This research developed the first ‘Green’ model for primary school leadership, which aimed to address some of the actual and anticipated environmental problems through the way schools operate in the context of Curriculum, Campus and Community. It emerged through an empirical investigative study of eight English primary school Head Teachers who are pioneering environmental sustainability. A Post-modern perspective influenced the research methodology and helped to take a fresh and sceptical look at the leadership aims of primary schools in relation to the education system and general society. This involved a critical examination of the National College of School Leadership’s ‘Leadership for Sustainability’ and literature from the ‘Green Movement’. The findings suggested that leaders are needed with a certain kind of ‘Green’ values, knowledge and skills. Questions arose about how a type of ‘Distributed Leadership’ might lie within the new model and whether the model is feasible, given that the pursuance of its main objectives are not currently the priority of most schools. The thesis pointed to the need for a radical revision of what it means to be a primary school leader, in order to assist with the imperatives of a green sustainable economy which promises a better quality of life for more people. This is a ‘Big Claim’ for a small-scale study. It is hoped, therefore, that this modest thesis could be a catalyst for more wide-ranging research and thinking in this most vital area, in terms of education leadership’s role in securing the viability of modern civilisation.

Despite economic difficulties, the emphasis on and investment in teacher professional development (PD) across the world continues, as countries strive to improve educational standards to compete in a globalised knowledge economy. However, researchers have little evidence of its impact on teachers’ professional practice. While it is acknowledged that PD needs to be assessed and evaluated, there is little guidance as to how this might be achieved. Much focus is on short-term impact, with longer-term impact often ignored despite sustainability of practices being highlighted as critical for school improvement. This study set out to explore the impact of a collaborative PD initiative on teachers’ professional practice in five urban disadvantaged primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. A qualitative approach was used to explore shortterm and longer-term impact, along with factors that helped or hindered the development and sustainability of the PD practice. The literature review revealed gaps in existing frameworks for evaluation, resulting in the development of a ‘Professional Development Impact Evaluation Framework’ which is presented in the thesis. It demonstrates how the framework was both developed from extant literature and critiqued through application, and discusses its potential for evaluating the impact of a range of PD activities and answering the call for accountability in these straitened times. Findings revealed a PD legacy that resulted not only in practices being sustained, but demonstrating a PD multiplier, where the impact of the collaborative PD initiative extended beyond the initiative itself to include many changes, even at a cultural level. Given the significance of the PD multiplier, this study suggests that PD facilitators support such cultural changes on a larger scale in schools. A significant feature of change is the teacher as a change-agent, and this study proposes a number of typologies of teacher engagement which may have some implications for teacher PD. Impacting on these typologies were three key elements that contributed to ii teachers’ professional learning and which reflect a developing notion of agentic teacher professionalism: bottom-up approaches with top-down support; autonomy and professional trust; and collaborative practices and collective responsibility.

