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Thesis (M. Education) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2013 / The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between parental support and self-regulated learning behaviour of grade 12 learners. The study investigated support given to self-regulated learning of grade 12 learners. It gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher adopted the QUAN-qual model, which is also known as explanatory design. In this model quantitative data are collected first and are more heavily weighted than qualitative data. The quantitative method investigated the relationship between parental support and grade 12 learners’ self-regulated learning behaviour. It also investigated how parental support contributed to learner self-regulated learning behaviour. Qualitative research design explained strategies schools used to encourage positive parental support in their children’s self-regulated learning. It also explained why parents did not offer their support to their children’s education despite the fact that the South African School Act of 1996 encouraged them to do so. The population included grade 12 teachers and learners, as well as learners’ parents from different secondary schools in the Lejweleputswa district. The researcher administered questionnaires to 118 teachers and 218 learners, while 6 parents were interviewed. Teachers and learners were handed relevant questionnaires aimed at their level of participation in the survey. For quantitative data analysis the chi-square test was employed to test whether there were relationships between the variables. The study revealed that there was statistical significant relationship between parental support and learners’ self-regulated learning behaviour. Qualitative data was analysed making use of different analytical concepts used to guide researchers in qualitative data analysis. Although learners may acquire effective self-regulated learning strategies on their own, proper guidance from parents and teachers is very crucial, especially in the early stages of learning. The study established that regular general parent’s meetings, each term, help to facilitate improved learner performance. Amongst others, the researcher recommended that schools should introduce incentive for parental involvement in school matters.

The South African education system has been undergoing a process of transformation and democratisation. An historical overview of democracy in the South Africa education system confirms that the system had developed to become a highly centralised and bureaucratic system during the twentieth century, but it was transformed in 1996 to afford a greater degree of parental participation through local school governing bodies. Democracy is founded on a belief in individual rights, equality, and self-government by the majority of the people. The moral authority of the majority is based on the notion that there is more enlightenment and wisdom between many than in a single man. However, the power of the majority is always limited by the prerequisite of the rule of law and the implicit requirements of legality and justice. This implies that bureaucratic or undemocratic exercise of power by the majority or any person, including the state, would be contrary to the requirements of legality and democracy. An overview of the theories of democracy explains the complexities of the different orientations and ideological approaches to democracy. Critiques of democracy have identified an elitist, inegalitarian, and antiparticipatory core in liberal democracy. The sensible approach to these weaknesses of liberal democracy is to integrate the best features of the various theories of democracy towards a workable solution to manage the systemic conflicts. This includes the formal application of checks and balances and the substantive adjustment of the executive, legislative and judicial practice to maintain a harmonious equilibrium between equality and liberty. The theory of deliberative democracy suggests an additional way to improve substantive democracy. There is an inextricable link between democracy, education and the law. The South African Constitution provides for representative (political) and participatory democracy, as well as for the enshrinement of fundamental rights such as the right to basic education. In addition, the education legislation and policies contain numerous provisions that prescribe and necessitate democratisation of the education system. However, the empirical results of the study show that a number of controversial bureaucratic practices and a tendency towards increased centralisation of the system, constrain democratic school governance. The most prominent undemocratic practices in the system inter alia include: the over-politicisation of schools by the dominant teachers’ union; the bureaucratic appointment of educators; the interference by teachers’ unions with the appointment of educators, the bureaucratic imposition of English medium language policies on Afrikaans schools; and • the ambivalent attitude towards inclusive education. An investigation into the knowledge levels of senior education administrators, school principals and school governing chairpersons, which participated in this study, revealed that their knowledge of participatory democracy and Education Law was superficial. This ignorance of these stakeholders in education compounds the problem of effectively administering, managing and governing schools in a democratic manner. Conclusions drawn from the evidence of this study suggests that certain of the encumbrances to democracy in schools and the system can be attributed to systemic weaknesses, as well as to misconceptions and the misapplication of democratic principles. Finally, the study proposes two models to improve democratic school governance. The first model suggests a theoretical framework for improving the power relations, knowledge, civic attitudes and democratic values. The final model, which is based on the first theoretical model, proposes that Area School Boards be statutorily established to govern defunctive schools and that deliberative forums should be established and implemented within the organisational hierarchy of the education system. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009

