Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

This study focuses on the impact of HIV/Aids on secondary school educators who are affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic. The study seeks to understand how the pandemic has impacted on educators and identify support needs of educators affected by HIV/Aids. Many educators are negatively affected by HIV/Aids due to the fact that their family members, loved ones, friends, learners and colleagues may be ill, dying or affected by HIV and Aids. Educators are personally and professionally affected by HIV/Aids. Personally many educators are emotionally, socially, spiritually and physically affected. Professionally many are negatively impacted as educator absenteeism rises, morale is lowered and professional roles become more complex. There are very few avenues of support for educators who are affected by the HIV pandemic. To determine how high school educators are affected and what their subsequent support needs are, this study followed a phenomenological design. Fourteen high school educators were interviewed. All participants taught at township schools in the Free State and were affected by the HIV pandemic. The data were coded with regard to how these educators were affected by the pandemic and what support they wished for. According to this study's findings, educators in township secondary schools in the Free State are personally and professionally affected. Their experiences are mostly negative. They wish for support from the Department of Education, school management, their colleagues and the community. Examples of requested support include training and counselling programmes, supportive attitudes and additional educators so that they might be assisted to cope with the HIV/Aids pandemic challenges. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences of resilience following parental divorce for university freshmen. Five participants were interviewed using a multiple case study methodology and Richardson’s (2002) resilience model as the theoretical framework. It examined how the three needs of Self-Determination theory (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) and the three categories of protective factors (individual, family, and community) contributed to resilience. Data were collected through demographic surveys, divorce artwork, resilience artwork, and interview transcriptions. General themes, typological self-determination need themes, and typological protective factor themes were developed for each individual and across cases. The findings suggested that autonomy needs and individual protective factors were the same, competence needs and most community factors were the same, and relatedness needs and family protective factors, along with the community protective factor of friends, were same. Therefore, this study linked the empirical support of protective factor research to the tenet of self-determination theory that stated that by facilitating the three self-determination needs, optimal positive psychological, developmental and behavioral outcomes occur (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Findings also revealed a) the importance of cognitive coping strategies, b) the benefit of helping others, c) the significance of the relatedness need, and d) the value of multiple types of relationships. Implications for counselors and recommendations for future research on resilience in children of divorce were provided.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to conduct a state-wide needs assessment of Tennessee 4-H Youth Development Extension Agents to determine the perception in working with 4-H Volunteer Leaders and the knowledge level of volunteer management. This study also determined the need for a formalized 4-H Volunteer Leader management system. Targeted participants were University of Tennessee (UT) Extension Agents and Tennessee State University (TSU) Extension Agents with 4-H job responsibility. Participants were asked to complete a four part questionnaire instrument. Components one through three of the instrument were used to determine the need for a formalized 4-H Volunteer Leader management system, the knowledge level in managing and the perception of working with 4-H Volunteer Leaders. The final component was used to collect demographic information. After completion of a pilot study, 161 Extension Agents were targeted to participate in the study. The questionnaire was administered on web-based data collection system known as Survey Monkey. Results indicated 90% of Extension Agents agreed there is a need for readily available, web-based materials. Results also indicated a need (66% agreeing) for a comprehensive 4-H Volunteer Leader management system. Also, results found high proficiencies, up to 97%, in both knowledge levels of managing 4-H Volunteer Leaders and perceptions of working with 4-H Volunteer Leaders. Demographic information was correlated among measures of knowledge, perception and the need for a formalized 4-H Volunteer Leader management system. Significant correlations were found between risk management of 4-H Volunteer Leaders and Extension tenure, also between Extension tenure and the perception of 4-H Volunteer Leaders being welcome within the school system. Significant correlations were also between recruiting volunteers and outside of Extension volunteer/employee management; between outside of Extension volunteer/employee management and removing 4-H Volunteer Leaders. Implications indicate a need for additional resources to provide training and information for both agents and 4-H Volunteer Leaders. Findings also indicate materials should be web-based for easy access for both agent and 4-H Volunteer Leader use. Data responses show there is a need for a formalized 4-H Volunteer Leader management system that would encompass all aspects from recruitment to retention of 4-H Volunteer Leaders.