There are substantive external demands for improved learner achievement, particularly in secondary schools, and increasingly, principals have to bear the pressures that accompany these demands. Instructional leadership concept is being advocated one of the approaches that school leaders may consider in order to promote a culture of teaching and learning within their schools. Therefore a qualitative case study was undertaken to explore instructional leadership practices of three secondary school principals in Umbumbulu Circuit. The focus of the study was based on the assumption that principals were instructional leaders as it was the expectation of government policy. The study therefore, did not seek to find out if principals in the study were indeed instructional leaders, but it sought to understand the manner in which they practicalised this expectation. In short, the study sought to gain an insight into how secondary school principals in this area enacted instructional leadership and why they enacted it the way they did. Three schools were selected among those schools that had experienced drastic improvement in their matric results in the past five years or so. The research design employed was qualitative and semi-structured interviews with three principals and three educators. These interviews were audio taped and transcribed for analysis. The results indicated that principals enacted instructional leadership practices by (a) sharing vision among members of the school (b) monitoring instructions (c) encouraging professional development of their teaching staff (d) ensuring that instructional time was not interrupted (e) furnishing professional materials and resources to the teachers (f) monitoring and discussion assessment issues with the teachers (g) recognising and rewarding good performance and (h) preparing and sustaining learning environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. The main aim was to enhance teaching and learning in the schools as these principals strongly believed that it was their responsibility to do so. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The theme of this thesis is the involvement of employees from business/industry in the governance of state schools in England and Wales. Following a conceptual analysis and the identification of imprecision in the relevant legislation, the research was designed in two phases. The Phase 1 survey examined the extent of that involvement in 1994 and built up a profile of employee-governors, including their personal and company characteristics. A questionnaire was used to gather descriptive and enumerative data from the school governors employed by twelve national companies, with further qualitative data amassed through some open questions on the questionnaire a,!d from semi-structured interviews of company managers. From 1995 to 1997, Phase 2 assessed the purposes, functions and skills of governors from this sector, through a quasi-experimental design which gathered pre-test and post-test data from thirty-five co-opted business/industrial governors, their headteachers and their chairs of governors. A Likert-type scaling instrument and focus group discussions were used. The main findings from the 1994 survey were that there were few governors from business and industry and even fewer were in governance to represent that sector of the community; most were parent governors. These governors and their company managers felt, however, that there were appreciable benefits to be gained from company employees being school governors. Phase 2 showed that the sample of specifically co-opted business/industrial governors adopted the distinctive purposes of objectivity and non-executive judgement, and brought generic management skills to governance through their company experience at a strategic level. These skills were especially appreciated in inner city schools. The research was the first study of governors from across business and industry and advanced the first model of practice related to purpose for governors from this sector of the community. Aspects of this model have been used to inform the Labour Government's policy for recruiting business/industrial governors for inner city schools.

Mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs), with advanced capabilities, have created new prospects and opportunities, for both students and faculty who are learning and teaching English as a foreign language, in higher education in Saudi Arabia. Technology acceptance theories and models have been widely developed, used and extended to determine the factors related to the acceptance of such technologies in specific national and subject contexts. However, there have been very few studies of the acceptance of new ICTs in teaching and learning in the higher education context of Saudi Arabia, in general; and none that relate to the teaching of English as a foreign language. To examine the readiness for, and acceptance of, mobile learning and teaching among students and faculty at Taibah University in Saudi Arabia, a theory of technology acceptance, developed for a consumer context, was used as the framework for this study; considering the participants as consumers of mobile technologies within an organization. This study utilised the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model to identify the factors responsible for use behaviour and the behavioural intention to use mobile technologies in learning and teaching English as a foreign language. The research model hypothesized that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price of Devices, Price of Services, and Habit will predict Behavioural Intentions to use mobile technologies in learning and teaching EFL and Use Behaviour. It was also hypothesized that Age, Gender, and Experience will moderate the impact of the eight factors included in the research model. This model was empirically tested using