Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'School governance'

School governance at South African schools is now almost twelve years old. In these twelve years some schools have made great strides whilst others are still facing various challenges. This research article is a qualitative, empirical and a descriptive case study, based on two farm schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. It has investigated the governance capacity of both farm school governing bodies (SGB) in the execution of their roles and responsibilities together with the challenges that they faced using a documentary study and with structured interviews in a focus group. The structure for writing this article used the four principles as designed by Yin (1994) which are; Conceptualization, Contextual details, Data collection and Analytical strategies. Evidence from this Research indicate that the Farm School Governing Body face many contextual challenges and that a tailor-made Governance capacity building programme be made available to farm schools so that they (SGB) are able to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.

This research analyses the governance structures and processes of thirteen independent primary schools in Perth, and one state primary school in Western Australia termed an 'alternative' or 'lighthouse' school. More in-depth case studies were undertaken at five sites with participants from different time periods. All the schools had a school council or board since their foundations and notably all schools had their origins in the period of the alternative school and community empowerment movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In an era of market reform and the corporatisation of schools, the critical areas of focus for this research were: how community expectations and school identity were maintained within council-governed schools; how democratic imperatives compete with professionalism and school improvement issues; and how schools confront dilemmas of governance. Three frameworks, Phases of Development, Community Empowerment and Dilemmas, were employed as useful means to discuss school governance. The results revealed changes in governance over time. Schools began to envisage themselves less as communities and more as businesses. The emphasis was away from parent involvement and towards efficiency and commercial practices. Tensions and dilemmas arose out of these changes. The thesis concluded that it was not the structures or individuals that were crucial in governance processes but the playing out of particular tensions and dilemmas. Principals and councils have to acknowledge the dilemmas that arise from competing values systems and make choices based on a clear understanding of these dilemmas.

This research analyses the governance structures and processes of thirteen independent primary schools in Perth, and one state primary school in Western Australia termed an 'alternative' or 'lighthouse' school. More in-depth case studies were undertaken at five sites with participants from different time periods. All the schools had a school council or board since their foundations and notably all schools had their origins in the period of the alternative school and community empowerment movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In an era of market reform and the corporatisation of schools, the critical areas of focus for this research were: how community expectations and school identity were maintained within council-governed schools; how democratic imperatives compete with professionalism and school improvement issues; and how schools confront dilemmas of governance. Three frameworks, Phases of Development, Community Empowerment and Dilemmas, were employed as useful means to discuss school governance. The results revealed changes in governance over time. Schools began to envisage themselves less as communities and more as businesses. The emphasis was away from parent involvement and towards efficiency and commercial practices. Tensions and dilemmas arose out of these changes. The thesis concluded that it was not the structures or individuals that were crucial in governance processes but the playing out of particular tensions and dilemmas. Principals and councils have to acknowledge the dilemmas that arise from competing values systems and make choices based on a clear understanding of these dilemmas.

This research analyses the governance structures and processes of thirteen independent primary schools in Perth, and one state primary school in Western Australia termed an ‘alternative’ or ‘lighthouse’ school. More in-depth case studies were undertaken at five sites with participants from different time periods. All the schools had a school council or board since their foundations and notably all schools had their origins in the period of the alternative school and community empowerment movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In an era of market reform and the corporatisation of schools, the critical areas of focus for this research were: how community expectations and school identity were maintained within council-governed schools; how democratic imperatives compete with professionalism and school improvement issues; and how schools confront dilemmas of governance. Three frameworks, Phases of Development, Community Empowerment and Dilemmas, were employed as useful means to discuss school governance. The results revealed changes in governance over time. Schools began to envisage themselves less as communities and more as businesses. The emphasis was away from parent involvement and towards efficiency and commercial practices. Tensions and dilemmas arose out of these changes. The thesis concluded that it was not the structures or individuals that were crucial in governance processes but the playing out of particular tensions and dilemmas. Principals and councils have to acknowledge the dilemmas that arise from competing values systems and make choices based on a clear understanding of these dilemmas.

The lack of the visible and practical involvement of parents in schools that are in previously disadvantaged communities is not only depriving the present learners and their parents of their democratic right to participate in shaping their future, but that of the coming generation and leaders of tomorrow as well. South Africa as a country is about twenty years into democracy and already the education system has been chopped and changed about four times but with no success. The schooling system in previously black communities is deteriorating. The government of the day has been prioritising education for about fifteen years now, the budget for education is equal to the budget for the whole country in some of the neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe but the quality and standard are far worse than in those countries. The cost of the current problems in education mostly in previously black township schools is far too much to imagine. The main challenge seems to be the nature, character, skills and capabilities of parents serving in school governing bodies. This study is so important because of the situation that exists in schools that are situated in historically disadvantaged communities where the parents who get elected to school governing bodies are still, despite workshops and training offered by the Department of Education, unable to manage and govern schools and thus render the school governing body ineffective. The Department of Education through its programmes does conduct governance, financial management and policy formulation workshops. These efforts from the government side do not seem to bear any fruit because parents, after attending the training and workshops are still unable to create well-managed and properly governed schools. The primary objective of this study is to improve the organisational performance of schools in previously disadvantaged communities in the Uitenhage District of the Department of Education situated in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality by investigating how effective school governing body governance could contribute to such performance. More specifically, the study investigates the relationship between effective school governing body management, as a dependent variable, and parental/community involvement, finance and resource management, school governance, learner discipline/conduct, and quality education as independent variables. The population of the study was high school principals and school management team (SMT) members in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality focusing mainly on historically or previously disadvantaged schools in the Uitenhage district of the Department of Education. The study used convenience sampling where seventeen (17) high schools were selected. In each school, school management team members and a principal were requested to fill in a questionnaire. In total 105 questionnaires were distributed and 85 were fully completed and returned. Questionnaires were collected, data captured and analysed and a report was written. The empirical results revealed the following weaknesses in the SGBs of high schools in the Uitenhage District of the Department of Education in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality: the SGBs do not effectively formulate school policies; the SGBs do not effectively provide support to educators in performing their professional duties; the SGBs are not fully involved in supplementing resources supplied by the state in order to improve quality of teaching and learning; and the schools are weak on community engagement. On the other hand, the following positive elements of SGBs were highlighted in the empirical results; the schools are rated good regarding the following variables/issues: quality of teaching and learning, utilisation of school resources, school governance, professionalism of staff and extra-mural activities; the SGBs know and participate in the academic and extra-mural programmes of the schools; the SGBs successfully prepare the annual budget for the schools; the SGBs are effectively governing the schools; the SGBs do appoint auditors to audit the school's books and financial statements; the schools have achieved audited financial statements without a disclaimer; the schools have a disciplinary committee that deals with the learner code of conduct and attends to disciplinary problems. The study highlights areas in school governance that should be improved, as well as recommendations on how to improve them. Recommendations for future research are also provided.

Due to a lack of government sources for funding education, self-help initiatives have been practiced by schools and are being promoted internationally and within the policies of national governments as a viable means for funding schools. They are also regarded as valuable for enabling school-led quality improvements. Currently, there is rapid secondary education expansion in Tanzania, achieved through building community schools. These are constructed through cooperation between the government and local communities. Self-help activities have also been practiced in schools in order to supplement government resources. Although scholarship dealing with community financing exists, there is little research in Tanzania on school self-help activities. This study analyses the process of school level fundraising in Tanzania within the context of the rapid expansion of secondary education and considers the implications for social equity and school governance. The study draws upon critical theory to analyse social-power relations, social inequality and their effects on school governance and communities. Robertson, Bonal and Dale's governance framework and Bourdieu's social-capital theory are employed to explore the relationship between education governance and social and cultural reproduction. This is an exploratory study using mixed-methods with the qualitative component being more dominant. Although schools in Tanzania are supposed to report on the self-help activities they conduct, there is no clear overview and no records available from education offices. This necessitated a mapping exercise to find out what activities are being implemented on the ground through a questionnaire, to which 42 schools responded. This was followed by in-depth case studies conducted at two government- funded schools in Kilimanjaro region, a community school and a long-established school, on the role of different stakeholders and how they actually work. Informants included teachers, educational officials, members of the community and school board, who are key actors in the mobilisation of resources at school level. Although the public expansion of secondary education is aimed at reducing inequality, the findings suggest that there is class-based social reproduction as the flow of private finance increases the resource gap between schools and students. Community schools, which receive lower capitation grants from government, tend to serve a greater number of socio-economically disadvantaged students and hence are less likely to be able to raise funds. The findings also raise concerns about the possible low impact of self-help initiatives on improving quality. Uncertain social-power relations among stakeholders at different levels participating in the activities, lack of accountability and lack of effective support for schools at all levels, all have effects on school governance. The findings have implications for a policy of rapid secondary education expansion that expects significant community support for new schools. Despite the drawbacks, secondary expansion is still a step forward for equity as it has given access to secondary education, albeit of a lower quality, to many young people who otherwise would have had none. This study suggests policy priorities that are necessary to go along with the approach in order to ensure a positive impact. These consist of making sure that schools have certain essential resources; building capacities for education governance in communities and establishing a functioning education governance system which supports schools with more emphasis on improving quality and reducing inequalities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-64).
I investigate the relation between corporate governance and insider trading by corporate executives. Despite the general view that trade on non-public information adversely affects capital market participants, the impact of corporate governance on such trading remains relatively unexplored in prior research. I propose an empirical measure that relies on a predicted pattern in stock returns to identify transactions that are more likely to be based on private information and provide evidence to validate the construct. Using this measure, I find that good corporate governance, identified through board and ownership characteristics that have been linked to more effective monitoring of management in prior research, is negatively related to opportunistic insider trading. In supplementary analysis, I provide evidence on the robustness of this relation to an alternative hypothesis and to potential endogeneity. Overall, I conclude that good corporate governance helps to attenuate opportunistic insider trading.
by Konstantin A. Rozanov.
Ph.D.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide insight to the perspectives of leaders and individuals in authority within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles system of Catholic parochial schools regarding current models of governance, levels of authority, and decision-making processes. There is a lack of clearly-defined levels of decision-making authority from the bishops to the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools down to the individual schools.

The pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel shared their perspectives of current governance structures and elements of three emerging alternative governance models. Data were analyzed through a factor analysis of the survey items to explore the strength of the three categories of the governance models represented by the three groups of questions. Next, the descriptive statistics of the specific questions relating to each of the three governance models and community voice were compiled. A Cronbach's alpha was calculated for each group of questions to measure internal consistency.

In order to explore relationships between perceptions among the three independent variable groups (pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel), a Chi-square analysis was run for each of the questions on an ordinal scale.

The study showed significant differences in participant responses between the three groups surveyed. However, there was agreement that community voice must be incorporated into governance, but only in a consultative manner. There was also agreement that a strong governing presence at the central office would be beneficial.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide insight to the perspectives of leaders and individuals in authority within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles system of Catholic parochial schools regarding current models of governance, levels of authority, and decision-making processes. There is a lack of clearly-defined levels of decision-making authority from the bishops to the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools down to the individual schools. The pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel shared their perspectives of current governance structures and elements of three emerging alternative governance models. Data were analyzed through a factor analysis of the survey items to explore the strength of the three categories of the governance models represented by the three groups of questions. Next, the descriptive statistics of the specific questions relating to each of the three governance models and community voice were compiled. A Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each group of questions to measure internal consistency. In order to explore relationships between perceptions among the three independent variable groups (pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel), a Chisquare analysis was run for each of the questions on an ordinal scale. The study showed significant differences in participant responses between the three groups surveyed. However, there was agreement that community voice must be incorporated into governance, but only in a consultative manner. There was also agreement that a strong governing presence at the central office would be beneficial.

