Mentorship as a tool to develop the pedagogical and content knowledge of inservice teachers, regardless of experience, is a field in education which has gained popularity worldwide. The review of literature however, provided evidence that mentoring in education has primarily focused on the benefits received by novice teachers and not experienced teachers. Areas addressed in the literature review include the important role of continuous professional development programmes in the improvement of the teachers’ classroom practices and by inference, their learners’ achievements. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and understandings of seven experienced natural science teachers as mentees in a professional development programme (the ILLS project). Through the use of a qualitative case study approach, I examined the activities that supported the development of the participants as they interacted with the guided support of a mentor teacher, and aimed to understand how the mentees made sense of their experiences in this mentoring relationship. The activities included lesson-planning, classroom observations and reflection meetings and the professional development support, through mentoring, was embedded on-site and in-context. This research revealed that the mentee teachers were motivated by the opportunity to enhance their professional growth through the support of a mentor. The teachers also perceived that their subject content and pedagogical knowledge were enriched by participating in the mentoring process. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

Abstract in English, Southern Sotho and Afrikaans / South African chartered accountants (CAs(SA)), who are primarily trained as financially orientated technical specialists, play a significant role as part of management teams, which require expertise in leadership, strategy, marketing, communication and teamwork among other managerial skills. However, it has been found that accounting professionals have inherent characteristics that could act as barriers to career transition and adaptability in the volatile and challenging accounting profession. This study employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis research design to gain insights on the way CAs(SA) in the financial services sector have managed to overcome barriers and leverage enablers to transition their careers. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with CAs(SA) who occupy or have occupied a management position in the financial services sector. The findings revealed that the participants had prepared themselves for transition by gaining credibility and confidence by means of exposing themselves to challenging work, leading others, taking part in varied activities, updating their substantive knowledge base and using mentors. Through their attitudes, behaviour and decisions, participants were able to influence their career development context by being adaptable. Further, participants revealed that they were able to overcome barriers by gaining practical experience and exposure to varied tasks and career development opportunities, reading, listening and further training and education. Participants were also able to overcome barriers and create enablers by learning from others through informal mentorships and working in strong teams, which limited the extent to which they had to learn from their own mistakes. These insights could benefit not only CAs(SA) themselves but also professional accounting bodies, academic institutions, training organisations and employers of CAs(SA). / Di-chartered accountant tsa Afrika Borwa (CAs(SA)), ba rupetsweng ka sehlooho jwalo ka ditsebi tsa setekgeniki ka tsa ditjhelete, ba bapala karolo ya bohlokwa dihlopheng tsa bookamedi tse hlokang botsebi ho tsa boetapele, meralo, papatso, dikgokahano le tshebetso ya sehlopha, hara ditsebo tse ding tsa bookamedi. Leha ho le jwalo, ho fumanwe hore diprofeshenale tsa accounting di na le ditlwaelo tse tebileng tse ka iketsang dithibelo tsa kgolo mosebetsing le phetophetoho kahare ho profeshene ya accounting e dulang e sa tsitsa hape e na le diphephetso. Boithuto bona bo sebedisitse moralo wa patlisiso wa kutlwiso ya batho ya ntho e itseng ho fumana tsebo ka mokgwa oo diCA(SA) lekaleng la ditshebeletso tsa ditjhelete ba kgonneng ho fenya dithibelo tse jwalo le ho sebedisa dithutso ho hola mesebetsing ya bona. Ka tsela eo, di-inthavu di entswe le diCA(SA) tse maemong (kapa tse kileng tsa ba maemong) a bookamedi kahara lekala la ditshebeletso tsa ditjhelete. Diphetho di bontshitse hore bankakarolo ba itokiseditse phetoho ka ho iphumantsha bokgolwehi le boitshepo ka ho ipepesetsa mosebetsi o phephetsang, ho etella ba bang pele, ho