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This dissertation investigates the Patient Input Program, the context from which it arose and the struggles that it evokes for rare disease patients. By drawing on the concepts of boundary work, boundary object, public involvement and needs talk, the dissertation explores a local application of patient involvement as a construction of social participation and site where the needs of rare disease patients are contested among the actors, groups and institutions involved in the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) network. A case study approach was chosen to explain the intrinsic aspects of the Patient Input Program, showing the shaping of the Program and its shaping effect on societal agents and knowledge forms, particularly with respect to rare disease patients. Their experience in the Patient Input Program provides insights on the complexities and controversies rooted within the program, and links more broadly to certain system inadequacies.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / There is compelling evidence that parental involvement positively influences children‟s academic achievement. Its benefits occur across all socio-economic classes. This study sought to establish parental involvement in grade 7 learners‟ achievement in Empangeni in the uMhlathuze District, KwaZulu-Natal. The attribution theory was used not only to substantially explain the status of parental involvement in uMhlathuze District, but also to generate strategies to promote parents‟ participation in their children‟s school education. Open-ended questions for school management teams and for parents were used in this study covering three primary schools in three settings. Respondents were selected through the use of random sampling in the three schools (one rural school, one township school, and one multiracial school). A total of 75 participants were selected. This study confirms that parental involvement has an effect on learner performance. The empirical findings indicate that parental involvement alone is not sufficient in the achievement of learners. It can therefore be concluded that parental involvement alone does not lead to the improvement of learner achievement. There could be other factors associated with academic achievement such as learner motivation, Intelligent Quotient (IQ), Emotional Intelligence/Quotient (EQ) and teachers‟ support which could also be at play. It seemed to be the case that children coming from rural schools sometimes do not perform well because they lack facilities and infrastructure. However, no such research analysis has been undertaken to support or disprove this hypothesis. This study recommends further investigation as this can be another gap that needs attention from researchers in the field.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Education in the Department of Foundations Of Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The literature reveals that if schools lack parental involvement, effective management suffers significantly causing shortcomings in school governance and academic progress. The literature also shows that there exists a relationship between parental involvement and learner‟s academic achievements. It provides that learners whose parents care about their academic progress are likely to perform well on academic activities because such parents often communicate their wishes to children. This study is aimed at investigating stakeholders‟ perspectives on parental involvement in governance and schooling in Hlabisa Circuit schools. The theoretical framework from Epstein‟s theory of overlapping spheres of influence was used but not confined thereto; therefore, supporting theories relevant to this study were also applied. This study used a mixed methods research paradigm which integrates qualitative and quantitative designs as this approach provides convenience for data collection. The data was collected from respondents (educators and SGB members) using questionnaires and interviews. The research findings revealed that due to poor parental involvement in school governance, learners have developed errant behaviour. This emerging trend has triggered poor academic performance which taints the name of the school and the circuit in general. The results also show that if parents are inactive in school governance, poor academic performance is likely owing to the lack of parental guidance. The empirical findings noted educators‟ challenges on attendance of parent meetings, classroom management, learner discipline, effective school management, academic challenges and performance, accessibility of schools, parenting role, stakeholder communication, as well as curriculum and school-work. The SGB members noted challenges on effective involvement in leadership; instructional leadership; behavioural challenges in schools; management of school as an institution; shortcomings on academic resources provision; unemployment, poverty and school remoteness; parental obligations; home-school partnerships; and monitoring of the child‟s academic progress. The study concluded that parental involvement in school governance is not effective and therefore cripples the effect it should be having on schooling, which is academic performance in this context. The study ultimately recommends that SASA, NEPA, SACE and other relevant policies in education should be reviewed to enforce educators‟ authority in schools.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. / The aim of this study was to pursue an investigation into accountable parental involvement in primary schools From the literature study it became clear that there are many areas and possibilities for parents to become formally and informally involved in the schooling of their primary school children. Formal involvement of parents in school activities is based on juridical, historical and educational grounds. Juridically, legislation in South Africa stipulates that parents must be involved in the school at least at the level of governance. Parents exert a lot of influence on their child's cognitive development in the early years and thus the contact between home and school should be maintained, especially during the primary school years, if the child is to succeed in formal schooling. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire, to be completed by primary school educators, was utilised. The completed questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics. In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature and empirical study and the following are some of the recommendations that were made: • Positive attitudes must be inculcated in parents to become actively involved in their children's formal schooling. • Educators and parents must be trained to offer parental involvement programmes. Further research should be conducted concerning the accountability of parents regarding their involvement in primary schools.