The South African education system has been undergoing a process of transformation and democratisation. An historical overview of democracy in the South Africa education system confirms that the system had developed to become a highly centralised and bureaucratic system during the twentieth century, but it was transformed in 1996 to afford a greater degree of parental participation through local school governing bodies. Democracy is founded on a belief in individual rights, equality, and self-government by the majority of the people. The moral authority of the majority is based on the notion that there is more enlightenment and wisdom between many than in a single man. However, the power of the majority is always limited by the prerequisite of the rule of law and the implicit requirements of legality and justice. This implies that bureaucratic or undemocratic exercise of power by the majority or any person, including the state, would be contrary to the requirements of legality and democracy. An overview of the theories of democracy explains the complexities of the different orientations and ideological approaches to democracy. Critiques of democracy have identified an elitist, inegalitarian, and antiparticipatory core in liberal democracy. The sensible approach to these weaknesses of liberal democracy is to integrate the best features of the various theories of democracy towards a workable solution to manage the systemic conflicts. This includes the formal application of checks and balances and the substantive adjustment of the executive, legislative and judicial practice to maintain a harmonious equilibrium between equality and liberty. The theory of deliberative democracy suggests an additional way to improve substantive democracy. There is an inextricable link between democracy, education and the law. The South African Constitution provides for representative (political) and participatory democracy, as well as for the enshrinement of fundamental rights such as the right to basic education. In addition, the education legislation and policies contain numerous provisions that prescribe and necessitate democratisation of the education system. However, the empirical results of the study show that a number of controversial bureaucratic practices and a tendency towards increased centralisation of the system, constrain democratic school governance. The most prominent undemocratic practices in the system inter alia include: the over-politicisation of schools by the dominant teachers’ union; the bureaucratic appointment of educators; the interference by teachers’ unions with the appointment of educators, the bureaucratic imposition of English medium language policies on Afrikaans schools; and • the ambivalent attitude towards inclusive education. An investigation into the knowledge levels of senior education administrators, school principals and school governing chairpersons, which participated in this study, revealed that their knowledge of participatory democracy and Education Law was superficial. This ignorance of these stakeholders in education compounds the problem of effectively administering, managing and governing schools in a democratic manner. Conclusions drawn from the evidence of this study suggests that certain of the encumbrances to democracy in schools and the system can be attributed to systemic weaknesses, as well as to misconceptions and the misapplication of democratic principles. Finally, the study proposes two models to improve democratic school governance. The first model suggests a theoretical framework for improving the power relations, knowledge, civic attitudes and democratic values. The final model, which is based on the first theoretical model, proposes that Area School Boards be statutorily established to govern defunctive schools and that deliberative forums should be established and implemented within the organisational hierarchy of the education system. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009

This research focuses on aspects of parental involvement in homework and the differing power relations which homework uncovered within the family. It is concerned with the deeper implications of homework through exploring the attitudes, behaviours and beliefs of teachers and/or parents and/or pupils and to consider who really is in control of the homework process, the perceived and actual roles of the participants, the resistances to homework and the possible changing social factors which impinge on homework. This thesis offers a unique contribution to the homework discourses as it uses a qualitative approach, drawing on an extended version of the French and Raven (1959) conceptualisation of power as a means of interrogating the data, by labelling certain attitudes, behaviours and beliefs, to seek explanations of the patterns of power. These patterns of power are exposed through the family’s story of their engagement, or not, in the homework process. The notion of engaging pupils in the learning process is at the heart of many of the recent educational initiatives, arising from the National debate on Education (2002). At the heart of these new initiatives is the notion of learners being actively involved in the learning process, in and out of the classroom to encourage them to take responsibility for their learning. A number of implications for pupils, parents, teachers and the government are considered. These particularly relate to the effective practices of teachers and parents as a means of preventing the pupils from controlling the homework process and to the government to consider appropriate and effective means of ensuring that all concerned are engaged in conducting homework which is interesting, stimulating and motivating.

