Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / The focus of the research was mainly on leadership problems, with special reference to the rural primary schools of Ximhungwe Circuit in the Bushbuckridge area. Special attention has been given to the leadership background of SGB members and their involvement on governance matters. This is a qualitative research study that involved seventeen rural primary schools of the Ximhungwe Circuit, where the SGB’s of these schools were interviewed to elicit information and to get their view points. The respondents interviewed from each school included the principal, chairperson of the SGB, educator component and parent component. The research findings revealed that the majority of SGB members are not coping with their roles and responsibilities as enshrined in the South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996. The results also indicated that there is a general lack of understanding in relation to governance matters, hence the elite principals and educators are seen to be taking a lead in that regard.

The main purpose of the study was to ascertain the perceived attitude of system administrators, school board lay members and teachers in promotion positions to the degree of school autonomy to be developed as a means for controlling significant areas of governance in A.C.T. secondary schools. Sub-problems related to the main problem were: 1. What are the perceptions of the system administrators, school board lay members, and teachers in promotion positions regarding - (a) the preferred distribution of control to be exercised by each group? (b) the perceived attitude of each group of the two other groups perceptions of the preferred distribution of control? 2. What are the areas of governance in A.C.T. secondary schools, where opinions of the three groups indicate conditions of latent, perceived, and felt-manifest conflict existing between any two of the groups involved? 3. What areas of governance have the highest level of perceived concern as indicated for all respondents and each group separately? 4. Is there any relationship between the degree of perceived professional orientation of promotional teachers and, (a) the amount of school teaching staff control desired, (b) the level of concern, (d) the number of conflicts perceived? Data were collected with a two-part questionnaire. The first part was designed to study policy formulation and was administered to 237 potential respondents. The second part was modified from Corwin's (1970:370) professional orientation instrument and was administered to 175 potential respondents. Control graphs were used to present the distribution of control that was preferred by each group, for each of the twenty-four areas of governance. Balance of control graphs were used to present the relative location on the total control spectrum of firstly the three groups of desired distribution of control and secondly how each group perceived variations in the distribution of control between the three groups. Criteria was established to enable an analysis of conflict conditions in terms of latent, perceived and false-manifest conflict. The degree of concern, over disagreement in each area of governance, was ascertained by using a five point "Likert" scale. An analysis of the data indicated that all groups desired a shift in the balance of control from the previous administrative dominance-primacy position. However, there was a significant difference between the three groups perception of where the new balance should be established. In particular, teachers in promotion positions were loath to conceed very much control to the newly established school boards. The apparent extent and nature of the conflict varied among the groups. In terms of latent conflict, five cases were identified relating to teachers, four cases were identified relating to system administrators, and three cases were identified relating to school boards. In terms of perceived conflict, three cases were identified relating to teachers, two cases were identified relating to school boards, and no perceived conflicts were identified in the case of system administrators. In terms of felt conflict, thirteen cases were identified relating to school boards, nine cases were identified relating to system administrators, and seven cases were identified relating to teachers. In the terms of possible felt-manifest conflict, eight cases were identified relating to school boards, six cases were identified relating to system administrators and four cases were identified relating to teachers. The areas of governance concerned with staffing were prominent in many of the conflict situations identified. The areas of governance indicating the highest level of concern were directly related to the areas identified as having possible felt-manifest conflict. The principle area of concern was the appointment of promotion teachers to individual schools. The study did show a high correlation between a high level of professional orientation and a desire for increased school teaching staff dominance-primacy. This indicated some consultations were acceptable by professional orientated teachers although ultimate policy formulation should stay with the school teaching staff. The significance of this finding, while lending some support to the open professional model developed as an ideal in the study, seemed to be counteracted by the limited role perceived for school boards by teachers involved in the study. This result tended to imply that the shift in the balance of * control as far as teachers were concerned, should be towards a closed professional model rather than towards an open professional model argued for as the ideal model for teacher professional development.

