Academic literature on the topic 'Universities and colleges Victoria Administration Case studies'

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to identify age, gender, educational background, athletic playing experience, teaching experience, coaching experience, and administrative experience of athletic directors (ADs) of historically black colleges and universities {HBCUs), and (b) to compare these data with data collected in previous studies on ADs of predominantly white colleges and universities. A 20-item questionnaire was designed, and copies were mailed to the 80 ADs of the HBCUs listed in the 1988-1989 National Directory of College Athletics. Fifty-five (68.8%) ADs returned the questionnaire; of these, 53 were black males, 1 was a black female, and 1 was a white male. Although the results revealed that ADs of HBCUs possessed many of the characteristics of ADs of predominantly white colleges and universities, there were differences found between the ADs of this study and those of earlier studies: (a) ADs of HBCUs were, on the average, 5 years younger in age, (b) a higher percentage of ADs of HBCUs held master's and doctorate degrees, (c) a higher percentage of ADs of HBCUs currently had teaching and/or coaching responsibilities, and (d) the median salary ranges were lower for ADs of HBCUs than for ADs of predominantly white colleges and universities. As was the case in earlier studies, few ADs held degrees in sport administration,

Internet public opinion events at universities in China occurred frequently, creating painful repercussions for reputation and stability of colleges and universities. To better cope with the problem, this paper explores an evolutionary mechanism of the university Internet public opinion events. Firstly, we discuss the interactions and behavior of three key participants: an Internet medium, university students as a whole, and administration. Secondly, we construct a tripartite evolutionary game model consisting of an Internet medium, student group, and university administration and then analyze and obtain the differential dynamic equations and equilibrium points. Subsequently, the evolutionary stable equilibrium is further analyzed. Finally, we employ numerical studies to examine how the tripartite behavior choices affect evolutionary paths and evolutionary equilibrium strategies. Results are derived as follows: under certain conditions, there exists an asymptotically stable equilibrium point for the tripartite evolutionary game. On the one hand, appropriate penalties and rewards should be provided to foster objectives and fair behaviors of the network medium. On the other hand, university students should be educated and guided to deal rationally with negative effects of Internet public opinion events. Moreover, online real-name authentication is an important and necessary measure. Finally, the university administration should release truthful, timely, and comprehensive information of Internet public opinion events to mitigate potential negative impacts.

Abstract Many colleges and universities maintain herbaria or natural history collections. Natural History Collections Clubs (NHCCs) are registered student organizations (RSOs) capable of improving conditions in these collections, many of which are threatened by a lack of funding, minimal curatorial staff, and inadequate institutional support. Student involvement through NHCCs can improve conditions in collections at academic institutions by providing volunteers, promoting outreach, increasing funding, and generating enthusiasm in administration, students, and the community. In this paper, we explain the need for such organizations, outline the process of establishing an NHCC, and provide case studies from successful organizations. We also describe a developing network for NHCCs and summarize what has been accomplished by these organizations to date.

The main objective of the research is to analyze the role of career development as an independent variable in job performance as a dependent variable through the individuals well-being as a mediating variable. The researcher chose the government colleges at the University of Dhi Qar, which included (Faculty of Medicine, College of Administration and Economics, College of Education for Sciences (Humanity), College of Education for Science (Pure), College of Arts, College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Science, College of Science Computers and Mathematics, College of Agriculture, College of Law, College of Islamic Sciences, College of Mass Communication, College of Archeology, College of Nursing, Presidency of Dhi Qar University) a spatial sample to conduct the research in a sample size of 107) of college deans, assistant deans and heads of departments in these colleges and the study tried Answering many questions that made up the research problem, perhaps the most prominent of which is the main question that states: Is it possible to develop a career path to predict the performance of working individuals, and is there a role in the individuals well-being in strengthening this relationship? The importance of the current research emerges from the importance of its variables and from the studies that emphasized the importance of verifying the relationship between those variables, in addition to the importance that these departments take into consideration with regard to the studied variables, in their quest to achieve outstanding levels of performance or desires similar to scientifically sound universities. To achieve the objectives of the study, which included revealing the nature of the relationship and influences between the variables of the study, the researcher adopted groups of hypotheses, correlation hypotheses, direct influence hypotheses, and indirect influence. To reach the objectives of the study and find answers to its questions and to test the hypotheses of the study, the researcher used many statistical methods, including the correlation coefficient (Pearson), structural equation modeling, and path analysis through statistical programs (AMOS V.26), (SPSS (V 26). The study reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which is the important role played by the development of the career path through the role of the individuals well-being. The concept of individual well-being for its importance in improving the psychological and personal aspect of the individual.

Resumen El trabajo que presentamos, es parte de una investigación más amplia sobre la Sociología venezolana ayer y hoy1. En esta oportunidad, vamos a hacer referencia al análisis de algunos resultados parciales de la investigación: En primer lugar, a un análisis cualitativo de la definición del egresado/a a partir del perfil académico plasmado en documentos como los planes de estudio de las Escuelas de Sociología de universidades venezolanas, la publicación referida a oportunidades de estudios en las Instituciones de Educación Superior en Venezuela del Consejo Nacional de Universidades (CNU), el Manual Descriptivo de Clasificación de Cargos de la Oficina Central de Personal, y la Ley de Colegiación. En segundo lugar, se presentarán diez (10) estudios de caso de sociólogos/as que se han destacado en el desarrollo de esta disciplina como profesionales en las universidades (docentes e investigadores/as) y en la administración pública y privada. Estos profesionales opinaron sobre el Objeto de Estudio de la Sociología; Relación de las Escuelas de Sociología, el Mercado de Trabajo y el Perfil de Egreso; su vinculación con otras disciplinas y los desafíos de la Sociología como disciplina y profesión. En tercer lugar, un análisis cuanti-cualitativo de los datos obtenidos de una encuesta aplicada a 62 sociólogos/as egresados(as) en la década de los 90, referida a la caracterización del profesional de Sociología y su quehacer como sociólogo/a (datos demográficos, estudios realizados,situación laboral), y finalmente, algunas conclusiones que se desprenden de esta investigación como la existencia de un desencuentro entre el perfil académico y el profesional, una invisibilización de la disciplina y la profesión en el mercado de trabajo en tiempos de globalización, y queremos dejar abierta la discusión del desafío que tiene la Sociología como disciplina y profesión ante la transdisciplinariedad que la invisibiliza y/o la desaparece como tal.Palabras clave: Perfil de egreso, Mercado de Trabajo, Sociología, Venezuela.AbstractThis paper is part of a broader research on the Venezuelan sociology in previous times and today. In this chance, we will make reference to the analysis of some partial results of the research: In the first place, we refer to a qualitative analysis of the definition of the graduate starting from the academic profile stated in documents such as the curricula of the Sociology Schools in Venezuelan Universities, the publication referred to the studies opportunities in the Universities in Venezuela emitted by the National Universities Bureau (CNU for its name in Spanish), from the Descriptive Manual of Jobs Classification from the Main Personnel Office and the Collegiate Law. -In the second place, we refer to the results of ten (10) case studies of Sociologists that have highlighted the development of this discipline as professionals in colleges (researches and faculties) and in the public and private administration. These professionals gave their opinions on the object of study of Sociology, relationship among the sociology schools, job offers in the market and the graduate profile; the links of sociology to other disciplines and the challenges of Sociology as a discipline and as a profession. In the third place, a qualitative-quantitative analysis of some data obtained from a survey to 62 sociologists graduated in the 90s, referred to the characterization of the sociology professional and his or her job as a sociologist (demographic information, academic information, working situation), and finally some conclusions from this research such as the existence of a mismatching between the academic profile and the professional one, a disappearance of the discipline and the profession from the job offers in the market in these globalization times and we want to open a discussion on the challenges of the Sociology as discipline and as a profession in front of the multidisciplinary environment that is making it disappear as such.Key words: Graduate profile, Job offers, Sociology, Venezuela.

Resumen El trabajo que presentamos, es parte de una investigación más amplia sobre la Sociología venezolana ayer y hoy1. En esta oportunidad, vamos a hacer referencia al análisis de algunos resultados parciales de la investigación: En primer lugar, a un análisis cualitativo de la definición del egresado/a a partir del perfil académico plasmado en documentos como los planes de estudio de las Escuelas de Sociología de universidades venezolanas, la publicación referida a oportunidades de estudios en las Instituciones de Educación Superior en Venezuela del Consejo Nacional de Universidades (CNU), el Manual Descriptivo de Clasificación de Cargos de la Oficina Central de Personal, y la Ley de Colegiación. En segundo lugar, se presentarán diez (10) estudios de caso de sociólogos/as que se han destacado en el desarrollo de esta disciplina como profesionales en las universidades (docentes e investigadores/as) y en la administración pública y privada. Estos profesionales opinaron sobre el Objeto de Estudio de la Sociología; Relación de las Escuelas de Sociología, el Mercado de Trabajo y el Perfil de Egreso; su vinculación con otras disciplinas y los desafíos de la Sociología como disciplina y profesión. En tercer lugar, un análisis cuanti-cualitativo de los datos obtenidos de una encuesta aplicada a 62 sociólogos/as egresados(as) en la década de los 90, referida a la caracterización del profesional de Sociología y su quehacer como sociólogo/a (datos demográficos, estudios realizados,situación laboral), y finalmente, algunas conclusiones que se desprenden de esta investigación como la existencia de un desencuentro entre el perfil académico y el profesional, una invisibilización de la disciplina y la profesión en el mercado de trabajo en tiempos de globalización, y queremos dejar abierta la discusión del desafío que tiene la Sociología como disciplina y profesión ante la transdisciplinariedad que la invisibiliza y/o la desaparece como tal.Palabras clave: Perfil de egreso, Mercado de Trabajo, Sociología, Venezuela.AbstractThis paper is part of a broader research on the Venezuelan sociology in previous times and today. In this chance, we will make reference to the analysis of some partial results of the research: In the first place, we refer to a qualitative analysis of the definition of the graduate starting from the academic profile stated in documents such as the curricula of the Sociology Schools in Venezuelan Universities, the publication referred to the studies opportunities in the Universities in Venezuela emitted by the National Universities Bureau (CNU for its name in Spanish), from the Descriptive Manual of Jobs Classification from the Main Personnel Office and the Collegiate Law. -In the second place, we refer to the results of ten (10) case studies of Sociologists that have highlighted the development of this discipline as professionals in colleges (researches and faculties) and in the public and private administration. These professionals gave their opinions on the object of study of Sociology, relationship among the sociology schools, job offers in the market and the graduate profile; the links of sociology to other disciplines and the challenges of Sociology as a discipline and as a profession. In the third place, a qualitative-quantitative analysis of some data obtained from a survey to 62 sociologists graduated in the 90s, referred to the characterization of the sociology professional and his or her job as a sociologist (demographic information, academic information, working situation), and finally some conclusions from this research such as the existence of a mismatching between the academic profile and the professional one, a disappearance of the discipline and the profession from the job offers in the market in these globalization times and we want to open a discussion on the challenges of the Sociology as discipline and as a profession in front of the multidisciplinary environment that is making it disappear as such.Key words: Graduate profile, Job offers, Sociology, Venezuela.

