In the last decade of the 20th century, organizational change in public service provision in Queensland impacted broadly upon the culture of public education. The focus of this thesis was to describe the effects of that change on the role of heads of department in public secondary schools. The approach taken was to examine those change effects, in the light of policy documents, and from the perspective of participants, that is heads of department and principals. The thesis also described the changing skills the emerging role appeared to demand and to draw implications for professional development. The thesis is a descriptive multi case study. The principal and two heads of department from each of four public secondary schools in South East Queensland took part in the study. Data were collected through policy documents and semi structured interviews. The study employed Leonard-Barton's (1995) methodology which blended real time and a longitudinal study. To that end, two heads of department were reinterviewed four years after the initial interviews. Interviews focused upon the role, change, and the importance of leadership. The research generated eight specific themes each of which was considered consistent with the nature of the role in a period of significant cultural change. These were the difference in perceptions regarding the head of department role, held by principals and heads of department; head of department leadership in terms of a curriculum framed department, or whole school leadership; how individuals perceived leadership, and how they learned of leadership; the impact of the changing culture upon the individual head of department; the growing influence of situational factors upon the role; the impact of managerialism; the changing nature of a secondary school department; and a growing and more complex workload, and the need for different skills. The themes painted a picture of a long established role within a process of evolution. While broad cultural change underpinned change in the role, it was the change process, and the consequent structural and organizational change that individuals in the study focused upon. Consistent with the literature on heads of department and change, the study indicated a gap between the skills that the emerging role demanded, particularly leadership and management skills, and those skills which heads of department possessed. A need for a broad range professional development to bridge that gap was evident. The findings also pointed towards the need for effective change processes and a reconceptualized head of department role. The study concluded with recommendations for future research. Particular focus was directed towards the nature and function of secondary school departments, and the consequent role of the heads of department. Potential exists for research that further explores the effect of cultural change upon individuals, particularly heads of department, in the area of public education.

Prelude A short piece to prepare the way (Sadie and Tyrrell, 2001) Education for sustainability and educational leadership are the two faces to my research. Although there are differences between the concepts of environmental education and education for sustainability they are often confused. Environmental education deals with awareness raising and encouraging behaviour change to support environmental management and conservation. On the other hand, education for sustainability recognises the transformative role of education, while implicitly referring to intergenerational equity, ecological sustainability and the fair distribution of resources. The confusion is evident at the school level. Leadership is also a term fraught with confusion and misinterpretation. While there are many definitions of leadership, two common perspectives which have persisted over time are definitions of leadership as a matter of influence and of leadership as a skill. In educational terms sustainable leadership represents a shift to capture and merge contemporary leadership theory with the international pressure for sustainability through education. There is a dearth of information available to describe education for sustainability despite recognition by both Australian and Western Australian governments of its importance in this, the early years of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The aims of this qualitative research are to capture leaders’ understanding of how education for sustainability is conceptualised, incorporated across the curriculum and led in Western Australian government secondary schools. In addition this study seeks to determine how education for sustainability becomes embedded and sustained in these schools. The research re-conceptualises leading for sustainability. Four key concepts are identified as essential for embedding education for sustainability into Western Australian government secondary schools. These key concepts are: understanding sustainability; imagining the future; building relationships; and taking action. Combined, they enhance the meagre knowledge base about leading for sustainability in Western Australian secondary schools and provide a springboard for further research in the fields of sustainability and educational leadership.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-119).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-119) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

The problem of this study was to survey the status of art in the secondary schools of Oklahoma. Art educators today are faced with a lack of uniformity in the teaching of art. There is an increasing need for a recognized art program and a placing of renewed emphasis on the teaching of art. Clear and comprehensive attitudes and ideas toward art in the Oklahoma public schools would tend to ease these difficulties and enrich teaching. There has been a great deal of critical thinking, but this has failed to produce the answers necessary to formulate a basis on which to build a good art program. This study was an attempt to survey the individual schools to determine the present status of art in the secondary schools of Oklahoma.

