Tertiary institutions, in striving towards achieving academic excellence, have realised the need for the professional development of human resources. Staff development thus now features in most institutions' strategic plans. In this study, which has as its context the M L Sultan Technikon, an attempt was made to develop and implement an evaluation programme for academic staff to determine relevant staff needs. Adopting a 'grass-roots' approach to staff evaluation, the evaluation programme was initiated and launched by the Staff Development Unit. Phase 1 of the programme was experimental and voluntary and consisted of student-feedback, a self-evaluation form and a head's evaluation form. Staff response to the programme and their input to a revised evaluation programme occurred as a result of meetings with staff, the administration of feedback questionnaires and a survey of all heads of department. One of the goals of the evaluation programme was to contribute to a relevant staff development programme based on academic staff needs, generated as a result of engaging in the self-evaluation, resulting in needs as indicated in staff's personal development plans. Although the evaluation programme was developed with formative intentions, it has been adapted by the Management for summative purposes, the outcomes of which are also focused upon in the study. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1991.

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

This study investigated how institutional conditions and cultures enabled or impeded the development and implementation of academic professional development programmes in Zimbabwe State universities. The study was prompted by undervaluing of academic professional development in Zimbabwe State universities manifested by its absence in half of the institutions. Literature suggests that factors that enable or impede implementation of academic staff development programmes include irrelevant academic professional programmes and influence of departmental cultures. The critical theory paradigm guided this study because the intention was to change and transform teaching practices by gaining insights on academics‘ perspectives on conditions that influence implementation of academic staff development programmes. A qualitative study was employed where interviews, focus group discussions, documents and questionnaires were used. Two state universities were conveniently sampled from which sixteen academics, four deans, two Directors of the Teaching and Learning Centres and two Vice Chancellors were purposively selected to participate in the study. The research produced findings reflecting that disciplines have huge influence on the development and implementation of academic professional development in higher education institutions. The scholarship of research constrained the scholarship of teaching in higher education practice. It was realised that academics‘ research interests subordinate teaching interests and by implication academic professional development programmes. This influences academics to have negative attitudes towards academic professional development programmes resulting in poor uptake of the programmes. It also emerged from the findings that promotion policies favour research over teaching resulting in academics marginalising teaching in their academic roles. It also emerged clearly as well that good researchers are not necessarily good teachers and that holding a PhD does not translate an academic to be a good teacher. However, it also emerged that departmental cultures can be used to promote interdisciplinary research which academic professional development might embrace in its practice. The research experienced limitations in terms of time and threat to confidentiality but their effects were countered through control measures effected by the researcher. The study recommends that State universities should set up teaching and learning centres that will lead in the development of a culture that values teaching and learning in faculties in which academic professional development programmes will professionalize university teaching The study also recommends that academic professional development should address needs of academics for them to be relevant and that their approach should include formal courses such as Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education in which teaching in higher education is valued / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)