Education in Oceania continues to reflect the embedded implicit and explicit colonial practices and processes from the past. This paper conceptualises a cultural approach to education and leadership appropriate and relevant to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As elementary school leaders, we highlight Kanne Lobal, a traditional Marshallese navigation practice based on indigenous language, values and practices. We conceptualise and develop Kanne Lobal in this paper as a framework for understanding the usefulness of our indigenous knowledge in leadership and educational practices within formal education. Through bwebwenato, a method of talk story, our key learnings and reflexivities were captured. We argue that realising the value of Marshallese indigenous knowledge and practices for school leaders requires purposeful training of the ways in which our knowledge can be made useful in our professional educational responsibilities. Drawing from our Marshallese knowledge is an intentional effort to inspire, empower and express what education and leadership partnership means for Marshallese people, as articulated by Marshallese themselves. Introduction As noted in the call for papers within the Waikato Journal of Education (WJE) for this special issue, bodies of knowledge and histories in Oceania have long sustained generations across geographic boundaries to ensure cultural survival. For Marshallese people, we cannot really know ourselves “until we know how we came to be where we are today” (Walsh, Heine, Bigler & Stege, 2012). Jitdam Kapeel is a popular Marshallese concept and ideal associated with inquiring into relationships within the family and community. In a similar way, the practice of relating is about connecting the present and future to the past. Education and leadership partnerships are linked and we look back to the past, our history, to make sense and feel inspired to transform practices that will benefit our people. In this paper and in light of our next generation, we reconnect with our navigation stories to inspire and empower education and leadership. Kanne lobal is part of our navigation stories, a conceptual framework centred on cultural practices, values, and concepts that embrace collective partnerships. Our link to this talanoa vā with others in the special issue is to attempt to make sense of connections given the global COVID-19 context by providing a Marshallese approach to address the physical and relational “distance” between education and leadership partnerships in Oceania. Like the majority of developing small island nations in Oceania, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has had its share of educational challenges through colonial legacies of the past which continues to drive education systems in the region (Heine, 2002). The historical administration and education in the RMI is one of colonisation. Successive administrations by the Spanish, German, Japanese, and now the US, has resulted in education and learning that privileges western knowledge and forms of learning. This paper foregrounds understandings of education and learning as told by the voices of elementary school leaders from the RMI. The move to re-think education and leadership from Marshallese perspectives is an act of shifting the focus of bwebwenato or conversations that centres on Marshallese language and worldviews. The concept of jelalokjen was conceptualised as traditional education framed mainly within the community context. In the past, jelalokjen was practiced and transmitted to the younger generation for cultural continuity. During the arrival of colonial administrations into the RMI, jelalokjen was likened to the western notions of education and schooling (Kupferman, 2004). Today, the primary function of jelalokjen, as traditional and formal education, it is for “survival in a hostile [and challenging] environment” (Kupferman, 2004, p. 43). Because western approaches to learning in the RMI have not always resulted in positive outcomes for those engaged within the education system, as school leaders who value our cultural knowledge and practices, and aspire to maintain our language with the next generation, we turn to Kanne Lobal, a practice embedded in our navigation stories, collective aspirations, and leadership. The significance in the development of Kanne Lobal, as an appropriate framework for education and leadership, resulted in us coming together and working together. Not only were we able to share our leadership concerns, however, the engagement strengthened our connections with each other as school leaders, our communities, and the Public Schooling System (PSS). Prior to that, many of us were in competition for resources. Educational Leadership: IQBE and GCSL Leadership is a valued practice in the RMI. Before the IQBE programme started in 2018, the majority of the school leaders on the main island of Majuro had not engaged in collaborative partnerships with each other before. Our main educational purpose was to achieve accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an accreditation commission for schools in the United States. The WASC accreditation dictated our work and relationships and many school leaders on Majuro felt the pressure of competition against each other. We, the authors in this paper, share our collective bwebwenato, highlighting our school leadership experiences and how we gained strength from our own ancestral knowledge to empower “us”, to collaborate with each other, our teachers, communities, as well as with PSS; a collaborative partnership we had not realised in the past. The paucity of literature that captures Kajin Majol (Marshallese language) and education in general in the RMI is what we intend to fill by sharing our reflections and experiences. To move our educational practices forward we highlight Kanne Lobal, a cultural approach that focuses on our strengths, collective social responsibilities and wellbeing. For a long time, there was no formal training in place for elementary school leaders. School principals and vice principals were appointed primarily on their academic merit through having an undergraduate qualification. As part of the first cohort of fifteen school leaders, we engaged in the professional training programme, the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL), refitted to our context after its initial development in the Solomon Islands. GCSL was coordinated by the Institute of Education (IOE) at the University of the South Pacific (USP). GCSL was seen as a relevant and appropriate training programme for school leaders in the RMI as part of an Asia Development Bank (ADB) funded programme which aimed at “Improving Quality Basic Education” (IQBE) in parts of the northern Pacific. GCSL was managed on Majuro, RMI’s main island, by the director at the time Dr Irene Taafaki, coordinator Yolanda McKay, and administrators at the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) RMI campus. Through the provision of GCSL, as school leaders we were encouraged to re-think and draw-from our own cultural repository and connect to our ancestral knowledge that have always provided strength for us. This kind of thinking and practice was encouraged by our educational leaders (Heine, 2002). We argue that a culturally-affirming and culturally-contextual framework that reflects the lived experiences of Marshallese people is much needed and enables the disruption of inherent colonial processes left behind by Western and Eastern administrations which have influenced our education system in the RMI (Heine, 2002). Kanne Lobal, an approach utilising a traditional navigation has warranted its need to provide solutions for today’s educational challenges for us in the RMI. Education in the Pacific Education in the Pacific cannot be understood without contextualising it in its history and culture. It is the same for us in the RMI (Heine, 2002; Walsh et al., 2012). The RMI is located in the Pacific Ocean and is part of Micronesia. It was named after a British captain, John Marshall in the 1700s. The atolls in the RMI were explored by the Spanish in the 16th century. Germany unsuccessfully attempted to colonize the islands in 1885. Japan took control in 1914, but after several battles during World War II, the US seized the RMI from them. In 1947, the United Nations made the island group, along with the Mariana and Caroline archipelagos, a U.S. trust territory (Walsh et al, 2012). Education in the RMI reflects the colonial administrations of Germany, Japan, and now the US. Before the turn of the century, formal education in the Pacific reflected western values, practices, and standards. Prior to that, education was informal and not binded to formal learning institutions (Thaman, 1997) and oral traditions was used as the medium for transmitting learning about customs and practices living with parents, grandparents, great grandparents. As alluded to by Jiba B. Kabua (2004), any “discussion about education is necessarily a discussion of culture, and any policy on education is also a policy of culture” (p. 181). It is impossible to promote one without the other, and it is not logical to understand one without the other. Re-thinking how education should look like, the pedagogical strategies that are relevant in our classrooms, the ways to engage with our parents and communities - such re-thinking sits within our cultural approaches and frameworks. Our collective attempts to provide a cultural framework that is relevant and appropriate for education in our context, sits within the political endeavour to decolonize. This means that what we are providing will not only be useful, but it can be used as a tool to question and identify whether things in place restrict and prevent our culture or whether they promote and foreground cultural ideas and concepts, a significant discussion of culture linked to education (Kabua, 2004). Donor funded development aid programmes were provided to support the challenges within education systems. Concerned with the persistent low educational outcomes of Pacific students, despite the prevalence of aid programmes in the region, in 2000 Pacific educators and leaders with support from New Zealand Aid (NZ Aid) decided to intervene (Heine, 2002; Taufe’ulungaki, 2014). In April 2001, a group of Pacific educators and leaders across the region were invited to a colloquium funded by the New Zealand Overseas Development Agency held in Suva Fiji at the University of the South Pacific. The main purpose of the colloquium was to enable “Pacific educators to re-think the values, assumptions and beliefs underlying [formal] schooling in Oceania” (Benson, 2002). Leadership, in general, is a valued practice in the RMI (Heine, 2002). Despite education leadership being identified as a significant factor in school improvement (Sanga & Chu, 2009), the limited formal training opportunities of school principals in the region was a persistent concern. As part of an Asia Development Bank (ADB) funded project, the Improve Quality Basic Education (IQBE) intervention was developed and implemented in the RMI in 2017. Mentoring is a process associated with the continuity and sustainability of leadership knowledge and practices (Sanga & Chu, 2009). It is a key aspect of building capacity and capabilities within human resources in education (ibid). Indigenous knowledges and education research According to Hilda Heine, the relationship between education and leadership is about understanding Marshallese history and culture (cited in Walsh et al., 2012). It is about sharing indigenous knowledge and histories that “details for future generations a story of survival and resilience and the pride we possess as a people” (Heine, cited in Walsh et al., 2012, p. v). This paper is fuelled by postcolonial aspirations yet is grounded in Pacific indigenous research. This means that our intentions are driven by postcolonial pursuits and discourses linked to challenging the colonial systems and schooling in the Pacific region that privileges western knowledge and learning and marginalises the education practices and processes of local people (Thiong’o, 1986). A point of difference and orientation from postcolonialism is a desire to foreground indigenous Pacific language, specifically Majin Majol, through Marshallese concepts. Our collective bwebwenato and conversation honours and values kautiej (respect), jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity), and jouj (kindness) (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). Pacific leaders developed the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative for and by Pacific People (RPEIPP) in 2002 to take control of the ways in which education research was conducted by donor funded organisations (Taufe’ulungaki, 2014). Our former president, Dr Hilda Heine was part of the group of leaders who sought to counter the ways in which our educational and leadership stories were controlled and told by non-Marshallese (Heine, 2002). As a former minister of education in the RMI, Hilda Heine continues to inspire and encourage the next generation of educators, school leaders, and researchers to re-think and de-construct the way learning and education is conceptualised for Marshallese people. The conceptualisation of Kanne Lobal acknowledges its origin, grounded in Marshallese navigation knowledge and practice. Our decision to unpack and deconstruct Kanne Lobal within the context of formal education and leadership responds to the need to not only draw from indigenous Marshallese ideas and practice but to consider that the next generation will continue to be educated using western processes and initiatives particularly from the US where we get a lot of our funding from. According to indigenous researchers Dawn Bessarab and Bridget Ng’andu (2010), doing research that considers “culturally appropriate processes to engage with indigenous groups and individuals is particularly pertinent in today’s research environment” (p. 37). Pacific indigenous educators and researchers have turned to their own ancestral knowledge and practices for inspiration and empowerment. Within western research contexts, the often stringent ideals and processes are not always encouraging of indigenous methods and practices. However, many were able to ground and articulate their use of indigenous methods as being relevant and appropriate to capturing the realities of their communities (Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Fulu-Aiolupotea, 2014; Thaman, 1997). At the same time, utilising Pacific indigenous methods and approaches enabled research engagement with their communities that honoured and respected them and their communities. For example, Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian researchers used the talanoa method as a way to capture the stories, lived realities, and worldviews of their communities within education in the diaspora (Fa’avae, Jones, & Manu’atu, 2016; Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Aiolupotea, 2014; Vaioleti, 2005). Tok stori was used by Solomon Islander educators and school leaders to highlight the unique circles of conversational practice and storytelling that leads to more positive engagement with their community members, capturing rich and meaningful narratives as a result (Sanga & Houma, 2004). The Indigenous Aborigine in Australia utilise yarning as a “relaxed discussion through which both the researcher and participant journey together visiting places and topics of interest relevant” (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010, p. 38). Despite the diverse forms of discussions and storytelling by indigenous peoples, of significance are the cultural protocols, ethics, and language for conducting and guiding the engagement (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010; Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Aiolupotea, 2014). Through the ethics, values, protocols, and language, these are what makes indigenous methods or frameworks unique compared to western methods like in-depth interviews or semi-structured interviews. This is why it is important for us as Marshallese educators to frame, ground, and articulate how our own methods and frameworks of learning could be realised in western education (Heine, 2002; Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014). In this paper, we utilise bwebwenato as an appropriate method linked to “talk story”, capturing our collective stories and experiences during GCSL and how we sought to build partnerships and collaboration with each other, our communities, and the PSS. Bwebwenato and drawing from Kajin Majel Legends and stories that reflect Marshallese society and its cultural values have survived through our oral traditions. The practice of weaving also holds knowledge about our “valuable and earliest sources of knowledge” (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019, p. 2). The skilful navigation of Marshallese wayfarers on the walap (large canoes) in the ocean is testament of their leadership and the value they place on ensuring the survival and continuity of Marshallese people (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019; Walsh et al., 2012). During her graduate study in 2014, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner conceptualised bwebwenato as being the most “well-known form of Marshallese orality” (p. 38). The Marshallese-English dictionary defined bwebwenato as talk, conversation, story, history, article, episode, lore, myth, or tale (cited in Jetnil Kijiner, 2014). Three years later in 2017, bwebwenato was utilised in a doctoral project by Natalie Nimmer as a research method to gather “talk stories” about the experiences of 10 Marshallese experts in knowledge and skills ranging from sewing to linguistics, canoe-making and business. Our collective bwebwenato in this paper centres on Marshallese ideas and language. The philosophy of Marshallese knowledge is rooted in our “Kajin Majel”, or Marshallese language and is shared and transmitted through our oral traditions. For instance, through our historical stories and myths. Marshallese philosophy, that is, the knowledge systems inherent in our beliefs, values, customs, and practices are shared. They are inherently relational, meaning that knowledge systems and philosophies within our world are connected, in mind, body, and spirit (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014; Nimmer, 2017). Although some Marshallese believe that our knowledge is disappearing as more and more elders pass away, it is therefore important work together, and learn from each other about the knowledges shared not only by the living but through their lamentations and stories of those who are no longer with us (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014). As a Marshallese practice, weaving has been passed-down from generation to generation. Although the art of weaving is no longer as common as it used to be, the artefacts such as the “jaki-ed” (clothing mats) continue to embody significant Marshallese values and traditions. For our weavers, the jouj (check spelling) is the centre of the mat and it is where the weaving starts. When the jouj is correct and weaved well, the remainder and every other part of the mat will be right. The jouj is symbolic of the “heart” and if the heart is prepared well, trained well, then life or all other parts of the body will be well (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). In that light, we have applied the same to this paper. Conceptualising and drawing from cultural practices that are close and dear to our hearts embodies a significant ontological attempt to prioritize our own knowledge and language, a sense of endearment to who we are and what we believe education to be like for us and the next generation. The application of the phrase “Majolizing '' was used by the Ministry of Education when Hilda Heine was minister, to weave cultural ideas and language into the way that teachers understand the curriculum, develop lesson plans and execute them in the classroom. Despite this, there were still concerns with the embedded colonized practices where teachers defaulted to eurocentric methods of doing things, like the strategies provided in the textbooks given to us. In some ways, our education was slow to adjust to the “Majolizing '' intention by our former minister. In this paper, we provide Kanne Lobal as a way to contribute to the “Majolizing intention” and perhaps speed up yet still be collectively responsible to all involved in education. Kajin Wa and Kanne Lobal “Wa” is the Marshallese concept for canoe. Kajin wa, as in canoe language, has a lot of symbolic meaning linked to deeply-held Marshallese values and practices. The canoe was the foundational practice that supported the livelihood of harsh atoll island living which reflects the Marshallese social world. The experts of Kajin wa often refer to “wa” as being the vessel of life, a means and source of sustaining life (Kelen, 2009, cited in Miller, 2010). “Jouj” means kindness and is the lower part of the main hull of the canoe. It is often referred to by some canoe builders in the RMI as the heart of the canoe and is linked to love. The jouj is one of the first parts of the canoe that is built and is “used to do all other measurements, and then the rest of the canoe is built on top of it” (Miller, 2010, p. 67). The significance of the jouj is that when the canoe is in the water, the jouj is the part of the hull that is underwater and ensures that all the cargo and passengers are safe. For Marshallese, jouj or kindness is what living is about and is associated with selflessly carrying the responsibility of keeping the family and community safe. The parts of the canoe reflect Marshallese culture, legend, family, lineage, and kinship. They embody social responsibilities that guide, direct, and sustain Marshallese families’ wellbeing, from atoll to atoll. For example, the rojak (boom), rojak maan (upper boom), rojak kōrā (lower boom), and they support the edges of the ujelā/ujele (sail) (see figure 1). The literal meaning of rojak maan is male boom and rojak kōrā means female boom which together strengthens the sail and ensures the canoe propels forward in a strong yet safe way. Figuratively, the rojak maan and rojak kōrā symbolise the mother and father relationship which when strong, through the jouj (kindness and love), it can strengthen families and sustain them into the future. Figure 1. Parts of the canoe Source: https://www.canoesmarshallislands.com/2014/09/names-of-canoe-parts/ From a socio-cultural, communal, and leadership view, the canoe (wa) provides understanding of the relationships required to inspire and sustain Marshallese peoples’ education and learning. We draw from Kajin wa because they provide cultural ideas and practices that enable understanding of education and leadership necessary for sustaining Marshallese people and realities in Oceania. When building a canoe, the women are tasked with the weaving of the ujelā/ujele (sail) and to ensure that it is strong enough to withstand long journeys and the fierce winds and waters of the ocean. The Kanne Lobal relates to the front part of the ujelā/ujele (sail) where the rojak maan and rojak kōrā meet and connect (see the red lines in figure 1). Kanne Lobal is linked to the strategic use of the ujelā/ujele by navigators, when there is no wind north wind to propel them forward, to find ways to capture the winds so that their journey can continue. As a proverbial saying, Kanne Lobal is used to ignite thinking and inspire and transform practice particularly when the journey is rough and tough. In this paper we draw from Kanne Lobal to ignite, inspire, and transform our educational and leadership practices, a move to explore what has always been meaningful to Marshallese people when we are faced with challenges. The Kanne Lobal utilises our language, and cultural practices and values by sourcing from the concepts of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity). A key Marshallese proverb, “Enra bwe jen lale rara”, is the cultural practice where families enact compassion through the sharing of food in all occurrences. The term “enra” is a small basket weaved from the coconut leaves, and often used by Marshallese as a plate to share and distribute food amongst each other. Bwe-jen-lale-rara is about noticing and providing for the needs of others, and “enra” the basket will help support and provide for all that are in need. “Enra-bwe-jen-lale-rara” is symbolic of cultural exchange and reciprocity and the cultural values associated with building and maintaining relationships, and constantly honouring each other. As a Marshallese practice, in this article we share our understanding and knowledge about the challenges as well as possible solutions for education concerns in our nation. In addition, we highlight another proverb, “wa kuk wa jimor”, which relates to having one canoe, and despite its capacity to feed and provide for the individual, but within the canoe all people can benefit from what it can provide. In the same way, we provide in this paper a cultural framework that will enable all educators to benefit from. It is a framework that is far-reaching and relevant to the lived realities of Marshallese people today. Kumit relates to people united to build strength, all co-operating and working together, living in peace, harmony, and good health. Kanne Lobal: conceptual framework for education and leadership An education framework is a conceptual structure that can be used to capture ideas and thinking related to aspects of learning. Kanne Lobal is conceptualised and framed in this paper as an educational framework. Kanne Lobal highlights the significance of education as a collective partnership whereby leadership is an important aspect. Kanne Lobal draws-from indigenous Marshallese concepts like kautiej (respect), jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity), and jouj (kindness, heart). The role of a leader, including an education leader, is to prioritise collective learning and partnerships that benefits Marshallese people and the continuity and survival of the next generation (Heine, 2002; Thaman, 1995). As described by Ejnar Aerōk, an expert canoe builder in the RMI, he stated: “jerbal ippān doon bwe en maron maan wa e” (cited in Miller, 2010, p. 69). His description emphasises the significance of partnerships and working together when navigating and journeying together in order to move the canoe forward. The kubaak, the outrigger of the wa (canoe) is about “partnerships”. For us as elementary school leaders on Majuro, kubaak encourages us to value collaborative partnerships with each other as well as our communities, PSS, and other stakeholders. Partnerships is an important part of the Kanne Lobal education and leadership framework. It requires ongoing bwebwenato – the inspiring as well as confronting and challenging conversations that should be mediated and negotiated if we and our education stakeholders are to journey together to ensure that the educational services we provide benefits our next generation of young people in the RMI. Navigating ahead the partnerships, mediation, and negotiation are the core values of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity). As an organic conceptual framework grounded in indigenous values, inspired through our lived experiences, Kanne Lobal provides ideas and concepts for re-thinking education and leadership practices that are conducive to learning and teaching in the schooling context in the RMI. By no means does it provide the solution to the education ills in our nation. However, we argue that Kanne Lobal is a more relevant approach which is much needed for the negatively stigmatised system as a consequence of the various colonial administrations that have and continue to shape and reframe our ideas about what education should be like for us in the RMI. Moreover, Kannel Lobal is our attempt to decolonize the framing of education and leadership, moving our bwebwenato to re-framing conversations of teaching and learning so that our cultural knowledge and values are foregrounded, appreciated, and realised within our education system. Bwebwenato: sharing our stories In this section, we use bwebwenato as a method of gathering and capturing our stories as data. Below we capture our stories and ongoing conversations about the richness in Marshallese cultural knowledge in the outer islands and on Majuro and the potentialities in Kanne Lobal. Danny Jim When I was in third grade (9-10 years of age), during my grandfather’s speech in Arno, an atoll near Majuro, during a time when a wa (canoe) was being blessed and ready to put the canoe into the ocean. My grandfather told me the canoe was a blessing for the family. “Without a canoe, a family cannot provide for them”, he said. The canoe allows for travelling between places to gather food and other sources to provide for the family. My grandfather’s stories about people’s roles within the canoe reminded me that everyone within the family has a responsibility to each other. Our women, mothers and daughters too have a significant responsibility in the journey, in fact, they hold us, care for us, and given strength to their husbands, brothers, and sons. The wise man or elder sits in the middle of the canoe, directing the young man who help to steer. The young man, he does all the work, directed by the older man. They take advice and seek the wisdom of the elder. In front of the canoe, a young boy is placed there and because of his strong and youthful vision, he is able to help the elder as well as the young man on the canoe. The story can be linked to the roles that school leaders, teachers, and students have in schooling. Without each person knowing intricately their role and responsibility, the sight and vision ahead for the collective aspirations of the school and the community is difficult to comprehend. For me, the canoe is symbolic of our educational journey within our education system. As the school leader, a central, trusted, and respected figure in the school, they provide support for teachers who are at the helm, pedagogically striving to provide for their students. For without strong direction from the school leaders and teachers at the helm, the students, like the young boy, cannot foresee their futures, or envisage how education can benefit them. This is why Kanne Lobal is a significant framework for us in the Marshall Islands because within the practice we are able to take heed and empower each other so that all benefit from the process. Kanne Lobal is linked to our culture, an essential part of who we are. We must rely on our own local approaches, rather than relying on others that are not relevant to what we know and how we live in today’s society. One of the things I can tell is that in Majuro, compared to the outer islands, it’s different. In the outer islands, parents bring children together and tell them legends and stories. The elders tell them about the legends and stories – the bwebwenato. Children from outer islands know a lot more about Marshallese legends compared to children from the Majuro atoll. They usually stay close to their parents, observe how to prepare food and all types of Marshallese skills. Loretta Joseph Case There is little Western influence in the outer islands. They grow up learning their own culture with their parents, not having tv. They are closely knit, making their own food, learning to weave. They use fire for cooking food. They are more connected because there are few of them, doing their own culture. For example, if they’re building a house, the ladies will come together and make food to take to the males that are building the house, encouraging them to keep on working - “jemjem maal” (sharpening tools i.e. axe, like encouraging workers to empower them). It’s when they bring food and entertainment. Rubon Rubon Togetherness, work together, sharing of food, these are important practices as a school leader. Jemjem maal – the whole village works together, men working and the women encourage them with food and entertainment. All the young children are involved in all of the cultural practices, cultural transmission is consistently part of their everyday life. These are stronger in the outer islands. Kanne Lobal has the potential to provide solutions using our own knowledge and practices. Connie Joel When new teachers become a teacher, they learn more about their culture in teaching. Teaching raises the question, who are we? A popular saying amongst our people, “Aelon kein ad ej aelon in manit”, means that “Our islands are cultural islands”. Therefore, when we are teaching, and managing the school, we must do this culturally. When we live and breathe, we must do this culturally. There is more socialising with family and extended family. Respect the elderly. When they’re doing things the ladies all get together, in groups and do it. Cut the breadfruit, and preserve the breadfruit and pandanus. They come together and do it. Same as fishing, building houses, building canoes. They use and speak the language often spoken by the older people. There are words that people in the outer islands use and understand language regularly applied by the elderly. Respect elderly and leaders more i.e., chiefs (iroj), commoners (alap), and the workers on the land (ri-jerbal) (social layer under the commoners). All the kids, they gather with their families, and go and visit the chiefs and alap, and take gifts from their land, first produce/food from the plantation (eojōk). Tommy Almet The people are more connected to the culture in the outer islands because they help one another. They don’t have to always buy things by themselves, everyone contributes to the occasion. For instance, for birthdays, boys go fishing, others contribute and all share with everyone. Kanne Lobal is a practice that can bring people together – leaders, teachers, stakeholders. We want our colleagues to keep strong and work together to fix problems like students and teachers’ absenteeism which is a big problem for us in schools. Demetria Malachi The culture in the outer islands are more accessible and exposed to children. In Majuro, there is a mixedness of cultures and knowledges, influenced by Western thinking and practices. Kanne Lobal is an idea that can enhance quality educational purposes for the RMI. We, the school leaders who did GCSL, we want to merge and use this idea because it will help benefit students’ learning and teachers’ teaching. Kanne Lobal will help students to learn and teachers to teach though traditional skills and knowledge. We want to revitalize our ways of life through teaching because it is slowly fading away. Also, we want to have our own Marshallese learning process because it is in our own language making it easier to use and understand. Essentially, we want to proudly use our own ways of teaching from our ancestors showing the appreciation and blessings given to us. Way Forward To think of ways forward is about reflecting on the past and current learnings. Instead of a traditional discussion within a research publication, we have opted to continue our bwebwenato by sharing what we have learnt through the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL) programme. Our bwebwenato does not end in this article and this opportunity to collaborate and partner together in this piece of writing has been a meaningful experience to conceptualise and unpack the Kanne Lobal framework. Our collaborative bwebwenato has enabled us to dig deep into our own wise knowledges for guidance through mediating and negotiating the challenges in education and leadership (Sanga & Houma, 2004). For example, bwe-jen-lale-rara reminds us to inquire, pay attention, and focus on supporting the needs of others. Through enra-bwe-jen-lale-rara, it reminds us to value cultural exchange and reciprocity which will strengthen the development and maintaining of relationships based on ways we continue to honour each other (Nimmer, 2017). We not only continue to support each other, but also help mentor the next generation of school leaders within our education system (Heine, 2002). Education and leadership are all about collaborative partnerships (Sanga & Chu, 2009; Thaman, 1997). Developing partnerships through the GCSL was useful learning for us. It encouraged us to work together, share knowledge, respect each other, and be kind. The values of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity) are meaningful in being and becoming and educational leader in the RMI (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014; Miller, 2010; Nimmer, 2017). These values are meaningful for us practice particularly given the drive by PSS for schools to become accredited. The workshops and meetings delivered during the GCSL in the RMI from 2018 to 2019 about Kanne Lobal has given us strength to share our stories and experiences from the meeting with the stakeholders. But before we met with the stakeholders, we were encouraged to share and speak in our language within our courses: EDP05 (Professional Development and Learning), EDP06 (School Leadership), EDP07 (School Management), EDP08 (Teaching and Learning), and EDP09 (Community Partnerships). In groups, we shared our presentations with our peers, the 15 school leaders in the GCSL programme. We also invited USP RMI staff. They liked the way we presented Kannel Lobal. They provided us with feedback, for example: how the use of the sail on the canoe, the parts and their functions can be conceptualised in education and how they are related to the way that we teach our own young people. Engaging stakeholders in the conceptualisation and design stages of Kanne Lobal strengthened our understanding of leadership and collaborative partnerships. Based on various meetings with the RMI Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) team, PSS general assembly, teachers from the outer islands, and the PSS executive committee, we were able to share and receive feedback on the Kanne Lobal framework. The coordinators of the PREL programme in the RMI were excited by the possibilities around using Kanne Lobal, as a way to teach culture in an inspirational way to Marshallese students. Our Marshallese knowledge, particularly through the proverbial meaning of Kanne Lobal provided so much inspiration and insight for the groups during the presentation which gave us hope and confidence to develop the framework. Kanne Lobal is an organic and indigenous approach, grounded in Marshallese ways of doing things (Heine, 2002; Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). Given the persistent presence of colonial processes within the education system and the constant reference to practices and initiatives from the US, Kanne Lobal for us provides a refreshing yet fulfilling experience and makes us feel warm inside because it is something that belongs to all Marshallese people. Conclusion Marshallese indigenous knowledge and practices provide meaningful educational and leadership understanding and learnings. They ignite, inspire, and transform thinking and practice. The Kanne Lobal conceptual framework emphasises key concepts and values necessary for collaborative partnerships within education and leadership practices in the RMI. The bwebwenato or talk stories have been insightful and have highlighted the strengths and benefits that our Marshallese ideas and practices possess when looking for appropriate and relevant ways to understand education and leadership. Acknowledgements We want to acknowledge our GCSL cohort of school leaders who have supported us in the development of Kanne Lobal as a conceptual framework. A huge kommol tata to our friends: Joana, Rosana, Loretta, Jellan, Alvin, Ellice, Rolando, Stephen, and Alan. References Benson, C. (2002). Preface. In F. Pene, A. M. Taufe’ulungaki, & C. Benson (Eds.), Tree of Opportunity: re-thinking Pacific Education (p. iv). Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Education. Bessarab, D., Ng’andu, B. (2010). Yarning about yarning as a legitimate method in indigenous research. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 3(1), 37-50. Fa’avae, D., Jones, A., & Manu’atu, L. (2016). Talanoa’i ‘a e talanoa - talking about talanoa: Some dilemmas of a novice researcher. AlterNative: An Indigenous Journal of Indigenous Peoples,12(2),138-150. Heine, H. C. (2002). A Marshall Islands perspective. In F. Pene, A. M. Taufe’ulungaki, & C. Benson (Eds.), Tree of Opportunity: re-thinking Pacific Education (pp. 84 – 90). Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Education. Infoplease Staff (2017, February 28). Marshall Islands, retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/marshall-islands Jetnil-Kijiner, K. (2014). Iep Jaltok: A history of Marshallese literature. (Unpublished masters’ thesis). Honolulu, HW: University of Hawaii. Kabua, J. B. (2004). We are the land, the land is us: The moral responsibility of our education and sustainability. In A.L. Loeak, V.C. Kiluwe and L. Crowl (Eds.), Life in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, pp. 180 – 191. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific. Kupferman, D. (2004). Jelalokjen in flux: Pitfalls and prospects of contextualising teacher training programmes in the Marshall Islands. Directions: Journal of Educational Studies, 26(1), 42 – 54. http://directions.usp.ac.fj/collect/direct/index/assoc/D1175062.dir/doc.pdf Miller, R. L. (2010). Wa kuk wa jimor: Outrigger canoes, social change, and modern life in the Marshall Islands (Unpublished masters’ thesis). Honolulu, HW: University of Hawaii. Nabobo-Baba, U. (2008). Decolonising framings in Pacific research: Indigenous Fijian vanua research framework as an organic response. AlterNative: An Indigenous Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 4(2), 141-154. Nimmer, N. E. (2017). Documenting a Marshallese indigenous learning framework (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Honolulu, HW: University of Hawaii. Sanga, K., & Houma, S. (2004). Solomon Islands principalship: Roles perceived, performed, preferred, and expected. Directions: Journal of Educational Studies, 26(1), 55-69. Sanga, K., & Chu, C. (2009). Introduction. In K. Sanga & C. Chu (Eds.), Living and Leaving a Legacy of Hope: Stories by New Generation Pacific Leaders (pp. 10-12). NZ: He Parekereke & Victoria University of Wellington. Suaalii-Sauni, T., & Fulu-Aiolupotea, S. M. (2014). Decolonising Pacific research, building Pacific research communities, and developing Pacific research tools: The case of the talanoa and the faafaletui in Samoa. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 55(3), 331-344. Taafaki, I., & Fowler, M. K. (2019). Clothing mats of the Marshall Islands: The history, the culture, and the weavers. US: Kindle Direct. Taufe’ulungaki, A. M. (2014). Look back to look forward: A reflective Pacific journey. In M. ‘Otunuku, U. Nabobo-Baba, S. Johansson Fua (Eds.), Of Waves, Winds, and Wonderful Things: A Decade of Rethinking Pacific Education (pp. 1-15). Fiji: USP Press. Thaman, K. H. (1995). Concepts of learning, knowledge and wisdom in Tonga, and their relevance to modern education. Prospects, 25(4), 723-733. Thaman, K. H. (1997). Reclaiming a place: Towards a Pacific concept of education for cultural development. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 106(2), 119-130. Thiong’o, N. W. (1986). Decolonising the mind: The politics of language in African literature. Kenya: East African Educational Publishers. Vaioleti, T. (2006). Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12, 21-34. Walsh, J. M., Heine, H. C., Bigler, C. M., & Stege, M. (2012). Etto nan raan kein: A Marshall Islands history (First Edition). China: Bess Press.