The purpose of this research report is to investigate how Entrepreneurship is being taught in the classroom of secondary schools and to see if there is a vast difference between how it is taught across the income spectrum of the students.The research used a qualitative methodological approach. Questionnaires were sent out to respondents selected by the researcher (convenient sample). Then there was a follow-up in-depth interview with all the respondents. The respondents are all teachers who currently teach entrepreneurship at secondary schools and were divided into three groups depending on the school they teach at. There is the private school, the Model C School and the public school.The research revealed that there are vast differences in the way entrepreneurship is taught between the schools. Private schools have a large component of ‘beyond the classroom’. These include company visits, guest lecturers on entrepreneurial exercises. Model C Schools were very limited with the ‘odd’ guest lecturer and ‘fund raising’ poject. Public schools have no practical component to entrepreneurship what so ever. All the previous research suggests that a practical component to teaching entrepreneurship is vital. This research high-light’s that entrepreneurial education is seriously lacking at secondary school level in that a practical component seems to be missing.This research report looked at different schools to see if there was possibly a model that could be replicated across secondary schools that could bring in a practical element to teaching entrepreneurship. A model was found called, ‘R10 in ten days’. Students are placed in pairs and given R10 on a Wednesday. The following Friday they return the R10 and profit. They pay 20% to the school and keep the rest. This is a model that can be implemented in every school. Furthermore it creates a culture of ‘entrepreneurship’. Parents, relatives and friends get involved. A culture that encourages entrepreneurs is far more successful than one that doesn’t. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Masters of Public Health - see Magister Public Health / Adolescents account for 20% of the world’s population, and the majority of them are inhabitants of developing countries. Increasing sexual activity amongst adolescents is a public health concern because it can lead to teenage pregnancy which in turn leads to an increase in relative poverty, unemployment, poorer educational achievements (for the adolescent) and poor health of unborn children. Contraceptive use gives females the ability to make informed decisions about their fertility as well as greatly reduce female morbidity and mortality. Despite freely available contraception and accessible reproductive health policies and facilities, a majority of adolescents still report unintended, unplanned pregnancies. .

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of conflict resolution training on the number and severity of discipline referral offenses committed by high school students in one urban school. Effectiveness was measured by the number and severity of student discipline referrals to the school administration. Additionally, data were gathered and analyzed regarding student perceptions following application of conflict resolution training. The population (N=155) consisted of black and white students in grades nine through 12 who had previously received conflict-related discipline referrals. The samples (n=32) were selected using simple random sampling. Identified students were randomly assigned to one of two groups (treatment v. control). The treatment group received twelve hours of conflict resolution training. In addition, a four hour follow-up training session was conducted 60 days later. The control group did not receive training. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to determine the effects of conflict resolution training in this study. The independent variables were conflict resolution training, gender, and eligibility. The dependent variables were number of referrals and level of referrals. Data were collected from student discipline records and by conducting focus groups and individual interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-X). Two three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test all hypotheses. When an alpha level of .05 was used, only the interaction between gender and eligibility was significant with respect to both the number and level of discipline referrals. Further analyses were conducted to "tease apart" the interactions. In order to ascertain participants' perceptions of the effects of conflict resolution training, the qualitative data were content analyzed to record emerging themes. When the data were content analyzed, 10 themes emerged with respect to the participants' perceptions. These themes revealed that participants' perceptions were mostly positive. Participants reported that the training influenced positive changes in their own behavior and the behavior of others. / Ed. D.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2016 / The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Sexuality Education as an intervention in preventing teenage pregnancy in the Pinetown district. A focus group of thirty four (35) learners from three different schools was purposefully sampled. Data was collected using structured interview schedules to allow the researcher a platform to ask open-response questions and to understand the learners’ knowledge on preventive measures and the learners’ preferential choices. Data were analysed by carefully identifying and expanding significant themes that emerged from the informants’ knowledge and preferred measures of interventions to prevent teenage pregnancy. The results of the study revealed that learners’ knowledge of preventative measures was limited and an additional challenge was the lack of parental involvement in their children’s sexuality. The participants agreed that sexuality education does provide learners with information that could equip them with knowledge of a healthy sexual behaviour. They maintained that this information could be used when they decided to engage in intimate sexual relationships. However, the knowledge which will ultimately decide their future was quite limited and it was concerning. They seemed to know the contraceptives that were available but the task of accessing them still posed a problem. On the basis of the study results, some valuable recommendations were made which include that the alternatives of accessing contraceptives and the parental involvement in their children’s sexuality may curb teenage pregnancy.