Lecturers' changing epistemologies and pedagogies during engagement with information and communication technology in an education faculty.
- Lautenbach, Geoffrey Vaughan
- Authors: Lautenbach, Geoffrey Vaughan
- Date: 2008-08-26T06:35:16Z
- Subjects: computer network resources , higher education , college teaching , computer-assisted instruction , internet in education
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3938 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/929
- Description: A significant event of the last two decades has been the appearance and subsequent explosive growth of the World Wide Web and related technologies that have had a notable effect on higher education and learning in particular (Crossman, 1997:19; Hall & White, 1997:22; Alessi & Trollip, 2001:5: Oliver 2002). Information and communication technology (ICT) or ‘elearning’ as it is known in some countries, has emerged both locally and worldwide as a prominent phenomenon in education (Oliver & Herrington, 2001) and the ensuing scramble by educators to adopt the new technologies (compare Rogers, 1995) can be seen by looking at the number of courses that have recently evolved under the banner of e-learning, web-based education or online education. The rush to implement ICT is particularly evident in Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) where technology has come to be seen as a potentially valuable tool for educational reform in higher education (Poole, 1997:2; Surrey & Land, 2000:145; Bates, 2000:7; Rosenberg, 2001:10). Educational reform at Higher Education Institutions worldwide over the past two decades is often ascribed to trends such as increased competition, decreased enrolments, greater numbers of non-traditional students, changing societal expectations and decreased government funding (Simonson & Thompson, 1997:4; Surrey & Land, 2000:145). The dwindling student base and loss of university students to corporate training programmes in South Africa is in line with these trends and is seen as a major area of concern (McKenna, 1999:[online]). The use of ICT in higher education, which is also progressively taking root in emerging nations such as South Africa, adds another perspective to the issue of educational reform (Hilliard & Kemp, 2000:22). Van Buren-Schele and Odendaal (2001:[online]) put the local situation into perspective by affirming that the introduction of ICT at institutions in developing countries like South Africa can be far more challenging than it is for their counterparts in developed countries. Factors that impact on the implementation of ICT normally include financial, logistic, and technological aspects, but in many areas in South Africa, requirements on a basic level such as access to electricity, computers and the Internet place unique demands on some educational institutions. Local institutions are therefore hard-pressed to improve teaching practice in order, firstly, to live up to consumer expectations, then to show continual improvement and innovations in the changing field of education (Cronjé & Murdoch, 2001:online). , Prof. D. van der Westhuizen
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- Authors: Lautenbach, Geoffrey Vaughan
- Date: 2008-08-26T06:35:16Z
- Subjects: computer network resources , higher education , college teaching , computer-assisted instruction , internet in education
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3938 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/929
- Description: A significant event of the last two decades has been the appearance and subsequent explosive growth of the World Wide Web and related technologies that have had a notable effect on higher education and learning in particular (Crossman, 1997:19; Hall & White, 1997:22; Alessi & Trollip, 2001:5: Oliver 2002). Information and communication technology (ICT) or ‘elearning’ as it is known in some countries, has emerged both locally and worldwide as a prominent phenomenon in education (Oliver & Herrington, 2001) and the ensuing scramble by educators to adopt the new technologies (compare Rogers, 1995) can be seen by looking at the number of courses that have recently evolved under the banner of e-learning, web-based education or online education. The rush to implement ICT is particularly evident in Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) where technology has come to be seen as a potentially valuable tool for educational reform in higher education (Poole, 1997:2; Surrey & Land, 2000:145; Bates, 2000:7; Rosenberg, 2001:10). Educational reform at Higher Education Institutions worldwide over the past two decades is often ascribed to trends such as increased competition, decreased enrolments, greater numbers of non-traditional students, changing societal expectations and decreased government funding (Simonson & Thompson, 1997:4; Surrey & Land, 2000:145). The dwindling student base and loss of university students to corporate training programmes in South Africa is in line with these trends and is seen as a major area of concern (McKenna, 1999:[online]). The use of ICT in higher education, which is also progressively taking root in emerging nations such as South Africa, adds another perspective to the issue of educational reform (Hilliard & Kemp, 2000:22). Van Buren-Schele and Odendaal (2001:[online]) put the local situation into perspective by affirming that the introduction of ICT at institutions in developing countries like South Africa can be far more challenging than it is for their counterparts in developed countries. Factors that impact on the implementation of ICT normally include financial, logistic, and technological aspects, but in many areas in South Africa, requirements on a basic level such as access to electricity, computers and the Internet place unique demands on some educational institutions. Local institutions are therefore hard-pressed to improve teaching practice in order, firstly, to live up to consumer expectations, then to show continual improvement and innovations in the changing field of education (Cronjé & Murdoch, 2001:online). , Prof. D. van der Westhuizen
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Mental health strategies for developing institutional effectiveness in a college.
