.. , The assessment of an individual is an attempt to estimate the value of, or the quality of, that specific individual. (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1983 : 52) In recent years, the focus of teacher assessment has broadened to incorporate consideration both of the assessment of potential and the assessment for professional development. The underlying focus of this project is to explore the possibilities and potentiality of Systematic Staff Appraisal, to meet the need for a process of teacher assessment, which will be formative in its intention, empowering and developmental, and which might be implementable in the South African and KwaZulu-Natal context. It is believed that this new system will help to develop the skills of the educator and identify more accurately the individual development needs of the teacher. The system is intended to increase the overall effectiveness of the individual and to move away from the subjective judgements and threats to teacher autonomy. It is a system designed to guide, support, encourage and extend good teacher practice and professional competency. The project is a consideration of some of the purposes, processes and principles involved in Systematic Staff Appraisal, and to focus on the potentiality for the implementation of this system in contributing to the enhancement of teacher quality and school effectiveness. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1995.

This small-scale study sought to investigate “Teacher experiences and practices of Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) at a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal”. This qualitative study gathered data through the case study approach guided by the following key questions: 1. What are the teachers’ understanding of how IQMS evaluation process works? 2. What are the teachers’ perceptions of the shortcomings of the IQMS? 3. How do teachers perceive the support that they may have received or not received as a result of IQMS interventions? The study entailed interviewing the principal of a school, deputy principal, three heads of department and four level one educators; providing and administering questionnaires to ten level one educators; and doing documents analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the teachers understand the purpose of the IQMS policy but this policy is challenged when coming to its implementation. It emerged from the findings that one factor contributing to the unfairness of the system, was the tendency to give high scores on educator’s performance when the performance is not up to the standard. Level one educators argue that the system allows educators to appoint their friends to act as DSG members, and that in their minds, this presents some flaws which undermine good intentions of the policy. It was also fond that the National Department of Education made assumption that the educators have skills to evaluate themselves and that all educators are honest and trustworthy people and this in their view, contributes to ineffective implementation of the IQMS policy. The teachers feel that they needed training on self- iv evaluation prior to the implementation of this policy. The issue of the lack of physical resources in schools was also raised. These physical resources need to be used in the classroom during the teacher evaluation in class and during the professional development of educators in order to assist them to grasp the new concepts easily. It also emerged from the findings that the Teacher Unions who represented the educators during the initial stages of the introduction of the IQMS policy, did not express all the teachers’ concerns regarding the policy and as a result the educators still do not have the ownership of the policy. In the light of what has been said above, I recommended that the National Department of Education must review this policy and change some of its aspects where the teachers have concerns, for example, an expert in the subject/learning area in which the teacher is evaluated, must be appointed and serve in the DSG instead of a friend appointed by the teacher. This will eliminate the awarding of undeservedly high marks and dishonesty. The expert may be appointed within the school or from a neighbouring school or district office. I further recommended that the educators need to be trained in a workshop on how to do self-evaluation or self-reflection in preparation for their appraisal. These are the important skills that the teachers need to acquire so that they will be honest to themselves and effectively determine their real strengths and areas of development. Another recommendation is that the Department of Education must equip all the schools with support materials to facilitate learning at all levels. The professional growth of educators must be supported by the physical resources or learning materials. On the whole the IQMS policy needs to be reviewed and revised by the National Department of Education. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