Purpose This paper examines the development of green skills across firms located in an institutional context, specifically the national education and skill-formation system, of the under-researched developing country of Thailand. Design/methodology/approach This paper qualitatively explores the Thai education and skill-formation system and conducts a cross-case analysis of four firms across different industries in Thailand. The empirical findings in this paper draws on semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders; field visits to vocational colleges, universities, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and firms across industries both in Bangkok and in other provinces in Thailand; and a review of archival documents and web-based reports and resources. Findings This paper proposes that firms across industries in Thailand must be responsible for helping their employees/workers obtain the green knowledge and skills necessary to perform green jobs through high-road human resource (HR) practices in response to the fact that the Thai education and skill-formation system is unlikely to produce a sufficient number of employees/workers who have green knowledge, skills and abilities and are industry-ready to perform green jobs, leading to a shortage of employees/workers who possess green skills in the labor market. Specifically, curricula in vocational colleges and universities in Thailand are not likely to respond to the needs of firms in producing those employees/workers. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research concern its methodology. This research is based on the qualitative studies of the Thai education and skill-formation system and a case study of firms across industries in Thailand. Thus, this paper does not aim to generalize the findings to all other countries but to enrich the discussion on the effects of macro-level HR policies on the creation of green jobs and the development of green skills across firms in each country. Additionally, it is difficult to gain access to firms across several industries and various stakeholders to understand the development of green skills among employees in these firms. The reasons are resource constraints, time constraints and the hesitation of firms in permitting the author to access the data. These difficulties have restricted the sources of information to construct a more nuanced picture of firms across various industries in developing green skills among their existing employees. Consequently, this research does not include firms in several other industries, including the pulp and paper industry, textile and garment industry, plastic industry and agri-food industry. Thus, future research may extend the topic of the development of green skills among employees to these industries. Quantitative studies using large samples of firms across industries may also be useful in deepening the understanding of this topic, which is significant from the perspectives of the strategic human resource management (SHRM), comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices, and green economy. Practical implications This paper also provides practical implications for top managers and/or HR managers of firms in Thailand, other developing countries and other emerging market economies with deficiencies in the national education and skill-formation system. First, the top managers and/or HR managers can apply various methods to internally develop managers and employees/workers with the appropriate environmental/green knowledge and necessary skills to perform green jobs. The methods include classroom training, on-the-job training, coaching, mentoring systems, job shadowing and being role models for younger generations of employees. Second, these top managers and/or HR managers can cooperate with vocational colleges and/or universities in their countries to design educational programs/curricula related to environmental/green management to be able to produce graduates with suitable qualifications for their firms. These managers can request for assistance from universities in their countries when their firms confront sophisticated questions/problems related to environmental/green management. In this regard, universities will have an opportunity to solve real environmental/green problems experienced by industries, while firms can appropriately and accurately solve environmental/green questions/problems. Third, these top managers and/or HR managers can encourage their firms to apply for certificates of green-/environmentally friendly products or carbon footprint labels from NGOs to foster a green image among firms' consumers. These applications require the firms to pay special attention to the cultivation of green awareness and the development of green skills among their employees. Fourth, these top managers and/or HR managers can encourage their employees to express green-/environmentally friendly behaviors as well as sufficiency-based consumption behaviors. In fact, these top managers and/or HR managers can foster their employees to reduce energy consumption, including electricity and water, to conserve these types of energy for young generations. Fifth, these top managers and/or HR managers can adopt and implement green human resource management (GHRM) practices consisting of green recruitment and selection, green training and development, green performance management, green pay and rewards and green employee relations in their firms to upgrade both the environmental and social performances of firms. Finally, these top managers and/or HR managers must take serious actions regarding the implementation of environmental/green management policies and practices within their firms in order to facilitate the movement of the country toward the bioeconomy, circular economy, and green economy (BCG economy). Social implications This paper provides social/policy implications for the government, vocational colleges and universities in Thailand, other developing countries and emerging market economies where the skill shortage problem is still severe. First, the government of each country should incorporate green/environmental policies into the national education policy and the long-term strategic plan of the country. Second, the government should continuously implement such national policy and strategic plan by encouraging government agencies, vocational colleges, universities, firms and NGOs to cooperate in developing and offering environmental/green management educational programs/curricula to produce graduates with suitable qualifications for those firms. Third, the government should encourage vocational colleges and universities to equip their students with green skills to be industry-ready in a real working context. Fourth, to alleviate the skill shortage problem in the labor market, the government should foster firms, especially private sector firms, to focus on the upskilling and reskilling of their existing employees. With this action, their existing employees will have green skills, be able to effectively perform green jobs and become an important driver to help the country move toward the BCG economy. Fifth, the government of each country should encourage firms to develop green-/environmentally friendly products by offering them various types of incentives, including tax reductions or tax exemptions. Sixth, the government should encourage universities in the country to sign a memorandum of understanding with leading research institutes and world-class digital technology companies such that these institutes and/or companies admit high-potential university students to work as trainees/entry-level employees for a certain duration. This action can ultimately facilitate knowledge transfer from these institutes and/or companies to those university students who will finally return to work in their home country. Seventh, the government, especially the Ministry of Education, should encourage vocational colleges and universities to teach students in the environmental/green management program based on real case studies/problems found across firms. In this way, graduates should be industry-ready to perform green jobs. Finally, the government must pay serious attention to the implementation of environmental/green management policies across levels within the country so that the transition of the country toward the BCG economy will finally come true in the future. Originality/value This paper contributes to the SHRM, comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices, and the literature on the green economy and the development of green skills in firms in the following ways. First, this paper focuses on examining how the institutional context of Thailand shapes the development of green knowledge and skills among employees across firms in Thailand. In this regard, the paper aims to fill the gap in the literature on strategic HRM and comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices as proposed by Batt and Banerjee (2012) and Batt and Hermans (2012), who suggested that the literature on strategic HRM should go beyond the organizational context and examine how firms adopt and implement HR practices in response to the national institutional context. Second, the paper aims to extend the literature on the green economy regarding the roles played by institutional factors in shaping the development of green knowledge and skills across firms. Finally, strategic HRM, comparative institutional perspectives on HR strategies and practices and green economy studies have overlooked the under-researched country of Thailand. Most studies in these three areas focus more on developed countries. Thus, the findings of this paper should extend the literature on those areas regarding the development of green skills among employees across firms in response to the Thai institutional context.

Running satellite campuses in different locations is a regular feature in Chinese society nowadays due to the combined result of the complexities in enrolling students, the restricted scale of schooling, geographical limitations, and government policies. With the Reform and Opening-up, some of China's underdeveloped cities have become new economic engines. At the same time, their lack of higher education resources has limited their development. However, some colleges and universities have started satellite campuses to break through these limitations. The Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), co-founded by the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, is a satellite campus of Harbin Institute of Technology. The paper summarised and sorted out the existing studies, interviewed the students of the Shenzhen campus of the Harbin Institute of Technology. Through studying the current situation, existing problems and their causes have been analysed. It was concluded that the current crisis facing the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) revolves around the following points: brand awareness, school size, government policies, international situation, as well as faculty and campus management. Based on the research findings, it was recommended that Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) improve their brand marketing, expand the scale, train teachers further, upgrade risk management and research, and put forward concrete measures for several aspects of the negotiations. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0740/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose....................................................................................................................................................................................................... The main aim of this study was to investigate the status of records management program at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) using the Nelson Mandela Drive Site of Mthatha Campus as a case study. Background......................................................................................................................................................................................................... For an organization to function effectively, records (both in electronic and paper format) need to be captured, recorded and secured in order to ensure their authenticity, integrity, reliability and accessibility. The core functions of a university are learning, teaching, research and community engagement, and in order to carry out these functions records are created and received. Records therefore, constitute an essential instrument of administration of any institutions without which operational processes and functions cannot be executed (Kendall and Mizra, 2006). Thus, a proper and efficient managing of records is critical to functioning and administration of institutions. Council of Higher Education (2000) pointed out that record-keeping in the higher education institutions in South Africa was inadequate. Effective records management in universities in the Eastern Cape has not been adequately documented. Hence, this study investigates the records management program that exist in WSU. Although legislation regulating the management of records in South Africa exist, they might be ignorance on the part of certain officials entrusted with managing WSU records and that could have adverse effect on the performance of WSU and ultimately on service delivery. Methodology....................................................................................................................................................................................................... This study may have influence in policy formulation and compliance with the judicial directives on records management program of universities. It may also help improve service delivery, by enabling orderly, accountable and efficient management of universities records. Contribution........................................................................................................................................................................................................ This study may have influence in policy formulation and compliance with the judicial directives on records management program of universities. It may also help improve service delivery, by enabling orderly, accountable and efficient management of universities records. Findings .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. The major findings of the study revealed WSU fell below the requirements in terms of records management program on maintaining records that document its business activities. Inadequate infrastructure, inadequacy regarding the desirable control of WSU records at each stage as required by the records life cycle framework was also found to be inadequate and limited knowledge of legal requirements regarding records management. Recommendations for Practitioners................................................................................................................................................................. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made. Effort should be made to implement a Centralized control of Decentralized Registry System (Integrated Registry System), provision of training of staff, as well as proper infrastructural facilities to manage WSU records that document its business activities. Recommendation for Researchers................................................................................................................................................................... There is a need for further studies of this kind in other Universities, Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) Colleges in the Eastern Cape Province in order to establish their practices in managing records that document their business activities. Impact on Society.............................................................................................................................................................................................. The research will assist to highlight to administrators, policy makers of universities that proper records management could help universities to manage their information efficiently, fulfill their mandate, protect them from litigation, preserve their corporate memory, and foster accountability and good governance. Future Research.................................................................................................................................................................................................. A study to check the readiness of institution of higher learning to manage electronic records that documents their business activities in the 21st Century digital era will be vital in this context.

