Since 1994 South Africa has changed dramatically in all spheres, not least of which in the sphere of education. Not only are all schools now open to learners of all races, cultures, religions and language groups, but class sizes have also been standardized leading to the redeployment of a number of teachers from previously advantaged schools. Many schools have also changed from being single-medium to parallel-medium or double-medium schools. Some schools have been accorded Section 21 status, which makes their school governing bodies responsible for the financial affairs of their schools while others have been altogether exempted from school fees. The State has also introduced feeding and school transport schemes and has launched a number of initiatives aimed at teacher upgrading. It is clear, therefore, that the forces that led to political, social and economic change are now also changing school teaching, learning, leading and management. On the teaching and learning fronts schools have seen the introduction of two versions of an outcomes-based curriculum, the mainstreaming (inclusion) of learners who were previously marginalized because of mental and physical disabilities, and a new emphasis on active learning, critical thinking and group work. On the management and leadership front schools have seen the introduction of shared ownership of schools, with school governing bodies being tasked with school governance while the principal and his management team are responsible for the day to day management of schools. The primary means used by the State to effect these changes in schools is the development of policies aimed at redressing past imbalances at schools coupled with extensive staff training, especially those staff members expected to ensure the smooth implementations of policies towards educational transformation. Since principals are responsible for the day-to-day management of schools it follows that they are the ones who represent the various departments of education at school level. They are also, however, the ones who have to ensure that the voices of the teachers, learners and parents forming part of their school community are heard at government level. They therefore find themselves in the middle of two groups of people whose needs are often different but both of whom they – the principals - represent. It is principals, therefore, who most often bear the brunt of change and/or are the target of criticism from above or below. Being a principal myself I empathize with the position in which principals of South African public schools find themselves during these times of change. It was my personal experience, coupled with my exposure to other principals’ experiences of change, experiences often discussed at principals’ workshops and meetings, that made me decide to conduct an inquiry into principals’ experiences of change. It was while I was reading up on the topic that I became convinced that the most appropriate way of investigating these experiences was through the collection and analysis of principals’ first-hand accounts of change and the challenges change posed for them at a personal and professional level. I therefore opted to use narrative methodology in collecting, interpreting and presenting principals’ stories of change. Also informing my inquiry was the fact that, notwithstanding all the research that had been conducted into educational change in South Africa since the demise of apartheid, very little attention had been paid to principals’ experience of change or of the real impact of change on schools and the people who worked there. I asked myself whether things had really changed or whether the changes were merely superficial. Informing my inquiry was an urgency to find out what has really been happening in schools since 1998, when policies were first implemented. Could policy makers really claim that what they had formulated translated as intended into educational practice, and would those changes be sustainable over time? What happened in the interim? What happened to school principals? What were their feelings and experiences about the educational changes that had occurred from 1998 to 2008? What are they thinking now? Have they changed as individuals? Have their performance, leadership and/or management styles changed over the years, and if so, in what ways and why? Put differently, what was new about the way they conducted themselves and/or managed their schools? Have they learnt anything during the past ten years that could assist them in managing their schools differently than they had managed them prior to 1994? What I found was that, while the principals who participated in my study were very different in terms of culture, gender and personality, they were all challenged and are still being challenged by change and the way in which it has upset their own and their respective schools’ equilibrium. Even so, none of them are entirely negative about the changes that have been effected. Rather, they all have their own ideas about how change can be sustained and utilized to improve not only the quality of education but also human and other relations in the country. The conclusions I reached as a result of my research findings cannot be generalized across schools or made applicable to principals across the country since the study was conducted in a very specific region of the Gauteng Department of Education with a relatively small sample of schools. I am, however, of the opinion that the findings are significant in that they indicate commonalities and differences between principals that could be ascribed to race, culture, history and gender. Consequently I believe that, should the study be replicated in other contexts, it is quite possible that the same themes might emerge, thereby creating the possibility of making the kind of generalizations that could be of use to policy makers and/or educational change agents of the future. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

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The Potential to Be the Most Historic Higher Education Reform Effort of Our Time: Implementation of AB705 As a result of California Assembly Bill 705(AB705, 2017) and California Assembly Bill 1705 (AB1705, 2021), most 1st-year students will enroll directly into transfer level math and/or English courses (Baca, 2021; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). Students once placed into remedial coursework before enrolling in transfer level coursework may need more student support services to ensure course completion and retention (Atkins & Beggs, 2017; Baca, 2021; Cook, 2016; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). The recent implementation of AB705 allows for community colleges to redesign pedagogical practices and restructure student support to address equity gaps and promote student success (Sims, 2020). Prior to AB705, remedial math and English course sequences were often gatekeepers that prevented students of color from completing their educational goals (Bailey, 2015; Bailey et al., 2013; Bragg et al., 2019; McClenney, 2019). As colleges move toward full compliance of AB705 and AB1705, colleges should have a comprehensive understanding of faculty members’ experiences as they implement reform efforts. Faculty perceptions of how the legislation has impacted student equity and success outcomes can inform continued, reiterative, and intentional improvements to reform initiatives. This qualitative study used semistructured interviews of English faculty members to examine if AB705 served as a catalyst for transformative change across academic and student support structures at community colleges. This study uncovered reform recommendations and best practices colleges can implement as they redesign educational support structures at their colleges.