The performance of an employee is an integral part of a project’s success. In order for companies to realise their project objectives, it is essential that both internal and outsourced employees are performing optimally. This study aims to identify the factors that affect internal and outsourced employees, as well as to determine if there is a difference in employee performance in terms of information technology project deliverables. A sample of 74 employees was used from Derivco, which is based in La Lucia Ridge, Durban. The sample included both outsourced and internal employees. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire which included likert based questions. The data showed that outsourced employees performed better than internal employees as they had a greater probability of meeting the business requirements of a project. The literature review suggested that there were 20 possible variables that could influence employee performance. The results of this study concluded that 17 of the 20 variables identified from the literature review were important. The results of this study will benefit both employees and the organisation. Employees can gain a better awareness of their performance as well as helping the organisation in developing a better program to improve both internal and outsourced employees’ performance. The study extends the work of several models such as the Bennet and Franco et al. (2001) performance model and Develin’s (1989) organisational model. These models created a foundation for understanding teams, employees and the employer characteristics, in order to determine their performance patterns. However, particular attention is given to the Bennett and Franco model (2001) as well as the Sharpley model (2002). The reason for selecting these models is that the factors investigated in these frameworks are similar to those investigated in this research. The research aims to investigate whether South African organisations face similar impacts to the models described. The Bennett and Franco et al. (2001) and Sharpley (2002) models are based on perception, motivation, performance and an individual or internal motivation process. The findings of this research indicate that employees face similar factors to those shown in the Bennett, Franco and Sharpley models. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Our current understanding of credit rating agencies’ influence on national sovereignty relies on a dichotomised and highly antagonistic view of the relationship between states and the global economy. This perspective is locked into the discursive confines of the structuralist-sceptics debate within the field of international political economy. CRAs are said to either erode state sovereignty or represent a manifestation of it. By abandoning the state-market, public-private and national-global dichotomies embedded within this debate, and the zero-sum mentality they are predicated upon, this thesis offers an alternative – “transformationalist” – perspective to view the power of CRAs and their influence on national sovereignty. Defying traditional categorization, CRAs’ power is the result of a state-market, public-private confluence of interest and therefore has no determinative influence on national sovereignty. In the course of this analysis, a second assumption embedded within the study of CRAs’ influence is criticised: the fixation on the “big three” rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P and Fitch) and the neglect of the significance of the credit rating itself. Because the rating determination process is opaque, and the credit rating itself is a highly simplified expression of an intricately complex financial, economic and political reality, the causes of a sovereign rating change are often “up for debate”. Governments, within certain degrees of interpretation, are able to embed their own domestic political interests into the “causes” of a rating change, thereby co-opting and co-constructing the power and expertise of CRAs. This can, when successful, enhance governments’ internal sovereignty over domestic social forces and their external sovereignty as they “filter” the influence of a non-state actor. New Zealand’s interaction with the CRAs throughout 2008 to 2012 illustrates how this dynamic occurs and its limitations. The thesis seeks to highlight the diversity and heterogeneity involved in the processes of globalization in general, and CRAs’ influence in particular, and in doing so open up political space to consider possible forms of resistance.

I examine the effects of contemporaneous credit rating and watchlist announcements on the over-the-counter U.S. corporate bond market. I find significant negative daily abnormal returns (-2.91%) over a ten-day window associated with a downgrade announcement with negative watch. The effect is particularly strong over the two-day post-event window (-1.90%), while there is some weak evidence of market timing during the four days preceding a downgrade (-0.58%). Abnormal returns following upgrades with positive watch are weaker both in terms of statistical significance and magnitude. I also observe higher abnormal bond returns following downgrades with negative watch around rating-sensitive boundaries. These results suggest that bond abnormal returns could also be driven by regulation constraints, besides the information content of the ratings. Finally, a multivariate cross-sectional analysis on abnormal returns over the two-day window following downgrades shows that the negative watchlist state is a key determinant of bond market's response even when key control variables are included. / <p>Lic.-avh. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2014</p>

This thesis has investigated the local Indianapolis television news viewing habits of the residents of Muncie, Indiana. The thesis also explored similarities between Muncie TV news viewing habits and those of the rest of central Indiana.The study used a random telephone survey method to gather data. Past area viewing trends recorded by the Arbitron Company of Chicago were also used for informal comparisons of Muncie and central Indiana viewing preferences of Indianapolis TV newscasts.Demographic analyses of TV news audiences of the Indianapolis commercial network television affiliates were conducted in order to help describe the participation of each station's Muncie audience.

