline. These studies were conducted by Bernard (1989) Gold & Roth (1993) and Cole & Walker (1989). The last chapter of this study recommends a variety of strategies that could be employed by educators to alleviate stress in teaching.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION In the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2009. / The aim of this investigation was to establish primary school educators’ readiness for inclusive education. From the literature study it emerges that inclusive education constitutes a challenge to the education system in South Africa, in particular to mainstream educators. Successful implementation of inclusive education requires educators to have the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies and support to accommodate a wide range of diversity among learners in an inclusive classroom. They must be able to select appropriate teaching strategies to achieve specific outcomes. Effective inclusion will only stay a dream if educators do not have necessary training, support system and appropriate resources. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire, to be completed by educators from primary schools, was utilized. The data obtained from the complete questionnaires were analyzed and commented on by means of descriptive statistics. In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature review and empirical investigation and the following are some of the recommendations that were made: • Opportunities for in-service training regarding inclusive education must be made available to mainstream educators. • Pre-service training courses to address the special needs of LSEN should form part of the curriculum at institutions that train educators. The Department of Education must provide adequate support to educators concerning all aspects of inclusive education.

by Chi-kin John Lee. / Publication date from spine. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 484-512). / Questionnaires in Chineses. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.x / List of Figures --- p.xv / List of Appendices --- p.xv / Chapter Chapter One： --- INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of the Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Emergence of environmental consciousness and environmental protection in Hong Kong / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Environmental education in the context of school curricula in Hong Kong / Chapter 1.1.3 --- The context of curriculum change -- primary education in Hong Kong / Chapter 1.2 --- Statement of the Problem --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Purpose of the Study --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Questions --- p.12 / Chapter 1.5 --- Significance of the Study --- p.13 / Chapter 1.6 --- Delimitations --- p.19 / Chapter 1.7 --- Definitions of Terms --- p.19 / Chapter Chapter Two： --- REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE -- ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION / Chapter 2.1 --- The Nature of Curriculum Change -- Environmental Education --- p.32 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Nature of environmental education / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Curriculum theorising and environmental education / Chapter 2.2 --- The Scale of Curriculum Change --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3 --- Change and Curriculum Development Strategies --- p.43 / Chapter 2.4 --- Status and Perceived Needs of Environmental Education --- p.44 / Chapter 2.5 --- Analysis of Curriculum Materials with reference to Environmental Education --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE -- CURRICULUM CHANGE / Chapter 3.1 --- Theories of Curriculum Change： The introduction of an innovation --- p.55 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- General models of change / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Approaches to analysing educational change / Chapter 3.2 --- Teacher Change and Receptivity as an Area of Study --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Technical perspective： Variables affecting teachers' receptivity to change / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Studies related to teachers' receptivity to and adoption of an innovation / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Receptivity and status risk theory / Chapter 3.2.4 --- An interpretive perspective： Teachers' voice in curriculum change / Chapter 3.3 --- Teachers' Stages of Concern as Perceptions of Curriculum Change --- p.91 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM) / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Studies related to Stages of Concern / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Stages of Concern and receptivity / Chapter 3.4 --- Research related to Adoption and Implementation of Environmental Education --- p.105 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Teachers' perceptions of environmental education / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Curriculum implementation of environmental education programmes / Chapter 3.5 --- Research related to Curriculum Change and Implementation in Hong Kong --- p.112 / Chapter 3.6 --- Review of the Literature on Environmental Education and Curriculum Change -- An overview --- p.116 / Chapter Chapter Four： --- RESEARCH DESIGN / Chapter 4.1 --- The Research Questions and Associated Research Methods --- p.121 / Chapter 4.2 --- Methodological Issues --- p.125 / Chapter 4.3 --- Questionnaire Surveys --- p.130 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Questionnaire design -- Instruments / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Pre-test phase for the second questionnaire survey / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Samples for the questionnaire surveys / Chapter 4.4 --- Case Studies and Case Study Approach --- p.148 / Chapter 4.5 --- Methods of Data Analysis --- p.158 / Chapter 4.6 --- Limitations --- p.170 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS / Chapter 5.1 --- "The Nature of Environmental Education as Stated in the ""Guidelines""" --- p.174 / Chapter 5.2 --- Nature of Curriculum Development for Promoting Environmental Education in Primary Schools --- p.200 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Responsibilities of curriculum development agencies at the central level / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Effort of the Education Department / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Effort of government departments and non-government environmental organisations in promoting environmental education in schools / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Other support provided to the primary teachers for implementing the curriculum change / Chapter 