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This study was initiated because of concern about the poor health record of the population in the West of Scotland, anxiety about low activity levels in pre-adolescent children, and the lack of systematic and regular physical education classes at primary school. A daily physical education programme was established in one primary school (Pilot Study) to examine the effects of an increase in time allocation to physical education on the motor fitness, affective development and academic performance of pupils. Later the programme expanded to all primary 6 and primary 7 children in a community (>N 400) engaged in daily physical education (The Linwood Project). This programme was taught jointly by the class teachers and the specialist teachers of physical education from the associated secondary schools. Although there has been research into daily physical education in other parts of the world, to the author's knowledge, the combination of primary/secondary integration and daily physical education was unique to the Linwood Project. The project was part of a unified concept of physical education which is detailed in the study. The children who were engaged in the daily physical education programme and the control samples receiving 'normal' physical education programmes, were assessed before and after the daily physical education programme. Testing was conducted on motor fitness, academic performance and 'attitude to school'. There was additional monitoring by head teachers, teachers and parents. The findings indicated that the children engaged in the daily physical education programme: had made considerable improvements in motor fitness and were superior to the children on 'normal' physical education; had at least maintained their progress in academic achievements, with some indication of superior attainment in computation at the primary 7 stage; tended to have more favourable 'school related attitudes' than the children on the 'normal' programmes.

The thesis starts by examining the environment surrounding UK universities and concludes that external pressures are forcing universities to change. Internal pressures, largely resulting from rapid growth and lack of business systems are also adding to the argument for change. Having concluded that UK universities do indeed need to become more: customer focused; flexible; and efficient - the thesis then puts forward the hypotheses that: • Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) may provide UK universities with a methodology for change; but that the contextual differences between UK universities and business enterprises are so great that existing BPR methodologies couldn't be easily adopted by universities in the UK; • yet, existing methodologies may be used as a basis for creating a methodology designed specifically for UK universities. On reviewing existing BPR methodologies in light of the contextual differences between UK universities and business enterprises, it was concluded that existing methodologies were indeed inappropriate for the university context. The remainder of the thesis documents work carried out in order to develop a more appropriate methodology for the UK university sector. Firstly the results of a quantitative survey aimed at establishing how many UK universities have tried to use Business Process Re-engineering are reported. Secondly the results of a more in-depth, qualitative, investigation are documented. The qualitative research took the form of in-depth interviews with personnel involved in "BPR" exercises in ten UK universities. The drivers for change, the methodologies employed, the problems and the success factors are documented in this thesis. Having analysed the results of this research, a methodology for Business Process Re-engineering in UK universities is developed and documented. Based on feedback received from academics, practitioners and consultants alike, the thesis concludes that the methodology represents a contribution to current knowledge.

This study examines the efforts of British university management to cope with the rapid environmental change experienced during the past fifteen years. Central to these efforts has been the attempt to adopt a more business like approach to management and to inculcate a customer oriented culture amongst staff through training and development. This study explores key assumptions underlying this strategy of change. First, that organization cultures can indeed be managed by development and training initiatives. Second and more specifically, that training can produce the desired attitude towards customers. To do this, the literature on organization culture and change was critically reviewed to establish both a theoretical and empirical bases for the present study. From the review the operational definition of "culture as meaning" was developed and a distinctively eclectic methodological approach was created. Also an additional hypothesis was added, namely that research and instrument design crucially influence the recorded change in attitude and culture indicated by previous studies, that is, the apparent success of intervention was a function of the mode of measurement adopted. The results of the study indicate that, if measurement effects are controlled for, training has no systematic impact at all on attitudes. The key influence on attitude is the total experience of working within a particular organization (the "being there" factor), and that only a holistic approach to organizational development would be feasible. Ad hoc initiatives cannot bring about the desired change.

This study is about the state of vocational and technical education (VTE) in Ethiopia with particular focus on the factors governing the demand for and supply of middle level technical skills. Ethiopia is a low income agrarian country with a weak industrial base. Economic growth here presupposes, inter alia, the effective use of technologies. This, in turn, would call for the provision of middle level technical skills for deployment in various sectors of the economy. The theme of the study turns on the observations that: a) there is a chronic shortage of supply of middle level technical skills of various categories in Ethiopia; and b) VTE enrolment and expenditure on VTE are both assuming a declining trend. The burden of the thesis is to explain why VTE enrolment and expenditure have to be on the decline while shortfalls in the supply of VTE-based skills prevail. This problem, set in chapter IV, is investigated with the aid of data obtained from primary and secondary sources. The primary data derive from a sample survey covering a total of 420 individuals, including VTE and non-VTE students and employees. The secondary data were gleaned from a wide range of published and unpublished sources. Chapter V explains the problem set in chapter IV in terms of the prevalence of constraints circumscribing the activities of educational planners. Planners in Ethiopia are acutely constrained by the limited investment resources at their disposal. This, coupled with the fact that VTE is 14 to 19 times more expensive than non-VTE and the absence of any coherent manpower planning, would make planners reluctant to spend more on VTE. The consequence of this policy bias is to deprive VTE of qualified teachers and of adequate teaching facilities, thereby constraining the quality and quantity supply of VTE graduates. In chapter VI, the Problem is explained further in terms of the attitudes of individuals towards VTE and their demand for VTE. Results of the analysis of the survey data show that there is an underlying decline of interest in VTE, precipitated mainly by the socially and economically unattractive career prospects associated with VTE-related occupations. Those already in VTE-related employment are - much unlike their non-VTE counterparts - shown to be given to a high 'rate of frustration', arising from poor remuneration and unfulfilled educational and occupational aspirations. The persistence of frustration would make VTE employees ineffective in their jobs. It would also make entry into VTE less attractive thus constraining the scope for the expansion of VTE-based skill supply. The Preponderance, as at present, of such factors as cultural prejudices against VTE, the failure of the labour market to reflect shortages of skill supply by bidding up wage rates for the relevant skills, and policy restrictions on the vertical and horizontal mobility of labour, would only exacerbate the problem of excess demand over supply with respect to VTE skills. The study indicates the need for liberalisation of the labour market by removing the bureaucratic constraints on its operation, the adoption of policy measures enhancing educational and occupational prospects for VTE graduates, the adoption of cost-effective methods of providing VTE to be able to release resources for purposes of VTE expansion, and the reorganisation of VTE curricular structure in such a way as to make VTE professionally appealing to both employers and students.

