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This research explores participant experience of the Service Learning Program in the context of an Australian Catholic Boys’ Secondary School. The research aims to explore what is happening as adolescent participants engage in working and relating with homeless people over an extended period of time. What are they learning? What sense or meaning are they making of their experiences, and are they deepening their value and belief system towards existential change? Service Learning is a curriculum initiative that Australian Secondary Schools are implementing to assist in the development of both the ethos of schools and in attempts to meet the needs of Twenty-first Century youth for a relevant education. While the benefits for participants in Service Learning are well documented, the effects upon recipients of the services provided, and whether the benefits for participants are the result of prior learning, family factors, or predispositions to this type of experiential learning, remain unclear. While Service Learning Programs are proving to be increasingly popular for school administrators, there appears to be a lack of clear models for Service Learning, its links to academic curriculum, or clearly articulated goals to assess success and achievement. A real danger of an adhoc approach to Service Learning in schools exists. The discussion of benefits to participants has not clearly identified links between program elements and hoped for benefits, nor has it examined the process or journey that participants have engaged in. Critical reflection on these issues has informed the purpose of this research and helped to shape the following research questions that focus the conduct of the study: Research Question One What features of the Service Learning Program at Holy Family College impact on participant experience? Research Question Two What changes are there in the meanings participants give to their experiences in the Service Learning Program over time? Research Question Three How do participants perceive their Service Learning experience in terms of their personal world view and the world view promoted by the school? The theoretical framework for this study was that of Constructionism as the criteria for judging that neither ‘reality’ nor ‘validity’ are absolute; rather they are derived from community consensus of what is ‘real’, what is useful, and what has meaning. In exploring participants’ experience as they served and related with homeless people ‘reality’, ‘usefulness’ and ‘meaning’ were derived from the student’s reflection upon their experience and their communal dialogue. Hence this study used Symbolic Interactionism as the perspective to explore experience. An interpretive approach was utilised, as humans interpret their environment, evaluate beliefs in terms of their usefulness in situations, select what they notice in every situation and focus on human action and interaction. A case study approach was used as it acknowledged the unique setting of a ‘van site’ for homeless people. Using personal journaling and focus groups data was collected from fifty-three Year 11 students who had volunteered to participate on the van for a period of six months. All fifty-three participants in the Service Learning Program experienced particular phases regardless of prior service experience, variables linked to family or personality type. These phases were: Expectations, Exposure, Reframing, Disillusionment, Awareness and Agency. This study concluded that within these phases, participant experience was influenced by the length of time of the program, the presence of active mentors facilitating the experience, ongoing reflection upon experience and situating the experience in a clear ideological framework. While each participant experienced the phases mentioned above no two students derived the same meaning or level of meaning from their experiences. The research concluded that each participant will exit a Service Learning Program with varying levels of internalisation of the core values of the program. Some will exit with a surface appreciation of what the program was about; others deeper, others tacit; some will arrive at a point of existential change. While acknowledging the influence of family and personality factors in this journey, this research shows that the presence of active mentors, reflection upon experience, a clear ideological framework and a significant length of time to allow for the maturation of both reflection and experience will move participants further along towards existential change than would otherwise have occurred. A model; the Spiral Model of Service Learning is proposed to support these findings.

