Abstract not available.

The Senior Management Service in the South African public service was established as a leadership tier made up by development-oriented individuals who are able to make government’s vision of a better life for all a reality. The purpose of this research study is to explore and interpret how public service leadership is understood, communicated and legitimated in design and in practice. The study aims to gain deeper and critical understanding of issues from individuals’ perspectives, and is premised on the view that language has not been given sufficient attention in public service curriculum design and leadership development programmes. Yet, language and discourse express and constitute the values and beliefs underpinning structures and practices of communication, learning, and work. Participant samples are drawn from curriculum designers who guide the development of public service education, training and development interventions; and managers who have participated in the Executive Development Programme (EDP) of the National School of Government. This qualitative study applies Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, with interest in the intended curriculum and the lived, and the local and distributed contexts of social practices of public service leadership. The study highlights some of the linguistic turns in the discipline of Public Administration, and the interdisciplinary intersections in the d/Discourses of public service. Taken-for-granted worldviews are noted in how leadership is construed and the context in which it is practised, with implications for curriculum and policy critique. The study makes recommendations about ways in which subordinate and dominant worldviews may be reappraised, while also building bridges across the multiple worlds of situational practitioner knowledge and language, and those of scientific theory and methodology. Moreover, the study brings a critical discourse perspective to the languages and texts through which leadership development endeavours may be recontextualised, legitimated or deligitimated to accomplish particular purposes in the public service. Key words: public service, public administration, leadership development, intended. curriculum, lived curriculum, critical discourse analysis / Thesis (PhD) University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

The objective of this study was to locate and describe the learning affordances used within research studies on instructional design. Allowing an instructional designer to see what was used and how applicable it might be for future design would assist with better course creation. Current and past literature supported the importance of this concept after examination of how course creation has evolved within the field of instructional design. Further, the findings elucidated how to help the field evolve in the future by expanding knowledge about learning affordances and providing the broadest set of conceptual definitions by the academics working in the field to include them in their research and instructional designs.

No description available.

No description available.

This dissertation in practice utilized a sequential mixed methods research design to investigate the performance or exclusion of instructional design activities commonly prescribed by instructional design models during a typical instructional design project. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of instructional design activities by practicing instructional designers with the performance of an experienced instructional designer to determine if instructional design models are being used to guide the practice of instructional design. In this study, quantitative data was collected from a sample of 224 instructional designers to determine the activities routinely performed and excluded from typical projects. Qualitative data was collected from a single case study of an instructional design project to assess whether or not the performance or exclusion of the same instructional design activities were identified in the work of an experienced instructional designer. Analysis of the data revealed the activities that are not routinely performed by instructional designers, reasons for the exclusion of activities, and possible factors for the decisions to exclude activities. The findings of this study indicate instructional designers may be sacrificing the quality and effectiveness of instruction in an attempt to increase the pace and reduce the cost of the instructional design process. The study concluded that instructional designers are not following the prescriptions of instructional design models during the practice of instructional design by routinely eliminating the fundamental activities involving the development of learner assessments, the performance of formative evaluations during the instructional design process, and summative evaluations after the implementation of the instruction.

<p> This qualitative phenomenological study explored the personal insights, preferences, and experiences of individuals who graduated from a community leadership development program. Fifteen Bay Area Leadership Program graduates from the Burlington and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada program between 2002-2007 participated in this study. Several inter-related themes emerged from the respondents&rsquo; stories and narratives regarding the program elements that influenced the learning experience. Respondents&rsquo; acknowledged and recognized that the program had positively impacted their development as a community leader and the community. Through findings from extensive interviews of the graduates, the study: (1) extends current knowledge concerning the development of community leaders; (2) offers community program board members and management an understanding of key program elements that contribute to the learner&rsquo;s experience; (3) extends evaluation approaches to the personal learning experience and developing theories of leadership to practice; and (4) provides an understanding of long-term program benefits in assisting future funding, supporting long-term sustainability of the community leadership development movement and ultimately strengthening communities.</p>

