The thesis concludes that, overall, commonly used categories of family structure do little to inform understanding of the experience of family and schooling of these 32 young people; the boundaries around the categories of family structure are permeable.

The benefits and influences of parent involvement were examined among a group of children with learning disabilities (LD). One aim of this study was to determine whether different types of parent involvement are associated with educational benefits in special education. A second aim was to apply an existing model of parent involvement to assess its influences in this population. One hundred and twenty-three children with and without LD from grades 1 to 8 and their parents participated in the study. Children's grades and their attitudes to school were used as educational outcomes to evaluate the impact of their parents' involvement. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires regarding their school, cognitive-intellectual and personal involvement, as well as measures of stress, social support, and perception of their child's academic ability. Mothers were consistently more involved than fathers in all types of activities. Higher grades were significantly correlated with mothers' involvement in school-related activities and fathers' involvement in personal activities. Fathers who felt they received a greater amount of social support tended to be more involved in their children's cognitive and personal activities. Mothers who perceived a greater amount of social support were more personally involved with their children, and mothers who perceived their children as having more severe LDs were less personally involved. Overall results extend the literature on the benefits and the factors associated with parent involvement for children with LD and highlight the need for parents, educators and school psychologists to combine resources in order to increase awareness and levels of parent involvement.

Magister Educationis - MEd / This research focused on parental involvement in the rural farm area in Citrusdal to examine the nature and characteristics of farm worker parents' involvement in their children' education. This study followed a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitive approach) to determine if parents are involved in their children's education. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data gathering. Participants that were involved were a sample of the parents, and the learners of the four schools in Citrusdal area. From the data gathered the findings of the study indicated that farm-worker parents in rural farms of Citrusdal area are involved in their children's education and that mothers are more involved than fathers in their children's education. I hope this research will make a contribution towards understanding the involvement of the farm-worker parents in their children's education. I have also proposed possible recommendations to assist the school-based personnel and the parents in developing and sustaining a stronger and more positive role in their children's education. / South Africa

M.Ed. (Education and Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of parental and community involvement in a primary school and the benefits thereof to the learners, teachers and community members. The aim of this study is to investigate how a positive school climate can improve the involvement of parents and community members in a school’s activities. The research attempted to determine what the role of a positive school climate is; the strategies schools could apply to enhance parental and community involvement, the possible benefits of involvement and reasons for non-involvement of parents and community members in school activities. The theoretical frameworks of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Joyce Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence were used in the study. A case study was used as the qualitative research methodology. The data for the research was gathered from a purposive sample of teachers, community volunteer workers, parents and the principal. Semi-structured interview schedules and pre-designed questionnaires including open and closed questions, were used to collect data. The data was analysed inductively by using a descriptive open coding method to identify emerging themes. The findings of the research suggest that a positive school climate to improve parent and community involvement can be created by applying the strategies of effective communication, good working relationships, creating opportunities for involvement, ensuring a healthy and safe environment, formulating a school policy for parent and community involvement, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere as well as upholding an ethos of good moral values. The study found that parent and community involvement in a school’s activities offers various benefits to all stakeholders.

This study was concerned with developing and exploring a reasonably comprehensive scheme of categories which describes, from the perspective of adolescents, what facilitates their career development during the process of participating in the Partners Program. The critical incidents Technique was used to elicit 302 Incidents from nine dyads. Each dyad consisted of a parent and their high school adolescent. This study took place over a four-month period, and after completion of the program, the participants were interviewed individually to determine the events that facilitated the career development of the adolescent. Sixteen categories emerged from the incidents reported. Reliability was suggested by two independent raters who showed 100% agreement in categorization. Participation rate varying from 44% - 61% indicated the soundness of these categories. From an examination of the findings, theories surfaced from the categories that reflected the threefold aim of the Partners Program. Firstly it fosters career development by increasing self-awareness, career awareness and decision and planning capabilities. Secondly, it strengthens the family support network. Thirdly, it enables the adolescent to make better use of career resources and programs. It is suggested that there is a potency in family relationships in career counselling which could be a powerful ally for the professional counsellor. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed.

The provision of specialised education in South Africa has reflected inequalities from the previous apartheid regime, particularly among the disadvantaged sectors of the population. There have been inadequate institutions that cater for specialised education in some instances and nothing at all in other cases. However, it has been observed that even where there are institutions that provide for specialised education or learning support, parents, and in certain instances educators, do not take timeous advantage thereof. The review of literature relevant to this study involves: the historical development and the understanding of the phenomenon of learning difficulties; the role of parents in the education of their children and in home-school partnerships, both generally and more specifically with reference to the South African context. The study was conducted against the theoretical background of systems theory. Systems theory views the various levels and entities as sub-systems within the larger system, which is the social context. The functioning of the whole, that is, the social context, is dependent on the interaction within and between the ‘smaller’ systems. The family (parents) and the school (educators) form sub-systems, and both of them share the membership of the child. These two sub-systems need to collaborate with each other to ensure maximum development of the child. This study sets out to explore and describe factors that prevent parents from seeking learning support for their children early, when they start failing in the foundation phase. The research question arose from the observation of the tendency by parents to bring their children for assessment long after the children had been experiencing repeated failures across the three primary school phases, namely the foundation, intermediate and senior phases. In most cases, parents brought the children when they were in the intermediate or senior phase, in spite of having had several failures in the foundation phase as well. It was this delay by parents to seek learning support for the children that became a cause for concern to the researcher and prompted an investigation in order to answer the question: What factors prevent parents from seeking learning support for their children in the Foundation Phase? A case study design was chosen in order to explore answers to the question posed above. The purpose of using a case study was an endeavour to gain an understanding of the research question from the participants’ perspective. The case study was made up of sub-cases that were parents of children who all went to a particular school at the time of their referral for assessment of learning difficulties. The data collected through unstructured interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method. The finding that emerged as a major factor that prevented parents from seeking learning support when children started failing in the foundation phase was ignorance of the phenomenon of learning difficulties and what could be done in the face of it. The other factors that were identified related to parents’ understanding of their children’s learning difficulties; their being illiterate; and the belief in cultural issues. Recommendations were suggested for both the Educational Psychologist and educators relating to the need for parent education on the learning and development of their children with specific emphasis on learning difficulties. The role parents can play in partnership with educators was also highlighted. / Mrs. H. Krige

No description available.

Authorities in early childhood education and child development point out the importance of the early years of a child's life in the development of habits and attitudes which are important as the basis of his mental and emotional health. / Typescript. / "January, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Sarah Lou Hammond, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-40).