The research study explores issues of management and communication from a gender perspective in secondary schools. It arose from a concern regarding the imbalance of men and women progressing to middle and higher management posts in secondary schools in England, as shown in the statistics published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in a series of three documents from 1992 to 2001. The research problem concerns the possibility that there are gender differences in management communicative repertoires, which have the effect of undermining women's chances of promotion. Using case studies of four middle managers of both sexes in each of four secondary schools in one Midlands county of the UK, from 1995 to 2001, I observed, audio-recorded, and analysed team meetings as a non-participant observer. I transcribed key sequences, and, using the framework of discourse analysis, I investigated whether there were linguistic differences between the male and female middle managers, in order to analyse the way that language reflects management style, and to explore the possibility that linguistic differences might influence the under-representation of women in management posts. The research used qualitative methods, based on the post-modern constructivist approach to gender as a social construct, and on a dialectical approach to linguistic theory, focusing on the role of context, pragmatic speech activity and the function of utterances within interactions. The originality of the enquiry is that it uses discourse analysis of real managerial transactions by male and female middle managers taking place in regularly scheduled meetings in the workplace. I also investigated the organisational culture of the four schools in which the meetings were set, using a content analysis of documents and semi-structured interviews with the headteachers in each case. Much of the research into gender linguistics over the last decade has been of a feminist orientation and focused on one interpretation: that there are distinct gender differences in language use which reflect very different management styles and that women are, by default, negatively valued as potential managers. The argument has been that women's style is interpreted as falling short of a valued masculine model of language and management which is regarded as the norm. However, in this thesis I argue that communication processes are different for men and women, because they bring different frame and schema to their interactions and that while this may mismatch the style valued by their assessors, however, the language of male and female middle managers is also influenced by frames other than that of gender, such as that of the middle manager role and that of the organisational culture of the school. I explore the usefulness of the Community of Practice model, which has developed over the last five years, as a tool for describing language variation between genders, across organisational cultures and within shared enterprises, since it can be used to explain the overlapping sets of shared linguistic traits between different linguistic groups.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems. Tshwane University of Technology 2011 / This research was carried out in the context of the government’s current efforts to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning, in secondary schools which appears to be a major challenge. The study was exploratory and descriptive in nature where the problem that has not been clearly defined or understood was addressed. Activity theory underpinned the study because of its dynamic perspective. The essence of activity theory stems from a view of learning where individuals actively construct their understanding of the environment while engaging in goal-oriented activities. The findings show that while the South African government has made the commitment and efforts to integrate ICTs in schools, there is no logical and detailed strategy to support the usage of these ICTs in teaching and learning activities. For example, some schools do have the right technologies and infrastructure, but teachers and learners do not know how to use and adopt them appropriately. Lack of (and inadequate) teacher training and development also adds to the challenges regarding the ICT integration in suburban secondary schools.

<p><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">The decline in the status of history in South African Secondary Schools was a matter of national concern from 1997 onwards. In 1997, three years after the formal end of the apartheid system, democratic South Africa introduced its first new curriculum for secondary schools, which was called Curriculum 2005 (C2005). Surprisingly, the discipline of History that had for a very long time been an important subject in its own right was conspicuously absent in the new curriculum. This MA thesis investigates the decision to marginalize History in C2005 at a time when there were expectations of the importance of the discipline in a democratic South Africa. It argues that the marginalization of the discipline in C2005 was not solely based on pedagogical reasons, but that it might have been influenced by political agendas. My research provides support for this view with evidence of the procedures inside the relevant government education policy committees. In addition, it explores the debates and processes that led to the reinstatement of the discipline in the Revised National Curriculum Statement for schools that was approved in April 2002 by the South African Cabinet. Finally, it has examines the character of the new history syllabus of the revised curriculum of democratic South Africa. It argues that the new History curriculum for schools is more inclusive of the different aspects of South African history than either the history curriculum in C2005 and the history curricula under apartheid had been.</p> </font></p>

