Dissertationen zum Thema „Business education – Ghana – Case studies“

Every year billions of dollars are spent on development aid and training around the world. However, only 10% of this training results in the transfer of knowledge, skills, or behaviors learned in the training to the work place. Ideally, learning transfer produces effective and continued application by learners of the knowledge and skills they gained through their learning activities. Some studies suggest that technology usage can serve as an effective post-learning intervention to enhance the transfer of learning.

Currently, there is a limited body of research examining the factors that hinder and promote learning transfer in professional development, particularly the professional development of school leaders in developing countries. This qualitative exploratory study sought to address the gap in the literature by examining 6 schools, 3 in Burkina Faso and 3 in Ghana, West Africa. This investigation explored: (a) if and how learning transfer took place after the leadership training; (b) what promoted and hindered learning transfer in both countries; and (c) if the use of a text message intervention after the training enhanced learning transfer. The sample consisted of 13 West African school leaders (6 in Burkina Faso and 7 in Ghana) who attended a 3-day leadership training workshop. Data collection included in-depth interviews, document analysis, post-training site visits, and text messages to ascertain whether this mobile technology intervention enhanced learning transfer.

The findings demonstrate that learning transfer occurred in both countries in all six schools. Data indicate that most of the transfer of learning happened in areas not requiring mindset and behavioral changes. Data suggest that the facilities in which the trainings took place, the facilitators’ dispositions and knowledge as well as the adequacy of the materials and the follow-up of the mobile text messaging intervention assisted the participants in transferring knowledge to their schools following the training. Participants also indicated some inhibitors to the transfer of learning such as financial, cultural, and human behavior constraints. This study helps increase our understanding of what promotes and inhibits learning transfer in educational settings in developing countries and provides suggestions for trainers and teachers who facilitate trainings.

Purpose: This research work is to discuss the various forces/ factors that affect the business environment of Ghana which impacts investing in marketing and processing of cocoa beans in Ghana. In order to determine or classify Ghana as an attractive destination or otherwise to invest in cocoa marketing and processing there is the need to discuss the prevailing macro business environmental forces which little is known about to investors, managers and policy makers in cocoa trade. These mentioned parties have been under increasing pressures to assess the various forces prevailing in Ghana before considering investing in cocoa marketing and processing in Ghana. The work therefore looks as the various macro environmental factors Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Physical Environment and Legal (PESTEL) forces in Ghana’s business environment which impacts cocoa marketing and processing which makes Ghana an attractive base or otherwise to invest in cocoa marketing and processing.

 

Research Questions: The specific questions that the research aims at solving are as follows: what are the external and environmental forces that will influence investing in cocoa marketing and processing in Ghana? Is Ghana a safe and attractive base to invest in cocoa marketing and processing?

 

Research method: In carrying this research I made use of both secondary and primary data. Primary data was gathered through face interviews and administrating questionnaires to illicit response from stakeholders in Ghana’s cocoa. The paper also presents a review of literature on PESTEL which has influence or features in Ghana’s business environment which are important in cocoa marketing and processing.

 

Research Findings: Empirical findings and review of PESTEL model reported in the work suggests that the PESTEL will impact on the strategy of organizations and policy makers who are into cocoa marketing and processing. Also gives suggestions on how the various environmental forces (PESTEL) will be applied to further improve upon the business environment which makes marketing and processing of cocoa in Ghana attractive.

 

Research Implications and Limitations: The discussions and analyses of the macro environmental forces prevailing in Ghana’s business environment which impacts cocoa marketing produces a frame work to analyze current threats and opportunities in Ghana’s business environment which impacts cocoa marketing and processing for people contemplating on investing in marketing and processing of cocoa in Ghana as well as other practical lessons for policy makers in cocoa. The work overlooks the micro environmental forces in Ghana that impacts cocoa marketing and processing. Further research into such area will help give an understanding of the micro factors that impact the business environment of Ghana. Also the work has a limited empirical data base as most information gathered were inconsistent and unreliable which raises concerns about investment information. These have been minimized thro3ugh cross checks with primary data.

ABSTRACT

COURSE:

Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration 15 ECTS

AUTHORS: Ossai Uche, (21st March 1980), Västerås.

Prosper Akpabli Hanyabui, (17th March 1980), Västerås.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

How can Labadi Beach Hotel improve on customer care activities in order to create a positive customer experiences in the hotel?

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study is to describe what Labadi Beach Hotel is doing and what they could do to improve customer care. Furthermore we shall also find out the problems or complaints encountered by customers in the course of service delivery and make necessary recommendations.

METHODOLOGY:

This thesis shall be based on a qualitative method of study with information gotten from Labadi Beach Hotel. This is due to the fact that in order to fulfil the purpose, it would require an in-depth research in the form of a qualitative study. The main sources of data comprises of primary and secondary data. Primary sources of data were gotten through telephone interview with employees of the hotel as well as designed questionnaire from the hotel guest. Secondary data were gotten from articles, journals, books, websites etc.

CONCLUSION:

We observed that customer care is being implemented at Labadi Beach Hotel in order to create a positive customer experiences. This is done through the recruitment of qualified employees and conduction of training programs. In addition, Labadi Beach Hotel has developed a service oriented internal process through the use of procedures. Moreover new recruits are retained upon successfully passing an appraisal report. This has actually resulted in friendly and courteous attitudes of its employees towards hotel guest. Furthermore, Labadi Beach Hotel has internal complaint system to check service failures.

Lastly, customer complaints received were embodied around Availability, Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, and Empathy. It must however be noted that despite the guest complaints received, the aspect of positive customer experience in each of the dimensions above outnumbers the complaints. In spite of what Labadi Beach Hotel is doing to improve customer care, suggested measures were recommended to help them further improve upon customer care.

Agricultural system in Ghana underperformed because of limited financing, which constrained some small-scale maize and cassava farmers. The purpose of this case study design was to explore the methods that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers in Amankwakrom Subdistrict used in obtaining farm financing. Two themes from the literature review were a lack of collateral for small-scale farm financing and the small-scale farmers cooperative associations? role in farm financing. Regional-scale management sustainability index formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 8 fluent English speaking small-scale maize and cassava farmers who have obtained farm financing in the previous years. Using the Microsoft Excel and Non-numerical unstructured data indexing and theorizing software program for data analysis method, 3 major themes emerged: the farmer?s membership benefits of working in cooperative associations; farmer?s ability to provide the collateral requirements for the financial institutions; and farmer?s good loan repayment history. The study findings indicated that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers obtained farm loans because they used the cooperative associations as their collateral assets in order to satisfy for the requirements of the financial institutions. Social implications include the potential to guide the small-scale maize and cassava farmers to access farm credits to use in expanding their farm sizes. Expansion in farm sizes may result in more maize and cassava production that can help eliminate hunger and reduce poverty in the Amankwakrom Subdistrict of Ghana.

This thesis describes the genesis, evolution, and function of a unique institution: London's South Bank Technopark, in the period 1979-92. A case study of this incubator, innovation centre, and Science Park has revealed several unexpected aspects of its activities. The most notable of these has been the degree of educational and training activity in the Technopark -- both formal and informal - which set it apart from other UK Science Parks, and provide a link between the Technopark and its inner city environment. The multimethod case study involved a largely ethnographic survey of the Technopark's management and tenants and related personnel, supplemented by reference to the Technopark's archives and management file. The study was concluded with a comparative phase of fieldwork involving in-depth interviews with senior figures in seven other UK and US science parks, and in the international science park movement. In all, 67 interviewees in six categories were interviewed in a total of 168 interviews. Entrepreneurialism in the Technopark was investigated via interviews with tenant firms and an intensive study of the management team, enabling key factors in the enterprise process to be identified. The Technopark compared favourably with similar institutions visited as an incubator of new firms, and a creator of jobs and job opportunities via on-site education and training. Models of science park activity have been constructed, from which it is seen that the Technopark is part of an evolutionary continuum leading to science cities and the Multi Function Polis. It is concluded that not only is the Technopark a commercial success; it is also a model inner city incubator, innovation centre, and science park which has brought the benefits of new knowledge based businesses and job creation, as well as innovative training and educational programmes, to a deprived urban area.

One of the major developments marking the global economy is the emergence of regional trading blocks. This study takes into account this trend and it addresses a question about business administration departments in Mexican universities: To what extent and in what ways do they reflect the influence of NAFTA and globalization on their curriculum, structure, and mission? Conceptually, the study draws on dependency theory and institutional theory. Dependency theory was useful for understanding globalization in Mexican business administration as affected through business and linkages to the U.S. Institutional theory was useful in understanding and explaining specific mechanisms experienced by the departments as they relate to the different professional organizations in society. This study considered four departments located in large public and private universities in Northwestern Mexico. Documents and interviews were the two principal sources of data. This investigation involved the analysis of 46 documents, and 26 interviews conducted with administrators and faculty in Business Administration programs. The analysis of data indicated that private departments hold national and international relationships that influence curriculum change while the public departments are more nationally oriented in relationships and curriculum change.

This thesis examines the role of market orientation within the field of postgraduate management education in the UK. A detailed study of student expectations and outcomes was undertaken at the Strathclyde Business School in order to test the hypothesis that British management educational institutions are not adequately market orientated. The study was carried out in relation to MCom in Marketing, MSc in Marketing and MBA programmes offered by the SBS. Thus the study involved: a. A survey of the entering students: In addition to the basic purpose of examining the levels of academic, career, social and personal expectations students have when they embark on a study programme, the study attempted to examine the expectations students have about the course, the institution and the study environment. b. Current student survey: The same students surveyed at the entering stage were surveyed again after six months of enrolment to ascertain the extent to which they feel their expectations a re fulfilled by the programmes, the institution and the study environment. C. Past graduates survey: The purpose of carrying out this survey was to ascertain the extent to which past graduates feel their expectations are fulfilled by the programme, the institution and the study environment some time after the completion of the programmes. Analysis of the responses received at the three stages of the survey revealed that there are certain gaps that exist between expectations and outcomes. The direction of the relationship between expectations and outcomes was found to be curvilinear, suggesting that students change their evaluative criteria over time. The major thrust of the study is the necessity to conduct continual research of the market for management education and setting up and maintaining a database of both current and past students. Other recommendations which evolve from the findings of the study are related to internal marketing, staff/student interaction, promotion of programmes and the organisation and management of the programmes.