The introduction to this thesis outlines the concerns which led to the development of the National Education and Training Targets and the degrees of success which different sectors in Scotland are experiencing in meeting these Targets. It documents the rise in the number of private training providers, the controversy which has surrounded them and the market niches which they dominate. The aim of the research is then described as an assessment of whether the resource which the private training providers represent could be better utilised to increase training capacity within Scotland and thereby contribute towards achieving the Targets related to level III SVQs which are proving particularly elusive. In Chapter 2 the research methodology to be used is discussed, followed in Chapter 3 by the results of the literature review which confirms the lack of any research on private training providers. The field research is documented in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, describing and analysing in chronological order the data gathered through the use of a postal survey followed by interviews with selected private training providers and national and regional agencies. Additional information gathered from a workshop on the research topic is included within these chapters, as appropriate. Chapter 7 draws together the conclusions from the literature review and the field research focussing in particular on what they tell us about the market for private training providers, their status, method of operation and the quality of their services. Recommendations follow in Chapter 8 which, whilst acknowledging the valuable contribution made by a proportion of the private training providers, propose that the continuing expansion of the sector should be halted until some rationalisation of it has been undertaken and support given to those providers considered to have the potential to sustain a commercially-viable business providing high quality training services.

The study opens with an examination of the theory and practice of Religious and Moral Education in the forties. Special attention is given to the view, reaching back into the nineteenth century, that Religious Education and Moral Education were to be equated. From this base in monism the subsequent course of RME into increasing complexity, differentiation and plurality is analysed. Particular attention is given to the emergence of ME as an autonomous exercise, and to the relationship of RE both to a secular rational educational philosophy and to a multi-faith society. Advocacy of these positions began in the forties, and reached a convincingly argued case in the seventies. The major curriculum-development schemes in RE and ME in the seventies were said to operate on 'complementarity' as the best way of viewing the relationship between the two areas. But the teaching material implied that complementarity meant parallel practice rather than interaction. It will be argued in this thesis that such a position may be an over-reaction against the former view of equation between RE and ME. There may be a better way of seeing the relationship so as to allow for mutually beneficial intersection. This argument is not advanced primarily on empirical grounds, but a research-scheme in 1983 among Sheffield, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire teachers and headteachers gave encouragement to pursue the notion of an intersecting RE/ME, with possible benefits to Personal and Social Education.

There is disagreement among clicker trainers on whether or not food should be delivered every time the clicker (conditioned reinforcer) is used. However, presenting a conditioned reinforcer without food can weaken the strength of the conditioned reinforcer and also disrupt its discriminative stimulus function. A within subjects reversal design was used with 2 dogs to compare the behavioral effects of continuous pairings (C+F condition) vs. intermittent pairings (C+C+F condition) of the clicker with food. Results show that the C+C+F condition affects the frequency, accuracy, topography, and intensity of the behavior, and increases noncompliance and other unwanted behaviors. This study adds to the literature by evaluating the effects of conditioned reinforcement in an applied setting using discrete trials without undergoing extinction.

The focus of this study is the exploration of whether two-generational approaches to education for mothers and children can enhance the process of community development and lead to community empowerment. Using an action research model of intervention, a community based project was initiated to develop educational opportunities for young children and families in a low income, urban neighbourhood. Parents, particularly mothers, were supported in their role as primary educators of their own young children and as individuals in their own right with wider interests and concerns. A wide range of activities was developed, but a holistic perspective ensured that they all contributed to the integration of support networks in the community. An imbalance in the involvement of women and men in the project led to an exploration of women's role in the community and the recognition of how a feminist perspective could refine and extend a radical adult education approach. Defining women as an oppressed group enabled the development of strategies for education as liberation rather than domestication. It is acknowledged, however, that education is a tool in the development process, not a solution to wider social and economic problems.

This study initially explores the value of higher education from a historical perspective, and goes on to discover what value is given to higher education by students pursuing it today. The research approach is inductive, based on principles originally determined by Glaser and Strauss (1967) in the generation of 'grounded theory'. Techniques employed include theoretical sampling and comparative analysis. The university students selected for interview were freshman and sophomore (first and second-year undergraduates in four-year bachelor's programs) native-born American students attending an American university. Fifty students between the ages of 18 and 20, half male and half female, were selected. An interview schedule with 30 questions was used as a guide during the interviews. The interviews were largely informal and non-directive. Initial analysis of interview transcripts revealed broad student perceptions on higher education and its value. Prioritization of emerging data was determined in relation to the study's purposes as well as frequent recurrence to the point of saturation. With continued analysis, six themes emerged as most pertinent to the research while congruently being the most saturated themes within the data. Still later, the themes were synthesized and connections among them developed. A central theme to which all others are connected is the <I>core theme</I>: the 'Superior Societal Being'. The five major connecting themes are the <I>branch themes:</I> 'Real World'; 'The College Experience'; 'Influence and Expectations of Others'; 'The Game'; and 'Money versus Education'. In addition, particular nuances relating to each of the six themes developed. Three of the themes are later examined as featured highlights.