South African education is faced with a wide array of problems, ranging from a shortage of educators (Xaba, 2011), to poor governance, poor performance, educators experiencing a negative organisational climate, and low morale (Jackson & Rothmann, 2006; Mentz, 2007). Modisaotsile (2012) further found that these educators experience a lack of overall commitment and focus. As it is known that experiencing more meaning in ones’ personal life and working environment leads to both positive health and work outcomes (Day & Rottinghaus, 2003; Harris & Thoresen, 2003; Lent, 2004; Steger, Frazer, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006), this study aims to make a contribution to the South African education sector by addressing means to improving meaning. This research could potentially help the South African education system by identifying factors that increase meaning in work; thus, helping to attract and retain good educators. In addition, the study aims to contribute to the literature by distinguishing meaning from other positive psychology concepts and to provide a clearer overall understanding thereof. Meaning in work in this study refers to the meaning, significance and/or purpose individuals derive from their work. Meaningful work should be seen as the umbrella term which covers a whole range of constructs including, meaningfulness, and the meaning of work (Steger, Pickering, Shin, & Dik, 2009). A qualitative design with a phenomenological strategy was used to uncover perceptions from the convenience sample (n=20) of secondary school educators. Semi-structured, one-to-one interviews with open-ended questions were used to collect the data from participants. Participants were also asked to diarise experiences relating to meaning for the following five working days after the interview, in order to support, strengthen, and validate the interviews’ results. The research findings were that meaning is seen by participants in this study as purpose and significance. Main antecedents were related to the transfer of knowledge and making a positive difference; whereas having positive, trusting relationships with learners, colleagues and parents, as well as feedback which was also important. Mechanisms to create meaning included effort and conscientiousness, as well as preparation as the most prominent mechanisms. Outcomes included happiness and meaningfulness and work engagement. This research study contributes to existing literature on meaning by giving a clear conceptualisation of the concept. Other contributions include a clear differentiation between meaning and meaningfulness, and that the meaning educators experience in their work might be linked to their specific context and key roles as educators. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Abstract The structure of higher education system in the Czech Republic has changed over the past ten years. Gradual expansion of private universities was the main cause of this change. The importace of investment in human capital, forms of state regulation in higher education and the dangers that the regulatory authority of the Accreditation Committee faced are described in the theoretical part of Diploma thesis. The analytical parts is focused on the number of applicants and the number of gradutes in accordance with educational programs and their emplacement at the labour market. The fuction of Accreditation Committee, as the main regulator of higher education in the Czech Republic, concludes the analytic part of the thesis. My taskis to find out, how did the structure of higher education system change due to its regulation and wether the further development of educational system is efficient enough.

South African education is faced with a wide array of problems, ranging from a shortage of educators (Xaba, 2011), to poor governance, poor performance, educators experiencing a negative organisational climate, and low morale (Jackson & Rothmann, 2006; Mentz, 2007). Modisaotsile (2012) further found that these educators experience a lack of overall commitment and focus. As it is known that experiencing more meaning in ones’ personal life and working environment leads to both positive health and work outcomes (Day & Rottinghaus, 2003; Harris & Thoresen, 2003; Lent, 2004; Steger, Frazer, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006), this study aims to make a contribution to the South African education sector by addressing means to improving meaning. This research could potentially help the South African education system by identifying factors that increase meaning in work; thus, helping to attract and retain good educators. In addition, the study aims to contribute to the literature by distinguishing meaning from other positive psychology concepts and to provide a clearer overall understanding thereof. Meaning in work in this study refers to the meaning, significance and/or purpose individuals derive from their work. Meaningful work should be seen as the umbrella term which covers a whole range of constructs including, meaningfulness, and the meaning of work (Steger, Pickering, Shin, & Dik, 2009). A qualitative design with a phenomenological strategy was used to uncover perceptions from the convenience sample (n=20) of secondary school educators. Semi-structured, one-to-one interviews with open-ended questions were used to collect the data from participants. Participants were also asked to diarise experiences relating to meaning for the following five working days after the interview, in order to support, strengthen, and validate the interviews’ results. The research findings were that meaning is seen by participants in this study as purpose and significance. Main antecedents were related to the transfer of knowledge and making a positive difference; whereas having positive, trusting relationships with learners, colleagues and parents, as well as feedback which was also important. Mechanisms to create meaning included effort and conscientiousness, as well as preparation as the most prominent mechanisms. Outcomes included happiness and meaningfulness and work engagement. This research study contributes to existing literature on meaning by giving a clear conceptualisation of the concept. Other contributions include a clear differentiation between meaning and meaningfulness, and that the meaning educators experience in their work might be linked to their specific context and key roles as educators. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This study investigates the role of the higher education sector in capacitating the developmental state in South Africa. This research is motivated by the rising need to assess the role that the South African higher education sector plays in capacitating the developmental state. The research objectives of this study are to describe the environment within which higher education attempts to address the needs of the developmental state and to explain the composition, role, and functions of partnership structures which will address the needs of a developmental state. To achieve the study’s objectives, the qualitative method of research was implemented as it attempts to propose actions to strengthen the intergovernmental relations between the Department of Higher Education and Training and higher education institutions. Pre-determined open-ended interview questions were used to interview representatives of the Department of Higher Education and Training, the University of Pretoria, as well as the University of the Free State with the purpose of discovering what is currently being done in the higher education sector to assist the South African government to achieve the state’s developmental agenda. The study provided explanation of various concepts and terms, including Public Administration, the South African developmental state and agenda, and intergovernmental relations. The study highlights the fact that in South Africa the concept of “developmental state” has a slightly different meaning to that of the internationally accepted on the basis of the “Asian Tigers”. The study contextualises the Public Administration, higher education, and intergovernmental relations. The research explains and describes the South African developmental agenda, external and internal environment of the higher education sector and its policies, as well as the main players in the higher education intergovernmental relations. The main players are the Department of Higher Education and Training, higher education institutions and statutory bodies (the Council on Higher Education and Higher Education South Africa). This research describes current developments in the higher education sector and pertaining to it intergovernmental relations, based on the views and opinions of the representatives from the DHET, UP, and the UFS, as well as policy documents and strategic plans. This study shows that currently there is a framework for intergovernmental relations in the higher education sector. However the framework is not effective and efficient for the sector to assist the South African government in meeting the developmental agenda. This research suggests restructuring current intergovernmental relations structure in the sector, as well as including more role players, such as the Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI), Department of Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation (NRF), the National Planning Commission, the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation, the Evaluation and the Economic Development Department (EDD), private and public sectors as well as the community. Copyright / Dissertation (MAdmin)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Internationalisation is an important worldwide phenomenon, and amongst others, presents as a major trend in higher education and continues to be on the agenda of higher education providers worldwide. It is significant for the sustainability of higher education at a national level, and subsequently, the contribution that higher education makes to the development of a nation, its people and its ability to compete in the global market. Internationalisation within universities continues to develop apace as institutions move from equating international strategies with international student recruitment to developing mature internationalisation agendas that incorporate recruitment, research collaborations and capacity-building.

With the internationalization of English there is a growing demand for high quality English language education around the globe, particularly in non-English speaking countries. Consequently, there is an increasing demand worldwide for competent English teachers and more effective approaches to teaching and teacher professional development. In Egypt, in a context of educational reform where communicative language teaching approaches have been adopted as a way to improve teaching, this study explores how teachers perceive and respond to this call for change in instructional practices. It examines the professional development experiences of a group of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English-medium subject (EMS) teachers working in the private and public basic educational sectors in Cairo, Egypt. The research questions focus on teachers’ perceptions of change and improvement occurring in their teaching practices, their beliefs on the sources of change available to them, and the perspectives of school principals and professional development providers on teachers’ change prospects. In this study, a multi-method approach was applied, with a teacher survey administered to 174 teachers; in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 teachers, 15 principals, and 8 professional development (PD) providers; field observation; and examination of relevant documents and artifacts. The analysis of data is informed by sociocultural theory perspectives (Vygotsky, 1978). The findings indicate that (1) teachers perceive great change in their practices, though their conceptions and implementation of communicative approaches are context-bound, (2) teaching is influenced by various professional learning opportunities, and (3) change or lack thereof results from teachers’ adaptability to their local contextual demands through a process of resistance, resilience, or maintaining the status quo. The findings highlight the centrality of teachers in change processes.They suggest that change results from a process of interaction between teachers and other individuals within their community, and that the nature of change as experienced by the participants is shaped by a multitude of contextual factors. The implications of the study include the need to replace the technical conception of professional development with a more ecological orientation, to establish professional learning communities among teachers and within schools, and to establish a coherent framework for change initiatives.

With the internationalization of English there is a growing demand for high quality English language education around the globe, particularly in non-English speaking countries. Consequently, there is an increasing demand worldwide for competent English teachers and more effective approaches to teaching and teacher professional development. In Egypt, in a context of educational reform where communicative language teaching approaches have been adopted as a way to improve teaching, this study explores how teachers perceive and respond to this call for change in instructional practices. It examines the professional development experiences of a group of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English-medium subject (EMS) teachers working in the private and public basic educational sectors in Cairo, Egypt. The research questions focus on teachers’ perceptions of change and improvement occurring in their teaching practices, their beliefs on the sources of change available to them, and the perspectives of school principals and professional development providers on teachers’ change prospects. In this study, a multi-method approach was applied, with a teacher survey administered to 174 teachers; in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 teachers, 15 principals, and 8 professional development (PD) providers; field observation; and examination of relevant documents and artifacts. The analysis of data is informed by sociocultural theory perspectives (Vygotsky, 1978). The findings indicate that (1) teachers perceive great change in their practices, though their conceptions and implementation of communicative approaches are context-bound, (2) teaching is influenced by various professional learning opportunities, and (3) change or lack thereof results from teachers’ adaptability to their local contextual demands through a process of resistance, resilience, or maintaining the status quo. The findings highlight the centrality of teachers in change processes.They suggest that change results from a process of interaction between teachers and other individuals within their community, and that the nature of change as experienced by the participants is shaped by a multitude of contextual factors. The implications of the study include the need to replace the technical conception of professional development with a more ecological orientation, to establish professional learning communities among teachers and within schools, and to establish a coherent framework for change initiatives.

In 1999, the Swedish Parliament decided to launch an experiment to test the idea of replacing, at the compulsory educational level, the national time schedule with localized control of schedules. This was in keeping with strategies of deregulation, decentralisation and increased local autonomy that had dominated Swedish education policy, particularly since the 1990s. The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse the initiation, decision, implementation and consequences of this experiment The analytical framework combines several different approaches and theories from the literature on public policy and policy analysis. The framework encompasses four dimensions, which cover the experiment’s origins, local application in the classroom setting and consequences. On the empirical level, findings are based on interviews with 32 municipal school directors, and head teachers, teachers and pupils in three schools participating in the experiment, as well as written sources from schools, municipalities, and the national level. The thesis shows that the policy problem the experiment was intended to resolve was represented in an inconsistent manner: On the one hand, the experiment was perceived as a driving force for change; on the other hand, it was seen as legitimising a change that had already taken place. Furthermore, the experiment was formulated in vague terms, which accorded far-reaching discretionary space to the schools. The program’s causal theory expressed by the policy makers was complex, containing a multifaceted chain of presumptions on a range of activities and processes through which the experiment ultimately would lead to improved opportunities for pupils to reach the educational objectives. Empirically, this prediction proved to be invalid as student achievement did not increase. The degree of implementation at the local level varied according to the comprehension, capability and willingness of those involved to carry out the experiment. The courses of action taken by the schools frequently could have been undertaken within the existing legislative framework, as they mostly concerned new ways of working and organising staff and pupils. An assessment of the objectives attained showed that, even if elements of developmental work corresponding to the direction stated in the policy documents were observed, the experiment did not emerge as the primary explanatory factor for this result Thus, the net impact of the experiment can be questioned. If judged against the criterion of adaptiveness, the results are more successful than if the experiment is assessed according to goal-attainment and the validity of the program theory. The experiment was found to integrate, alter and accommodate itself readily to local needs. The thesis illustrates the complexity of formulating and implementing policy in a decentralised context and points to important aspects in the historical background of the programme, which often tend to be overlooked when policy is analysed and discussed. At the same time, the study sheds light on the significant role played by street-level implementation actors in the educational context.

Šiame darbe buvo siekiama išanalizuoti švietimo sektoriaus NVO vykdomų projektų valdymo problemas ir pateikti projektų valdymo problemų sprendimo pasiūlymus. Šiam tikslui pasiekti buvo analizuojama mokslinės literatūra, dokumentai, teisės aktai, spaudos publikacijos, elektroninė informacija. Taip pat atliktas kiekybinis tyrimas, statistiniams duomenims surinkti panaudotas anketavimo metodas. Pirmiausia darbe apžvelgiama projektų vadybos samprata: aptariamas projekto sąvokos turinys bei projektų vadybos taikymas organizacijose; analizuojami projektų gyvavimo, valdymo ypatumai; nagrinėjama projektų vadyba organizacijos kaitos bei organizacijos kultūros kontekste; nagrinėjamos projektų vadyboje taikomos darbo organizavimo formos. Toliau analizuojami NVO ypatumai Lietuvoje: aptariama NVO sąvoka bei pagrindiniai principai ir tikslai; analizuojama NVO sektoriaus teisinė aplinka Lietuvoje; nagrinėjami NVO veiklos sričių ypatumai; analizuojamos projektų vadybos taikymo tendencijos Lietuvos NVO, kuomet NVO traukiamos problemų sprendimų, tą darant per projektų finansavimą, nagrinėjama Europos Sąjungos paramos Lietuvai, kai projektų vadybos pagalba įsisavinamos šaliai skiriamos lėšos; apibūdinami NVO sektoriaus valdymo ypatumai ir jų problemos. Trečiame darbo skyriuje aptariami atlikto kiekybinio tyrimo rezultatai: aptariamas tyrimo organizavimas ir metodika; apibūdinama tyrimo duomenų analizė; nagrinėjama gauta informacija apie projektų administravimo personalą; analizuojama... [to full text] / The purpose of this master thesis was to traverse projects’ governance problems of Educational sector NGOs and to present suggestions of solutions for these problems. In order to achieve the goal was chosen the method of analysis of nonfictions, documents of NGOs legislations, publications on internet websites; was made quantitative research, for gathering statistical information was chosen the method of questionnaire. First of all, the theoretic conceptions of project management were analyzed: there were discussed the notion and implementation of project management in the organizations; there were analyzed stages and singularities of the projects, as well as project management in the context of the culture of organization, and analyzed organized work forms, applied in the projects’ management. Further, there are analyzed singularities of NGOs in Lithuania: analyzed peculiarities of NGOs’ activities, when they are involved to solve the problems by implementing projects, analyzed peculiarities of projects governance and problems of NGOs. In the third part of this work the results of quantitative research are analyzed: there are discussed the methodology, how research was organized; described the data of research; analyzed gained information about projects’ administrative staff; analyzed information about projects’ governance system. In order to find differences and similarities between groups of respondents, gained information was compared, there were given common... [to full text]

Knowledge management is a response to the growing realization of knowledge as the deliverer of organizational success. Because much attention has been given to the private sector, knowledge management initiatives in educational settings seem to be lacking. Considering that knowledge activities – capturing, creating, sharing, applying and storing – are important activities in education, particularly schools, the failure to fully appreciate the potential of managing knowledge within education is surprising. A review of the literature suggests that factors such as management, technology and culture contribute differently to managing knowledge in many organizations. The management factor, for example, was a catalyst in providing a conducive work environment, whereas technology provides the mechanism as an enabler for knowledge management initiatives. Culture was important for the knowledge context and could play a significant role in the uptake of managing knowledge. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between these contextual factors – management, technology and culture – and the knowledge activities. The study took place in Malaysian secondary schools and highlighted the Smart School Project as one of the seven flagships of Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor. A mixed method approach was used as a strategy of inquiry in order to explore the knowledge management contextual factors in relation to knowledge activities. The quantitative method focused on collecting data based on a survey instrument. There were 1313 respondents and Smart Schools and non Smart Schools participated in responding to the questionnaire. As for the interview method, the study focused on 21 individuals who were purposely selected based on their special implementation roles in the schools – school principals, information technology coordinators and teachers. The survey data were analysed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. There were three types of statistical application used, namely the descriptive statistics, the t-test and regression, whereas the interview data were analysed manually by looking and searching for noticeable patterns to be connected to the research framework. The findings suggest that although there is no explicit knowledge management system used in managing knowledge in the educational sector, there are a lot of elements and positive practices of knowledge management already in place that could help schools to develop and encourage activities such as knowledge sharing. As far as the contribution of the contextual factors to knowledge activities, technology was an important instrument in all of the knowledge activities, but it was certainly not the only or the most prominent one. The culture factor played a more significant role in all knowledge activities particularly when knowledge sharing was considered as a social and spiritual obligation in the communities of practice. Despite this, there were also barriers in the uptake of knowledge management initiatives in schools which seemed to limit knowledge activities due to time constraints and teacher workload.