Submitted by Gisely Teixeira (gisely.teixeira@uniceub.br) on 2018-07-20T11:18:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 61500107.pdf: 1312870 bytes, checksum: ae576a3f27a5137f4170342471a5356c (MD5) / Rejected by Fernanda Weschenfelder (fernanda.weschenfelder@uniceub.br), reason: é mestrado on 2018-07-23T15:01:59Z (GMT) / Submitted by Gisely Teixeira (gisely.teixeira@uniceub.br) on 2019-01-14T15:39:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 61500107.pdf: 1312870 bytes, checksum: ae576a3f27a5137f4170342471a5356c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Fernanda Weschenfelder (fernanda.weschenfelder@uniceub.br) on 2019-01-14T16:25:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 61500107.pdf: 1312870 bytes, checksum: ae576a3f27a5137f4170342471a5356c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2019-01-14T16:25:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 61500107.pdf: 1312870 bytes, checksum: ae576a3f27a5137f4170342471a5356c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / O objetivo deste trabalho, em primeiro momento, é estabelecer os conceitos de políticas públicas, contas públicas, controle social, accountability, e, participação cidadão, entender e identificar suas dimensões essenciais, diferenciar este mecanismo de controle dos checks and balances. Em um segundo momento, destacadas as dimensões essenciais do conceito, identifica a existência de mecanismos institucionais de controle da Administração Pública à disposição dos cidadãos no ordenamento jurídico do Brasil, especialmente os de matiz constitucional, abordando as inconsistências e fatores dificultadores dessa participação individual.

BakgrundEfter flera år av sjunkande elevresultat fick år 2006 Myndigheten för Skolutveckling i uppdrag att fördela ett statligt bidrag för att anordna sommarskolor. Trots bidraget har antalet elever som inte når gymnasiebehörighet fortsatt att sjunka. År 2012 togs det statliga bidraget bort för att åter införas 2014.SyfteStudiens syfte är att vinna kunskap om sommarskolors betydelse för skolors måluppfyllelse och elevers lärande. Studiens frågeställningar rör hur sommarskolor är organiserade, vilka argument som finns för respektive emot sommarskolor enligt berörd personal samt hur sommarskolors existens kan förstås och tolkas utifrån å ena sidan samhällets krav på måluppfyllelse och å andra sidan elevers behov och lärares professionella bedömningar.MetodEn kvalitativ metod med hermeneutisk ansats och intervjuer som redskap. Som teoretiskt perspektiv har Balls begrepp performativitet och fabrikation använts.ResultatUndervisning och lärande i sommarskolan skiljer sig från den ordinarie undervisningen genom större samsyn och samarbete lärare emellan och att ett individanpassat arbetssätt används i större omfattning. Informanterna önskar dock få resurserna under terminstid för att bättre kunna erbjuda alla elever en god lärmiljö, något som de anser att de i ordinarie undervisningen inte klarar av på grund av brister i organisation, tids- och resurstilldelning. Sommarskolan ses av informanterna som en dold agenda för att snygga till statistiken över måluppfyllelsen. / Program: Masterprogram i pedagogiskt arbete

The social responsibility of corporations has become a topical issue. This is particularly so in relation to the ways and means of achieving harmony and congruency with social expectations. With the growing importance that corporations now place on meeting contemporary demands for extra-commercial engagement placed on them by society, regulating corporate activity in this area has come under intense public and legal scrutiny. In what can be described as a departure from the norm, the use of legislation to mandate and govern corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly perceived as an effective regulatory method in emerging economies. India, Mauritius, Indonesia and the Philippines have adopted legislation with regard to CSR. In Nigeria, however, several attempts at legislating on CSR have failed. This study shows that a multiplicity of factors is responsible for this development. This thesis posits that while the adoption of international CSR standards is encouraged through various international activities, only an autochthonous approach which recognises the peculiarities of the Nigerian state can promote the desired legislative objective on mandating CSR. This study explores the prospects of mandating CSR by legislation in Nigeria and suggests reforms deemed necessary for achieving the objective of mandatory CSR.