Aquesta tesi doctoral aborda essencialment la governança de les escoles primàries públiques a Togo. Tot basant-se en dades empíriques recollides en un treball de camp al país, intenta analitzar el funcionament dels comitès de gestió de les escoles primàries, òrgans de govern d’aquests centres. Conjuntament i complementàriament, la investigació analitza el paper dels directors d’escola en la governança escolar, posant l’accent en les seves diferents responsabilitats, les polítiques de contractació, les condicions en l’exercici professional i les qüestions relatives a la seva formació. La metodologia utilitzada en la realització d’aquest estudi és de tipus qualitatiu. Els resultats de la investigació són fruit de l’anàlisi d’un corpus de dades obtingut a partir d’entrevistes semiestructurades individuals i col·lectives dutes a terme principalment, amb directors d’escoles i pares d’alumnes, presidents aquests dels comitès de gestió de les escoles primàries. Aquestes entrevistes semiestructurades van ser completades amb sessions d’observació in situ i l’anàlisi de documentació oficial de Togo vinculada al tema de la investigació. Els resultats proposats, una barreja de « saber indígena » i de textos oficials, permeten comprendre en profunditat el rol que juguen les diferents parts implicades en la governança de les escoles primàries a Togo. Els comitès de gestió, òrgans d’orientació, de planificació i de presa de decisions en matèria de gestió administrativa, pedagògica i financera, estan composats per representants de l’equip docent, dels pares d’alumnes i de la comunitat local. Si els textos oficials defineixen i clarifiquen suficientment els papers i responsabilitats dels diferents membres de les instàncies de govern escolar, els resultats de la investigació posen de relleu algunes dificultats que afecten el seu funcionament. L’escassa participació de les mares i els pares de l’alumnat en les eleccions dels seus representants, així com la gestió opaca dels recursos financers, són alguns d’aquests entrebancs. Quant als directors d’escoles, figura emblemàtica de la governança escolar, són nomenats per decret ministerial. Tal i com succeeix amb el cas dels comitès de gestió de les escoles primàries, els resultats mostren la definició de les atribucions dels directors i revelen dificultats relatives a la seva contractació, formació i a les seves condicions de treball.
La presente tesis doctoral trata esencialmente de la gobernanza de las escuelas primarias públicas en Togo. Basándose en datos empíricos recogidos en un trabajo de campo realizado en este país, intenta analizar el funcionamiento de los comités de gestión de estas escuelas. Conjuntamente y de manera complementaria, la investigación aborda el papel de los directores de escuela en la gobernanza escolar, haciendo hincapié en sus distintas responsabilidades, las políticas de contratación, las condiciones en el ejercicio de sus funciones y las cuestiones relativas a su formación. La metodología utilizada en este estudio es de tipo cualitativo. Los resultados de la investigación son el fruto del análisis de un corpus de datos constituido a partir de entrevistas semiestructuradas individuales y colectivas llevadas a cabo, principalmente, con directores de escuelas y padres de alumnos, presidentes de los comités de gestión de las escuelas primarias. Estas entrevistas semiestructuradas fueron completadas por sesiones de observación in situ y por el análisis de documentación oficial de Togo relacionada con el tema de la investigación. Los resultados propuestos, una mezcla de « saber indígena » y de textos oficiales, permiten comprender en profundidad el rol desempeñado por las distintas partes implicadas en la gobernanza de las escuelas primarias en Togo. Los comités de gestión, órganos de orientación, planificación y de toma de decisiones en materia de gestión administrativa, pedagógica y financiera, están compuestos, según la normativa, por representantes del equipo docente, de los padres de alumnos y de la comunidad local. Mientras que los textos oficiales definen y clarifican con suficiencia los papeles y responsabilidades de los distintos miembros de las instancias de gobernanza escolar, los resultados de la investigación ponen sin embargo de manifiesto algunas dificultades que afectan a su funcionamiento. La escasa participación de las madres y padres del alumnado en las elecciones de sus representantes, así como la gestión opaca de los recursos financieros constituyen algunos de estos problemas. En cuanto a los directores de escuelas, figura emblemática en la gobernanza escolar, son nombrados por decreto ministerial. Tal y como ocurre con los comités de gestión de las escuelas primarias, los resultados subrayan la definición de las atribuciones de los directores y revelan dificultades relativas a su contratación, formación y a sus condiciones de trabajo.
This research is about the governance in state elementary schools in Togo, based on empirical data gathered in fieldwork across the country. It describes and analyses the operation of management committees as an organ of orientation, decision-making and management organs of these centres. It also discusses the headmaster’s role, emphasizing their responsibilities, the recruitment procedures, the exercise of its powers and matters relating to their training. The methodology used in this study is qualitative. The results of this research come from data collected from individual and collective semi-structured interviews that were completed with observations and documentary analysis. Interviews were conducted primarily to the presidents and secretaries of the management committees, parents, headmasters as well as school inspectors. The results suggested, a mixture of «traditional knowledge» and official texts, show in detail the role played by the different parties involved in the governance of elementary schools in Togo. The management committees are organs of orientation, planning and decision on administrative, financial and pedagogical topics in schools are composed of representatives of the teaching staff, parents, and local community. If the official texts adequately define and clarify the roles and responsibilities of different members of school government, the research results highlight some difficulties that affect their operation. The low participation of mothers and fathers of students in the election of their representatives, and the opaque management of financial resources, are some of these obstacles. The headmasters, emblematic figure of the school governance, are appointed by ministerial decree. As well as with the management committees of primary schools, the results show the definition of the headmasters’ attributions and reveal difficulties relating to their recruitment, training and working conditions.
Cette thèse de doctorat traite essentiellement de la gouvernance des écoles primaires publiques au Togo. S’appuyant sur de données empiriques collectées lors d’un travail de terrain réalisé dans ce pays, elle s’est attachée à analyser le fonctionnement des comités de gestion des écoles primaires, instances de gouvernance multi parties prenantes mises en place au sein de ces établissements scolaires publics du premier degré. Conjointement et de manière complémentaire, la recherche aborde la question des directeurs d’écoles dans la gouvernance scolaire, en mettant l’accent sur leurs différentes responsabilités, les politiques de leur recrutement, les conditions d’exercice de leur fonction et des questions relatives à leur formation. La méthodologie utilisée pour la réalisation de cette étude est de type qualitatif. Les résultats de la recherche sont le fruit d’analyse d’un corpus de données constitué d’entrevues semistructurées individuelles et collectives conduites principalement auprès de directeurs d’école et de parents d’élèves présidents de comités de gestion des écoles primaires. Ces entretiens semi-directifs ont été complétés par des séances d’observation in situ et par l’analyse de documents officiels du Togo en lien avec la thématique de la recherche. Les résultats proposés, un mélange de « savoir indigène » et de textes officiels, permettent de comprendre en profondeur le rôle joué par les différentes parties prenantes dans la gouvernance des écoles primaires au Togo. Les comités de gestion des écoles primaires, organes d’orientation, de planification et de prise de décision en matière de gestion administrative, pédagogique et financière, sont composés de représentants du corps enseignant, ceux des parents d’élèves et ceux de la communauté locale. Si les textes officiels définissent et clarifient avec suffisance les rôles et responsabilités des différents membres des instances de gouvernance scolaire, les résultats de la recherche mettent cependant en exergue, certaines difficultés qui affectent leur fonctionnement. La faible participation des parents aux élections de leurs représentants ainsi que la gestion opaque des ressources financières constituent quelques unes de ces difficultés. Quant aux directeurs d’école, figure emblématique dans la gouvernance scolaire, ils sont nommés par arrêté ministériel. A l’instar des comités de gestion des écoles primaires, les résultats révèlent la définition des attributions des directeurs d’école et dévoilent des difficultés relatives à leur recrutement, à leur formation et à leurs conditions de travail.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(地域研究)
甲第19105号
地博第179号
新制||地||61(附属図書館)
32056
京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科アフリカ地域研究専攻
(主査)教授 梶 茂樹, 教授 重田 眞義, 准教授 高田 明, 准教授 山名 淳
学位規則第4条第1項該当

In 1983, the A Nation at Risk report stated that our educational institutions in the United States and especially in urban areas were not meeting the educational needs of our students. Since A Nation at Risk, elected school boards in urban areas were under fire from the media, parents, other civic and community leaders, and voters due to fiscal irresponsibility and poor student achievement. In selected urban cities across the nation, elected school boards were replaced in favor of mayoral control (e.g., Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC) and appointed school boards (Wong et al., 2007). In 1999, the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) was taken over by the state of Michigan in an effort to reform the district. In 1998 prior to the state takeover, DPS had 261 schools, 167,000 students enrolled in the district, and a $93 million budget surplus. In 2014 after several years of state control, DPS had 97 schools (−62%), 47,000 students enrolled (−71%) in the district, and a $232 million budget deficit (−349%). During this same time period, DPS had eight different district leaders under three different school governance models. This qualitative historical case study developed an understanding of the overall impact of school governance reform on the institutional progress in DPS from 1999–2014. Institutional Progress examines the overall functioning of a school district in the areas of: leadership, educational programs, finances, personnel, community support and political support. This study also described the external and internal barriers preventing DPS from making institutional progress. This qualitative study utilized four data sources: interviews of current and former Detroit Public School personnel (i.e., school board members, central and building administrators, teachers, parents and community activists), Detroit Board of Education meeting minutes reports, daily newspaper coverage of DPS from the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, and city of Detroit archives on the annual State of the City Address given by Detroit mayors to determine whether or not institutional progress was achieved in DPS from 1999–2014. The findings of this study were the following: 1.) there was a lack of institutional progress in Detroit Public Schools; 2.) school governance reforms in DPS did not have a positive impact; and 3.) internal and external barriers prevented DPS from making institutional progress.

This study is based on an investigation into the way RCL members participate in the deliberation of their School Governing Bodies. The study was conducted in two primary schools in the Western Cape town of Vredenburg. The research participants were members of the Representative Council of Learners from these schools. Focus group discussions as well as in depth interviews were used to explore the RCL members' views on the nature of their participation during SGB deliberations. the main fining of this study is that, due to external as well as in-school factors, a huge gap exists between normative RCL policy exp[ectations and the actual manifestation policy in the real world of the RCL members' schools. the findings of the study reveal a lack of participative capacities among these RCL members, which, in combination with a non participative culture at their homes, the community and the school, leads to learners being excluded from democratic processes.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013.
Some pages printed in landscape format. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-102).
This thesis consists of two essays examining the roles of corporate governance and investor disagreement, respectively, in the performance and stock market valuations of firms. In the first chapter, I demonstrate that the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance varies with industry performance cycles. Firms with strong shareholder rights capture higher profits than poorly-governed firms in the same industry during highly profitable periods for the industry, but both groups have similar profits during weaker industry conditions. Analyst forecasts indicate that the pattern is expected, suggesting that the higher valuations of well-governed firms are due to this higher expected productivity in good times. Consistent with such expectations and with an updating of valuations as anticipated industry conditions change, positive abnormal stock returns to good governance are concentrated in periods of high industry returns, and are at least partially reversed during industry downturns. My results provide an alternative to learning and static risk theories in explaining the apparent abnormal returns to governance and their disappearance after 2001. In Chapter 2, I consider the impact of heterogeneous shareholder beliefs on stock prices, focusing on the context of corporate spin-offs and mergers. I extend theoretical work by Miller (1977) and Jarrow (1980) to show that when investors disagree about the prospects of different businesses and at least some of them are restricted from short-selling, the market price of an unseparable bundle of two enterprises will often be lower from the sum of the prices at which they would trade as standalone entities. Empirically, I construct a novel measure of observed disagreement that is informed by the theory and is less open to alternative interpretations than existing disagreement proxies. Consistent with the theory, I find that higher disagreement about the two components being either separated or joined is related to a positive return in the case of spin-offs and a negative return in stock mergers. Importantly, since I focus on returns on the ex date of these transactions, on which no new business information is released, these findings are unrelated to the expected business impact of the transactions.
by Tara Kumari Bhandari.
Ph. D.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2013
The study investigated the involvement of parents in school governance in Sibasa Circuit. Among others the study found that parents experience various challenges with their role in this regard. School Governing Bodies struggle to maintain a full complement of the parent’s component. However, there are various ways and means that can be used in order to improve the situation. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in both data collection and analysis. The result from the study indicates that lack of capacity is a challenge to parents in contributing positively towards the involvement of school governance. The findings of this study have shown that there is a major concern that parents need to be given the opportunity to make inputs in the school. The study shows that the level of capacity and lack of ownership by parents is still a challenge; however the interest to change the status is still available by the parents. The recommendations suggest the following: • Parents should first be made familiar with the South African Schools Act of 84 of 1996. If parents could be educated on this Act, they would know the duties of governing bodies and what is expected from them. • The training should be conducted among all chairpersons, secretaries and treasurers in order for them to be taught how to conduct their duties; Effective consultation should be introduced in schools in order to encourage parents to be involved in school governance. Establishment of parental association can improve the involvement of parents in school governance. Parental association must educate parent members about the importance of communication. They must know that they have to communicate with other parents who are not members of the school governing body, because their duty is to represent their interests. This will help to foster parent involvement in school. Lastly, the National Department of Education needs to review Section 27 of South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 to include remuneration of school governing body members. This section is the one that states that no remuneration must be given to people for governing body duties. Remuneration can help to motivate parents to participate fully in governing body duties.

School board governance matters. Past research has demonstrated that effective school boards are associated with higher student achievement. However, this research has been less clear about what those agreed upon effective practices are. The current study set out to identify effective school board governance practices and to determine the extent expert panelists agreed with these practices. Obstacles to effective governance were also identified and agreed upon. Differences in responses from panelists in five sizes of school districts were also explored.

Using a Delphi methodology, expert panelists in Montana provided information in the form of narratives and lists about their perceptions of effective school board practices as well as their encountered obstacles during round one. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to create a set of effective practices and a set of encountered obstacles. Further refinement was accomplished by using two additional rounds in which panelists provided feedback, reconsidered their responses and provided additional comments. A set of 17 highly agreed upon effective practices and a set of two highly agree upon obstacles resulted.

From this data, a model of effective school board governance was developed. This model aligns well with past research that was conducted based upon outside sources of judgment, such as high test scores.

However, some important deviations from past recommendations are also noted. Data from the current study places an increased emphasis on the actual operations of school boards, such as on the types of discussions that are held, as well as the mechanics of productive and collaborative school board meetings.

The power of school boards occurs when acting collectively as a group in a school board meeting and this study supports focusing improvement efforts in making that time more effective. School board members many gain knowledge and experience individually, but it is only through working together that they shape and guide the cultures that are needed to improve our public schools for the future.

International education is an area of education that, over the last forty years, has grown in size and significance. International schools are one of many vehicles for the delivery of international education and are growing in number and variety. In addition, the value placed by society on an international education and those curricular programs that promote international education continue to develop. International schools are, therefore, becoming an important and growing area of education. In general terms the amount of research on such schools is limited when compared to national education systems and national schools. The growth in the number of international schools has been accompanied by a growth in the variety of such schools and the diversity of foundations, governance models and missions that support them. This diversity and my experience in international school leadership, allied to my interest in school improvement and school effectiveness as it pertains to the field of international schools, led to an interest in how models of governance impact on international school leadership and – through the leadership – on school improvement and development. This research enquiry is a case study, based on evidence produced through three different research methods; individual school studies, a questionnaire and expert interviews. The use of three methods of data gathering allowed for a complex area to be examined and the results to be triangulated. The results of the case study serve to illuminate the area and to suggest future avenues of research. One area of particular interest that was identified through the study was the interaction within the leadership structures of the schools and the relationships between the head of school, governors and model of governance. It would appear from the results of the study that those models of governance that relied on high numbers of elected parents of students currently attending the school produced a much higher turnover of heads and chairs of boards than did others. The interaction between head, chair of the school board and overall board members also appeared to affect the length of time people served in these posts. Following discussion of such issues, the implications of governance model and rate of turnover for the leadership, development and improvement of international schools are further examined and discussed. The process of conducting this enquiry, while time consuming and demanding, has been of huge benefit to me both personally and professionally. I have enjoyed the challenge and particularly gained from the greater professional insight developed during the study.