A combined longitudinal and retrospective multiple-case study followed all students from their initial identification for a gifted and talented (g/t) program at the end of 3rd grade to the present. The purpose of the study was to determine the long-term effects of a three-year, self-contained program for students who were identified by the local school district as gifted and talented based on an identification procedure approved by the State Department of Education. The population consisted of 109 students from eleven elementary schools who were formally identified for a full-time, self-contained gifted class for the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. The gifted classes were offered at two sites in the midwestern school district. Archival data and a questionnaire were used to collect data.A variety of statistical treatments were used to analyze the quantitative data available. Scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, California Achievement Test, ISTEP Test and SAT, along with GPA and class ranking, provided achievement data from the school records. Qualitative data were generated from a follow-up questionnaire.The findings indicate that students who participated in the program perceive it as having long-term positive effects. Students in the experimental group showed significant differences from the control group on all measures of achievement. Students in the experimental group chose majors and career goals in the math and science areas almost twice as often as students in the control group. Students in the control group were significantly different from the experimental group in initial verbal ability indicating possible socio-economic differences between the groups. This was reinforced in student responses for reasons why they chose not to participate in the g/t program. A significant number of experimental group responses reported feelings of isolation during program years. A statistically significant difference in lower math scores for girls was substantiated in quantitative measures on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills at the 3rd grade level and on the SAT. / Department of Educational Administration and Supervision

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of teachers with respect to the intentions of the Developmental Appraisal Policy, how the policy was implemented at school level and its influence on Teaching. How this policy came to be understood and interpreted at school level during its implementation phase is the subject of this study, focussing on a teacher-union sanctioned policy aimed at Teacher Professional Development. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies characterise the data collection strategy. A survey questionnaire was administered to 181 teachers in the Verulam Circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. Indepth semi-structured interviews were conducted using a stratified random sample of 15 teachers in proportion to the three variables namely, gender, age and race. The study's findings reveal the following: 1) The implementation of the policy was largely executed in a technical administrative fashion which provide semblances of being well understood and accepted as a new form of appraisal replacing the former "judgemental approach" to Teacher Appraisal. 2) In the actual practical operation of the proposed teacher professional appraisal procedures, teachers at the institutional level were seen to be using the Developmental Appraisal Policy in not so different a fashion as the former judgemental model, which promoted nepotism and a superficial attention to deep teacher professional changes. An important question needs to be borne in mind: Does a union-driven policy lead to deeper changes in Teacher Professional Development in a democratic ethos? 3) Most of the teachers claimed that sharing of resources and assessment techniques had positively influenced their Teaching- Practice. However, these activities had been in practice long before the introduction of the Appraisal policy. There were also conflicting views whether the Developmental Appraisal Policy or Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) Policy had caused an influence on Teaching Practice. There was very little to no evidence to suggest that the appraisal policy had influenced the teachers' Teaching Practice. 4) The study revealed that the different genders, ages and races interpreted the impact of the Developmental Appraisal Policy in relation to their unique expectations of their school context, their lived! executed experiences of teaching and their stages of development as professionals. A "one-size- fits-all" Developmental Appraisal Policy is thus discouraged. The results suggest three broad implications for school-based Teacher Professional Development viz.: • changes needed at the policy landscape (at the Department level), • changes needed at the school landscape (at institutional level), • and changes needed at an individual level. Firstly, the Department of Education as the employer tries to regulate the school from the "outside". Changes at this level include for example, the need for Department officials to rethink the way they perceive and communicate with the broader constituency of teachers. The gap between the Department as "bureaucrats" and teachers need to be narrowed. Both Department officials and teachers need to realise that they are "partners" towards improving the quality of teaching and learning. Secondly, the thesis argues that there are many changes necessary at an institutional level to engage with Teacher Professional Development. For example, school personnel such as teachers and managers need to design a flexible school timetable to accommodate time for teachers to engage with Teacher Development. Thirdly, personal factors such as love for children, passion and dedication towards the profession emerged as important factors in engaging with Teacher Professional Development. Thus, the thesis argues that Teacher Professional Development entails developing also the "inner qualities" of the teacher. Teacher Professional Development cannot be confined to faithful compliance to delivery of state-designed curricula. Finally, the thesis argues that we need to integrate harmoniously the changes at these three levels i.e. the Departmental, institutional and individual levels so that effective Teacher Development can take place. This study contributes to understanding more qualitatively and quantitatively the Teacher Development landscape of post-apartheid educational transformation from the perspective of teachers within their institutions engaging with policies targeting their professional growth. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

