This thesis examines the recruitment, role, and effectiveness of special advisers to departmental ministers between 1970 and 1987 and attempts to establish whether their place in the British system of government has become institutionalized. Interviews with 160 advisers, ministers and former officials, a questionnaire completed by advisers, and relevant contemporary literature, provided the principal data. The literature, with its diverse theories on ministers' roles and relationships with the permanent bureaucracy, supplied a framework within which modelling was conducted on both the potential place for advisers in the system and the needs of ministers for extra assistance. An exploration of reasons given by ministers for appointing advisers shows how far ministers felt these needs. Evidence from the questionnaires and interviews reveals the wide range of activities in which advisers engage and that their role and place are products of the interplay of various factors. Variations in the effectiveness of advisers are analysed along with case studies illustrating their occasional impact on policy making. Limitations on advisers, and the characteristics of effective ones, are identified. Most features of the advisers' potential place within the system are shown to exist, along with an increased formalization of the role. Although they are only a partial solution to ministers' problems, the issue seems to have become not whether they have a place, but how it might be extended.

This research sets out to identify (i) the perceptions of careers advisers and other relevant stakeholders about current career management practices provided for secondary school careers advisers by the NSWDET and (ii) the current and future career issues faced by NSWDET careers advisers in view of social political and economic changes in the last decade in so far as they impact upon their careers. In this thesis, career management is conceptualised as a process which involves employees becoming aware of their own interests, values, strengths and weaknesses, obtaining information about job opportunities within their organisation (and by implication, with other potential employers), identifying career goals and creating plans to achieve such goals. As such, the process is not exclusively driven by the employer, but is rather a joint responsibility. However to discover what the career management stakeholders viewed about the career management received by NSWDET secondary careers advisers, it was necessary to focus on what this employer had provided. To establish a set of criteria to discover the types and support for such career management, the schema of career management interventions provided by Arnold’s (1997) see Table 1.1, was used as an investigative tool. The conclusions reached are that there remain unmet challenges for the career management of secondary school careers advisers and indeed to the careers of these practitioners in NSWDET schools. An important outcome of this thesis will be to create a set of recommendations to guide the future course of managing the careers of these secondary school careers advisers. / M. Commerce (Hons.)

This study is motivated by the need to look continually for ways to improve Griffith University’s learning assistance services so that they meet the changing needs of stakeholders and are at the same time cost-effective and efficient. This study uses the conceptual tools of cultural-historical activity theory and expansive visibilisation to investigate the development and transformation of learning assistance services at Griffith University, one of Australia's largest multi-campus universities. Cultural-historical activity is a powerful theoretical framework that acknowledges the importance of dimensions such as cultural context, local setting, collective understanding, and the influence of historical variables on interactions in settings. Expansive visibilisation is a practical four-stage process that was used in this study to make visible and analysable the work context of the Learning Assistance Unit. The study uses these conceptual tools to illustrate how learning assistance services at the University have moved through several stages of historical development and that historical variables, such as the political setting and physical location of services continue to influence current work practices. The investigation involved gathering data through interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders in order to map the University's Learning Assistance Unit as an activity system that appears to have separated out from the overall activity system of the University. It involved making visible problems and tensions in the activity system, and identifying ways of improving future practice. The study reveals problem clusters and underlying tensions amongst the interacting activity systems of the Learning Assistance Unit, faculty, library and student. These problem clusters relate to different understandings about the purpose of the Learning Assistance Unit and the role of the learning adviser, the difficulties in offering a quality service on a restricted budget, and tensions between contextualised and de-contextualised learning assistance. The study suggests that resolving these tensions depends on staff taking an active role in critically examining their practice, in particular the way that they collaborate with key stakeholders in the learning environment. The dissertation concludes by suggesting that one way forward is to expand the activity system on its socio-spatial, temporal, moral-ideological, and systemic-developmental dimensions (Engeström, 1999c).