The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate the specific superintendent leadership type and underlying factors that support significant student achievement gains in communities where misalignment with the McCarty-Ramsey model exists. Utilizing a mixedmethod research strategy, contributing school districts were identified through a survey developed by McCarty and Ramsey. This survey indicated that districts could show positive student achievement gains while exhibiting misalignment among these factors. While all four types of superintendent leadership style were revealed in the survey, a prevalent superintendent leadership types was associated with the misaligned districts showing significant academic growth. This study indicated the professional advisor or the professional advisor/decision maker superintendent had the greatest achievement results in misaligned districts. The second investigation phase involved school districts that met two criteria: misalignment with the McCarty-Ramsey model, and three years of significant student achievement gains, as measured by the California Academic Performance Indicator. Interviews were conducted with identified school board presidents and superintendents to reveal practices or initiatives promoting these results. The interview protocol consisted of a series of open-ended questions regarding effective leadership and programs. The second finding revealed the effective superintendent focuses efforts on five specific district leadership actions identified by researchers such as Waters and Marzano. More specifically, this study revealed two practices were present in top performing school districts. First, a narrow focus on non-negotiable instructional practices across the district, and frequent monitoring by the superintendent, site and district leadership teams including follow - up debriefings regarding implementation of district expectations. These findings have significance in districts dealing with challenges among the community power structures, board types or superintendent leadership. This research shows that regardless of the political challenges, budgetary issues, or relationship chaos that might exist in the district and community, the professional advisor superintendent who has established clear district wide instructional expectations and, who consistently ―inspects the instructional program has a significant, positive impact on student achievement.

The study is in response to the recently enacted South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 (SASA), which sees the legislated inclusion of parents in school governing bodies. The Act promotes four distinct representative participants or stakeholders. These include parents, who constitute the majority, educators, learners and non-teaching staff. There is an indication that the SASA has tensions, ambiguities and contradictions which could allow either "
consumer market"
or "
citizen equity"
visions to prevail in practical terms. However, I argue that the SASA in practice is becoming dominated by the consumer vision that has a danger of creating unfair competition amongst schools and perpetuating the already existing inequalities in our society. In this mini-thesis, I attempt to investigate the nature of parental involvement in school governance in practice. I focus on their responsibilities in relation to policy matters as enshrined in the SASA, their commitment to executing their functions. The aim is to determine their capacity to fulfil their responsibilities with respect to their powers and functions.

This research project investigates the reasons why parents are not fully involved in school governance of a selected school in the Sisonke District of KwaZulu-Natal. As a professional educator the researcher has noted that within the rural communities, especially those in KwaZulu-Natal, an area which he knows intimately, there is a general lack of involvement on the part of parents in the way in which schools, that are educating their children, are being run. The researcher has observed that the parents‟ overall contact with the school is very limited - often confined to the beginning of the school year. Thereafter the parents withdraw from all matters pertaining to the running of the school, in effect abdicating their contribution to their children‟s education by handing over all responsibility to the teachers. This, in turn, has created a demarcation that has divided the teachers and the parents, with the parents‟ input stopping at the school gate, in a manner of speaking. What should be a combined effort of both parents and teachers to achieve the best possible results for the learners, has become a rift. And, as with all splitting of resources, this has had a negative impact on the functionality of these educational institutions. In order to get insight into the possible reasons why this is as it is, the researcher collected data, primarily interviews with parents, teachers and learners. Observations of governing body meetings, parents meetings and school management meetings were also conducted. In addition to these, minutes of meetings of the school related to other relevant documents, for example, school finance committee meetings, were also examined. The approach used in this study is the qualitative study method. The researcher also tried to determine to what extent, if any, factors such as lack of knowledge, lack of experience in school governance, lack of time, insufficient training to capacitate parents for school governance, low levels of education, lack of communication, no invitations being extended from the principal, and also teachers' and parents‟ attitudes contribute to this serious lack of parental involvement in the governance of this school. Another consideration was whether educators and learners have any knowledge that parents have a right to come to school and assist with the activities in the classroom. In essence, all the research hinged on the core question: „What are the explanations for the lack of parental involvement in public schools?‟ From the data gathered, the researcher then suggests or recommends possible solutions to rectifying what is fundamentally a misunderstanding of responsibilities, in order to propose means to rectify the situation for the future benefit of the learners. It is also recognised that due to potential limitations of the study, further studies on the effects of parental involvement in schools‟ governance may need to be undertaken. To get a clearer representation of the extent and where this impacts on our society as a whole, the researcher suggests further studies to encompass other school models, as well as other schools with different racial and social/economic compositions be undertaken.

This study examined the legal, statutory, and governance issues facing virtual charter schools. Virtual models of schooling have the potential to change the face of public education as such schools challenge traditional forms of education. Legislators, policy makers, and school boards must carefully consider existing charter school legislation and determine whether such language is applicable to virtual charter school models. As virtual forms of schooling increase, and choice options for parents become more readily available, the challenge is to develop statutory language that is not overly restrictive but provides a framework from which authorizers and governing boards may operate to ensure the quality, equity, and fiscal responsibility of virtual charter schools. The focus of the study was on the existing legislation in the 19 states with current virtual charter school statutes. The qualitative examination of case law, combined with a review of statutory language, provided the sources of data. Recommendations for policymakers, legislators, departments of education, and school boards were developed to ensure the instructional quality control, the compliance with state and federal statute, and the financial security of virtual charter schools. In an era where choice in education has become mainstream, monitoring the quality of choice options becomes paramount. The development of policies and laws relative to the careful operation of virtual charter schools, from authorization, to governance, to appropriate funding is in the purview of the state. Case law developed in states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where the legality of virtual charter schools has been challenged provides the legal standards for other state legislatures. The establishment of carefully worded legislation that addresses the issues inherent in the next version of school choice is critical to the successful operation of virtual charter schools. Oversight for funding, attendance, curriculum and instruction, and teacher certification is critical in both the authorizing and governance of such schools. Legislation that details the process for enrolling district and out of district students, the process for how the funding flows from the state, to the district, to the virtual charter school, and how the students will be counted for accountability purposes is critical to the successful implementation of virtual charter schools.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Research, Technology and Leadership
Education
Educational Leadership EdD

