Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the light of the emphasis on the decentralization of school management in South Africa, the empowerment of all role players to be involved in decision-making has became crucial. My concern is with the experience of the process of empowerment by leaders in education. The implications of empowerment or the lack there-off for the school culture and climate, as well as the underlying role played by the leadership approach of educational leaders, are examined. By engaging in an interpretative analysis of data (questionnaires which contains the views of various role players) I examined the relationship between empowerment, school culture and climate, as well as transformational leadership. Empowerment is not a simplistic concept which is clear from the mutual coherence between the school culture and climate and the particular role assumed by the transformational approach. The particular interaction between transformational leadership, empowerment and the school culture and climate implies greater clarity from all role players about the impact of empowerment. In this way participative management can realise in a spontaneous manner and can change be seen as a unique opportunity to improve teaching and learning. KEY WORDS Empowerment, school culture and climate and transformational leadership. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die lig van die klem op die desentralisasie van skoolbestuur in Suid-Afrika is die bemagtiging van alle rolspelers tot effektiewe deelname in besluitneming onontbeerlik. My besorgdheid is met die belewing van die proses van bemagtiging deur onderwysleiers. Die implikasies van bemagtiging of die gebrek daaraan vir die skoolkultuur en -klimaat, asook die onderliggende rol wat die leierskapbenadering van die onderwysleiers in die verband speel, is ook ondersoek. Verbind tot 'n interpretatiewe data-analise (vraelyste met die menings van verskeie rolspelers daarin vervat) het ek die verband tussen bemagtiging, skoolkultuur en -klimaat en transformatiewe leierskap ondersoek. Bemagtiging is nie 'n simplistiese begrip nie dit blyk onder meer uit die onderlinge samehang daarvan met skoolkultuur en -klimaat en die besondere rol wat die transformatiewe leierskapbenadering veronderstel. Die besondere wisselwerking tussen transformatiewe leierskap, bemagtiging en skoolkultuur en -klimaat vereis 'n groter duidelikheid by alle rolspelers oor die impak van bemagtiging. Sodoende realiseer deelnemende bestuur spontaan en word verandering as 'n besondere geleentheid beskou om onderrig en leer voortdurend te verbeter. SLEUTELWOORDE Bemagtiging, skoolkultuur en -klimaat en transformatiewe leierskap

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The InterdIsciplInary and exploratory nature of thIs thesis has made It difficult to write. The thesIs is InterdIscIplinary in the sense that it touches on a number of broad areas of study. The methodology which was adopted, In partIcular the use of content analysis and of certaIn statIstical processes rests on a knowledge of psychology. The category system which is made up of a number of types of hIstory could only be constructed after an extensIve consideration of the nature of history. The discussIon of the case for and agaInst the current syllabus,and the proposal for a new alternative syllabus at '0' and 'A' level (see Chapters 13 and 14), draws mainly on an understanding of the theoretical debates about the teaching of history which have occurred since the Second World War. FInally throughout the thesis references are made to the evidence and Ideas put forward by historians about particular periods of history. The thesis Is also exploratory.· The findings which are reported arise from the use of a category system drawing on the different types of history developed by hIstorians. No other researchuhas attempted to create such a broad category system, to assess Its valIdIty and reliability and then to employ It to code material dealinq with extensive periods of British and European history. At the same time the arguments, whIch are employed to defend and to attack the existinq syllabus (see Chapter 13), and to construct the outlines of a new syllabus (see Chapter 14), had to be created almost ab initio, since the dominance of particular types of history. both at university and school level. has not been debated extensively. either by historians. or by those writers. who discuss the teaching o f h·I story. These two asoects of the thesis have had a number of reoercussions. First of all vast topics have had to be discussed in a cursory fashion. For example all the arguments for the inclusion or exclusion of oartlcular types of history in the category system had to be reviewed in one chapter. a few pages being devoted to each of the types of history. Secondly maior themes and arguments relating to the nature of history. and to history teachinQ. have had to be exemplified with disturbing brevity. Thus the debate over the impact of oarticular types of history on the community(l) had to be illustrated by a small number of examples when the whole thesis could have been devoted to the discussion. Thirdly. and finally. the wide ranging nature of the thesis has made it impossible to conduct the exhaustive study of every aspect of the subject which would have been appropriate had the topic been more narrowly defined. However. despite these disadvantages. it is to be hoped that this interdisciplinary and exploratory study will throw light on a vital area of the history syllabus in schools.

The Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) is a major piece of legislation for Arizona, reducing norm-referenced standardized testing, providing performance-based assessments matching curriculum, requiring district articulation with state curriculum frameworks and assessments, collecting contextual information from districts, and producing complete profiles of schools, districts and the state. In its first year of implementation, the ASAP is appropriately examined through policy analysis rather than through an evaluation study. Six criteria for educational policy analysis developed by Mitchell (1986) were validated and used as interview questions with seven interviewees knowledgeable about the ASAP. Results of the interviews suggest the degree to which the ASAP is good educational policy and likely to make a difference in Arizona. Interviewees indicated that the ASAP is democratic, providing for both the needs of legitimate stakeholders and the general public interest. It recognizes and supports the organizational integrity of schools only if schools have begun to make some reform efforts of their own in the direction of the ASAP. The ASAP provides adequate means-end linkage for the first two years of implementation, including through school, district, and state profiles, but may need to provide additional help to districts during the first two years; furthermore, relief incentives may be needed, rather than sanctions or disincentives, to encourage continued implementation. The ASAP may not be integrated into overall state educational policy, primarily because there has been no unifying state policy until the ASAP. The ASAP may emerge as a force to reorient current and unify future policy. The ASAP will be expensive, but the interviewees felt the short and long-term benefits justify cost. The ASAP was the most politically feasible policy available to bring about the changes needed, but perhaps not the most palatable, especially to districts that have made no reform efforts of their own. Policy analysis using different criteria and evaluation studies are recommended.

Pokyčiai ekonomikoje ir darbo rinkoje sąlygojo politines ir mokslines diskusijas apie mokymąsi visą gyvenimą bei besimokančios visuomenės poreikius: rinkos ekonomika reikalauja nuolat atnaujinti turimus, bei įgyti naujus įgūdžius, žinias ir gebėjimus. Augantis tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas ir konkurencija įtakojo naują požiūrį į mokymąsi visą gyvenimą, apimantį tiek naujų kompetencijų įgijimą, tiek anksčiau įgytų tobulinimą. Švietimo reformų pasekoje, plėtojant žinių visuomenę, atsiranda vis daugiau galimybių bei iniciatyvos mokytis ir dalyvauti kaitos procesuose. Švietimo politikai akcentuoja būtinybę kelti mokymo kokybę, kuriai didžiulę įtaką turi pedagogų kvalifikacija, reikalaujanti nuolatinio tobulinimo ir atnaujinimo. Ilgainiui mokytojų vaidmuo pakito: jų pedagoginė veikla tapo labiau kompleksinė, reikalaujanti priimti savarankiškus sprendimus, todėl mokytojai skatinami nuolat tobulintis ir aktyviai dalyvauti mokyklos tobulinimo procese. Svarbu pabrėžti, kad žinios, įgūdžiai ir gebėjimai nėra įgyjami visam laikui, - jie turi būti nuolat atnaujinami visos mokytojo karjeros laikotarpiu. Dalyvavimą mokymosi visą gyvenimą procesuose sąlygoja tam tikri veiksniai, į kuriuos, kaip į mokymosi kontekstą, svarbu atsižvelgti, apibūdinant mokytojų nuolatinio mokymosi pasiekimų vertinimo bei pripažinimo specifiką. Daugelis mokymosi motyvus analizavusių autorių (V. Šernas 2003; A. Gaižutis 2003; V. Kučinskas 2001; K. Pukelis 2003; L. Stoll ir D. Fink 1998; V. Kavaliauskienė 2001; B... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Economical and social changes of society raise new requirements for particular individuals, thus the idea of constant studying starts to gain ground progressively. People aim at improvement of their professional qualification, acquiring more knowledge and experience. This favourably capacitates change and rising social status of the individuals. Hence, it is very important to emphasize the role of constant studying in the dynamic contemporary society. Occupation and activity are the important process of personal self-realisation. Professional education and training have significant effect upon occupation and social integration. Thus, it is necessary to draw attention to the factors and motives influencing upon the process of constant studying. Profession of a teacher is specific as it does not limit itself entirely to the capabilities of the teacher. The overall psychological structure: activeness, single-mindedness of activity, sources of abilities and way of activity – is also important there. Constant studying of the teachers, their qualification refreshment, which are related with improvement of own personality, self-knowledge, perception and assessment of own relation to the profession, and also reflect inner aspirations and stimulate cultural renewal. Motivation of teachers’ constant studying and professional development is related with the interest in own profession, eagerness to become a specialist with high qualification, giving sense to the teacher’s profession and... [to full text]

