The purpose of this investigation was to determine sociopoli tical factors related to students' attitude towards school. A questionnaire was compiled based on the literature study and was completed by 306 students doing standards eight, nine and ten at a secondary school in Benoni. Five socio-political factors were identified, namely: school experience, extrinsic motivation, pedagogical deprivation, political socialisation and school administration. The empirical study revealed: * A positive attitude towards school by the research group. * Significant correlations between attitude towards school and the five independent variables. * No significant difference in attitude towards school of: boys and girls, standard eight, nine and ten students and students staying with parents or with guardians. * The maximum variance in attitude towards school explained by a combination of variables is 43.2%. Recommendations are made for the enrichment of the family and school environments and areas of possible future research postulated. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study aimed at establishing the role played by school management teams in managing teacher-occupational-stress in Sedibeng West District primary schools in the Gauteng province. The investigation was conducted using a quantitative research approach. The changes in South African schools’ curriculum which did not have a life span of ten years post-apartheid; the rate of absenteeism pointed out by the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshega. She believed that these may be caused by serious illness; therefore it impressed the idea of investigating the role played by school management teams in managing teacher-occupational stress. The study looks at the following two research questions:  What are the causes of teacher-occupational-stress?  What role can the school management teams play in managing teacher-occupational-stress? A questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection from primary schools in Sedibeng West district 8 in the Gauteng province. The researcher’s sample size was 32 (n=32). Findings were that the school management teams are playing their roles and supporting teachers. However, teachers find their teaching job to be stressful. The study found significant factors causing teacher-occupational-stress. One of the factors is failure by the school management team to acknowledge teachers hard work. Recommendations are outlined at the end of this study indicating how the Department of Basic Education can intervene and what the school management teams can do to manage teacher occupational stress. / Educational Management and Leadership

Literacy is a critical aspect of learning in the Foundation phase and forms an important foundation for learners’ education. Studies, however, show that many learners in Grade 3 cannot read at the expected levels. This problem has generated increasing public demand for schools in South Africa in general and Limpopo Province, in particular, to produce learners who are able to read for pleasure, learning and enrichment. It is against this background that this study sought to examine the management of an instructional programme for reading English as First Additional Language in Grade 3. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research approach was followed to collect data through interviews, observations and document analysis. The results revealed weaknesses in the instructional leadership of School Management Teams, which the study attributes to a limited understanding of their roles in this area. The qualitative case study method was used for this study. The sample for this study comprised three principals, three Foundation Phase Heads of Department and three Grade 3 teachers drawn from three primary schools. Three qualitative data collection instruments, namely, semi-structured interview schedule, classroom observation schedule and documents analysis were used to collect data. Data on the management of teaching and learning were collected during interviews from principals and HoDs. Data on how reading is taught and assessed were gathered through observation of teachers’ lesson presentations. Documents analysed were curriculum management files, monitoring tools, planning files, lesson plans, mark-schedules and learners’ workbooks. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyse data collected through the three instruments. This study found that School Management experience challenges in managing the teaching of English reading in schools. The study calls for continuous professional development for primary school principals and English teachers on the methodology of teaching English First Additional Language as well as training of Curriculum Advisors. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (PhD (Education Policy Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The decentralisation of power in education is part of a global process that has become part of the education reform policies of most countries. Decentralisation, which is typified by the redistribution of power to local levels, is claimed to serve a variety of ends from democratization to efficiency, empowerment of stakeholders to improved quality of education. It is, however, a complex process that is difficult to capture as power is seen to manifest in multiple ways. During the nineties Zimbabwe, against the background of a massive increase in enrolments, for a variety of reasons including the improvement of the quality of education, embarked on the re-distribution of administrative and financial power in the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture. The implementation of this policy revealed major discrepancies between the intentions of government and the way it translated in educational sites. The aim of this study is to explore how the intentions of decentralisation in education as a policy aimed that the improvement of the quality of education is experienced by school principals. An interpretative methodology with in depth interviews, focus groups, some observations and document analysis were employed to engage in the debates about decentralisation. Although this was a small study the findings concurred with studies of decentralisation in other countries where it was found that the re-distribution of power in education manifests differently in different contexts in the same country. In countries such as Zimbabwe where resource limitations and restructuring concomitantly took place the experience of principals revealed that conditions arose that could not be seen to be conducive to the improvement of the quality of education such as the ambiguity of the meaning of who is responsible for what, the power struggles as government was seen to recentralise crucial roles, increased workloads of principals due to the devolving of administrative and supervisory functions to school level, loss of teachers and other specialist functionaries conducive to a drop in standards and the challenge to parents who had to contribute increasingly to enable schooling of their children. These findings are indicative of the claims from studies in other countries that decentralisation as a policy for whatever reason is seldom more than political rhetoric to decentralise conflict. Exploring the intersection between the literature on decentralisation and parental involvement of education, however, revealed the opening up of other spaces that enabled local power relations to develop in creative ways as parents got increasingly involved in schools. Apart from the challenges related to the redistribution of power as authority delegated, devolved or deconcentrated from government, this study revealed that power manifests in relations and interactions not necessarily ascribed to the intentions of policy, neither as a substance or function only. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die desentralisering van mag in die onderwys maak deel uit van ʼn wêreldwye proses van onderwyshervorming. Desentralisasie, wat deur die herverspreiding van mag na plaaslike vlakke gekenmerk word, is veronderstel om aan ʼn verskeidenheid doele te beantwoord – van demokratisering tot die verhoging van doeltreffendheid, die bemagtiging van belanghebbendes, en die verbetering van onderwysgehalte. Desentralisasie is egter ‘n komplekse proses waaraan moeilik uitvoering gegee kan word, aangesien mag in verskeie gedaantes voorkom. In die negentigerjare het Zimbabwe, teen die agtergrond van ʼn drastiese toename in inskrywings, die herverspreiding van administratiewe en finansiële mag in die Ministerie van Onderwys, Sport en Kultuur onderneem. Dié stap is aan verskillende redes toegeskryf, waaronder die verbetering van onderwysgehalte. Die toepassing van die beleid het egter groot teenstrydighede aan die lig gebring tussen die regering se voornemens, en hoe dié voornemens uiteindelik prakties in onderwysinstellings ten uitvoer gebring is. Die doel van hierdie studie is om skoolhoofde se ervaring van onderwysdesentralisasie as beleid te ondersoek. Die studie is vanuit ‘n interpreterende benadering gedoen met diepte-onderhoude, fokusgroepe, ʼn paar waarnemings sowel as dokumentontleding. Ongeag die beperkte omvang van die studie, stem die bevindinge ooreen met dié van navorsing oor desentralisasie in ander lande, waar bevind is dat herverspreiding van mag in dieselfde land in verskillende kontekste verskillend realiseer. In lande soos Zimbabwe, waar herstrukturering te midde van hulpbronbeperkinge plaasgevind het, het skoolhoofde bepaalde omstandighede ervaar wat nié die verbetering van onderwysgehalte sou kon bevorder het nie. Dít sluit in onsekerheid oor die onderskeie partye se verantwoordelikhede; die magstryd toe die regering kernrolle sentraal beheer; swaarder werklaste vir skoolhoofde nadat administratiewe en toesigfunksies na skoolvlak afgewentel is; ʼn verlies aan onderwysers en ander spesialisamptenare, wat op sy beurt standaarde laat daal het, en ouers se groter verantwoordelikheid om al hoe meer by te dra ten einde hulle kinders se opvoeding te verseker. Hierdie bevindinge strook ook met dié van studies in ander lande, naamlik dat desentralisering as ʼn beleid om watter rede ook al selde meer is as politieke retoriek ten einde konflik te desentraliseer. Nadere ondersoek van die verband tussen navorsing oor desentralisasie, en dié oor ouerbetrokkenheid by onderwys het egter daarop gedui dat desentralisering wel nuwe moontlikhede kan ontsluit vir die skeppende ontwikkeling van plaaslike magsverhoudinge namate ouers al hoe meer by skole betrokke raak. Buiten die uitdagings met betrekking tot die herverspreiding van mag namate regeringsgesag gedelegeer, afgewentel of gedekonsentreer word, dui dié studie daarop dat mag soms ook in verhoudinge en wisselwerkings geopenbaar word wat nie noodwendig met die voornemens van die beleid verband hou nie, en dit mag voorts nie as net substansie of net funksie tot uiting kom nie.