This investigation represents a search for an alternative to the bureaucratic model of career development and addresses the question: how during a period of period of contraction in the education service with associated diminished opportunities for career advancement, do teachers become commi t ted to a schoo I' s work and va lues. The case study was made during a two year period in a secondary school, in which the researcher was headmaster, when the school was undergoing contraction in the mid 1980s due to demographic trends. Its focus is a bounded group of teachers in midcareer who, during a period of low morale and conflicted industrial relations, became engaged in curriculum development for low ability pupils. Staff development is presented as personal and social reconstruction and interest centres on latent social processes and the interactional behaviours of the participants. Attention is directed towards the cultural meaning that spatial and temporal contexts hold and the modes of interaction they invoke. Two broad principles, of bureaucratization and of humanization, are identified, and an attempt is made to uncover moments of social time when conditions are particularly conducive to personal growth. This leads to a fuller exploration of the concept of teacher commitment, extending beyond its calculative or instrumental aspects, to consider its emotional and evaluative components, thus transferring the discussion from issues solely of role to those of social relationships and personal identity. Thus, its contribution to research derives from the deeper insights it provides into teacher motivation and social process in schools. These are considered from the standpoint of the insider and, as such, complement other school ethnographies made by the professional social scientist. Methodological issues of insider research have been addressed, and its special strengths and weaknesses considered. In particular, categories drawn from the tradi tion of social anthropology have been used to render strange the familiar world of schools, and non-probability sampling has been adopted to penetrate its opaqueness.

The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented attempt to improve performance outputs from public sector organizations as a whole. This has culminated in a range of government reforms across the whole of the public sector based on the principles of accountability, targets and measurements. Underpinning the performance improvement drive within the public sector is an emerged concept of new public management (NPM) regime which mirrors the management practices of the private sector. This work focuses on the Further Education sector as an entity within the public sector services underpinned by the broad theoretical context to understand why FE colleges with similar characteristics perform differently. The OFSTED report, “Why colleges succeed or Fail” (2004) found a strong correlation between Ofsted’s assessment of management effectiveness and performance of the institutions. Those that were awarded Grade 1 for leadership and management recorded outstanding overall performance output and those judged to have weak leadership and management recorded overall poor performance output. It is would seem logical to draw a conclusion that the quality of FE leadership impacts on the quality and value of its service. This work explores this relationship in greater depth. The focus of this study was to explore the extent to which managerial competences within a situated cultural and structural content contributed to the differences in the performance of FE colleges in England and Wales. The overall objective was to analyse how the competences of senior managers, defined as formal qualification, professional experience, professional functional skills and personal attributes interact with organizational factors such as structure and culture to impact on performance. There is a lack of knowledge on the subject and this hinders the ability to place a value on the quality of leadership in the FE sector and its importance in organizational performance. Four colleges were chosen for the study from East London. The four colleges were from the same socio- economic catchment and they fell within the four categories of Ofsted performance measurements: Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory and Poor. The methodology used in this study examined the phenomena of interest in the four colleges through a process of semi-structured interviews which provided an in-depth and contextual understanding of the problem in a case study scenario. In total 27 managers were interviewed for the study, of which 3 were the college principals, 16 senior managers and 8 middle managers. A performance framework was developed from the research findings which provides some of the answers to the key research questions. Broadly, the findings suggest that some elements of managerial competences such as formal qualifications, personal attributes and educational or managerial orientations within a specific cultural climate and structure contributed to the differential performance outputs of the four FE colleges. The performance framework identified three strong relationship links between these elements which collectively would produce a strong performance outcome. The thesis makes two key contributions to existing knowledge. First, it introduces a conceptual framework that could inform managerial decision making in such a way as to achieve effective performance output from an FE college. The findings could also have a possible broader application across public sector organizations. In addition, the work also makes contributions to extant management literature by either providing some evidence of the relevance of some of the existing work or providing an alternative view to the current lines of thinking.

This thesis examines the determinants of student demand for higher education (HE) in Jordan with special attention devoted to the role of expected rates of return (ERRs) to HE. In the context of economic theory, mainly Human Capital Theory (HCT), earnings expectations lie at the heart of students' post-secondary education decisions. Therefore, the study is primarily based on final-year secondary school students' HE decisions and starting earnings expectations. The starting earnings expectations are critically analysed and used to construct short-cut ERRs to HE. Also, comparisons between expected starting earnings and actual public sector starting wage rates are carried out. The findings lend support to the economic explanations of demand and, in particular, the HCT predictions. Through applying logistic models, the study finds that ERRs influence students' post-secondary education decisions to enrol in HE positively. Students from low-income and large families are found to be less likely to consider continuing into HE. Consistent with the empirical literature, student academic ability is also reported to impact positively the likelihood to consider enrolment. Other variables such as parents' level of education and student's area of residence are proved not to be significantly associated with demand. Consumption value of education is greatly perceived, however, among both groups of the participants (i.e. those intending to undertake HE and those not). This indicates a weak prediction role of consumption motives in student demand for HE. Overall, the analysis also indicates a strong role of education in determining students' starting earnings expectations. Furthermore, the calculated ERRs show females to expect higher return from HE than males, a pattern matching with the most recent Jordanian study of rates of return (RORs) to education (Talafeh, 2003). However, students appear to be overoptimistic regarding starting earnings for both secondary education and HE. In this regard, the analysis suggests that students do not base their starting earnings expectations on the current actual wage rates, a finding to consider in future RORs and ERRs and their link with demand for HE studies in the context of Jordan. devoting more resources towards poor students, particularly those characterised with high-academic ability. Making students better-informed about HE and labour market return and conditions may also enhance the efficiency of individual decisions on HE and contribute to alleviating the mismatch between HE and the labour market in the country.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Instructional Systems Technology, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 5, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-08, Section: A, page: 2963.

This thesis discusses the impact of economic globalisation on Thai higher education and society. Thailand's severe economic crisis in the second half of 1997 through 1998 has led to education reform at all levels. Since the crisis, Thailand has been focusing on the development of its human potential and creativity and enhancing the capability of communities, societies and the nation as a whole. The education system of Thailand is being redirected away from nation-building objectives towards 'human capital' creation; education is seen as a form of economic investment. Thailand, like its industrialising neighbours in Southeast Asia and close Western neighbours, is striving to adjust to the pressures of economic globalisation. As a result, Thailand's higher education system is undergoing significant intellectual and strategic reorientation to meet the demands of the modern global economy. Urged by government and employers to produce graduates with more globally relevant knowledge and skills, Thai universities are attempting to redefine their relevance with increased emphasis on proficiency in English. This imperative explains the expansion of full-fee English-medium education and the emergence of government policies encouraging the internationalisation of curricula. Since the mid-1990s, successive Thai governments have paid some attention to the concept of internationalisation but have yet to produce a clear statement of what internationalisation means in the Thai context. Thailand's internationalisation policy, such as it is, aims to cultivate a globally skilled workforce and has directly encouraged the establishment of English-medium business graduate programs, branded as 'international' at a number of leading universities in Bangkok. This thesis examines concerns as to the level of English proficiency achieved by students passing through these programs and questions the appropriateness of the term 'international' for programs, many of which appear to be cloned from business studies degrees offered in major native English-speaking countries. While government policies assert the need to reform education at all levels, both the idea and the parameters of 'internationalisation' remain ill-defined. Consequently, this thesis maps out the scope of internationalisation in education from a global and a local Thai perspective to present a more integrated framework for analysing the implications of the policies. The approach taken presents a multilayered and holistic reading of significant economic and cultural change taking place in Thailand through the lens of higher education reforms and public debates about globalisation and education. More specifically, this thesis examines internationalisation of Thai higher education as an aspect of globalisation and 'global' practice at the 'local' level, observable in the policies, statements, actions and intentions expressed by political leaders, government officials, university administrators, teachers, students and employers. Significantly, Thai cultural characteristics have a profound impact on these key acto rs' attitudes towards practice of international education, particularly in the cross-cultural teaching and learning settings. This thesis argues that a more holistic and integrated approach to internationalisation across all related policy domains is needed if the country is to more effectively respond to the challenges of a globalising world.

This study described and analyzed the experiences of administrators in six Indiana school corporations that adopted a school-year budget under authorization provided by Public Law 50 (PL 50-1996). The study had the following objectives: (a) to identify reasons why school corporations became involved in the pilot project, (b) to determine what happened as a result of the pilot project, (c) to determine if the pilot project was perceived as successful by the school officials in the pilot group, and (d) to identify recommendations of superintendents and business officials about further use of a fiscal year budget in Indiana school corporations. A qualitative research methodology was used in this study. Data collection consisted of interviews with superintendents and business officials in the pilot group during January 2000.The administrators joined the pilot group because they believed all Indiana school corporations would eventually convert to a fiscal year budget and that their experiences would facilitate the conversion. They supported the concept of a fiscal year budget because it was congruous with the school-year. During implementation of the fiscal year budget, the administrators felt abandoned and did not receive the support they expected. Yet, based on their experiences with a fiscal year budget, the administrators supported a conversion to a fiscal year budget for all school corporations. Administrators recommended the state phase-in a fiscal year budget for other non-pilot school corporations.These findings suggest that administrators had valid reasons for joining the pilot group. In addition, administrators viewed the absence of key leaders at the state level as problematic for the pilot project. Based on the evidence, it appears that a fiscal year budget produced the following advantages for the participating corporation administrators: (a) allowed for better tracking of expenditures, (b) required less work to determine the cost of a school-year program, (c) allowed for more freedom in the summer, and (d) provided for a less stressful year-end. The success of the pilot group did not produce support for fiscal year budgets from either non-pilot school corporation officials or from state officials. Recommendations for piloting policy change and for further study on fiscal year budgets are included.
Department of Educational Leadership

The aim of this thesis is to explore key aspects and problems of the institutionalised teaching and learning of German language and culture in the context of German Studies in British Higher Education (HE). This investigation focuses on teaching and learning experiences in one department of German Studies in the UK, which is the micro-context of the present study, in order to provide an in-depth insight into real-life problems, strengths and weaknesses as they occur in the practice of teaching and learning German. Following Lamb (2004) and Holliday (1994), the present study acts on the assumption that each micro-context does not exist in vacuo but is always embedded in a wider socio-political and education environment, namely the macro-context, which largely determines how and what is taught. The macro-analysis of the present study surveys the socio-political developments that have recently affected the sector of modern languages and specifically the discipline of German Studies in the UK. It demonstrates the impact they have had on teaching and learning German at the undergraduate level in Britain. This context is interesting inasmuch as the situation in Britain is to a large extent a paradigmatic example of the developments in German Studies in English-speaking countries. Subsequently, the present study explores learning experiences of a group of thirty-five first year students. It focuses on their previous experiences in learning German, exposure to the target language, motivation, learning strategies and difficulties encountered, when learning German at the tertiary level. Then, on the basis of interviews with five lecturers of German, teaching experience in the context under study is explored, problems and successful teaching strategies discussed.

