The South Africa Schools Act (Act No. 84 of 1996), which came into effect on I January 1996, and the National Education Policy Act (Act No. 21 of 1996), introduced a new approach to the South African Education system. These acts, and many policy documents produced by the National Department of Education, provide for the active participation of parents, and other members of the community, in the governance of schools. Whilst policy mandates stakeholder participation, this study revealed that in practice parent participation is problematic. The aim of this study was to explore principals’ perceptions and experiences of school governing bodies in three selected rural primary schools in the Nkomazi area, Mpumalanga. A qualitative research approach within the parameters of the interpretivist paradigm was applied. The study utilised a multi-site case study research design focusing on three primary schools in different localities. Document analysis and structured interviews were employed to collect data at the three sites that were purposefully sampled. It was found that principals experienced some parent members of the school governing bodies as having low levels of education and not being able to cope with their roles as stipulated by SASA. Principals revealed that the ignorance and incompetence of parents regarding their roles causes conflict, that they provide insufficient support and do not attend meetings regularly. Principals dominate their parent school governing body (SGB) members, initiate innovations and make decisions without consulting the parents. Parents’ incompetence, insufficient cooperation and poor contribution towards the operation of the school increases the principals' workload and results in principals’ frustration. Principals revealed that they experience difficulties in trusting the parents with confidential matters discussed at SGB meetings. The study found that principals experience less conflict and better cooperation with parent SGB members who are educated. Parents who are able to read the policies have understanding of their roles, support the principals in their respective roles, optimise the operation of the school governing body and alleviate the workload of the principals. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

This dissertation thesis deals with the establishment and practical functioning of the higher territorial self-governing units in the Czech Republic and in the Slovak Republic. It contains information on the development of the territorial division of former Czechoslovakia between the years 1918 and 1993, with an emphasis on the establishment of a regional system during the communist regime. The dissertation is focused on the process of the establishment of regional level of self-government in the Czech and Slovak Republic in 1990s. Debates over the most appropriate territorial and administrative division took place in parliaments of both countries after 1993. Two models of territorial division were considered in the Czech Republic - a provincial system, based on historical lands, and a regional system. Two alternatives were discussed in Slovakia - a county system and regional system. The territory of the Czech Republic was ultimately divided into 14 higher territorial self-governing units (13 regions and the Capital City of Prague), and the territory of Slovakia into 8 regions. The author focuses especially on the detailed analysis of respective draft bills and stenographic reports of parliamentary debates regarding the higher territorial self- governing units in parliaments of both countries. The...

This research set out to explore the financial management by SGBs in public primary schools. The challenges as they were experienced by SGBs were identified. This study revealed that some public schools SGBs are dysfunctional with regard to the management of finances. The understanding of roles and responsibilities pertaining to the management of finances is insufficient. SGBs are still battling to understand the roles especially of the chairperson, treasurer and the secretary. There is a lack of monitoring and understanding of roles. Understanding of the financial legislative framework is still a challenge to rural public schools. Knowledge and interpretation of the other policies and regulations, Acts and prescripts is a major concern. There are transgressions of, and non-compliance with the financial legislative framework. The study further found that the SGBs’ perceptions, experience, feelings and thoughts with regard to management of finances are such that their lack of knowledge and skills in finance due to inadequate training makes them feel uncertain and unsure of their competence to manage finances. The quality of the training that they have received does not adequately empower them to manage finance successfully as it is offered by incompetent people. The contents of the prescripts, circulars, manuals and Acts are not clear at all to them. The English language used in the documents makes it especially difficult for SGB members, especially the parent component, to grasp what is needed. In some of the schools investigated, budgeting processes are done unilaterally by the principals who dominate every sphere of governance and relevant stakeholders are not involved. The PED should bear in mind that an investment in SGB training is an investment in their empowerment and decentralization of finances to public schools. If well trained SGBs could render a better service in managing public finances. A procurement management system should be developed, monitored and evaluated from the circuit level. Schools must be encouraged to create procurement clusters or budget clubs. Lengthening the time in office for the SGB from three to four or even five years will add value for money in the form of human investment. The issue of continuity must be ensured after each and every election or four years of re-election, especially in the portfolio of treasurers. This will enable governors to develop their experience over a longer period. During this time there should be continuous training as stipulated in section 19 of SASA. The PED should consider incentive programmes or honoraria for SGB members as a sign of acknowledgement, based on performance, to improve the quality of their effectiveness and efficiency in the management of school finances. The department must develop a financial assessment programme and remediation initiatives to decisively respond to schools that are dysfunctional in terms of financial management. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The increased complexity in the public administration has shed light on cross sectoral governance and its challenges. The aim of this study is to investigate how governments organize cross sectoral policy areas. Through a comparison between the Integration Agency and the Gender Equality Agency in Sweden, I investigate how the government has organized the integration policy and the gender equality policy, as well as how the government has argued for the agencies existence. The results show how the policy areas were organized, and the conclusions of the study are that cross sectoral agencies have a difficult mission to work for a policy’s breakthrough in the society, through collaborations with non-defined agencies, municipalities, and organizations. Other agencies tend to not prioritize the cross sectoral policies. Another conclusion is that cross sectoral agencies risk termination when there is a change of government, especially if the creation of the agency lacks a wide support from the parliament. A last conclusion is that the government might react to “problems” in the policy field by both creating a new agency and terminating an existing one. This sheds light on government’s tendency to reform policy as a way of rationalizing and legitimize the policy area.