This study compares the manner in which local schools organize to address the policy problem of support for pupils with special needs. Since the end of the 1970s, it has been a central aim to decentralise basic comprehensive education in Sweden. Several reforms have totally remapped the formal organization structures and how educational resources are allocated from the state to municipalities. The role of central and regional state administration has shifted from being highly involved in regulating state grants to evaluating implementation of state goals. The implementa­tion structure approach used in research relies primarily upon semi-structured interviews with members of schools to identify who is involved in the tasks of defining needs, deciding priorities among needs, mobilising resources to alleviate needs and evaluating the work. From the teachers selected as the point of entry into schools, the interviewing proceeded to other members of the municipal educational system, within or outside the local school district. In each municipality one local school district was selected for study, and in each school district the study focuses on the upper level of the comprehensive school. Care has been taken to select schools of a certain size and to find schools with non-selective school populations. The same schools were studied in 1986 and 1995. One conclusion from the interviews in 1986 was that political intentions and the special SR- grant had minor or non-existent implications for the work being done in schools. It was of no interest where resources came from. This same conclusion can still be made in 1995. The review of how municipal education committees organized allocation of the SR-grant in 1986 did not indicate that they had acted to develop areas or criteria to direct more actively the use of resources in schools. This study argues that the capacity of municipal education committees to actively participate in the work has actually deteriorated. Decentralization of formal powers in combination with declining resources actually worsened the situation in this respect between 1986 and 1995. One can see that variation between schools in respect of total resources in the schools has declined, but to a level under the expected total amount of resources in 1986. In a comparison between schools on how schools actually have allocated resources to different education purposes, the finding is that the variation is immense both in 1986 and 1995 - but in different ways. Some schools gave priority to lowering the group average while others made their priority special education teachers. In both cases there is no evidence that pupil needs had anything to do with these priorities. The lack of evaluations for pupils with special needs is the foremost problem for both those with responsibility for schools and for the implications at higher levels.

<p>The number of children with disabilities under the age of 18 years around the world varies from 120 to 150 million. In many countries, throughout the world, the majority of children with disabilities either do not receive any form of education or, if they receive any, it is often inappropriate. UNESCO estimates that more than 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend schools. Rwanda has recently started inclusive education in a number of schools around the country for ensuring that children with disabilities have access to education. Despite this, in Rwanda, many children with disabilities do not attend school and this number is not known. This study aimed to identify the barriers to school attendance by children with disabilities in Rwanda.</p>

The general aim of the present thesis is to investigate needs of support and service in clients with long-term mental disabilities living in the community. A further aim is to study changes in these client needs during a 3.5-year follow-up. A questionnaire, The Need of Support and Service Questionnaire (NSSQ), was developed to provide staffs in psychiatric care and social services with a brief instrument to assess how their clients live in the community and to identify their needs. The results are based on 1,759 clients. The prevalence of clients in urban and rural areas was 6.4/1,000 and 4.5/1,000 inhabitants, respectively. The clients living in the urban setting were more frequently male, older, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and needed more support in activities of daily living than rural clients. Clients identified by staff in psychiatric care only were more often living with a partner, with children living at home and more often had a rehabilitation allowance than clients identified by social services staff. In clients assessed by both organizations similar needs at a group level were identified. However, agreements were lower at the individual level. Although clients reported fewer needs than staff in psychiatric care, the reported needs were in the same areas. A majority of the clients with unmet needs of service at baseline had their needs met at the 3.5-year follow-up. New unmet needs were also identified at the follow-up, however. The results demonstrate less improvement in clients with schizophrenia as compared with non-schizophrenic clients. In conclusion, needs of support and service present a dynamic process and both psychiatric care and social services should critically evaluate assessments of these needs.

This thesis aims at describing and analysing the process and content in knowledge development within a research circle. The participants in this circle are seven teachers who work with multilingual children diagnosed within the autism spectrum, and me as a researcher. The study is conducted within the tradition of participatory-oriented research. The research issue concerns the questions these teachers ask themselves in their everyday work. The study, consisting of twelve meetings, was carried out during 2004-2005. In the final meeting material collected in the circle was analysed together by all participants. The knowledge-content analysis disclosed four main themes: mother-tongue issues, disabilities and diagnoses, the issue of frames and matters related to working with parents and other professionals. The results show that once a child is diagnosed within the autism spectrum the diagnosis “takes over” and mother-tongue instruction is seldom discussed. The participants in the circle found it difficult to collaborate with the various authorities involved in working with a child and its family. They also found it difficult to communicate with parents, due to language barriers, different cultural contexts, and the observation that interpreters did not translate properly. The participants noted an existing hierarchy in relation to doctors and psychologists, regarded as having the mandate to assess a child’s ability and suggest placement in class. A conclusion is that the work of the teachers entails a high degree of complexity, and that knowledge meetings and collaboration between parents, teachers, and the various authorities are needed. During the circle process emancipating collective knowledge was constructed transcending what any participant had from the start. Experiences discussed in continuing dialogues, and in an on-going process, seem to be essential for generation of knowledge. When experiences were challenged, potentials for different actions were revealed.