South African Journal of Higher Education最新文献

{"title":"Academic, social and economic experiences of first-year students: Case study","authors":"A. Bayaga, L. Lekena, C. Selepe, A. Du Plessis, S. Blignaut, T. Morar","doi":"10.20853/36-2-4592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-2-4592","url":null,"abstract":"The main precept of the current study was to explore first-year students’ academic, social and economic experiences at a University of Technology (pseudonym: University of Hard Knocks (UHK)). In response to the research questions, the study sought to interrogate the challenges faced by students by finding out whether they would choose the university again given a second chance, and if not why not. It also sought to establish how students would like the institution to improve in order to enhance first-year students’ experiences (FYSE). The approach applied was both quantitative and qualitative to allow students to reveal their experiences of the university, while simultaneously expressing such perceptions in descriptive format (for the quantitative part). Guided by Tinto’s (2013) student departure theory, data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires distributed and sent through invites to all 16 000 first (1st) year students – which served as the population. However, rested upon the research questions for the current study and given that the instrument used was semi-structured, data was received from participants totally 4020 for the quantitative aspect (mainly descriptive). Of this sample (4020), and for the purpose of the current research questions, forty (40) participants were further selected randomly, to evaluate their responses as directed and coordinated by the current research objectives. The results revealed that to ensure appropriate economic and social integration, efforts should be made to automate and secure university processes and, most importantly, provide accredited/licensed accommodation. To achieve effective academic integration systems, learning space and the lack of transparency in accommodation allocations should be addressed. It is therefore recommended that UHK considers economic, social and academic integration processes and procedures to improve the campus experience.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67713896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Filling a theoretical void: The lived experiences of “coloured” women as mathematics educators in higher education","authors":"S. Kenny, N. Davids","doi":"10.20853/36-2-4691","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-2-4691","url":null,"abstract":"Thanks to intense prohibition and regulation of access to higher education during apartheid, a significant number of teachers from historically marginalised groups did not necessarily enter the profession as a first choice or as a desirable profession. Instead, post-schooling choices were based on access and financial support, restricting many marginalised groups to enrol at teacher training colleges. Beyond schools, there were no career pathways for “coloured”, “black”, and “Indian” teachers to teach at a higher education level. In mathematics education, the challenges experienced by “coloured” women are especially pronounced yet unexplored. To date, the dominant literature has leaned towards a negative portrayal, informed by stereotypical imagery and caricature. By exploring the lived experiences of six “coloured” women, who succeeded in establishing themselves as mathematics educators in higher education, the article is driven by a twofold imperative. On the one hand, it seeks to highlight the intersectional barriers of discrimination and marginalisation encountered by these women during apartheid and democratic South Africa. On the other hand, the article is interested in filling the theoretical void on the lives and capabilities of “coloured” women as mathematics educators in higher education.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67713959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mediating epistemological access through asynchronous online discussion forums during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for re-imagining online collaborative self-directed peer engagement and learning","authors":"R. Moosa","doi":"10.20853/36-4-5177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-4-5177","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the burgeoning of online learning and asynchronous online discussion forums in higher education due to restrictions on face-to-face teaching and learning interactions. Previous research on asynchronous online discussion forums focused on the processes that enhance or limit discussion threads and how discussion posts develop students’ reflection and critical thinking skills. Although asynchronous online discussion forums are regarded as spaces for interactive learning, very little is known about how they facilitate epistemological access and enable collaborative peer learning interactions during periods of disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study explores voluntary asynchronous online discussion forum participation in a non-credit bearing course from a unique angle of mediating epistemological access to online learning. This study draws on connectivist theory as a theoretical framework in a digital age where the student is in control of engagement interaction and information exchange. The central research question posed is how does an asynchronous online discussion forum mediate epistemological access to online learning and facilitate collaborative self-directed peer learning during the COVID-19 pandemic? The present study is underpinned by an inductive qualitative exploratory case study approach. A total of 2 146 discussion posts from 1 348 students across five faculties were downloaded from the learning management system and analysed using thematic analysis. This study indicates that epistemological access using a technology-mediated tool, is best facilitated through agency at the institutional, the instructor and the student level. The findings show that despite academic and technological challenges an online discussion forum enables epistemological access, interactive exchange of information and the formation of collaborative peer learning communities. In an age of digital inequalities, this study provides a starting point to uncover ontological barriers to epistemological access to online learning and signals the importance of integrating epistemological access, pedagogy and technology. This article concludes with implications for re-imagining the design of online multi-modal pedagogy to mediate online collaborative self-directed peer engagement and learning.