Magister Educationis - MEd / This study investigated the reasons why FET part-time students enrolled at a FET college by examining their learning orientations. Guided by the literature, the focus was on the vocational orientation to learning and orientations to learning were further investigated within the vocational orientation based on orientations developed for part-time students found in the literature. In addition, it was investigated whether students' expectations have been met and if they were satisfied with the college experience. Lastly, the study examined the relevance of college learning to the world of work and the contribution it made to the career development of learners in a globalising world. The research shows that part-time students enrol at FET colleges predominantly for vocational reasons and the majority of the students were enrolled in order to advance their careers and associated with a vocational orientation to learning. However, it emerged that reasons for learning within the vocational orientation to learning are often multi-faceted and complex. The most important findings are 3 new learning orientations for part-time students that were identified: 'education for a qualification', 'education for adults who previously made the wrong choice' and 'education for adults as a model for their children'. Furthermore, the findings indicate that learners were satisfied with the programme they were enrolled in because they believed that the qualification would enable them to achieve their vocational aims which were primarily to find a new job, to be promoted and to increase their income. The findings suggest that the programme that was examined was relevant to the world of work, promoted employability and that it made a significant and important contribution to students' career development in a globalising world. / South Africa

Magister Educationis - MEd / The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) both in the General Education and Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET) bands is viewed as an innovative tool in enhancing a learner-centered approach to teaching and learning. As a result, a number of schools in rural and urban environments in South Africa have been provided with computers and other digital resources to facilitate teaching and learning. This study investigated the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of English First Additional Language (FAL) at Grade 10 level. It set out to discover digital resources and literacies to which teachers and learners were exposed in the English (FAL) classroom, and how these resources were used to enhance learners’ reading and writing skills. Following a qualitative research design, this study made use of classroom observations and interviews to collect data from teachers and Grade 10 learners. The collected evidence was from a single school which uses Khanya Project ICT materials. The school is located in one of the disadvantaged black townships in Cape Town. The study made use of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory and the constructivist theoretical framework to make sense of classroom interaction and the extent to which ICT and other teaching strategies were used to facilitate acquisition of English language skills, particularly reading and writing. The findings of the study show that there are a number of factors influencing ICT integration in Grade 10 English (FAL). These factors include teachers’ and learners’ limited access to ICT and digital literacy. Other factors relate to pedagogy and support in the use of ICT in teaching and learning. All the identified factors indicate that there are a number of barriers to ICT integration in English teaching and learning. The study concludes that ICT use has great potential in providing creativity and innovativeness to facilitate language teaching and learning. Given the lack of adequate ICT resources and under-utilization of ICT resources in disadvantaged schools, there is a need to improve teacher and learner access to ICT, especially in disadvantaged schools. This could be done through monitored support and adequate teacher training and active involvement of higher education institutions through teacher training programmes which should prioritize ICT integration in their curricula.

This study was conducted with the purpose of evaluating American community colleges in order to consider their role in the provision of vocational-technical education with specific reference to the Eastern Free State. In order to achieve this, three research methodologies were engaged in. They comprised a documentary study relating to the nature and functioning of American community colleges and to the provision of vocational-technical education in South Africa, an on-site visit to an American community college for the purpose of conducting an in-depth study thereof as well as an empirical investigation undertaken in the Eastern Free State with the purpose of determining the need for the establishment of community colleges in the region. The documentary study of the American community college as well as the on-site visit to a typical American community college have revealed that these educational institutions have been particularly useful to individuals whose educational opportunities have been limited by a variety of circumstances by being plentiful, nearby, inexpensive, offering a variety of programmes and by adhering to an open-door admissions policy that imposes few entry requirements. It has also been revealed that American community colleges have a positive impact on those associated with them, namely, students, commerce and industry, universities and society in general. The documentary study relating to the provision of vocational-technical education in South Africa has revealed that in the past the provision of education in the country has been skewed in favour of the White population, which happened to be in the minority. As a result, the majority of citizens of the country either received little or no education at all. This has resulted in high levels of illiteracy, unemployment and poverty. It has also been found that corrective measures against this state of affairs are currently being undertaken. The empirical investigation undertaken in the Eastern Free State has found that the residents of the Eastern Free State are in favour of the establishment of community colleges in their region. The type of community college that is desired is one that will lead to the upliftment of the educational levels of its students and equip them with marketable skills. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations are made relating to the establishment of community colleges in the Eastern Free State. It has been found that there is no need for the establishment of community colleges alongside the already existing FET colleges in the Eastern Free State. Instead it is recommended that some of the features of American community colleges that have contributed to their success be adopted, adapted where necessary and be integrated into the FET college operating in the Eastern Free State. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Humanities Education / DPhil / Unrestricted

