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Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Gerald Bailey / The purpose of the study was to research, develop, and validate a step-by-step guide for museum and public school partnerships that wish to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials in high school social studies. Museum and Public School Partnerships: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating Motivational Standards-Based Curriculum Materials in High School Social Studies was developed using the research and development methodology of Borg and Gall (1989). The research and development process used in this study included seven steps: 1) research analysis and proof of concept, 2) product planning and design, 3) preliminary product development, 4) preliminary field testing, 5) revision of the prototype, 6) main field testing, and 7) revision of the final product. A prototype of the guide was produced and then evaluated by museum and public school experts in the preliminary field test. Revisions were made to the guide based on their feedback. The guide was then distributed to practitioners in the main field test. The reviewers in the main field test were museum staff or high school history educators; or museum, curriculum, or technology directors in the United States. Feedback from the main field test was used to create the final product. Major conclusions of the study were: a) there was a lack of literature specifically for museum and public school partnerships that wished to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, b) museum and public school personnel benefit from quality resource step-by-step guides, c) educational guides developed through research and development methodology offer museum and public school personnel practical and valuable products for improving education, d) a step-by-step guide is a useful tool when museums and public schools partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies, e) this study produced the first step-by-step guide for museums and public schools that wish to partner to create motivational standards-based curriculum materials for high school social studies.

Researchers have emphasized the importance of parental involvement in ensuring the educational success of children. Despite the recognized value, some stakeholders continue to struggle to leverage and sustain this partnership, which may encumber students' success. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the factors influencing parental involvement in Jamaican high schools. This qualitative case study sought to unearth the motivational factors influencing parental involvement within a climate of educational accountability in Jamaican high schools. Grounded in Epstein's school-family-community partnership model, this study unearthed some of the differences and similarities of parental involvement within high schools that were described as high and under performing schools and what informed those differences. Sixteen participants from 4 high schools were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. The data were analyzed thematically and interpreted against Epstein's theory. The findings of this study indicated that all stakeholders in a child's education had mutual interests and influences and an expressed desired to increase their involvement. The motivational factors driving their involvement varied from policies, beliefs, benefits, and personal challenges; parental involvement also differed in quality and quantity across schools and requires creativity in design for greater involvement, accountability, and impact. The strategic utility of these findings can assist in the creation of the home support engagements needed to remove the constraints impeding students and wider school success, thereby guiding students into successful directions, which is the epitome of social change.