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perceptions of staff and students about the NC(V) model of workplace Engineering artisan training offered by South African TVET colleges","authors":"B. Du Plooy, K. du Preez","doi":"10.20853/36-3-4505","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-3-4505","url":null,"abstract":"Vocational training is a contentious issue in South Africa, where large per centages are regularly cited for unemployment statistics, and in particular for youth and post-school unemployment. Vocational study programmes at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are often seen as one possible remedy to these problems. The Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) long-term objective is to increase the number of learners that will qualify as artisans, which represent a major scarce/critical skills area in South Africa. However, the throughput and certification rates of TVET students are disconcertingly low, with National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) Engineering courses regularly cited as having some of the lowest rates. This article reports on a small research study on the perceptions of TVET staff and students about NC(V) Engineering programmes, conducted at two TVET colleges in South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data from NC(V) Engineering students and lecturers. The most important findings of the study include that there is a critical collaboration gap between industry and the TVET sector and that both NC(V) staff and students experience the need for addressing the (im)balance of time spent on practical versus theoretical training as part of NC(V) programmes. A clear understanding of the perceptions and concerns of TVET NC(V) Engineering lecturers and students may assist in addressing issues locally, at individual TVET colleges, and globally, at national policy and Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) level, that could in future serve to contribute to improved academic performance, including higher throughput and certification rates, of NC(V) Engineering students.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Democratic citizenship education: Towards a model for establishing democratic mathematics teacher education","authors":"Olawale B. E., Mncube V., Harber C. R.","doi":"10.20853/36-3-4681","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-3-4681","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides an explication of the concepts of democracy and democratic citizenship from a political dimension, it also offers insight into the nature of democracy and democratic citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa. The article further outlines the relationship between mathematics and democracy, as well as a number of pedagogical approaches which are capable of fostering democratic principles in mathematics education classrooms. Finally, the article proposes a model which encompasses a trilogy of democratic principles; humanising pedagogy; and social, cultural, economic and political issues which can be employed in preparing mathematics student teachers to become fully democratic citizens.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pedagogies of access and success among South African university students in the extended curriculum programmes amidst COVID-19 disruptions","authors":"P. Nyoni","doi":"10.20853/36-4-5206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-4-5206","url":null,"abstract":"The shift from contact to online classes as universities sought to ensure continuity in its academic enterprise not only happened within a context of uncertainties, hesitancy, and contestations but it had huge implications on pedagogic access and educational success for students from disadvantaged academic and social backgrounds. This article uses an ethnographic approach that draws from a combination of personal interactions with 24 participants who included 12 extended students, 4 parents, 4 academic and 4 administrative staff drawn from two South African universities, one of them in an urban and the other in a rural setting. Two key objectives feature in the article, that is how students in the extended curriculum programme have experienced online pedagogies and with what effects on their academic access and success. The article’s key findings highlight how through inclusive pedagogies with a holistic focus, the influences of societal and university ethos together with teacher competencies and other features become central when exploring pedagogic access and access nuances that confront students particularly the extended students within a setting featuring disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The article further makes a case for the relevant pedagogies that can be adopted for dealing with student success issues especially under periods of disruptions. The article further highlights ways in which the move to online pedagogies has not just threatened the success of these students but the very foundations of the extended curriculum programme which aims at addressing issues of student exclusion and success. The article concludes that while the experiences of the extended students represent a microcosm of the broader challenges faced by university students in general, there is evidence that successful inclusive models are those that are holistic with a focus on addressing diverse issues associated with university teaching and learning especially when untested online pedagogies are adopted.