The relationship between government policy and management practices at further education and training colleges

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dc.contributor.advisor Nieuwenhuis, F.J. en
dc.contributor.postgraduate Moyo, Ntlantla Josiah en
dc.date.accessioned 2013-09-06T18:34:33Z
dc.date.available 2008-06-30 en
dc.date.available 2013-09-06T18:34:33Z
dc.date.created 2008-04-10 en
dc.date.issued 2008-06-30 en
dc.date.submitted 2008-05-21 en
dc.description Thesis (PhD (Education Management, Law and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2008. en
dc.description.abstract This study aims to explain the relationship between FET policy origination and management practices at college level in Gauteng. Empirical evidence shows that there exist a gap between policy and practice. Literature points out that since 1994 South Africa has passed laws that created favorable conditions for policy development. The success or failure of government FET policies can be judged at college level. According to research some managers in former technical colleges lack skills and knowledge to successfully implement government transformation initiatives. Lack of management capacity at college level is cited as the reason for the non-implementation of policy. Policy makers derive policy from political, social and economic imperatives and infuse this with theoretical sources that describe how the policy process works and are often less sensitive to the practical conditions in which the policy is to be implemented. Conversely, policy implementers are primarily guided by contextual and systemic considerations as they implement policy. In this thesis it is argued that understanding the processes of policy development and implementation can assist in explaining the relationship between government policy and management practices at college level. The study interrogates policy intentions by analyzing the original meaning of FET policy from the originators’ perspective and juxtaposes this with the understanding of policy implementation from the implementers’ perspective and describe the relationship between intended and implemented policy. A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews to gather data from participants was used. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from policy originators and college managers. Six main themes were distilled from the data collected: centralization vis-a vis decentralization; resources; structures; curriculum; governance, and strategic planning. Findings revealed how issues of power and authority affect policy development and implementation. The study establishes that policy implementers need capacity, power and authority to plan and make decisions on policy implementation, but decision-makers at higher levels of the system often subjugate these powers. For policy implementation to match policy intentions policy implementers need capacity and authority to understand, plan and make policy implementation decisions. en
dc.description.availability unrestricted en
dc.description.degree PhD
dc.description.department Education Management and Policy Studies en
dc.identifier.citation Moyo, NJ 2008, The relationship between government policy and management practices at further education and training colleges, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/24844>
dc.identifier.other Pretoria en
dc.identifier.upetdurl http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05212008-115121/ en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/24844
dc.language.iso en
dc.publisher University of Pretoria en_ZA
dc.rights © University of Pretor en
dc.subject Resources en
dc.subject Policy intentions en
dc.subject Policy implementation en
dc.subject Governance en
dc.subject Transformation en
dc.subject Management practices en
dc.subject Policy origination en
dc.subject Centralization en
dc.subject Decentralization en
dc.subject Structures en
dc.subject UCTD en_US
dc.title The relationship between government policy and management practices at further education and training colleges en
dc.type Thesis en


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