This study investigates human resources management, training and development and their compliance with the skills development legislation and the link to the strategic goals of the Cape Technikon. The Cape Technikon is known as a previously &ldquo / white&rdquo / or advantaged institution. The institution's political history and consequent demographic profile display some scars of ignorance. This resulted in the institution's neglecting to invest in the development of those competencies needed to function in a constantly changing education, training and development environment. The success of any organisation depends on its human resources, who are the most important asset of any organisation, therefore effective and efficient human resources management and training and development management play a critical role in the well-being of employees. Human resources training and development policies, practices and activities guide the institution with implementation and should be considered to take on a strategic role to achieve their objectives.

This thesis explores a small number of TEFL teachers’ collective responses to an extended change process in their Mexican university context from 1989-2003. The nature of the emergent knowledge arising from this inquiry hinges on the analysis and interpretation by the researcher who is also a complete participant in this educational context of her informants’ perceptions from their retrospection, and a reconstruction of the past, in present time. The methodology I adopted broadly follows interpretative qualitative research principles, including aspects of life history inquiry. The data generation process employed to explore our perceptions of ourselves, as well as our working context, before and during the 1990s, as we ourselves narrate them, comprised of: ‘conversations with a purpose’, critical incident and repertory grid interviews, as well as the concurrent analysis of the data, based on aspects of Grounded Theory. As a result, numerous categories and concepts emerged. These not only helped me to discover the issues that were both instrumental and influential regarding our positive receptivity to change, but also how being involved in a change process changed us, not only as individuals, but also as a culture. Based on these findings that have led to my deeper understanding of the nature of educational change, I conclude this thesis by positing that instead of adopting a mechanistic paradigm for viewing change, it is necessary, and more useful, to view it through the lens of complexity theory. Finally, this thesis ends by examining the implications that this position and the findings have for change policy makers, managers and change leaders, as well as suggestions for future research.

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

This was a qualitative study designed to document the historical process which brought about a performance-centered accountability (or results-based) system in educator preparation in Texas as reflected in the documents of the first 17 institutions approved under the new approval process for educator preparation. The study will also serve as a historical record which used the change process in political systems to analyze the adoption of the Accountability System for Educator Preparation (ASEP). Additionally, the study provided a thorough review of the literature on Michael Fullan's Change Process Model and David Easton's Political Systems Model.

In response to reductionist neoliberal approaches to organizational change that have been prevalent in American education since the 1980s, some educators have begun to employ a whole-systems approach to improving student learning. These approaches, based in complexity sciences, recognize the nonlinear, unpredictable nature of learning and the interconnected relationships among myriad factors that influence the teaching/learning that occurs in schools. In the summer preceding the 2011-2012 school year, a cohort of educators from California Unified School District participated in a 10-day training regarding human systems dynamics (HSD) and complexity thinking. Their goal was to build adaptive capacity throughout the district in the pursuit of improving student learning. Through analysis of the interviews from seven target participants from this training, this study investigates what target participants report regarding their use of HSD methods and models in their work in schools across the 2011-2012 school year. Findings indicate that target participants displayed distinct arcs of use of HSD methods/models. In addition, findings suggest that target participants’ need for support in learning and implementing HSD methods/models, the influence of systemic and individual history, and the role of agency affected their “arcs of use.” This study illuminates the ways in which HSD methods/models support both organizational change efforts and the ways in which teaching/learning occur in the classroom, including the applicability of HSD methods/models in building collaborative cultures and in helping students develop the kinds of thinking required in the use of 21st-century literacies.