data collected from 878 students and 65 faculty members by two cross-sectional surveys at Taibah University in Saudi Arabia. The results of regression analyses indicated that the research model was partially confirmed, and highlighted key variables as the driving forces of use behaviour and behavioural intention to use mobile technologies in learning and teaching English as a foreign language. The findings of this empirical research provide crucial information that can guide the implementation of proactive interventions to widely improve the practices of learning iii and teaching; and greatly increase our understanding of the reasons for, and effectiveness of, the adoption of mobile technologies in higher education in Saudi Arabia. More importantly, as English continues to develop as the global language of business and commerce, and the lingua franca of academic and social media networks, the increased effectiveness of the use of mobile ICTs in teaching and learning English that results from this research will enable Saudi students to operate as global citizens within the emerging world knowledge economy, and increase significantly the human capital return on the substantial investments in such mobile technologies by the government of Saudi Arabia and its universities.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The main purpose of this research study is to investigate and analyse the role of the Principal towards effective educational leadership in selected Secondary schools in Waterberg Education District. The effectiveness of the educational leadership depends on the educational managers’ personal backgrounds, con-duciveness of the school climates, positive learning school cultures, availability of resources in the classrooms, utilisation of learner-teacher support material (LTSM), effective organisation of educational excursions, and other related issues. Principals, by virtue of their positions need to be empowered so as to coordinate activities and provide resources that can be used to enhance effect-tive educational leadership. The most important aspect pertaining to effective educational leadership in schools, is that it must be managed properly. This actually implies that correct and relevant resources should be provided to reinforce the quality of effective educational leadership. The primary study revealed that effective educational leadership cannot be achieved by school Principals in isolation, but through the School Management Team as a whole. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher has employed phenomenology, stratified random sampling and qualitative research design to achieve the in-tended goal of the research project. The researcher has also used case studies and interview research instruments to collect relevant data from twenty (20) SMT members in area of the study. The data collected through case studies and interviews was analysed by coding derived from audio tape recorder. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data whose findings were based on to make conclusions and recommendations. The results indicated that the role of the Principal contributes significantly to the quality of effective educational leadership. The results also showed that there is a need for continued support from the members of the School Management Teams. The need for support from the parents, SGBs and government in terms of resources, is vital. The abovementioned support, can also assist the Principals to make a positive impact on effective educational leadership. The researcher believes that, if the findings and the recommendations from the study can be applied properly, they can add value to the educational practice in Waterberg District in particular and Limpopo Province as a whole.

Zugl.: Potsdam, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / School Management Team (SMT) members struggle to accommodate learners with diverse learning difficulties as prescribed by the Education White Paper 6. This is despite the workshops, which are conducted to develop SMTs to accommodate learners with disabilities and practice Inclusive Education (IE) in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the SMT’s competence in the implementation of Inclusive Education in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province. The study followed a qualitative approach where a case study design was adopted. Two officials from the Inclusive Education section of the Department of Education and six SMT members from three schools in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi- structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Data was analysed through content analysis, and followed the Creswell’s model of data analysis. The results of the study were as follows: there is a lack of human and physical resources, duration of time taken for conducting workshops was too short, and the lack of follow-up programmes. Therefore, these results may imply that the current professional model of teacher development through workshops is not effective, and that new strategies are needed to improve teacher development programmes. The study suggests that further areas of research should include time allocation for conducting workshops on Inclusive Education, resources allocation and follow-up programmes. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The democratic elections in South Africa in 1994 were followed by far-reaching changes. Legislation was changed to entrench the democratic principles of the young democracy and to involve South African communities in decision-making. For example, the South African Schools Act (84 of 1996) was introduced to promote democracy and to transform society. It merged the different pre-1994 education departments, to build an education system on a non-discriminatory basis, to protect the education rights of learners and to give parents more power in school governance. The introduction of school governing bodies with certain powers and responsibilities was a significant step towards the decentralisation of power in the South African school system. The aim of the study was to explore the role of school governing bodies in recommending candidates for appointment as school principals and to establish what challenges they experienced. A qualitative research design was used to answer the research question. Personal interviews were held with eight governing body members of two schools and a departmental official. Data was generated by semi-structured questions, enabling participants to share their experiences and perceptions of the recommendation process. The data was subsequently analysed and findings stated. The literature review in Chapter 2 revealed huge challenges for parents on governing bodies, especially in previously disadvantaged schools, with parents‟ illiteracy as a key factor. The school governing bodies that participated in the study were heavily dependent on the guidance of the departmental official. They moreover admitted that they were unable to carry out the recommendation process without the official‟s guidance. Secondly, the research findings showed that the governing body members had little knowledge of education policies and were inadequately trained. This study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the school governing bodies‟ perspectives of their own abilities. Despite the challenges they experienced, they believed that they were able to fulfil their duties and that they did not need any schooling to serve on the school governing body. The results indicate that the literacy levels of members of school governing bodies nevertheless do play a role in their ability to carry out their duties and activities and that more intensive training is needed to enhance their capacity. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Na die demokratiese verkiesing in 1994 het grootskaalse veranderinge in Suid-Afrika plaasgevind. Wetgewing is verander om gestalte te gee aan die demokratiese beginsels van die jong demokrasie en om die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap te betrek in sekere besluitnemings. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet (84 van 1996) is byvoorbeeld ingestel om demokrasie te bevorder en om die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing te transformeer. Dit het die verskillende onderwysdepartemente van voor 1994 verenig om die onderwysongelykhede van die verlede reg te stel, leerders se regte ten opsigte van opvoeding te beskerm en die ouergemeenskap groter inspraak in en deelname aan skoolbeheer te gee. Skoolbeheerliggame is ingestel met sekere magte en verantwoordelikhede. Die vestiging van skoolbeheerliggame verteenwoordig ʼn betekenisvolle desentralisasie van mag in die Suid-Afrikaanse skolestelsel. Hierdie navorsing het beoog om die rol wat skoolbeheerliggame speel in die aanbeveling van kandidate vir aanstelling as prinsipale in skole na te vors en vas te stel watter uitdagings hulle ervaar. Om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord, is ‟n kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp gebruik. Data is verkry deur persoonlike onderhoude te voer met agt lede van twee skole se skoolbeheerliggame en een departementele amptenaar. Semi-gestruktureerde vrae het deelnemers in staat gestel om hul eie ervarings en persepsies van die aanbevelingsproses te beskryf. Daarna is die data ontleed en bevindings gemaak. Die literatuurstudie in hoofstuk 2 dui aan dat daar groot uitdagings is vir ouers op skoolbeheerliggame, veral in voorheen benadeelde skole, as gevolg van die ongeletterdheid van die ouers. Die skoolbeheerliggame in hierdie studie toon groot afhanklikheid van die hulp van die departementele amptenaar en erken selfs dat hulle nie die aanbevelingsproses sonder die hulp van dié amptenaar sou kon uitvoer nie. Tweedens is daar ook bevind dat die skoolbeheerliggame min kennis het van onderwyswetgewing en dat hul opleiding baie gebrekkig is. Hierdie studie het ook gepoog om ʼn dieper insig te verkry van die skoolbeheerliggame se perspektiewe van hul eie vermoëns. Ten spyte van die tekortkominge wat die lede van die skoolbeheerliggame ervaar, glo hulle dat hulle opgewasse is vir die taak en dat hulle geen skolastiese opleiding benodig om in ‟n skoolbeheerliggaam te dien nie. Die resultate toon egter dat die geletterdheidsvlakke van die lede van skoolbeheerliggame wel ʼn rol speel in die uitvoering van hul pligte en werksaamhede en dat meer intensiewe opleiding nodig is om hul kapasiteit te verhoog.

Diploma thesis Coaching as a leadership style discusses new approach of management in corporations. The perspective on ideal way to manage people has been changing from dehumanizing approach of management to more humane perspective, which takes into account the uniqueness of personalities, interpersonal relationships, needs and motivation. These changes are described in the beginning of the thesis. Then, author focuses on a new trend - the use of coaching skills in managing people in organizations. Based on interviews with managers and their direct subordinates, the current situation of implementing coaching as a leadership style in Czech corporations is shown. The necessary conditions, which need to be accomplished for successful implementation, are revealed. The corporate environment must be set up and manager as a role model must be created. Managers need to change themselves, they need to develop their personalities and learn coaching skills. Furthermore, the relationship between managers and their employees must be based on mutual trust and openness. Consequently, coaching as a leadership style has an impact on employees. It develops them, reveals their potential and enables them to learn new things. It supports their autonomy, satisfaction and engagement. It contributes to quality of...