Doctoral Degrees (School of Education Studies)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Doctoral Degrees (School of Education Studies) by Author "Brazelle, R. R."
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Creating a culture of effective learning through invitational education: a development program for teachers(University of the Free State, 2000-11) Swanepoel, Zendré Ivy; Brazelle, R. R.; Paulsen, W. J.English: South Africa has been going through various changes since 1991. Education was no exception. Unfortunately, change also brings about uncertainties, which is exactly what the poor matric results brought to the minds of educators. Since many state-aided schools opened their doors to disadvantaged learners, poor matric results prevailed year after year. In 1997 a task-group was set up to examine the situation and find reasons for the complete collapse of a culture of learning and teaching. All stake-holders are responsible for the collapse of the culture of learning and teaching. Learners, teachers, parents, principal, governing bodies as well as departmental officials should accept joint responsibility for the present situation. In order to restore the culture of learning and teaching the Department of Education should not only try to improve the teacher-learner ratio, but should train teachers to become sensitive to the individual needs of learners, whether it may be social class differences or their individual cognitive abilities. Teachers should be guided towards developing their own potential in order to be optimistic, friendly and open to the needs of learners and the educative process. All of these mentioned factors would then lead to the creation of an inviting, positive learning environment which is conducive to facilitate effective learning. The principles of Invitational Education sets the scene for creating an inviting learning atmosphere through viewing learners as able, responsible and valuable. Teachers' behaviour is aimed at being intentionally inviting. Through this stance, they show their optimism and affirmative attitude towards teaching which in return brings forth more positive attitudes from the learners. Building learners self-confidence by making them feel special and proud, motivate them to reaching their full potential. Conflict is resolved in a constructive manner and policies and programmes are tailored to the learners' needs and to the principles of Invitational education. Through empirical investigation factors are identified which might influence effective learning. Factors relating to the learner, teacher and learning process were identified and analysed. The legal and educational requirements for a training programme was examined. The requirements of the National Qualifications Framework for the registration of units and qualifications were explored as well as Outcomes-based Education as proposed educational model in South Africa. A synthesis is proposed between principles of Outcomes-based Education and Invitational education in order to show that the invitational approach to teaching fits in well with the new educational model. Finally, a programme is structured according to which teachers in South Africa could be trained in the principles of Invitational Education in order to facilitate effective learning.Item Open Access Human resources management: a contemporary model for principles of Free State schools(University of the Free State, 2004-11) Griesel, Johan David; Brazelle, R. R.English: The purpose of this study was to investigate the human resources management task of the school principal in the Free State Province. In order to achieve this goal, research was done regarding the human resources management task of school principals, which forms part of their complex overall management task. The research entails a literature study to investigate human resources management in practice and also to focus on the functioning thereof in schools as a management task of the school principal. The human resources management task of the school principal and the various management areas which it covers were grouped under human resources provision and human resources maintenance. In Chapter 2 human resources provision was discussed according to the following areas of management: human resources planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and career management. In Chapter 3 the maintenance of human resources was discussed according to the following areas of management: training and development, performance appraisal, compensation, motivation, quality of work life, leadership, groups, labour relations, health and safety, and administration. Furthermore, an empirical investigation was undertaken to determine the way in which school principals approach and execute their human resources management task. In Chapter 4 frequency tables were utilised to obtain more information regarding the day-to-day management of human resources in schools by school principals. The continuation of the empirical research in Chapter 5 aimed at determining the training needs of school principals, as well as ascertaining the level of importance of specific human resources management tasks in the opinion of school principals. Various subgroups were identified beforehand and comparisons were made further to clarify the research. The empirical research undeniably proved that school principals have a definite training need with regard to human resources management and that they view these management tasks as highly significant as seen against the background of their total management task at school. In Chapter 6 a model was drawn up with regard to human resources management based on the literature study and the empirical research. The goal of this model is to serve as a guideline for school principals in the execution of their management task with regard to human resources management. In the final chapter certain findings were formulated regarding the human resources management task of school principals. Furthermore certain recommendations were made to illustrate to the Free State Department of Education that definite training needs exist which will empower school principals for their management tasks; and the attention of school principals was drawn to the importance of their management task with regard to the management of human resources in schools in order to realise the education and teaching goals of schoolsItem Open Access Die invloed van bestuurspanne se bestuursaksies op die werksbevrediging van opvoeders in junior sekondêre skole in die Oos-Kaap Provinsie(University of the Free State, 2006-05) Fourie, Everard; Brazelle, R. R.English: Satisfaction leads to the fulfilment of desires – and contentment. In a work situation it means that workers’ yearning that their desires will be fulfilled – be satisfied. To realise this, an individual needs to experience job satisfaction. According to research there is a complex relationship between leadership and job satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of