M.Ed. (Educational Management) / This research was conducted in an effort to investigate the perception of principals on group decision-making within the School Management Teams (SMT's). This study was prompted by the changes taking place within the department of education, which are in line with the political changes that have taken place in South Africa. The dawn of democracy in South Africa paved a way for the democratisation of all government structures. According to the South African School's Act (SASA) of 1996 (b) participative management should be practised at all levels of education, in this instance at school level. The SMT's who are comprised of managers, must make joint informed decisions at the school level. From the literature review it is evident that principals should be competent in group decision making so that they can make rational decisions and to assist the management team to reach the desired common goal. The involvement of the SMT in decision-making develops a sense of ownership for the institution and this sense of ownership can lead to co-operation amongst the members, which could cascade to the rest of the staff members. The co-operation could promote effectiveness in the management of the school. An empirical study was conducted based on group decision-making. A comparison was made concerning the factor mean scores of the following independent groups: gender, age, mother tongue, commitment to group decision-making, teaching experience, qualifications of respondents, medium of instruction, districts and workshops attended relative to group decision-making. Generally, there seemed to be no statistically significant differences between these categories as they mainly agreed with the factor named group decision-making. The respondents belonged to schools in the three districts namely D1, D3 and D4 of the Gauteng Department of Education. Chapter four depicts the results of the research. Based on the results of the research, guidelines were drafted to assist principals in group decision making. Finally, this research recommends further research on this topic on a wider context such as: Research be conducted in other parts of Gauteng and other provinces. The perception of other SMT members to group decision-making should be investigated.

A study was conducted to explore the impact on change which a process of participatory research has on capacity building for the general assistants within the Northern Province in terms of the mission statement of the Office on the Status of Women between July 1997 and September 1998. The mission of the office is as follows: " ... to establish mechanisms and procedures that will move the province towards gender equality, thereby empowering women to have equal access to opportunities and resources which will enhance their quality of life". The target group for Office on the Status of Women is women within the government service irrespective of race and socio-political status. These general assistants were said to be the "left behind" group when issues affecting women like National and International Women's Days are celebrated. Themes of concern were identified and addressed. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

A study was conducted to explore the impact on change which a process of participatory research has on capacity building for the general assistants within the Northern Province in terms of the mission statement of the Office on the Status of Women between July 1997 and September 1998. The mission of the office is as follows: " ... to establish mechanisms and procedures that will move the province towards gender equality, thereby empowering women to have equal access to opportunities and resources which will enhance their quality of life". The target group for Office on the Status of Women is women within the government service irrespective of race and socio-political status. These general assistants were said to be the "left behind" group when issues affecting women like National and International Women's Days are celebrated. Themes of concern were identified and addressed. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

The report is about participatory action research with caregivers at the 'Tsoga 0 ltirele" centre for the mentally disabled. It was a process where the caregivers were involved in a series of action, plan and reflection in researching their situation. The facilitation process assisted the caregivers to look at their problems at the centre and improve service delivery in caring for the mentally disabled children. Several meetings were held where action, plan and reflection took place. Caregivers decided on their own when to meet and discuss issues that concerned them. They planned what needed to be dealt with and took collective action to address these needs. The facilitation process enabled caregivers to research their own problems, embrace errors experienced and recognise progress. People Centred Approach, Community Development and Participatory Action Research complemented one another in capacitating caregivers. Through it they learned to improve their own programmes and to run their meetings, improve marketing skills and fundraising. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

The report is about participatory action research with caregivers at the 'Tsoga 0 ltirele" centre for the mentally disabled. It was a process where the caregivers were involved in a series of action, plan and reflection in researching their situation. The facilitation process assisted the caregivers to look at their problems at the centre and improve service delivery in caring for the mentally disabled children. Several meetings were held where action, plan and reflection took place. Caregivers decided on their own when to meet and discuss issues that concerned them. They planned what needed to be dealt with and took collective action to address these needs. The facilitation process enabled caregivers to research their own problems, embrace errors experienced and recognise progress. People Centred Approach, Community Development and Participatory Action Research complemented one another in capacitating caregivers. Through it they learned to improve their own programmes and to run their meetings, improve marketing skills and fundraising. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))