Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 140-144). Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 94-98).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-98). Also available in print.

This study explored secondary school teachers’ experiences of their principals’ use of power and control at schools in the Matlosana area in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district, North West province. The aims of the study were to (i) explore and describe secondary school teachers' experiences of their principals’ power and control at school, (ii) explore how their principals’ power and control affects secondary school teachers at school, and (iii) provide suggestions for secondary school teachers to help them to deal with their principals’ power and control at school. The theoretical framework was based on a number of theories of power and control. The study was situated in an interpretive paradigm. The researcher chose a qualitative research design and methods that were appropriate for a phenomenological approach. The participating teachers were purposefully selected for the data-generation process that involved photo-elicitation-narratives (written) and photo-elicitation group interviews. Ethical requirements were met by ensuring confidentiality and the anonymity of these participants. The following criteria were applied in order to ensure the trustworthiness of the study: truth value (credibility), applicability (transferability), consistency (dependability) and neutrality (confirmability). The data analysis was done by means of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). The main themes that emerged from the data analysis process were: * Theme 1: principals’ expression of power and control evoked a range of feelings in secondary school teachers, and * Theme 2: teachers were oblivious to their own role in managing their experiences of their principals’ power and control at school. The findings of the study were used to provide suggestions for secondary school teachers to help them to deal with their principals’ power and control at school and to sustain their overall well-being. / MEd (Educational Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This article offers a perspective on adolescents' experiences of aggression in a secondary school, with a focus on the manifestation, contributing factors, consequences, and learners' opinions on aggression. An inductive qualitative research approach was chosen, where learners wrote about their experiences and participated in focused semi-structured interviews. Central themes were derived by means of thematic content analysis. The results revealed that a substantial number of learners experienced negative feelings about aggression at school and that aggression was related to individual characteristics, the adolescent's developmental stage, socialisation, status, competition, home environment, prior experiences, learnt behaviour and the effect of the media and music. Aggression was present among all genders. ages and cultures in school. It seemed to have a higher prevalence among boys, but was also significantly present among girls. Physical and emotional bullying had a high prevalence. which showed that bullying is problematic at schools. Passive aggression was mostly present in the form of oppositional behaviour towards authorities at school and educators are often verbally abused and ignored by learners, but their classrooms are also damaged. Individual characteristics, interpersonal relationships, multicultural interaction and a lack of sufficient social skills contributed towards many acts of aggression. Aggression was prominent in the reciprocal relationships between adolescents and their social environment. Being part of a group and forming a social identity are very important. Confiding in groups may expose learners to peer pressure, which may lead to activities and behaviour that are aggressive in nature. There were reports of discrimination and it seemed that learners get along better with others who share an equal status. This may possibly explain why aggression seemed less between white English-speaking and black English-learners, while it was more common between white Afrikaans and white/black English-speaking learners. Increased social contact between members of different social groups could reduce prejudice if these persons have an equal status. Exposure to aggression had emotional consequences, and some learners were prone to feelings of anger, fear, depression, being controlled and a loss of self-content. Behavioural responses included retaliation, pacifism, vandalism and suicide. Exposure to aggression (directly and indirectly) provoked several responses. These responses may be emotional or behavioural in nature. Emotions such as fear and anger and feeling overwhelmed, depressed and helpless may be elicited in response to aggression. Some learners may retaliate towards an aggressive incident through physical or verbal behaviour; others may withdraw and avoid social interactions. Learners may direct their aggression towards others (people and objects) or themselves. In the case of the latter, it may lead to depression, self-harm or even suicide. No single factor propels an adolescent to act aggressively. Instead, the causes of such behaviour are complex and multifaceted. Most participants in this research experienced aggression at school as unhealthy. Aggression may have emotional and behavioural consequences such as disruption, discomfort and disturbance of normal functioning. Although aggression seemed relatively under control at this particular school, there are signs of an increase in aggression and in the severity of some of the incidents, and of the possibility of desensitisation towards aggression, with the agonising possibility that aggression is serving as a form of entertainment for some learners. The need for learner involvement, school guidance programmes and life-skill training was prominent, accompanied by the need for school counsellors to assist in the management of aggression. Teachers must have better knowledge of the adolescent developmental phase so that they could understand and identify behavioural problems among learners. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The general aim of this thesis is to examine and explain how education fosters future citizens when Swedish upper secondary schools work actively with entrepreneurship in school. Toward this aim, two research questions are asked: How are students governed and how do students govern when focus is on entrepreneurship in school? How do teachers relate to entrepreneurship in school? The study took place in a school development program with a focus on teachers developing their abilities and working with entrepreneurship in schools. Four studies presented in four articles form the cornerstones of the thesis. The empirical data was collected during 2013– 2014 in three of the participating schools. Different methods were used. The first step was reading and analysing policy documents, followed by observations in the classrooms, interviews with the teachers with the help of performance maps, and interviews with the students in gendered focus groups. In total, 14 teachers and 90 students were involved in the study. The schools were geographically spread and represented both public and independent schools. For this study an abductive approach was used, which means that the empirical data were collected and first studied unbiased. Various theoretical models were chosen to find answers to the specific research questions; thus, a connection between the theory and the empirical data was made. The first article examines whether a citizen with entrepreneurial abilities is fostered in school when the concept of entrepreneurship has a place in the curriculum. This article also analyses the curriculum (Gy11) and more specifically what can be read under the heading The Task of the School. The main result from this study shows that students are emphasising entrepreneurial abilities over other abilities. The second article draws a comparison between John Dewey’s ideas of progressive education from the early 1900s and the teaching methods that have come to be advocated for developing student ́s entrepreneurial abilities. The main purpose of progressive education is to foster a democratic citizen; here I could observe that techniques for teaching entrepreneurship are comparable to progressive education, but the purpose is not the same. The purpose of entrepreneurship in school is primarily to foster individuals who are active and responsible for their own future. Michael Foucault's concept of governmentality is the focus of article three, which explores how students are governed and shaped when entrepreneurship in school is emphasised, and it explores whether boys and girls are governed in different ways. The analysis of the result indicated that the students were governed in three different ways in the three school contexts, and girls and boys were governed in different ways both among the schools and within the schools. The fourth article addresses how the teachers relate to entrepreneurship in schools in light of new reforms, marketization, more regulation and the demands of being an entrepreneurial teacher. The result shows three narratives: the cool teacher, the stressed teacher, and the frustrated teacher, each handling entrepreneurship in school in different ways. This thesis shows that the entrepreneur has come to be presented as a hero and entrepreneurship as a solution to cope with challenges—to the global economy, but also for coping with ourselves and our own lives. It also shows that fostering a democratic citizen is subordinate to fostering citizens with entrepreneurial abilities, as the regime of truth is to become the entrepreneur. The students are both governed and governing toward that direction. And even if teachers have different ways of approaching entrepreneurship in schools, the will to be the entrepreneurial teacher and to foster entrepreneurial citizens is clear.