- Haasbroek, Cornelia Petronella
- Authors: Haasbroek, Cornelia Petronella
- Date: 2008-08-20T09:44:27Z
- Subjects: higher education , educational change
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7976 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/890
- Description: This research study was essential because of educational reform of the college sector. This sector was based on ideological beliefs and its historical background featured by apartheid and colonialism. The present claims of colleges’ ineffectiveness in the absence of longitudinal data also necessitated this research study. Educational transformation seems to be guided by ideology and not by a careful analysis whether policies are counterintuitive. Many transformation initiatives fail because the vital role part played by human capital in educational and training institutions is ignored. The objectives of the study were to: • explore and describe lived experiences of institutional effectiveness during transformation; and • recommend mental health strategies for personal and systemic growth to develop sustainable institutional effectiveness in the college sector. The objectives of this study favoured the qualitative research paradigm to reach a dense description of the lived experiences of institutional effectiveness during transformation. , Prof. C.P.H Myburgh
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- Authors: Haasbroek, Cornelia Petronella
- Date: 2008-08-20T09:44:27Z
- Subjects: higher education , educational change
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7976 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/890
- Description: This research study was essential because of educational reform of the college sector. This sector was based on ideological beliefs and its historical background featured by apartheid and colonialism. The present claims of colleges’ ineffectiveness in the absence of longitudinal data also necessitated this research study. Educational transformation seems to be guided by ideology and not by a careful analysis whether policies are counterintuitive. Many transformation initiatives fail because the vital role part played by human capital in educational and training institutions is ignored. The objectives of the study were to: • explore and describe lived experiences of institutional effectiveness during transformation; and • recommend mental health strategies for personal and systemic growth to develop sustainable institutional effectiveness in the college sector. The objectives of this study favoured the qualitative research paradigm to reach a dense description of the lived experiences of institutional effectiveness during transformation. , Prof. C.P.H Myburgh
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Academic staff's perceptions of learnership programme delivery at a further education and training institution.
- Authors: Fester, Renate Ruth
- Date: 2008-08-18T07:39:03Z
- Subjects: college teachers , higher education , occupational training
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/380205 , uj:7932 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/882
- Description: Dr. M. Gouws
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- Authors: Fester, Renate Ruth
- Date: 2008-08-18T07:39:03Z
- Subjects: college teachers , higher education , occupational training
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/380205 , uj:7932 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/882
- Description: Dr. M. Gouws
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The effect of a merger in higher education on staff members: the importance of change management.