This is a practical experience study to examine the perspectives and experiences of the teachers, students and parents towards teaching and learning Home Economics or Food and Textiles Technology (FTT) in Secondary schools in Samoa. The study attempts to understand the major factors that impede the successful implementation of the Food and Textiles Technology teaching and learning in the classroom. The research methodology of the study is drawn from qualitative case study approaches. Teachers, students and parents were interviewed and observed to gather relevant data for the study. Additional research includes analysis of educational documents to assist in creating a well-developed view of the FTT teaching. The study showed that though a great deal of research is being done to address identified needs in the Samoan education system, little work has been done in the area of home economics/food and textile technology. Additionally, the promotion of technical assistance through the vocational education training programmes is relevant for Samoa but it has not been addressed adequately in the change literature. This study attempts to contribute to meeting these two needs. The important findings of the study address innovation and support for all curriculum areas. The FTT innovation is a component of the Samoan education system, however, it is still regarded by many Samoans as a ‘second–class’ option in relation to formal education rather than ‘second chance education’ (Jones 1994; and Sharma 1995). Many Samoans accustomed to academic education regard FTT as a low status subject, a belief that is shared by many parents. In some countries women are considered second-class citizens but it is clear that ‘second chance’ education provides an equal opportunity to educate everyone and to provide a safe, respectful and nurturing environment. In addition, the opportunity of a second chance education can enhance the options available for early school leavers. The Ministry of Education Sports and Culture (MESC) needs to develop strategic policies to strengthen its approaches to the implementation of FTT in the secondary school. It is clear that teaching and learning FTT in schools in Samoa is not a compulsory component of the school system. It is only taken by the schools with resources, a trained teacher and enrolled students who are willing to participate in these courses. The MESC policies are related to its shared vision of a change process that provides teachers with strategies to achieve the desired goal or a set of goals. Therefore MESC policies should be flexible, usable, timely and applicable to the teaching and learning of FTT. Very importantly, the supply of pre- service and in- service training of teachers by MESC is needed to ensure there is a pool of high quality teachers to provide the successful implementation of FTT in the secondary school curriculum. It is also clear and understood that MESC should provide the appropriate quality resources to the learners to ensure the effective delivery of the FTT programmes in the secondary schools. Normally, FTT is expensive but this should not prevent or limit students’ access to the programmes. All efforts should be made to make the programmes accessible to all students. In order for the implementation of FTT to be successful, all the stakeholders should be active participants of the change process in the FTT programmes and all these programmes should be high quality, sustainable and on going. In the light of the above findings, it is important for the MESC, principals, teachers and stakeholders to participate and appreciate FTT implementation as a learning opportunity to develop new concepts, skills and behaviour (Huberman and Miles 1984; Joyce and Showers 1998; Fullan, 1991). These interactive and cumulative learning processes have important implications, which are addressed in this study in relation to the numerous target groups involved.

During the 1960’s Maori concerned about the state of te reo Maori lobbied the government to have te reo Maori included as a teaching subject in the New Zealand curriculum. In the early 1970’s they reaped the rewards of their hard fought efforts when te reo Maori became a taught subject in the New Zealand curriculum. However, even with te reo being taught in English medium schools, its use was still in decline creating even more anxiety about its survival. In the 1980’s Maori took the matter into their own hands and the birth of Maori medium early childhood education centres named Kohanga Reo (Language Nests) was the result. Shortly afterwards Maori medium primary schools (Kura Kaupapa Maori) emerged followed by Maori medium secondary schools (Wharekura). There was a ground swell of support for these community driven initiatives and it seemed te reo Maori would be returned from the brink of extinction. Even given the emergence of Maori medium educational facilities including Wananga (Tertiary Institutes), the majority of Maori students have remained in English medium education. After a respite of about twenty years it would seem that te reo Maori is once again on the decline. For many years kaiako reo Maori (Maori language teachers) in English medium secondary schools have grappled with the issue of high attrition rates from their senior te reo Maori programmes. This is a significant issue as 85 percent of akonga Maori (Maori students) still participate in the English medium education system. However this problem plagues not only akonga Maori but also those who are non Maori. Te reo Maori programmes in mainstream New Zealand schools are offered to akonga as optional subjects. While retention is relatively unproblematic for akonga in the junior levels of secondary schools (ages 13 to 14), it becomes a significant issue in the senior levels (ages 15 to 18) where attrition rates are considerably high. This research attempts to identify the factors that contribute to the high rates of attrition and offers some possible solutions to decreasing attrition rates amongst akonga reo Maori.