management actions of school management teams on the job satisfaction of educators. To be able to achieve this goal, seven hypotheses are tested by means of quasi-experimental research. Chapter two entails a literature study of the concept job satisfaction. The management implications of the 20 indicators as they appear on the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and their influence on job satisfaction are discussed. In chapter three the consequences of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction as well as the correlation between the level of job satisfaction and variables in an organisation are investigated. A literature study on nine aspects that are influenced by job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction was undertaken. Chapter four concentrates on the design and progress of the experimental research. Due to the unique nature of this research (the first time such research has been conducted in South Africa), the normal control group quasi-experimental research design (pretest – intervention – post-test) had to be adapted to indicate that an improvement in the management skills of management teams of schools can bring about a change in the level of job satisfaction of educators. Due to the fact that this is exploratory research, special attention was paid to the validity of the investigation, reliability of the research results and also, internal and external factors that could influence the results. Chapter five deals with the progress of the experimental research. During the pretest the levels of job satisfaction of both the experimental and control groups were measured, using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, a standardised instrument used to measure the levels of job satisfaction of educators. As this research has - as its primary goal – to ascertain to what extent the management actions of school management teams has on the level of job satisfaction of educators, the respondents had to complete a questionnaire in order to ascertain the training needs and highlight the shortcomings of school management teams of the experimental group. This information led to the development of a training course that was then presented, as part of the intervention programme, to the management teams. After the course the researcher led the management teams – during a period of nine months – through the practical implementation of the aspects that were presented during the training. In order to ascertain whether the intervention had the desired effect on the levels of job satisfaction of the educators a second round of testing with the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, which involved both groups, was done. In chapter six the results of the research that test the seven hypotheses are analysed and interpreted. With regard to the experimental and the six subgroups, the overall averages of the levels of job satisfaction of the respondents after the intervention had improved. This improvement was found to be statistically significant. In contrast to the aforementioned, the levels of job satisfaction of the total control group from pretest to post test were found to have declined significantly. The final chapter is a summation of all that was presented in the preceding chapters. Findings encapsulating the three problem areas namely, what is job satisfaction and the management implications thereof, the impact of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of educators on the school as an organisation, and also, what influence the management actions of school management teams have on the level of job satisfaction of educators are presented. Finally, using the research as basis, certain recommendations are made.Item Open Access Job satisfaction: correspondence of occupational reinforcers to the individual needs of urban school principals in the Free State(University of the Free State, 2012-06) Mosikidi, Amos Maitse; Van Staden, J. G.; Brazelle, R. R.English: Job satisfaction, being a nebulous and multidimensional concept, is considered to be the most important and frequently studied social construct in organisational behaviour literature. This study investigated the level of job satisfaction among urban schools principals in the Free State. In order to attain the desired goals of the study, the congruence between principals’ needs or values and the work environment reinforcers was examined. Two methods of investigation that complement each other, namely, the quantitative and qualitative methods, were used to collect the data. Furthermore, a literature review on job satisfaction and what job satisfaction of principals entails was explored. The literature review revealed the relationship between employee motivation and job satisfaction. It also revealed how motivational theories can be used to improve employees’ job satisfaction. A further examination of the literature on job satisfaction revealed that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and the following organisational behaviours: organisational citizenship behaviours, withdrawal from work, absenteeism, turnover, union activity, counter-productive behaviours, physical and psychological health, burnout, productivity, occupational level, life satisfaction and achievement. It is clear from the literature review that increasing principals’ job satisfaction may either increase or reduce some of the above-mentioned organisational behaviours. The results from both the quantitative and qualitative data evidently indicated that there was no correspondence between principals’ needs and the reinforcers of the work environment. The results revealed further that the opportunities provided by the work environment were very few and inadequate to satisfy principals’ important needs. Additionally, the results showed that the following needs or work aspects of principals need urgent attention: compensation, recognition, advancement, security, working conditions, departmental policies and practices, and relationships with other stakeholders. The following recommendations were among those that emanated from the literature review and the empirical data: principals should realise that their job satisfaction may be significantly improved if they first ensure that they effectively motivate and increase the level of job satisfaction of their subordinates in their institutions; they should also empower themselves by familiarising themselves and implementing the policies of the Department of Basic Education correctly. It is also recommended that the Department of Basic Education should revisit some of the policies that frustrate principals and impact negatively on their overall performance in the school. These policies include the learner pregnancy policy, the policy regarding the allocation of funds to Section 21 schools, and the Post Provisioning Model used for educator recruitment and redeployment. The limitations of this study and recommendations for further research are also mentioned.