Η παρούσα διατριβή διερευνά τα καινοτόμα στοιχεία και τις προβληματικές παραμέτρους των εταιρικών σχολικών συμπράξεων, με βάση τη συμμετοχή δύο ελληνικών σχολείων σε ευρωπαϊκή σχολική σύμπραξη (Comenius 1). Στη συνέχεια, προχωρά σε σύγκριση των δύο προγραμμάτων σε σχέση με τα κριτήρια αξιολόγησης που προσδιορίστηκαν πριν την έναρξη της έρευνας. Για το σκοπό αυτό, δόθηκαν συνεντεύξεις από τους εμπλεκόμενους εκπαιδευτικούς και απαντήθηκαν ερωτηματολόγια από τους συμμετέχοντες μαθητές και τους γονείς τους. Οι μεν εκπαιδευτικοί αναφέρθηκαν σε ζητήματα όπως η ιστορία και οι στόχοι των σχολικών συμπράξεων, τα οφέλη που αποκόμισαν μαθητές και εκπαιδευτικοί, τα προϊόντα που παρήχθησαν, οι μεθοδολογικές παράμετροι που πλαισίωσαν τα εν λόγω σχέδια, η διαχείριση των συμπράξεων, η αξιολόγηση και διάδοση των σχεδίων καθώς και το μέλλον παρόμοιων πρωτοβουλιών. Οι δε μαθητές ρωτήθηκαν για τους στόχους του προγράμματος, τα οφέλη που αποκόμισαν από τη συμμετοχή τους σε αυτό, τις μεθοδολογικές παραμέτρους που συνόδευσαν την εφαρμογή των σχεδίων, ενώ προέβησαν και σε αξιολογικές κρίσεις για το περιεχόμενο και τις δραστηριότητες των εν λόγω προγραμμάτων. Οι γονείς των εμπλεκόμενων μαθητών έκαναν αναφορά στους στόχους των προγραμμάτων, τα οφέλη που αποκόμισαν τα παιδιά τους από τις συμπράξεις και το βαθμό συμμετοχής των παιδιών τους και των ιδίων στα εν λόγω προγράμματα. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, επιχειρήθηκε σύνθεση των αποτελεσμάτων των ποιοτικών και ποσοτικών προσεγγίσεων με τη βοήθεια της τριγωνοποίησης (εκπαιδευτικοί, μαθητές, γονείς) και για τα δύο προγράμματα, και αξιολογήθηκαν τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας σε σχέση με τα ερευνητικά ερωτήματα. Οι ενδιαφερόμενοι συμφώνησαν σε αρκετά ζητήματα, ενώ δεν έλειψαν και οι διαφορετικές εκτιμήσεις για το περιεχόμενο και τις δραστηριότητες των εν λόγω συμπράξεων. Αν και, όπως διαπιστώθηκε, οι σχολικές συμπράξεις συνιστούν φορέα αλλαγής στο σύγχρονο σχολείο, δεν έχουν διερευνηθεί από το αρμόδιο υπουργείο οι δυνατότητες για την ενσωμάτωση των καινοτόμων στοιχείων τους στην επίσημη εκπαίδευση. Ωστόσο, είναι σαφές πως η φιλοσοφία των σχολικών συμπράξεων και των υπόλοιπων προαιρετικών προγραμμάτων βρίσκεται στη σωστή κατεύθυνση. Αυτό που πρέπει να ληφθεί υπόψη είναι το θέμα της διαχείρισης της εκπαιδευτικής αλλαγής που προτείνεται μέσω των σχολικών συμπράξεων, της δημιουργίας δομών παρακολούθησης και αξιοποίησης των δεδομένων, της συνεργασίας όλων των φορέων που εμπλέκονται στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία, της επιμόρφωσης των εκπαιδευτικών και της συνεπούς υποστήριξης του εγχειρήματος. / The present thesis investigates the innovative elements and the problematic parameters of school partnerships, on the basis of the participation of two Greek schools in a European school partnership (Comenius 1). Then, it continues with the comparison of two programmes in relation to the evaluation criteria determined before the beginning of the research. To this end, involved teachers were interviewed and questionnaires were answered by the involved students and their parents. The teachers referred to subjects such as the history and the objectives of school partnerships, the profits acquired by students and teachers, the products, the methodological parameters, the management of the partnerships, the evaluation and distribution of the programmes as well as the future of similar initiatives. The students were asked about the objectives of the programmes, the profits they acquired through their participation, the methodological parameters of the programmes, while they also proceeded to the evaluation of the content and the activities of the programmes in question. The parents of the involved students referred to the objectives of the programmes, the profits their children acquired through the partnerships and the degree of their own participation and their children’ s participation in the programmes in question. In this framework, what was attempted, was a composition of the results of the qualitative and quantitative approaches in the framework of triangulation (teachers, students, parents) for both the programmes, and the results of the research were evaluated in relation to the inquiring questions. The participants agreed about various subjects, while there were some different opinions about the content and the activities of the partnerships in question. Although, as it was realised, school partnerships constitute an institution of change in modern schools, the possibilities for the incorporation of their innovative elements in formal education have not been investigated by the Ministry of Education. However, it is a fact that the philosophy of school partnerships and other optional programmes is in the right direction. What should be taken into consideration, is the subject of the management of the educational change proposed through school partnerships, the formation of structures for follow-up and exploitation of data, the collaboration of all institutions involved in the educational process, the teachers’ training and the support of the effort.

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National legislation such as South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 introduced important reforms impacting on school and parent communication. It mandated the establishment of school governing bodies in all schools to ensure that parents participate in their schools and to open an effective way of communication between educators and parents. However, the literature study established that in some schools, mostly the historically disadvantaged black schools, communication between educators and parents is still very poor and mostly ineffective. This study examined the role of the school principals in managing effective communication between educators and parents at schools to ensure that effective partnerships between educators and parents are achieved. A qualitative investigation in two public secondary schools in the Umbumbulu Circuit, KwaZulu-Natal was done. Data were gathered by means of in-depth interviews with the principals of each school, and focus group interviews with the educators and parents of each school and document analysis. The findings revealed the following: relationship between educators and parents is still very poor in some schools, the communication between educators and parents is still ineffective, there is still a lack of parental involvement in some schools, and most schools do not have policies on effective management of communication and comprehensive programmes on parental involvement. The study recommends that principals need to be empowered to effectively manage communication in their schools to ensure effective partnerships between educators and parents, and schools should design their own training programmes conducted by principals or specialists for parents on the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

National legislation such as South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 introduced important reforms impacting on school and parent communication. It mandated the establishment of school governing bodies in all schools to ensure that parents participate in their schools and to open an effective way of communication between educators and parents. However, the literature study established that in some schools, mostly the historically disadvantaged black schools, communication between educators and parents is still very poor and mostly ineffective. This study examined the role of the school principals in managing effective communication between educators and parents at schools to ensure that effective partnerships between educators and parents are achieved. A qualitative investigation in two public secondary schools in the Umbumbulu Circuit, KwaZulu-Natal was done. Data were gathered by means of in-depth interviews with the principals of each school, and focus group interviews with the educators and parents of each school and document analysis. The findings revealed the following: relationship between educators and parents is still very poor in some schools, the communication between educators and parents is still ineffective, there is still a lack of parental involvement in some schools, and most schools do not have policies on effective management of communication and comprehensive programmes on parental involvement. The study recommends that principals need to be empowered to effectively manage communication in their schools to ensure effective partnerships between educators and parents, and schools should design their own training programmes conducted by principals or specialists for parents on the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)