Employing Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, this study will examine the origins, creation, and implementation of Ontario’s Career Studies course as it relates to existing economic and workplace practices. Specifically, two broad aspects of the course will be addressed. First, the expectations for the course will be examined to determine the general approach to workplace education as outlined in course curriculum documents and approved-for-use textbooks. Also included in this analysis will be the ways Career Studies teachers interpret and deliver course material. Secondly, this study will uncover the opportunities students have to control and empower themselves in their career development. This includes an exploration of the alternatives to current workplace and economic practices as presented in the course materials, as well as the strategies emphasized for students to adopt in their career planning. At the moment Career Studies, like other career education and guidance programs in Canada, presents current neo-liberal market and labour trends as permanent and outside the control of human agency. In response to these trends, students are expected to improve their marketability for employment through individual and competitive career-development practices, in effect distancing themselves from others through formal credential attainment and attitudinal adjustments that best suit employers. Opportunities for students to experience collective empowerment through alternative workplace and economic practices are noticeably absent from the course. This study wishes to shed light on some of the shortcomings of career education in Ontario and to propose recommendations that truly situate students as architects of their career planning. Employing Hyslop-Margison and Graham’s (2003) Principles for Democratic Learning (PDL), this study concludes that opportunities for students to critically examine and question current workplace practices, explore alternatives to the status quo, and, most importantly, understand the social elements behind current workplace and economic conditions, will better position students to control their future work lives.

<p><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">The decline in the status of history in South African Secondary Schools was a matter of national concern from 1997 onwards. In 1997, three years after the formal end of the apartheid system, democratic South Africa introduced its first new curriculum for secondary schools, which was called Curriculum 2005 (C2005). Surprisingly, the discipline of History that had for a very long time been an important subject in its own right was conspicuously absent in the new curriculum. This MA thesis investigates the decision to marginalize History in C2005 at a time when there were expectations of the importance of the discipline in a democratic South Africa. It argues that the marginalization of the discipline in C2005 was not solely based on pedagogical reasons, but that it might have been influenced by political agendas. My research provides support for this view with evidence of the procedures inside the relevant government education policy committees. In addition, it explores the debates and processes that led to the reinstatement of the discipline in the Revised National Curriculum Statement for schools that was approved in April 2002 by the South African Cabinet. Finally, it has examines the character of the new history syllabus of the revised curriculum of democratic South Africa. It argues that the new History curriculum for schools is more inclusive of the different aspects of South African history than either the history curriculum in C2005 and the history curricula under apartheid had been.</p> </font></p>

This qualitative research study analyses the causal conditions of educational, cultural and ideological issues that emerged as a result of Expatriate teaching experiences in secondary schools in Singapore. The study also examines how the foreign educational environment affects the performance of the Expatriate Teacher (ExT). Specifically, the results provide insight into how Expatriate Teachers (ExTs) conceive of notions of work, teaching and learning and how they come to terms with, and adjust to employment within a foreign teaching environment. Seven teacher-participants were selected on the basis of their individual experiences as an ExT or experiences working alongside ExTs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the UK, Singapore and Australia to explore teacher-participants' teaching conceptions and experiences. Two Pilot interviews were conducted prior to the Interview Schedules being made available to the participants. One pilot interview was subsequently included in the analysis. Aspects of Grounded Theory methodology, in particular the Constant Comparison method, were utilised to categorise and analyse data. Analysis of the data was also facilitated using the computer software programme NUD*IST 6. The findings identified three related and interwoven themes which categorised the issues as experienced by the seven teacher-participants. One is the Conditional Variables of the physical, structural and organizational setting. The second is the resident Proficiencies and Attributes of the ExT, which includes ideologies, values and expectations. The third includes Configurations of Culture such as work culture, subject culture and cultural adaptations. The study outlines how Incongruity and Dissonance can operate within and between these three themes and indicates implications for improving the experiences of ExTs and other stakeholders.