Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves I-IX). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1993. / Title from title page screen, viewed February 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Morreau (chair), Jeffrey B. Hecht, Maribeth N. Lartz, Jeanne B. Morris, William C. Rau, Keith E. Stearns. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-186) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2010. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/7/2010). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 178 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-178). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 9, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Edward Morreau, Ming-Gon John Lian (co-chairs), Gregory F. Aloia, Kenneth Strand, Robert Wazienski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-108) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1997. / Title from title page screen, viewed June 13, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Wayne A. Benenson, Gayle Flickinger, Connie Burrows Horton. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-170) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Joel Meyers, committee chair; Barbara Meyers, Ramona W. Matthews, Christine Siegel, committee members. Electronic text (146 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 15, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-135).

A full dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education Presented to the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences 2015 / This research project was conducted in 2010 and 2011 as a strategy to determine the effectiveness of a home-school partnership programme (HSPP) in a Grade R class. This study was an investigation into the empowerment of parents of Grade R learners in assisting the learning of literacy at home. Parents of Grade R learners attended a seven-week programme on ways of assisting their children. By attending the HSPP, parents and teachers were encouraged to form a link between home and school. The present study is grounded in Paulo Freire’s theoretical model of knowledge and acquisition as well as Bronfennbrener’s bio-ecological system. Reference is made to Costa’s sixteen Habits of Mind, which indicates how parents have grown in terms of their way of thinking. A qualitative approach was used. Focus group interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and footage from the local broadcasting studio were used to collect data. The sample size consisted of five participants who were interviewed during 2010 and five participants who were interviewed during 2011. These parents agreed to be part of the research programme. The key question of this study was answered: How can the HSPP assist parents with the learning of literacy at home? The results confirmed the positive impact that the programme had upon the parents. They wanted to assist their children at home but did not previously have the skills to do that. By gaining these skills, they became confident to use everyday objects to help their young children become literate. In conclusion, from the current research, it can be seen that if the home, the school and the community collaborate in a meaningful and sustained way, the future of our children’s education, especially in poverty-stricken areas where unemployment is rife, can be improved significantly in a constructive and long-term manner.

D.Ed. / In the literature survey of this study, the historic development of education in the RSA, from the arrival of the Dutch settlers in 1652, to the implementation of the state-aided school was discussed. Parental involvement throughout these years, was reviewed. The emphasis however, was a discussion on the state-aided school model since it became part of the South African education system in 1992; especially with regard to the additional functions and duties of parents in governing bodies. Although this school model had initially been called the Model C school, the name changed to the state-aided school and only recently to a type of public school. Organization and management of these schools nevertheless stayed basically the same. Part of the theoretical discussion were the numerous reasons for the implementation of this school model; amongst the most important being the fact that the state had reached its limit as far as the funding of education was concerned and that further financial input had to become the responsibility of parents and the community. The state-aided school was also the result of educational and political change in South Africa. White parents and teachers were concerned about their cultural and religious principles and saw in state-aided schools the possibility of satisfying these needs and values. Black, Coloured and Indian Education, as well as the rationalization and amalgamation of all education departments in the RSA into one Department of Education, also had an impact on the development of the state-aided school. The focus of this study however, was on the effective functioning of the governing bodies, consisting mainly of parents, in the state-aided schools. The crux of the problem, was greater parental involvement and whether these parents were able to manage the schools under their care properly. One of the concerns was that as teachers strive towards professional autonomy, parents would encroach upon their professional terrain. On the other hand though, some parents are not sufficiently encouraged or motivated to participate in school affairs.

D.Ed. / South African Education has been in a crisis, especially in the secondary schools where the majority of learners are blacks and where the academic performance of the grade 12 learners is poor. It is a challenge for all educational stakeholders to determine what contributed to the high failure rate in secondary schools where the majority of learners are blacks especially in grade 12. When learners fail grade 12 they experience many problems such as they may become negative about life and experience feelings of hopelessness, demotivation and guilt. It often seems as if nobody cares about these learners. However, educators, parents, learners, educational officials as well as the South African Government all blame each other for factors which contributed to the high failure rate of learners in grade 12. The main aim of this research was to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme to assist the parents and educators of the learners who failed grade 12. This was done so that parents and educators would be able to assist those learners who failed in order to accomplish the goal of becoming educationally well trained persons. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, evaluative contextual study was done to develop a programme. Four steps were utilised to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme to assist parents and educators of the learners who failed grade 12. The first step dealt with situation analysis. Phenomenological individual interviews were conducted with the learners who failed grade 12 and their parents and educators. The interviews were conducted in order to explore and describe the phenomenon. A literature control was utilised in order to support the findings that were obtained from the interviews. The second step involved the development of the psycho-educational programme. The results from the interviews and the survey list of Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968:423) were utilised in order to develop a conceptual framework of the psycho-educational programme to assist parents and educators of the learners who failed grade 12. The third step involved the implementation of the psycho-educational programme to assist parents and educators. The fourth step involved a single case study to evaluate the psycho-educational programme to assist parents and educators of the learners who failed grade 12. Through this programme parents and educators are empowered with the necessary knowledge, which will assist them to help learners who failed grade 12 change their behaviour, and to assist them to be positive about life and to accomplish their goal.