This study examines the relationship between higher education (HE) and economic development. Through the use of Algeria as a case study, this study specifically addresses how the Algerian economy needs to integrate HE to promote the country’s competitiveness and reduce its dependency on oil. Although the country has adopted European educational paradigms, such as the LMD (Licence, Master, and Doctorate) model, this adoption does not necessarily promote change and progress if the people do not perceive HE as a wealth creator. Thus, although economic investments in HE are essential and economic diversification policies are needed in Algeria, they will remain ineffective without addressing total integration of HE into the economy. Drawing upon existing literature and original qualitative research with key participants in Algerian HE, this study concludes with recommendations on how to make HE a significant contributor to Algeria's economic progress.

Analysing the role of rankings in the business education field, this study aims to understand how and why rankings build reputation in business schools and how they shape the business education field and field boundaries in the developed and developing countries. Taking a field perspective, the researcher argues that categorisation systems, such as rankings, are used for constructing boundaries of the developed and developing business education fields. Adopting a purposive sampling method, ten highly-rated business schools per country are selected for the United Kingdom (UK) and Pakistan case-studies. Empirical evidence is gathered from 43 interviews with academic experts, business school marketing managers and industry experts, supplemented by internal student surveys and other relevant secondary sources of data for the qualitative analysis adopted in this study. Through categorisation systems, the current study showed boundary-work at different levels such as boundary-work for reputation, international and domestic fields, and new categories. The researcher argues that rankings become a contest that redefine, evaluate, and change the perception of reputation in the field. Categorisation systems also play an active role in field and field boundary formation, and become a contest for authority. Rankings construct the international business education field and set boundaries for new categories, which include defining and determining the authority in the field. Rankings in developing countries are shown to be a contest for authority, which challenges the existing authorities to counter the Western model of rankings and to construct the perception of the domestic field and positions within it. The current study may be useful for policy-makers in developing countries seeking to upgrade their ranking systems by providing them with an understanding of the significance of different transparency instruments.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a group of Chinese business students understood the nature and the purpose of the instruction techniques they were exposed to in Britain, and the attitudes the students, Chinese lecturers in China and British lecturers in Britain held towards seminar discussions. The study also investigated how and to what extent students’ prior learning experiences predisposed them to certain attitudes towards seminar discussions. The student participants in this study undertook Part I of their degree programme at a Chinese university for two years before transferring to Britain to study for one year, graduating with a British Bachelors Degree in International Business. Data was gathered from classroom observations, follow-up and exploratory interviews, and a questionnaire survey to discover more about the students’ learning experiences in Part I in China, and from classroom observations, audio-recordings, and follow-up and exploratory interviews to investigate the same group of students’ learning experiences in Part II in Britain. A ranking task and interviews were used to identify the preferences of Chinese students, British lecturers, and Chinese lecturers from China in terms of specific group discussion methods. The study identified three discussion methods used by students in British seminars: these have been termed ‘spiral’, ‘exploratory’ and ‘individual’ methods. The Chinese students tended to use the ‘spiral’ method, repeatedly bringing the discussion back to the question provided by the seminar tutor, whereas the non-Chinese students tended to use the ‘exploratory’ method, reformulating each other’s opinions and building on them by bringing in new information. When discussing within Chinese-only groups, the Chinese students used the ‘individual’ method whereby a group leader took responsibility for the outcomes of the discussion and the other members did not build upon each other’s contributions. Chinese and non-Chinese students sometimes misunderstood each others’ intentions, but were not likely to notice that miscommunication had occurred. The ranking task and the follow-up interviews revealed that the British lecturers preferred the ‘exploratory’ discussion method, whereas Chinese lecturers from China and Chinese students preferred the ‘spiral’ method. The British lecturers were found to adopt a constructivist approach to group discussion tasks, seeing them as a means by which students could obtain professional experience. They treated Business and Management knowledge as divergent and ‘soft’. Chinese lecturers and students, on the other hand, were found to perceive group discussion as a kind of assessment and were keen to find ‘correct’ answers to case study problems, treating Business and Management as convergent and hard disciplines which offered judgements on good practice. The Chinese lecturers in Part I of the programme organised group discussion so that students could exchange answers and check their accuracy, and, perhaps because of this, in Part I the students learnt in an exam-oriented way, strategically dividing up their tasks and working individually on their own task portions in order to find an acceptable answer as quickly as possible. These students were found to continue to employ these strategies during group work after they had transferred to the British component of their degree programme. The study has made a theoretical contribution to knowledge concerning the cultural influences on students’ classroom interactional practices. The findings from the study have implications for the teaching of intercultural business communication, and the enhancement of students’ learning experiences in international business programmes, in business English programmes in China, and whilst learning within groups.

The objectives of this explorative case study investigated a multistakeholder conflict in Tanzania Africa, using stakeholder theory as the theoretical foundation. While stakeholder theory has evolved and gained prominence as a method for reviewing conflict resolution processes it was important to conceptualize any discrepancies that could establish a framework for resolving conflicts in practice and in strategy. The research design analyzed five factors of framing, reframing, managing, power and trust with four different stakeholders involved in higher education loan conflicts. The results of the study showed distinct differences compared to previous research findings focused on multistakeholder conflicts. One primary distinction was characterization of the conflicts followed other studies however the lack of motivation to change was complex. There was a strong risk aversion which blocked a link for long-term solutions. Though like other studies competitive, collaboration and coalition for managing the conflicts were identified, risk aversion precipitated an unpredictable mixture of these management processes. Furthermore power imbalances and trust were identified as important aspects of multistakeholder conflicts; however this study linked the impact of results when risk aversion is included in the conflict. Finally, like other studies barriers to a strong conflict resolution process were related to normative values. However, this study enhanced the impact of a lack of societal values for motivating stakeholders to include normative values. It is recommended that further research be conducted to explore the implications of the multistakeholder conflict resolution model.

This study focuses on the nurse education at Uppsala University and more precisely on the final semester of practical training on site, where nurse students are instructed and supervised by their professional equivalents. This training period is supposed to enable the symbiosis of theoretical and practical knowledge for the student, turning her into a fully educated and independent professional. However, the period is however not unproblematic. The aim of the study is therefore to explore this practical training period with particular emphasis on the perceptions held by nurse students and nurse instructors regarding the prerequisites, process and outcome of this training.

Based on a theoretical framework that draws on Wenger’s social theory of learning and its concept of communities of practice a case study is conducted focusing on the municipality of Uppsala. Interviews with three nurse students and three nurse instructors were carried out. The empirical findings suggest that the training period is an essential part of the nurse education where nurse students’ theoretical knowledge becomes instrumentalised. However, the period has many shortcomings such as a lack of continuity and an unnessary complexity that limit the practical knowledge that can be gained by the nurse students.

This study investigated the implementation of the Business Studies National Curriculum Statement in Schools in Fort Beaufort District. The interpretive paradigm was utilized in this study because it focuses on individual perceptions and experiences. In addition a qualitative approach was used for the collection of data so as to gain in-depth information on the implementation of the Business Studies National Curriculum. Semi- structured interviews, focus group interviews and document analysis were used as a form of collecting data. The participants were purposively selected for the sample of this study and comprised of 4 Principals, 3 Subject Advisors, 1 Provincial Subject Planner, 6 Teachers and 36 learners and interviews lasted for about 1 ½ hours. Data analysis was done in line with the research questions, aims and objectives of the study. Through the participants’ answers from schools under study, a transcript was formulated, coded and categorized in view of the implementation of Business Studies National Curriculum Statement in schools. Therefore, it was discovered from the data of the research study that the participants encounter a number of challenges with regard to teaching and implementing Business Studies in their schools. Namely: (1) lack of qualified personnel to teach Business Studies (2) lack of adequate teaching materials (3) lack of Subject Advisors executing their roles in helping teachers to teach Business Studies effectively (4) lack of training programmes and workshops on how to teach Business Studies in the classroom. Thus, there were variances in schools under study especially with relations to funding, availability of teaching material, support offered by School Heads and the Department of Education. As a result, emphasis was that the Department of Education had to come up with ways of continuously training the teachers and offering support in terms of teaching materials. Most of the participants from the school under study did not bother to plan their lessons when they were going to teach this subject. In sum, this study attempted to highlight the challenges that the participants encounter as they try to implement the Business Studies in their schools taking into the considering the educational history of their country. Hence some of the participants expressed why there is a need to create, cultivate and have a conducive and supportive working environment. The study recommends that the Department of Education provide teachers with special training on how to select relevant learning and teaching support material. Moreover, there is a greater need for Business Studies teachers to strike a balance between theory and practice in the deliverance of their lessons in Business Studies. Additionally, the District Officials must organise on-going training in Business Studies as this would help to rectify the problems that are currently being encountered in implementing Business Studies in schools.