5.3 --- Conclusion --- p.218 / Chapter Chapter Six： --- THE STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HONG KONG / Chapter 6.1 --- Official Information about the Status of Environmental Education in Schools in Hong Kong --- p.223 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Status of Environmental Education in Primary Schools --- p.224 / Chapter 6.3 --- Some Practices of Environmental Education in Primary Schools --- p.233 / Chapter Chapter Seven： --- TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION / Chapter 7.1 --- "Concepts of the Term ""Environment' and Environmental Education Objectives and Content Perceived by Primary School Teachers" --- p.264 / Chapter 7.2 --- Environmental Education Needs Perceived by Primary School Teachers --- p.277 / Chapter 7.3 --- Degree of Teachers' Environmental Concern --- p.280 / Chapter Chapter Eight: --- TEACHERS' RECEPTIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION / Chapter 8.1 --- Teachers' Stages of Concern towards Environmental Education --- p.288 / Chapter Chapter Nine: --- CASE STUDIES OF SCHOOLS ADOPTING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS WITH TEACHERS OF HIGH AND LOW RECEPTIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION / Chapter 9.1 --- Characteristics of the Case Study Schools and the Environmental Education Curriculum and Activities Adopted --- p.321 / Chapter 9.2 --- The Adoption Process in the Case Study Schools Adopting Environmental Education --- p.344 / Chapter 9.2.1 --- Reasons for initiation and adoption / Chapter 9.2.2 --- The importance of principal support and die-hard supporters in the adoption of environmental education / Chapter 9.2.3 --- Responses of teachers towards the adoption of environmental education / Chapter 9.3 --- Examples of Infusing Environmental Education in Teaching by Individual Teachers --- p.367 / Chapter 9.4 --- Factors Influencing Teachers' and Principals' Receptivity to the Adoption of Environmental Education in Primary Schools --- p.369 / Chapter 9.5 --- Perceptions of Approaches to Environmental Education --- p.397 / Chapter 9.6 --- "Principals' and Teachers' Perceptions of Good ""Guidelines""" --- p.400 / Chapter Chapter Ten： --- DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS FROM SURVEYS AND CASE STUDIES / Chapter 10.1 --- Comparison of Survey and Interview Findings --- p.411 / Chapter 10.2 --- The Relation of the Present Findings with the Literature of Curriculum Change and Environmental Education --- p.422 / Chapter 10.2.1 --- The importance of perceived 'practicality' of the innovation to teachers / Chapter 10.2.2 --- Elements for effective planning of the innovation / Chapter 10.2.3 --- Need for improvement in curriculum development in environmental education / Chapter 10.2.4 --- The linkage between teachers' receptivity and school adoption of environmental education / Chapter 10.2.5 --- The role of the principal and of 'critical mass' in the adoption of environmental education / Chapter 10.2.6 --- "A principal's leadership, contextual characteristics and teachers' receptivity" / Chapter 10.2.7 --- Teachers' perceptions of environmental education / Chapter 10.3 --- Towards a Framework for Studying Teachers' Receptivity to Environmental Education --- p.442 / Chapter Chapter Eleven： --- CONCLUSION / Chapter 11.1 --- Summary of Findings and Implications --- p.459 / Chapter 11.2 --- Relation of the Present Study to Existing Theories --- p.476 / Chapter 11.3 --- Suggestions for Future Research --- p.479 / Chapter 11.4 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.481 / References --- p.484 / Appendices --- p.513

Though the influence of social class and home background upon school achievement is a well established field of research in Britain and certain other oversea countries, research of this type is almost non-existent in South Africa. The present study was therefore designed as a sociological investigation of differential school performance to establish basic research in this field, with particular reference to home-school relationships in the Indian context. This study, which is set within the integrated theoretical framework of the old and new sociology of education, seeks to give some insight into the intricate nature of home background, and to shed some light on the complex relationship between social class and educational performance. In a review of pertinent literature in this field, it also traces the shift in emphasis from the more traditional, normative macro-studies of family, class and education to the more recent interpretative, micro-studies. Through the use of an eclectic approach, the empirical design incorporated both the normative and interpretative paradigms which aimed at studying the social and cultural aspects of the home background of two contrasting social class groups of pupils in six primary schools in the Merebank area of Durban. The proportionately stratified random sample consisting of 50 middle class and 100 lower working class pupils was representative of the social class structure of this neighbourhood. The home environment of each child in the entire sample was assessed during a personal visit to his home. The four main dimensions of the home which were investigated included: the material environment; general cultural and educational experiences; educational motivations and aspirations of parents; and family size. The pupils' cumulative school performance was assessed by scaling their composite examination results into standard scores which enabled marks from different schools and from different classes within the same school to be compared. This general educational performance is the criterion with which the various social and cultural factors have been related. The results of this study were analysed mainly through the use of chi-square, z tests of significance, analyses of variance, and correlation analyses. The main findings indicate that: (a) the general educational performance of the middle class pupils is consistently better than that of the lower working class pupils; (b) the two most important dimensions of the home which emphasise the greatest social class differences between the two groups, and which account for the most amount of variation in school performance are the general cultural and educational experiences, and the educational motivations and aspirations of patents. To achieve equality of opportunity for all pupils, this study recommends a broad policy of linking home and school through effective joint educational and social reform. This policy aims at improving the quality of life both at home and at school. In particular, it stresses the importance of increasing the educational awareness of the home, and of developing social consciousness in schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1979.