<p> Technology usage in educational setting has gained ground in African countries, especially in Nigeria. Although technology resources in education are financed by the Nigerian government, the teachers required to use and implement such technology are not always accepting of technology use. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to examine any if there was a relationship between teachers&rsquo; perceptions of technology integration, level of technology integration, teachers&rsquo; age, educational level, grade level taught, years of experience, and content areas taught. The theoretical framework of the study was Bem&rsquo;s self-perception theory. Participants included 374 teachers from the Oyo State teaching service commission (TESCOM) drafted from two zonal offices in the Ibadan metropolis. Participants completed the Teacher Technology Integration Survey (TTIS) which was adapted from the Technology Integration Survey (TIS). Data analyses included both descriptive and correlational Spearman&rsquo;s rank. The results indicated there is a positive relationship in teachers&rsquo; gender, grade level taught, years of experience, or content areas taught and technology integration. A moderate positive linear relationship was found between technology integration between teachers aged 30 and below and 50 and above; whereas there was a weak positive linear relationship between teachers of age 30 and below and 31&ndash;40. A statistically weak negative relationship was found in levels of education; between a doctoral degree and Nigerian certificate of education (NCE), and also between a doctorate and bachelor&rsquo;s and master&rsquo;s. Recommendations include increased technology orientation and training for teachers.</p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the generational cohorts of Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Generation Y/Millennial, as defined by Howe and Strauss (2007), in terms of learning style preferences in the United States. </p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> A non-experimental, retrospective, causal-comparative research design was used to determine whether the independent variable, generational cohort, was correlated with the dependent variable, learning style preference, by comparing Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y/Millennials. Participants were recruited through an online survey and invited to participate via email to electronically complete the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS), a 44-item assessment of learning style preference. Results were analyzed using non-parametric chi-square tests of independence in SPSS software. </p><p> <b>Findings.</b> The chi-square analyses did not result in a significant difference between the learning style preferences of the generational cohorts. The cohorts were similar on the four dimensions of learning style preferences. On a macro level, the generations were predominately represented by preferences for reflective, sensing, visual, and sequential learning styles. Generation Y&rsquo;s preference for active and visual learning was higher than the other generations. On a micro level, Baby Boomers and Millennials were the most similar (identical on 12 metrics), followed by Generations X and Y (identical on seven metrics), and by Baby Boomers and Generation X (identical on three metrics). </p><p> <b>Conclusions.</b> The variety of learning style preferences and the similarities among the sample inform decisions about the design and delivery of training. A variety of learning style preferences are present in any generation, and organizations should be cautious about adopting stereotypes that lack empirical evidence to support assumptions about generational differences in learning style preferences. </p><p> <b>Recommendations.</b> Focusing on generational differences is not necessary when designing and delivering training. Organizations will benefit from applying adult learning theory and evaluating the learning style preferences of their unique training audiences. Future studies should include a larger sample size from a global population, include Generation Z, and use additional or different learning style assessments.</p>

<p> This study sought to identify the instructional strategies used by developmental mathematics instructors in Missouri&rsquo;s public 2-year colleges to engage students in the learning process, determine the cognitive complexity of the instructional strategies, and find out the support needed by these instructors to engage their students in the learning process. A sequential mixed method design was employed in which quantitative and qualitative data was collected. Initial participants in this study included developmental mathematics instructors from all 13 of Missouri&rsquo;s 2-year public community colleges, making for a total of 494 instructors. Quantitative data statistical analysis was completed on the demographic data, as well as on the rating and implementation of recommended instructional strategies using the <i>Qualtrics</i> survey tool. Qualitative analysis was completed on the instructor descriptions of strategies for engaging students in the learning process. Additionally, three participants were chosen from the survey for case study analysis in which three observations, post-observation interviews, and artifact collections were used to obtain more extensive qualitative data.</p><p> Results indicate that developmental mathematics instructors describe the methods they use to engage students in the learning process comparably to those instructional strategies as recommended by the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC, 2006) to promote active learning, while also including additional strategies. How the instructors rated the instructional strategies as recommended by AMATYC (2006) are given in depth. An overview of the instructional strategies employed by three instructors who were observed, and the cognitive complexity of the tasks and questions used in these instructional strategies is given. Furthermore, recommendations are given for the support needed by developmental mathematics instructors to aid them in engaging their students in the learning process. Implications are offered for the (1) AMATYC (2006) Framework, (2) Professional development on discovery-based learning, (3) Professional development on cognitive complexity of tasks and questions, and (4) Support needed to implement instructional strategies.</p>