Intense competition in the international markets has made the determinants of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) competitiveness an important asset in the export business, making of policies, strategies and decision making by businesses. SMEs are often seen to be disadvantaged for a variety of reasons, including inappropriate internal structures, lack of capabilities, insufficient resource support and apparent lack of foreign-market knowledge. The nature of international markets and the disadvantages SMEs face, make it imperative to examine the determinants of SME international competitiveness. Although some literature has recorded some studies on internationalisation of SMEs in developed economies, there is insufficient study of SME internationalisation, particularly in the context of non-traditional horticultural SME exporters in developing economies. Hence, the study aims to evaluate the determinants of non-traditional horticultural exporters’ international competitiveness by addressing the question: To what extent are non-traditional horticultural exporters in Ghana competitive in the international market? In the context of this study nontraditional horticultural exports exclude cocoa beans, logs and lumber. The study enriches the literature on internationalisation of SME exporters in developing economies by providing guidance for future research in a field of SME international business. The theoretical foundations of the study draw mostly on three perspectives: the resource based view, international entrepreneurship and institutional theory. From the review of literature, a conceptual framework was developed: ME international competitiveness is conceptualised in this research as government support factors, entrepreneurial factors and a firm’s internal factors. At the empirical level, the study employed qualitative and quantitative approaches which involved surveying 105 non-traditional horticultural exporters (respondents) in Ghana. Six hypotheses were tested on the key issues in this project, which were statistically analysed, employing logit regression, Pearson correlation and chi square. Secondly, the study uses six export facilitating institutions which were interviewed to gain understanding of the services these institutions offer to non-traditional horticultural SME exporters in Ghana. The main findings suggest that Ghana government support policies, access to finance, Technological Innovation, number of years in business, the size of the firm, Entrepreneurial Factors and the number of exporting destinations of the nontraditional horticultural SME exporters have had positive impact on the competitiveness of horticultural SME exporters in international markets. The findings also contribute, to some extent, to the advancement of the empirical, theoretical and managerial understanding of SME international competitiveness in developing economies. The research contributes to the international business literature by providing a model for understanding the determinants of horticultural SMEs’ international competitiveness. This highlights the important role of government, the entrepreneurial orientation, and a firm’s internal factors in realising SME competitiveness. The research also provides guidance for policy makers and SME business facilitators in implementing export-led programmes for horticultural exporting firms in Ghana.

A strong partnership between a school and the surrounding community leads to school success. Schools can be more successful with community involvement and engagement than if functioning in isolation. Community engagement leads to greater academic achievement of students. Utilizing qualitative case study methods, this study focused on the perspective of school and community partners on building relationships. The purpose of this study was to describe and explain selected participants' perspectives on how a school builds partnerships with the community. I studied the relationship between an elementary school and community partners that have been in existence for at least three years to better understand each participant's view of the partnership. The social constructivism theoretical framework was used to better understand how effective partnerships are built and maintained. As the researcher, my goal was to study the diverse significance the participants had established for their contribution in school and community partnerships based on their subjective experiences. Specifically, with this study I attempted to answer these questions: 1) What are the characteristics of a collaborative relationship between a school and the surrounding community that are essential in order to build partnerships that meet the goals of each participant involved? 2) What are the roles of the school leader, support staff, and community members in building relationships between the school and the community? I also aimed at determining how the school's leadership directly relates to and affects the partnership building process between the school and the community partners. Three major themes emerged as a result of the data gathered. Building a solid infrastructure emerged as the foundation of strong partnership between the school and the community. Adhering to mandated policy, focusing on student centered goals, and working within systems were vital elements of building a solid infrastructure. Defining clear roles also emerged as instrumental. The roles of the principal, school staff, and community were clearly defined. Demonstrating collaborative character traits emerged as a third theme that was necessary to build a positive relationship. The meaning that the community partners and school staff have put on building relationships became apparent. Fostering authentic community engagement in communities that leads to expected outcomes for all stakeholders involved is most productive when schools and community members work together.

Technology has provided more people access products and services, yet some individuals who would benefit the most from digital access to resources are frequently excluded from participation. One group that is largely neglected is the disability community. Despite federal regulations intended to ensure that people with physical/mental disabilities are included in public digital platforms, organizations continuously design websites, applications, and interfaces without people with disabilities in mind. This is particularly the case with small businesses, which are most commonly reported as having inaccessible digital platforms. Digital inclusion attempts to ensure equity in digital properties by providing a model to operationalize inclusion across technologies. This qualitative case study examines how a small business owner in an urban U.S. city prioritizes digital inclusion in his daily operations. Using a responsive interview model, the business owner’s experiences, attitudes, and priorities were recorded. Six themes appeared from this study: perceptions of disability influence digital inclusion, powerful branding suggests digital access, unawareness of accessibility guidelines, UX testing overlooks input from people with disabilities, inclusion is tough to enforce on digital platforms, and workarounds hinder digital improvements.

The purpose of this study was to provide both businesses and institutions of higher education with a descriptive analysis of the programs of five companies that have utilized community colleges in their basic skills programs. The five companies represented included Texas Instruments Defense Systems Corporation and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics (electronics companies), Abbott Laboratories (a pharmaceutical company), J & E Die Casting (a small die casting firm), and Company X, a semiconductor company that requested anonymity. The community colleges included were Richland College, Brookhaven College, and North Lake College. Modified case studies were used to obtain data collected through individual interviews with representatives from the community colleges and the companies. The syntheses of documentaries provided details of how the five community college-directed workplace literacy programs met, or failed to meet, their literacy challenges. Descriptions of the curriculum and structure of each program were also included. Numerous factors contributed to the success or demise of the programs studied. Elements that served as powerful assets when adequately supported were detrimental when neglected. Factors common to all of the programs were financial support, management philosophical support, confidentiality, adequate testing instruments, class schedule flexibility, instructor capability, physical classroom facilities, and work-related documentation integrated into the curriculum. The findings of this study support previous research concerning successful and detrimental factors found in workplace literacy programs.

This study explored my own societal gatekeeper role as an Ofsted inspector, using a systems thinking model of creativity, within the domain of vocational business studies curricula, in further education (FE) colleges in England. My research questions sought to explore how business teachers and inspectors define, recognise, measure, reward and promote creativity skills in vocational business education. To provide a definition of creativity, I propose a framework based on its seven key aspects: process, person, place, pressures, product, persuasion and permanence. In addition to evidence-based success, I argue that we recognise the need for trust and freedom, through quality of relationships, to stimulate creativity. Through critical self-reflection on my role as an inspector and thematic analysis of data from multiple sources including interviews, Ofsted reports and Further Education college websites, I conclude that there is a low level of interest in promotion of creativity skills in the business curriculum in FE and that Ofsted is associated with normalisation, standardisation and efficiency rather than creativity. Creativity is an important business skill, so Ofsted inspectors, as societal gatekeepers, need to be self-reflective in acknowledging pressures that may distort perceptions, resulting in biased judgments that fail to reward and promote creativity appropriately.

This work constructs a bridge across the "knowing-doing gap" of international staff exchange: the gap between strategy formulation and its execution within the constraints of a post-1992 university business school in the UK. It goes beyond the common, well-intentioned and yet vague statements involving the "encouragement" of international staff exchange to propose a model of execution through strategic entrepreneurship. The promotion of international staff mobility is a founding principle of the "Bologna Process", designed to create a converged system of higher education across Europe. Many UK "new" (ie post-1992) universities are engaged in the development of internationalisation strategies which include staff exchange. Meanwhile, the failure to execute strategy is increasingly acknowledged as a major problem in organisational performance. Using a first-, second and third-person Insider Action Research (AR) approach, the author initiated, planned, organised and implemented an international staff exchange between universities in the UK and France. Data generated were subjected to a double process of analysis in order to construct the new model. A policy of "subjectivity with transparency" and transcontextual credibility throughout enables the reader to judge transferability. Duality is the nature of this "bridge" and the simplistic transplant of the expatriation policies of commercial organisations is avoided. Concepts from the theoretical literature in three domains - strategic management and entrepreneurship in higher education, internationalisation of higher education and strategy execution through strategic entrepreneurship - are combined with the research analysis to propose that "strategic entrepreneurs" can execute the riskier elements of an internationalisation strategy, such as staff exchange. Members of the creative class, strategic entrepreneurs are attracted and motivated by the foundation of a diverse environment and entrepreneurial culture promoted by a university's values-driven, holistic approach to internationalisation. Their autonomous strategic behaviour must be facilitated by an execution-focussed organisational architecture. In a university, the overall approach to staff exchange should combine central and local (school-based) functions and resource both to develop strategic initiatives and to exploit tactical opportunities. This work broadens AR from education into strategic management, specifically linking the areas of strategic execution and strategic entrepreneurship.

Less than 30% of Black business owners successfully obtain small business loans to sustain their businesses longer than 5 years when compared to evidence that shows that more than 65% of White small business owners obtain small business loans to sustain their businesses longer than 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the experiences of 3 Black owners of small businesses who successfully obtained small business loans and maintained operations longer than 5 years in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. The conceptual framework for this study was systems theory and contingency theory. The data collection process consisted of conducting face-to-face semistructured interviews with open-ended questions and a review of documents associated with the small business owners’ attempts to remain in business longer than 5 years. Data were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method, transcribing the interview recordings, and coding the data to identify relevant themes. Two primary themes emerged regarding successful strategies for obtaining small business loans: create an effective business plan, and research and prepare for the process of procuring a loan. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to provide Black owners of small businesses with strategies for obtaining small business loans and achieving sustainability of operations. Business success for Black owners of small businesses might contribute to the economic prosperity of the local communities.

Advocacy and leadership style are essential concepts in education. This qualitative case study was undertaken to demonstrate how Robert K. Greenleaf’s servant-leadership framework could be a useful framework to adopt by educational leaders and child advocates. Servant-leadership identifies the needs of others as a primary goal of leadership. The study contributes to understanding the value of exemplary servant-leadership and advocacy in public education as demonstrated by David Lawrence Jr. The researcher addressed questions regarding how Lawrence embodies servant-leadership traits and explored how a servant-leader has been positively influencing early childhood public educational policy in Florida to benefit all children. There were 16 interviews conducted with individuals from four interest groups in Florida: business leaders, political leaders, local South Florida leaders and educational leaders. In addition, data were gathered by observing and interviewing Lawrence. His speeches and other archival documents were also analyzed. The findings illustrated the ten traits of the servant-leadership framework and identified five additional traits modeled by Lawrence that have contributed to his influence on public educational policy. A paradigm shift from authoritarian leadership to an authentic servant-leadership style that advocates for young children and promotes the importance of early childhood educational policy. The dichotomy examined throughout this research focused on servant-leadership and advocacy that is instrumental to make a difference in education as an educational leader navigates through political agendas. Lawrence leads a “Children’s Movement” in Florida that includes an ongoing bi-partisan individuals movement that has changed early childhood education in Florida. The findings of this investigation validate that servant-leadership framework could influence the transformation of public education.

