There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of the study was to determine the status of utilization of cooperative or joint purchasing within Indiana public school corporations. Special attention was directed to the use of cooperative or joint purchasing as related to: (1) the extent cooperative or joint purchasing was utilized, (2) the size of the school corporation, (3) other school corporations, (4) units of local government, (5) units of county government, (6) units of state government, (7) the employment of a central office administrator, (8) reasons given for not utilizing cooperative or joint purchasing, and (9) whether or not cooperative or joint purchasing can save money.

No description available.

M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management) / In post-apartheid South Africa, socio-economic and socio-political challenges coupled with serious lack of adequate physical resources in historically disadvantaged public schools are barriers to effective curriculum delivery and the provision of co-curricular activities. The National Norms and Standards for School Funding policy has been designed to address equity and social justice by providing substantial funding to public schools ranked as quintile 1 and 2. The State funding has been earmarked for, amongst others, the purchase of learning and teaching support materials and other phyiscal assets for educational purposes. This study determines the perceptions and experiences of teachers and school managers on the management of physical resources. Governing bodies have been empowered and are held accountable to manage physical assets at public schools. In the case of fee paying schools, the State provides limited funding and consequently, governing bodies are expected to raise funds in order to supplement the State’s funds so that additional physical resources that further the ends of effective education in every public school, may be procured. The management of physical resources is found to be ineffective and inefficient in many schools, paricularly historically disadvantaged schools. This study was framed using the quantitative research method. A structured questionnaire was distributed to a randomly stratified sample consisting mainly of post level one educators and members of the school management teams. This research was conducted at 30 public schools in the Gauteng East district. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: Section A required the respondents’ biograhical details; Section B comprised of 30 items on the management of physcial resources at public schools and Section C contained 11 items indicating the processes concerned with physical resources management. The analytical procedures applied in the empirical investigation revealed that physical resource management consists of three factors, namely, effective management of phyical resources; effective procurement of physical resources; and the provisioning of physical resources by the Provincial Education vi Department. The findings revealed that the educators agree that the governing body effectively manage and effectively procure resources for the school. There was only partial agreement that the Provincial Education Department provides physical resources adequately. It was found that governing bodies and school management teams need to be provided with continual training by the Provincial Education Department. Furthermore, it appears that whilst structures and processes are established to manage physical resources, there is need to constantly appraise and review their functionality.

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent specific ergonomic factor implementations in computer and video display terminal (VDT) installations for student use in middle school classrooms. The data interpretations using existing furniture without modification or adaptation. Of all the seating observed, 75% of the seating met standards for middle school students. Keyboards and video display screens had been placed on existing tables and were all higher than ergonomically desirable for middle school students or adults.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

The phenomenon of educational inequality on access to physical resources in the Highveld Ridge East Circuit of Mpumalanga was investigated in the study. Since the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic had affected education on a global scale, South Africa included, it became necessary to incorporate this new development into the emerging design that unfolded. The study explored the impact of access to physical resources in three public schools. The aim of the investigation was to ascertain how educational disparities on access to physical resources manifested at the chosen research sites, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative research approach was utilised comprising of a multiple case study design. The study reported how the principal and deputy principals viewed educational inequality on access to physical resources from a management perspective, while educators provided insight on the effect of this phenomenon on the teaching and learning process. Observations, individual interviews involving the principal and deputy principals as participants, and focus group interviews involving the teachers, as well as the scrutiny of relevant official documents provided the empirical data for this investigation. All research participants were purposively selected, as a full staff complement was unavailable at the research sites during the pandemic. The results that emerged from the study indicated that educational inequality was prevalent in these public schools. The dearth of resources, and in some instances basic essential resources, had a marked impact on the management as well as the teachers and students at these schools. A significant point to consider was how ill-equipped the public schools in this area were to deal with education during a global pandemic. The backlog of the inequities on access to physical resources needed to be addressed as a matter of dire urgency if the country had any hope of salvaging the education process even at the most basic level. The recommendations in the conclusion of the study are desperate pleas for help in assisting the country, especially the previously marginalised, to move forward in the worst of times. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)