Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Ed. / Internationally in countries such as the United States of America and Australia, there has been a shift in focus over recent years from essentially content based education curricula towards education curricula which offer the opportunity for all individuals to realize their potential, and that are capable of producing productive, contributing members of society. According to the United States Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's most recent regional needs assessment (www.nwrel.org/planning/rna2000.html), "helping students become self-directed learners who take responsibility for their own academic performance" was ranked near the top of identified priorities. The focus on developing responsible and selfdirected learners extends beyond application to learning as cultivating responsible and self-directed behaviours is clearly intended to equip learners with responsible and self-directed behaviours and skills that in time will translate to their emergence as responsible and self-directed adult members of society. This is significant when considering the South African educational context, which also forwards educational goals that reflect the values of the society and that encapsulate the type of member of society that the educational system envisages producing. Given the legislative framework of South Africa, the resulting educational policies, as well as the importance of preparing learners to participate and contribute to a democratic society, it becomes clear that the development of responsible and self-directed learners is relevant to the South African context. Self-directed learning encourages individuals to take control of the learning experience. This means that learners are given choices and encouraged to make decisions as well as accept responsibility for associated consequences. Various characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of self-directed and responsible learners have been forwarded by various researchers in the field. Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, and Rasumssen (1995) suggest that responsible learners exhibit behaviours such as setting goals and choosing tasks, and have the ability to plan effectively and think ahead. Responsible and self-directed learners have been identified by Long (in Hiemstra,1994 ) as having typical, common internal personality traits or characteristics as well as characteristic external behaviours, attitudes and responses. In addition to certain personality traits, specific kinds of cognitive skills are identified by Long (in Hiemstra, 1994) as being particularly important in successful self-directed learning. Self-directedness in learning is then a term recognizing both external factors that facilitate a learner taking primary responsibility, and internal factors that predispose an individual to accepting responsibility for learning-related thoughts and actions, which are characterised by particular traits, and skills that are demonstrated by responsible and self-directed behaviours.

Thesis (Ed. D., Education)--University of Idaho, October 2006. / Major professor: Russell A. Joki. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-163). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This study aimed to explore parents’ perceptions on inclusive education in private South African schools with the focus on two inclusive practices: bridging classes and classroom facilitators. The sample for this study consisted of 10 parents from two private schools in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. A semi-structured in-depth interview schedule was devised to examine parents’ perceptions on the support and inclusive practices offered within their schools. The results indicated that majority of parents found bridging classes to be more beneficial than classroom facilitators in assisting children experiencing barriers to learning. Furthermore, results demonstrated that the quality of teaching ultimately influences the success of inclusive education within the school. / XL2018

Thesis (M. Ed)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 71-75).

Thesis (M.Ed)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75). Also available in print.

Currently, in school leadership a distributed perspective is supported by scholars in this field. Teacher leadership is seen as a means of operationalising distributed leadership. Drawing on this, the aim of this study is to explore the experiences of teacher leadership in a special education needs school. The study seeks to answer the following key questions: What does it mean to be a teacher leader in an ELSEN (Education for Learners with Special Educational Needs School)? How do teachers enact teacher leadership in an ELSEN school? How does the SMT (School Management Team) promote/not promote teacher leadership in an ELSEN school? Distributed leadership and teacher leadership are used as theories underpinning the study. The study is located within the interpretive paradigm and employs a qualitative case study approach. One of the strategies that qualitative research encompasses is case studies. One of the advantages of case study research is that you can use various kinds of methods to collect data. Case study research is flexible in regard to data selection, methods of data collection and analysis. In this study the context was an ELSEN school in KwaZulu-Natal and the informative participants used were five teachers, two heads of departments and the deputy principal. They were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used to generate data. The findings revealed that teachers play a meaningful role inside their classrooms, but beyond the classroom, leadership roles are lacking. Teachers do not understand the term teacher leadership and teachers should have a vision for their school. / M. Ed. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

The aim of this study was to investigate, from an educational management perspective, the factors that influence job satisfaction amongst special needs educators in selected New Zealand special needs schools. A qualitative research method was utilised to investigate the educational management strategies that influence the job satisfaction of special needs educators in selected New Zealand special needs schools. This dissertation presents the findings from a questionnaire on participants’ geographical details and data from related interviews. The findings from this study indicate that the job satisfaction of special needs educators is mainly influenced by factors such as management support, adequate resources, collaborative working relationships, ability of students with special educational needs to progress, and communication, among others. The study makes certain recommendations to help special needs educational managers effectively manage factors that influence job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction for special needs educators. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study was conducted to assess the implementation of the expanded core curriculum for learners with visual impairments in special schools in Zambia sub – Saharan Africa. A qualitative case study was used. The main instruments in data collection were face-to-face interviews, a focus group discussion, questionnaire and documents. Data was collected from 28 learners with visual impairments from Grade 5 to 12, 22 teachers from 3 selected special schools; 10 university students, 1 lecturer at university level; 2 college lecturers and 2 curriculum specialists. All the participants were sampled using the purposive sampling procedure. The study found that ECC was taught in segmented patterns without a curriculum guide and learners did not learn all the skills. Methodologies used in teacher training and at school level were inadequate. The main challenges were lack of clear curriculum on ECC, lack of time allocated for teaching ECC, non-availability of teaching and learning resources. The strategies to improve delivery of ECC included formulation of clear ECC and improvement in personnel preparation. The findings offer insight into the kind of ECC skills offered in schools and the challenges that hinder the full teaching of skills. In order to improve skills delivery, all stakeholders: teachers, trainers, curriculum specialists and parents, should collaborate. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges that are met by the teachers in selected secondary level special schools, catering for physically impaired learners in South Africa, when they teach Environmental Education. The study was qualitative in nature. In order to meet the qualities of a qualitative research, a multiple case study design was employed in this research study. The data was collected from four special schools, two from Gauteng Province and the other two from the Eastern Cape Province. The sample consisted of 5 Grade 10 teachers, teaching Life Sciences from these 4 schools. Data was collected through interviews, document analysis and learners’ books. The interviews were analysed through the phenomenological approach by Giorgi (1975). The study revealed that most of the teachers in the study did not have the relevant educational qualification to teach environmental education nor do they have adequate training in the subject, for the workshops were conducted for only three days. The study also revealed that even though the teachers welcomed the integration of environmental education into the school curricula, they experienced challenges in teaching the subject, which included curriculum related, learner related, teacher related, policy related, administration related and office based related. The study also revealed that teachers’ knowledge of EE was superficial and that they only taught in and about environmental education, they did not teach for environmental education which is the main goal of environmental education. The results also showed that the teachers were unable to translate the policies of inclusive education and by implication, they could not adapt the mainstream curriculum for special needs learners, as expected from teachers in special schools. It was also found out that the teachers lack knowledge of the philosophy that underpins the CAPS curriculum, which is social constructivism. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)