Family Engagement is an imperative practice to ensure sustainable success in schools. Extensive research has been conducted on the effectiveness of family engagement practices in schools. Family Engagement's successes have been acknowledged: however, upon deeper examination of the research, it can be concluded that many family engagement practices are not effective in all schools. This is due to the demographic profile of the schools where research was conducted. This basic qualitative study was conducted at a diverse and rural Title I school. The following research questions guided the study: what family engagement practices do parents, teachers, and administrators indicate the school is implementing? What practices are perceived by parents, teachers, and administrators as effective family engagement practices? What else do parents, teachers, and administrators indicate the school should be doing to support family engagement? Parents were stratified into groups based on their declared race, while teachers were stratified by experience. Two administrators were also interviewed. Data from the interviews were coded and reviewed to see what the stratified groups perceive as successful family engagement practices. Findings from this study indicated that one-and-done family engagement events were the most prevalent method of family engagement. School leaders should consider the variety of these events and involve parents in the planning of such events. Parents also identified communication and relationship building as the basis of strong family-school partnerships. Leaders need to ensure that many opportunities for relationship building exist and a proactive approach is taken regarding communication with families. Participants identified that accessibility to family engagement events was necessary. Leaders must consider the scheduling of such events and increase the variety of times they are scheduled. Participants also identified communication as the most significant need from Country Elementary School. Leaders need to ensure multiple methods of communication are used and language barriers are eliminated. / Doctor of Education / Family Engagement is an important practice to ensure student achievement and overall success of schools. There is already an extensive body of research proving family engagement's effectiveness. However, newer research indicated that not all schools are benefiting from these engagement practices. This is mainly due to the population of students and families at the schools where the initial research took place. This basic qualitative study takes place at a rural Title I school and answer the following research questions: what family engagement practices do parents, teachers, and administrators indicate the school is implementing? What practices are perceived by parents, teachers, and administrators as effective family engagement practices? What else do parents, teachers, and administrators indicate the school should be doing to support family engagement? Parents, teachers, and administrators were participants in interviews to collect data to answer those questions. Findings from this study indicated that one-and-done family engagement events were the most prevalent method of family engagement. School leaders should consider the variety of these events and involve parents in the planning of such events. Parents also identified communication and relationship building as the basis of strong family-school partnerships. Leaders need to ensure that many opportunities for relationship building exist and a proactive approach is taken regarding communication with families. Participants identified that accessibility to family engagement events was necessary. Leaders must consider the scheduling of such events and increase the variety of times they are scheduled. Participants also identified communication as the most significant need from Country Elementary School. Leaders need to ensure multiple methods of communication are used and language barriers are eliminated.

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The purpose of the present study was to examine differentiation of self (Bowen, 1985) as a predictor of involvement in specific extramarital behaviors. Data were collected from 125 graduates of a comprehensive state university in southeastern United States. The sample was primarily caucasian, college educated, married, politically moderate to slightly conservative, equally divided by gender and ranged in age from 25 to 87 years (M = age 43). Differentiation of self was operationalized and measured by the Differentiation of Self Inventory (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). Logistical regression analyses regressed involvement in specific extramarital behaviors upon the level of differentiation of self as measured by the Differentiation of Self Inventory. The level of differentiation did not significantly predict the likelihood of involvement in any specific extramarital behavior. Among females, however, differentiation was positively but not significantly associated with the likelihood of involvement in most of the specific extramarital behaviors examined by the study. For females, differentiation did significantly predict the likelihood of having an experience kissing some one other than a spouse while married. / Ph. D.

Parents often perceive schools as the sole educator of their child when in actuality the school prefers parents to be involved as partners in the learning process (Comer and Haynes, 1991). Likewise, schools make the assumption that parents realize their role in the learning process, but do not effectively communicate the partnership to parents, and misconceptions about the parents and teachers roles and behaviors arise. Research has shown that both schools and parents have a major influence on children as they develop and that they learn best when schools and parents work together (Comer and Haynes, 1991). The purpose of this study was to examine parent and teacher perceptions of effective communication. This was a non-experimental quantitative study that compared the differences between parents' and teachers' perceptions of effective communication. The study consisted of a survey for parents and teachers on a Likert scale. The survey data were compared through the use of the t-test statistic and a One-Way Analysis of Variance. The information discovered in this study will allow the researcher to bridge the learning gap regarding how parents and teachers can actively participate in the effective communication process to enable both parties to send and receive messages and limit the amount of misunderstanding on educational topics relating to students. This information will be provided to principals and school leaders in order to better manage the communication process between parents and teachers to include the information, attitudes, and perspectives that exist, thus, impacting student achievement and school success. Findings included identified differences between parent and teacher perceptions regarding the effectiveness and frequency of communication, and difference between teachers at the two schools and between parents at the two schools. / Ed. D.

Studies have shown an increase in student achievement when educational partnerships between families and schools exist. At the elementary school that was the focus of this study, there had once been a thriving family involvement program; however, the number of family-school partnerships had declined in recent years. Students, families, and teachers needed improved knowledge of the types of family involvement programs that everyone would be willing to participate in to increase student learning and achievement. The purpose of this case study was to determine whether the types of involvement currently offered to families at the elementary school matched the types of involvement in which families would be willing to participate. The study also determined which types of involvement teachers were currently providing and which they would be willing to provide. Epstein's 6 types of family involvement were used as a conceptual foundation for this case study. The study used questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews to collect data from 14 teachers and 25 families. The key research question involved determining what teachers and families were willing to participate in to increase partnerships and involvement. Surveys, focus group transcripts, and interview transcripts were analyzed for themes. A data spiral was used to analyze the data, and triangulation and peer review were used to ensure trustworthiness of the findings. By implementing the suggestions from this study, including more communication and family input, the elementary school may form more partnerships with families and the community, which may help to increase involvement and ultimately improve student achievement. This study offers implications for social change by helping create an atmosphere where the school, families, and community work together to help students succeed.