The diploma thesis comprehensively introduces the issue of in-service training of pedagogical staff with a focus on secondary school teachers as one of the areas of school self-evaluation. In-service teacher training comes to the fore as it goes hand in hand with the quality of training. In its first part, it identifies the basic definitions needed to understand the topic of school self- evaliation and in-service teacher training, then it defines the legislative framework ensuring in- service teacher training, strategic documents and other plans. Last but not least, it defines the objectives and forms of in-service teacher training and briefly outlines the situation in Europe with a focus on international surveys. Using content analysis, the thesis evaluates three annual reports of the selected secondary school. Furthermore, standardized structured interview was held with the school management and also a standardized questionnaire is distributed among pedagogical staff of the selected secondary school. Based on the obtained data, the thesis monitors the views of school management and teachers on this very issue including their motivation, conditions for development, possibilities for in-service training or the process of putting the acquired knowledge. into practice in the context of the results of...

Thesis (M.Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study was to identify teachers’ perceptions towards learners with special needs, using rural schools, Kgakotlou Circuit in Limpopo Province. The study made use of the qualitative research approach where a case study design was adopted. The population of the study was formed by teachers from five rural schools in Kgakotlou Circuit. For instance: All five schools, sampled through purposive sampling technique, participated in semi-structured and two schools participated in focus-group interview. All nine teachers were able to participate in semi-structured interview whereas only four teachers took part in the focus-group interview. From the in-depth interview a lot of information regarding areas that seem to influence teachers’ perceptions was gathered. The data provided insights to the way teachers understand inclusion, and the supports that they require in practice and how they meet classroom challenges in practice. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that teachers’ negative and positive perceptions on inclusion of learners with special needs have a significant effect on their education. The results also showed that negative perceptions influence learners’ academic performance. The study recommends that the department of education should organise an in-service training for teachers on inclusion. Keywords: inclusion in education, teachers’ perceptions, learners with special needs

Thesis (LLM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The history of the South African education system is one that is tainted by inequalities and restricted access. The Bantu educational system, with its racially separated education facilities, ensured that the black child stayed a marginalised group. Within the new constitutional dispensation, the hope existed that all students will have access to equal levels of quality education, with Section 29 of the Constitution specifically guaranteeing that everyone has the right to basic education. To repair the injustice and discriminatory practices of the past, a system of inclusive education has been introduced, with the aim of granting educational access to all children. However, it has become apparent that this system could be perpetuating a form of the injustice that it aimed to fight. Inclusive education, with the aim of making no distinction in the student body, is creating a new marginalised student: the borderline student. These are students who do not have a cognitive impairment, but have what is known as a “below average IQ”. Recent studies show that, for many of these students, the inclusive education system is failing to address their unique educational needs, limiting their participation and pushing them to the peripheral edge of the educational system. This is a complex and serious problem that needs to be addressed at a policy level. This legal-educational presentation aims to provide an exploration of the borderline student and addresses the question as to why they are falling between the cracks of the inclusive education system.

Although the U.S. Constitution espouses equality, it clearly is not practiced in all aspects of life with education being a significant outlier. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These two theories are related to education through educational adequacy and equality. Sufficientarianism, or educational adequacy, says that what is important is that everyone has “good enough” educational opportunities, but not the same ones. Egalitarianism, or educational equality, says that there is an intrinsic value in having the same educational opportunities and only having good enough opportunities misses something important, which causes problems for those who have not had the same opportunities. I will argue that the latter theory of egalitarianism, or educational equality is a better approach to the education system in America than sufficientarianism because every child deserves an excellent education and equal access to opportunities regardless of irrelevant factors.

