Educational Studies / DED (DIDACTICS)

This study argues in favour of the distance education student as being a decision-maker and scrutinised his choice criteria against the `open' education background. In particular, the study investigated the relative contribution of influential decision factors, as identified by previous research, in the choice students made when they chose between print-based and on-line modalities. A quantitative study, drawing data from 233 participants in two modules at the University of South Africa, was employed. The study showed that influential decision factors were transferable to a choice between printed or on-line instructional content, but their effects were less significant. Differences pertaining to previous experience with their delivery mode were apparent between students who selected the print-based option and students who selected the on-line option. The results also confirmed that of other research that a significant relationship exists between self-concept and optimal decision-making and self-concept and social environment. / Education Studies / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Text in Afrikaans / OPSOMMING: In 'n transformerende samelewing waar die klem is op die realisering van die individu se potensiaal en erkenning van alle vaardighede teen 'n Nasionale Kwalifikasie Raamwerk, verkeer ook die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag in 'n staat van verandering. Die diverse menslike hulpbron - burgerlikes en 'n uniformdraende komponent van ge'integreerde magte - vereis opleiding om effektiewe verdediging aan Suid-A:frika en sy inwoners te bied. Nie net die permanente komponent moet die nodige vaardighede ontwikkel nie, maar ook die Deeltydse Mag ('n totaal van meer as 140 000 lede). Hierdie opleidingsbehoefte en die krimpende begroting, noop die Weermag om koste-effektiewe menslike hulpbronontwikkelingstrategiee toe te pas. Afstandsonderrig, met veral die nuwe interaktiewe karakter daarvan, kan 'n lewensvatbare strategie wees. 'n Vraelystudie na die stand van afstandsonderrig in die Weermag het getoon dat afstandsonderrig reeds op beperkte skaal bedryf word, maar met leemtes in die leermateriaal en 'n gebrek aan noodsaaklike ondersteuning van die bevelstruktuur. Die skep van leerbevorderlike leermateriaal met 'n interaktiewe karakter, soos dit in resente literatuur beskryfword en in algemene afstandsonderrig sigbaar is, kan 'n effektiewe didaktiese leeroordragstelsel vorm. Van die verskeidenheid nuwe mediategnologiee wat tans in die makro-afstandsonderrigomgewing benut word, kan veral rekenaargebaseerde opleiding en oplyn-opleiding in die Weermag aangewend word. Gedrukte materiaal sal steeds die basis vorm en kan aangevul word met interaktiewe televisie-uitsendings - wat tydens 'n loodsaanbieding aan Weermaglede oorweldigend positief ervaar is, om wisselwerking tussen die instrukteur en die leerder, en die leerders onderling te verhoog. vu 'n Afstandsonderrigmodel, gerig op die spesifieke situasie van 'n organisasie soos die Weermag wat self verantwoordelik is vir die ontwikkeling van sy menslike hulpbron, is ontwerp as hoofriglyn vir die ontwikkeling van 'n afstandsonderrigstelsel. Dit beklemtoon die basiese opleidingskomponente van die leerder, die instrukteur en die leermateriaal wat gesien moet word binne die spesifieke omgewing waarbinne hulle funksioneer. Die essensiele rol van die beleidmakende komponent is ook bespreek, aangesien die afstandsonderrigstelsel slegs suksesvol bedryf kan word as daar beleid gepromulgeer is wat die afstandsonderrigstelsel bemagtig. Ontwikkelingsriglyne en implementerinsgriglyne vir 'n afstandsonderrigstelsel in die Weermag sluit ook 'n voorgestelde ontwikkelingsprogram van die afstandsonderriginstrukteurs in. / Summary : In a transforming society where the emphasis is on realizing the potential of the individual and accrediting all competencies against a National Qualifications Framework, the South African National Defence Force is also in a state of change. The diverse human resources demand training in order to effectively defend South Africa and its inhabitants. Competency development is needed by both the permanent component and the Part-time Force. This training requirement and the shrinking budget impel the Defence Force to apply cost-effective human resource development strategies. Distance learning, especially with its new interactive nature, can be a viable strategy. A questionnaire study of the status of distance learning in the Defence Force showed that it is already practised on a limited scale, but with deficiencies in the learning material and a lack of support from the command structure. The creation of interactive learning materials that enhance learning as described in current literature and found in general distance learning practice, can form an effective didactical learning transfer system. Of the various media technologies presently utilised in the macro-distance learning environment, computer-based training and on-line training can be applied in the Defence Force. Printed materials forms the basis and can be supplemented with interactive television broadcasts - which were overwhelmingly positively accepted by Defence Force members during a pilot presentation. - to improve the interaction between the instructor and learner and between learners. A distance learning model focussed on the specific situation of an organisation such as the Defence Force, which is responsible for the development of its own human resources, was designed as main guideline for the development of a distance learning system. It emphasizes the basic components of the learner, the instructor and the learning material that have to be seen within the specific environment in which they operate. The essential role of the policy making component is discussed, since a distance learning system can only be applied successfully if there is promulgated policy to empower the distance learning system. Development and implementation guidelines for a distance learning system in the Defence Force also include a suggested development program for distance learning instructors. / Didactics / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Akademiese onderprestasie van universiteitstudente bly 'n aktuele vraagstuk en dit wil voorkom asof 'n oplossing in die verband navorsers steeds ontwyk. In die onderhawige studie is daar by wyse van 'n omvattende literatuurstudie, asook 'n empiriese ondersoek, aangetoon wat die aard en omvang van die onderprestasieproblematiek op tersiere vlak is. Hierdie proefskrif illustreer teenswoordige afstandsonderrigpraktyke, die aard en struktuur van VUDEC as afstandsonderriginstansie en 'n verskeidenheid faktore wat akademiese prestasie be'invloed. Die diversiteit en kulturele relatiwiteit van kennis, asook die wye interpretasiemoontlikhede van teks, veroorsaak 'n radikale probleem wat onderrig in Suid-Afrika, 'n land met 'n verskeidenheid kulture en gevolglike leerinhoudmoontlikhede, betref Die invloed van postmodemisme word toenemend in verskillende vakke waargeneem, maar onderrig in hierdie land is steeds hoofsaaklik in die sfeer van die modemistiese paradigma gelee. Die kritiese teorie van Habermas, wat modemisme be!nvloed het, bevraagteken realiteit, sowel as die geldigheidskriteria wat legitimiteit aan inhoud moet gee. Die hipotese wat gestel word, veronderstel dat die hoe onderprestasiesyfers in afstandsonderrig moontlik toegeskryf kan word aan die veronderstelling dat die meerderheid afstandsonderrigstudente 'n sosio-konstruktivistiese denkraamwerk het, terwyl afstandsonderrig steeds hoofsaaklik positivisties is. Die navorser stel die postmodemistiese paradigma as moontlike oplossing voor. Modemistiese onderrig moet nie totaal afgeskaf word nie, maar moet verbeter word deur noodsaaklike veranderings en aanpassings te maak ten opsigte van onderliggende persepsies van kurrikuluminhoud, onderrig- en evalueringsisteme en die implementering hiervan. Tradisioneel dosentgesentreerde en statisties gedefinieerde onderrig en evaluering moet met onderrigstrategiee vervang word wat gedeelde verantwoordelikheid vir prestasie nastreef en waar minder klem op die onderwerping van individue aan inhoudsgebonde onderrigpraktyke geplaas word. 'n Paradigmaverskuiwing na 'n postmodernistiese paradigma sal die weg vir afstandsonderriginstansies baan om betertoegeruste leerders die wereld en toekoms in te stuur, deur 'n basis vir die bereiking van voortreflikheid in en deur onderrig te bewerkstellig. / Academic underachievement at university level remains a topic of current interest and concern. Despite unceasing efforts to combat student wastage, a solution in this regard appears to evade researchers. In the present study an extensive literature study as well as an empirical investigation was undertaken to shed light on the nature and extent of the problem. This thesis illustrates present teaching practices, the structure and nature of VUDEC as a distance teaching institution, and a variety of factors that influence academic achievement. The diversity and cultural relativity of knowledge and the wide range of interpretative possibilities of texts, cause a radical problem with regard to teaching in South Africa, which embraces a wide range of cultures and learning contents. The influence of postmodernism has increasingly been observed in different subjects, but teaching in this country is still largely located in the sphere of the modernist paradigm. The critical theory ofHabermas which influenced modernism, questions reality as well as the criteria of validity which legitimize content. The hypothesis stated is based on the assumption that the high dropout rate in distance education may be attributed to the fact that many distance learners work within a socio-constuctivist paradigm of thinking, while teaching by distance educators is positivist in nature. The author holds up the postmodern paradigm as a possible corrective. The project of modernist teaching should not be totally suspended, but should be improved by introducing essential adjustments and changes in terms of underlying perceptions with regard to curriculum content, teaching and evaluation systems, and the implementation of these. Traditional teacher-centred and statistically defined teaching and assessment must be replaced by teaching strategies which accomodate the shared responsibility of achievement, placing less emphasis on the subjection of individuals to content-bound teaching practices. The shift towards a postmodern paradigm will pave the way for distance teaching institutions to send better-equipped learners into the world and into the future by creating a basis for the achievement of excellence in and through education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didaktiek)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.