This study aims to address a gap in knowledge about Further Education college flexible learning centres and their contribution to lifelong learning. Flexible learning centres were established as a response to the lifelong learning agenda of the 1990s and are now in the front line in responding to government initiatives to improve employability and foster social inclusion. Their tutors work in a contested area where the boundaries between teaching and supporting learning are blurred and the learning achieved may be undervalued by the Inspectorate and college authorities. This study adopts a qualitative approach of narrative inquiry to analyse the learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre (FLC) of Hollypark College, focusing on 15 learners’ and 2 tutors’ narratives elicited by episodic interviews. The narratives of learning biographies and work biographies of learners and tutors are explored, supplemented by quantitative data from College databases. The study evaluates the ways in which the pedagogical approach of selfdirected study with tutor support appears to be successful for predominantly mature learners wishing to acquire mainly Information Technology (IT) skills which may enhance their chances of employment or benefit them in other ways. Building on recent work on learning cultures, social capital, well-being and identity theories, the study gives a voice to these learners who are so far unheard and despite the demographic population shift to increasing numbers of older people, are not the focus of current government policy initiatives. Focus on employability which is equated with acquiring skills is seen as too narrow to encompass the wider needs met and benefits accrued by attending the FLC. The findings are that this FLC’s approach is particularly effective for older learners in general in acquiring IT skills. Those made redundant, the retired, those in work and carers who may have been out of the workforce for some time may flourish in this learning environment where mainstream courses cannot offer equivalent flexibility and opportunities to structure their own learning. The learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre provides a space where such learners may not only acquire IT skills but may also increase their social and cultural capital while opening up new horizons for their future. Tutor/learner relationships are of key importance and the learning taking place should be re-evaluated by the Inspectorate and government alike.

This thesis reports an insider case study conducted by an active participant in the setting which is the UHI Millennium Institute. UHI is a federal, collegial partnership of 13 academic partner colleges. This partnership is made up of Further Education Colleges and smaller and specialised institutions. The case study focuses on one programme team, the BA Social Sciences team and at its role in the implementation of the institutional learning and teaching policy and its related strategies. The case study uses literature on policy implementation and of Further/Higher Education links. It makes use of social practice theory and the notion of the teaching and learning regime to analyse the cultural characteristics of the team and a typolgy of responses to change, to review the response of the team to policy objectives. In doing so the case study is a response to calls for more 'close-up' research at the meso-level of analysis. The study reviews the response of the team over a 10-year trajectory from the initial validation of the programme to 2009. The study takes an interpretive, participant-obervation based approach to examine the cultural characteristics and response of the programme team. The methods used to gather data include examination of comprehensive documentation relating to the programme over this time frame and semi-structured interviews with team members. The findings are that the cultural character of the team is dominated by its origins in Further Education and by the social relationships involved in a team which spans three colleges and deals with three sets of college managers and UHI. The response of the team to institutional policy is to embrace its objectives but also to reconstruct policy in ways possible within constraints. The team can make certain choices but is also constrained by policy from 'the top'. The study discusses implications for the notion of the teaching and learning regime and for the typology of responses used and proposes ways in which these might be modified. Proposals for further research in this field are made, particularly involving the implications for policy making of the relationship between college management and UHI.

This thesis describes education of teachers at elementary school with a view of legal regulation in this issue. Main attention is given on issues of qualification with concrete research at elementary school in Horní Slavkov. Main goal of my work was to define the status of qualification at the school and to compare it with average values in region and whole republic. Then I tried to find possibilities how to gain qualification for teachers in region and I suggested possible improvements. As method I used the analysis of data and questionnaire survey. In the thesis there are chapters about methods of education, remuneration of teachers and planned ganges in this issue. At the end I suggested some recommendations how to provide qualified staff at school.