The research presented here has three major purposes. The first is to explain how political institutions and policy outputs can change in the presence of a growing minority population when the preferences of these minorities differ from those of the majority. I show how representation in all three branches of government can lead to these changes, specifically in the local legislature and local bureaucracy. Secondly, I demonstrate the relationship between local legislative representation of Latino minority populations to substantive policy outcomes that favor this minority group, and explain how variable electoral institutions influence this relationship. The third general purpose of this research is to make the argument that the study of minority politics need not take place within a theoretical vacuum. That is, I use theories of minority group behavior (as opposed to Latino group behavior), and relevant empirical tests, to inform mainstream democratic theory. What democratic theory is missing, I argue, is the ability to fully explain and predict changes in institutions, policy, and policy outputs in a dynamic preference environment. Examining minority politics over time helps fill this void.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Education) -- Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / Examines the perceptions and experiences of different school governing body members and principals in managing schools in the Chartsworth district. It also looks at the role the school governing body plays in the hiring of teachers.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain how school board members and superintendents in Arizona view their own and each other's role and function in the organization and operation of school systems. A second objective was to determine whether the demographic factor of school district locale (urban or rural) contributes to school boards' and superintendents' perceptions. In Arizona, the rights, responsibilities and discretionary powers to act are all given to local school boards. There is no mention of local superintendents' powers or duties in the Arizona State Statutes. This failure to grant statutory power to the superintendents or to formulate district-level policies for the delineation of duties and responsibilities between the school board and the superintendent has frequently led to conflict in district operation. Sixty-five districts were chosen using stratified random sampling from among all the urban and rural districts in Arizona. The Administrative Role Perception Questionnaire was sent to one board member and to the superintendent in each of the 65 districts. The questionnaire contained 22 items representing seven Task Areas: Curriculum Development, Pupil Services, Teaching Materials, Personnel Administration, School Plant Management, Finance and Budget, and Public Relations. The data were analyzed using a series of t-tests. There was substantial disagreement between board members and superintendents on their role and function in the school system. Board members and superintendents differed significantly on Personnel Administration (p<.01), Curriculum Development (p<.03), Teaching Materials (p<.008), Finance and Budget (p<.05), and Public Relations (p<.002). The widest disagreement in perception of the role and function of school boards and superintendents was found between rural board members and rural superintendents. The widest agreement in perception was found between urban and rural board members and between urban and rural superintendents. This would indicate that board members from both urban and rural areas tend to agree more with each other than they do with superintendents. Superintendents from urban and rural areas also tend to agree more with each other than they do with board members. This study has shown that there is still substantial disagreement between boards of education and superintendents. The disagreement indicates an absence of district policies delineating the duties and responsibilities between boards of education and superintendents. Where such policies do exist, they are apparently widely disregarded. The result is the inability of board members and superintendents either to fully understand or to be allowed to discharge their respective roles and functions within the school system. This study recommends that boards of education and superintendents work to define their respective roles in written policy statements which are as broad as possible and cover every major aspect of school district governance and operation. Boards of education and superintendents should work to enact state laws which delineate the duties of the board of education and those of the superintendent. Boards of education should provide adequate funds annually for school board member and superintendent in-service training designed to facilitate understanding and agreement between board members and superintendents. It is also recommended that boards of education offer their superintendents contracts containing policy statements defining respective roles and allowing for redress if a violation occurs. It is hoped that the findings of this study will encourage school districts to formulate policies for the delineation of duties and responsibilities between the board of education and the superintendent.

This doctoral thesis consists of a thesis for a Licentiate degree (Kristoffersson, 2002. Föräldrainflytande i grundskolan. En studie av nio lokala styrelser med föräldramajoritet i grundskolan. [Parents involvement in compulsory school. A study of nine local boards with parents in majority in compulsory school]) and two articles (Kristoffersson, 2005. Parental involvement: Parents´ new role in Swedish schools; and Kristoffersson, 2007. The paradox of parental influence in Danish schools. A Swedish perspective). In this thesis my interest is particularly governance, management, communication and partnership. The research aimed comprehensively to describe the school boards and discuss the education policy behind the implementation of the boards. An additional aim were to see whose interests favoured in local school boards. I also wanted to study how comparative research in this case can be relevant to Swedish studies of local school boards. I used the frame factor theory, which aids the exploration of the correspondence relations between factors that affect local school boards. Governance and partnership are key concepts applied to the analysis of data. Critical analysis and discussions of these boards from a hermeneutic sign are included, which meant that I tried to understand the boards in their context. I used a case study method. Data were gathered through interviews, observations and analysis of documents (e.g., school board minutes). The results signify that different interests are not adequately balanced on the boards. Communication between the board and the parents not on the board was not satisfactory in many cases and such parents felt excluded from the board’s activity. The principal’s collaboration with the board’s chairperson was an important influence on the board. Evaluation, support and feedback of the board’s activity from the local school authority in the municipality were often neglected. The implementation of the boards related to the transferred welfare policy to more market-oriented political governance. The political governing of the school changed, and was influenced by neo-liberal trends where partnership had become the new prestige word. Parents are today seen as individual consumers in a market, whereas as board members they should make decisions that include all parents. Instead of increased parental influence in the schools, the effect of boards could be increased differences between pupils and between parents. This arose because parents are not a homogenous group. Social, cultural and economic conditions have an influence on parents’ activities. The state implementation of local school boards in Sweden and in many countries is, therefore, complex. This can be seen through the weak interest in the creation of boards, which also can be linked to the top-down character of the reform. This study is an example where global, national and local factors interact.

No description available.

On attaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe invested heavily in its education system in order to redress the colonial inequalities and to 'grow it's own timber' in terms of the knowledge and skills desperately needed by the new nation. However, 10 years later, the heavy government expenditure on education was no longer sustainable or defensible. The rapid expansion of the education system gave rise to grave concern for economic efficiency. Critics noted the tumbling pass rates and evident decline in the quality of education, with the concomitant high unemployment rates for the school graduates. Furthermore, the highly centralised, top-down system of education governance made it difficult, if not impossible for stakeholders at the various levels of the system to participate effectively in decision-making. In response to these and other pressures, Zimbabwe adopted a decentralised system of school governance. While decentralisation of school governance and school clustering have become internationally acclaimed reforms targeted at improving the quality of educational provision, and are consistent with the notion of good governance, there remain outstanding questions regarding, among other things, how those tasked to implement such reforms understand, experience and respond to them, and the impact this has on the success or failure of these innovations. This inquiry investigates teachers', school heads' and parents' understandings and experiences of, and responses to decentralised school governance in one cluster of five primary schools in the Gutu District of Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe. Through a multi-site case study research design, involving each of the five schools in the cluster as a site, this study utilised triangulation of a questionnaire, interviews, observations and document analyses to investigate three issues: stakeholders' understanding and experiences of, and responses to decentralised school governance; their views regarding their capacity to function effectively in a decentralised school governance system; and their experiences and views of the factors that hinder and/or enable decentralised school governance in the cluster. Informed by three theoretical frameworks, namely the locus of decentralised decision-making power, policy implementation, and educational change, the findings show that decentralised school governance has developed a sense of ownership of schools on the part of stakeholders. However, a number of factors hamper the decentralisation process. These include the rigid national educational regulatory framework, the uneven distribution of power within schools, and the school and community contexts that are not conducive to decentralisation. Findings also suggest that stakeholders feel incapable of functioning effectively in a decentralised school governance system. These findings imply that there is need for capacity building on the part of all stakeholders, as well as research into how clusters can be made more effective. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Substantially more power has been devolved to schools than ever before and schools are being held more accountable in variety of ways. It is imperative that all stakeholders involved in education including School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams must develop new skills and styles of working. This is a case study of a rural primary school in the Toyota Teach Primary Schools Project (TTPSP). This study examined the extent to which the School Governing Body and School Management Team members of RSP understand their roles and responsibilities and the impact it has on the functioning of the school. Data was collected over a period of several months through observation, conversations and interviews. Collected data was analysed continuously throughout the research process. The responses were grouped into themes and were then checked to ensure the relevance of the emerging patterns. First, findings related to the SGB were presented followed by data related to SMT. This data formed the basis for discussion about the role of SGB and SMT members in the management of schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

The preamble of the South African constitution clearly states. as one of its principles that it aims to:" lay foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people" Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). The Department of Education, through the South African Schools Act No 84 of 1996 aim to instil the principles of democracy, equity, equality and transparency in schools, as it provide for a "uniform system for the organisation, governance and funding of schools" SASA (1996). The large responsibility of managing and governing schools is in the hands of schools with the help from the Department of Education. It is for this reason that this study aims to explore the role and effectiveness of School Governing body as it carries this amount of responsibility mentioned above. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and effectiveness of a School Governing Body of a rural high school in the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education and Culture. This investigation was done through interviews with the parent members of the School Governing Body to find out their perceptions of their roles and effectiveness in the SGB. Questionnaires were also administered to learner members, educator members of the SGB and the Staff Management Team of the school to evaluate their perceptions towards their roles, and roles of others in the SGB. The study also aimed to check on whether there are conflicting ideas amongst different member components of the SGB. The findings of this study have shown that there are differences in the understanding of roles to be played in the SGB. Learners, educators and SMT members feel that they play a positive role in the SGB whilst the parent members do not understand their roles, and this impact negatively on the effectiveness of the SGB. The study also showed that the low levels of literacy amongst parents disadvantage them in terms of their understanding of educational issues and how to perform required tasks, however good cooperation and understanding amongst member supplement the weaknesses of this SGB. The recommendations suggest the need for workshops and capacity development programmes to improve confidence amongst parents as well as to provide information to all SGB members. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.