Since the 1980s, decision-making and managerial power has gradually been handed over to higher education institutions in China. This has helped to reduce the government’s financial burden and improve the administrative efficiency of universities. A particular reform involves the establishment of autonomous experimental units within 36 universities. These decentralized units are more highly dependent on market forces than other parts of the university. This thesis examines the development of one such academic unit within one of China’s major universities. The particular academic unit, heretofore referred to as a “school” is studied through a detailed examination of its teaching, research and administration. It is granted a high degree of autonomy to manage itself and its finance. Therefore, it is encouraged to be innovative in its organizational structure and working procedures. This helps drive it to cooperate with industry and adopt a market mechanism in management. The research demonstrates the changing relationships of this school with its parent university, with governments at different levels, and with industry and the wider society. The results indicate that a major shift is taking place in Chinese higher education, as China responds with increased marketization and decentralization. Borrowing theories developed by Clark and Oliver in the fields of higher education and organizational theory, this thesis not only provides a deeper understating of the triangular relationship among universities, state authority and the market, but also refines these theories to suit the Chinese context. This investigation reveals that thus a particular academic unit, unlike most university units in China, must respond to external pressures and expectations in order to survive in a new context of decentralization and commodification. The thesis identifies and analyzes the critical factors affecting the school’s development and its coping strategies within an altered environment of operation. Employing a qualitative research methodology, this work views the selected unit of a major Chinese university as an open organizational system, and analyzes the external and internal forces that influence the school’s development. The data collection approach is comprised of semi-structured and unstructured interviews to elicit views and perceptions from the respondents regarding the decision-making, policy implementation and the development of the unit. A focus group interview method is used to question current undergraduate and postgraduate students about perceptions and attitudes towards the development of the unit. Documents are used to obtain background information and to support and triangulate the data collected from individual and group interviews. Although the school failed to make radical changes to the existing university structure and institutions, it has demonstrated the ability to sustain itself, innovate, and gain legitimacy through continuing negotiation and compromise with university authority, government and market. Based on the results of this research, I would argue that if units similar to this one within Chinese universities are granted more administrative autonomy and orient themselves to market forces, Chinese universities will be able to integrate themselves into the increasingly marketized economy and contribute to national development without sacrificing the core academic missions of teaching, research and service.
published_or_final_version
Education
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