The theme of this thesis is the involvement of employees from business/industry in the governance of state schools in England and Wales. Following a conceptual analysis and the identification of imprecision in the relevant legislation, the research was designed in two phases. The Phase 1 survey examined the extent of that involvement in 1994 and built up a profile of employee-governors, including their personal and company characteristics. A questionnaire was used to gather descriptive and enumerative data from the school governors employed by twelve national companies, with further qualitative data amassed through some open questions on the questionnaire a,!d from semi-structured interviews of company managers. From 1995 to 1997, Phase 2 assessed the purposes, functions and skills of governors from this sector, through a quasi-experimental design which gathered pre-test and post-test data from thirty-five co-opted business/industrial governors, their headteachers and their chairs of governors. A Likert-type scaling instrument and focus group discussions were used. The main findings from the 1994 survey were that there were few governors from business and industry and even fewer were in governance to represent that sector of the community; most were parent governors. These governors and their company managers felt, however, that there were appreciable benefits to be gained from company employees being school governors. Phase 2 showed that the sample of specifically co-opted business/industrial governors adopted the distinctive purposes of objectivity and non-executive judgement, and brought generic management skills to governance through their company experience at a strategic level. These skills were especially appreciated in inner city schools. The research was the first study of governors from across business and industry and advanced the first model of practice related to purpose for governors from this sector of the community. Aspects of this model have been used to inform the Labour Government's policy for recruiting business/industrial governors for inner city schools.

This thesis examines the roles of governors within the contexts of the national framework for governance and the effect they have on schools. The field of research into the effects of school governors is an infant one. Little direct observation of governance has taken place and there is no true experimental research. In the absence of such work, the project developed a definition of effective governance through consideration of the descriptions of and prescriptions for governor activity. It used the definition to develop two research instruments. The first of these, a national questionnaire, produced some specific examples of a range of activities for governors and lead to the development of a second instrument. This, a schedule for semi- structured interviews, was applied to six case study schools. In these studies, governors and headteachers were interviewed conceming the characteristics of their goveming bodies and the outcomes for the schools were set against these characteristics. What emerges from these comparisons are some clear associations between effective outcomes and certain governor activities. These include training, monitoring, clear support for the school, the degree of trust gained with the staff, detailed knowledge of the school, and participation in school development planning. Overall, the conclusions point to connections between the manner in which governors conduct themselves and their business and the successes of the school that they govern.

This is a comparative study of parental involvement in the governance of public and private schools in the Matatiele District of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Parental involvement can range from occasional attendance of the school functions to partnership through parent teacher organizations and parent management bodies. Education is a national enterprise that requires the co-operation and participation of all the role players who are parents, community, teachers, learners and the Department of Education. The problem to be investigated in this study is: Why is it that parental involvement is more positive in the governance of private schools than that of public schools? Two schools were selected for the study and the researcher administered questionnaires personally by hand and conducted face to face interviews to collect the primary data. The responses of the administered questionnaire were tabulated and recorded in table form so as to give an accurate interpretation of what was revealed in the data. Patterns in the data were considered in order to provide an accurate interpretation of the information. The findings were divided into two, that is: findings from the public school and those from private schools. From the public school it was found that: parents are not involved in the governance of the school; the school does not involve parents on financial matters; parents do not attend meetings when invited; they do not know their roles and responsibilities, for example, according to the South African Schools Act (SASA), parents must be actively involved in the governance of the school in their community and that there is an element of ignorance and negligence on the part of parents towards their children’s education. From the private schools it was found that: parents are more involved in the governance of the school; they attend and participate actively in school meetings; the school involves parents in financial matters and as such the financial support from the parents is very good; parents are much involved in the monitoring of the progress of their learner’s education and are passionate about the school and seem to own the policies and the governance of the whole school system. The conclusion drawn from the study is that private schools allow for parental involvement in the governance of their schools whereas in public schools parental involvement is low.

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of Indiana school board presidents and superintendents on recommendations for board governance. A second purpose was to determine the current usage of these recommendations for board governance among Indiana school boards.A questionnaire consisting of 42 Likert-response items was mailed to the superintendent and board president of the 294 public school districts in Indiana. The return rate was 63 percent for board presidents and 82 percent for superintendents.The following conclusions were formulated: (a.) board presidents appear most likely to support recommended changes in school board governance in areas of Planning, Board Development, Collective Bargaining, and Curriculum/Staff Development; (b.) superintendents appear most likely to support recommended changes in school board governance in the areas of Board Development, Collective Bargaining, and Curriculum/Staff Development; (c.) board presidents and superintendents appear most likely to differ in their responses to recommendations for changes in school board governance in the areas of Planning, Personnel, Managing Schools and Budget; (d.) board presidents and superintendents from the same school districts are not likely to differ significantly in their opinions about whether or not their board is currently practicing recommended changes in school board governance.Indiana board presidents nor superintendents agreed with authorizing charter schools, hiring administrative law judges or other qualified third parties to hear appeals on students and staff members' due process rights, or establishing a procedure outside of the school board for hearing and deciding constituent complaints. Nor did they agree the board should grant full authority to the administration to approve individual claims or approve change orders on construction projects less than $1,000,000.
Department of Educational Leadership

This research conducts a diagnosis of school governance in the Eastern Cape Province with the overriding objective of determining the appropriate strategies that can be recommended for improving the effectiveness of school governance in the Eastern Cape Province. In a bid to achieve this overriding objective, the entire research process was guided by the research objectives and questions that examined; factors determining the effectiveness of school governance in the Eastern Cape Province, the effects of effective governance on performance of schools in the Eastern Cape Province, and the strategies which are used for improving school governance in the Eastern Cape Province. Although the secondary research was accomplished through the review and analysis of the relevant literatures and theories, the qualitative research approach was used in the primary research process. The findings of the study indicate that achieving effective school governance in the Eastern Cape Province is far from being attained for the reason that in terms of the applications of the principles for effective governance, the study reveals that the effective implementations of these principles in the Eastern Cape schools is marred by factors that include; lack of clear outline of SGBs, poor briefing of members about the roles of SGBs, poor consultations of members and stakeholders, poor representation of stakeholders, poor support of school’s staff, lack of well defined vision, and poor documentations of SGBs’ roles. Despite the fact that the findings of the study also indicate that the practices in the Eastern Cape schools are inappropriate for enhancing effective school governance, it was noted that there is still ineffective application of the strategies which can be used for improving school governance in the Eastern Cape Province. As the findings indicate, this certainly undermines the effectiveness of school governance in the Eastern Cape Province. While drawing from both the primary and secondary findings of the study, it was recommended that the school governing bodies in the Eastern Cape Province must; apply the six main principles for effective governance, apply the core components or pillars of good governance and consider implementing the strategies encompassing; considering that common interest and core business issues is one of the strategies, ensuring that the roles, objectives, functions and powers of the school council are clearly understood by all council members, effective planning, policy making and reporting, induction and professional development and learning, communication and information sharing, monitoring, evaluation and improvement. It was suggested that the suggested area for further study would be; “The effects of stakeholders’ involvement on the performance of School Governing Bodies.”