116 leaves single sided printed, preliminary pages i-viii and numbered pages 1-106. Includes bibliography.
Scanned using a Hp Scanjet 8250 Scanner to pdf format (OCR).
Thesis (MPhil (Sociology)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa few systematic studies have been done on university-industry partnerships. This research investigated the evolution of the University of Cape Town (UCT) and SASOL partnership involving heterogeneous catalysis. As part of this investigation, I analysed the driving force and sought to determine the motivations and benefits that UCT and SASOL have since accrued as a result of their partnership. I also analysed knowledge transmission or technology transfer processes such as the hiring of graduates, intellectual property etc. In light of all of these I sought to draw lessons that could be learnt from UCT-SASOL partnership for future purpose. I followed four themes or sections in order to situate the study. These were, (a) the socio-economic context (global and knowledge economy, innovation, knowledge society etc.), the changing modes of knowledge production ("Mode 2") and the changing ways of interactions among stakeholders industry, university and government (Triple Helix). The key argument here is that the university industry partnership cannot be seen as an independent development, but is interrelated or partly the consequence of changes in the socio-economic, science, technology and higher education fields, (b) The driving force behind the partnership, (c) motivations, benefits, and (d) knowledge or technology transfer/transmission processes. I used the case study research design. I conducted interviews with the UCT Chemical Engineering Department, UCT Centre for Research and Innovation and SASOL officials. I collected several documents related to the study and also visited the laboratories in which UCT-SASOL partnership research activities were happening. Some of the findings of the study include the following. The partnership demonstrates the significant role of an individual academic, who steered transformation in terms of research activities and culture in the Chemical Engineering Department. The legacy of the individual academic's strong personality and commitment to research is evident and continues to stimulate high levels of research interest and teamwork among staff members which is characteristic of this department. A strong link is maintained between the basic disciplinary "Mode 1" teaching and research on the one hand and the multidisciplinary "Mode 2" applied and strategic research and training on the other: This is evident in the strong emphasis on the solid undergraduate disciplinary education as a basis for a high quality multidisciplinary postgraduate education. All staff members are involved in both teaching and research. A strong link is maintained between academic, research and postgraduate activities: The department utilizes surpluses generated through industrial-oriented research to cross-subsidize the academic and postgraduate activities.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar is weinig sistemiese studies in Suid-Afrika reeds uitgevoer oor universiteit-industrie samewerking. Hierdie studie ondersoek die ontwikkeling van 'n vennootskap tussen die Universiteit van Kaapstad (UK) en SASOL wat heterogene katalise insluit. Ek analiseer in hierdie studie die dryfkrag van die vennootskap, en probeer die motivering en voordele bepaal wat beide die UK en SASOL toegekom het as deel van hulle vennootskap. Ek analiseer ook die oordrag van kennis of oordrag van tegnologiese prosesse, die aanstelling van graduandi, intellektuele eiendom, ens. Ek probeer op grond hiervan lesse van die UK-SASOL vennootskap uitlig vir toekomstige doeleindes. Ek het vier temas of afdelings gebruik om hierdie studie te vestig. Dit is, (a) die sosio-ekonomiese konteks (globale en kennis ekonomie,innovasie, kennis samelewing ens.), die veranderende modus van kennis produksie ("Modus 2") en die veranderende wyses van interaksie tussen belanghebbendes - industrie, universiteit en regering (Triple Helix). Die sleutel argument hier is dat die universiteitindustrie vennootskap nie gesien kan word as 'n onafhanklike ontwikkeling, maar dat dit verband hou met of deel is van die gevolge van die veranderinge in die sosio-ekonomiese, wetenskap, tegnologie en hoer onderwys arenas; (b) die dryfkrag agter die vennootskap; (c) motivering en voordele; en (d) die oordrag van kennis of tegnologie/oordrag van prosesse. Ek gebruik die gevallestudie metodologie in hierdie studie. Ek het onderhoude gevoer met die UK Chemiese Ingenieurswese Departement, die UK Sentrum vir Navorsing en Innovasie, asook die SASOL betrokkenes. Ek het die projekdokumentasie versamel en het ook die laboratoriums besoek waarin die navorsingsaktiwiteite van die UK-SASOL vennootskap plaas vind. Die bevindinge van hierdie sluit dus die volgende in. Die vennootskap demonstreer die belangrike rol van 'n individuele akademikus wat transformasie bewerkstellig het in terme van navorsingsaktiwiteite en die kultuur in die Chemiese Ingenieurswese Departement. Die nalatenskap van die individuele akademikus se sterk persoonlikheid en toewyding tot navorsing is duidelik en stimuleer steeds hoe vlakke van belangstelling in die navorsing en spanwerk in die departement. Dit is ook een van die kenmerke van hierdie departement. Daar is 'n sterk skakel gehandhaaf tussen die basiese dissiplinere "Modus 1" onderrig en navorsing aan die een kant, en die multidissiplinere "Modus 2" toegepaste en strategiese navorsing en onderrig aan die ander kant. Dit is duidelik in die sterk kleim wat gele word op die stewige voorgraadse dissiplinere onderrig as 'n basis vir 'n hoe kwaliteit multidissiplinere nagraadse onderrig. Alle personeel is betrokke by beide onderrig en navorsing. 'n Sterk skakel is behou tussen akademiese, navorsings- en nagraadse aktiwiteite: die departement gebruik die oorskotte van industrieverwante navorsing om akademiese en nagraadse aktiwiteite te kruissubsideer.

O objetivo do trabalho foi sensibilizar moradores e alunos de uma comunidade piloto quanto à correta separação, destinação e valorização dos resíduos sólidos, visando à melhoria nas condições de trabalho e de renda dos catadores de materiais recicláveis da central de triagem. A metodologia principal foi a pesquisa ação, que envolveu três etapas: fase exploratória, de ação e de avaliação. Para embasamento das ações de sensibilização, a fase exploratória contou, primeiramente, com o estudo da dinâmica de trabalho em uma central de triagem. Tal estudo se justifica pelo fato de que uma central de triagem é o elo principal entre a fonte geradora de resíduos sólidos e as indústrias recicladoras. Além disso, foi realizado diagnóstico da percepção de moradores e alunos sobre a separação e a valorização dos resíduos sólidos, em uma um bairro piloto, alvo das ações de sensibilização. Na fase de avaliação, novo estudo do entendimento da comunidade piloto foi feito para compreender se a sensibilização trouxe mudanças de percepção e se houve algum tipo de interferência nos gargalos diagnosticados na central de triagem. Os principais resultados apontaram as etapas de triagem e do rejeito como gargalos, as quais sofrem interferência da segregação nas fontes geradoras e da deficiência dos sistemas de logística reversa para escoamento dos resíduos. As ações de sensibilização com alunos e moradores resultaram em aprimoramento da percepção quanto à importância do envio de materiais limpos e secos à coleta seletiva; ao conhecimento de uma associação de catadores e à importância de destinar resíduos especiais, como lâmpadas fluorescentes, às revendas, diminuindo a recepção de resíduos perigosos na central de triagem. Os resultados servirão para embasar as discussões com a cadeia produtiva visando ao escoamento sustentável dos resíduos, e as ações já foram replicadas no município em toda a rede municipal e estadual de ensino, e em residências atendidas pelo programa das agentes comunitárias de saúde.
The objective of this work was to sensitize residents and students in a pilot community for proper separation, disposal and recovery of solid waste in order to improve working conditions and income of recyclable materials collectors from a sorting center. The main methodology was action research, which involved three stages: exploratory, action and evaluation. The working dynamics study in a sorting center based sensitization actions, in exploratory stage. The main link between the source of solid waste and recycling industries is a sorting center that is why this study is important. Moreover, perception diagnosis of separation and recycling of solid waste was made with residents and students in a pilot neighborhood. New study was done in the evaluation phase to find perception changes and to know if sensitization actions interfered in the sorting center bottlenecks diagnosed. The main results showed that steps of sorting and tailings are bottlenecks, suffering interference from domiciliary segregation and deficiency of reverse logistics systems for waste disposal. Sensitization actions with students and residents improved the perception of sending clean and dry recyclable materials to selective collection. Also improved the knowledge of an association of recyclable material collectors and the importance of devoting hazardous wastes such as fluorescent lamps, to resellers, decreasing the receipt of this kind of waste at the sorting center. The results will be used to support discussions with the producers chain toward sustainable waste disposal. Actions have already been replicated in the city throughout municipal and state schools, and homes served by the program of community health workers.

The objectives, curriculum, pedagogy, teachers, and students are components of entrepreneurship education, perceived as challenges for its implementation and growth. Consequently, most research and discussions have focused on measures to improve them even though little is known about how they constrain entrepreneurship education. Not much is also known about any positive attributes they might have. This study sought to address this gap in literature by exploring the attributes of these educational components, and how they impacted on teaching and learning in a higher education institution in Ghana. Adopting the qualitative case study research approach, data was collected from two classroom sessions, 20 students, four teachers and a programme coordinator, using observation, focus groups and face to face interviews respectively. The study found the educational components had positive and negative attributes that impacted favourably and adversely on teacher decisions and behaviour, and on teaching and learning. The findings points to the need for a more holistic examination of the educational components by researchers and practitioners, to also focus on their merits, to help fashion out more effective and sustainable policies and strategies for entrepreneurship education. The study contribute to literature by shedding light on some merits of the educational components and how they enhance teaching and learning and support the aims of entrepreneurship education. Further research to replicate this study or aspects of it in other contexts and populations is recommended.
Educational Management and Leadership
Ph. D. (Education Management)

Ill-discipline behaviour has become a canker that threatens the moral fibre of institutions. The purpose of this study was to explore how discipline measures and practices were viewed by teacher trainees and college managers alike. Furthermore, to determine what comprehensive counselling approaches were in place to manage ill-discipline behaviour acts in colleges of education in Ghana. A qualitative discourse analysis study design was employed in the study. In all, 25 participants were purposively selected from five colleges of education for the study using a semi-structured interview guide. Data collected was transcribed, coded, categorized and qualitatively analysed under themes that emerged from the analysis using the thematic approach. The study revealed that several illdiscipline behaviour acts exist in colleges of education, with perversion being the most prevailing ill-discipline behaviour act. The study also revealed that tertiarization of colleges is the major cause of ill-discipline behaviour among students in the colleges of education and poor academic performance being the major negative effect of ill-discipline behaviour in the colleges of education. The study recommended that the college council and management should put adequate measures in place to strengthen Guidance and Counselling units in the colleges of education. The study also recommended that college counsellors should be equipped to use appropriate counselling approaches and techniques to counsel students to desist from indulging in ill-discipline behaviour acts.
Educational Management and Leadership
D. Phil. (Education Management)

