The School Cluster System (SCS) reform was introduced in Namibia from 1996 under the auspices of the Basic Education Project. The SCS entails the organising of schools into groups for educational, management and administrative purposes. In the framework of the SCS policy schools are grouped according to their geographical proximity and the curriculum they offer in order to work together as a collective network, one school in the group being selected as the core school, or Cluster Centre. There are varying goals for the promotion of the SCS policy depending on context, but close examination of the international literature reveals that the most widespread arguments for this policy are based on assumptions that a SCS seeks to enhance education quality through localised decision-making, interschool cooperation and community participation in education. One of the key assumptions of the SCS reform is that it seeks to achieve cost-effectiveness by allowing schools to pool educational resources. The focus on the SCS policy in the last two decades, in particular in the developing countries, appears to be closely linked to the ongoing efforts of achieving the internationally set goals of the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All (EFA) within a context of financial austerity. In this study, the purpose was to investigate how educational professionals perceive and understand the goals and the implementation of the SCS policy in the Caprivi region of Namibia. The study aimed to explore the views and experiences of the case study participants regarding the effectiveness of the SCS in relation to the goals of decentralized management and local support for rural schools. The study examines the views and experiences of implementers of the SCS in a rural context, including the challenges faced by the implementers in the process of implementation.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91).

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-87). / This study compares the association between leadership and management practices and teacher practices in two secondary schools. The schools are similar with regard to socioeconomic background but different with regard to learner achievement in grade twelve science examination results. I identify the extent to which leadership and management practices nurture the development of a Professional Learning Community (PLC). The data comprised transcripts of semi structured interviews, notes from observation of interactions between staff and documents pertaining to meetings. I chose a double case study approach in order to analyse and compare the practices in the two schools.

Includes bibliography. / This study looks at teachers' perceptions of Curriculum 2005, in order (i) to understand how a group of Grade One teachers, in the Cape Town region, are reacting to the introduction of an outcomes-based-system, and (ii) to make sense of where their understandings might come from. The study holds significance because it helps to shed light on the reality of policy implementation, and the importance of the teacher in the process of policy-making and policy implementation. The study explores the patterns of teachers' thoughts within a variety of diverse school contexts. This diversity is assessed through the use of a detailed questionnaire, in-depth interviews and site visits. Forty-one Grade One teacher's perceptions of Curriculum 2005 were studied. This process involved the use of Grounded Theory principles, which guided the data collection process and analysis procedure. The outcome of this approach led to the formulation of a model, which outlines the process of understanding the personal (internal) and social (external) factors, which affect the development of teachers' perceptions towards change. The study suggests that there are three main categories of perceptions of Curriculum 2005 that teachers fall into, although each category is dynamic. Within each category both internal and external factors affect the development of teachers' perceptions of educational change. The analysis shows that within and between each category the factors of age and experience play a role in the way teachers come by their teacher knowledge and develop their teaching practice. The study also reveals the dynamic nature of teachers' understanding, consciousness and perceptions of Curriculum 2005, and seeks to show how dependent these are on a variety of internal and external factors. The development of perceptions is both a process and a product within the minds of individuals. The findings of the research suggest that both personal and -social dynamics play a major role in the development of teacher knowledge and teaching practice. The study seeks to emphasise that there is need to recognise and promote the professional development of teachers, and to achieve this there is a need to understand teachers in the process of educational change. It is suggested that each school context generates different dynamics, and in order to address the question of change it is also necessary to address the specific position of teachers within the school. At the same time the study emphasises the need to bridge the gaps between policy-making and policy implementation.

Includes bibliographical references.

Includes bibliographical references. / The apartheid system of government in South Africa created undemocratic governing structures, inequity and inequality in the country's education system, as were evident in the pattern of school organisation, governance and funding (Hunter Commission Report, 1995: 1). This situation led to the emergence of a series of policy documents following the election of a democratic government in 1994, leading to the birth of the South African Schools Act (the SASA) (No. 84 of 1996), in November 1996.

Includes bibliographical references. / The aim of this study was to research top-management, teachers' and students' perceptions of success and reasons for the success of their school in two senior secondary schools identified as successful in Botswana. Interviews of these participants correlate across students, teachers, school heads and deputy heads in respect of their perceptions of the reasons for their schools' success. Important are the pedagogical and social climate of the school and how they are expressed in the daily work of the school. These factors are: the school head's leadership and expectations, teacher involvement in school policy; forms and content of teacher co-operation; teacher expectations on, and attitudes to student capacity; teaching organisation and content; press for academic success; community involvement and social relations in the school. Governments and schools need knowledge and skills about school improvement and this research attempts to contribute research-based information to help them cope with innovation and improve teaching and learning. School improvement is seen as a combination of school effectiveness and management of change research. Factors that seem to be related to effective schools are listed and knowledge about the change process is used to consider how a school could be improved. It is argued that generic school improvement characteristics and processes take on different meanings in practice, and these meanings are shaped by a school's response to the particular circumstances and challenges of its environment. In turn, this response has implications for the way school improvement programmes are developed and for the role and contribution of the stakeholders to educational change. The study concludes with an outline of possible school effectiveness factors common to those identified in the international literature, those factors specific to Botswana context, and offers further research and policy recommendations.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-77). / Following South Africa's democratization in 1994, the country has undergone significant transformation in virtually all spheres of life. In the rural local governance arena this transformation has been characterized by tensions and contradictions arising from uncertainties about structures of local governance. In post apartheid South Africa we have a situation which may be described as having two bulls in one kraal i.e. traditional authorities and newly elected democratic councillors sharing the responsibility of government. The presence of these two centres of power at the local level serves as basis for conflictual relationships and competing discourses and this impact badly on service delivery. While the current legislation on rural local governance is rich in issues pertaining to redress and equity, the reality on the ground is that rural-urban inequalities are perpetuated. This research seeks to offer insights into this situation.The study focuses on the role of traditional institutions in rural development and more specifically in school governance in rural communities. In the case of schools, traditional authorities and school governing bodies represent these competing discourses. During the apartheid period traditional authorities were directly involved in schooling and they were part of school governance, working hand in glove with school communities. This relationship was redefined in 1994 and consequently traditional authorities were excluded from schooling. The aim of this study is to investigate the consequences of the exclusion of this institution from school governance by comparing ways in which governing structures operated and impacted on education practices before and after 1994. The study is therefore trying to answer the question: What were the advantages and disadvantages of the involvement of the Qwebe-qwebe traditional authority in schools under its jurisdiction before 1994 and what was the significance of its exclusion after 1996? The study draws on Ray's concepts of shared and divided legitimacy to conceptualize shifts in the role of traditional authorities in relation to school governance before and after 1994. This is a qualitative case study. Most of the data were collected through interviews. The data was analyzed in order to foreground the relationship between the legitimacy of the modem state and that of traditional leaders in relation to school governance functions. The study concludes that traditional leaders fulfilled a number of functions that supported schools before 1994. New state structures have not been able to take on these functions effectively. As traditional leaders are competing with new government structures for legitimacy and support this competition further undermines the effectiveness of these structures.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-106). / This thesis aimed to investigate whether there is a gender bias in the way teachers discipline boys and girls. The study was conducted in an affluent school in Cape Town and consisted of 113 participants, 97 students (48 boys and 49 girls) and 16 teachers and staff (6 males and 10 females). The data showed that although teachers assume they are being gender neutral in the way they respond to misdemeanors committed by boys and girls, in reality, this is not the case. However, even though the biases of the teachers are largely unconscious, the students were very much aware of the biased nature of the teachers. The data also revealed that male and female teachers react and respond differently when they discipline boys and girls and that male teachers focus more on serious offenses whereas female teachers focused on the less serious offenses.

The research investigated the differential effect of language of teaching and learning (LoLT) on learner performance in relation to learners' first language (L1) (isiXhosa) compared to their second language (L2) (English) by researching a sample of comparable primary schools that followed one of two LoLT models; either: • An early-exit transitional LoLT model, which employed isiXhosa as LoLT until Grade 4, where a transition to English LoLT occurred; or • A straight-for-English LoLT model, which made use of English as LoLT from Grade 1 and throughout all grades. The research was conducted in two parts, A and B. Part A indicated which LoLT model was associated with higher learner performance, and Part B determined the extent to which Part A's findings reflected LoLT model implementation, as well as the ways in which this implementation affected performance. Part A quantitatively compared the performance of 14 714 (average dataset size) learners in 2012 and 2015 Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Systemic Testing of Language and Mathematics from 135 (average dataset size) National Quintile (NQ) 1–3 schools which followed different LoLT models cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Comparisons drawn by the research were tested for statistical significance. Part A found that: • Grade 3 learners in L1 LoLT contexts performed better than Grade 3 learners in L2 LoLT contexts. • The performance of learners in the early-exit transitional model of LoLT declined after the point of transition to L2. • Learners who had had more years of exposure to L2 LoLT performed better in Grade 6 when taught and assessed in the language than learners who had had fewer years' exposure to the language as LoLT. Part B qualitatively studied a sample of 5 schools from Part A identified from each of the LoLT models, visiting them to investigate how LoLT model implementation affected learner performance. 11 teachers were surveyed using comparative rating scale response item questionnaires and 14 teachers as well as members of school management were interviewed using structured interview schedules. Part B found that: • Particularly where English was LoLT, the greatest challenge was teachers' and learners' inability to use the LoLT in order to teach and learn. • Teachers and learners typically employed mixed-language-use practices to communicate during lessons that deviated from the LoLT, constituting LoLT non-implementation to the extent that LoLT descriptors were inaccurate. • Schools designated as following a straight-for-English model were unintentionally implementing a rough dual-medium (two-way immersion) LoLT model which outperformed schools following an early-exit transitional LoLT model by Grade 6. • The transition of LoLT from L1 to L2 at Grade 4 in early-exit transitional models was non-conducive to educational outcomes from the point of transition onwards. The research concluded that a dual-medium late-exit transitional LoLT model with gradually increasing L2 LoLT/gradually decreasing L1 LoLT use from Grade 1 up to the point of transition should be advocated for. From the point of transition, the L2 beshould used as sole LoLT for the rest of schooling , while the L1 should be taught as a subject during this time.