Since Namibia gained independence parents have increasingly been seen as equal partners in the education process. The Education Act 16 of 2001 provides for the democratic participation in schools by parents, learners and other education stakeholders through the introduction of regional Education Forums and School Boards in schools Parental involvement in school governance has been widely researched and has become a ‘hot topic’ worldwide, including in Namibia. This study investigated and described parental involvement through the School Board in school governance in a secondary school in Otjozondjupa region, Namibia. The study was conducted within a qualitative, interpretive paradigm. The study employed three data collection tools namely, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation. The School Board was made up of parents of different classes and backgrounds, i.e. employed, unemployed, professionals and business persons and with different levels of educational background. These members create a network that represents the voices of parents from different social groups, with different levels of social capital. The different levels of social capital shape the nature of the contributions and interactions on the Board. The study found that in spite of the frequency of interaction between the School Board, parents and the community the School Board is still in a dilemma as it is unable to connect with its prominent source of potential support, such as the business community, due to an outdated view that the school is well-off based on its historic status of privilege. With respect to communications with parents the focus tends to be on the negatives of learners’ behaviour or performance and the task of the parents in this regard. Broadening the agenda of the collaboration to include positive aspects of the child would add to the motivation of parents and open possibilities for new forms of collaboration. The school lacks a well-coordinated system for utilizing the available resources as well as community expertise for the benefit of the school. On the strength of the findings, one of the recommendations is for a more structured program and strategy for the Boards various interactions with the community and parents.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-98).
At the end of the 1980s, there was some speculation that leveraged buyouts (LBOs) would lead to the demise of the public company in favor of privately owned companies after a decade of the market for corporate control serving as a check against agency costs and management inefficiency. Of course, this didn't happen, and throughout the 1990s, in addition to the market for corporate control, the use of stock-based managerial incentives served a similar purpose. But the failure of these measures to prevent the next cycle of corporate governance crises that occurred in the last five years (e.g., WorldCom, Enron) ushered in an era of hard governance whereby market mechanisms and incentives have given way to Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and stock exchange rules designed to ensure proper stewardship of companies by their boards of directors. A central theme of this thesis is that, although this new era of hard governance might have decreased the degree of information asymmetry between investors and their agents, and thus improved the state of corporate governance, it may be that this has simply lulled us into a false sense of security until the next cycle of corporate governance crises. Companies might adopt symbolic mechanisms that are decoupled from actual practice to evidence compliance with increasing rules and regulations.
(cont.) Some research suggests that a different course-soft governance-is necessary to foster a constructive relationship between companies and their investors, through investor intermediaries such as hedge funds. Soft governance refers to the exercise of voice by investor intermediaries instead of exit (i.e., trading out of a company's stock). It is believed that not only is soft governance necessary to supplement hard governance, but that the lack of it might also be a significant lost opportunity that could contribute to an erosion of U.S. business competitiveness. This thesis is devoted to an assessment of a specific mechanism for instituting soft governance, referred to as Ownership Shares, a concept introduced by the founder of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Robert A. G. Monks, in 2004.
by Todd M. Gershkowitz.
S.M.

Local school boards are complicated governing bodies wrapped in the political tangle of their legal responsibilities, constituents' wishes, and the educational needs of the children. How then do some school board chairpersons unravel this political tangle and move their board forward while others become entrapped in the political web? This concept and question lead to the examination of the leadership orientations of local school board chairpersons in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Literature was reviewed concerning school board leadership. The historical perspective of school boards as well as the legal responsibilities granted them as agents of the state were also reviewed. A questionnaire was sent to all Virginia School Board chairs, superintendents, and school board members in which they rated the chairperson on desirable board characteristics. Based on the responses of the three groups of participants, these characteristics were categorized according to the four leadership orientations described by Bolman and Deal (1984). The lack of validity evidence undermined confidence in drawing inferences about identification of a dominant leadership orientation although modestly higher means were reported for the structural and humanistic orientations. The lack of convergent and discriminate validity evidence in this analysis preempted any meaningful test of the theory advanced by this research concerning local school board chairs in Virginia.
Ed. D.

The issue of decentralisation has been one of the top priorities of the Namibian education system since independence in 1990. One of the decentralisation aims was to enhance parental involvement in education by establishing School Boards. However, School Boards and the role of parents in school management have been considered ineffective for several years which led to the promulgation of Education Act 16 of 2001 in which the roles of School Boards are strengthened and clarified. This study sought to investigate School Board members’ perceptions, understanding and experiences of parents’ involvement in school governance more specifically after the implementation of the Education Act of 2001 in 2003. This study is an interpretive case study of one combined rural school in the Ohangwena educational region of Namibia. This research employed three data collection techniques, namely semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. The main findings of this study reveal that there is a lack of joint understanding and shared vision between educators and parents in the School Board. This problem underpins other more symptomatic problems, such as lack of accountability in the matter of school finances, differences in understanding the roles of School Board members and lack of parents’ motivation from the school management. The study further reveals the ineffectiveness and insufficiency of the training provided in the past. It highlights some of the challenges that hinder the effective involvement of parents in rural school governance, such as poor educational background among parents, poor knowledge of the English language and poor understanding of educational issues. However the findings also acknowledge parents’ participation and their full involvement in decision-making. The findings show that the new School Board elected in terms of the Education Act of 2001 has been more effective than previous School Boards and has reached a number of achievements such as being instrumental in solving disciplinary problems, purchasing school assets and renovating classrooms. Recommendations for practice and for further research are made.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
The core business of schools is to develop, implement and sustain an effective and efficient curriculum delivery process in order to provide quality education to all learners. External and internal changes though constantly affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the curriculum delivery process and it is required of schools to adapt and meet the demands that are required by these external as well as internal changes. Successful adaptation in an ever-changing environment also depends on how successful a school transforms itself into a learning organisation, develops conducive learning circumstances for learners and encourages constant learning by staff members as well. Research in this respect indicates that principals play a very important role in transforming schools into learning organisations. Schools as learning organisations are also recognised as complex organisations, which consist of multiple relationships or linkages between educators, learners, parents, fellow colleagues, provincial and national education departments, government, service providers, as well as other stakeholders. These relationships are never stable, nor predictable and it requires of principals to monitor, understand and interpret changing circumstances and respond appropriately. Appropriate responses must reflect our country’s constitutional values, which promote collaboration and consultation with all stakeholders. It also requires of school principals to apply a leadership approach, which not only facilitates participation by all stakeholders, but which focuses on empowerment as well. Furthermore, the role of principals in leading and managing schools has changed tremendously and there is a great need to empower principals and school management teams with facilitatory-and-empowering leadership competencies. Such competencies will enable them to understand, interpret and manage change in collaboration with other role-players much more effectively. It will also enhance their ability to effectively lead and efficiently manage the curriculum delivery process and all other supportive systems, such as the academic planning, assessment, finance, procurement, maintenance and human resources systems. Considering the former, this study focuses on the development of a governance model for schools, which considers schools as complex organisations continuously affected by change in the external as well as internal environment. Hence, the governance model provides principals and senior staff members with the understanding how to manage these changes in terms of principles which are derived from complexity theory. Complexity theory informs the practice of school leadership coherently and provides principals with the insight to look at the school educational system as a whole in order to advance organisational effectiveness continuously. According to complexity theory, no system is stagnant; it constantly changes, adapts, learns and evolves. The governance model therefore outlines various facilitatory-and-empowering leadership approaches which are required to cope in an environment which are continuously affected by change. It also illustrates the supporting role of effective communication and sound labour relations in this respect and outlines various management roles, which are required of the principal to transform schools into learning organisations. The governance model also focuses in particular on three essential governance processes, which are applicable to the translation of monetary allocations into appropriate nonpersonnel resources. These governance processes are budgeting, cost management and information technology. The last part of the model focuses on the various control systems for quality assurance purposes, such as whole school evaluation, systemic evaluation, performance appraisal and risk management. In conclusion, West Bank secondary school was used as a case study to experiment with and study the impact of appropriate leadership approaches, management roles, governance processes and controls. The integration of existing research and practice knowledge at this institution aims to extend the scope of application of the governance model to all schools in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