Fifty-three careers advisers in Canterbury secondary schools in New Zealand were asked to complete a questionnaire, assessing their perceptions regarding current levels of resourcing and support for careers advisers in secondary schools. Forty-five returned completed questionnaires, of which ten respondents were male and 35 were female. All were registered teachers. Although there was overall agreement that resourcing had improved over time, the respondents were evenly divided in their opinion that current levels of resourcing were adequate for them to effectively perform their job. Larger schools, in terms of pupil numbers, were better resourced. They had more teaching and ancillary hours for careers. The single most restrictive factor, which was identified as hindering careers advisers from completing their jobs satisfactorily, was time. An analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data has been used to examine present conditions in careers centres in Canterbury secondary schools.

abstract: The purpose for this doctoral action research study was to discover if and how an updated training and development curriculum benefited residential student organization advisers at Arizona State University (ASU). Eleven advisers of residential student organizations completed a pilot training and development program and agreed to participate in a focus group. This program consisted of nine 60-minute workshops as well as a journaling experience. Data was collected through a focus group at the completion of the nine workshops to document the practical value of the training and development program and to determine how prepared advisers were for their professional roles. Study participants named six important themes in understanding the most effective methods for training and developing advisers: interaction among advisers, the experiences of seasoned advisers, the dialogues and other learning techniques, the structure and timing of the training workshops, the training curriculum itself, and the general understanding of how to support students best. Participants also reported practical value in the effectiveness of the program, positive reactions to the overall training curriculum, and mixed perspectives on the value of journaling as a part of the development experience. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Higher and Postsecondary Education 2012

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / The purpose of this interpretive study was to explore the perceptions of selected Namibian subject advisers on their role in supporting teaching and learning. There are limited studies on the roles of subject advisers in supporting instruction. Delivery of quality teaching and learning prompts subject advisers to support teachers. The study is important to build upon the body of literature on instructional support and how subject advisers elsewhere support instruction. International and national scholastic literature was interrogated to seek more insight into the research topic. This qualitative study was located within a phenomenological/interpretive paradigm. The study explored the purpose of subject advisory support, how teachers’ support needs are identified, the roles of subject advisers, character traits of subject advisers, formats of support used by subject advisers, and the challenges as well as support provided to subject advisers. The study was conducted at three Regional Offices of Education, Arts and Culture in Namibia and included ten subject advisers selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Key findings emerged through the data analysis by identifying categories and themes. These findings emphasised that subject advisers understand the nature of instructional support differently. The findings revealed that subject advisers face challenges that make them less effective in teaching support. It was further evident that subject advisers receive limited support and that they need to be supported through training, provision of resources and reduction of workload. These conclusions and others informed the recommendations that are aimed at improving subject advisers’ practice. / Die doel van hierdie vertolkende studie was om die persepsies van uitgesoekte Namibiese vakinspekteurs oor hul rol in onderrig- en leerondersteuning te ondersoek. Die bestaande studies oor die rol van vakinspekteurs in onderrigondersteuning is beperk. Die lewering van gehalte-onderrig en -leer spoor vakinspekteurs aan om onderwysers te ondersteun. Hierdie studie is belangrik omdat dit op die bestaande literatuur oor onderrigondersteuning en hoe vakinspekteurs elders onderrig ondersteun, moet voortbou. Internasionale en nasionale skoolverwante literatuur is geraadpleeg om meer insig oor die navorsingsonderwerp te kry. Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie val binne ʼn fenomenologiese/vertolkende paradigma. Die studie het ondersoek ingestel na die doel van vakinspekterende ondersteuning, hoe onderwysers se ondersteuningsbehoeftes geïdentifiseer word, die rol van vakinspekteurs, karaktereienskappe van vakinspekteurs, ondersteuningsformate wat deur vakinspekteurs gebruik word, en die uitdagings wat vakinspekteurs te bowe moet kom sowel as die ondersteuning wat hulle ontvang. Die navorsing is gedoen by drie streekskantore van Onderwys, Kuns en Kultuur in Namibië, en tien vakinspekteurs is deur doelbewuste steekproefneming gekies vir hierdie doel. Die data is deur halfgestruktureerde onderhoude en dokumentontleding ingesamel. Sleutelbevindings het deur die data-ontleding aan die lig gekom deur die identifisering van kategorieë en temas. Hierdie bevindings beklemtoon dat vakinspekteurs die aard van onderrigondersteuning verskillend verstaan. Verder onthul die navorsingsresultate uitdagings wat vakinspekteurs minder doeltreffend maak in hul onderrigondersteuning. Dit was ook duidelik dat vakinspekteurs beperkte bystand kry en dat hulle ondersteun moet word deur opleiding, voorsiening van hulpbronne en verminderde werkslas. Bogenoemde en ook ander gevolgtrekkings het aanleiding gegee tot die aanbevelings wat gedoen is en wat gemik is op die verbetering van vakinspekteurs se manier van doen. / Lolu cwaningo oluhlaziyayo beluhlose ukuthola imiqondo yesihloko sabaluleki bezifundo baseNamibia abakhethiwe ngendima yabo yokuxhasa uhlelo lokufundisa nokufunda. Luncane kakhulu ucwaningo olwenziwe mayelana nendima edlalwa ngabaluleki bezifundo ekuxhaseni uhlelo lwezemfundo. Ukwethulwa kohlelo lokufundisa nokufunda kuphoqa abaluleki bezifundo ukuba baxhase othisha. Ucwaningo lubalulekile ekwakheni uhlaka lombhalo wobuciko ohlelweni oluxhasa ezemfundo nangendlela abeluleki bezifundo kwezinye izikhungo baxhasa izinhlelo zemfundo. Umbhalo wobuciko emhlabeni kanye nasezweni waphenywa ngenhloso yokufuna ulwazi olubanzi ngaphakathi kwesihloko socwaningo. Lolu hlobo locwaningo olwencike kwizingxoxo lwatholakala ngaphakathi kwepharadayimu yefenomenoloji/ yokuhlaziya. . Ucwaningo luye lwaphenya inhloso yohlelo oluxhasa ngezeluleko, indlela izidingo zothisha zivezwa ngayo, izindima ezidlalwa ngabaluleki bezezifundo, izimpawu zesimilo sabaluleki bezifundo, izinhlaka zokuxhasa ezisetshenziswa abaluleki bezifundo, kanye nezinselelo ezibhekene nabaluleki, kanyenoxhaso olunikezwa abaluleki bezifundo. Ucwaningo lwenziwa kumaHovisi eSiyingi ezeMfundo, eZobuciko kanye neZamasiko eNamibia kanti luye lwaxuba abeluleki bezifundo abayishumi abakhethwe ngohlelo lwesampuli olunenhloso. . Idatha yaqoqwa ngohlelo lwenhlolovo embaxambili kanye nokuhlaziywa kombhalo. Kuye kwavela ulwazi olubalulekile olutholakele ngokusebenzisa uhlelo lokuhlaziya idatha ngokukhipha izigaba kanye nezindikimba. Lolu lwazi olutholakele lugcizelela ukuthi abeluleki bezifundo banolwazi ngobunjalo bohlelo oluxhasa ezemfundo ngendlela eyehlukile. Ulwazi olutholakele lukhombisa ukuthi abeluleki bezifundo babhekene nezinselelo ezibenza ukuba bangakwazi ukusebenza kahle ohlelweni lokufundisa oluxhasayo.. Ngaphezu kwalokho kuye kwacaca ukuba abeluleki babengaxhaswa ngokwanele mayelana nokuqeqeshwa, ngokuhlinzekwa ngemithombo yezemfundo kanye nangokunciphisa umthamo womsebenzi. Lezi ziphetho kanye nokunye yikho okuye kwakha izincomo ezenziwe futhi ezazihlose ekuthuthukiseni imisebenzi yabeluleki bezifundo. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Helmut-Schmidt-Universiẗat, Diplomarbeit--Hamburg, 2005.