The purpose of this study was to explore how social institutions in South Africa and Zimbabwe respond to the mainstreaming of pregnant learners in formal education. A case study was used as the strategy of inquiry. Utilising a phenomenological, social constructivist and interpretivist lens and guided by a theoretical framework of action science theory, this exploratory qualitative study set out to investigate and compare how various stakeholders in South Africa and Zimbabwe respond to the policy of mainstreaming pregnant learners in schools. Data collection methods took the form of focus group and key participant semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a researcher observation and reflective journal. Two research sites comprised the case study. The sample at each of the identified sites consisted of 12 pregnant and former pregnant learners; 12 mainstream learners; 6 parents/legal guardians; 6 teachers; 6 community representatives on the school governing body. Data analysis consisted of a mix of hermeneutic, content and discourse analysis. Three findings emanated from this study. First, the socio-cultural beliefs, norms, practices and expectations of the community about pregnancy and ideal motherhood were more influential governing variables to educational access and participation of pregnant teenagers than the official school policy. Second, educators at both sites were found to have inadequate capacity to assist pregnant learners with schooling. Third, the South African school was found to provide more access to pregnant learners because of the more liberal and open response to teenage pregnancy. In contrast the conservative tendency to conceal the problem was observed at the Zimbabwean site. This study revealed that institutional policies that do not take into consideration the social, cultural and lived experiences of the relevant stakeholders are difficult to implement. The proposition is that there is usually a split between policy and practice, and that policy can be nothing more than political symbolism. An all-inclusive and consultative approach to policy formulation processes is recommended as an intervention strategy that could be used to counteract the problem. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Problemområdet för den här uppsatsen var styrning och jämförelser. Syftet var att analysera och jämföra vilken skola som synliggjordes i den kommunala styrningen i fyra kommuner; Danderyd, Piteå, Täby och Vellinge. Den teoretiska basen utgjordes av Focuaults governmentalitybegrepp, och den – framför allt internationella – forskningen om dataproduktion och jämförelser på en mellanstatlig nivå. Gemensamt för den presenterade forskningen i uppsatsen är att produktionen av data och jämförelser ligger till grund för en informell styrning som inte är vetenskapligt förankrad. Analysen av kommunerna gjordes utifrån de tre begreppen governing by numbers (dataproduktion), governance by comparison (jämförelser) och best practice (det goda exemplet). Resultaten visade att de granskade kommunerna till mycket stor del styrde med hjälp av dataproduktion, det vill säga att det sker en kvantifiering av verksamheten. I många fall utsattes även den dataproduktionen för jämförelser med andra kommuner och/eller med riket. Produktionen av data var så pass omfattande i dessa kommuner att det föreföll som att endast det som kan mätas togs upp i verksamhetsplaneringen. Mätbar verksamhet lyftes upp framför verksamhet med mjukare värden, vilket bland annat innebar att professionen i stort sett var osynliggjord. Resultaten visade också att uppföljning och utvärdering inte har något genomslag i verksamhetsstyrningsdokumenten.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Employment of educators has never been such a problem as it is now where race and ethnicity are at the centre stage in the recruitment and appointment of educators. The high rate of unemployment and exorbitant cost of living in the country also worsen the situation. The problem of employment in public education is compounded by the semi-literate School Governing Bodies (SGB) especially in most disadvantage rural schools, who are expected to recommend the appointment of educators to the Head of the Department. Employment of educators remains a challenge in the Department of Education. This research study provides a critique and an analysis of the role played by the SGB in school governance as elucidated in the literature and also stated by the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. The aim of the study is to ascertain the alignment of educators‟ employment policies to South African Schools in the Mopani District. The research also highlights the challenges that hinder effective governance and management such as lack of knowledge and skills, to interpret and implement policies and regulations when appointing relevant educators. The study reveals an unethical behaviour amongst principals and governing body of policy non-adherence that amounts to corruption within the public service. The dysfunctionality of governance and management to hire relevant, competent and qualified educators to occupy promotional posts cause more problems in the society as a whole, such as lack of accountability in terms of best education for the learners who are our future generation. The department should revise the roles and laws concerning school governors. The maladministration occurring in public institutions and schools is to be punished by law and public servants are to be accountable for their wrong actions taken. In conclusion the Public Service Act 103 of 1994, section 11 stipulates that filling of posts in the public service must be given a democratic values and must follow democratic principles. Appointments should be based on qualifications, skills and competences. Nevertheless educators are appointed into various positions through corrupt activities. This must come to an end for effective governance in education to prevail.