Since the days of Horace Mann, standardized testing has been used as a control mechanism by policy makers to determine who makes decisions about what will happen in public schools. A dynamic struggle for educational control and governance has continued since that time between the local, state, and federal levels. This struggle for control puts school principals in a unique organizational position where they are expected to use standardized tests within the school community with teachers, students, and parents to improve education but at the same time manage external accountability mandates from district, state and federal levels of governance. To further complicate the testing picture, multiple stakeholders from diverse backgrounds write about standardized testing, making the testing literature complex and seemingly contradictory. These competing narratives create distractions and confusion in the standardized testing debate. The purposes of this archival study was to (a) explore the literature about standardized testing to find patterns in the narratives that are being told in the disciplines of education, policy, economics, psychology/psychometry, and history; and, (b) analyze those narratives to determine what major themes emerged from each discipline so that principals can better understand the testing landscape. In each source we tracked first-author characteristics, one of which was author academic disciplinary background—the academic discipline the author primarily trained in during their formal education. With a better understanding of these disciplinary narratives, a principal is in a stronger position to understand and communicate more effectively about standardized testing within their school community, as well as manage the demands from external influences. This study used NVivo software to organize and analyze text from 147 documents from authors representing the five different disciplinary backgrounds. These documents were written by proponents and critics of testing. Patterns emerged that confirm that using standardized testing as a control mechanism is one of the most common themes in the testing literature. Each narrative is influential in unique ways, but the most important finding of this study shows that the two loudest narratives are those from education and policy. Both disciplines often focus on the reality that standardized testing is used as a control mechanism. Authors from the discipline of education wrote about this topic from a reactive and defensive position. Educators dominate the professional literature, but don't have nearly as strong of a voice in the mainstream media. On the other hand, the analysis demonstrated that authors in the realm of public policy write about standardized testing in a proactive and assertive tone, and they have a stronger voice in mainstream media. Understanding all five narratives can enable principals to more effectively and proactively take control of the standardized testing narrative in their own school community.

This study evaluated one important dimension of nonprofit self-regulation, the relationship between the Iowa Register of Accountability and voluntary website disclosure by Iowa nonprofits. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of self-regulation in Iowa to improve accountability as measured by voluntary website disclosure and transparency. As part of the study, an instrument was developed to reliably measure nonprofit website disclosure and transparency. The disclosure score ratings from Iowa Register of Accountability nonprofit organizations were compared to those not listed on the Register. Other factors relevant to disclosure and transparency (e.g. the method to become listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability and the type and number of organization staff members who received training) were also tested. Results indicated that nonprofit organizations listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability were more likely to have active websites and to voluntarily disclose recommended information on their websites than those Iowa nonprofits that have not sought or achieved listing on the Register. In particular, the Register group had statistically higher mean disclosure scores in four areas (Key Staff, Strategic Plan, Annual Reports, and Audit and Financial Statements) compared to the Non-Register group. Contrary to expectations, the method to become listed on the Iowa register of Accountability and the type and number of staff members who received training were not related to higher disclosure scores. The important finding of this research is that nonprofit organizations listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability were more likely to voluntarily disclose recommended information on their websites than those Iowa nonprofits that have not sought or achieved listing on the Register. Recommendations are made in terms of ways to improve nonprofit website disclosure and transparency by enhancing and expanding training opportunities. A major contribution of this study for future research in the field was the development of a disclosure scoring instrument to assess and compare website disclosure and transparency.