Federal employment law designed to assure equal employment opportunity for faculty has only been applicable to higher education since 1972. Prior to 1972, the higher education world, moreover, was immune from the most comprehensive federal employment law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, Title VII was amended in 1972 to include education institutions. Ever since the protection of the civil rights law was extended to higher education, faculty employment discrimination litigation has increased. The reality of this phenomenal growth in litigation is clear, the potential for judicial intervention in academic decision making is undeniable, and reliance on the judicial process is increasingly becoming common. Thus, no institution of higher education may consider itself immune from the possibilities of litigation, nor immune from the decisions handed down by the courts. The main focus of this study was a legal one, which necessitated a heavy concentration upon the historical and current state of employment discrimination law, specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The study was conducted by using a combination of legislative analysis and legal research methods. The legal research methods used in this study included the same problem-solving processes as other traditional research methods: (1) collecting data; (2) analysis; and (3) interpretation. The main purpose of this study was to examine, analyze, and summarize legislative history and case law relevant to Title VII, and sex discrimination in higher education. In summary, although Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin, the issues surrounding women faculty and sex discrimination is probably the fastest growing area of litigation for administrators on the university campus. Therefore, this study was an attempt to examine the employment discrimination issues and developments pertaining to sex discrimination only. College and university administrators may find this study useful for: (1) examining Title VII, and its amendments; (2) examining sex discrimination case law; and (3) utilizing the research for developing procedures, policies and guidelines to minimize potential lawsuits. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to identify, examine and analyze judicial decisions, legislation, and agency regulations, state and federal, for those principles of law that govern the legal rights and responsibilities of Indiana public school educators. The study delineated legal principles and the process of legal reasoning in the following primary areas: (1) Tort liability of school districts and personnel; (2) Legal responsibilities regarding students; (3) Education of children with disabilities; (4) Terms and conditions of teacher employment. Three primary research methods were used in this study: The "descriptive word" or "words and phrases" approach, the topical approach, and the case method. The computer-assisted legal research service, WestLaw was used extensively in this study. The study produced the following selected general conclusions: (1) Indiana educators possess very limited protection under the doctrine of sovereign immunity and may be held personally liable for their own tortious acts. Educators are only immune from acts that constitute significant policy and political decisions generally attributable to the essence of governing. Indiana educators are personally protected from monetary loss by a "save harmless" statute. Indiana public school corporations are not protected by the doctrine of governmental immunity. School authorities may be found liable in their individual capacities for a constitutional tort if they personally violate clearly established constitutional rights of individuals. (2) Persons of school age are obligated under Indiana compulsory education laws to attend school or receive instruction equivalent to that given in the public schools. The judiciary uniformly recognizes the right and duty of school boards and school authorities to maintain order and control in the classroom and in the public schools. Students who violate school rules and regulations may be suspended or expelled from school but not without procedural due process. Students are entitled to other constitutional rights with respect to the first, fourth and fourteenth amendments. (3) The Individuals with Disabilities Act requires that children with disabilities be provided a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The right to a free appropriate education is undergirded by complex and comprehensive procedural rights afforded to parents under the IDEA. Indiana law expands procedural due process protections for children with disabilities beyond that provided by federal statute. A disabled child may be expelled from school where the misconduct is not handicap-related but educational services cannot be completely terminated. (4) Every teacher in Indiana employed by a school corporation must hold a license issued by the state and make a written teaching contract with the local governing body. A tenured teacher may be dismissed or suspended with cause but must be afforded due process in connection with the cancellation of an indefinite contract. School boards and school officials are granted broad discretion in matters relating to the method of teaching, decisions regarding the curriculum, and the selection of books to be used in the public schools. Indiana educators enjoy a liberty interest in their employment as well as other constitutional rights which are balanced by the state's interest in controlling and furthering the education mission of the public schools. / Ed. D.

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The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, P.L. 94, 142, resulted in many benefits accruing to learners with handicaps and their families. However, there were disputes between and among people from various sectors of the educational community regarding the implementation of the Act. In the past the local teacher union bargaining process has been used as a means through which some disputes may be rectified. Authors have suggested that disputes regarding the delivery of services to learners with handicaps might be resolved through teacher unions’ collective bargaining. The primary purpose of this study was to identify existing special education related language in “Pre” and "Post" P.L. 94-142 teacher union contracts. The secondary purpose was to examine the perceived needs of educational professionals for the development of formal school board policies and procedures on selected special education service delivery issues. Three data collection procedures were developed. Data were analyzed, in part, by descriptive statistics. Analyses of quantitative and qualitative data obtained from three sources revealed the following three major findings: The majority of "Pre" and "Post" P.L. 94-142 teacher union contracts contained virtually no specific special education related language. Second, all teachers’ perceptions surveyed indicated that the majority of educators perceived the need for selected special education policies as either “highly valuable" or “essential” regardless of teaching assignment (special or regular education) or employment site (urban or rural). Third, teachers consistently perceived a greater degree of need for local school boards to develop selected formal special education and service delivery policies and procedures then did special education program administrators. Recommendations for further research included a series of national surveys of unionized educational professionals to determine if these individuals can provide 1) an explanation for the inconsistency identified here between practitioners perceived need for selected special education policies and procedures and the virtual absence of any special education related contractual language in the contracts analyzed in this study; 2) what specific effect, if any, the implementation of the Regular Education Initiative (REI) has had in unionized school districts; and 3) if there is any linkage between membership on the pre-bargaining and bargaining committees and the final content of the negotiated teacher union contract. / Ed. D.

This study is concerned with how educational legislation shapes and uses freedom for the purpose of governing the parent. The key question guiding the study was: How does the Act constitute the ‘parent’ as a subject position responsible for schooling the child? Central to the work is an examination of the School Education Act 1999 (the Act) using Foucault’s thinking on governmentality. This is prefaced by historical accounts that bring together freedom and childhood as contrived styles of conduct that provide the governmental logic behind the Act. The study reveals how the Act shapes and uses the truth of freedom/childhood to construct the responsible parent as a style of conduct pegged to a neo-liberal political rationality of government. It is this political rationality that provides the node or point of encounter between the technologies of power and the self within the Act which forms the ‘responsible’ identity of the parent as an active self-governing entrepreneur made more visible by the political construction of ‘others.’ This is a legal-political subjectivity centred on the truth of freedom/childhood and a neo-liberal rationality of government that believes that any change to our current ethical way of being in relation to educating the child would ruin the very freedoms upon which our civilised lifestyle depends. In essence, the Act relies on the production of ‘others’ as the poor, Aboriginal and radical who must be regulated and made autonomous to constitute the ‘parent’ as an active consumer whose autonomous educational choices are an expression of responsibility in relation to schooling the child

The problem of this study was to determine if there are differences in the perceptions of elementary principals and special education administrators across selected variables toward their expected and actual, role responsibilities in implementing specific provisions of P.L. 94-142. Data were collected from elementary principals and special education administrators in Texas. As a measure of perceptions, the Special Education Responsibilities Questionnaire (SERQ) was completed by all elementary principals as it applied to their schools, and special education administrators as applied to their school districts. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test of independence, t-test for correlated samples, and one-way analysis of variance.