- Authors: Bosch, Aletta
- Date: 2008-06-24T07:48:50Z
- Subjects: consolidation and merger of corporations , higher education , employees job stress , educational leadership , South Africa
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3621 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/699
- Description: The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) submitted its final report in 1996 to the then President Nelson Mandela, which argued for the creation of a single, co-ordinated system of higher education. Since then, institutions of higher education have been confronted with unexpected and far-reaching demands and challenges. One of these challenges is the transformation and restructuring of the higher education landscape in South Africa. In December 2002, the Ministry of Education released its proposals, which were approved by cabinet, for the transformation and restructuring of the higher education system. Evening out the differences between the historically white and historically black institutions was the central motivation behind the South African government’s restructuring plan for higher education. The restructuring and consolidation of the institutional landscape is a key element in the broader strategy for achieving the broader goals and objectives, namely, to ensure an equitable, sustainable and productive higher education system that will be of high quality and contribute effectively to the human resources, skills, knowledge and research needs of the country and which is consistent with non-sexist, non-racial and democratic values assigned in the constitution (Ministry of Education, 2003:3). The National Working Group recommended that in particular circumstances and conditions, comprehensive institutions that offered a combination of technikon and university-type programmes could be established to facilitate the effective and efficient provision of higher education. The Ministry of Education accepted the proposal to establish this new institutional type and the merger between RAU and TWR was set for 1 January 2005. Implementing the restructuring proposals was complex, time-consuming and placed an enormous burden of additional work on the affected institutions. Merger activities cause change, and change creates stress. It is very difficult to implement organisational change successfully, because employees frequently resist organisational change. Effective change management and visionary leadership are therefore essential for current and future managers to satisfactorily implement organisational change. The scope of this study is to provide insight and understanding of the perceptions, fears and uncertainties that existed amongst staff members of the former TWR during the pre-merger phase with RAU and the function of management during the process of transformation. A literature review conducted emphasised the importance of change management prior to and during a merger. Focus was placed on the reasons and readiness for change in higher education; change leadership; communication; stressors in the change process and prerequisites for a successful transition. Based on the results of this review, different stressors were identified, which normally accompany a merger. Questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from a sample of TWR staff in order to ascertain their perceptions, fears, uncertainties and stressors with regard to the merger. The most conclusive finding was that staff members experienced a certain amount of uncertainty prior to the merger. They felt that they could not create their own destiny in the merger process, nor could they plan for the future. Some staff members felt inferior to their merging partners and assumed that the dominant institution’s employees would fill most of the positions. A majority of the respondents felt that they needed more opportunities to be trained and that management should support them in the training. Communication during the merger was important and the respondents wanted more merger information on a continuous basis. A sizable majority of respondents indicated a strong need for emotional support from management during the merger. Mergers are extremely complex and influence every level of operation and all functions of the institutions to be merged. Strong leadership is needed to combine the traditions of academic freedom and collective decision-making. , Dr. M. Gous
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- Authors: Bosch, Aletta
- Date: 2008-06-24T07:48:50Z
- Subjects: consolidation and merger of corporations , higher education , employees job stress , educational leadership , South Africa
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3621 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/699
- Description: The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) submitted its final report in 1996 to the then President Nelson Mandela, which argued for the creation of a single, co-ordinated system of higher education. Since then, institutions of higher education have been confronted with unexpected and far-reaching demands and challenges. One of these challenges is the transformation and restructuring of the higher education landscape in South Africa. In December 2002, the Ministry of Education released its proposals, which were approved by cabinet, for the transformation and restructuring of the higher education system. Evening out the differences between the historically white and historically black institutions was the central motivation behind the South African government’s restructuring plan for higher education. The restructuring and consolidation of the institutional landscape is a key element in the broader strategy for achieving the broader goals and objectives, namely, to ensure an equitable, sustainable and productive higher education system that will be of high quality and contribute effectively to the human resources, skills, knowledge and research needs of the country and which is consistent with non-sexist, non-racial and democratic values assigned in the constitution (Ministry of Education, 2003:3). The National Working Group recommended that in particular circumstances and conditions, comprehensive institutions that offered a combination of technikon and university-type programmes could be established to facilitate the effective and efficient provision of higher education. The Ministry of Education accepted the proposal to establish this new institutional type and the merger between RAU and TWR was set for 1 January 2005. Implementing the restructuring proposals was complex, time-consuming and placed an enormous burden of additional work on the affected institutions. Merger activities cause change, and change creates stress. It is very difficult to implement organisational change successfully, because employees frequently resist organisational change. Effective change management and visionary leadership are therefore essential for current and future managers to satisfactorily implement organisational change. The scope of this study is to provide insight and understanding of the perceptions, fears and uncertainties that existed amongst staff members of the former TWR during the pre-merger phase with RAU and the function of management during the process of transformation. A literature review conducted emphasised the importance of change management prior to and during a merger. Focus was placed on the reasons and readiness for change in higher education; change leadership; communication; stressors in the change process and prerequisites for a successful transition. Based on the results of this review, different stressors were identified, which normally accompany a merger. Questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from a sample of TWR staff in order to ascertain their perceptions, fears, uncertainties and stressors with regard to the merger. The most conclusive finding was that staff members experienced a certain amount of uncertainty prior to the merger. They felt that they could not create their own destiny in the merger process, nor could they plan for the future. Some staff members felt inferior to their merging partners and assumed that the dominant institution’s employees would fill most of the positions. A majority of the respondents felt that they needed more opportunities to be trained and that management should support them in the training. Communication during the merger was important and the respondents wanted more merger information on a continuous basis. A sizable majority of respondents indicated a strong need for emotional support from management during the merger. Mergers are extremely complex and influence every level of operation and all functions of the institutions to be merged. Strong leadership is needed to combine the traditions of academic freedom and collective decision-making. , Dr. M. Gous
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The reactions of student organisations at the former Rand Afrikaans University to the restructuring of higher education.