Es wird immer wieder die Forderung nach einer rationalen Steuerung der betrieblichen Bildungsarbeit erhoben. Gegenstand dieses Berichts sind die Konzeption und die Ergebnisse von Maßnahmen des Bildungscontrollings, so wie sie sich in Unternehmen faktisch darstellen. Der Untersuchungszeitraum liegt in der zweiten Hälfte der ersten Dekade des neuen Jahrhunderts (2007/08) und erstreckt sich auf den Bereich des Freistaates Sachsen.

The diploma thesis deals with the management styles of directors of educational institutions in the Czech Republic. Its aim is to analyze the influence of the school principal's management style on the teaching staff in a connection with the management of work performance and the development of pedagogical staff. The first part of the thesis deals with and describes the theoretical background. It defines the basic concepts of general management, people management and specifies all for the school environment. It presents knowledge about leadership styles, about work performance, which is specified for work performance management in non-profit organizations. Another presented aspect of the leader's work is the professional development of employees, which in the field of education is represented by the school principal through a compulsory further education of pedagogical staff - in service. The second part of the thesis presents a questionnaire of sociologist Professor Dr Philip Hallinger entitled - The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale, abbreviated PIMRS, which the author of thesis translated and tested in the environment of Czech schools. The results of the empirical survey of questionnaires are supplemented by the results of semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers....

Approximately 100 000 fled from former Yugoslavia during the 1990’s, the refugees mainly came from Bosnia Hercegovina because of the genocide towards Muslims during late the 90’s. Another factor of the refugee wave was the economic crisis that led people to seek a new country to establish in. The vision was to establish a good standard of living with their children in mind. After a couple of years in Sweden, the parents aimed for a better life for the upcoming generation in Sweden. This leads us to our topic, how much does the ethnic culture and identity form the individuals’ vision for higher education, as well as how the parents engage during school attendance and the difficulties with the academic language for our participants. Previous research has shown that girls particularly have more engaged parents than boys, however, the visions for higher education is high for both genders. Especially when it comes to immigrant children, which can be an indicator that the parents fled their home country to establish a new, better life in a foreign country. This study aims to further understand possible indicators for further studies based on earlier mentioned factors. Our study is based on seven women and men between the ages of 20-30 with a former Yugoslavian background that has studied at university or is still studying. The main theoretical views we are using in this study are Bourdieu’s capital forms and Goffman's dramaturgical perspective to analyze the statements as well as Eriksen’s ethnic theories based on culture and identity modeling. The study takes place in Southern Sweden and our collection of data is based on semi-structured interviews. The results of the study are categorized into four categories, however, the main conclusion in the study is based on culture and identity. Parenting engagement and academic language are complements that are founded by earlier mentioned categories.

1 Ausgangspunkt und Zielstellungen des Projektes Q2P Von 2008 bis 2013 stellt das sächsische Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst ein Budget von 27 Mio. Euro für die „Entwicklung von Konzepten, Auf- und Ausbau von Strukturen und Netzwerken postgradualer Bildung, insbesondere unter Nutzung neuer Medien“ ([1] S.6) aus den Mitteln des Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF) zur Verfügung. Damit sollen digitale Medien zum immanenten Bestandteil von akademischen Weiterbildungsangeboten in Sachsen werden. Gegenwärtig laufen 14 Weiterbildungsprojekte in diesem Vorhabenbereich. Sechs weitere Projekte haben ihre Förderdauer bereits überschritten (Stand: August 2012). Die entwickelten Weiterbildungsangebote unterscheiden sich hinsichtlich Struktur und Methoden und reichen von einzelnen Onlinemodulen bis hin zu Masterstudiengängen. Innerhalb der laufenden und abgelaufenen Projekte (n=20) wurden in vier Projekten weiterbildende Masterstudiengänge entwickelt, in elf Projekten Weiterbildungskurse und in 5 Projekten digitale Bildungsmodule (Lernsoftware). Hinsichtlich der Bildungsinhalte wird ein breites Themenspektrum bearbeitet, von wirtschaftlichen über naturwissenschaftliche bis hin zu technischen Fragestellungen.