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67715033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The need to linger: Can we change everyday discourse to enhance belonging in higher education?","authors":"S. Rudman","doi":"10.20853/36-6-5521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-6-5521","url":null,"abstract":"A student’s sense of belonging plays an important role in their overall experience and success at university. One of the factors which influence such a sense of belonging is the manner in which one is able to connect with those around one. On South African university campuses, student “connections” are often short-circuited by the tendency to “other” those from different ethnic / racial backgrounds. This happens despite the general abundance of “transformation talk” on campuses and much professed insight into issues of discrimination. This article considers the relationship between talk and authenticity with reference to Heidegger’s theory on the everydaynesss of discourse as well as his proposal that real understanding requires a willingness to “linger”. Content analysis of student reflections on a module which created an opportunity for students to “linger” with the “other” implies the potential which such spaces may have in facilitating “connections” otherwise perceived as unlikely. Keywords: sense of belonging, everydayness of discourse, diversity, stereotyped assumptions, othering, idle talk","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67715519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the views of academics on an academic leadership program in higher education","authors":"J. Frantz, J. Marais, M. Du Plessis","doi":"10.20853/36-1-4327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-1-4327","url":null,"abstract":"Leadership in higher education institutions has been receiving growing interest, because of the role institutions play in developing students to become leaders in the broader society. However, institutions have to equip staff, adequately, with leadership skills, first, and one way of doing this, is through a leadership development programme for academic staff. The purpose of this current study was to explore and describe the impact of an academic leadership development programme, based on the perceptions of the participants. In this study, a qualitative, exploratory descriptive, research design was employed. Thirteen (13) participants were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected using individual, open-ended, face-to-face interviews. The data were transcribed, verbatim, and analysed, using thematic analysis. Four key themes emerged: (1) emotional responses to the programme; (2) professional application of skills; (3) benefits from the programme; and (4) recommendations. The programme had an impact on both the personal and professional lives of the participants, which is evidence of the truly transformative nature of the programme. The study, however, is limited because the researchers only sought to explore the perceived impact of a leadership development programme. To determine the true impact, it would need to be studied, using multiple sources.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is democracy still relevant in South African higher education?","authors":"Y. Waghid, N. Davids","doi":"10.20853/36-2-5142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-2-5142","url":null,"abstract":"At least, over the past four decades post-colonial African higher education has undergone significant changes in the quest to cultivate democratic educational / pedagogical actions in universities. From its early insistence on deliberative action (Waghid 2001), more recently, it assumed the forms of both ethical pursuits (Davids and Waghid 2016) and caring (Waghid 2019). Yet, as South Africa continues its unprecedented transition into a democracy, it is becoming abundantly evident that what is needed in higher education should surpass deliberative, ethical, and caring encounters. The expectation that a democratic climate would ease the deep inequalities in higher education, would somehow set the scene for a renewal of knowledge, and restore opportunities for historically marginalised communities, lies in limbo. Instead, what we witness is the awakening of renewed resistance – this time, not against an unjust apartheid regime, but against a democracy that seems incapable of yielding to its own ideals. In this article, therefore, we argue that for higher education to enact its democratic imperative – that is, its transformative ideals, necessary not only for its own public thriving, but for its citizenship – it ought to invoke the idea of resistance (Davids and Waghid 2021).","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From pandemic disruption to post-pandemic transformation: New possibilities for teaching in South African higher education","authors":"K. Brodie, A. Joffe, S. Dukhan, S. Godsell, D. De Klerk, K. Padayachee","doi":"10.20853/36-4-5180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-4-5180","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic has had previously unimaginable and far-reaching effects on higher education globally (Baker et al. 2022; Cranfield et al. 2021; Kara 2021; Le Grange 2020). On top of the widespread loss felt by students and teachers across the world, we have had to make rapid changes to previously taken-for-granted ways of doing, being, learning and teaching (Baker et al. 2022; Cranfield et al. 2021). Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) brought constraints and opportunities, challenges and innovations. This article gives form to the statement: “there is an opportunity in the moment for genuine equity-focused innovation in policy-making, provision and pedagogy” (Czerniewicz et al. 2020). We use a theoretical framework of structure, culture and agency through which to view possibilities for transformation of pedagogy, and a form of semi-autoethnography as methodology. Two lecturers, one in the Humanities (Education) and one in the Life Sciences, wrote extended narratives of their experiences of ERTL and the other authors then posed a series of questions to the story authors, which elicited a set of analytic descriptions and explanations. Through iterations of this analysis, we identified two important themes: attending to students’ socio-emotional needs and developing students’ engagement, self-regulation and reflexivity. The analysis identifies key opportunities and challenges that these required and how they were addressed by the lecturers concerned. Based on the analysis and drawing on Case’s (2015b) argument for an expanded sense of agency for students, we argue that the lecture is a key structural and cultural element of the university space that was disrupted during the pandemic and can be transformed going forward. We thus argue for decentering the lecture. Furthermore, we argue that care and concern for students has not been a primary cultural element of teaching and learning in higher education, for structural reasons, and that it should be an integral part of pedagogies going forward.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}