nka karolo mesebetsing e fapaneng, ho ntjhafatsa ditsebo tsa bona le ka ho sebedisa batataisi. Ka mehopolo ya bona, boitshwaro le diqeto, bankakarolo ba ile ba kgona ho susumetsa ntshetsopele ya mesebetsi ka hore ba kgone ho fetofetoha. Ho feta moo, bankakarolo ba supile hore ba kgonne ho fenya dithibedi ka ho fumana tsebo ya ketso le ho ipepesetsa mesebetsi e fapaneng le menyetla ya ntlafatso ya tshebetso, ka ho bala, ho mamela le ho etsa dithuto le dithupelo tsa ntshetsopele ya thuto. Bankakarolo ba boetse ba kgonne ho hlola dithibelo le ho hlahisa dithusi ka ho ithuta ho tswa ho batho ba bang ka ditataiso tse sa hlophiswang le ka ho sebetsa le dihlopha tse matla, e leng ho neng ho fokotsa makgetlo ao ka ona ba neng ba tlameha ho ithuta ka diphoso tsa bona. Dintlha tsena di ka ba molemo eseng feela ho diCA(SA) ka bo tsona, empa le ditheo tsa profeshenale tsa accounting, ditsi tsa accounting, mekgatlo ya thupelo le bahiri ba diCA(SA). / Suid-Afrikaanse geoktrooieerde rekenmeesters (CA’s(SA)) wat primêr as finansieelgeoriënteerde tegniese spesialiste opgelei is, speel 'n beduidende rol in bestuurspanne wat kundigheid in leierskap, strategie, bemarking, kommunikasie en spanwerk en ander bestuursvaardighede vereis. Daar is egter bevind dat rekeningkundige praktisyns inherente eienskappe het wat struikelblokke kan wees vir loopbaanoorgang en aanpasbaarheid in die ongestadige en uitdagende rekeningkundige beroep. Hierdie studie het 'n interpretatiewe fenomenologiese ontledingnavorsingsontwerp gevolg om insig te bekom oor die wyse waarop CA’s(SA) in die finansiële sektor daarin geslaag het om sulke struikelblokke en hefboominstaatstellers te bowe te kom om loopbaanoorgang te bereik. Onderhoude is dienooreenkomstig met die CA’s(SA) gehou wat bestuursposisies in die finansiële sektor beklee of beklee het. Die bevindings het gewys dat die deelnemers hulleself vir oorgang voorberei het deur geloofwaardigheid en vertroue te verkry deur blootstelling aan uitdagende werk, om ander te lei, deelname aan gevarieerde aktiwiteite, om hulle substantiewe kennisbasis op te dateer en om mentors te gebruik. Deur aanpasbare houdings, gedrag en besluite kon die deelnemers hulle loopbaanontwikkelingskonteks beïnvloed. Die deelnemers het ook aangedui dat hulle struikelblokke te bowe kon kom deur praktiese ervaring en blootstelling aan gevarieerde take en loopbaanontwikkelingsgeleenthede, en deur lees, luister en deelname aan verdere onderwys en opleiding. Die deelnemers was voorts in staat om struikelblokke te oorkom en instaatstellers daar te stel deur by ander te leer deur informele mentorskap en om in sterk spanne te werk, wat die mate waarin hulle uit hulle eie foute moes leer, beperk het. Hierdie insigte behoort nie net CA’s(SA) te baat nie, maar ook professionele rekeningkundige liggame, akademiese instellings, opleidingsorganisasies en werknemers van CA’s(SA). / Management Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

Thesis (MA(Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Organisations have come to exist for a definite purpose, which is to combine and transform scarce factors of production into products and services with maximum economic utility. They strive to attain the highest possible output of need satisfying products and/or services with the lowest possible input of production factors. In order to achieve the level of growth and development required to enable it to compete in a climate of fierce international competition from other developed countries, post – apartheid South Africa needs a focused, motivated and skilled workforce. Yet, the current reality is often that of South African companies’ being handicapped by an under-skilled and, frequently, under-performing workforce. In addition, tertiary institutions experience low pass rates and high attrition rates among previously disadvantaged students, despite efforts to provide extra academic support and enrichment programmes. In this study, it is believed that one aspect of the difficult that many disadvantaged students have to achieve either in tertiary study or in the workplace, can be attributed to the lack of career maturity of such learners to make optimal career choices. The main objective of this study was to perform an audit of levels of career maturity of a sample of disadvantaged learners from the Western Cape. Another goal of the research was to attempt to investigate some envisaged determinants of career maturity in an effort to isolate those that presented as having the strongest influence on career maturity levels. A model was developed to illustrate these determinants and their envisaged effect which was tested among previously disadvantaged learners in the Western Cape.