Under Skolinspektionens granskning från 2019 framkom det att en tredjedel av de besökta högstadieskolorna i undersökningen saknade delar av det centrala innehållet i sin teknikundervisning. Granskningen vittnade även om en upplevd otydlighet bland tekniklärare när de tolkade Skolverkets styrdokument.  Det här examensarbetet undersöker hur planeringar inom teknikämnet på högstadiet ser ut idag och vilken inverkan de har på teknikinnehållet i undervisningen. Denna studie undersöker även vad som framträder som viktigt teknikinnehåll och vad som anses högt värderat samt vad som osynliggörs och anses lågt värderat. Arbetet har för avsikt att besvara följande frågeställningar: Hur reella ämnesplaneringar ut för teknikundervisningen på några av Sveriges högstadieskolor 2022? samt Hur väl kopplade är några av Sveriges högstadieskolors reella ämnesplaneringar för teknikundervisning till det centrala innehållet i Skolverkets styrdokument? För att ta reda på svaret i dessa frågor kontaktades 18 stycken tekniklärare som delade med sig av sina planeringar för högstadiets tre år inom ämnet. Dessa planeringar sammanfattades och bearbetades genom en induktiv tematisk analys, tillsammans med tabeller, vilket utformade diskursen som sedan en resultatanalys utfördes på.  Resultatet av arbetet påvisar att det finns en relativt klar bild utifrån diskursen av vad som borde förekomma i teknikundervisningen och att majoriteten av diskursens planeringar är väl kopplade till det centrala innehållet i Skolverkets styrdokument. Flera områden framträder som viktigt teknikinnehåll och anses vara högt värderat och bland de områden som värderas högst finns: teknikhistoria, rit- och skissteknik, byggteknik, konstruktion, tekniska system, styr- och reglerteknik samt programmering. De områden som i större utsträckning osynliggörs och som värderas lågt utifrån diskursens resultat är: digitalisering, framtiden och AI (maskininlärning). / During the inspection of the Swedish Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) in 2019, it was demonstrated that a third of the visited schools from the investigation lacked parts from the central content in their technology education. The inspection also shed light on an experienced ambiguity amongst the technology teachers when they interpreted the governing documents from the School board of Sweden (Skolverket).  This thesis examines how planning within the technology subject at lower secondary schools looks like today and what impact it has on the technology content. It examines what appears to be classified as important technology content and considered highly valued. Additionally, it also examines what is missing and is considered lowly valued. The thesis’s intention and ambition is to answer the following questions: How does real subject plannings occur within technology education at some of Sweden’s secondary schools in 2022? and How well connected are some of Sweden’s secondary school’s subject plannings within technology education with the central content of the governing documents from the School board of Sweden? To answer these questions, 18 technology teachers were contacted and they shared their subject plannings for the three years of Swedish lower secondary school. These plannings were summarized and processed through an inductive thematic analysis, together with tables, which designed the discourse that the results analysis were based on. The result of the thesis shows that through the discourse there is a relatively clear view of what should take place in technology education and that the majority of the plannings from the discourse are well connected to the central content of the governing documents from the School board of Sweden (Skolverket). Many of the areas appear as important technology content and are considered to be highly valued, but the areas that are considered to be valued the highest are: technology history, draw- and sketch technique, building technique, construction, technical systems, control and regulation technology and programming. The areas which to a greater extent are missing and considered lowly valued based on the result of the discourse are: digitalisation, the future and AI (machine learning).

This study is an analysis of the organization and management of regional public transport in Sweden. The goal is to chart and analyze how different regions organize and manage public transport in order to understand if, and to what degree, the management can be considered democratic. The research questions are answered through a document study of statutory documents where the regions describe their organizations, as well as through interviews with regional politicians involved with public transport. The collected data is analyzed against a theoretical background of democratic governance and public administration, leading to the conclusion that the management of public transport is characterized by a high degree of leeway. The management of public transport seems to be working in the sense that the practical implementation is sufficient. However, the management does not seem to work in a democratic sense, since the organization is too complex to understand without excessive effort. The effort required to do so risks a democratic deficit where citizens do not use their democratic power.