Thesis, PlanA (Ed. Spec.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

ABSTRACT Although extensive research has been conducted on bullying, few studies have explored factors that elicit, impact, and maintain the dynamics of bullying from the perspectives of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study was to understand the complex nature of bullying through exploring the ecological risk factors that allow this alarming phenomenon to flourish. The influence of factors at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem on the dynamic interaction between the bully and the victim is explained. Another goal of this research was to capture the complexity and multidimensionality of the teacher’s role in bullying prevention and intervention. The study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the ecological and contextual variables that interact to provide fertile grounds for bullying. Detailed information about principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of bullying experiences was gathered through 8 in-depth focus groups for teachers and 10 interviews with principals. Qualitative analyses of the data led to the emergence of overarching themes and related subthemes. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1979 ) was used to provide a conceptual and comprehensive framework that addressed the multifaceted variables. The finding indicated that a complex interrelation of variables was found to be central to victimization. The incidence of bullying was found to be directly influenced by individual traits as well as all the other ecological systems. Among the most salient findings was the influence of the peer ecology on bullying as a group phenomenon. The etiology of bullying as a manifestation of much deeper problems at the bully level was among the new findings. The impact of video games and television reality shows on bullying behaviour was also identified. The findings emphasized the significance of the teacher personality, positive teacher-student relationship, empathy, and training in classroom management for efficacy in addressing bullying prevention and intervention. Finally, the study offers recommendations for teacher training institutions.

ABSTRACT Although extensive research has been conducted on bullying, few studies have explored factors that elicit, impact, and maintain the dynamics of bullying from the perspectives of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study was to understand the complex nature of bullying through exploring the ecological risk factors that allow this alarming phenomenon to flourish. The influence of factors at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem on the dynamic interaction between the bully and the victim is explained. Another goal of this research was to capture the complexity and multidimensionality of the teacher’s role in bullying prevention and intervention. The study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the ecological and contextual variables that interact to provide fertile grounds for bullying. Detailed information about principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of bullying experiences was gathered through 8 in-depth focus groups for teachers and 10 interviews with principals. Qualitative analyses of the data led to the emergence of overarching themes and related subthemes. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1979 ) was used to provide a conceptual and comprehensive framework that addressed the multifaceted variables. The finding indicated that a complex interrelation of variables was found to be central to victimization. The incidence of bullying was found to be directly influenced by individual traits as well as all the other ecological systems. Among the most salient findings was the influence of the peer ecology on bullying as a group phenomenon. The etiology of bullying as a manifestation of much deeper problems at the bully level was among the new findings. The impact of video games and television reality shows on bullying behaviour was also identified. The findings emphasized the significance of the teacher personality, positive teacher-student relationship, empathy, and training in classroom management for efficacy in addressing bullying prevention and intervention. Finally, the study offers recommendations for teacher training institutions.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the implementation of the ‘Team-Teach’ behaviour support training programme in New Zealand. This school-wide training package develops generalised skills in behaviour management and de-escalation for students who are exhibiting extreme and violent behaviour. The Team-Teach framework also provides training in physical interventions that are designed for use in schools, and with children. The legal issues associated with the use of physical intervention are also addressed during the training in addition to recommended best practice for the development of policies and procedures. Prior evidence suggests that behaviour support training with a physical intervention overlay can result in increased confidence and safety for staff members and a reduction in the levels of physical intervention and incidents. The purpose of this study was to investigate participant opinion of Team-Teach training immediately after course delivery and further into implementation in addition to an investigation into the barriers and facilitating factors affecting the impact of Team-Teach within two New Zealand special schools. The research employs a mixed method pragmatic paradigm utilising document analysis, questionnaire and interview survey to ascertain the impact and implementation issues related to Team-Teach training. Quantitative analysis of course feedback ratings and attitudinal scales were combined with the qualitative thematic analysis of written comments and interview transcripts to inform the discussion. The results present a positive endorsement of Team-Teach training both immediately after the training course and further into implementation and compare favourably with the findings of previous international studies. Research participants reported a significant increase in personal confidence and a perceived reduction in incidences of extreme behaviour and physical intervention. The perceptions of research participants to initial training in New Zealand varied considerably between training providers and there were also notable differences between groups in different work roles and with different levels of experience. Research participants expressed concern over the lack of adaptation of the Team-Teach syllabus to embrace the New Zealand context. Research participants endorsed use of the ‘positive handling plan’ (PHP) as a way to legitimatise and standardise practice in difficult situations. It was however clear that neither school had developed genuine parental partnerships in either the creation or effective communication of these plans. There was a general agreement that parents should be able to access Team-Teach training but significant concerns were highlighted over how this could be achieved in practice. Research participants endorsed the Team-Teach model of training ‘in-house’ tutors to provide contextual and responsive internal capacity. There was a general agreement that the physical interventions taught were effective and appropriate for use with children. Participants clearly expressed concerns related to the teaching of too many physical interventions that were not required and recommended that training in physical interventions should be in class teams and specific to actual need. There was a clear indication that research participants believed this training should receive official recognition at the highest level as an acknowledgement that physical intervention is sometimes necessary in schools and that there is a legitimate way to achieve this.

The research seeks to suggest the use of negotiations as a managerial task of the school principal with learners to eliminate or at least limit unrest practices like violence, intimidation of learners by principals and intimidation of principals by learners, suspicions, vandalism, strike actions and class boycotts which destroy and negate the culture of learning and teaching services. All these destructive practices, lead to poor production of matric results in schools in South Africa in general and in the North West Province in particular. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine by means of a review of literature and an empirical investigation, the nature of negotiations in schools and the skills needed by practising principals in the discharge of their management tasks. The empirical study was also aimed at determining the most important and the least important of the negotiation skills. Chapter 1 deals with the statement of the problem, aims of the research and the methods employed in achieving the purpose of the study. This includes a discussion of the population and sample used for the empirical research and an outline of the chapters. The second Chapter highlights on the nature of negotiation in general and in schools in particular. Explanation of the concept negotiation was given and terms closely related to negotiation were defined and all shown to be different from negotiation. Models of negotiation were identified, causes for negotiation were mentioned, effects of negotiation on school performance were discussed a:; well as approaches and attitudes to the use of negotiation in schools. In Chapter 3, the focus was on the context of negotiation and skills needed in successful negotiation in schools. The negotiation climate, elements of negotiation and legal aspects or basis of negotiation were discussed under the context of negotiation. Listening, timing, empathy, trust, questions, needs, patience, politeness, as well as other skills like stamina, tolerance, confidence were discussed as negotiation skills. Negotiation style and strategies were treated under skills needed in successful negotiation. The empirical research design, administrative procedures, population and the systematic sampling as well as statistical techniques were discussed in Chapter 4. The duly completed questionnaires returned by principals as respondents were empirically analysed and interpreted in this chapter. The last chapter, Chapter 5, throws light on the summary of all the chapters, research findings and recommendations based on the research findings derived from the previous chapters as well as a final remark. It was found that all the respondents recognize that listening is essential to any relationship and therefore listening was the most important negotiation skill practised by principals. Again, it was revealed from the empirical study that most principals do not succeed in building trust with learners by making wild promises. Principals therefore seldomly make wild promises to learners as a negotiation skill. Finally based on the research, a negotiation skill training programme for principals was recommended for future research. / Thesis (MEd)--PU for CHE, 1999