This dissertation explores collaborative approaches to policy and planning across multiple policy areas and stakeholders, and contributes to research in international education development as well as collaborative governance and management on the structures and processes through which persons work collectively-crossing institutional, sectoral and disciplinary divides-to achieve shared goals. Given the growth in policy attention and experimentation among countries to develop and implement approaches and mechanisms to facilitate collaboration across policy boundaries and sectoral silos, the specific goals of the study were to: (a) analyze how collaborative approaches emerge at the national level; (b) identify what factors support the implementation of collaborative approaches; and (c) assess how collaborative approaches affect systemic outcomes. The dissertation uses qualitative research methods of document analysis and interviews, and develops analytical frameworks to address the emergence, implementation and assessment of collaborative approaches policy and planning at the national level. Through its comparative case study of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in two Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Guyana and Jamaica, the dissertation contributes to governance and systems scholarship in ECD. In unpacking the stages through which the establishment of collaborative approaches unfold, the dissertation finds that political factors in the countries’ political contexts held the greatest explanatory value for differences in establishment, and specific drivers motivated progression within and between stages, for example, advocacy, and events that prompt collaborative action, recognition of interdependence, a prior history of collaboration, political will and leadership. The dissertation also provides a framework of the factors (i.e., contextual, structural, technical, and relational) that can influence the implementation of collaborative approaches and applies this framework to the case studies. Findings indicate that each set of factors was important in explaining how stakeholders were able to work collaboratively, but technical and relational factors were the most highly valued and least addressed in the case studies. Finally, the dissertation develops a framework that links key features of collaborative approaches to the systemic outcomes of equity, quality, and sustainability by offering analytical pathways to trace how collaboration can change the way a system functions-in the areas of system resilience, system integrity and system performance. The dissertation combines conceptual and empirical insights to analyze how the functioning of the collaborative entity and process in the case countries influenced their abilities to support equity, quality and sustainability at the systems level.

En undersökning kring hur anställda på ett möbelföretag i sydöstra Sverige upplever att kollektivt lärande är en del av den dagliga driften arbetsplatsen. Undersökning tar sin utgångspunkt i relation till litteraturens definitioner på teorier, begrepp och förutsättningar. En enkätundersökning gjordes för att undersöka hur anställda på en arbetsplats upplevde graden av kollektivt lärande i interaktionen med sina kollegor och sina arbetsuppgifter. Undersökningen hade som avsikt att undersöka samband mellan det upplevda kollektiva lärandet och respondenternas självuppskattade utveckling på arbetsplatsen. Resultatet visade att respondenterna generellt instämde till viss del eller fullständigt med de efterfrågade aspekterna, och ett korrelationssamband mellan kollektivt lärande och självuppskattad lärandebana visade sig resultera i ett starkt värde.

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This dissertation investigates how collective process-oriented documentation tools, combined with Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, can enhance knowledge construction in hands-on, open-ended learning environments, such as makerspaces. Through a three-year design-based research, the study developed and tested a collective documentation interface and an NLP-powered learner-facing analytics dashboard to track and visualize students' knowledge construction throughout their making processes. Key contributions of this work include the design of tools that support both individual and collective knowledge construction by enabling students to reflect on their learning and observe others’ processes, fostering collaborative learning communities. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques were applied to student documentation, extracting core concepts and visualizing their development over time, thus providing insights into the knowledge-building trajectories within the class. Additionally, the research examined student perceptions of AI-generated learning suggestions and their reactions to the dashboard, emphasizing the need for thoughtful and careful integration of AI in educational practices. The findings offer practical implications for the design of educational tools and environments that facilitate both immersive engagement and reflective oversight, in alignment with Edith Ackermann’s idea of “dwelling in” and “stepping back” (Ackermann, 2001). These insights are critical for educators, researchers, and designers working to enhance the learning potential of maker education and project-based learning, especially considering the integration of Artificial Intelligence tools.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The aim of self-directed team learning initiatives is to provide a further level of defence against an eventuality by ensuring that air traffic controllers are aware of the sources of human fallibility, and by developing in the individual controllers and air traffic control teams the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will result in the successful management and containment of inadvertent error. To gain a deeper understanding of self-directed team learning, I investigated the role and contribution of self-directed team learning principles and strategies that were present in the South African Air Force air traffic control team-based work environment. This research study was directed by the following primary research questions: Does self-directed team learning impact on the air traffic control work environment, and what is the nature of self-directed team learning’s impact on the air traffic control work environment? Insights gained as a result of this study contributed to the body of research concerned with learning design, development, implementation and evaluation by self-directed teams as well as the air traffic control discipline. In this mixed-method study quantitative data collection was performed by means of a self-directed team learning questionnaire and a learning approach questionnaire, whereas qualitative data collection relied on individual interviews and focus group interviews. This study involved 25 South African Air Force air traffic controllers (from three operational air traffic control centres). The nature of self-directed team learning’s impact on the air traffic control work environment was illustrated by individual and collective (team) views and dynamics. The impact of air traffic control team performances was traced in terms of identified teamwork characteristics, activities, dynamics, performance measures and focus areas and reflective practices. Results of this study indicated that self-directed team learning offered opportunities to individuals and teams to influence air traffic control performances in an air traffic control work environment. A perceived positive relationship between self-directed team learning and air traffic control operational outputs could be traced. Lastly I concluded that self-directed learning by air traffic control teams had an impact on air traffic control operational outcomes, thus contributing towards a critical air traffic control goal – aviation safety. / Thesis (PhD (Currriculum Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted