School evaluation has increased in importance in recent years, particularly at the level of the whole school. It is the process which assesses the worth and merits of the institution. Due to the fact that, in most cases, evaluation is judgemental, the notion of Whole School Evaluation (WSE) was introduced into the South African education system by the national Department of Education after the 1994 democratic election. WSE has since then became the official evaluation system in South Africa. In WSE schools undergo internal as well as external evaluation. The results of the evaluation are then used by schools to draw the School Improvement Plans which are aimed at school improvement. This study explores the implementation of WSE in rural primary schools in Limpopo Province. A literature study investigated school evaluation within the international and the South African context, the provision of education in Limpopo Province and existing models of WSE. Against the background of the conceptual framework provided by the literature, a qualitative investigation was done in four primary schools in the Vhembe district in Limpopo Province. Data were gathered by means of in-depth interviews with principals of schools and supervisors. The researcher also conducted focus group interviews with School Management Team (SMT) members from participating schools. Data was analysed, discussed and synthesized. Analysed data revealed the following findings: schools experience difficulties in conducting self-evaluation, educator development in rural primary schools in Limpopo is a problem and the district and the Department of Education do not assist schools concerning development after WSE has been conducted. As a result of these findings, there is a need to assist schools in their development endeavours after WSE. The district officials as well as supervisors should find ways and means of assisting schools in the route to development. Areas for further investigation that would enhance WSE in rural primary schools have been identified. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that schools need to be rehabilitated after WSE. This will assist in developing the whole institution and improving the level of education in South African schools. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Diploma thesis Fashion blogs and research on the phenomenon discusses a relatively new phenomenon of personal blogs with a focus on fashion and style. It presents fashion blogs in all their complexity, including the definition, classification, origin and evolution. The second section compares the descriptive way fashion blogs with thematically related fashion magazines and from various perspectives: formal characteristics, work organization, text, picture and graphic elements, audiences, the use of advertising and PR and representation of reality. The practical part is focused on qualitative research fashion blog - by a focus group interview with fashion bloggers and subsequently grounded theory method of analysis examines the various relationships, especially causal, which operate under the studied phenomenon. Through reveals further aspects of the fashion blogging such as motivation, fears, needs, dreams and ambitions of bloggers. The goal is to answer the question of how fashion blogs with its distinctive style and authors presentation define the fashion magazines and propose a basic theory of operation of the medium as yet not explored.

The aim of this thesis has been to study boundary-making in addiction care practitioner’s perceptions of substance use and treatment. The four papers are based on three data collections in Swedish outpatient addiction care: a) a survey conducted in 2006 (n=655), b) a factorial survey using randomly constructed vignettes conducted in 2011 (n=474), and c) a focus group interview study from 2013 (n=30) with a sample of the respondents from the factorial survey. The analyses show that practitioners tend to draw boundaries between various forms of substance use, with alcohol use being perceived as a less severe problem than narcotics use and requiring less extensive treatment measures. There are also partially varying perceptions in different parts of addiction care. By comparison with social services staff, regional healthcare staff generally see a greater need for treatment, recommend medical treatment to a greater extent, and display less confidence in the possibility of handling problematic use without professional treatment. Despite an ongoing medicalization at the policy level, psychosocial treatment interventions appear to have legitimacy in both regional healthcare and social services settings. Boundary-making processes are also found in relation to the specific user’s age, family situation, socio-economic status and in some cases gender, with young women’s drinking being seen as more severe than young men’s drinking for example. The boundary-making between different substance users may be interpreted as a sign of an approach based on a professional consideration of the person’s socially exposed situation, which might require more comprehensive support. At the same time, it may be an expression of a stereotyped approach, involving a normative evaluation of women’s behaviour as being more deviant than men’s, thereby having a limiting effect on the conduct norms that regulate women’s behaviour and making the problems of men invisible. To avoid disparities in addiction care delivery, it is of major importance that practitioners are given room to reflect upon the assumptions and values that underlie the assessments they make in practice. Combining a factorial survey with focus group interviews is proposed as one means of facilitating this type of reflection. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Submitted.</p>

This thesis examines pupils’ justice conceptions regarding educational assessment. Due to the context-dependency of norms and values as well as of assessment, the study compares the justice conceptions of pupils in two different’socio-educational’ contexts: Sweden and Germany. The main interest of the study is to understand and to reconstruct pupils’ own relevance structures and what just assessment means from a pupils’ point of view. Here, the study aims to reach beyond the level of mere description by providing theoretical conceptualisations of pupils’ justice conceptions regarding assessment. Thus, the study´s methodological foundation is characterised by a combination of a context-sensitive comparative approach on the one hand, and on the other hand a pragmatist Grounded Theory approach. Data were mainly generated through focus group interviews with pupils attending the last year of the lower secondary level in the Swedish comprehensive school as well as in different school types in the German school system. In total, the sample consists of 95 pupils, who were interviewed in 21 focus group interviews. In addition, other sources of data were included, such as regulations and guidelines that supported a context-sensitive analysis of pupils’ conceptions. The theoretical conceptualisation that explains pupils’ justice conceptions is ‘meta-assessment’. ‘Meta-assessment’ refers to pupils’ evaluation of the assessment they experience in terms of justice and represents the shared, abductively derived and overlying analytical category regarding pupils’ conceptions. Pupils’ ‘meta-assessment’ is based on normative justice conceptions as well as on justice conceptions that are related to pupils’ situation and context-bound experiences with assessment. The first ones are about the ethico-moral character of pupils’ justice conceptions. The second shed light on the contextual conditions and consequences of the logics and practices underlying educational assessment as experienced by pupils on an everyday basis. This implies that just assessment from a pupils’ perspective needs to be understood in its wider contextual embedment; and in relation to teaching and learning in order to understand the complex interrelations of what just assessment ‘is’, and ‘should be’ from the perspective of those, who are mainly affected by it.

The aim of this study was to examine how care workers at retirement homes reason on elderly who abuse alcohol with emphasis on following aspects: approach regarding elderly alcohol abusers, personal treatment in interaction with care recipients, discovering of alcohol abuse, courses of action, practical arrangements and the type of care given. The data has been analyzed on the basis of gender theory and social constructivism. Method that was implemented combined focus group interviews with vignettes. The results indicate that approach regarding elderly alcohol abusers, encounters between care workers and care recipients, discovering of alcohol abuse, courses of action, practical arrangements, the type of care given and attitudes and personal values regarding elderly who abuse alcohol are all influenced by gender. In addition, patterns that indicate that caretakers’ sympathetic attitudes towards seniors alcohol abuse are impacted by gender norms were detected. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur omsorgspersonal som är verksamma inom äldreboende, resonerar kring äldre som missbrukar alkohol utifrån aspekter som synsätt, bemötande, upptäckande av alkoholmissbruk, tillvägagångssätt, praktiska åtgärder samt vård. Studiens resultat analyserades utifrån genus- och socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Metoden som implementerats är en kombination av fokusgruppsintervjuer med vinjetteknik. Resultatet tyder på att synsätt, bemötande, upptäckande, praktiska åtgärder samt vård attityder och värderingar angående äldre som missbrukar påverkas av genus. Utöver detta finns det mönster i materialet som tyder på att även förståelse för äldres missbruk påverkas av genusrelaterade normer.

Bakgrund: I palliativ vård kan aspekter av sexualitet aktualiseras. Riktlinjer för palliativ vård säger att sexualitet bör beaktas i arbetet. Tidigare forskning visar att inkludering av sexualitet i vården är bristfällig och det finns en kunskapslucka om hur det ser ut inom palliativ vård. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av och uppfattningar om arbete med sexualitet inom palliativ vård. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ design med induktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet inhämtades genom tre fokusgruppsintervjuer med elva sjuksköterskor som arbetar inom palliativ vård i södra Sverige. Intervjuerna analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet diskuterades analytiskt genom teoretiska begreppet sexuella skript. Resultat: Resultatet visar att arbete med sexualitet inom palliativ vård omgärdas av en ambivalens om relevans och betydelse vilket visar sexualitetens oklara plats. Behov av stödjande insatser för patient och närstående identifierades och beskriver en sexualitet i förändring. Arbete kopplat till sexualitet görs till viss del men bristen av det är mer framträdande. Metoder, ansvar och hinder för att inkludera sexualitet framkommer och drivs av en vilja att göra rätt. Slutsats: Ökad kunskap och synliggörande av sexualitet behövs för att motverka att det är föreställningar om sexualitet i livets slutskede och inte kunskap som blir vägledande till om och hur sexualitet inkluderas i arbetet inom palliativ vård.Nyckelord: fokusgruppsintervjuer, helhetssyn, palliativ vård, sexualitet, sexuella script, sjuksköterskor. / Background: In palliative care, aspects of sexuality can be raised. Guidelines for palliative care say that sexuality should be heeded in the work. Previous research shows that inclusion of sexuality in healthcare is deficient and there is a knowledge gap on how it appears in palliative care. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate nurses’ experiences and perceptions of work with sexuality in palliative care. Method: The study has a qualitative design with an inductive approach. The empirical material was obtained through three focus group interviews with eleven nurses working in palliative care in southern Sweden. The interviews were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. The result was discussed analytically through the theoretical concept sexual script. Result: The result shows that work with sexuality in palliative care is surrounded by an ambivalence of relevance and meaning that shows the unclear place of sexuality. The need for supportive efforts for patients and related persons was identified and describes a sexuality in change. Work associated to sexuality is done to some extent, but the lack of it is more prominent. Methods, responsibilities and barriers to include sexuality appear and are driven by a desire to do the right thing. Conclusion: Increased knowledge and visibility of sexuality is needed to counteract that there are notions of sexuality in the final stages of life and not knowledge that will guide if and how sexuality is included in work of palliative care. Keywords: focus group interviews, holistic-view, nurses, palliative care, sexuality, sexual script.