This study examines the organizational structures and decision-making processes used by school districts to recruit and hire school librarians. For students to acquire the information and technology literacy education they need, school libraries must be staffed with qualified individuals who can fulfill the librarian’s role as leader, teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator. Principals are typically given decision rights for hiring staff, including school librarians. Research shows that principals have limited knowledge of the skills and abilities of the school librarian or the specific needs and functions of the library program. Research also indicates that those with specific knowledge of school library programs, namely school district library supervisors, are only consulted on recruiting and hiring about half the time. School districts entrust library supervisors with responsibilities such as professional development of school librarians only after they are hired.

This study uses a theoretical lens from research on IT governance, which focuses on the use of knowledge-fit in applying decision rights in an organization. This framework is appropriate because of its incorporation of a specialist with a specific knowledge set in determining the placement of input and decision rights in the decision-making processes. The method used in this research was a multiple-case study design using five school districts as cases, varying by the involvement of the supervisors and other individuals in the hiring process. The data collected from each school district were interviews about the district’s recruiting and hiring practices with principals, an individual in HR, library supervisors, and recently hired school librarians. Data analysis was conducted through iterative coding from themes in the research questions, with continuous adjustments as new themes developed.

Results from the study indicate that governance framework is applicable to evaluating the decision-making processes used in recruiting and hiring school librarians. However, a district’s use of governance did not consistently use knowledge-fit in the determination of input and decision rights. In the hiring process, governance was more likely to be based on placing decision rights at a certain level of the district hierarchy rather than the location of specific knowledge, most often resulting in site-based governance for decision rights at the school-building level. The governance of the recruiting process was most affected by the shortage or surplus of candidates available to the district to fill positions. Districts struggling with a shortage of candidates typically placed governance for the decision-making process on recruiting at the district level, giving the library supervisor more opportunity for input and collaboration with human resources. In districts that use site-based governance and that place all input and decision rights at the building level, some principals use their autonomy to eliminate the school library position in the allotment phase or hire librarians that, while certified through testing, do not have the same level of expertise as those who achieve certification through LIS programs. The principals in districts who use site-based governance for decision rights but call on the library supervisor for advisement stated how valuable they found the supervisor’s expertise in evaluating candidates for hire. In no district was a principal or school required to involve the library supervisor in the hiring of school librarians. With a better understanding of the tasks involved, the effect of district governance on decision-making, and the use of knowledge to assign input and decision rights, it is possible to look at how all of these factors affect the outcome in the quality of the hire. A next step is to look at the hiring process that school librarians went through and connect those with the measurable outcomes of hiring: school librarian success, retention, and attrition; the quality of school library program services, outreach, and involvement in a school; and the perceptions of the success of the school librarian and the library program as seen from students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other community stakeholders.

In Queensland, all state schools have the opportunity to decide the model of school-based management they would like to adopt for their school communities. For schools wishing to pursue the greatest level of school-based management, School Councils are mandatory. Because School Councils will play an important role as schools become increasingly involved in school-based management, the operations of newly formed Councils were the basis of this research. The main purpose of the study is to determine, through both literature and research, what makes an effective School Council. Although Education Queensland has identified roles and functions, as well as the rationale behind School Councils, clear guidelines to assist Councils with their implementation and to gauge the effectiveness of Councils do not exist. Because School Councils have only been implemented in Queensland for a very short period of time, there has been very little research undertaken on their operations. There are three main stages to this research. First, an extensive literature review explored the theoretical, research and policy developments in relation to school-based management and School Councils. Second, a pilot study was undertaken of an existing School Council that had been in operation for just twelve months. The final and most significant stage of the research involved multi-site case study of three newly formed School Councils, the research being conducted over a twelve-month period to obtain a longitudinal picture of their operations. Two general theoretical frameworks, based on the concepts of change theory and leadership theory, guided the research. Data from the study were analysed within these frameworks and within six focus areas that were identified from the literature and pilot study. These focus areas formed the basis for the development of criteria for the implementation of an effective School Council that were investigated in the three case studies. The focus areas were: 1. promoting the profile of the School Council within the school community; 2. developing well defined roles, responsibilities and functions of the School Council; 3. developing roles and relationships of School Council members; 4. promoting accountability, monitoring and reporting responsibilities; 5. providing training and professional development for all School Council members; and 6. improving the functioning and operations of the School Council. The research was conducted within the qualitative tradition. Specifically, the method adopted was multi-site case study. Data-collection techniques involved questionnaires, interviews with School Council members, observations of Council meetings and an analysis of Council documentation. The findings from the study outlined a number of theoretical understandings and suggested criteria to assist schools in developing a more effective Council, including examples of strategies to support their effective implementation. It is envisaged that the theoretical understandings, the suggested criteria and specific examples will be of benefit to other schools where School Councils are being formed by providing them with a structure that will assist in the beginning stages of the Council's operation.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2012
The School Governing Body as the executive authority of every school has the role to govern the finance of the school efficiently, effectively and economically. It has to formulate financial policy and understand financial legislation framework in particular Public Finance Management Act, 1999, Procurement Policy and South African School Act, 1996. The problem in this study is to investigate the skills of the School Governing Body in the handling of school finances, its ability to formulate and implement school base financial policies and its implementation of South African Schools Act, 1996 and Public Finance Management Act, 1999.