Considerando os desafios atuais a serem enfrentados pelas universidades públicas brasileiras em uma sociedade em constante transformação, gerando a necessidade de profissionalização de seus gestores, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi elaborar uma proposta de estrutura de referência para a capacitação destes dirigentes. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa, aplicada quanto à sua finalidade, e exploratória, quanto ao seu objetivo. A fim de se elaborar uma estrutura de referência para capacitação dos gestores universitários, o método empregado foi a pesquisa bibliográfica e a posterior pesquisa de campo junto às Universidades Federais Brasileiras. Assim, o referencial teórico aborda aspectos sobre a gestão nas organizações públicas, os conceitos e processos de capacitação nas organizações, a capacitação de gestores e seus processos de aprendizagem. O levantamento de dados junto às Universidades buscou identificar o grau de ocorrência e de importância atribuídos a aspectos inerentes às quatro etapas que compõem o processo geral de capacitação apontadas pela literatura: levantamento e diagnóstico de necessidades de capacitação; desenho ou planejamento dos programas, abrangendo estratégias, técnicas, recursos instrucionais e modalidades de capacitação; a execução das ações de capacitação e, finalmente, seus diversos níveis de avaliação. Os principais resultados obtidos enfatizam a importância das quatro etapas do processo de capacitação, com a utilização de métodos de levantamento de necessidades e de planejamento das ações de capacitação mais dialogados e participativos e o envolvimento dos gestores a serem capacitados. Também foi apontada a relevância de um planejamento de ações de capacitação com objetivos claros e alinhados às políticas, estratégias e metas organizacionais bem como o emprego de metodologias de aprendizagem menos tradicionais e mais participativas e que valorizem as experiências vivenciadas pelos gestores. A estrutura propõe maior aproveitamento da capacitação no trabalho, com uso dos conhecimentos dos gestores mais experientes ou antecessores e a realização de parcerias para a contratação de instrutores de outras organizações. Sobre a avaliação, quarta etapa do processo, a estrutura de referência destaca a importância de se avaliar a aplicação prática dos conhecimentos adquiridos nas ações de capacitação, associada à análise das condições organizacionais necessárias para que esta aplicação prática ocorra. A proposta para uma estrutura de referência visando auxiliar as áreas de capacitação de servidores na implantação ou melhoria de seus programas e projetos de capacitação de gestores, com base na análise teórico-prática desta pesquisa, constitui uma proposta viável frente à realidade apresentada, configurando-se assim como uma contribuição efetiva para as Universidades Federais Brasileiras.
Considering the current challenges faced by the Brazilian public universities in a constant changing society, generating the need of trained managers, the objective of this research was to develop a proposal of reference framework in order to train these leaders. This is a quantitative research, applied and exploratory. In order to develop a reference framework to train graduated managers, the method used was the bibliographic and the further field research with the Brazilian federal universities. Thus, the theoretical framework addresses aspects about the public organizations managing, the concepts and processes of training in the organizations, the managers training and its learning processes. The data gathering with the universities tried to identify the level of occurrence and importance addressed to the inherent aspects to the four steps that compose the general training process by literature: gathering and diagnostic of training needs; the programs planning and drafting, covering strategies, technics, instructional resources and training modalities; the execution of the training actions and finally, its several evaluation levels. The main obtained results emphasize the importance of the four training process steps with the use of need gathering methods and the planning of the most talked about and participative training actions and the involvement of managers to be trained. It was also appointed the relevance of a training action planning with clear objectives and aligned to the policies, the strategies and organization objectives as well as the employment of less traditional and more participative training methods, which enrich the managers living experiences. The structure proposes a better use of the working training, with the use of the knowledge of the more experienced managers or the predecessors and the achievement of partnerships in order to hire instructors from other organizations. About the evaluation, the forth step of the process, the reference framework highlights the importance to evaluate the practical application of the acquired knowledge in the training actions, associated with the analysis of the organizations conditions needed for this application to occur. The proposal to a reference framework aiming to help the employee training areas in the implementation or improvement of its programs and managers training projects, based on theoretical and practical analysis of this research, composing a viable proposal to the presented reality, setting up as an effective contribution the Brazilian federal universities.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the NQF on higher education institutions focussing specifically on access, teaching and learning. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: What was the impact of the NQF on increasing access to higher education? In particular how did the RPL process facilitate access into the University of Pretoria? Secondly, how did the NQF influence the processes of teaching and learning at this particular institution? And finally, why did the NQF have differential impacts on different faculties within the same higher education institution? To gain the end-users’ perspective, a case study of the University of Pretoria was conducted. Data was gathered using interviews with ten senior members of staff at the university working in nine different departments, and student records indicating admissions through RPL into the University of Pretoria as well as relevant institutional documents. The findings suggest that the impact of the NQF on access, teaching and learning differed across departments, resulting in a partial implementation of the policy. This was facilitated by factors inherent in the policy itself and factors inherent to the institution. The influence of external factors such as professional bodies on teaching and learning practices of end-users at the University of Pretoria posed a major challenge against NQF implementation. The motivations leading to NQF implementation are not directly linked to the NQF policy per se, although they resulted in portraying the extent of change to access, teaching and learning along a continuum that distinguished between departments that ‘blindly complied’, that selectively adapted and those that strategically avoided implementation of the policy. Indications for further research are that a wider look at the impact of the NQF on access, teaching and learning in higher education is less revealing than a more focussed investigation. Future research should zoom-in on individual departments within higher education institutions to reveal the deeper and more nuanced impact of the NQF.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om die impak van die NKR (NQF) op veral toegang, onderrig en leer in hoër onderwysinstellings te ondersoek. Die studie poog om die volgende navorsingsvrae te beantwoord: Watter impak het die NKR op toenemende toegang tot hoër onderwys? Hoe fasiliteer die EVL-proses ("RPL process") toegang tot die Universiteit van Pretoria? Hoe beïnvloed die NKR die onderrig- en leerproses aan hierdie spesifieke instelling? Ten slotte, waarom het die NKR 'n differensiële invloed op verskillende fakulteite binne dieselfde hoër onderwysinstelling? Ten einde die uiteindelike gebruiker se perspektief te bepaal, is 'n gevallestudie aan die Universiteit van Pretoria uitgevoer. Data is ingesamel uit onderhoude met tien senior personeellede wat in nege verskillende departemente werk, studenterekords aangaande toelating tot die Universiteit van Pretoria deur EVL, en ook relevante institutêre dokumente. Die bevindinge impliseer dat die impak van die NKR op toegang, onderrig en leer van departement tot departement verskil en dat dit lei tot 'n gedeeltelike implementering van die beleid. Dié verskil is aangehelp deur faktore wat inherent is aan die beleid, maar ook faktore inherent aan die instelling. Die invloed wat eksterne faktore soos professionele liggame op die onderrig- en leerpraktyke van finale gebruikers aan die Universiteit van Pretoria het, is 'n groot struikelblok vir die implementering van die NKR. Motiverings wat lei tot die implementering van die NKR is nie noodwendig aan die NKR-beleid gekoppel nie, alhoewel dit daartoe gelei het dat die mate van verandering in toegang, onderrig en leer op 'n kontinuum aangedui is. Hierdie kontinuum onderskei tussen departemente wat die beleid "blindelings navolg", ander wat dit selektief aanpas en nog ander wat die implementering van die beleid strategies vermy. Aanduidings vir verdere navorsing is dat 'n breë ondersoek van die NKR se impak op toegang, onderrig en leer in hoër onderwys minder beduidend is as 'n meer spesifieke ondersoek. Toekomstige navorsing behoort te fokus op individuele departemente binne hoër onderwysinstellings ten einde 'n indringender en meer genuanseerde impak van die NKR te bepaal.

