Abstract
M.Ed.
"Technical education is a matter in which there must never be a time
gap, not only because we shall fall behind other nations but because it is
vital to the life of a country with so few tangible assets in the way of
natural resources to support the position it has built up for itself. The
only thing that is indigenous to this country is our 'know how'. We turn
that 'know how' into products which the world wants. It is the product of
latent talent stimulated and given direction by technical education,"
observed Lowndes (Kruger, 1992:190). To realize Lowndes' dreams
institutions with high emphasis on technical (vocational) education, such as
Technical Colleges (now Further Education and Training institutions, as
proposed by the Green Paper on Further Education and Training, April 1998)
have to integrate education and training. This will require highly skilled human
resources. Science and Engineering are fields of studies which cannot be offered without
serious investments in well trained educators who will not only understand the
subject content but will also understand the psychological make up of the
learner. It is the integration of education and training, at institutional level, that
will effectively turn our 'know how' into products. The new paradigm shift i.e
from the traditional method of teaching to outcomes based education and
training in education, also requires a shift in the training of educators and trainers. An integrated approach to education and training should assist in
effectively and efficiently providing further education and training to the
industry. At the inauguration of the Manpower 2 000 project on the 31 March 1980, the
then Minister of Manpower Development, SP Botha, commented as
follows: "There is an acute shortage of electricians, technicians, and
engineers, fitters and turners while there is an oversupply of workers with
general academic qualifications for which there is no specific demand. The
most obvious bottleneck in the manpower issue is training. Schools and
technical education institutions have a cardinal role to play. The battle will
literally have to be won in the classroom" (Kruger ,1992:223). The aim of this
research is to:
investigate and analyse the nature of the classroom as a place of
learning
to investigate the essential aspects or elements of the classroom that
influence the classroom climate
propose a strategy for creating and maintaining a healthy classroom
climate conducive to teaching and learning
develop and recommend a training programme which can be used to
professionally and personally develop a lecturer from industry to a
level where he can possess the necessary skills to create and maintain a
healthy classroom climate conducive to effective learning.