Bakgrund: Barnet som föds prematurt genomgår en stor omställning från livet i magen till livet utanför, och behöver anpassad omvårdnad.  Det prematura barnets familj hamnar i en omvälvande situation som kan kännas ovan och skrämmande. Vårdpersonalens bemötande av familjen är avgörande för familjens delaktighet, vilket ställer krav på personalens kompetens. Samskapande omvårdnad handlar om samspel mellan personal och förälder för att ge barnet så bra vård som möjligt. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva barnsjuksköterskans erfarenheter av att göra föräldrarna delaktiga i vården av sitt prematurfödda barn. Metod: Kvalitativ design användes och data samlades in genom fokusgruppsintervjuer med barnsjuksköterskor på neonatalavdelningar. Intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: I resultatet beskrivs kommunikationens betydelse för föräldrarollen genom vikten av stöd och anpassad information till den enskilda familjen. Föräldrarna behöver information, stöd och vägledning för känna sig trygga och delaktiga. Vidare beskrivs den psykosociala och fysiska miljöns betydelse för föräldrarollen och hur även miljön påverkar föräldranärvaron. Slutsats: Familjecentrerad och samskapande omvårdnad uppnås med fördel genom att familjen får en patientansvarig sjuksköterska (PAS), där en förtroendefull relation bidrar till att kommunikationen och informationsflödet fungerar optimalt. Strategier och modeller behövs för att lättare kunna applicera kunskapen om PAS-relationen i verksamheterna. / Background: Premature babies undergoes a major adjustment from the womb into life at the neonatal ward with special care. The family ends up in a new and frightening situation. Nurse´s treatment of the family is crucial for parental participation, which demands competent nurses. Co-productive care is about a parent-nurse partnership to provide the best possible care for the baby. Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the pediatric nurses experiences of making the parents involved in caring for their premature baby. Method: A qualitative design was used, data was gathered through focus group interviews with pediatric nurses at neonatal wards, and analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Result: The result describes the importance of communication for the parental role through support to the individual family and personalized information. Parents need information, support and guidance to become confident participants in their baby's care. The result also describes how the psychosocial and physical environment affects the parental role and parental participation. Conclusion: Family centered and co-productive care can be reached by providing an accountable nurse where a trustful relationship with the family contributes to good communication. Strategies and models are needed to apply the knowledge of the family-nurse relationship in the neonatal care.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the literacy environment at home, at school and in the community and the development of voluntary reading and thus a reading habit. This research is relevant as there is an alarming drop out rate, poor matriculation results and low scores in reading performance tests in South African schools. Many factors and possible causes can contribute to this, but a major problem is the lack of a reading habit, low literacy levels and an environment that is not supportive of literacy. As a result, many children are still leaving school functionally illiterate. In order to develop a reading habit, learners must get maximum support and encouragement from their literacy environment, as children learn from what is going on around them. The major role players in the learner's literacy environment, are the home and family (microstructure), the school and teachers, and his community which includes libraries (macrostructure). A literature study on the foundations, contexts and practices of literacy, voluntary reading and environmental factors that affect reading provides the theoretical basis and a conceptual framework for this study. The research method used is a case study with the focus on a sample of learners from Grade 3 - 7 from schools in the Highveld Ridge and Gauteng East area. Due to budgetary and logistical constraints, rural areas are not included. The empirical survey investigates various aspects of the literacy environment. The survey method, with questionnaires for learners, teachers and headmasters, was used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to generate data. The findings are that many learners experience difficulties which hinder the development of a reading habit, for example: schools and communities do not have libraries, or access to them is limited; appropriate reading materials are not available; or learners do not have access to them; multilingualism is a major problem in a country with eleven official languages, as many learners have to learn and teachers have to teach in a language other than their mother tongue; parents are not literate and cannot help their children; socio-economic conditions are not conductive to reading; there is a lack of support from governmental at various levels. Although findings in a case study cannot be generalised, certain conclusions and suggestions can guide teachers, parents and librarians to create a more supportive literacy environment to encourage voluntary reading. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Parental involvement in education is not a new concept; parents have always been involved in education in various ways and to various degrees. Perhaps nowr parents are more sensitive to the important role it plays in ensuring the full potential of the child is realised. Departing from the premise, that it is important, useful and necessary, the researcher has embarked upon an in depth literature study of parental involvement in education in various communities and has undertaken an empirical investigation of the involvement of parents of pupils in secondary schools in the Phoenix North area. The main thrust of this research was to explore the obstacles to parents being involved fully in the education of their children and to make appropriate recommendations to the principals, as the school managers. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether using integrated, networked testing and skills software combined with parental participation would increase students' achievement in reading, improve students' self-esteem and improve attitude toward school. Further, the purpose was to determine if parental participation promotes improved attitude toward school.