South Korean adolescents’ motivation for high academic achievement is strongly influenced by extraordinary parental support, pressures to achieve, and the practice of utilizing both public and private learning environments in South Korea. To remain competitive, educational leaders may benefit from observations of other countries’ academic successes and consider the implications for the current American educational structure. The purpose of this study is to explore South Korean male adolescents’ daily educational routines and their perceptions of their internal and external educational support systems in relation to their academic achievement. Furthermore, this study provides insightful data for educators, educational leaders, and global education critics about South Korean adolescents’ academic motivations and determinations. Such insights may be important to decision makers in evaluating education models. The review of literature for this study examines South Korea’s economic progression, educational structure, and familial and cultural standards. In this qualitative research, I observed and documented the educational perspectives of students, parents, and teachers at an all-male high school in Seoul, South Korea and collected data from the participants through interviews, observations, and reviews of academic-related documents. I used these data to better understand the relationship between adolescents’ family influences and adolescents’ academic achievements. I also used these data to achieve a reality-based understanding of how adolescents’ internal and external influences and motivations affect academic achievement. Although I could not formulate generalizations from this qualitative research, this study does provide insights into the relationships between South Koreans’ family standards, influences, and attitudes, and South Korean adolescents’ personal investments and value systems in education. / Department of Educational Leadership

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Families with serious and/or chronic child protection risks often have complex personal and social issues. Statutory child protection services must manage escalating child protection reports with limited resources. Addressing families at immediate risk often takes precedence over comprehensive family assessment and planned intervention, so the child protection issues in the lower priority families persist, and child protection reports continue. The Montrose Home-Based Family Assessment Program assesses Department of Community Services registered families who are at risk of child removal because of chronic and/or severe child protection issues. Using an ecological perspective, the Montrose team conducts a five day comprehensive assessment in the family's home and community, and develops a caseplan to address child protection risks and family support needs. The assessment is voluntary, and the family is encouraged to participate in identifying the child protection issues and developing solutions. The primary goal of this study is to compare child protection outcomes, three years after referral, for 100 families who participated in a Montrose Assessment, and 100 Comparison Group families. The research questions also explore the relationship between demographic, family, parent, child and child protection service factors and child protection outcome. Outcome is measured by Family Outcome, Children's Outcome, Legal Status, Children's Placement, subsequent Child Protection Reports and Substantiated Child Protection Reports, and Type of Abuse. The results suggest that home-based family assessment is a cost-effective model that can measurably reduce the likelihood of further abuse, court intervention and out of home care even for complex, high risk families. The study also identifies specific child, parent and child protection service related variables that are significantly associated with child protection outcome. These findings have major relevance for current child protection policy and practice, and also for broader social policy that impacts on high risk families.

This study is an historical study of parent participation in school level decision making, particularly in curriculum issues, in relation to the Victorian Government policies of Devolution through the 1980s. It was conducted as a case study of one rural secondary school, examining how the role of parents in the school�s curriculum development and associated decision making structures may have changed during the decade from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Three conceptual models were established, which served as analytical frameworks for the field data: a Theory model of how school level participation could operate, a Policies model deriving from the expectations of the major Government policies of the time, and an Historical model based on research and analyses of practice in Australia and overseas. The findings indicate that little effective parent participation developed or took place in the school over the period under study. Major contributing factors identified are the lack of policy direction and official mechanisms, especially in implementation of change, the definition of appropriate participant roles, the culture of traditional authorities in education (teacher in the classroom, principal in school processes and bureaucracy in administration), and the local factors of community attitudes and demographic profile. While the local factors are significant, it is concluded that the policies did not provide sufficient direction or mechanism to overcome the entrenched culture of traditional authorities in schooling. Changes in practice were directed more by the influence of specific personalities in single situations than any development of general attitude or institutional structure.

The aim of the study was to investigate teacher practices to involve parents in homework in Namibian schools, particularly in the Ombuumbuu cluster in the Onesi circuit. The problem was conducted by a literature study and empirical investigation. The literature review explored the views of teachers regarding the involvement of parents in their children's homework, the need for parent involvement in homework and an exploration of models of effective practices to ensure parent involvement in homework. The empirical study investigated the nature and effectiveness of teacher practices to involve parents in homework in schools in the Ombuumbuu cluster. The findings indicated that although most teachers in the study agreed that parent involvement in homework is important for learners' success, the literature review and the empirical investigation showed little parent involvement in homework in many schools. Based on the literature and the empirical investigation, recommendations were made for teachers with regard to the improvement of parent involvement in homework. / Educational studies / M. Ed.

Recent factors identified as contributory to poor mathematics performance in South Africa include lack of parental involvement coupled by the divorce of mathematics education to children’s everyday lives. This exploratory study, therefore focused on home activities grandmothers engage their Grade 2 grandchildren that may promote mathematical skills of Foundation Phase learners. This study followed a qualitative, interpretive and case study research design, to explore home activities grandmothers engage their Grade 2 grandchildren that may promote mathematical skills of Foundation Phase learners. A small scale study of six grandmothers and three Grade 2 teachers were sampled through purposive and snowball sampling. In line with the protocol of the case study, semi-structured individual face to face interviews and shadowing were used to collect data. One striking feature of the main findings was the diversity mathematics applications home activities contained. These include physical, financial and fun playful home activities. Data also revealed that these home activities could reinforce numbers and what numbers mean; reinforce shape recognition and spatial relationships; complement matching, classification and sorting and reinforce measuring and time. This implies that curriculum must incorporate children’s social capital. Both teachers and grandmothers acknowledged that children’s mathematics education is complex and an effective partnership between grandmothers and teachers is needed if children are to be competent in mathematics.