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Teachers in the South African educational context are being asked to meet an increasing number of professional demands. Teachers are expected not only to produce academic results and develop professionally, but also to play an affective role in the school. The paradigm used in this study is neo-liberalism. This allows the researcher to view the teacher as possessing technical or ‘hard’ skills as well as the less well-defined ‘soft’ or emotive skills. Here soft skills are defined as the interpersonal, human, people or behavioural skills needed to apply technical skills and knowledge in the workplace. A qualitative transcendental phenomenological research approach was selected in order to explore whether ‘excellent’ teachers from three schools in diverse economic settings in the Western Cape employed soft skills when teaching. The results of this study indicate that teachers perceived as ‘excellent’ exhibit intrapersonal behavioural, interpersonal conceptual and interpersonal affective soft skills. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Binne die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, word daar toenemend professionele eise aan onderwysers gestel. Daar word nie net van onderwysers verwag om akademiese resultate op te lewer en hulself te verbeter nie, maar ook om ‘n emotiewe rol in die skool te speel. Neo-liberalisme skep die paradigma vir die studie. Dit laat die navorser toe om die onderwyser te beskou as iemand wat oor tegniese of ‘harde’ vaardighede in die werkplek beskik, maar ook oor die minder omskryfde ‘sagte’ of mensvaardighede. Sagte vaardighede word gedefinieer as die interpersoonlike, menslike of gedragsvaardighede wat nodig is om tegniese vaardighede en kennis toe te pas in die werkplek. ‘n Kwalitatiewe transendentale fenomenologiese aanslag is ontwerp om te bepaal of onderwysers, wat gesien word as ‘uitstekende’ onderwysers, van drie skole in diverse ekonomiese omgewings in die Wes-Kaap, dieselfde sagte vaardighede gebruik wanneer hulle skoolhou. Die resultate van die studie dui aan dat onderwysers wat gesien word as ‘uitstekende’ onderwysers, intrapersoonlike gedragsvaardighede en interpersoonlike affektiewe sagte vaardighede ten toon stel.

La gestion des activités éducatives par la direction et le climat de l’école sont souvent étudiés en relation avec leur influence sur la variation de la réussite des élèves (Leithwood, Harris et Hopkins, 2008; Marzano, Waters et McNulty, 2005; Sherblom, Marshall et Sherblom, 2006; Witziers, Bosker et Krüger, 2003). Mais peu d’études abordent de façon explicite le lien entre la gestion de la direction et le climat d’école. La présente recherche veut donc contribuer à une meilleure compréhension du rapport entre ces deux dimensions du fonctionnement de l’école. Des analyses de type corrélationnel sont réalisées sur des données de questionnaire recueillies dans 49 établissements, auprès de 59 enseignants, 823 élèves de 2ème année du 3e cycle et 521 parents. En tenant compte des caractéristiques sociodémographiques des enseignants, des élèves et des écoles, les résultats tendent à montrer que l’estime des élèves envers leurs enseignants est liée à la fréquence des interventions de la direction en matière de supervision de l’enseignement ou celles visant à améliorer l’apprentissage et le rendement des élèves. / School leadership and school climate are often studied through their influence on the variation of the success among pupils (Leithwood, Harris & Hopkins, 2008; Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2005; Sherblom, Marshall & Sherblom, 2006; Witziers, Bosker & Krüger, 2003). But few studies explicitly approach the link between school leadership and school climate. Thus, the present study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between these two dimensions of the functioning of the school. Analyses of corelational type are realized on data collected by surveys in 49 schools, with 59 teachers, 823 pupils of 2nd year of the 3rd cycle and 521 parents. By taking into account sociodemographic characteristics of teachers, pupils and schools, the results tend to show that the respect of the pupils to their teachers is connected to the frequency of the interventions of the leader in the supervision of teaching or those to improve the learning and the outcomes of the pupils.

