ABSTRACT Before 1994 corporal punishment was the main discipline strategy implemented in schools. Since then legislation has been passed, which resulted in corporal punishment being made illegal. The majority of educators strongly opposed this change in the national discipline policy as they felt it left them powerless in terms of disciplining their learners. In 2000 a national programme on discipline strategies was embarked on and many of the results were incorporated in the booklet titled “Alternatives to Corporal Punishment: The Learning Experience.” This booklet formed part of the National Department of Education’s discipline policy. It contains guidelines for implementing alternative strategies to corporal punishment in an effort to remediate problems with discipline. It also gives examples of disciplinary action for dealing with misconduct. The objective of this research was to establish what educators’ perceptions of the Department of Education’s alternative methods to corporal punishment are after they had exposure to it by means of a workshop. The research also aimed to explore underlying reasons for the educators’ perceptions. The sample of sixty-four educators used for this purpose came from various school contexts from traditional ex-model C schools to historically disadvantaged schools. The data in this study was obtained by means of a structured questionnaire, which was administered to the educators that attended the workshop on the Department of Education’s Discipline policy. In view of the fact that there are no existing instruments in use to explore the objectives of this research, it was necessary to develop a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of both open-ended questions, which required a more qualitative approach as well as close-ended questions, which were more quantitative in nature. The results obtained from this study showed that the majority of the respondents who attended the workshop agreed with the discipline policy proposed by the Department of Education. However, there was a significant discrepancy between the educators’ perceptions of the policy and whether they felt it could be successfully implemented in their schools. The main reasons for this was that the respondents felt that the Department of Education and educator training institutions do not provide educators with adequate discipline training and support. Furthermore, the findings of this study demonstrated that the respondents are experiencing a state of learned helplessness where they feel the discipline problems they are faced with are beyond their control.

The purpose of this study was to investigate internationalisation of Ethiopian SMEs by examining internal and external factors that motivate or restrict internationalization process and the impact of internal and external barriers on SMEs export performance. The small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector in Ethiopia is a significant group within the economy in terms of firm numbers and total employment. However, the SMEs sector’s share of exports is disproportionately small, which raised considerable research concerns. Firm export propensity and export performance were the dependent variables and export stimuli and barrier factors were used as explanatory variables. The study was conducted through mixed research design. A questionnaire was administered to 90(36 exporting and 54 nonexporting) SMEs in Leather and Leather Products Industry in Addis Ababa selected through stratified random sampling. In order to complement survey results nine (4 exporting and 5 non-exporting) SMEs were selected through critical case purposive sampling and an in-depth interviews were conducted. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS 20) was used to analyse the quantitative data whereas, qualitative data were analysed manually. Analytical techniques used were, Chisquare test of independence, Spearman rank order correlation, factor analysis, binary logistic regression analysis and multiple regression analysis. The statistical results of binary logistic regression analysis and chi-square tests indicated that managerial factors, internal marketing factors and foreign government related factors, firm ownership and size are the most significant motivators of SMEs internationalisation in Ethiopia. On the contrary the result showed that, logistics problem, insufficient finance, functional barriers, lack of export knowledge and information, procedural barriers and international trade barriers are the factors hindering it. Further analysis was conducted to examine the impact of export barriers on performance of firms. The result of multiple regression analysis indicated that, export barriers significantly and negatively affect export performance. The overall results revealed that explanatory variables used in the analysis significantly predict the dependent variable at 95% confidence level. Considering these results numerous implications for theory, practice, and future research were recommended. Finally, the study concluded that internationalisation of SMEs has to be encouraged by mitigating both internal and external barriers identified in this study. / Business Management / D. Admin. (Business Management)

The purpose of this study was to investigate internationalisation of Ethiopian SMEs by examining internal and external factors that motivate or restrict internationalization process and the impact of internal and external barriers on SMEs export performance. The small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) sector in Ethiopia is a significant group within the economy in terms of firm numbers and total employment. However, the SMEs sector’s share of exports is disproportionately small, which raised considerable research concerns. Firm export propensity and export performance were the dependent variables and export stimuli and barrier factors were used as explanatory variables. The study was conducted through mixed research design. A questionnaire was administered to 90(36 exporting and 54 nonexporting) SMEs in Leather and Leather Products Industry in Addis Ababa selected through stratified random sampling. In order to complement survey results nine (4 exporting and 5 non-exporting) SMEs were selected through critical case purposive sampling and an in-depth interviews were conducted. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS 20) was used to analyse the quantitative data whereas, qualitative data were analysed manually. Analytical techniques used were, Chisquare test of independence, Spearman rank order correlation, factor analysis, binary logistic regression analysis and multiple regression analysis. The statistical results of binary logistic regression analysis and chi-square tests indicated that managerial factors, internal marketing factors and foreign government related factors, firm ownership and size are the most significant motivators of SMEs internationalisation in Ethiopia. On the contrary the result showed that, logistics problem, insufficient finance, functional barriers, lack of export knowledge and information, procedural barriers and international trade barriers are the factors hindering it. Further analysis was conducted to examine the impact of export barriers on performance of firms. The result of multiple regression analysis indicated that, export barriers significantly and negatively affect export performance. The overall results revealed that explanatory variables used in the analysis significantly predict the dependent variable at 95% confidence level. Considering these results numerous implications for theory, practice, and future research were recommended. Finally, the study concluded that internationalisation of SMEs has to be encouraged by mitigating both internal and external barriers identified in this study. / Business Management / D. Admin. (Business Management)

