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This research project examines the successes and challenges of processes involved in the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) in six secondary schools. The focus of this study is limited to six secondary schools in the Umgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research seeks to critically trace the evolution of the IQMS as a policy strategy for the implementation of teacher appraisal in South African schools. The research also explores appraisal measures in place prior to the introduction of the IQMS in schools. The analytical framework uses forward and backward mapping as analytical tools to guide the data analysis. The methodology is a case study approach with qualitative interviews with principals, heads of departments and post-level one educators. The findings indicate that while progressing adequately, there are a number of areas of concern with the implementation of IQMS. The report makes several recommendations regarding these. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of educators on the effectiveness of the training for IQMS. The study explores just how effective the training was and what does this mean for the classroom practitioner in their implementation of the IQMS. Since 1994, the South African Department of Education has directed the educational system through a series of initiatives and has set quality assurance of the education system as its overriding goal. In 2003 the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) was gazetted as a national instrument for the evaluation of educators and schools. The appraisal is driven not only by the need to develop, but also to evaluate individual educators for salary and grade progression, affirmation of appointments, rewards and incentives. It is a particularly sensitive initiative and therefore the advocacy and training should address management issues of appraisal and be adequate to promote effective implementation. Currently, the training program employed by the Department of Education is the ‘cascade model’; starting with the national team and involving other teams at subsidiary levels. The one to one interviews and the group interviews comprise of level one educators who have gone through the process of IQMS. These respondents are at the lowest level of the cascade model of training used. The main finding was that most of the respondents were unhappy with the training they received and felt that the Department in terms of retraining, support and intervention programs did not support the initial training. The study recommends that it is essential for the Department to have a national / provincial training coordinator who is allocated a limited time slot at subsidiary training programs to clarify all the relevant issues and questions in the training program. This would give a national / provincial perspective on the implementation of IQMS. The study also recommends further training to be convened to clarify inconsistencies in the implementation of IQMS. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This research investigates the effectiveness of teambuilding in the whole School Development Department of an NGO based in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, KwaZuluNatal. My personal view is that teamwork is essential to the effective functioning of people in organisations. As I am the manager of the Whole School Development Department, I initiated a teambuilding programme at the beginning of 2002. My gut feeling is that teambuilding is the most important tool that can bring a team together in pursuit of common goals. By embarking on this research, I would be able to explore the perceptions of team members in respect of the effectiveness of teambuilding. From the outset it was believed that a case study approach would be most appropriate. This approach allowed the manager (researcher) to freely observe and interact with the subjects of the research. During the research, data was collected and analysed on an ongoing basis. Due to the nature of the research and the size of the population (eleven members in the team) the researcher was able to focus on the entire population. Results obtained revealed that the manager and team members were committed and dedicated to make teambuilding work. All the participants had a large say in how it would be run and all wanted the team to be as good as it could be. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This dissertation investigated the quality of service delivery at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Pietermaritzburg campuses. According to du Toit (2004:182) student satisfaction is important in the Higher Education sector due to its role in effective enrolment management. It is essential for student perceptions of service quality to be evaluated and managed by the university. Iacobucci, et al (1995:277) emphasized that service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to academic researchers studying consumer evaluations as a means of creating competitive advantages and customer loyalty. According to the South African Department of Education (2004:3), the creation of a new merged institution must ultimately be accompanied by standardised service levels. Hence this study attempted to investigate the service levels of the merged institution in Pietermaritzburg. The research set out to measure service expectations of higher education as well as measure service perceptions at the DUT. The research also set out to establish the SERVQUAL gap, which causes unsuccessful service delivery (Gap 5) and examine the dimensions which contribute to Gap 5. A SERVQUAL analysis was undertaken on the two Pietermaritzburg campus, viz. Riverside and Indumiso campus. The study found that on average customers had high expectations in tangibles, reliability and assurance dimensions and their highest perceptions were found in the assurance dimension. The study also found that management of DUT need to apply a varying degree of attention to the dimensions between the two campuses. The key recommendation to management of DUT was to introduce a Total Quality Management (TQM) system and a service marketing management plan. In addition to implementing this, management also needs to develop a service-minded workforce. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-193).