MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

The in-service management training of school managers, especially heads of departments in these constantly changing times, is an issue which is long overdue in South Africa. Numerous initiatives, such as the Canada - South Africa Education Management Programme, the Whole School Improvement Workshop and the Workshop for School Management Teams are in-service management training programmes in the Mpumalanga Province which are aimed at the upgrading of management skills of school managers such as principals, deputy principals and heads of department. The aim of this study was therefore, to determine the impact of these programmes on the performance of heads of department. A literature study was conducted to give an overview of current in-service management training programmes in the Mpumalanga Province. An empirical study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with key-informants to establish the impact of current in-service management training programmes, such as the Canada - South Africa Education Management Programme, the Whole School Improvement Workshop and the Workshop for School Management Teams on the performance of school heads of department. Although these in-service management training programmes have some short-comings, it was found that they played a significant role in the upgrading of management skills of heads of department and thereby improving their performance. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Educational Management)

Limited evidence is available from the existing literature that relates teachers' career motivation to their attitudes towards special and inclusive education and their motivation for professional development in China. A mixed-method approach was used to investigate teachers' perspectives on their professional life in this respect. A sample of teachers at seven mainstream schools (N=326), two special schools (N=37) and student teachers from one university (N=565) in a city in China was identified. Triangulation of data collected from questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations facilitated the identification of cases for narrative enquiry. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was applied in data analysis and discussion. The key findings are as follows: First, teachers researched were mostly extrinsically motivated. Some were amotivated (unwilling) and were regretful of their career choice. The majority of them would have chosen other professions if possible. Second, special school teachers' extrinsic motivation for working in special schools became less controlled and more autonomous with the accumulation of knowledge and skills in teaching practice. Similarly, their initial unwillingness had altered to controlled extrinsic motivation or even autonomous motivation. Third, initial teacher education had prepared teachers with limited knowledge and understanding about special and inclusive education. This contributed to the less positive attitudes towards inclusive education. Despite a high awareness of, and motivation for professional development, most teachers were not taking an active initiative in engaging themselves in professional development. The thesis highlights the impact of teacher recruitment policies on career motivation, models of initial and continuing teacher training on teacher attitudes values and incentives for professional development. This study implies a correlation between the key themes and extends the discussion of the SDT model in terms of the continuum of extrinsic motivation.

Prior to 1997, an integrated legislative and policy approach to meeting the educational and care needs of children and young people, in the English context, had been absent. Separatist rather than integrated models of service delivery prevailed. In the early years specifically, research findings have supported the growing recognition internationally about the importance of good quality Early Childhood Education and Care, both economically and for later life achievements. In England, the former Labour Government (1997-2010) began to address the issues through a raft of policy initiatives, including the Childcare Act 2006 which removed the distinction between education and care in the early years. This Act introduced the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Early Years Professional, a new inter-disciplinary professional status and role imposed at graduate level, rather than grown organically. This unprecedented step also took government involvement in the professions to a new dimension as it involved itself explicitly in orchestrating a new graduate level profession. The range of training routes to achieve Early Years Professional Status and the backgrounds of those being researched are complex and evolving. Therefore, the overarching aim of this research was to explore the development of professional identity through a critique of the concept, implementation and impact of Early Years Professional Status as a new professional role and status. Mixed methods were used to support a pragmatic, flexible approach to gathering the collective and individual perceptions of those who undertook the pilot in 2006 and those who commenced one of the four pathways to Early Years Professional Status in 2007. Questionnaires, interviews and a focus group were undertaken to gather insights at the start of the process, after the award of the status and a year later. The same methods were employed in two phases with stakeholders to add a further dimension to the research. The mixed methods research design was underpinned by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory of Human Development, the model being envisaged with the Early Years Professional in the centre, rather than a child. This framework provided positive model for exploring a complex process. The development on Early Years Professional Status has not been linear and there have been several challenges. These include the starting point of a mixed economy of early years provision marked by variation in quality, poor qualification levels, low pay and low status, the initial confusing statement of broad based equivalency to teaching, political change and world recession. These last factors have supported greater understanding of the under theorised Chaotic System that Bronfenbrenner discussed in his final work. The research findings suggest that the development has been overwhelmingly welcomed, despite the lack of a clearly defined professional remit or being afforded the privileges ascribed to other professions. A new flexible professional space in the early years sector and children’s services is emerging at the intersection of health, social care and education. It is occupied by those who are developing a new holistic professional identity and others, who already had an established professional identity as a teacher, for whom completing Early Years Professional Status has been additional training, moving them towards being experts in their field. The training process and standards were affirmed and a community of practice is emerging, who would like to see a Continual Professional Development framework, a code of practice and an induction year for newly qualified Early Years Professionals. The roles of the Early Years Professional and the Early Years Teacher emerged as being complementary but essentially different. Evidenced also suggests that the Early Years Professional is a reflective professional, an advocate for all children and is leading and supporting quality outcomes. They are becoming a catalyst for change. However, the government has failed to recognise let alone celebrate the positive developments resulting from the workforce reform agenda and parents/carers and other professionals lack knowledge about the role, though those with Early Years Professional Status have not recognised their own role as wider change agents. The title Early Years Professional has not been widely welcomed, it is not being actively used and when it is, the acronym EYP prevails. Given this situation it could be opportune to rename the Early Years Professionals as Early Years Pedagogues, to reflect and celebrate a new flexible professional space at the intersection of health, education and social care that is occupied by an holistic leadership professional and an advocate for young children.

The purpose of this study was to validate a revised instrument measuring instructional leadership in public high schools. In addition, the study attempted to identify components of instructional leadership and to determine differences in the leadership functions performed by principals, assistant principals, and department chairpersons. Responses to the revised study instrument, Sources of Instructional Leadership (SOIL), were made by 300 certificated personnel in eight comprehensive high schools. Validation evidence was gathered in three phases: (1) responses by the entire sample to the Instruction-Related Contact (IRC) instrument; (2) responses of a subsample of 28 teachers from two schools to the Teacher-Initiated Contact (TIC) instrument; and (3) structured interviews with 12 of the 28 teachers. The validity of the revised SOIL instrument was supported by all three validation phases. The IRC instrument was most highly correlated with the SOIL instrument within roles, suggesting that the contact with teachers about instruction was strongly related to perceived leadership. Similarly, in the regression analysis, nearly half the variance in SOIL mean scores was accounted for by the IRC mean score for the same role. In addition, the coefficient of this variable was in general the only significant coefficient entered. The TIC instrument appeared to provide strong validation for the SOIL scores of the department chairperson, based on Spearman Rank Order Correlations, but was less effective for principal and assistant principal. The interview data provided validation for the relative ranking of roles on each item for the SOIL instrument, as well as the prediction of highest and lowest department chairpersons within a school. A factor analysis resulted in six or seven factors for each role, with the first factor accounting for the largest proportion of the variance. For the principal role the primary factor involved managerial functions in creating policies, facilitating communication, and securing resources to improve instructional programs. For both assistant principal and department chairperson roles, the primary factor involved direct instructional interventions. Descriptive statistics and ANOVAs provided evidence that the three roles perform different instructional leadership functions. Overall, the assistant principal performed the most important role, and the principal the least important.

The purpose of this study was to identify the standards and criteria of graduate programs and credential requirements for special education administrators; ascertain practicing administrators' representative functions and performance requirements; and determine if interrelationships exist among these variables. Data were ordered in a format that should contribute to planning at the national, state and university levels. Data were gathered from universities, state education agencies and special education administrators. Universities, states and practicing administrators agreed that coursework/competency requirements emphasizing training and experience in both general and special education is appropriate. Fifty-six percent of the universities reported offering the necessary coursework in both areas, but only thirty-eight percent of the states had such requirements. In general, universities had more specific requirements than states. However, the coursework emphases and state requirements were found to be inconsistent with administrators' perceptions of knowledge and skills important to their jobs. Currently, forty states require certification for special education administrators: 13 as Directors of Special Education, 7 as Special Education Supervisors, 8 as General Administrators with Special Education Endorsement, 12 as General Administrators. Additionally, four states offer but do not require administrative credentials and two states require teaching credentials only. It was concluded that graduate programs often do not prepare special education administrators for the roles they actually perform. University and state requirements should parallel one another and both should reflect basic skills and competencies required on the job. Graduate program requirements need to place more emphasis in the areas of law and legal issues, public relations, fiscal procedures, personnel management, supervision and evaluation--both as basic administrative competencies and skills and as they relate to special education in particular. Appropriate internship experiences should be required by states as well as universities to provide expertise in such areas as report writing and public relations.

<p>The Namibian education system was affected by a number of changes and challenges. These changes and challenges emanated from new political, financial and socio-economic trends in Namibia and the global village. Due to their strategic positions as educational leaders-cum-managers, principals were expected to lead and manage schools to overcome the challenges and meet increasing expectations of varied stakeholders. However, many secondary school principals especially those in rural areas could not cope with the changes and challenges. Rural secondary school principals did not have what it takes to manage and lead their schools effectively and efficiently. This study investigated the professional development of Namibian secondary school principles with special focus on rural secondary school principals in the Omusati Region, a region in north central of Namibia.</p>

Education remains one of the most gender imbalanced fields, with disproportionately fewer women in higher levels of leadership. Women who reach leadership positions in education experience many triumphs and tribulations during their tenures as principals, assistant superintendents, and superintendents. The experiences of these women in their various administrative levels of leadership can provide important insight into the reasons for their success as women superintendents in Texas. This research has probed the career trajectory of nine women who have successfully attained and retained superintendencies in Texas to determine what career decisions have helped them and the challenges these women have faced in their positions. A qualitative research method, open-ended interviews, yielded several findings of what women considered important in proceeding from teaching through the various levels and ending in becoming superintendents. According to nine successful women superintendents in Texas, there are specific characteristics one can bring to the table that would really make a difference: Communication, collaboration, compassion, preparedness, hard work, and passion. All nine participants overcame challenges when climbing to the higher levels of leadership in education. These women have achieved success in the superintendency, and several factors appear to have played into the success of these women who have achieved in education’s top position.

No description available.

This study had three main purposes. The first was to determine the perceptions of public school administrators toward desirability and toward feasibility of accountability items. The second was to determine the perceptions of public school teachers toward desirability and toward feasibility of accountability items. The third was to compare the perceptions of administrators with those of teachers and to indicate areas where they seemed to be in agreement or disagreement.