Purpose: The thesis determined how policy implementation and change management can be improved in Nigeria, with the health insurance scheme as the basis for narrative exploration. It sets out the similarities and differences in assumptions between supra-national organisations such as the World Bank and World Health Organisation on policy implementation and change management and those contained in the Nigerian national health policy; and those of people responsible for implementation in Nigerian organisations at a) the federal or national level and b) at sub-federal service delivery levels of the health insurance scheme. The study provides a framework of the dimensions that should be considered in policy implementation and change management in Nigeria, the nature of structural and infrastructural problems and wider societal context, and the ways in which conceptions of organisations and the variables that impact on organisations' capability to engage in policy implementation and change management differ from those in the West. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative approach in the form of a case study was used to track the transformation of a policy into practice through examining the assumptions and expectations about policy implementation of the organisations financing the policy's implementation through an examination of relevant documents concerning policy, strategy and guidelines on change management and policy implementation from these global organisations, and the Nigerian national health policy document. The next stages of field visits explored the assumptions, expectations and experiences of a) policy makers, government officials, senior managers and civil servants responsible for implementing policy in federal-level agencies through an interview programme and observations; and b) those of sub-federal or local-level managers responsible for service-level policy implementation of the health insurance scheme through an interview programme. Findings - There are conflicts between the rational linear approaches to change management and policy implementation advocated by supra-nationals, which argue that these processes can be controlled and managed by the rational autonomous individual, and the narratives of those who have personal experience of the quest for 'health for all'. The national health policy document mirrors the ideology of the global organisations that emphasise reform, efficiencies and private enterprise. However, the assumptions of these global organisations have little relevance to a Nigerian societal and organisational context, as experienced by the senior officials and managers interviewed. The very nature of organisations is called into question in a Nigerian context, and the problems of structure and infrastructure and ethnic and religious divisions in society seep into organisations, influencing how organisation is enacted. Understandings of the purpose and function of leadership and the workforce are also brought into question. Additionally, there are religion-based barriers to policy implementation, change management and organisational life which are rarely experienced in the West. Furthermore, in the absence of future re-orientation, the concept of strategy and vision seems redundant, as is the rationale for a health insurance scheme for the majority of the population. The absence of vision and credible information further hinder attempts to make decisions or to define the basis for determining results. Practical implications: The study calls for a revised approach to engaging with Nigerian organisations and an understanding of what specific terms mean in that context. For instance, the definitions and understanding of organisations and capacity are different from those used in the West and, as such, bring into question the relevance and applicability of Western-derived models or approaches to policy implementation and change management. A framework with four dimensions - societal context, external influences, seven organisational variables and infrastructural/structural problems - was devised to capture the particular ambiguities and complexities of Nigerian organisations involved in policy implementation and change management. Originality/value: This study combines concepts in management studies with those in policy studies, with the use of narrative approaches to the understanding of policy implementation and change management in a Nigerian setting. Elements of culture, religion and ethical values are introduced to further the understanding of policy making and implementation in non-Western contexts.

