Thesis (PhD(Education Management and Policy Studies))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

This study set out to investigate a unique case of innovation adaptation and institutionalization in a depressed socio-economic environment. The main aim of the study was to understand and explain interventions and innovative strategies that underpin the survival and growth of the Open and Distance Learning Mode (ODLM) in Zimbabwe. Towards this end, the data to address the research questions was derived from the case study methodology which incorporated, among others, documentary analysis and interviews with persons involved in the initiation and management of the ODLM. The results of the study indicate that three broad categories of strategies, namely protectionism, innovative leadership and educational entrepreneurialism or commodification constitute the foundation of ODLM durability in Masvingo Province. Protectionism in the context of ODLM survival and growth are projected and articulated in the policy instruments such as mandates and legal frameworks which shielded the innovation from the usual hazards of the innovation process. Protectionism enabled the ODLM to gain traction in an elitist and conservative higher education landscape. Correspondingly, innovative leadership is manifested in a highly motivated team of management staff committed to the propagation of the ODLM to every part of Masvingo Province. The leadership at the Masvingo Regional Campus (MRC) utilizes the multiple stakeholder approach as strategy for establishing convergences and equilibrium in respect of the interests and concerns of the four main stakeholders, namely the government or the ruling party which initiated the implementation of the ODLM; the employers of ODL graduates who affirm the relevancy of ODL qualifications, the students who sustain ODLM by generating revenue for the ZOU, and finally, the MRC staff who are the implementers of the ODLM programmes. Likewise, educational entrepreneurialism constitute another key strategy in ODLM survival and growth. This strategy is articulated in the principle of continual adaptation and creation of market – driven programmes. The above results have several implications to various role players and actors involved in the educational reform and innovation. Firstly, the results of the study reveal the imperative for power elites or policy formulators to ensure that they initiate and adopt educational innovations that match the capacities of their implementers and the socio-economic realities of their respective countries or societies. In this regard, the ODLM appears to have been a prudent choice in light of the challenges that were being encountered in post-independence Zimbabwe. Secondly, from a management perspective, the selection of the innovation team to spearhead or steer the implementation was prioritized. Only competent and committed personnel positively disposed towards an innovation should spearhead the implementation. In addition adequate training and staff development should be instituted to keep the implementers abreast of new trends and standards in educational provision. Lastly, the results of this study constitute a clarion call to curriculum developers in African university departments to design and develop programmes which resonate with the needs of key stakeholders who constitute the support base for viable educational institutions.

Thesis advisor: Juliet Schor / The relationship between learning and labor has long been a topic of concern for sociologists of education. In this dissertation, I conduct an ethnography of open learning in the United States following the 2008 economic crisis and argue that a new style of learning is emerging amidst changes in the labor market. I call that new style of learning the pedagogy of precarity and emphasize that it challenges credentialism (Collins, 1979), or how U.S. society confers status, jobs, and life chances according to one’s accumulation of academic qualifications. This study is the first sociological ethnography of open learning conducted from the vantage point of learners (Ito et al, 2009) and offers a perspective of how mostly digitally mediated learning practices are utilized within the growing precarity of the new economy. In this dissertation, I show how a sample of open learners sought a different way to connect their learning to their labor when neither felt valuable after the 2008 crisis and subsequent recession. Engaging literatures in the sociology of education, economic sociology, and cultural sociology, this dissertation expands upon the concept of the precariat (Standing, 2011; Gill and Pratt, 2008) in order to explain how “entrepreneurial vagueness” emerges from lived experiences of precariousness. Entrepreneurial vagueness works to buffer subjective status aspirations amidst dwindling objective life chances in the new economy (Bourdieu, 1984a; Sennett, 1998; 2006). In my study, precarity becomes pedagogized (Bernstein, 1996; 2001) and participants “labor to learn” rather than learn to labor. The pedagogy of precarity relies upon autodidactic communalism (Pearce, 1996), a model for learning that puts the burden of self-education on the individual and the community that she can access by successfully adopting a “habitus of trainability” (Bourdieu, 1984a; Bernstein, 1996; 2001). This burden is hard work, but is also described as enjoyable and life giving. The pedagogy of precarity instilled quasi-dignity as participants learned to embody the habitus of trainability. The habitus of trainability entailed developing a taste for usefulness, a taste for craftsmanship, and a taste for association. However, these tastes are not separate from a taste for risk (Neff, 2012; McMillan Cottom, 2017), and thus the pedagogy of precarity lacks sustainability. The findings are relevant to other studies of institutional challenge through peer-to-peer connection as well as work regarding the future of higher education in the new economy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Rapid reform in the vocational education and training sector within Australia has driven the need for a more flexible approach to the delivery of education and training. One facet of such flexibility is Open Learning. Currently there is little research on Open Learning within the training sector on which planning decisions can be based.A model of educational productivity (Walberg,1981) has been proposed in the research literature to investigate relationships between key factors such a student antecedents, learning environments and learning outcomes. The Walberg model has been employed in this current study to explore how these factors may be studied in an Open Learning environment and a more Traditional Learning environment within the vocational education and training sector. The research design is a comparative description, utilising techniques from both quantitative and qualitative paradigms.A major aspect of this current study has been to investigate the constructs proposed by Walberg's Productivity Model and source appropriate instruments to measure these constructs. Where the appropriate instruments were not available, a process of instrument development and validation was conducted.The research has identified Walberg's model as being a valid frame of reference within the Vocational Education and Training sector. As expected, significant differences between the Open Learning environment and the Traditional Learning environment were apparent for the measures of Classroom Environment. Of interest, however, was that the productivity factor of Quantity, for students studying in both learning environments, was shown to have a negative relationship with achievement. While small differences were apparent for other factors, generally, the relationship between productivity factors and educational achievement was seen to be similar for both the Open Learning and the ++ / Traditional Learning environments.The findings of the study should be of significance to a range of people involved in the Open Learning environment, including decision makers in the areas of educational policy, curriculum design and implementation, administration and teaching.

