Thesis (M.M. (Public and Development Management))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits School of Governance, 2017 / Developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have revolutionised banking, in that consumers can make use of mobile devices to conduct daily banking, independent of a traditional bank branch. The adoption of mobile banking has continued to be low in South Africa, at 24%, while the mobile phone market has experienced a significant increase in market penetration to 96%. However, very few studies have investigated the impact of mobile banking among bottom of the pyramid consumers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of financial literacy, social pressure and perceived credibility on the adoption of mobile banking among the bottom of the pyramid consumers in South Africa. An empirical study on bottom of the pyramid consumers in Johannesburg, South Africa with a sample of 235 questionnaires was conducted. The measurement items were assessed through three hypotheses using Structural Equation Modelling with IBM SPSS 23 and AMOS 23. The results confirm that all three hypotheses are significant and supported by indicating that financial literacy, social pressure and perceived credibility have an impact on mobile banking among bottom of the pyramid consumers. The findings revealed that social pressure and mobile banking was the weakest significant relationship, while perceived credibility had the strongest significant relationship on mobile banking. This study adds to the theoretical knowledge of financial literacy, social pressure and credibility as the factors that impact on mobile banking among bottom of the pyramid consumers. The managerial implications of the study indicate that in order for managers to increase mobile banking adoption, they need to create strategies that will drive education around mobile banking, use other people as advocates and place emphasis on communicating the safety and privacy of the services. Recommendations, limitations and future research on mobile banking are discussed. Keywords: Mobile Banking, Financial Literacy, Perceived Credibility, Social Pressure, Bottom of the Pyramid / GR2018

Despite the considerable significance of publicly funded education in the making of Australian society, state school histories are few in number. In comparison, most corporate and private schools have cemented their sense of community and tradition through full-length publications. This history attempts to redress this imbalance. It is an important social history because this school, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School can trace its origins back to 1905, to the very beginnings of state secondary education when the Melbourne Continuation School (MCS), later Melbourne High School (MHS) and Melbourne Girls' high School (MGHS) was established. Since it is now recognised that there are substantial state, regional and other differences between schools and their local communities, studies of individual schools are needed to underpin more general overviews of particular issues. This history, then, has wider significance: it traces strands of the development of girls' education in Victoria, thus examining the significance and dynamics of single-sex schooling, the education of girls more generally, and, importantly, girls' own experiences (and memories of experiences) of secondary schooling, as well as the meaning they made of those experiences. 'Girls, Education and Empowerment: A History of The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School 1905-2005', departs from traditional models of school history writing that tend to focus on the decision-makers and bureaucrats in education as well as documenting the most 'successful' former students who have made their mark in the world. Drawing on numerous narrative sources and documentary evidence, this history is organised thematically to contextualise and examine what is was like, and meant, to be a girl at this school (Melbourne Continuation School 1905-12; Melbourne High School 1912-27; Melbourne Girls' High School 1927-34, and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School from 1934) during a century of immense social, economic, political and educational change.

Since Tajikistan’s independence in 1991 the number of rural girls leaving school after grade 9 has been increasing at an alarming rate. In order to improve rural girls’ secondary school attendance and retention, in 2006 Save the Children, local non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, and the Ministry of Education implemented a two-year UNICEF-funded Girls’ Education Project (GEP). This mixed-method study compares rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities at six schools (three GEP schools and three non-GEP schools) in two districts located in regions with the lowest levels of female secondary school participation nationwide. Two research questions guided this study: 1) What factors serve as obstacles or enablers to girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities in rural Tajikistan? and 2) How did the GEP attempt to overcome factors limiting rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities and which aspects of the project were perceived to be most effective? The study’s theoretical framework contains concepts from two sets of theories: 1) social reproduction (schooling as a means of maintaining and reproducing the status quo) and 2) empowerment (schooling as a means of changing the status quo). Data collected reveals two groups’ perspectives: 1) adult participants (Ministry of Education officials, NGO staff, school administrators and teachers) and 2) rural female upper secondary school students. A multi-level data analysis process was used to compare findings within and across districts. Factors that serve as either an obstacle or an enabler of girls’ educational experiences and opportunities include those relating to the community/society, family, school, and self. Factors related to community/society include the dominant belief that a girl is “grown-up” by 15 and should no longer go to school which intersects with family poverty to create a major barrier to girls’ non-compulsory secondary schooling. Factors affecting girls’ schooling related to the family were the most significant determinant of a girl’s schooling. Of all the GEP activities, participants consistently considered the girls’ overnight camp to be the “best” activity. Findings show how enabling just a few girls to return to school significantly increases the likelihood of other girls being allowed to attend school in these rural communities.