This study concerns the identification of the particular competences required by education, training and development practitioners (ETD practitioners) in the South African National Defence Force to develop suitable and appropriate career and training strategies. An applied research approach and a primarily quantitative approach were used. Questionnaires were completed by the commanding officers or the training managers, as well as the ETD practitioners at the education, training and development providers in the South African National Defence Force to determine the actual utilisation of ETD practitioners. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the roles, core competences, levels of competences and clusters of competences required by ETD practitioners in the South African National Defence Force. In addition, the actual utilisation of ETD practitioners was compared with a proposed competence profile that was based on the literature study in order to determine the competence gap that has to be addressed by means of career and training strategies. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Didactics)

Text in English / The purpose of this study was to explore the work-life balance experiences of female engineers as they progress through various career life stages. Research has demon-strated that female engineers experience unique challenges as a result of gendered norms within male-dominated occupations, with changing life-roles, needs and ex-pectations across the various career life stages, impacting how they negotiate and perceive work-life balance. A qualitative research approach was followed using a her-meneutic phenomenology paradigm that employed a multiple case study approach consisting of semi-structured interviews with nine female engineers across three career life stages. The findings of the study confirmed current research into work-life balance, highlighting that work-life balance needs and expectations are different across the lifespan and are particularly affected by the changing nature of the work role within the lives of female engineers. Companies should consider changing their organisational culture to acknowledge the needs of female engineers in both family and work domains. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The research focused on constructing a psychosocial profile for the career development practices of professional women. The relationship dynamics between the individuals’ psychosocial attributes (emotional intelligence, career adaptability, psychosocial career preoccupations, self-efficacy, perceived organisational and social support) were investigated and whether the constructs significantly related to individuals’ experiences of career satisfaction when controlling for age, race, marital status, number of children, job level, total monthly income and education level. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted on a purposive sample of professional women (N = 606) from various South African organisations. Inferential statistics (multiple regressions, canonical correlation analysis, structural equation modelling, hierarchical moderated regression and tests for significant differences) revealed core elements of the empirically manifested psychosocial profile. Participants’ career preoccupations and perceptions of organisational support were significant predictors of career satisfaction, along with age, race and job level. Managing own emotions, career control and self-efficacy were highlighted as important psychological resources in strengthening career satisfaction. Perceived organisational support and social support functioned as significant mechanisms in buffering the negative effect of high career preoccupations on levels of career satisfaction, and strengthening the link between emotional intelligence, career adaptability, and self-efficacy and career satisfaction. Significant mean differences were observed for age, race and job level groups regarding career preoccupations, perceived organisational support and career satisfaction. In addition, significant mean differences were observed for marital status, total monthly income and education level groups regarding career preoccupations, perceived organisational support and career satisfaction. On a theoretical level, the study advanced career theory for the career development of professional women by identifying the relationships found between the hypothesised psychosocial profile elements and career satisfaction. On the empirical level the study contributed towards constructing a psychosocial profile that informs the career development and satisfaction of professional women. On apractical level, the study proposes guidelines for enhancing the career satisfaction and success of professional women. / Psychology / PhD. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of how four peer helpers within the Unisa Peer Help Volunteer Programme managed their portfolio development processes to monitor their growth and development which took place as a result of their involvement in peer helper activities. The epistemological framework of this study is interpretive and involved in-depth interviews with four peer helpers who rendered volunteer services at the University of South Africa and have been developing their career portfolios over a period of time. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of the four participants were transcribed and retold by the researcher in the form of themes that emerged. This study contained the stories of how the participants initially struggled to understand the concept and purpose of portfolios; how they took charge of the process; and how their attitudes changed from uncertainty and confusion to viewing the process as worthwhile - thus enabling them to commit themselves, to varying degrees, to the development of their individual portfolios. Recurring themes present in all four stories were described in the researcher's story of the participants' stories. The information generated by this study could serve as guidelines for not only peer helpers interested in developing their own portfolios, but also for project leaders involved in the management of peer helper groups and who plan to implement portfolios in their programmes. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Mentorship as a tool to develop the pedagogical and content knowledge of inservice teachers, regardless of experience, is a field in education which has gained popularity worldwide. The review of literature however, provided evidence that mentoring in education has primarily focused on the benefits received by novice teachers and not experienced teachers. Areas addressed in the literature review include the important role of continuous professional development programmes in the improvement of the teachers’ classroom practices and by inference, their learners’ achievements. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and understandings of seven experienced natural science teachers as mentees in a professional development programme (the ILLS project). Through the use of a qualitative case study approach, I examined the activities that supported the development of the participants as they interacted with the guided support of a mentor teacher, and aimed to understand how the mentees made sense of their experiences in this mentoring relationship. The activities included lesson-planning, classroom observations and reflection meetings and the professional development support, through mentoring, was embedded on-site and in-context. This research revealed that the mentee teachers were motivated by the opportunity to enhance their professional growth through the support of a mentor. The teachers also perceived that their subject content and pedagogical knowledge were enriched by participating in the mentoring process. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the relationship between employability attributes (measured by the Employability Attributes Scale), career adaptability (measured by the Career-Adapt Abilities Scale) and retention factors (measured by the Retention Factor Scale), and, secondly, to determine whether employees from different age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups differ significantly in their levels of employability attributes, career adaptability and retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. The non-probability sample consisted of 321 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African automotive manufacturing company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, structural equation modelling and regressions were used for data analysis. The data analysis revealed significant associations between the career metacompetencies and retention factors. In addition, significant differences were found between age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This research focuses on the relationship between self-esteem, graduateness skills and attributes and career adaptability among young adults in the school-to-work transition phase to assist them in dealing with the transitions they are faced with during the school-to-work transition phase in the hopes of making them more career adaptable and employable. A cross-sectional quantitative research approach was followed, and a non-probability convenience sample (N = 332) of undergraduate black (98.5%) and female (62%) young emerging adults (18 to 29 years) at a Further Education and Training (FET) college in South Africa participated in the study. A canonical correlation analysis indicated a significant overall relationship between the graduateness/self-esteem canonical variate and the career adaptability canonical variate. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the relationship between graduateness skills and attributes and career adaptability was moderated by self-esteem. Tests for mean differences revealed that males and females differed significantly regarding their personal self-esteem and lie items. Recommendations are suggested for use by human resource professionals in terms of career development practices. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)