碩士
國立臺灣大學
臺大-復旦EMBA境外專班
101
In this era with a fast developing economy, there is a growing demand of personalized and international education, and many families are looking for an alternative to traditional schooling for their children. Against this background, there are more and more educational institutions which committed to promoting international curriculum and programs to young Chinese students by exploring and integrating global education resources. This dissertation focuses on international education services in secondary education area, and takes KADI International as a case to discuss the developmental strategy of education institutions under the vision of international trade in educational services. It mainly comprises of two parts: the literature review and the strategic planning of KADI International. The literature review part examines the macro-background, industry environment and resource condition of international education services, and makes SCP analysis of the competitive markets, in order to examine the basic trend of industry development. In the part of analysis of KADI International it gives an overview of the developmental history, competitiveness and resources of KADI International, and applies SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Thread) approach to examine its educational services and conducts a strategy planning for KADI International of its market positioning of educational service, competitive and marketing strategies, HR and financial strategies. With the study of a prospering industry and a prospering enterprise, the dissertation is expected to provide a systematic analysis in formulating the company’s developing strategy and promoting the sound development of international education industry.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Didatics))
Assessment methods in Business Studies in the FET phase have had to change as a result of the implementation of OBE and the NSC in South Africa. In order to analyse how this has affected the education of learners, a case study, based on the IEB was analysed. Under the supervision of Umalusi, the IEB has developed new moderation systems in order to quality assure SBA (School Based Assessment), represented by learners’ portfolios which constitute 25% of the final promotion mark for the NSC. The guidelines and documentation for these moderation requirements are contained in the IEB Business Studies SAG (Subject Assessment Guidelines). This document forms the basis of the case study.The IEB, however, does not work in isolation and through their partnership with the DoE the experience gained through implementing new assessment methods in Business Studies as described in this study can be adapted for other subjects or schools in the public sector.

Entrepreneurship education and training ensures economic development by enabling the creation of thriving new businesses and jobs by entrepreneurs. The Business Management Training Programme is tasked with training young entrepreneurs in South Africa. However, the youth unemployment rate has been exceedingly high in recent years. This study seeks to explore the implementation challenges being experienced by the Business Management Training Programme at the National Youth Development Agency. Using a qualitative approach, this study made use of semi-structured interviews with a carefully selected sample of those involved in the management and implementation of the Business Management Training Programme. A thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews indicated that the challenges experienced in the implementation of the programme did not stem solely from operational issues within the National Youth Development Agency, but from the conceptualisation and design of the Business Management Training Programme. On this basis, it is recommended that the National Youth Development Agency use the Design and Architecture Framework for Entrepreneurship Education and Training to conceptualise and design their own Business Management Training Programme. The study concluded that by conceptualising and designing its own programme, the National Youth Development Agency will be able to address the unique entrepreneurial education and training challenges being experienced in South Africa.
Public Administration and Management
M. (Public Administration)

Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Zulu
This study was conducted to address a distinct lack of knowledge regarding strategizing as a function of social interaction. Social researchers like Critchley contend that an organisation should essentially be regarded as an evolving product of people’s continuous interaction resulting in shared meaning. In subscribing to Critchley’s premise, and assuming that strategy inquiry is an empirically informed social science, the current study consequently set out to gain an understanding of how social interaction between practitioners shapes organisational strategizing and subsequent strategic outcomes. The strategy-as-practice perspective served as an integrative lens for the current research. This perspective that subscribes to the practice turn in social research, focuses on the actual practices (praxis) of strategy actors (practitioners) within unique organisational settings with unique strategizing tools, techniques and artefacts (practices). Informed by the philosophical underpinnings of a pragmatic worldview and a qualitatively driven mixed methods approach, a case study design allowed for in-depth analyses of multiple sources of empirical data to facilitate an understanding of the research phenomena. In addition to exploring social interaction during episodes of strategy practice, the current research investigated how practitioners’ motivations to interact shape and are shaped by ongoing interactions and meaning making. The current study also examined how external and internal organisational contexts, including organisational practices, influence and are influenced by ongoing social interactions. Two small private higher education institutions that reflect the typology of most private providers in the South African higher education landscape were selected for the case study. These private providers face numerous challenges in a tough current economic climate. Private providers further fulfil a pivotal role in the demand absorption of a growing need for higher education in South Africa. The main findings of the current research confirmed that strategizing at the two case study organisations is indeed mainly a function of social interaction. Strategizing is mostly shaped by people as emotional beings. Strategizing is the product of sometimes-irrational interactions and subsequent constantly evolving shared meanings and relationships between people. It is the social interaction between strategy actors during episodes of strategy praxis that serves as a social mechanism in transforming strategizing intent into strategy outcomes. Different strategy actors employ a wide array of techniques to get their ideas or views accepted during strategy-related interactions. Findings indicated that the selected strategies at the two case study organisations are mostly not based on objective reasoning linked to a clear plan or vision, but rather on strategy actors’ abilities in getting their ideas to be accepted by the group. Findings further suggested that the owners of the respective case study organisations strongly influence how things are done during episodes of strategy praxis. Strategizing at both companies is informal and comprises mostly of reacting to challenges and dealing with crises. Both organisations follow a differentiation strategy. Safety and security; employment prospects, as well as certain academic issues like small classes for better learning can be regarded as areas of competitive advantage for both. The proliferation of private providers, significant investment in private higher education, as well as private provision’s important demand absorption role suggest that there is a definite future for private higher education in South Africa. The intended main contribution of the current research is to facilitate an understanding of how social interaction as social mechanism shapes strategizing and resultant strategic outcomes. The understanding of the social world supposedly increases as the collection of the compatible causal mechanisms grows – where mechanisms reveal how the observed relationships between phenomena are created and are explained. The findings of the current research could thus serve as a building block in accumulating social science theory regarding this unexplored avenue of interaction-driven strategy research. To this end, a conceptual framework is proffered to guide similar future studies. The current study provided a glimpse into the strategy-workings of two small private higher education providers and ultimately contributes towards the growing body of knowledge regarding private provision within the South African higher education landscape
Hierdie studie is uitgevoer om die kennelike gebrek aan kennis oor strategie as ʼn funksie van sosiale interaksie aan te spreek. Sosiale navorsers soos Critchley beweer dat ʼn organisasie in wese beskou moet word as ʼn ontwikkelende produk van mense se deurlopende interaksie wat aanleiding gee tot gedeelde betekenis. In ooreenstemming met Critchley se veronderstelling dat strategiese ondersoek ʼn sosiale wetenskap is wat empiries ingelig is, was die uitgangspunt van die bepaalde studie gevolglik om te begryp hoe sosiale interaksie tussen praktisyns organisasiestrategie en gevolglike strategiese uitkomste bepaal. Die strategie-as-praktyk-perspektief het as ʼn integrerende lens vir die bepaalde navorsing gedien. Hierdie perspektief wat ooreenstem met die praktykomwenteling in sosiale navorsing, fokus op die werklike praktyke van strategierolspelers (-praktisyns) in unieke organisasie-omgewings met unieke strategie-instrumente, -tegnieke en -artefakte (praktyke). Ingelig deur die filosofiese ondersteuning van ʼn pragmatiese wêreldbeskouing en ʼn gemengde metodiek van kwalitatiewe benadering, het ʼn gevallestudieontwerp voorsiening gemaak vir indringende ontleding van verskeie bronne empiriese data om ʼn begrip van die navorsingsfenomene te fasiliteer. Bykomend tot die ondersoek van sosiale interaksie tydens episodes van strategiepraktyk, het die bepaalde navorsing ondersoek hoe praktisyns se motivering om in interaksie te wees deurlopende interaksie en betekenisgewing vorm en daardeur gevorm word. Die bepaalde studie het ook ondersoek hoe eksterne en interne organisasiekontekste, insluitend organisasiepraktyke, deurlopende sosiale interaksie beïnvloed en daardeur beïnvloed word. Twee klein privaathoëronderwysinstansies wat die tipologie van die meeste privaatverskaffers in die Suid-Afrikaanse hoëronderwysomgewing weerspieël, is vir die gevallestudie geselekteer. Hierdie privaatverskaffers het te make met verskeie uitdagings in die bepaalde moeilike ekonomiese klimaat. Privaatverskaffers vervul ʼn kernrol in die vraagabsorpsie van ʼn toenemende behoefte aan hoër onderwys in Suid-Afrika. Die hoofbevindings van die bepaalde navorsing het bevestig dat strategie by die twee organisasies in die gevallestudie wel hoofsaaklik ʼn funksie van sosiale interaksie is. Strategie word meestal gevorm deur mense as emosionele wesens. Strategie is die produk van interaksie wat soms irrasioneel is asook gevolglike gedeelde betekenis en verhoudings tussen mense wat konstant ontwikkel. Dit is die sosiale interaksie tussen strategierolspelers tydens periodes van strategiepraktyk wat dien as ʼn sosiale meganisme wat strategievoorneme in strategiese uitkomste transformeer. Verskillende strategierolspelers gebruik ʼn wye verskeidenheid tegnieke om hulle idees of beskouings tydens strategieverwante interaksie aanvaarbaar te maak. Die bevindings het aangedui dat die geselekteerde strategieë by die twee gevallestudie-instansies meestal nie op objektiewe beredenering wat inskakel by ʼn duidelike plan of visie gebaseer word nie, maar eerder op strategierolspelers se vermoë om hulle idees vir die groep aanvaarbaar te maak. Bevindings het verder bevestig dat die eienaars van die onderskeidelike gevallestudie-instansies ʼn groot invloed het hoe dinge tydens episodes van strategiepraktyk gedoen word. Strategie by albei maatskappye is informeel en bestaan meestal uit reaksie op uitdagings en hantering van krisisse. Albei organisasies volg ʼn differensiëringstrategie. Veiligheid en sekuriteit, werkverskaffingsvooruitsigte asook bepaalde akademiese aangeleenthede soos kleiner klasse vir beter leer, kan beskou word as gebiede van mededingingsvoordeel vir albei. Die proliferasie van privaatverskaffers, beduidende investering in hoër onderwys, asook die belangrike vraagabsorpsierol van privaatverskaffers dui daarop dat daar beslis ʼn toekoms vir privaathoëronderwys in Suid-Afrika is. Die beplande hoofbydrae van die bepaalde navorsing is om ʼn begrip te fasiliteer van hoe sosiale interaksie as sosiale meganisme strategie en gevolglike strategiese uitkomste vorm. Begrip van die sosiale wêreld neem waarskynlik toe soos die versameling van die versoenbare kousale meganismes groei – waar meganismes openbaar hoe die waargenome verhoudings tussen fenomene geskep en verduidelik word. Die bevindings van die bepaalde navorsing kan dus dien as ʼn boublok om sosialewetenskapsteorie te akkumuleer oor hierdie onverkende baan van interaksiegedrewe strategienavorsing. Om hierdie rede, word ʼn konseptuele raamwerk aangebied as riglyn vir soortgelyke toekomstige studies. Die bepaalde studie het ʼn blik gebied op die strategiese werking van twee klein privaathoëronderwysverskaffers en uiteindelik bygedra tot die toenemende kennisgeheel van privaatverskaffing in die Suid-Afrikaanse hoëronderwysomgewing.
Ucwaningo lwenzelwe ukubhekana nokusweleka kolwazi maqondana nokwenza isu njengomsebenzi wokusebenzisana kwabantu. Abacwaningi ngabantu, abanjengoCritchley, babeka ukuthi inhlangano kumele ithathwe njengento eguqukayo nenqubo yabantu yokusebenzisana kwabantu okunomphumela wokwabelwana ngencazelo Ngokulandela inqubo kaCritchley, kanye nokuthatha ngokuthi ukuphenyisisa isu yinto esekelwe ubufakazi obusekelwe yisayense ngabantu, ucwaningo lwamanje, ngakho-ke lufuna ukuthola ngokusebenzisana kwabantu phakathi kwemifanekiso yama-practitioner, ukwenza isu lenhlangano kanye nemiphumela ebalulekile elandelayo. Isu njengenqubo eyenziwayo nombono lisebenze njengesibuko esihlangane kucwaningo lwamanje. Umbono ohambisana nenqubo yokwenza kucwaningo ngabantu ugxila kwinqubo yokwenza yangempela (praxis) ngalabo abasebenza ngesu (practitioners) kwisimo esingavamile senhlangano enamathuluzi angavamile okwenza isu, amathekniki kanye nezinto ezenziwa ngezandla zama-artefact (practices). Ngokusekelwa kwisisekelo sefilosofi ngombono womhlaba wokwenza ngokubambekayo kanye nendlela exubene yokwenza ye-qualitative, idizayini yesifundo ngesibonelo, kuvumele ukuthi kwenziwe uhlaziyo olunzulu ngemithombo ehlukene yolwazi olutholakale ngobufakazi bophenyisiso, kusize ukuqondisisa ngento okwenziwa ngayo ucwaningo. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ukuphenya ngokusebenzisana kwabantu ngesikhathi sezikhawu zokwenzeka kwezinto, ucwaningo lwamanje luhenyisisa ngokuthi ngabe ama-practitioner agqugquzelwa yini ukwenza umumo wobunjalo kanye nokuthi lowo mumo nawu ube nomphumela kubo ngokuqhubekela phambili kanye nokuthi kube nencazelo. Ucwaningo lwamanje, lubuye luhlole nokuthi ngabe izimo zangaphakathi nezangaphandle kwenhlangano, ezibandakanya inqubo yokusebenza kwenhlangano, zinomthelela kanjani futhi nazo zibawumthelela kanjani kwezokuxhumana nokusebenzisana kwabantu. Izikhungo ezimbili ezincane zemfundo ephakeme ezibonisa ithayipholoji yabahlinzeki abaningi bangasese kwindawo yemfundo ephakeme eNIngizimu Afrika ziye zakhethwa. Laba bahlinzeki bangasese babhekene nezinselele ezihlukene kumkhakha onzima wamanje kwezomnotho. Abahlinzeki bangasese babuye badlale indima ebalulekile nokuthi badinga ukuthi banganyelwe kwisidingo esikhulayo semfundo ephakeme eNingizimu Afrika. Okuthokele kakhulu ngocwaningo lwamanje kuqinisa ukuthi ukwenza isu ngeziboniso ezimbili zocwaningo, kwinhlangano, kuyadingeka ikakhulukazi njengomsebenzi wokusebenzisana kwabantu. Ukwenza isu kuvamise ukusekelwa ngabantu njengabantu abanemizwa ngokomoya. Ukwenza isu kungumphumela wokuthi ngezinye izikhathi kuba nokusebenzisana okungenasizathu esibambekayo kanti imiphumela kuvamise ukuba ngeshintshayo nokwabelana ngesizathu sayo kanye nobuhlobo bayo phakathi kwabantu. Ukusebenzisa kwabantu phakathi kwalabo abenza isu ngezikhathi zenqubo yokwenza okusiza njengendlela yabantu ekuguquleni inhloso yesu ukuze libe yisu elinemiphumela. Abantu abenza amasu abehlukene basebenzisa amathekniki ehlukene ukwenza ukuthi imibono yabo kanye nezindlela ababona ngayo izinto kwemukeleke ngesikhathi sokuxhumana mayelana namasu. Imiphumela etholakele ikhombisa ukuthi amasu akhethiwe kwizifundo zezibonelo ezimbili zezinhlangano zisekelwe kwizizathu ezingatshekele ohlangothini oluthize, kodwa esihambisana nohlelo olucacile kanye nombono, kodwa kuncike kumakhono abenzi bamasu ekwenzeni ukuthi imibono yabo yemukeleke eqenjini. Okunye okuthokakele kubuye kwaphakamisa nokuthi abanikazi bezinhlangano okwenziwa ngazo iziboniso zesifundo banomthelela kakhulu ngokuthi izinto zenziwe kanjani ngezikhathi zenqubo ebambekayo yokwenza. Ukwenza amasu kuzo zimbili izinkampani kwenziwa ngendlela engahlelekile kakkhulu, kanti kuquka ekuncikeni ekuphenduleni kwizinselele kanye nokuphendula kwizimo ezisikazayo ezivelayo. Zombili izinhlangano zilandela amasu ehlukahlukene. Ukuphepha nokuvikeleka, amathuba emisebenzi kanye nezinto ezithile zesiakhademiki ezifana namaklasi amancane ukuze kufundeke kangcono nakho nngeminye yemikkhakha esiza kakhulu ekuphumeleleni. Ukubakhona ngobuningi kwabahlinzeki bangasese, ukutshalwa kakhulu kwezimali kwimfundo yangasese ephakeme, kanye nokuhlinzekwa kwmefundo yangasese kanye nesidingo sendima yokumuncwa ngokwenganyelwa, kuphakamisa ukuthi likhona ikusasa langampela lemfundo yangasese ephakeme eNingizimu Afrika. Inhloso eqondiwe ngokuthela esivivaneni kocwaningo lwamanje ukusiza ekutheni kube nokuqondisisa ngokuthi ukusebenzisana kwabantu njengendlela yokubumba amasu kanye nemiphumela kungasiza kanjani. Ukuqondisisa ngomkhakha wabantu kuyenyuka njengoba kukhula ukuqoqana kwezindlela zokwenza – lapho khona izindlela zokwenza ziveza ukuthi ngabe ubudlelwane obubhekiwe nobuqashelwayo bungabanjani uma kuqhathaniswa izinto ezenziwe futhi nokuthi zichazwa kanjani. Okutholakele ngocwaningo lwamanje kungasiza ngokuba yisakhelo ekuqokeleleni itiyori yesayense ngabantu maqondana nalo mkhakha ongakaphenyisiswa ngokwanele kwisu elixhumene ngokusebenzisana locwaningo. Maqondana nalokhu, uhlaka lombono luyahlinzekwa ukuba ngumkhombandlela kucwaningo lwangekusasa. Ucwaningo lwamanje luveze kancane ukusebenza kwesu kwizikhungo ezimbili ezincane zabahlinzeki ngemfundo ephakeme yangasese, kanti futhi luthela esivivaneni ekukhuleni kolwazi ngokuhlinzekwa kwemfundo yangasase emkhakheni wemfundo ephakeme eNingizimu Afrika.
Business Management
D. Com. (Business Management)