The study aimed to add to our understanding of why many girls in rural high schools were not choosing to study Physical Science. A case study of a local high school was used as the research method. Questionnaires to the 120 learners in grade 9 and 10 were the main instrument used to gather data. This was followed up with interviews of a sample of learners and some classroom observations. The science teacher was also included as a key informant in this study. The data collected aimed at answering the following key question: What influences girls in their decision to choose to study Physical Science at a rural school? The following sub questions guided the researcher in answering the key research question: (a) Are there any differences in participation between boys and girls? (b) What influences their choice in Grade 9? (c) Were Grade 10 learners happy with their subject package choices made in grade 9? The data were captured, coded, analysed and interpreted. The study produced evidence that the learners' family, the classroom environment, peer influence and the shortage of role models were the main reasons for the low • number of girls participating in Physical Science. The study found that these factors have a significant influence on girls' subject choices. Ofthe four factors found, the family was the most significant factor (i.e. where the family members tended to choose the subject package for girls). In the classroom the girls were involved in proportionally the same number of interactions but importantly the female teacher had a disproportionate number of interactions with the boys. In apparent contradiction to the teachers comments that the boys were the more active learners, the girls initiated more interactions with the teacher. However, the girls reported that they were uncomfortable in the class as boys mocked and intimidated them during the lessons. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the girls who did choose to take Physical Science were unhappy with their choice as they then found it difficult. The main recommendations of the study were that; teacher and community awareness programmes should be established to raise awareness of the gender issues and to promote girls taking science; career guidance should be given to learners so they could make their own informed decisions; and possibly specialist science girls schools could be established. Further suggestions for research were made. The findings of this study should provide policy makers, curriculum developers, and science teachers with valuable information about some of the factors that influence girls not to take Physical Science. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Since Tajikistan’s independence in 1991 the number of rural girls leaving school after grade 9 has been increasing at an alarming rate. In order to improve rural girls’ secondary school attendance and retention, in 2006 Save the Children, local non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, and the Ministry of Education implemented a two-year UNICEF-funded Girls’ Education Project (GEP). This mixed-method study compares rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities at six schools (three GEP schools and three non-GEP schools) in two districts located in regions with the lowest levels of female secondary school participation nationwide. Two research questions guided this study: 1) What factors serve as obstacles or enablers to girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities in rural Tajikistan? and 2) How did the GEP attempt to overcome factors limiting rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities and which aspects of the project were perceived to be most effective? The study’s theoretical framework contains concepts from two sets of theories: 1) social reproduction (schooling as a means of maintaining and reproducing the status quo) and 2) empowerment (schooling as a means of changing the status quo). Data collected reveals two groups’ perspectives: 1) adult participants (Ministry of Education officials, NGO staff, school administrators and teachers) and 2) rural female upper secondary school students. A multi-level data analysis process was used to compare findings within and across districts. Factors that serve as either an obstacle or an enabler of girls’ educational experiences and opportunities include those relating to the community/society, family, school, and self. Factors related to community/society include the dominant belief that a girl is “grown-up” by 15 and should no longer go to school which intersects with family poverty to create a major barrier to girls’ non-compulsory secondary schooling. Factors affecting girls’ schooling related to the family were the most significant determinant of a girl’s schooling. Of all the GEP activities, participants consistently considered the girls’ overnight camp to be the “best” activity. Findings show how enabling just a few girls to return to school significantly increases the likelihood of other girls being allowed to attend school in these rural communities.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership and Workforce Development. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Researchers hold numerous perceptions of the educational aspirations and future career choices of teenage girls. Studies argue that factors such as the curriculum, teachers' and parents' attitudes, the impact of HIV/AIDS, and teenage pregnancy, influence girls' future educational and occupational hopes and dreams either positively or negatively. Other researchers claim that learners' career choice is limited by their potential and school performance. The existing literature also suggests that girls have lower self-esteem and levels of achievement than boys. This research seeks to gain insight into high school girls' perceived academic and vocational prospects. The research was carried out in an interpretive paradigm. Six secondary school female learners from one school participated in the study. Semistructured interviews were the core method of data collection, supplemented by questionnaires and a focus group interview. As teenagers, the girls were expected to already have started to think about their future hopes and dreams. The findings revealed that all the girls seemed to experience school as a place where they could acquire knowledge about what they needed to make them autonomous and successful in adult life. For them, their parents remained their major significant others. They regarded fear of poverty as a major factor motivating them to achieve their educational and vocational aspirations. Peer pressure appeared not to be a major determinant of these girls' successes in school. The girls believed that there is a relationship between their academic performance and their future vocational choice. In addition, the girls did not see boys as a threat to their climbing the ladder of success.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:08:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 2405368 bytes, checksum: 249ff9241c8257fd4cec2848c7fbf9c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Considering the omnipresence of women in education, specially in the catholic girls schools, and its almost invisibility in official registers of Paraíba s Education History, this study has as objective to understand the game of relations established in the project of catholic education developed for the Franciscan of Dillingen nuns in the Colégio Santa Rita (catholic high school), in the city of Areia, from 1937 to 1970, and its implications in the constitution of genre and professional identities of the girls who studied there. The research is based upon Michel Foucault ideas as theoretical references, articulating the categories catholic education, genre and identity, choose to guide this study. The work was developed from the applied genealogical inquiry to the analysis of the bibliographical and documental sources (documents of the Catholic Church, the Franciscan order and Colégio Santa Rita; memories and memorabilia of former-pupils; Franciscans nuns and former-pupils interviews, and also local newspapers). In that way, in six chapters the text treats on the Catholic Ultramontane thought, the Order of the German Franciscans Sisters of Dillingen, the city of Areia (Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil), the German pioneers nuns, and the Colégio Santa Rita in its architectural arrangement, its pedagogical and disciplinary aspects, by the concept of panopticism. The text also analyzes the memories of six former-pupils from that educational institution, from the Foucault s concepts of technologies of the self and governmentality. The thesis of this work is that the Education developed in the Colégio Santa Rita, based upon the Catholic canon, was an important aspect in Paraíba s educational context from 20th century 30 s to 70 s and had a main role in the ordering of local society and also in the process of identity constitution of girls who studied submitted to that pedagogical model. / Considerando a ubiquidade da mulher na educação, mormente na educação católica feminina, e a sua quase invisibilidade nos registros oficiais da história da educação paraibana, este estudo tem como objetivo compreender o jogo de relações estabelecidas no projeto de educação católica desenvolvido pelas franciscanas de Dillingen no Colégio Santa Rita, situado na cidade de Areia Paraíba, no período compreendido entre 1937 e 1970, e suas implicações na constituição das identidades de gênero e profissão das alunas submetidas àquele modelo pedagógico. O trabalho se alimentou do referencial foucaultiano, articulando-o às categorias educação católica, gênero, e identidade, que elegemos para nortear este estudo. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida a partir da investigação genealógica aplicada à análise dos referenciais bibliográfico e documental (documentos da Igreja Católica, documentos da Ordem Franciscana, documentos do Colégio Santa Rita, escritos de ex-alunas, entrevistas a irmãs franciscanas alemãs e brasileiras e a ex-alunas do Colégio). Neste sentido abordamos, em seis capítulos, o pensamento católico ultramontano, a Congregação das Irmãs Franciscanas de Dillingen, a cidade de Areia, as alemãs pioneiras e o Colégio Santa Rita em seu arranjo arquitetônico, em seus aspectos pedagógicos e em sua dimensão disciplinar, a partir dos conceitos de dispositivo e panoptismo. Apanhamos e analisamos também as memórias de seis ex-alunas da referida instituição, que foram analisadas a partir dos conceitos foucaultianos de tecnologias do eu e governamentabilidade. A tese que nos conduziu no percurso investigativo é a de que a educação desenvolvida no Colégio Santa Rita, apoiada no cânon católico, foi relevante para o contexto educacional paraibano e cumpriu um papel no ordenamento da sociedade e no processo de constituição da identidade das alunas submetidas àquele modelo de educação.