As Ouvidorias públicas são interlocutoras entre o cidadão e a Administração, pautando-se nos princípios constitucionais da Legalidade, Impessoalidade, Moralidade, Publicidade e Eficiência, atuando como instrumento de participação na gestão democrática e como representantes legítimas dos interesses dos cidadãos. O acesso à informação é base da democracia, encontrando-se assegurado constitucionalmente (art. 5º, XIV e XXXIII) e infraconstitucionalmente (Lei nº 12.527, de 18.11.2011). A liberdade conferida aos cidadãos abarca o direito de acesso a informação, especialmente porque viabiliza a participação popular e, por via de consequencia, torna dinâmica a democracia. Uma sociedade bem informada é capaz de intervir eficazmente no destino do Estado, fazendo valer a soberania da vontade popular. A participação garante ao cidadão o acesso aos atos de gestão do governo, possibilitando à coletividade o exercício do controle social sobre os atos do Estado. O trabalho objetiva examinar a Ouvidoria da UTFPR como um instrumento de participação popular na gestão administrativa. A pesquisa realizada é exploratória e aplicada, tendo por método o estudo de caso. Na coleta de dados, utiliza-se de múltiplas fontes de evidência: documentação, registros em arquivo, questionário e artefatos físicos. Os resultados denotam que a procura pelos serviços da Ouvidoria da UTFPR é crescente, inobstante as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos ouvidores no desempenho de seu mister – pouco ou nenhum espaço físico, impossibilidade de dedicação exclusiva à atividade, dentre outras. Os questionários respondidos por ouvidores, ex-ouvidores e gestores permitem concluir que a Ouvidoria pública universitária da UTFPR é um espaço de comunicação do usuário com a Administração, um instrumento de participação popular na gestão administrativa. No entanto, sua autonomia deve ser robustecida. Como resultado, propõe-se a implementação de avaliação periódica do usuário/cliente, maior divulgação da Ouvidoria, alteração da localização da Ouvidoria no sítio eletrônico da Universidade, investimento em cursos de mediação.
The office of ombudsman intermediate communication between citizens and the Administration, based on the constitutional principles of Legality, Impersonality, and Efficiency, acting as an instrument of participation in the democratic management and as lawful representatives to the citizens´ interests. Information access is based on democracy and is enlisted as a constitutional (article 5, XIV e XXXIII of Brazil´s Federal Constitution) and infra-constitutionally (Law nº 12.527, of November 18th, 2011) right. The freedom granted to citizens comprises the participation in the right to access information, especially since it allows popular participation and consequently, makes democracy more dynamic. A well informed society is able to take effective action in the State´s destiny, enforcing the sovereignty of common will. Public participation grants citizen access to governmental management acts, enabling social control over the acts of the State. The hereby paper focus on examining UTFPR´s Ombudsman as an instrument of public participation in administrative management. The present research is exploratory and applied, using a study case as the method. In the data collection, multiple sources of evidence are used: article records, a questionnaire and physical artifacts. The results show that UTFPR´s Ombudsman service demand is rising, regardless of the challenges faced by the office of the Ombudsman while exercising the constitutionally imposed task – little or no physical room, impossibility of full time dedication to the office, among others challenges. The questionnaires answered by Ombudsman officers, former officers and managers enable the researcher to conclude that the Office of the UTFPR Ombudsman is a place of communication between the user and the Administration, an instrument of popular participation in management. However, its autonomy must be strengthened. As a result of the research, the author concludes that the implementation of periodical evaluation by the user/customer; more Ombudsman disclosure; changes in the University´s website concerning the Ombudsman; investment in courses on mediation, are advisable.