With nineteen years of democracy behind us, South Africa has experienced uncountable changes within its borders and on various playing fields. One of the most memorable changes, in my opinion, was in education. This motivated me to embark on a study about the responses of Heads of Departments (HoDs) to curriculum changes. I especially wanted to focus on the management of those changes. The focus on HoDs arose from the devolution of responsibility from the principal to the HoD with regard to curriculum change. This uninterrupted cycle of curriculum change that South Africa is experiencing occupies the HoDs to a large extent. They have to ensure that the changes take place as smoothly as possible with as little resistance as possible. In order to accomplish this, one would think that the HoD would be trained in managing a department and curriculum changes. This is unfortunately not the case, and they are following their own guidelines that they have constructed through trial and error. This study was conducted through a narrative design within a qualitative framework, allowing me to give a voice to those who have none. It required me to have focus group interviews, which laid the foundation for my semi-structured interview. The use of documents assisted with the crystallisation of the data. This research was conducted in the Lady Frere district of the Eastern Cape. There were two sets of HoDs from different schools, and one participant willing to participate in a semi-structured interview. The purpose of this study was to find out what guidelines HoDs had constructed by looking at HoDs’ responses to, and management of curriculum changes since 2005. It became very clear that there is some confusion about what is expected of the HoD during the change process and the HoDs in this study felt it better to follow traditional methods of teaching, as this was all they knew. However, the focus on producing quality education was very important to them. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra en grupp pianolärare och en grupp musiklärarstudenters förståelse av individualisering. Forskningsfrågan behandlar synsätt och arbetssätt i en grupp yrkesverksamma lärare och en grupp lärarstudenter. Studien utgår från det sociokulturella perspektivet, då studien undersöker hur lärare planerar och organiserar lärande vid mötet med olika individer. Data samlas in genom två fokusgruppintervjuer med dessa två separata grupper som sedan analyseras. I resultatet presenteras deltagarnas synsätt och deras användning av undervisningslitteratur i individualiseringsarbetet. Resultatet visar att individualiseringsarbetet är något som kan motivera elevers lärande och arbetet kräver lärarkompetenser. Dock visar det sig att det finns vissa oklarheter gällande definitionen av individualiseringsarbetet. Det framgår också i resultatet att respektive grupper har olika kriterium för valet av undervisningslitteratur i arbetet med individualisering, och stödjande undervisningslitteratur kan ibland även utmana individualiseringsarbetet. I diskussionen behandlas och problematiseras resultatet ytterligare, i relation till tidigare presenterad forskning och litteratur. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the understanding of individualized teaching in a group of piano teachers at “Kulturskolan” and a group of piano teacher students. The research questions deal with the views and working methods of a group of professional teachers and a group of student teachers. The study is based in the socio-cultural perspective, as it examines how teachers plan and organize learning at the meeting with different individuals. Data is collected through two separate focus group interviews with these two groups which are then analyzed with thematic analysis. The results present the attitudes of the participants and their use of teaching literature in the individualization work. The result shows that the individualization work is something that can motivate students' learning and the work requires teacher skills. However, it turns out that there are some ambiguities regarding the definition of individualized teaching. It is also evident from the result that the respective groups have different criteria for the choice of teaching literature in the work of individualization and supporting teaching literature can sometimes also challenge the individualization work. In the discussion, the results are further discussed and problematized in relation to previously presented research and literature.