- Authors: Plaatjie, Richard Sebeka
- Date: 2008-06-09T07:52:46Z
- Subjects: Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit , student movements , educational change , higher education
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:9393 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/582
- Description: With the demise of apartheid the higher education landscape of South Africa (SA) had to change as well. As a guiding document, the Restructuring of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 (RSA 1997) sets out the programme for the envisioned new higher education system. Among some of the changes envisaged by this Act was that higher education needed to be responsive to the broader process of SA’s socio-economic and political transition. Of note is that, by virtue of the history of the higher educational landscape in SA, the changes were experienced in two phases. The first phase just after 1994 was characterised by debates on the restructuring centred on the changed political environment. This was a period where issues such as equal access to higher education institutions and opportunities for staff and students across race and gender lines, unequal funding, appropriateness of curriculum, shortages of graduates in the fields of science, and inefficiency and ineffectiveness of university management were attempted to be addressed. The second (current) phase is the “globalisation of education” – market principles are introduced into education, with a resultant rise in study fees; academic training is being steered more by market forces than by government; and incorporations and mergers of higher education institutions are being enforced to ensure efficiency, amongst other things. My intention to undertake a study on the restructuring of higher education was because the subject has raised different views and different reactions from different stakeholders. There are authors who are against the manner in which the restructuring of higher education is being formulated and implemented, especially in this second phase, i.e. the globalisation of higher education. Such authors include Komane (2002:7), Goedegebuure, Kaiser, Maassen and De Weert (1994:3), Berstelsen (1998:130), Kgaphola (1999:19) and Clark (1998:5). , Ms. Carina van Rooyen
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- Authors: Plaatjie, Richard Sebeka
- Date: 2008-06-09T07:52:46Z
- Subjects: Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit , student movements , educational change , higher education
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:9393 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/582
- Description: With the demise of apartheid the higher education landscape of South Africa (SA) had to change as well. As a guiding document, the Restructuring of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 (RSA 1997) sets out the programme for the envisioned new higher education system. Among some of the changes envisaged by this Act was that higher education needed to be responsive to the broader process of SA’s socio-economic and political transition. Of note is that, by virtue of the history of the higher educational landscape in SA, the changes were experienced in two phases. The first phase just after 1994 was characterised by debates on the restructuring centred on the changed political environment. This was a period where issues such as equal access to higher education institutions and opportunities for staff and students across race and gender lines, unequal funding, appropriateness of curriculum, shortages of graduates in the fields of science, and inefficiency and ineffectiveness of university management were attempted to be addressed. The second (current) phase is the “globalisation of education” – market principles are introduced into education, with a resultant rise in study fees; academic training is being steered more by market forces than by government; and incorporations and mergers of higher education institutions are being enforced to ensure efficiency, amongst other things. My intention to undertake a study on the restructuring of higher education was because the subject has raised different views and different reactions from different stakeholders. There are authors who are against the manner in which the restructuring of higher education is being formulated and implemented, especially in this second phase, i.e. the globalisation of higher education. Such authors include Komane (2002:7), Goedegebuure, Kaiser, Maassen and De Weert (1994:3), Berstelsen (1998:130), Kgaphola (1999:19) and Clark (1998:5). , Ms. Carina van Rooyen
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