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on June 8, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Comm. / Recent studies into the strategic management field indicate that there is a lack of knowledge on strategy implementation. The lack of comprehensive implementation frameworks is particularly raised by a number of scholars. Strategy implementation is one aspect of strategic management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) of the Mpumalanga Department of Education. The research problem in this report refers to the achievement of the quality objectives of the IQMS. This report aims to explore whether the IQMS objectives are met. It also investigates the effective implementation of the IQMS. This study aims to identify gaps, if any, in the implementation process of the IQMS. Definitions of strategic management and the strategic management process are explored in this report. Strategy implementation levers as described by the McKinsey 7-S Framework are discussed. The role of Total Quality Management and the Balanced Scorecard in successful strategy implementation is shortly mentioned. This study reflects on the perceptions of a sample of the “implementers” of the IQMS. Data is collected by means of a questionnaire that is structured around the implementation levers. It highlights positive/negative aspects/perceptions of the system and the current implementation thereof. The sample consists of a mixture of principals, educators and administrative staff from the various schools in the Nkangala district as well as officials in the provincial office. With respect to the strategy for implementation, respondents seem uncertain. The study indicates that there is uncertainty regarding the organisational structures and its effectiveness in achieving the IQMS goal of support and development of educators. There is also uncertainty regarding the systems available for strategy implementation. It appears that there is uncertainty regarding systems and how it manages to identify specific needs of educators regarding support and development. Educators appear to be uncertain regarding the shared values in the organisation and this can indicate a problem regarding effective communication of the common values and objectives of the IQMS. A shortage of qualified officials and the large learner-to-educator ratios in schools are identified as staff issues in this study. Training and feedback regarding the implementation of IQMS is also a problem. There is uncertainty amongst principals and heads of departments with respect to skills. The respondents indicate an uncertain perception as to whether the IQMS is able to identify specific needs regarding support and development, which is one of the objectives of the IQMS. Recommendations include a review of the actual IQMS and widespread participation is encouraged. Regular communication about and training on how to implement the actual IQMS is necessary. Regular feedback on the implementation process is needed.

D.Ed. / The research study focused on how teachers respond to policy demands given the challenges of rural education and dominating policy discourses and how their professional learning is shaped by these conditions and limitations. In particular I wanted to learn and document what and how teachers learn as they engage in Integrated Quality Management Systems. This study was conducted because there is an outcry of poor examinations results in some rural schools, which could be linked to poor implementation of policies. To respond to this outcry the Teacher Learning Framework which could be used by teachers was developed. The investigation into teacher learning processes when they engage in policy implementation was designed as an interpretive ethnographic study and was conducted in a disadvantaged rural primary school in Ladysmith, in KwaZulu Natal, in South Africa. The study involved five teachers and it was undertaken as an action research study in two cycles. The purpose of cycle one was to verify how teachers presented lessons in terms of policy requirements and guidelines, and authenticate how they learn in the process about their teaching, learners, themselves, and policy requirements. Lessons conducted by teachers were observed and the reflections were also made by two teachers. This was done also as a strategy to gather data. In cycle one, data revealed that teachers were not in a position to implement what they planned to implement. Teachers gave themselves time to plan for cycle two in order to improve on the shortcomings in cycle one. Teachers appeared to have prepared their lessons well, involving learners. Some teachers indicated clear lessons steps which were followed in the classroom. Even before they went to teach in class, they discussed their lessons plans which contributed to the improvement in cycle two. As a process of data gathering, five teachers were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. As a second level of data analysis which was towards developing the Teacher Professional Learning Framework, all the data types were visited with the aim of extracting and discovering codes and categories across data types. These codes and categories were used in a more thorough grounded analysis to formulate a Teacher Professional Learning Framework.

D.Ed. / Educator teams in secondary schools of the Kathorus area, lack the formal decisionmaking authority to implement the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) successfully. These teams lack the formalised horizontal structure that could empower them to decentralise decision-making authority among educator teams at all levels of the school and provide a lateral communication system in which members of teams communicate directly with one another in an organisation. The educator teams have not received effective training on the implementation of the IQMS from the Department of Education (DoE) and the DoE has not provided these teams with regular training programmes in their schools on implementing the IQMS successfully. Consequently, educator teams have been frustrated and have shown feelings of hopelessness, despair, and apathy, and a lack of commitment to their profession. The general aim of the study was to determine how educator teams can be empowered to implement the IQMS in secondary schools successfully. In order to investigate the empowerment of educator teams for implementing the IQMS successfully in these schools, the specific objectives were to: • explore the meaning of empowerment and determine the implications of empowerment for implementing the IQMS. • determine the perceptions of educators and school management teams (SMTs) on empowering educator teams to successfully implement the IQMS in secondary schools. The study introduced the problem of this inquiry and presented the background of the research problem, which was associated with the failure to successfully implement the IQMS in schools and the lack of authority of educator teams to implement the IQMS effectively. The problem statement, research questions and specific sub-research questions, the aims and objectives of the study and the research methodology, ethical considerations and the significance of the study were discussed.