School leadership is a complex and challenging endeavor, especially in an era when school principals are held accountable for student achievement outcomes. Research on school leadership has shown that a principal’s influence on student achievement is indirect and significant. Over the past three decades, research on school leadership has developed conceptually and now offers more concrete descriptions of the actions and behaviors leaders can utilize for learning-centered leadership. The developers of the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education (VAL-ED) evaluation framework sought to create a school leader assessment tool that measures learning-centered behaviors, instead of measures that focus on the knowledge, dispositions, or personal characteristics of school leaders. In 2014 the VAL-ED, principals within a large school district in the Rocky Mountain region of the Western United States participated in the VAL-ED school leader assessment. For this study, a sample of 16 of the principals who earned the highest ratings on the VAL-ED survey responded to open-ended questions during an in-person interview, in which they described their actions and/or behaviors related to learning-centered leadership. Responses were coded utilizing attributive and axial coding methods. Principals in this study identified specific actions of school leadership related to the VAL-ED defined key processes of learning-centered principals and core components of learning-centered schools. A comparative analysis was conducted to discover if a difference existed between elementary and secondary references to the VAL-ED key processes. No notable difference between elementary and secondary was found, however, principals identified 4 themes of learning-centered leadership not directly associated with the VAL-ED processes or components. A comparative analysis of the new themes revealed differences in elementary and secondary references within two of the new themes. The findings revealed that distinguished learning-centered principals purposely exert their influence to improve student learning by being informed of the needs of their students and teachers and by understanding the school culture. They adapt to the needs of their schools and actively take measures to support and motivate teachers. Learning-centered principals understand that the way in which they can most directly influence student learning is to support and engage with their teachers because teachers have the most direct influence on students.

Andelen barn och ungdomar som befinner sig ett socialt utanförskap halkar efter alltmer i samhället. Att befinna sig ett socialt utanförskap kan medföra en rad negativa konsekvenser för såväl den enskilde individen som för samhället. Det finns ett stort behov av att belysa framgångsrika exempel på sociala innovationer, inriktade på unga i socialt utsatta områden, som kan förbättra deras välfärd och framtidsutsikter. Syftet med examensarbetet var att beskriva verksamheten ”Nattfotboll” utifrån programteori och undersöka dess förutsättningar för att skalas upp utifrån teorier om spridning av interventioner. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ studiedesign bestående av en fokusgruppsintervju med initiativtagare och projektledare, semistrukturerade intervjuer med 10 ledare och 21 ungdomar samt tre strukturerade observationer i samband med idrottsaktiviteter i Sandviken och i Örebro. Resultatet visade att konceptet Nattfotboll kännetecknades av flera viktiga kärnkomponenter och nyckelidéer. De komponenter som tillskrevs mycket stor betydelse för utfallet var de unga, utvalda ledare som drev idrottsverksamheten, men även den lokala projektledaren. Verksamheten visade sig främja ett relationsbygge mellan ungdomarna och ledarna som var betydelsefullt: ungdomarna fick tillgång till unga förebilder, medan de unga ledarna kunde växa som individer. Verksamheten erbjuder en träffpunkt som bidrar till att ungdomar breddar sitt kontaktnät, blir mer fysiskt aktiva och erbjuds en väg in i föreningslivet, då många av ledarna själva är idrottsaktiva. Studien visar att Nattfotbollskonceptet innehåller de fem kategorier som är nödvändiga för en framgångsrik uppskalning; Kärnkomponenter & Nyckelidéer, Upplägg, Kommunikation, Resultatmätning & Feedback samt Ledarskap. Ytterligare forskning skulle kunna bidra till att fördjupa förståelsen för vad interventionen har för betydelse för ledarna som individer. / A great number of children and adolescents who are in a social exclusion is lagging behind in society. A social exclusion can lead to a number of negative consequences for both the individual and the community. There is a great need to highlight successful examples of social innovations aimed at young people in socially vulnerable areas that can improve their well-being and prospects. The aim of the thesis was to describe the innovation Night Football on the basis of program theory and also examine its conditions for scaling up on the basis of diffusion theory and a framework for spread. The study was conducted with a qualitative study design consisting of a focus group interview with initiators and project managers, semi-structured interviews with 10 leaders and 21 young participants, as well as three structured observations in connection with sports activities in Sandviken and Örebro. The result showed that the Night Football concept was characterized by several key core components and key ideas. The components attributed to the outcome were the young, chosen leaders who run the sport activities, but also the local project manager. The innovation turned out to promote important relationships between the young people and the leaders: young people gained access to young role models, while young leaders could grow as individuals. The innovation offers a meeting point that helps young people broaden their network of contacts, becomes more physically active and they are also offered a way into sports associations, as many of the leaders themselves are connected to sport clubs. The study shows that the Night Football concept contains the five categories necessary for a successful upscale; Core components & Key ideas, Structure, Communication, Performance Measurement & Feedback, and Leadership. Further research could help to deepen the understanding of the innovations impact on the leaders as individuals.

The aim of the study was to compile a conceptual model of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) that indicates the relationship between Research Data Management (RDM) and VREs. The outcome of this study was that VREs are ideal platforms for the management of research data. In the first part of the study, a literature review was conducted by focusing on four themes: VREs and other concepts related to VREs; VRE components and tools; RDM; and the relationship between VREs and RDM. The first theme included a discussion of definitions of concepts, approaches to VREs, their development, aims, characteristics, similarities and differences of concepts, an overview of the e-Research approaches followed in this study, as well as an overview of concepts used in this study. The second theme consisted of an overview of developments of VREs in four countries (United Kingdom, USA, The Netherlands, and Germany), an indication of the differences and similarities of these programmes, and a discussion on the concept of research lifecycles, as well as VRE components. These components were then matched with possible tools, as well as to research lifecycle stages, which led to the development of a first conceptual VRE framework. The third theme included an overview of the definitions of the concepts ‘data’ and ‘research data’, as well as RDM and related concepts, an investigation of international developments with regards to RDM, an overview of the differences and similarities of approaches followed internationally, and a discussion of RDM developments in South Africa. This was followed by a discussion of the concept ‘research data lifecycles’, their various stages, corresponding processes and the roles various stakeholders can play in each stage. The fourth theme consisted of a discussion of the relationship between research lifecycles and research data lifecycles, a discussion on the role of RDM as a component within a VRE, the management of research data by means of a VRE, as well as the presentation of a possible conceptual model for the management of research data by means of a VRE. This literature review was conducted as a background and basis for this study. In the second part of the study, the research methodology was outlined. The chosen methodology entailed a non-empirical part consisting of a literature study, and an empirical part consisting of two case studies from a South African University. The two case studies were specifically chosen because each used different methods in conducting research. The one case study used natural science oriented data and laboratory/experimental methods, and the other, human orientated data and survey instruments. The proposed conceptual model derived from the literature study was assessed through these case studies and feedback received was used to modify and/or enhance the conceptual model. The contribution of this study lies primarily in the presentation of a conceptual VRE model with distinct component layers and generic components, which can be used as technological and collaborative frameworks for the successful management of research data. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / National Research Foundation / Information Science / DPhil / Unrestricted