No description available.

No description available.

Each year, thousands of educators make the difficult transition from classroom to administrative office. A large body of research supports the view that many of them are inadequately prepared to meet the demands of their new role. Researchers have found that university training programs need to be supplemented and reinforced with field-administered programs that emphasize practical knowledge and skills. Their research shows that leadership training programs can significantly facilitate a first-year administrator's successful transition and raise the performance of experienced principals. This descriptive case study, describes how the Sarasota County, Florida, School District conceived, planned, and designed a four-tier administrator-training program using the Leadership Academy Model. The tiers were designed to serve, respectively, aspiring administrators, assistant principals, new principals, and experienced principals. During the period studied, only the first two tiers were implemented. The case study narrative covers the design concepts and details of all four tiers and the implementation experiences of the first two tiers. Program participants completed a written survey at the close of their academy year. The program directors used the surveys to help gauge how the program was received and to identify areas for improvement. The survey results indicated that the program was being well received. The case narrative includes a summary of these results. I served as the director of the Sarasota program over the timeframe covered by the study, but prior to undertaking the study, I had moved to another staff position within the district. In this work, I trace in some detail how leadership training in public education has been research driven, and how it evolved from early Effective Schools Research. I also briefly review a number of notable implementations of such programs across the United States, both at the state and local district level. I am hopeful that this documentation will prove helpful to other school districts that are considering the implementation of leadership training programs. Toward this end I have included a final chapter documenting the insights I have gained over the course of my career in educational leadership and from my research and experiences while conducting this study. The chapter includes specific recommendations for future program designers and implementers, and suggests several areas for possible future research. / Ed. D.

No / SMEs create employment, wealth and a potential for future growth. In Palestine they can also mean survival and freedom. In Palestine they are not a choice but a necessity for sustainable development. But by their nature SMEs are vulnerable in a business environment characterized by uncertainty. To give the managers of SMEs in Palestine a realistic chance of success they need training to enable them to meet the challenge of running their enterprises effectively. Drawing on original research undertaken within Palestine this book explores how the challenge is being met (and considers how it might be even more successfully met) by enabling and empowering the owners and managers of these pioneering businesses.

Typescript. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1939 H51 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1953 H6 / Master of Science

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore reasons for academics' apathy towards formal professional development programmes at North-West University, Mafikeng Campus. For this study, the research design used was essentially descriptive, employing both qualitative and quantitative research techniques to gather and analyse data. Three techniques, namely, questionnaire surveys, analysis of University documentary sources on professional development, and literature review, were utilised to obtain information pertinent to this study. The researcher established from the literature that the possible reasons for apathy towards professional development could be that people do not feel that their needs coincide with the mission/purpose statement of their organisation; people have conflicting commitments and, as a result, are often unable to expend the levels of time and energy called for by the organisation; and that people believe that they do not play a significant role in the processes that drive their organisation. The literature also highlighted the following major impediments to professional development: low priority and lack of support; lack of reward for or incentives to attend training sessions; existence of panels and committees in charge of professional development, but inactive; lack of time; existing perceptions of staff training; difficulties of timetabling; and lack of specific funding. The questionnaire was structured around the following broad areas identified in the purpose of the study; strategies and activities that may be used to conduct professional development programmes in the University, rationale for participating in professional development programmes, academic staff's perceptions of professional development programmes, outcomes or effectiveness of professional development programmes, factors that are likely to promote professional development initiatives, and factors that are likely to impede professional development initiatives. The last question provided the respondents with the opportunity for additional information that they deemed necessary for the study. Despite all the perceived impediments to professional development, the respondents felt positive that if things are done correctly, the future of professional development in Higher Education Institutions is bright. However, there is an urgent need to take stock of the effectiveness of the current professional development initiatives and the findings from this study would serve as a basis for professional development initiatives in Higher Education Institutions. To this end the University needs to institute periodic needs assessment for professional development for both academics and the Institution as a whole. This will surely go a long way towards achieving the overall objective of professional development, which is the development of the individual and the Institution. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the North West Department of Education in the induction of primary school principals. This study was ,guided by four primary research questions namely: What constitutes the nature and characteristics of induction? What are the induction strategies that the Department of Education employs in this exercise? How effective are the induction programmes in the North West Province? What are the challenges of induction in the North West Province? The review of the literature focused on the recruitment of principals, the various models of the induction programme for principals and how these impacted on the preparation of principals in the management, the governance, the administration and the instructional leadership within the school. Questionnaire served as the sole data collection instrument, and it comprised 44 items. The sample population consisted of two hundred (200) primary school principals selected randomly from the four districts of the North West Province. The data was collected using a Lickert 5 point scale. The following areas were covered in the questionnaire: The nature and characteristics of the induction The challenges of the induction The strategies of the induction The effectiveness of the induction. The findings revealed that the Department of Education does make efforts to ensure that novice and seasoned principals in the North West Province are not faced with the 'swim or sink' dilemma in the management of schools. The data further revealed that new principals are trained upon assumption of duty. However, data revealed that quality assurance mechanisms are seriously lacking and that there is no variety in the strategies that are being followed in the induction of school principals. In conclusion, the study recommended further research into the implementation of the induction system as well as a further benchmarking of the best practices beyond the province to establish how the North West compares with other provinces. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011