O acúmulo de documentos disponíveis na Web dificulta a recuperação de informação e a gestão eficiente do conhecimento. Os modelos tradicionais de recuperação da informação são inadequados para uma busca efetiva e rápida, e os resultados são, comumente, numerosos e irrelevantes. Com o advento da Web Semântica foi possível o uso da ontologia formal como modelo de recuperação da informação na Web para melhorar a qualidade da informação recuperada. Os portais semânticos constituem um instrumento da Gestão do Conhecimento que oferece maior capacidade e rapidez no acesso às informações com relevância dos resultados. Neste sentido, esta pesquisa tem como objetivo propor condições mínimas necessárias para o estabelecimento de potencial semântico de portais, mediante o mapeamento do uso da ontologia como modelo de recuperação da informação. O locus da pesquisa incluiu os portais de universidades públicas federais brasileiras da Região Sul do Brasil, partindo-se de um estudo comparativo entre as características da Web Semântica e as ferramentas e tecnologias usadas nas instituições pesquisadas. A pesquisa de campo foi instrumentalizada por um questionário, coletando-se dados da equipe técnica responsável pelos portais. Como principais resultados apresentam-se um diagnóstico do uso da ontologia na estruturação dos portais universitários pesquisados e a proposição de um quadro de referência das condições mínimas necessárias para estabelecimento de potencial semântico dos portais.
The accumulation of documents available on the Web makes it difficult to information retrieve and efficient knowledge management. Traditional models of information retrieval are inadequate for effective and quick search, and the results are often numerous and irrelevant. With the advent of the Semantic Web it was possible the use of formal ontology as a model of web information retrieval that improves the quality of the information retrieved. Semantic portals are a Knowledge Management tool that offers greater capacity and speed of access to information relevant results. In this trend, the goal of the this research is propose minimum conditions necessary for the establishment potential of semantic portals, by mapping the use of ontology as a model of information retrieval. The research's locus included the portals of federal public universities in southern Brazil, starting from a comparative study between the Semantic Web features and the tools and technologies used in the institutions surveyed. The field research was instrumentalized by a pool, collecting data from the technical team responsible for portals. The main results were presented a diagnosis of ontology in the structuring of respondents university portals and a framework of minimum conditions for semantic potential property portals.

O Plano de Desenvolvimento Institucional (PDI) é um documento que contém parte essencial do planejamento estratégico das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES). O PDI precisa considerar as políticas públicas, as necessidades institucionais e as demandas da comunidade. Sua composição mínima é estabelecida pelo Decreto n.º 5.773/2006, a qual serve de guia para a elaboração do planejamento institucional. Esse documento orienta a avaliação institucional e de cursos, bem como, norteia os rumos que a IES precisa seguir. Para que seja legítimo, o PDI depende da participação da comunidade em suas fases. Essa participação pode ensejar o aumento do controle social, da transparência das ações e também da prestação de contas por parte das Instituições Públicas para com a sociedade. A participação da comunidade torna-a mais comprometida com o processo, facilitando que o planejado seja colocado em prática. Este trabalho objetiva analisar a metodologia utilizada nas IES Públicas do Estado do Paraná para a construção, execução, acompanhamento e avaliação do PDI. A pesquisa realizada é exploratória e aplicada. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizadas múltiplas fontes de evidência: documentos, questionários, entrevistas, relatórios técnicos entre outras. Os resultados demonstram que, apesar do esforço realizado pelas áreas responsáveis, é preciso melhorar a participação da comunidade universitária nas fases do PDI. Além da análise documental, os questionários respondidos pelos Conselheiros e as entrevistas com os Responsáveis pela Área do PDI nas IES permitem concluir que ele precisa ser fortalecido e aproximado da comunidade universitária para que possa efetivamente trazer os resultados esperados. O estudo permitiu compreender como o PDI é conduzido por essas IES e demonstrou a necessidade de amadurecimento das metodologias utilizadas e o aprimoramento dos canais de comunicação com a comunidade.
An Institutional Development Plan (IDP) is a document containing the essential part of strategic planning for institutions of higher education (IHE). An IDP must take in consideration public policies, institutional needs and society demands. Its basic structure is established by Decree 5.773/2006 and it guides the development of institutional planning and institutional and courses evaluation, as well as sets a north for the IHE. In order to assure its legitimacy, an IDP must rely on community involvement in all its phases, which can enhance social control, transparency and accountability to society. Community commitment grows when people engage in the process, making it easier to implement what is planned. This paper is aimed at analyzing the methodology employed in IHEs in the state of Paraná – Brazil for developing, implementing, supervising and evaluating an IDP, through applied and exploratory research. Multiple sources of evidence were used for data collection, such as documents, questionnaires, interviews and technical reports. Results show that improving academic community participation is still necessary, despite all the efforts made by sectors in charge. In addition to documentary analysis, questionnaires filled in by council members and interviews with those responsible for the IDP in IHEs led to the conclusion that it is necessary to strengthen and bring IDP closer to the academic community so that it can effectively bring the expected results. The study made it possible to understand how the IDP is conducted by these IHEs, showing the need to fully develop the employed methods and to improve communication channels with society.

The aim of this research was to examine determinants of service learning in Ethiopian Universities with a view to suggesting remedial solutions. Qualitative case study was employed to understand management of service learning in the purposively selected three case Universities. Data were collected from interns, mentors, department heads, Academic Vice Presidents, service learning office heads and agency supervisors through semi-structured interviews. Besides, focus group discussion with interns and document review were conducted. Collected data were analysed through narration. Service learning is used for pedagogical necessities, personal and civic development, career development and social responsibility in the Ethiopian Universities. However, its application is challenged by several factors. Product curricular model, low time ration for community service, limited teachers' involvement and discipline-based curriculum framework were identified as major hindrances to service learning implementation. As a result, most students and teachers were not committed to service learning. For instance, in government Universities, service learning offices were not well-organised. Partnership agreements were either weak or not in place, as a result, the majority of interns were placed based on their preferences. Resistance not to host was also found to be a common factor. An interesting finding of this study is that privileging interns for self-identification of hosting organisations resulted in dispersed and individualised placement that caused interns to develop feeling of strangeness and insecurity. Moreover, this placement hindered collaborative learning with their peers. Assessment error, absence of service learning programme evaluation and shortage of budget were common problems. Hence, the following suggestions along with a proposed strategy are recommended. Considering these challenges, the following recommendations are made. Service learning should be applied in a wider scale from junior through senior courses in the Universities. The curriculum should be designed to include extensive context-based and interdisciplinary-learning approaches. Government Universities should strengthen service learning offices. Placement of interns should mainly be based on partnership agreement. Time ration for community services and research functions should be increased to at least 50%. And lastly, Universities should closely support agency supervisors and arrange evaluation forums and celebrity events.
Educational Management and Leadership
D. Ed. (Education Management)

This thesis focuses explicitly on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a strategy for delivering effective management of educational services in a cross-section of educational institutions, inclusive of universities. University of Uganda (UNU)1 , in Uganda, is taken as a case study where ICT was introduced with the primary aim of improving effectiveness in the delivery of educational services. ICT has become a tool of great importance in today’s business in all spheres of life globally. From commerce to aeronautics, medicine to education, the daily use of ICT is vital to the success of the business. In the area of higher education management, ICT use is of central significance as universities of the contemporary world cannot afford to ignore the role of that ICT plays in the running of their institutions as a business and, as such, need to ensure they are not left behind by the developments. Therefore, as a matter of necessity, the universities are required to embrace ICT adoption in teaching/learning and administrative activities. This study discusses the concept of ICT, perceptions of stakeholders in the effectiveness of ICT adoption, educational services management and ICT and strategies for effective ICT use in educational services management.
Educational Management and Leadership
D. Ed. (Education Management)

Submitted in fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010.
In South Africa, the transformation of public higher education has placed much emphasis on the accountability and performance of individual institutions. Various indicators are used to assess institutional performance, as is the case internationally. Examples of such indicators include teaching and learning, research outputs, graduate employability, financial sustainability and productivity and the use of resources. This case study which is predominantly qualitative, examined: i) Performance by a selected South African University of Technology, the Durban University of Technology (DUT), in specific performance indicators as determined by policy on student enrolment planning. Student enrolment planning is an important strategy adopted by government to address a number of distortions in the higher education system which had been developed over a number of years within the ideology of apartheid. ii) The measures taken by the institution to give effect to the policy. The case study utilised multiple methods of data collection within three units of analysis. The three units of analysis of the case are: Unit of analysis One: The practices used at the DUT for marketing, student recruitment, student selection and admission to achieve the input indicators of the student enrolment plan. Unit of analysis Two: implementation strategies for meeting the output (success) indicators of the plan. Unit of analysis Three: The problem of low student retention. The original contribution made by this research study is that it provides detailed insight into the implementation of policy of student enrolment planning, using the Durban University of Technology as an example. In so doing, the researcher has identified critical areas that impact on student enrolment planning in South Africa, as well as specific weaknesses in the implementation of the policy at the DUT. A part of the study’s findings is that the DUT is well–placed to meet the performance indicators of the enrolment plan. However, the addressing of weaknesses in the areas of student selection, marketing and recruitment could improve the DUT’s ability to exert more influence over its enrolments. The study determined that the problem of low student retention is a factor that threatens the DUT’s throughput and graduation rates. Broad and specific recommendations are made for implementation, including the adoption of the organisational framework of enrolment management supported by institutional research.

This chapter analyzes the emerging trend in tertiary education to manage institutional reputation, and it offers evidence from case studies in developed and emerging economies to support the analysis. The evidence presented suggests that this activity is global in scope and is associated with the ever-increasing competitive environment in which universities and other tertiary colleges find themselves. The management of reputation appears to revolve around the core activities of research and teaching and the development of an international environment, suggesting a convergence of governance at the micro level. The purpose of the chapter is to provide a new perspective on neo-liberal governance in HE, and to show how the current emphasis on international competition and the knowledge economy affects individual institutions in different national systems in different ways. The chapter also points to the challenges that the quest for enhanced reputation may present managers.