Regionerna står inför ett stort problem med brist av specialistsjuksköterskor och svårighet att behålla kompetens för att klara framtidens utmaningar. Bristen på specialistsjuksköterskor inom anestesi- och operationssjukvård kan bli kostsamt och ett stort problem då många planerade operationer ställs in och patienter drabbas. Det tycks finnas ett gap mellan den högre styrningen inom regionerna och den verksamhetsnära styrningen i hur kompetensförsörjningen ska lösas i det korta och långa perspektivet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka faktorer som kan påverka specialistsjuksköterskor att välja att stanna kvar inom anestesi och operationssjukvården. Därigenom öka kunskapen om vad som behöver göras för att förbättra förutsättningarna att klara kompetensförsörjningen i framtiden. Utifrån syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes kvalitativa fokusgruppsintervjuer med induktiv ansats. Resultatet visade på ett antal olika faktorer som delades in i fem kategorier ledarskap, medarbetarskap, hållbarhet, stämning och organisation. Resultaten pekade på att den närvarande chefen är viktig och att denne också får förutsättningar till att möta medarbetarna där de är och ge utrymme för utveckling utifrån individens behov och önskemål har en stor påverkan. Författarnas slutsats var att det inte är en faktor som påverkar utan det finns många faktorer som påverkar och samverkar varför specialistsjuksköterskor inom anestesi- och operationssjukvård väljer att stanna kvar i sitt yrke. / The regions are facing a major problem with the risk of a shortage of specialist nurses and need to be able to maintain competence to meet future challenges. The lack of specialist nurses in anesthesia and surgical care can be costly and a major problem as many planned operations are canceled and patients suffer. There seems to be a gap between the higher management within the regions and the operational management in how the supply of skills should be solved in the short and long term. The purpose of the study was to investigate which factors can influence specialist nurses to choose to remain in anesthesia and surgical care and thereby increase knowledge about what needs to be done to improve the conditions to cope with the supply of skills in the future. Based on the purpose and questions, a qualitative focus group interview was conducted with an inductive approach. The result showed several factors which were divided into leadership, employees, sustainability, atmosphere and organization. The results indicated that the present manager is important and that the manager also gets room to meet the employees where they are and give room for development based on the individual's conditions and wishes has a big impact. The authors' conclusion was that it is not one factor that influences, but there are many factors that influence and work together why specialist nurses in anesthesia and surgical care choose to remain in their profession.

Studiens syfte är att bidra med kunskaper om hur blivande förskollärare ser på fysisk aktivitet i förskolan och om det finns yttre ramfaktorer som påverkar för vilken fysisk aktivitet som möjliggörs. Det handlar om yttre ramfaktorer såsom styrdokument, tid för planering, pedagogers kompetens och förhållningssätt, barngruppens storlek, lokaler, miljöer samt materiella resurser. Dessa ramfaktorer utgår från ramfaktorteorin som också varit den teoretiska grunden för vår studie. 14 blivande förskollärare fördelat på tre grupper deltog i studien, där fokusgrupper användes som metod för att få kunskaper om vilka uppfattningar de blivande förskollärarna har om fysisk aktivitet och vilka yttre ramfaktorer som kan påverka inom området. Utifrån ljudinspelning vid fokusgruppsintervjuerna samt transkribering av materialet som sedan analyserades utifrån IPA- metoden, kunde ett resultat urskönjas.Resultatet visar att de blivande förskollärarna upplever att de finns påverkande ramfaktorer för vilken fysisk aktivitet som kan möjliggöras i förskolan. Läroplanen och tiden för planering av fysisk aktivitet är svårpåverkade ramfaktorer. Att barngruppens storlek, pedagogers kompetens och förskolans olika miljöer är ramfaktorer som påverkar möjliggörandet av fysisk aktivitet framkommer också. Samtidigt ser de blivande förskollärarna möjligheterna i att kunna påverka dessa ramfaktorer för att kunna möjliggöra för fysisk aktivitet i större utsträckning. Därmed visar resultatet att hur förskollärare väljer att förhålla sig till de yttre ramfaktorerna, påverkar för vilken fysisk aktivitet som sker i förskolan. Vår studie visar att blivande förskollärare har en positiv syn i att se möjligheterna i de yttre ramfaktorerna vilket bidrar till att barn i större utsträckning får vara fysiskt aktiva. / The purpose of the study is to contribute knowledge about how prospective preschool teachers view physical activity in preschool and whether there are external framework factors that affect which physical activity is made possible. These are external framework factors such as curriculum, time for planning, educators' skills and attitudes, the size of the children's group, premises, environments and material resources. These framework factors are based on the framework factor theory, which has also been the theoretical basis for our study. 14 prospective preschool teachers divided into three groups participated in the study. Focus groups were used as a method to gain knowledge about what perceptions the prospective preschool teachers have about physical activity and which external framework factors can influence the area. Based on audio recording at the focus group interviews and transcription of the material, which was then analyzed based on the IPA method, a result could be discerned. The results show that the prospective preschool teachers feel that there are influencing framework factors for what physical activity can be made possible in the preschool. The curriculum and the time for planning physical activity are difficult factors to influence. It also appears that the size of the group of children, the competence of educators and the different environments of the preschool are framework factors that affect the enabling of physical activity. At the same time, the prospective preschool teachers see the possibilities in being able to influence these framework factors in order to be able to enable physical activity to a greater extent. Thus, the results show that how preschool teachers choose to relate to the external framework factors, affects for which physical activity takes place in the preschool. Our study shows that prospective preschool teachers have a positive view in seeing the possibilities in the external framework factors, which contributes to children being physically active to a greater extent.