This study explores the perspectives of teachers and learners in flexible learning environments in relation to information and learning, and the implications of these perspectives for the design of effective library and information services. It adopted a case study methodology to investigate three flexible learning academic subjects offered at the University of Wollongong in Autumn Semester (March to June) 2000. Using a contextual and document review, teacher and student questionnaires, and in-depth interviews, data were gathered on participant perspectives on the following key areas of research interest: concepts of flexible learning; the flexible learning environment; the role of the teacher; the role of the learner; methods of communication; concepts of information; methods of presenting information; using information resources and services; the role of the librarian; concepts of learning; the learning process; and the relationships between information, learning and knowledge. Interview data were analysed using the constant comparative method to identify conceptual categories and higher-level themes within individual cases as well as collectively across all three cases. The main conclusions of the study were that: (1) the ways in which information and learning are conceived are central to understanding information use as part of the learning process; (2) there are a number of identifiable processes or phases involved in using information to learn; (3) the integration of information resources and communication mechanisms is a major benefit of the online learning environment; and (4) the design of the flexible learning environment influences student approaches to learning and the use of information and learning resources. The implications of the study conclusions for library and information services include the need for librarians to develop an understanding of the relationship between information and learning; the need to encourage active engagement with information, qualitative/deep approaches to learning, and critical and interpretative thinking; the need to integrate library resources, services and communication systems into online learning environments; and the need for librarians to develop their roles as collaborative partners with teachers, as guides and facilitators of student learning, as designers of information environments, and as advocates for the incorporation of information resources and services into flexible learning environments. Suggestions for further research include ongoing studies on information conceptualisation and use within flexible learning environments, and a larger scale phenomenographic study of conceptions of information.

This study explores the perspectives of teachers and learners in flexible learning environments in relation to information and learning, and the implications of these perspectives for the design of effective library and information services. It adopted a case study methodology to investigate three flexible learning academic subjects offered at the University of Wollongong in Autumn Semester (March to June) 2000. Using a contextual and document review, teacher and student questionnaires, and in-depth interviews, data were gathered on participant perspectives on the following key areas of research interest: concepts of flexible learning; the flexible learning environment; the role of the teacher; the role of the learner; methods of communication; concepts of information; methods of presenting information; using information resources and services; the role of the librarian; concepts of learning; the learning process; and the relationships between information, learning and knowledge. Interview data were analysed using the constant comparative method to identify conceptual categories and higher-level themes within individual cases as well as collectively across all three cases. The main conclusions of the study were that: (1) the ways in which information and learning are conceived are central to understanding information use as part of the learning process; (2) there are a number of identifiable processes or phases involved in using information to learn; (3) the integration of information resources and communication mechanisms is a major benefit of the online learning environment; and (4) the design of the flexible learning environment influences student approaches to learning and the use of information and learning resources. The implications of the study conclusions for library and information services include the need for librarians to develop an understanding of the relationship between information and learning; the need to encourage active engagement with information, qualitative/deep approaches to learning, and critical and interpretative thinking; the need to integrate library resources, services and communication systems into online learning environments; and the need for librarians to develop their roles as collaborative partners with teachers, as guides and facilitators of student learning, as designers of information environments, and as advocates for the incorporation of information resources and services into flexible learning environments. Suggestions for further research include ongoing studies on information conceptualisation and use within flexible learning environments, and a larger scale phenomenographic study of conceptions of information.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2003. / Typescript. Includes appendices. Bibliographical references: leaf [254]-272.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Also available in print.