No description available.

The purposes of this study were to determine whether school board presidents' perceptions regarding competency-based testing in Texas were related to the (1) size of the school district represented by those surveyed, and (2) length of service of the board presidents. The dissertation includes an introductory chapter, a review of related literature, the procedures for collection and treatment of data, the presentation of data, and the summary, conclusions, and recommendations.

This historical and research review tracks how centralized policy has impacted school boards and the position of the superintendency, as related to local workforce, over time. The potential costs and benefits of such a shift are examined including the key themes of equity, special interest influence, and public democratic participation. Additional work should be done to examine such impact. Institutional theory is proposed as a potential lens for future analyses.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / School Management Team (SMT) members struggle to accommodate learners with diverse learning difficulties as prescribed by the Education White Paper 6. This is despite the workshops, which are conducted to develop SMTs to accommodate learners with disabilities and practice Inclusive Education (IE) in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the SMT’s competence in the implementation of Inclusive Education in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province. The study followed a qualitative approach where a case study design was adopted. Two officials from the Inclusive Education section of the Department of Education and six SMT members from three schools in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi- structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Data was analysed through content analysis, and followed the Creswell’s model of data analysis. The results of the study were as follows: there is a lack of human and physical resources, duration of time taken for conducting workshops was too short, and the lack of follow-up programmes. Therefore, these results may imply that the current professional model of teacher development through workshops is not effective, and that new strategies are needed to improve teacher development programmes. The study suggests that further areas of research should include time allocation for conducting workshops on Inclusive Education, resources allocation and follow-up programmes. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

No description available.

The major purpose of this study was to ascertain the views of school board members concerning the impact of reform and restructuring initiatives on their school districts and on their power and authority to govern. Data were gathered regarding the frequency of reform programs and cross tabulated with selected demographic variables to include region, size of district, and school community type. These data provided an overview of how board members perceived where and to what extent reform programs were impacting on districts. Additionally, members were asked about the quality of reforms in their districts to determine if reforms were having a positive impact, negative impact, or no impact on the quality of education. Lastly, board members were asked to share their perceptions of power and authority to govern their school districts. Did they perceive a shift in power? If changes in power and authority were taking place, who or what was gaining or losing power? Were these shifts related to reform initiatives from the national, state, and local level? Descriptive research methods were employed in this study. A stratified, random sample of school board members was identified from the list of subscribers to The American School Board Journal. Of the 23,958 board members in the population, 6,000 or 23% were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire. The response rate was 22.4%. The study was sponsored by The American School Board Journal, published by the National School Boards Association, the national professional organization for school board members in the United States. The study revealed that reform programs are widespread across regions, district size, and urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Northeastern region appeared less involved in reform than other regions. Additionally, school board members expressed positive attitudes about reform and appeared to associate implementation with improved quality of education. School board members associated reform impetus with local initiative and felt more powerful when involved in the reform process. Despite the positive attitudes about reform and restructuring, many board members did not believe much reform was occurring in their districts and did not believe their power and authority was changing. However, many board members believed that if they had more money and fewer budget concerns more reform would occur. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to identify the priorities that Texas school board presidents perceive to be most important in their role as a school board member; (b) to describe the specific activities, behaviors, and actions that Texas school board presidents say they take to support the priorities they identify; and (c) to compare with and contrast board members' reported priorities, activities, behaviors, and actions with the eight characteristics of effective school board practices. A mixed-methods research design was used to explore school board presidents' perceptions of their role and its relationship to effective board practices. Quantitative data were gathered using an online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were obtained from one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were manually coded using a three-step, hybrid-coding process, as well as from an observation protocol. Evidence from this study identified four top priorities: accountability driven actions, a untied team with the superintendent, aligned and sustained resources, and a vision of high expectations. Eleven subthemes emerged that describe the activities, behaviors, and beliefs that support these priorities including: clear goals, community partnerships, data-driven informed, governance, human capital, policy adoption, professional development, strong communication, student outcomes, training, and trust.