Este trabalho caracterizou a organização do ensino dos conceitos de ângulo e de localização a partir dos documentos oficiais que norteiam o ensino da escola básica brasileira. Em conjunto com as fontes históricas de desenvolvimento desses conceitos, buscou-se uma possível influência nas dificuldades apresentadas pelos estudantes na apropriação do conceito de ângulo. Dessa forma, foram estudados os indícios do processo de significação do referido conceito, em situações de ensino desenvolvidas com crianças. Para isso, adotou-se como perspectiva teórica a Teoria Histórico-Cultural, a Teoria da Atividade e os princípios da Atividade Orientadora de Ensino na organização de ações que desenvolvem o conceito a partir de seu movimento lógico-histórico. A pesquisa empírica foi realizada com estudantes dos 4º e 5º anos do Clube de Matemática e Ciências da Faculdade de Educação da USP, por entender que esse espaço de aprendizagem é adequado para o desenvolvimento de atividades de ensino para a apropriação do conceito de ângulo, visto que as ações formativas no Clube de Matemática estão orientadas pelas mesmas bases teóricas adotadas neste trabalho. A análise de propostas curriculares governamentais, o movimento lógico-histórico do conceito apreendido em fontes bibliográficas e a Teoria Histórico-Cultural orientaram a elaboração de atividades de ensino, que foram desenvolvidas com as crianças, de modo que possibilitassem a análise de suas ações em busca de indícios de formação do conceito de ângulo. As fontes de análise dos processos de apropriação do conceito são as gravações em vídeo do desenvolvimento das atividades com as crianças. Procurou-se, a partir dessas gravações, evidenciar as ações indiciadoras da apropriação do conceito que estão presentes no que foi chamado de episódios de apropriação, formados por cenas que, de modo interdependente, o perfazem. / This study characterized the organization of the teaching of angle and location concepts from official documents that guide the teaching of Brazilian elementary school. Together with the historical sources of development of these concepts, it was sought a possible reason for the difficulties presented by the students in the angle concept appropriation. Thus, the evidences of signification process regarding this concept have been studied, in teaching situations developed with children. In order to carry out this study, the following theories have been adopted: Cultural Historical Theory, the Theory of Activity and the principles of the Teaching Orienting Activity in organizing actions that develop the concept from its logical and historical period movement. The empirical research was conducted with students from the 4th and 5th years of the Club of Mathematics and Sciences from the School Education at University of Sao Paulo, due to the fact that learning space is suitable for the development of teaching activities for the appropriation of angle concept, since the formative actions at the Math Club are guided by the same theoretical basis adopted in this study. The analysis of government curricular proposals, the logical and historical concept movement grasped in bibliographic sources and the Cultural and Historical Theory guided the preparation of teaching activities which have been developed with the children, so that they would enable the analysis of their actions and the search for evidences regarding the formation of angle concept The sources for the analysis of the concept appropriation process are the video recordings with the development of activities with the children. The purpose of such recordings was to highlight the actions which confirm that the appropriation concept that is present in what was called the episodes of the concept of acquiring, formed by scenes that interdependently, make up the revealing episode concept.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate to what extent the officials within the Swedish Government Offices consider themselves to be governed by the political elite (ministers and state secretaries) and the ministerial advisers (chief of staffs, planning directors, political advisers and press secretaries). In an ideal chain of command, the political elite governs the officials, since the ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister to govern the Government Office’s different policy areas. During recent years, political scientists have started to chart a phenomenon of an increasing number of ministerial advisers within the public administration. The Swedish Parliament has no formal capability to review or dismiss these ministerial advisers. Which is considered to be problematic in terms of democratic legitimacy, since the ministerial advisers are neither recruited through a transparent recruitment process based on their merits, nor are they politically appointed based on election results. Hence, the link between election results and who is given the mandate to take part in the policy process within the Swedish Government Offices can be seen as tenuous. The officials are at the government’s disposal to prepare and implement policies, and to contribute with their expertise in different policy areas, regardless of which political party or political coalition that is governing at the time. Thus, the purpose of this thesis has been to study the government officials’ perspective, and to what extent they consider themselves to be governed by the political elite and ministerial advisers. 91 government officials have answered a survey regarding to what extent they perceive that they are governed by the different roles in the political staff, and to what extent they consider having contact with the different roles in the political staff. The collected material has made it possible to merge the officials’ perspective on the different roles within the political staff into the categories the political elite and the ministerial advisers. This has been done in order to calculate a confidence interval to estimate officials’ perspective on the two categories within the Govern- ment Offices as a whole. The main findings of the study are that officials within the Government Offices consider themselves to be governed to a greater extent by the political elite, compared to the ministerial advisers. Although the officials consider that they are governed by the political elite, they have more contact with the ministerial advisers compared to the political elite. This could indicate that ministerial advisers are to a great extent mediating the contact between the political elite and the officials within the Swedish Government Offices.