[pt] A política educacional brasileira tem propiciado a descentralização da educação entre as diferentes instâncias político-administrativas do Estado, e esta descentralização está sendo concretizada por meio de reformas em nível do sistema educacional e da escola. A descentralização administrativa, pedagógica e financeira da educação fundamental pública e a concessão de uma maior autonomia à escola trazem à tona o papel dos diretores de escola, responsáveis diretos pela condução da gestão escolar neste novo contexto. É nesse cenário que este estudo visa a contribuir para o conhecimento do perfil dos diretores da escola fundamental e dos estilos de gestão escolar prevalecentes no Brasil e no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, a partir de dados apresentados pelo Saeb 2001. Para tanto, a pesquisa levou em conta as principais contribuições da literatura nacional e internacional, atual sobre o tema, à luz das quais procurou compreender como os questionários do diretor e do professor do Saeb 2001 consideram esta literatura para captar as características dos diretores deste grau de ensino. A caracterização dos estilos de gestão e do perfil dos diretores dos alunos matriculados na 4ª série do Ensino Fundamental foi traçado com base nas informações coletadas por estes questionários, utilizando- se parcela da literatura educacional para abordar questões que se revelaram relevantes. / [en] Brazilian educational politics propitiates the decentralization of education among different political- administrative instances. This decentralization is being accomplished through reforms in the educational system and at school level. The administrative, pedagogic and financial decentralization in public fundamental education and the concession of greater autonomy to schools lead to a discussion about the role of directors, who are nowadays the persons directly responsible for school administration. In this new scenery the present study intends to contribute to the comprehension of the characteristics of fundamental school directors and of predominant administrative styles in Brasil and specifically in Rio de Janeiro state. The research is based on information presented in Saeb 2001. In order to achieve this objective the research considered the main contributions of current national and international literature about the subject. The aim was to understand how the director and the teacher questionnaires in Saeb 2001 take into consideration this literature in order to identify the characteristics of fundamental school directors. Part of educational literature was used to examine important aspects of the information collected through the questionnaires, leading to important conclusions about administrative styles and the characteristics of fourth grade directors.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:24:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elvira Maria Godinho Aranha.pdf: 929500 bytes, checksum: 538395afb8521eaa0e735d62f4fbfb45 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation aims to investigate the overall production process of shared meanings related to school administration, starting from the collaborative process developed between a researcher and the director of a municipal public school. More specifically, the aim of this research work is to elicit how the relationship between researcher and director allowed for the process, having its focus on building a more democratic and participatory school. Developed in a municipal school of Children Education in the City of São Paulo, this work is based on the methodology of Collaborative Critical Research - PCCol (MAGALHÃES, 1994/2007, 1998/2007, 2009p). Considering this kind of research suggests there should be learning and development for all involved, the theoretical frame of the study is based on the Socio-Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (TASCH), and taken into account are the discussions of Vygotsky, (1927/2004, 1934/2001, 1925-1930/2004, 1925/2004, 1930/2004, 1926/2004), Leontiev (1977, 1978, 1983, 2004), Daniels (1994, 2001, 2002), Newman & Holzman (1993/2002) and Engeström (1987, 1999 a, 1999b,1999c 7) on learning and development, awareness and mediation. It is also supported by the studies of Bakhtin´s Circle (1929-1930/2006, 1934-35/1998). The Activity focused in this study has been defined as director training. The analysis and discussion of results was based on clippings of selected interactions between the researcher and the director over nine meetings and guided by categories based on the texts of Bronckart (1999/2007), Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006), Pontecorvo (2005), Wertsch & Smolka (1993/1999) Brookfield & Preskill (2005). The results mentioned here show that: (i) the relationships developed between the participants enabled learning and development, (ii) the original meanings were