The dawn of democracy in South Africa also led to the democratization of schools which added the role of ex-officio member of the School Governing Body (SGB) to that of principal as school manager. Many previous studies have left a gap in understanding how school principals manage their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs. Hence, this qualitative study which sought to explore how principals perceive their roles as managers and ex-officio members of SGBs within their schools and their experiences of performing their roles in school management and governance; to identify the challenges experienced by principals in performing their dual roles; and to establish how school principals manage the identified challenges. Semi-structured interviews with, and documents received from, six participant principals were used for the purpose of collecting data for this study. The participants were selected from one circuit in a rural area of Limpopo Province. The six schools, used in this study, were three secondary schools and three primary schools. All the schools are „no fee paying schools.‟ Most of the parents are illiterate and unemployed. The selected primary schools are among the schools which obtained high scores in the Annual National Assessment (ANA). For the secondary schools, the performance of learners in their Matriculation examination was used as the selection criteria. The selected schools were, therefore, those with good academic performance in the ANA and the Matriculation examination and demonstrated good governance. The findings of this study show that the principals who participated in the study seem to struggle in coping with their teaching, management and governance roles. Most of the principals admitted that there is a need to balance their roles, which is not easy, due to other factors, such as teaching, social responsibilities and a lack of time – amongst others. Working with illiterate SGB members is an extra burden for principals as ex-officio members as they have to train them and, at times, perform duties that are often the responsibility of other members of the SGBs. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This aim of this research was to study and bring to the fore the way ELSEN schools are being governed in the Western Cape. The hope is for more research to be done in this area of public policy which could result in the improvement of school administration. The manner in which education is organised, governed and funded impacts directly on the process and outcomes of learning and teaching. However, good governance assumes that public service delivery is the implementation of public policies aimed at providing concrete services to the people. The underlying problem here is the fact that some schools seemed to be governed better than others, while the regulatory and funding policy is the same. The key questions that the researcher sought to answer in this research are the following: • Is the Section 21, South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) being properly implemented and does it enhance the governance of ELSEN schools? • Why is the governance of ELSEN schools better in some schools than in others if they are based on the same governance provisions and administered by the same department? • What should therefore be done to ensure effective and efficient school governance in all the ELSEN schools in the Western Cape? The methodology used was a comparative analysis through a sampling case study between Jan Kriel School, a fully developed and well-resourced school for epileptics and specific learning disabilities in Kuils River, and Thembalethu special school for the physically disabled, a disadvantaged poor school from Gugulethu. The research investigated how the school governing bodies (SGB) of these schools are structured, how they function in terms of the regulations provided in the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) as well as broadly the system of school governance of the ELSEN schools in the Western Cape. Appendix E shows a list of all the ELSEN schools in the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The two cases of governance at the Jan Kriel and Thembalethu schools have therefore been studied as a microcosm of the ELSEN schools in the entire Western Cape. The researcher wanted to compare and analyze how the well-resourced and advantaged ELSEN schools and the disadvantaged poor schools implement the provisions of the South African Schools Act relevant to ELSEN school governance in order to achieve better governance and good management. The crucial issues pertaining to the effective governance of ELSEN schools as proposed during the preliminary study established in the research and confirmed in the findings as the key variables that determine the level of school governance are the following: • Financial resources; • Trained SGB officials; • Proper planning and good administration; • Effective involvement of parents in particular and all the other stakeholders; • Discipline and a code of ethics. In the final analysis, some solutions with a view to solving this problem have been suggested by the researcher in the form of recommendations. However, as indicated in the conclusion, the final responsibility to expand the scope of these findings and to oversee the implementation of these recommendations rests with the WCED.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis seeks to demonstrate the potential of school governing bodies to further the process of democratising South African society. Among the main features of the democratisation of South African education, is the decentralisation of educational governance. In this process the decision-making authority has been devolved from central government to the local school level, thus preparing school communities for self-government and autonomy. The establishment of school governing bodies at all public schools in the country brings South Africa in line with current international trends for democratic local community participation and control in education. When this aspect of the education systems of three countries, the United States of America, England and Australia, are compared with South Africa's, it shows the extent of the latter's democratisation of educational governance. The background to local community participation in South African education according to various pieces of legislation passed, their failure to reform education, and other aspects which led to the promulgation of the Schools Act (1996), places school governing bodies in South Africa in proper historical context. An examination of the Schools Act reveals its democratic nature and identifies those aspects of school governing bodies which have the potential of furthering the democratisation process. The challenges that the changes in school governance bring with them are analysed to highlight their implications and significance for school governing bodies. School governing bodies offer new and exciting opportunities for enterprising and enthusiastic communities. School governors should, therefore, be urged to seize the opportunity to participate in school governance and in this way play their role in furthering the democratic transformation of South African society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis poog om die potensiaal wat skoolbeheerliggame het om die proses van die demokratisering van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing te bevorder, aan te toon. Een van die hoofeienskappe van die demokratisering van die Suid- Afrikaanse onderwys, is die desentralisasie van onderwysbestuur. In hierdie proses is besluitnemingsgesag afgewentel vanaf sentrale regeringsvlak na die plaaslike skoolvlak, waardeur skoolgemeenskappe voorberei word vir self-beheer en outonomie. Die totstandkoming van skoolbeheerliggame by alle openbare skole in die land, bring Suid-Afrika in lyn met huidige internasionale tendense rakende die demokratiese plaaslike gemeenskapsdeelname aan beheer en bestuur in die onderwys. Wanneer hierdie aspek van die onderwysstelsels van drie lande, die Verenigde State van Amerika, Engeland en Australië, met die van Suid-Afrika vergelyk word, dui dit die omvang van die demokratisering van onderwysbeheer en -bestuur in die Suid-Afrikaanse opset aan. Die agtergrond van plaaslike gemeenskapsdeelname in die Suid- Afrikaanse onderwys volgens verskeie stukke wetgewing, hulle onvermoë om die onderwys te hervorm, en ander aspekte wat tot die afkondiging van die Skole Wet (1996) gelei het, plaas skoolbeheerliggame in die regte historiese konteks. 'n Ondersoek van die Skole Wet dui aan dat dit demokraties in wese is, en daardie aspekte van skoolbeheerliggame wat die potensiaal besit om die demokratiseringsproses voort te sit, word geidentifiseer. Die uitdagings wat die veranderinge in skoolbestuur met hulle meebring, word geanaliseer om hulle implikasies en betekenisvolheid vir skOOlbeheerliggame uit te lig. Skoolbeheerliggame bied nuwe en opwindende geleenthede vir ondernemende en geesdriftige gemeenskappe aan. Skoolbeheerliggame moet dus aangespoor word om die geleentheid aan te gryp om deelname aan skoolbestuur te hê en om sodoende hulle rol te speel in die bevordering van die demokratiese transformasie van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing.