Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (MEdPsych (Educational Psychology)--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is one of the most well-known behaviour disorders in South Africa. Limited studies regarding adolescents’ experience of their own AD/HD are available despite the extensive research on AD/HD. The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive qualitative study was to understand 7 adolescents' experience of their own AD/HD in a special school in order to identify supportive strategies. This study was approached from an interpretive and/or constructivist research paradigm. A collective case study research design was used. Data was collected by means of observation, personal documents as well as semi-structured interviews. The data was transcribed and analised according to the constant comparative method. According to the results it seems as if the adolescents’ experiences of their own AD/HD are unique. However, these unique experiences are influenced by their barriers to learning, the process of diagnosis, development, AD/HD medication and social context. The adolescents seek that others empower them to regulate their own AD/HD by: (1) trying to understand how it feels to live with AD/HD; (2) providing information regarding AD/HD; and (3) focusing on their talents and strengths. The practical implications of the results are individualized intervention, changing roles of educators and support professionals, whole school development, changing attitudes, as well as professional development. Further qualitative research is recommended to investigate adolescents’ experiences of their own ADHD.

This thesis is an empirical qualitative case study of the work of an evaluation commission which was established by the Ministry of Culture, Research and Art in the German state of Baden-Württemberg in 2003 to undertake a cross-sectional examination of the quality of teaching and research in universities and teacher training colleges offering courses in Educational Science (Erziehungswissenschaft). Although much literature on evaluation methods and models exists, little addresses the minutiae of evaluation work through the eyes of those doing it. This study therefore aims to augment this knowledge by examining the attitudes, experiences and difficulties which evaluators face. It contributes to the discourse on evaluation theory and practice by providing suggestions for what might help to improve decision-making processes in this particular environment. Informed by phenomenological theory, this exploratory study also uses decision-making theories as a means of providing knowledge on both individual and organisational issues which can augment our understanding of how expert commissions work: the social, political and cultural mechanisms that are involved, and the techniques that evaluators employ in order to provide institutions with an objective, fair, trustworthy and reliable evaluation report. As external review has become an accepted means of quality assurance, this research constitutes a contribution to the discourse on ways of improving quality assurance in higher education on a broader scale, not just within the context of German higher education. Furthermore, it also offers insight into the discipline of Educational Science itself and the notion of competing research paradigms, which have an impact on the way the discipline perceives itself and is perceived by others. The study is broadly divided into three main sections. The first contextualises the history of higher education evaluation, specifically within the German context. It looks at how the idea of what a university is has changed, especially during the last few decades of the 20th century, and notions of quality within this particular environment. The evaluation is also briefly introduced within the context of Baden-Württemberg. The second section explores the evaluation by examining the documents available in the evalag agency archive in Mannheim, thereby facilitating an understanding of the background to the commission and the processes which the evaluators underwent as work progressed. The third provides insight into what the evaluators themselves thought of the process and is based on interview analysis. The thesis concludes with a brief survey of more recent developments in quality assurance in Germany.

Am Standort August-Bebel-Straße 18 erwarten den Besucher der Zweigbibliothek Erziehungswissenschaften ausgezeichnete Benutzungsbedingungen: Ein umfangreicher Literaturbestand von ca. 125.000 Bänden, 150 Leseplätze, 10 Rechercheplätze, 5 Kopierer stehen den Benutzern zur Verfügung. Die Möglichkeit zur Internetnutzung mit eigenem Laptop über WLAN rundet das Angebot ab.

D.Ed. / The aim of this study was to investigate: the causes, problems and justification of the increase in part-perspectives in faculties of education; the reasons for the apparent disappearance of borders between part-perspectives in Education; and possible criteria for the justification of existing and new part-perspectives and modules. The study showed that the increase in part-perspectives led to various problems in Education, such as: considering the own part-perspective to be more important than other partperspectives; overlapping between part-perspectives; and overemphasising the subdivisions of Education in stead of emphasising the educational phenomenon as the object of investigation. There were not only historical reasons for the diversifying of Education. The difficulties experienced in the structuring of Education were the result of the complex reality of education in a rapid changing society. Contemporary and future trends were therefore taken into account by the researcher because the effectiveness of faculties of education is determined by the manner in which they respond to changes in society. The present stance of the part-perspectives in Education was evaluated in this study in order to find criteria for the justification of existing and new part-perspectives. These criteria can be used as a basis for the possible restructuring of Education. The following criteria were amongst others identified: an educational perspective; demarcation; a clear problem; theoretical accountability; scientific justification; expertise; and a sound curriculum. This study demonstrated the necessity of knowledge of the nature of an educational perspective to enable educationists to evaluate the focus of their part-perspectives from an authentic educational point of view.

M.Ed. (Philosopy of Education) / Every year the failure rate among matrics causes great concern among various parties such as the students’ parents, the community and teachers. These reports focus attention on a serious problem, namely the effectiveness of schools in South Africa. Economic, social and political factors significantly contribute to the large percentage of matric students who either drop out or fail their studies. The high number of dropouts and students who fail, is a serious problem that have severe implications and it must be addressed urgently. In order to address this problem it is imperative to investigate school effectiveness. The specific purpose of this study is to investigate schools in South-Africa, to identify problems, define criteria that can be used in school improvement programmes and to design models that explain the role of the criteria during implementation of school improvement programmes. The study required literature research in order to investigate the factors influencing the performance of students and to determine possible criteria for school effectiveness. The following criteria resulted from the research and would be interpreted in a functional simulation improvement model : * Clear academic goals * Social network * School ambience * Responsible leadership * Teacher efficiency * Quality instruction * Pupil well-being

M.Phil. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This paper is about how teacher education programs today provide tools for new teachers to face the multicultural classroom. The paper uses a qualitative method chosen to compare the content and literature of different teacher education programs in the courses that make up the educational science core. Furthermore, the essay has a comparative hermeneutic theoretical approach in its theoretical framework. The paper shows that there are several weaknesses in current teacher education in this particular theme. The content of the course syllabi is not, at any point, specified for the multicultural classroom and the literature included in the teacher education programmes of the universities surveyed, according to current bibliographies, is not in any way specifically focused on the multicultural classroom and the tools that teachers of all subjects need to face this particular issue.  The conclusion is that despite several attempts from various quarters to point out this weakness, nothing has been done to solve this problem. Society and its components are changing at a very fast pace and neither governing bodies nor higher education institutions, and therefore neither curricula nor course content, have listened to the criticism that has been raised in the past. Teacher training needs to be updated in terms of multiculturalism and everyone needs to take responsibility and not blame each other.

<p>Background: Officers in the Swedish Armed Forces educates their soldiers in various skills and arenas. The Officers get their educational training in officer training courses conducted by the Swedish Armed Forces or the Swedish national defence college. The aim of this study was to find out how the cadets, belive that they are formed into educators, their views on the literature being used in the Swedish armed Forsces, and their views on leadership and educational science.</p><p>Methods: The data for analysis were collected in spring 2010, by use of a questionnaire among cadets studying the tactical/operational program Ta/Op 07/10 at the Swedish national defence college. The respons rate was 69, 6 %.</p><p>Results: The majority of the cadets thought that experience was the most important factor in becoming a good educator. Most of the cadets also thought that the literature being used by the Swedish armed forces was good, however, few cadets stated that they will use the material for reflection on their own teaching when working as officers.</p><p>Conclusions: The Cadets had a positive attitude towards the educational philosphy and literature being used, but few will use the literature in reflecting on themselves as teachers. Cadets belive that they mainly will become good educators through experience, and that it is important that leaders and managers in Swedish armed forces have knowledge about educational science.</p>