The purpose of this study was to determine if distinct subgroups of learning disabled children could be identified using a single, recently developed, instrument--the Differential Ability Scales (DAS). Ward's method of cluster analysis was used to group 83 school-verified learning disabled children from the standardization sample.These children were classified using the core, diagnostic, and achievement subtests of the DAS. Achievement subtest scores were transformed into T-scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 to provide scores on the same scale as the core and diagnostic subtests. Using similar units allowed all scores to contribute more equally during the clustering (Romesburg, 1984).The following six subgroups were identified: (a) generalized, (b) high functioning, (c) normal, (d) underachievement, (e) borderline, and (f) dyseidetic. Not all subgroups displayed the expected discrepancy between intelligence and achievement associated with the current definitions of LD. One subgroup had what might be described as a "normal" diagnostic profile on the DAS. These results were consistent with those of prior subtyping research (Lyon & Watson, 1981; Lyon et al., 1981) where "normal" subgroups were found. Another subgroup obtained General Conceptual Ability scores within the borderline range. Overall, children in this subgroup displayed consistently low scores on all the DAS subtests and achievement commensurate with general ability. In subsequent discriminant analyses, both achievement and diagnostic subtests were necessary for accuracy in classification.This study provided evidence as to the DAS's ability to differentially diagnose the learning disabled and provided distinct profiles for LD subgroups. Administration of the diagnostic subtests along with the score and achievement subtests can provide the clinician with valuable diagnostic information for LD. / Department of Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships existed between the dependent variables Initiating Structure and Consideration of Others leadership behaviors of adult education administrators in Indiana and the following selected independent variables: (1) size of the public school corporation, (2) size of the adult education program and characteristics of the administrator, (3) age, (4) gender, (5) years of experience in adult education, and (6) educational attainment levels. Also examined was a comparison of vector scores of adult education administrators and adult education teachers on the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (Form 12).A demographic survey and the (LBDQ) (Form 12) were mailed to 80 adult education administrators in Indiana for an assessment of self-perceived leadership behaviors Initiating Structure and Consideration of Others. The LBDQ (Form 12) was mailed to 345 adult education teachers with three or more years of teaching experience in adult education for a staff-perceived assessment of the leadership behaviors of adult education administrators in Indiana. Statistical analysis revealed that no significant (.05) differences existed between the leadership behaviors Initiating Structure and Consideration of Others and (1) size of the school corporation, (2) size of the adult education program, (3) years of experience of the administrator in adult education.Statistical analysis revealed a significant (.05) difference existed between the leadership behavior Consideration of Others and (1) age, (2) gender, and (3) educational attainment, and between the adult education administrators and the adult education teachers.Interviews were conducted with 10 adult education administrators that revealed a strong self-perception of both Initiating Structure leadership behavior and of Consideration of Others leadership behavior. Interviews were also conducted with a random sample of 30 adult education teachers that revealed a leadership perception that adult education administrators were strong when Initiating Structure, but the adult education administrators were viewed as being deficient in the leadership behavior Consideration of Others.A recommendation is made that adult education administrators attend workshops, university classes, and seminars in management effectiveness and human relations skills to develop and/or review the leadership skill Consideration of Others. / Department of Educational Leadership