re-signified and (iii) the interactions developed had an impact on the director´s action planning and suggested changes in the immediate context. They also point to the importance of building mediation devices which represented both the sharing of meanings and the opportunity to advance in what concerns the Director Training process Activity / Este trabalho tem como objetivo geral investigar o processo de produção de significados compartilhados sobre direção escolar a partir do processo colaborativo desenvolvido entre uma pesquisadora e a diretora de uma escola da rede pública municipal. Mais especificamente, é objetivo desta pesquisa compreender como e de que maneira a relação entre pesquisadora e diretora permitiu esse processo, voltado á construção de uma escola mais democrática e participativa. Desenvolvido em uma Escola Municipal de Educação Infantil da Cidade de São Paulo, está fundado na Pesquisa Crítica de Colaboração - PCCol (MAGALHÃES, 1994/2007, 1998/2007, 2009p). Considerando que este tipo de metodologia propõe a aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento para todos os envolvidos, o arcabouço teórico está embasado na Teoria da Atividade Sócio-Histórico- Cultural (TASHC) considerando as discussões de Vygotsky, (1927/2004, 1934/2001, 1925/2004, 1930/2004, 1926/2004), Leontiev (1977, 1978, 1983, 2004), Daniels (1993/1999, 2002, 2003), Newman & Holzman (1993/2002) e Engeström (1987, 1999a 1999b, 1999c), sobre aprendizagem e desenvolvimento, consciência e mediação. Apoiase também nos estudos do Círculo de Bakhtin (1929-1930/2006,1934-35/1998). O objeto da atividade focalizada neste trabalho é a Formação de Diretor. A discussão dos resultados foi realizada com base em recortes selecionados de interações entre a pesquisadora e a diretora ao longo de nove encontros. Está pautada em categorias desenvolvidas por Bronckart (1999/2007), Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006); Pontecorvo (2005), Wertsch & Smolka (1993/1999) Brookfield & Preskill (2005). Os resultados revelam que: (i) as relações desenvolvidas entre as participantes possibilitaram aprendizagem e desenvolvimento a ambas; (ii) os sentidos iniciais das duas participantes sobre direção foram ressignificados; e (iii) as relações desenvolvidas tiveram uma repercussão no planejamento das ações da direção e sugerem modificações no contexto imediato. Aponta, também, para a importância da construção de artefatos de mediação que representaram tanto o compartilhamento de significados como a possibilidade de avanço na Atividade Formação de Diretor

The purpose of this study was to uncover the feelings and reactions of students and their parents in regard to the nonpromotion experience. Families with children who had been retained at least once in grades one through eight were purposefully selected as units of study from one of four area school systems. A total of 52 family members from 22 family units participated in 46 separate, qualitative interviews. The information collected from the interviews was inductively analyzed. Building upon Schlossberg's theory for human adaptation to transitions, seven factors or coping resources emerged from the data that affected the adaptation of a parent or a student to a grade level retention. These factors fell into one of three categories--the characteristics of the individual, the characteristics surrounding the transition (the retention), and the characteristics of the individual's environment. The analysis revealed the following seven coping resources: self-definition of an individual, previous experience with retention, retention philosophy of the individual, feelings of empowerment connected to the retention decision, retention rationale or reason for the retention, sense of belonging to the school community, and support systems available to the individual. From the findings, the investigator reached the following conclusions: (1) regardless of their initial feelings toward a retention decision, most students, as well as other family members, eventually assimilated a nonpromotion experience; (2) the seven identified coping resources influenced the success of an individual's adaptation to a retention experience; (3) school personnel did little to initially prepare a child for a nonpromotion and generally offered little support to aid adaptation to the retention; (4) the relationships an educator developed with family members were essential in establishing a sense of trust and of cooperation between the home and the school; (5) school systems rarely provided parents of children in grades one through eight with the strategies necessary to academically aid a child within the home environment; (6) adherence to rigid, grade level curriculum placed undue stress on many students and their families, inadvertently reinforcing the acceptance of the practice of retention by parents and by students.

Abstract Not Available.