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of aggressive behaviour exhibited by secondary school learners. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of aggressive behaviour. The problem was traced from the theorists' perspectives and factors related to the family, school and community. An extensive literature review showed that the above factors contribute to aggressive behaviour among adolescents. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, quantitative (questionnaire) research and qualitative research (interviews) were conducted. The results of the quantitative research concerning learners' aggressive behaviour in secondary schools were analysed and interpreted while at the same time a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour was revealed through qualitative research. The results of the empirical research indicated that the more negative the family climate, school climate, community climate or influence of friends are, or the more negative the emotional self-concept of the adolescent is, the more aggressive the adolescent is, and vice versa. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms and childhood experiences, and to explore the role of Early Maladaptive Schemas and core beliefs as variables possibly mediating this relationship. Previous research with clinical samples has established a strong link between childhood maltreatment and adult BPD (& other PD) symptoms in clinical samples. However, difficulties with these studies limit the specificity of results. For example, BPD has been shown to be highly comorbid with other axis I and axis II psychiatric conditions. Given that studies examining the relationship between BPD and childhood maltreatment generally fail to control for these comorbid conditions, the specificity of their results must be questioned. Furthermore, it has been well established that childhood familial environment is strongly related to childhood maltreatment. Again studies examining the relationship between BPD and childhood maltreatment have generally failed to concurrently assess childhood familial environments, hence opening the possibility that the relationship between BPD and childhood maltreatment may be due to family functioning rather than childhood maltreatment per se. Finally, studies linking childhood maltreatment with adult BPD have primarily utilized clinical samples. However, the primary use of clinical samples to examine the aetiology of disorders in this context ignores the vast literature showing adequate psychological functio ning for the majority of individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment. Hence, the primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult BPD symptoms in a primarily non-clinical sample whilst statistically controlling for commonly comorbid axis I and axis II symptomatology and concurrently measuring childhood familial functioning. It was a secondary aim of the current study to examine the mediating effects of beliefs on the relationship between childhood factors (i.e., childhood maltreatment & childhood familial functioning) and adult BPD symptomatology. That is, cognitive-behavioural theorists argue that personality disorders may be triggered by adverse childhood experiences leading to maladaptive beliefs (or schemas) related to the self, others, and the world, and it is these beliefs which lead to the behavioural disturbances evident in personality disorders. One hundred and eighty-five primarily non-clinical participants completed questionnaires measuring a variety of axis I and axis II symptoms, early maladaptive schemas and core beliefs, as well as retrospective reports of family functioning and childhood maltreatment. Results showed a significant relationship between childhood factors and adult BPD symptomatology. For example, the largest correlation between BPD symptoms and a childhood factor was .27 (for childhood emotional abuse). Furthermore, early maladaptive schemas and core beliefs were found to mediate the relationship between childhood factors and adult BPD symptomatology thus supporting cognitive-behavioural theories of personality disorders. However, early maladaptive schemas and core beliefs were also found to mediate the relationship between childhood factors and other Axis I and Axis II symptoms. Hence, it was concluded that while there was some support for a cognitive mediation hypothesis for BPD symptoms, future research is needed in exploring the specificity of the cognitive mediation hypothesis for BPD.

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of aggressive behaviour exhibited by secondary school learners. Many factors were considered when investigating the problem of aggressive behaviour. The problem was traced from the theorists' perspectives and factors related to the family, school and community. An extensive literature review showed that the above factors contribute to aggressive behaviour among adolescents. In order to support or reject the findings of the literature study, quantitative (questionnaire) research and qualitative research (interviews) were conducted. The results of the quantitative research concerning learners' aggressive behaviour in secondary schools were analysed and interpreted while at the same time a deeper understanding of aggressive behaviour was revealed through qualitative research. The results of the empirical research indicated that the more negative the family climate, school climate, community climate or influence of friends are, or the more negative the emotional self-concept of the adolescent is, the more aggressive the adolescent is, and vice versa. Based on these findings recommendations for the implementation of prevention programmes were made. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)