This study examines the perceptions and experiences of school stakeholders about the practices of participative management in a Namibian Secondary School. Data was collected by using interviews, observation and document analysis. The study revealed that participative management has some benefits for the school such as it promotes democracy in school management, school as an open system, sharing of ideas and skills, teamwork and that ownership and commitment enhance the chances for organization change. Participatory decision making and shared leadership are the practices of PM that emerged from this study. However the school does experience challenges such as lack of knowledge on the practice and potential of PM in school management and leadership, illiteracy among parents that prevent them from participation in management and autocratic management practices from some members in formal leadership. The study suggests that trust, relationships and openness are good interpersonal skills that can help enhance the practices of PM in the school. Other strategies were to sensitize stakeholders on the practices of PM.

This thesis looks at what choice of medium of instruction (MOl) parents in a rural village in KwaZulu would make if they had the opportunity to choose. The background to this choice goes back to 1979, when Education and Training Act No. 90 established the mother tongue as MOl from Sub A to Std 2 in Department of Education and Training (DET) primary schools, followed by a sudden transition to English medium of instruction - (EMl) in Std 3. Though by 1990 98% of the schools had opted for EMI, conditions were not favourable for a sudden transition and the policy led to high drop-out rates. The problems encountered by teachers and learners were researched and documented by Macdonald in the Threshold Project Reports (1990). Although the Minister initially ignored the Project's findings, in May 1991 he admitted that his department's language policy was leading to serious educational disadvantages. The explosive situation that culminated in the 1976 school uprisings led to the amendment of the Act. There was concern among people involved in educational language policy that parents had not been given sufficient information to make informed educational choices. They feared that many parents would, largely out of ignorance, opt for straight-for-English, when in fact the conditions in the schools were not conducive to the success of that choice option. The widespread assumption about the parents choosing straight-for-English was based on anecdotal evidence. I decided to investigate this matter in the Nongoma area. My findings pointed to very healthy attitudes towards the mother tongue and there was even a measure of understanding of the place of mother tongue instruction in the beginner classes. But even though the respondents wanted their language to be respected, they also wanted their children to acquire a good education in English, so as to be eligible for jobs in an economy that emphasises the importance of English.

The aim of this study was to explore the roles of the parent SGB members in the School Governing Bodies (SGB) of two selected rural primary schools in the King Williams Town District. This was achieved by applying the qualitative approach within the parameters of the interpretivist paradigm. Structured interviews, semi structured interviews, document analysis and non-participatory observation methods were used at two sites that were purposely sampled. The samples in both schools were made up of SGB chairperson, SGB secretary, treasurer, one additional member, principal and non SGB parents. From the findings it emerged that the principal and SGB chairperson work in partnership in the business of school governance. However, principals seemed to dominate their SGB chairpersons who in most cases seem to be less competent than the principals. Parent SGB members seem to be dependent upon the educators in most cases on issues of school governance and they do not differentiate between their role and that of the SMT. Most SGB subcommittees seem to be dysfunctional and it was clear from the data that educators were the persons who dealt with school finances and matters of procurement. The majority of parent SGB members do not know what policies the school must adopt.

The aim of this study was to explore fathers’ role in supporting their children’s learning in selected urban primary schools in the East London Education District. Epstein parental involvement theory informed the study. The study was located in the interpretivist research paradigm and it qualitative in nature. It followed a case study research design. Participants were selected through the use of purposive sampling. A total of fifty two (52) participants were selected and these included school teachers, fathers and learners. Semi-structured interviews (for school teachers and fathers) and focus group interviews (for learners) were used in the four selected primary schools. The data was coded and thematic content analysis was used. The findings from the research indicated that fathers’ and teachers had a very limited understanding of fathers’ support in children’s learning. They generally thought that it was confined to activities done at school such as payment of school fees and levies, providing labour for the construction or renovation of school buildings and providing teaching/learning resources. Participants confirmed that the majority of fathers were too poor and with low education to be meaningfully involved in their children’s learning. However, there were a few fathers who believed that their socio-economic status did not prevent them from participating in their children’s learning. They actually indicated useful ways in which they could be involved. It was found that a minority group of fathers who were unemployed spent time helping their children in their learning whilst, those working worked long hours and had no time to help their children. Among the significant findings of the study was the fact that educated fathers were too involved in their children’s learning and even reserved time on weekend to be part of their children’s life and learning. The research also revealed that fathers and teachers had wrong perceptions about themselves and each other in connection with limited fathers’ support in their schools. The study recommends, among other issues, enhanced school/parent partnership with emphasis on the involvement of fathers in academic activities meant to improve their children’s learning.

Thesis (MTech (Education Management))--Peninsula Technikon, 2002 / In this thesis it is argued that attempts by teachers to 'simulate' middle class home based reading practices in working class schools is not effective in building a reading culture among young learners. The "mismatch' between learners' home and school cultures inhibits this. Instead, an understanding of the different ways in which learners construct their view of literacy through their interactions at school should be sought. This can be achieved through an analysis of a range of literate actions and interactions in the school context. As reading is associated with academic success more generally" it is proposed that integrating supplementary reading into mainstream academic subjects, particularly ,,"here those subjects are interesting to learners, is more effective in the promotion of reading practices than the traditional provision of supplementary reading material. Thus, it is proposed that supplementary reading should be introduced to support mainstream academic work, particularly in those subjects which are of interest to learners at this level. But offering learners a variety of reading situations in this research project. it was found that learners felt more "empowered' to make reading choices and to become intrinsically motivated to read. What has emerged from this research is that children's reading is very complex - and if it is to be adequately supported, it is likely to need a "multipronged' approach, By this it is meant that it not sufficient to offer supplementary reading texts and activities at school when these are not consistent with practices in the home.