During the past quarter century, over 1000 articles have documented changes in student behaviors related to participation in mastery learning programs. Although the results have been generally positive, a debate continues as to the cause for increased student performance: Are results due to changes in how students attend to the information, or simply due to increased study time as a result of remediation? In this study, a videodisc-based program in fractions was used with fifth-grade students. The videodisc-based instruction was chosen to help minimize differences in instructional materials, instructional time, and instructional delivery. A pretest-posttest, control-group design was used to compare academic achievement, locus of control, and goal setting scores of two groups (N=154). Both groups received instruction in fractions via the teacher-directed, videodisc-based Mastering Fractions program. Treatment 1 students (N=80) were knowledgeable that they were participating in a mastery-learning program and would be held accountable for their progress and remediation. Treatment 2 students (N=74) were not aware that their teacher was using mastery learning principles to determine progression and remediation. A control group (N=32) received their normal grade five mathematics program. Comparisons between Treatment 1 and Treatment 2 student scores, after adjustments for pretest results using analysis of covariance, revealed standardized mean difference effect sizes of +0.03 for achievement, +0.32 for locus-of-control, and +0.46 for goal setting mean scores favoring Treatment 1. A discrepancy in implementation of the videodisc program in two classes may have skewed results. When data from these two classes were omitted, the analyses showed adjusted standardized mean difference effect sizes of +0.63 for achievement, +0.75 for locus-of-control, and +0.55 for goal setting mean scores favoring Treatment 1. A two-way analysis of covariance with treatment groups and achievement levels was also conducted. Subsequent standardized mean difference effect sizes using adjusted mean scores were greatest for students from the lowest achievement level (+0.64 for internal locus-of-control and +0.55 for goal setting mean scores). When data from the two discrepant classes were omitted, the adjusted standardized mean difference effect sizes were found to be + 1.24 for internal locus-of-control and + 1.06 for goal setting mean scores favoring students from the lowest achievement level. Implications of these results for mastery learning programs in public schools are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives and beliefs that practitioners have about prekindergarten in a Voluntary Prekindergarten program unable to meet minimal accountability requirements. The exploratory questions included: What are the beliefs and perceptions about effective and appropriate early childhood education among practitioners in a Voluntary Prekindergarten program on probation? And in what ways does probation influence practitioners' perceptions and beliefs about early childhood education? I used participants from a school where I conducted a pilot study. My data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, resumes, my research reflective journal, and the centers program improvement plan. Social constructivism was applied to understand the participants' perceptions and beliefs of Voluntary Prekindergarten Program. The findings indicated the practitioners and administrators in a Voluntary Prekindergarten not meeting readiness requirements believe the need for programs to have systems of accountability. They believe accountability is important; however, they believe holding programs accountable for a test at the beginning of kindergarten is ineffective. In addition, the findings denoted more information and more action is needed to accurately conclude approved Voluntary Prekindergarten programs are meeting all five components of the criteria in Title 48-Chapter 1002-Part V. The findings denoted further studies are necessary to assist practitioners to understand the importance of teaching children at where they are developmentally and just beyond. The amount of time that is offered in the Voluntary Prekindergarten programs needs to be examined, especially in the summertime.

The papers in this portfolio are part of the author's efforts to 'make things better' in education, and are the products of over a decade's thinking and research. While most of the papers are written from within the context of the state school system in NSW, their messages apply equally well to school systems elsewhere. The papers reflect an eclectic mix of research perspectives and methodological paradigms. It is suggested that student learning outcomes may be improved if schools specify goals and objectives, make the necessary resources available and establish accountability mechanisms for monitoring and measuring performance. The analysis and synthesis generates critical knowledge, that is, knowledge which is explanatory and interpretive. The desire to assist schools to achieve a position where they are able to (firstly) assemble their own data systems, and secondly to conduct their own analysis of this data and report this to the school community has been the common theme underpinning all the professional work of the author. The works evolved in this portfolio document an evolving process, and one which is far from concluded. There is much further work that could be done. An analysis of the macro and micro-politics of school improvement processes, for example, would be a useful contribution to the literature. For the present purposes, there is a practical need to limit the scope and number of the works presented. The works included all address, in some way, the common theme of improving school and systemic effectiveness through better information management. Hopefully, they have made some small contribution to better understanding the phenomenon, and will in turn positively impact on the performance of schools and school systems / Doctor of Education

One method chosen to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the health and education sectors is a decentralized voluntary board system. In Canada, boards are delegated specific administrative responsibilities but much of the power for funding and policy development is still held centrally by the provincial governments. Depending on the specifics of the debate, this structure creates either a dependent of an interdependent relationship between the boards and the provincial government that created them. What the relationship should be is unclear because the responsibilities associated with governance are not well defined in the literature. Given this reality, board members continue to accept the responsibility to account to the provincial governments and represent many stakeholders.

Diversified, essentially privatised, policing options are expanding daily in modern societies. They have become available to, and are being accessed by, individuals, community groups and governments on a regular basis. While this dissertation examines the phenomenon of private policing in Australia generally, its task, more specifically, is to document and review the laws that govern, shape and make accountable private policing operations and activities. Chapter 1 reviews the origins and manifestations of contemporary shifts to privatised models of policing. Chapter 2 examines models of relationships between public and private personnel, and the various methods of accountability that may serve to govern the activities of the latter. Chapters 3 to 8 explore and explain the applicable laws that inform, shape and govern private policing generally. What this examination reveals is that "private police" are empowered by a multitude of common law and legislative principles, along with a mosaic of diverse and semi-structured rules not necessarily designed for this specific purpose. One quickly finds that the laws that permit, facilitate, regulate and manage private manifestations of policing do not fall within easily discernible legal parameters. Finally, Chapter 9 provides a summary of the dissertation, together with some general thoughts concerning the effectiveness and appropriateness of the law as a vehicle for bringing about the desired goals, namely effective policing that provides appropriate outcomes for victims, suspects, private personnel, public police and the general public alike.