Girls’ education is one of the main attributes that contribute to the development of a nation and society. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the girls’ education is discursively constructed by the development agencies promoting girls’ education. Furthermore, the thesis also aims to explore how these discourses reflect the concepts of gender equality, equity, and empowerment in the policy texts in relation to girls’ education and what similarities and/ or differences are found by the produced knowledge in relation to girls’ education by the development agencies in correspondence to the three theories: Human Capital Approach (HCA), Human Rights Approach (HRA), and Capability Approach (CA). The study’s theoretical perspectives include the three theories of education: the human capital approach, the human rights approach, and the capabilities approach. To examine how development agencies policy texts discursively construct girls’ education, an analysis informed by interpretive and qualitative approaches to critical discourse analysis is conducted. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) as the research method contributes to analyze how discursive practices or texts are produced, described, and interpreted particularly in the policy documents. The analytical framework of Carol Bacchi (2009) ‘what’s the problem represented to be’ (WPR) as an analytical framework contribute to understand; 1.how something is presented as a problem and phrased in a specific policy text; 2. provides a systematic way to critically investigate problem representations in the policy texts to see what they include, what is not included; and 3. to retain the validity of the study quite high. The questions addressed in this study are: 1. what is the problem represented; 2. what solutions are provided to this problem; 3. what effects are produced by the representation of the problem; 4. what is unaddressed/silenced in the problem representation of girls’ education? The study compares policy texts published between 2010 to 2020 sampled from some the biggest foreign aid donors such as Japan, United Nations of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Italy, Finland, and France working in areas of development assistance and support specially focused on gender and education of developing countries. The analysis suggests that the development agencies primarily views the importance of girls’ education in instrumental terms even though discourses harmonizes with the human rights and capabilities approach discourses. The discourses of the three theories are compatible with each other and the underlying message remains quite the same in all the development agencies. The human capital discourses to a large extent followed discourses on women and gender equality. The discursive constructions of girls’ and women structured around economic development and efficiency thus sustain hegemonic gender power structures and gender inequalities rather than challenging them. The current discourses of the development agencies of dominantly constructing the importance of girls’ education as economic actors should address the root causes that hinders the girls’ education and agency which otherwise the consequences of only constructing women only as economic agents and as passive subordinates will be most likely to increase gender inequalities and poverty continue to exist further rather than ending it.

Students in a large mid-Atlantic city graduate from the public district high schools at an average annual rate of fifty-six percent. This low rate of high school completion predicts future financial and social instability for not only those individuals who drop out of school, but also for their surrounding community. The research on dropouts highlights the significance that students' low levels of academic and social engagement in school have on their decisions to leave school. Advocates for single-sex education argue that students engage and achieve at high levels when learning in this educational model. According to the current literature, students' success in single-sex schools is primarily a result of the proacademic choice that they and their guardians make when electing to attend a single-sex school. Through focus groups, interviews, and observations, this study explores what student engagement looks like at an all-girls urban neighborhood public high school that is non-selective and where the proacademic choice of students is not a factor. With new federal policy measures advocating innovation in public education, single-sex schools - historically inaccessible to minority students from low-income communities - are finding a foothold in urban public school systems across the country. This study aims to illuminate the extent to which a single-sex school serves as a "site of transformation" for young women of color from a low-income neighborhood. The realization of the school's mission, to interrupt the social reproduction of the neighborhood through the education of its young women, depends on its students' graduation from high school and their access to and success through college. Data related to various features of the school are analyzed to highlight how student engagement is promoted and inhibited at the school and ultimately results in transformative and/or reproductive educational experiences for students. / Urban Education