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been used widely across the globe for the purpose of improving the quality of both basic and higher education. Lately, different kinds of technologies, such as smart boards, have been incorporated into the teaching and learning process with the aim to contribute to the effectiveness of teaching and learning outcomes. The main aim of this study was to investigate the integration of smart boards by secondary school teachers in the Tshwane West district (Gauteng province) in their business studies teachings. The study focused on the teachers’ perspectives, the challenges they experienced, and the support they required for the integration of smart boards in the classroom. The study used a qualitative research approach to gather and analyse data. Using a multiple case study design, 5 business studies teachers were purposive sampled based on their experience on the use of smart boards. Both semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations were used to collect evidence. Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) was used as a framework by which to understand the study. The four pillars of trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, confirmability, and dependability) were applied to ensure trustworthiness of the study results. The ethics guidelines (voluntarily participation, anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent) were also taken into consideration and applied. The main research question for this study was: How do secondary school teachers integrate smart boards in teaching business studies in the Tshwane West district? The findings suggested that business studies teachers have positive perspectives on the integration of smart boards with the belief that smart boards make their teaching easier and allow them to incorporate a variety of audio and visual material into a lesson. The findings also revealed that teachers face various challenges, such as smart board malfunctioning, computer viruses, and limited time given for the integration of smart boards in the classroom. From the findings, it was clear that teachers had received professional development training on smart board integration, but that the training was inadequate. Despite the challenges that business studies teachers face during the integration of smart boards, the findings of this study indicated that teachers still had an interest in and were willing to integrate smart boards into the classroom. The study recommended that teachers should be provided with sufficient professional development on the integration of smart boards in a business studies classroom, which would improve the level of competency of teachers on smart board integration in the teaching and learning process.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This paper provides analysis of a series of email correspondences between secondary newcomer immigrant students and Latino business professionals within the same urban community. The author, using James Gee's discourse theory (1990, 1996, 1999, 2004) contends that school-based discourses and structures have historically operated as barriers to academic success and societal acceptance for the vast majority of secondary English Language Learners, indicating the systemic perpetuation of a racist, classist, xenophobic social order through the public schools. When an attempt is made to sidestep these school-based discourses and put students in direct contact with mature, successful practitioners of English outside of the education community, the students encounter "mentor talk," a set of discourses that uncritically embrace the notions of a neutral, meritocratic, knowledge-based socioeconomic order. At the same time, students encounter language that can be appropriated for their own creative constructions of identity as they seek to position themselves in a new society. Even when there exists a strong alignment between the student's socially-situated identity presentation and the ideological thrust of "mentor talk," many societal barriers stand in the pathway of social and educational advancement. More often, the student identities express resistance, often subtle, to the standard, hegemonizing guidelines for success they have been offered.
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D.Ed.
It is an accepted fact that one of the school's duties is to prepare a pupil vocationally as well as to be economically literate. One of the reasons why this study is deemed to be of current interest is that pupils are being educated to be job seekers instead of -providers. The shortage of entrepreneurs is therefore reaching national proportions. At this moment in time education in South Africa does not aim to establish a culture of entrepreneurship and the pupils believe the only requirement is to complete their school careers successfully. After completion of his/her school career a pupil is geared to enter the labour market as an employee. Only in the minority of cases parents and schools educate their children to form any alternative ideas about themselves and life in general. This study looks at the responsibility of the school with regard to teaching entrepreneurship as it exists in the South African society at present. The aim of this study was to establish the following: what entrepreneurship is and which factors outside the school context play an influencing role, the ways in which the school plays a role in the forming of entrepreneurial skills and what the school's responsibility is with regard to educating entrepreneurship. The method of research which was followed was of a twofold nature and consisted of an in depth study of the literature and an empirical investigation. In the study of the literature the profile of an entrepreneur and the characteristics which play a role in the development of entrepreneurs in the family context as well as the environment and culture were investigated. Personal characteristics were also taken into account. The factors which may play a role in advancing and/or restraining entrepreneurial training in the school context were also investigated. The findings and conclusions with regard to these investigations were stipulated and recommendations were made. A questionnaire intended for businessmen/women and teachers was handed out to the relevant people in the Magisterial District of Springs. The validity and reliability of the said instrument were verified beforehand. The results were processed and interpreted by means of a computer. When two or more frequencies were compared the Two-Way Chi-Square was utilised. For the purposes of this study, contextualities and differences between the respondents were accepted as statistically significant on the 5% significance level as well as the 1cY0 significance level. Findings forthcoming from this study were that the school has an enormous educational task with regard to entrepreneurship and the creation of an entrepreneurial culture in South Africa. The curriculum at school should be directed to the development of young entrepreneurs and should also be practice based. Entrepreneurship and the value thereof should already be emphasized at primary school level. Certain recommendations are made which could be of directive assistance with regard to the establishment of a culture of entrepreneurship and aspects regarding the education of entrepreneurship at school. It is estimated that between 350 000 and 400 000 employees in South Africa are introduced to the labour market annually. Only 50 000 will be employed in the formal sector. It is further estimated that between 33% and 45% of the economically active population (approximately 11 million inhabitants at present) are unemployed. Something could be done about this gloomy picture by starting to look at the schools' involvement and/or task with regard to the education of entrepreneurship. The teaching of entrepreneurship with a view to the future of South Africa specifically and a change in the economic school of thought is primarily regarded to be an educational issue. It should be seen•as an investment in the people of South Africa. The above mentioned reasons underline the importance of an investigation of this nature into the schools' involvement and/or task with regard to the education of entrepreneurship.

This study explores the flawed procurement and delivery of Learner Teacher Support Materials (LTSM) in East London district at public secondary schools in the Eastern Cape province. Poor management of the procurement of LTSM has the result that some schools in the country have limited access to LTSM because of late delivery, non-delivery, incorrect and, or delivery shortages. These problems have contributed to under-achievement in the affected schools and in turn undermine the learners’ constitutional rights and educational aims and goals. Like many other provinces, the Eastern Cape also encountered difficulties with the procurement and delivery of textbooks to various public schools. To investigate the problem, a qualitative and exploratory study was carried out. The data were collected from a sample of 19 participants involved in the three levels of the procurement process; that is, district officials, school principals and the provincial head office officials. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews using open-ended questions. The research results showed that although the procurement process of LTSM is centralised at the head office level, the other two levels, namely the district office and the school levels, play a significant part. While these levels play an important role in determining and collating the textbook needs, they require additional communication processes and systems to be in place to avoid prolonged timeframes and follow ups that bring about delays of the overall procurement process. Between communication of the relevant guidelines, and collating and submitting book needs information, delays happen along the way at one or more levels and these ultimately lead to either late procurement, late or non-delivery of books to the relevant schools. The study showed that although there are rules, regulations and various policies that serve as guidelines in the procurement process, the actual implementation and monitoring is flawed. The lack of coherence promotes mistrust and conflict between the relevant stakeholders, which in turn brings about minimal consultation on changes relating to effective management processes during procurement and distribution of LTSM. The study recommends changes that are needed to achieve effective management to alleviate problems encountered during the procurement and distribution of LTSM in the East London district public secondary schools
Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain, Transport, Tourism and Logistics Management
M. Com. (Logistics)

The South African education system has been evolving since the country became democratic in 1994 and a number of curriculum reforms have been introduced within a short space of time. These reforms revolve around power and control and therefore, Bernstein’s concepts of classification and framing form the conceptual framework for this study. This study attempts to give a picture of what is currently happening in schools pertaining to the implementation of the grade 10 Life Sciences (LS), Business Studies (BS), and Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The dual aim of this study was to find out educators’ understanding and interpretation of the CAPS that can be observed in their teaching practice and to establish how decisions on subject content (selection, sequencing and pacing) are made. Also of importance was to determine whether educators view and treat their subject as unique or as similar to other subjects. The study used a qualitative approach, using case study design. Observations were used as the main method for data construction. Four LS, BS and EGD educators from four different schools were observed teaching the same class for five consecutive lessons. Thereafter, these educators were interviewed. For triangulation purposes, learners and the subject advisor were participants in this thesis. For this purpose a group of ten randomly selected learners from observed classes per subject and school were requested to complete a questionnaire and the LS, BS and EGD subject advisors were interviewed. The subject advisors insisted that educators follow the CAPS so that learners would be able to write common assessment tasks at the end of each term. Although educators claimed that they were following the CAPS regarding content selection, sequencing and pacing, observations showed that educators were not following the CAPS document. The findings suggest that well coordinated interventions are required to support and monitor educators’ practice.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This thesis, Utilising Open Educational Resources in support of curriculum transformation at Africa Nazarene University: A participatory action research approach, derives from a multi-year project implemented by OER Africa, and funded by the Hewlett Foundation, to explore the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) in support of pedagogic transformation in African universities. The project involves four institutions: Africa Nazarene University (ANU) in Kenya, the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), and the Universities of Pretoria and the Free State (UP and UFS) in South Africa. This study centred on ANU only in the period 2013 to 2016, with a focus on the period 2015-2016, and was timed to inform ANU’s new strategic planning process from 2017. The wider project adopted a participatory action research process in its engagement with the four core institutions. Within this over-arching project methodology, this study made use of an analytical autoethnographic approach to capture and analyse data and to make recommendations, to acknowledge the researcher’s dual role as both a co-participant and an institutional project lead. The approach was informed primarily by hermeneutics and systems thinking and involved multiple in-country engagements with ANU and the triangulation of information derived from document review, observation and iterative focus group discussions and individual interviews. An OER Maturity Index and Planning Tool was also developed and used to inform planning and reflection and to provide a barometer of changing attitudes and activities regarding engagement with OER. Initially the engagement focused on developing a supportive policy and capacity-building environment for individuals to integrate OER into specific Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) courses and to publish revised course materials under an open licence. However, as the initiative progressed, it became apparent that there was need to revisit the institution’s overall business model considering increased competition, new regulatory requirements and a growing demand from students for more flexible forms of provision. In fact, the key finding of this study is the suggestion that engagement with OER is unlikely to move from being an individual to an institutional focus unless such engagement is aligned with the overall vision, mission and business model of the university.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The need for constructive and effective sustainable community development in South Africa is recognised as a cornerstone for national development. Having a clear understanding of sustainable development and sustainable community development is a prerequisite in developing sustainable communities. A current rate of unemployment and low skills level pose a threat to sustainable development within the communities. There is growing interest within businesses and organisations to contribute towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and initiatives. However, this is an enormous task to address socioeconomic challenges in South Africa due to limited resources and high expectations. The businesses should implement well-structured plans for corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, planned initiatives generally tend to appropriately promote social harmony within targeted community. Skeptics of CSR often claim that business should focus on profits and let the government or non-profit organisations deal with social and environmental issues. The Eskom’ power stations under this study do make some contribution to social and economic development in South Africa, which is realised through corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy within the areas of Ermelo and Balfour. Most people in these communities feel they have been neglected for a long time as their social concerns have not been resolved. The community have recently pressurised these power stations to become corporate citizens; to take on CSR and work towards sustainable community development in their areas. There is a perception within the community that the management of Camden and Grootvlei power stations is not actively involved in executing CSR programmes; hence the intention of the study is to present an interesting analysis of these perceptions by exploring the experienced outcome of CSR initiatives around Ermelo and Balfour in improving the livelihood of the people, inter alia: unemployment and education. The case study research design was adopted for this research and employed a qualitative approach to understand the individual perceptions about the phenomenon under study. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and electronic email. The responses from the participants were analysed using ATLAS.ti software to identify codes and patterns in primary data. The total selected sampling was 25, but those who participated were only 17. From the key findings, it was evident that these power stations do make some contributions towards CSR within their community. However, this study revealed a gap in the way CSR is practiced and implemented: social responsibility and real sustainable development do not reach the community. The findings also brought to light vast differences in the perceptions of various stakeholders regarding available programmes that support sustainable development within the community. These vast differences could mean that this study represents the start of a long-term process. Moreover, the study suggests some critical underlying factors that should be dealt with to close this gap: communication, awareness of available programmes, budget challenges and commitment, and identifying who should take responsibility for various aspects of development. The outcomes of this study are based on how stakeholders view community development needs and challenges by means of three cases that emerged during data analysis: case 1) community; 2). CSR project manager; 3) Top Management. Overall, this study contributes to the applied research area of; proper community engagement programmes, management engagement, employment, training and development, and education.
Business Management
M. Tech. (Business Administration)