Titel: Implementering av förändring - En fallstudie om att hantera förändring i offentlig sektor. Författare: Frida Andersson, Anna Johansson & Madeleine Palo.Institution: Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan. Program: Human Resource Management.Kurs: Företagsekonomi III – Organisation, Kandidatuppsats. Handledare: Hans Wessblad. Examinator: Mikael Lundgren. Syfte: Syftet med vår studie är att göra en utredning av vilket tillvägagångssätt en offentligorganisation använder sig av vid implementering av förändring. Metod: En fallstudie som behandlar implementering av förändring ur ett organisationsperspektiv. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och en deduktiv metod. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att implementeringen har skett ur ett strategi E-perspektivmed fokus på planering och förändring av strukturerna i organisationen. I vår undersökning framkommer det att lärarna inte fick vara med och påverka i förändringsarbetet. Ledarna påvisade också strategi E genom att de var styrda att agera enligt den förutbestämda planen. Nyckelord: Planerad förändring, strategi, medarbetare, ledarskap, organisationsförändring, motstånd, implementering av förändring.

Organisationer inom de skandinaviska länderna står ständigtinför essentiella utmaningar. En accelererande globalisering,teknologisk utveckling och digitalisering har medfört nyakrav för fortsatt funktionalitet och överlevnad. Under desenaste åren har även extraordinära händelser såsomcovid-19-pandemin och kriget i Ukraina orsakat starkakontraster gällande organisatorisk anpassningsförmåga.Inarbetade metoder och arbetssätt har påverkats på mångaolika sätt, likaså behovet för att snabbt och effektivt kunnaställa om samtidigt som att hantera medarbetares reaktioneroch behov. Därför är det mycket aktuellt att undersöka omdet skett någon vital förändring kring de förändringsverktygoch metoder som använts vid implementering avtransformationsprocesser. Likaså är det av stor relevans attstudera medarbetares reaktioner för att skapa sig en bild avderas förmåga att hantera och acceptera enförändringsprocess. Syftet var att med underlag frånskandinavisk forskning stärka organisationersförutsättningar till flexibilitet, proaktivitet och stabilitet vidtransformationsprocesser. Detta genom att skapa en tematisksyntes som härleder hur medarbetare inom de skandinaviskaländerna idag, till skillnad från innan 2020, uppfattar enorganisatorisk transformationsprocess. Likväl vilkastabiliserande segment som organisationer använder för atthantera och bemöta medarbetaren vid förändringar. Studienutfördes genom en systematisk litteraturöversikt där densenaste forskningen studerades för att se om det uppkommittendenser till trendskiftningar inom genrenförändringsledning. Resultatet visar att det finns åttaframgångsrika segment för att skapa stabilitet vidförändringsprocesser. Dessa är; delaktighet och involvera,engagerat ledarskap och det mänskliga perspektivet,kommunikation, budskap och förståelse, organisatorisktansvarstagande, strategiska verktyg, stötta och coacha,tydliga roller och utbildning och träning. Inom segmenten;kommunikation, budskap och förståelse, organisatorisktansvarstagande samt strategiska verktyg förekommer dettendenser till trendskiftningar. Resultatet har ävenidentifierat tre olika känslomässiga teman kringmedarbetarens reaktioner och uppfattningar underorganisatoriska förändringsprocesser. Dessa teman ärpositivt, neutralt och negativt laddade reaktioner ochuppfattningar. Inom dessa har det inte gått att härleda någratendenser av trendskiftningar / Organizations within the Scandinavian countries areconstantly faced with essential challenges. Acceleratingglobalization, technological development and digitizationhave brought new requirements for continued functionalityand survival. In recent years, also extraordinary events suchas the covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine havecaused strong contrasts regarding organizationaladaptability. Incorporated methods and working methodshave been affected in many different ways, as has the need tobe able to change quickly and efficiently at the same time ashandling the employee's reactions and needs. Therefore, it isvery relevant to study whether there has been any vitalchange regarding the change tools and methods used in theimplementation of transformation processes. Similarly, it isrelevant to study employees' reactions in order to create apicture of their ability to handle and accept a change process.The aim was to use data from Scandinavian research tostrengthen organizations' conditions for flexibility,proactivity and stability in transformation processes. This bycreating a thematic synthesis that derives how employees inthe Scandinavian countries today, unlike before 2020,perceive an organizational transformation process. However,which stabilizing segments do organizations use to manageand respond to the employee in the event of changes. Thestudy was carried out through a systematic literature reviewwhere the latest research was studied to see if there weretendencies towards trend shifts within the genre of changemanagement. The result shows that there are eight successfulsegments for creating stability in change processes. Theseare; participation and involvement, committed leadershipand the human perspective, communication, message andunderstanding, organizational responsibility, strategic tools,support and coaching, clear roles and education andtraining. Within the segments; communication, message andunderstanding, organizational responsibility and strategictools, there are tendencies towards trend changes. The resultshave also identified three different emotional themes aroundthe employee's reactions and perceptions duringorganizational change processes. These themes are positive,neutral and negative charged reactions and perceptions.Within these, it has not been possible to derive anytendencies of trend changes.