This study investigates mathematical knowledge for teaching. One Grade 8 teacher was interviewed and observed for one week while teaching algebra to 8th graders. I focused on mathematical problems that confronted her as she went about her work, the mathematical work of teaching she grappled with, the knowledge resources she called on as well as the algebraic activities that she presented to her learners. The analysis shows that she wrestled with explaining, representing, questioning, defining, working with learners’ ideas while restructuring tasks was entirely absent in this practice. It was interesting to see that learners were exposed to representational, transformational and reading activities of algebra and not the generalizing and justifying activities of algebra. The analysis further shows that this teacher drew on mathematics, curriculum and her experience in order to sustain her practice. Based on the findings of this study I argue that mathematical knowledge for teaching in this practice is empirical, with a strong focus on conventions as well as terminology; and is characterized by representational, transformational and reading activities.

The arrival of Smartphones has changed the way young people communicate with one another. These devices allow youngsters to have continuous access to their social world away from the prying eyes of adults. Unfortunately, increased access to online networking provides new means through which they can be bullied. Case study methodology employing mixed methods was adopted. The study consisted of two distinct phases and had two separate aims. During phase 1 of the study, a total of 352, Year 7 and Year 10 students were asked to complete a questionnaire, the aim of which was to investigate the prevalence and extent of cyberbullying amongst students. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that students were reluctant to report their experiences of unpleasant cyber incidents to school staff. Phase 2 of this study investigated this finding further. A total of 18, Year 7 and Year 10 students participated in three separate focus group discussions, the purpose of which was to explore students' views on what actions need to be taken in schools to support the reporting of incidents of cyberbullying to staff. The results from the questionnaire data revealed that Smartphones are deeply embedded in young people's lives even among those from the most socially deprived areas of England. Over a quarter of the students indicated that they had experienced any one of ten different unpleasant cyber incidents. The findings also suggested that much of the cyberbullying occurred within the context of students' social relationships in real life. Data from the focus group discussions highlighted that students wanted access to a diverse range of reporting routes. Notably, students stressed the importance of raising the profile of anti-bullying initiatives within school. Once this was embedded, students perhaps would be more willing to assert their rights and report incidents of bullying. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to extending the focus of e-safety education beyond both technological solutions and stranger danger. Highlighting the differences between relationships in the real and virtual worlds to students is discussed. There is also a focus on engaging students in debate around ethical questions such as, identifying their rights in relation to bullying and learning to manage their own interpersonal conflicts.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Teachers, during various seminars, workshops and departmental meetings, continuously complained about the inadequacy of the grade 9 biology textbook used in the Eritrean secondary schools. Among others, the teachers concerns has provided a necessary stimulus for embarking on this research which sought to determine the role, quality readability and relevance of the Eritrean grade 9 biology textbook, based on the teachers' and students' perceptions. Interviews, questionnaires, Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index were used to collect the data. The interview and questionnaires provided information on how the textbook was being used by both teachers and students. In addition they provided information about quality of the textbook and its relevance to the daily life experiences of the students. Moreover, Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index provided information on the readability of the textbook. The finding of this study reveals that both teachers and students use the textbook as the major source of information. Also, the factors that determine quality of the textbook were found to be poor except the physical features and organisation. With respect to relevance, very limited attempts were made to link biology to the daily life experiences of the students. The Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index show that the students clearly experience difficulty in understanding what they have read. In conclusion, this study makes some recommendation to writers on how to improve the quality of the textbook. The results obtained in this study are by no means exhaustive. Finally, areas warranting further investigation are suggested.

The Evaluation of the effectiveness of the various aspects of our educational activity has long been practiced. Such evaluations have resulted in greater efficiency and widespread improvements in the educational fields. Continued appraisal of those aspects of our extracurricular programs that will result in greater efficiency is an ever present need; and the need for continual improvements in the field of extracurriculum finances assumes greater importance now, since, in the addition to a greater tax burden for education, parents must contribute to the bulk of the funds for the extracurriculum program, in one way or another, through meeting the needs of their children in school, and supporting their activities.