Este trabalho caracterizou a organização do ensino dos conceitos de ângulo e de localização a partir dos documentos oficiais que norteiam o ensino da escola básica brasileira. Em conjunto com as fontes históricas de desenvolvimento desses conceitos, buscou-se uma possível influência nas dificuldades apresentadas pelos estudantes na apropriação do conceito de ângulo. Dessa forma, foram estudados os indícios do processo de significação do referido conceito, em situações de ensino desenvolvidas com crianças. Para isso, adotou-se como perspectiva teórica a Teoria Histórico-Cultural, a Teoria da Atividade e os princípios da Atividade Orientadora de Ensino na organização de ações que desenvolvem o conceito a partir de seu movimento lógico-histórico. A pesquisa empírica foi realizada com estudantes dos 4º e 5º anos do Clube de Matemática e Ciências da Faculdade de Educação da USP, por entender que esse espaço de aprendizagem é adequado para o desenvolvimento de atividades de ensino para a apropriação do conceito de ângulo, visto que as ações formativas no Clube de Matemática estão orientadas pelas mesmas bases teóricas adotadas neste trabalho. A análise de propostas curriculares governamentais, o movimento lógico-histórico do conceito apreendido em fontes bibliográficas e a Teoria Histórico-Cultural orientaram a elaboração de atividades de ensino, que foram desenvolvidas com as crianças, de modo que possibilitassem a análise de suas ações em busca de indícios de formação do conceito de ângulo. As fontes de análise dos processos de apropriação do conceito são as gravações em vídeo do desenvolvimento das atividades com as crianças. Procurou-se, a partir dessas gravações, evidenciar as ações indiciadoras da apropriação do conceito que estão presentes no que foi chamado de episódios de apropriação, formados por cenas que, de modo interdependente, o perfazem. / This study characterized the organization of the teaching of angle and location concepts from official documents that guide the teaching of Brazilian elementary school. Together with the historical sources of development of these concepts, it was sought a possible reason for the difficulties presented by the students in the angle concept appropriation. Thus, the evidences of signification process regarding this concept have been studied, in teaching situations developed with children. In order to carry out this study, the following theories have been adopted: Cultural Historical Theory, the Theory of Activity and the principles of the Teaching Orienting Activity in organizing actions that develop the concept from its logical and historical period movement. The empirical research was conducted with students from the 4th and 5th years of the Club of Mathematics and Sciences from the School Education at University of Sao Paulo, due to the fact that learning space is suitable for the development of teaching activities for the appropriation of angle concept, since the formative actions at the Math Club are guided by the same theoretical basis adopted in this study. The analysis of government curricular proposals, the logical and historical concept movement grasped in bibliographic sources and the Cultural and Historical Theory guided the preparation of teaching activities which have been developed with the children, so that they would enable the analysis of their actions and the search for evidences regarding the formation of angle concept The sources for the analysis of the concept appropriation process are the video recordings with the development of activities with the children. The purpose of such recordings was to highlight the actions which confirm that the appropriation concept that is present in what was called the episodes of the concept of acquiring, formed by scenes that interdependently, make up the revealing episode concept.