In the light of a post-pandemic world, the concept of hybrid work environments has become significantly more important since the way of working has changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not being dependent upon a set office spot to conduct one´s work-related tasks has created both positive and negative consequences for both the individuals and the organizations. In conjunctions with the increased importance of hybrid workplaces, we have seen an improved academic attention towards the area since scholars claim that the hybrid way of working is the future. Even though there has been an abundance of research conducted investigating the post-pandemic hybrid work environments, this thesis contributes to an area that according to us have been sparsely investigated through focusing on the effects on remote and/or hybrid workplaces and its employees due to the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic through the following research question:  “How has the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic affected remote and/or hybrid workplaces and employees?”  The research purpose of this study is to investigate how the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected hybrid and/or remote workplace solutions and its employees. We deem to broaden the existing research whilst concurrently develop new theoretical knowledge and expand the overall understanding of the investigated area. The purpose of this study was fulfilled through conducting a qualitative study with seven semi-structured interviews with people that have worked within the same organization before, during, and after the pandemic to obtain their own personal experience regarding the effects of the implementation of hybrid work environments. Through applying a qualitative thematic analysis, the empirical findings were categorized into three overarching themes with following sub-themes that were identified as adequate and relevant to highlight.  The result of this thesis indicates that the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the organizations and the employees in both a positive and negative way since the changes were perceived to be needed and appreciated but at the same time implemented in an abrupt fashion which worked as an epiphanic force for several cultural and psychosocial related issues for the employees. Lastly, our findings indicates that there is a need for further research within the investigated area to hopefully facilitate and aid the future organizations, managers, and employees who are planning of or are currently in the process of implementing hybrid work environments.

South African learners’ poor performance in general, and in the national matriculation examinations, has necessitated the introduction of various curriculum implementation improvement programmes in the country. The Jika iMfundo Programme (JiP) is a campaign of the Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO) that was piloted, on scale, in two districts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, in 2014, to improve the learning outcomes in the province by supporting educators and school managers to improve curriculum coverage and implementation. This study employs a constructivist worldview to explore the experiences of educators and school managers in the King Cetshwayo District of KZN with the implementation of the JiP. The study addresses the issues of the preparation of stakeholders for curriculum change, the challenges experienced in implementing the programme and the adequacy of resources and support that are required to implement the JiP. A qualitative approach, and a multi-case study design involving nine educators, three department heads and three principals, to investigate the key research questions within three primary schools in the King Cetshwayo District were adopted. The educators were all teachers of mathematics from grades 1-7 and were purposively selected as respondents. Data were elicited through semistructured, one-on-one interviews, document analysis and observations. Since the data represented the perspective of individuals, data analysis was descriptive and interpretive in nature and was reported under pre-set and emergent themes. The main finding from the study is that, although the majority of educators and managers have a positive attitude towards the programme and are utilising the knowledge and skills attained through the training, the resources and support provided to implement the programme, the following factors inhibit efficacious implementation: lack of consultation, inadequate training, lack of sufficient learner resources, inadequate support from schools and the district and the fast pace and organisation of the mathematics curriculum. School contextual factors also affect the implementation of revised curriculum. Other factors like inadequate or non-reflection by educators on their curriculum coverage and insufficient opportunities for conversation around curriculum coverage at schools were also identified by the researcher as areas needing attention. Consultation with educators on future educational changes, more frequent training sessions, the provision of adequate learner resources, reduction in class sizes, a review of the mathematics curriculum for the Foundation Phase are some of the recommendations made in the study. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)