D.Litt.et Phil. (Information Science) / Schools of library and information science, like all professional schools, are tied to the profession they prepare their students for. They must balance the needs and demands of the profession they serve and the needs and demands of the educational institution they form part of. In South Africa and elsewhere, there is a perceived gap between the product the library schools deliver and the needs of the library and information profession. The technikons in South Africa are relative newcomers to the training and education of librarians and information workers. Their task is seen mainly as the training of paraprofessional library workers, since it is the aim of technikons to provide relevant, vocational education and training through co-operation with the relevant industries/professions. The qualification structure of technikons makes provision for different levels of undergraduate qualifications in the form of national certificates, national higher certificates, diplomas and since 1994, technikon degrees. The conventional qualification structure used for library and information science training, does not however make provision for certificate qualifications - technikons at this stage offer only the National Diploma: Library and Information Practice. There is presently no possibility for technikon diplomates to upgrade their paraprofessional qualification to professional level. The education and training of librarians and information workers through the medium of distance education is well established in South Africa. The distance education institutions use the same qualification structure as the residential institutions, despite the fact that qualifying through parttime distance education takes much longer. Distance learners therefore could benefit from interim qualifications like certificates, since it could serve as indication to their employers that they are making progress with their studies. There are indications from the library and information science profession that there is a need for more undergraduate levels of qualifications because of the different needs of the different communities in South Africa, especially those of the disadvantaged communities. The qualification structure for library and information science education at Technikon SA, which teaches through the medium of distance education, can however not be changed without consulting the library and information profession. The aim of this study is to determine whether the profession would accept a changed qualification structure. To determine this, the Delphi method is used. The Delphi method is a technique that makes use of the opinions of experts for forecasting future events. The Delphi study is supported by a literature study which serves to put the research into context by ...

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2002 / Refer to document

Thesis (Ph.D. (Educational Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The primary aim of this study was to investigate the growing rate of dropout phenomenon within the ambiance of higher education and to develop a support model for lower-postgraduate students. Anchored within Maxwell’s (2012) model of qualitative design, this case-study research has employed the deficit theory and the theory of transactional distance to guide the investigation. While the theoretical evidence was garnered through the application of traditional (narrative) literature review design, the empirical evidence was achieved by targeting lecturers, administrative officers and dropout students. These participants were only those who have respectively taught an advanced communication research (COM4809) module which is offered in the department of communication science as part of the honours programme, who have been involved into the administration of the module in the same department and who have dropped out of COM4809 between 2011 and 2016. Purposive selection technique was used to sample distinct units of analysis at various levels. At the first level, the University of South Africa (Unisa) was used as a case ODL university. At the second level, COM4809 was used as an ideal module to demonstrate that dropout is prevalent at an honours postgraduate level within the ODL domain. At the third level, lecturers were also purposively included into the study since they were key informants. With regard to administrative officers, a census approach was adopted to include the only two administrative officers who have been involved in the administration of COM4809 between 2011 and 2016. Dropout students were selected using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. While the purposive selection of dropout students from the given dataset (statistical information) of 219 dropouts, which was requested from the information and communication department (ICT), was used, the snowball selection method came into play when lecturers identified twenty-one dropout students from their personal records and furnishing the researcher with detailed contact information about them. However, the researcher has managed to hold focus-group interviews with a group of six dropout students and telephonic interviews with ten dropout students, summing up to 16 participants. Focus-group interviews were also undertaken with a cohort of eight lecturers while another seven lecturers have participated in the in-depth interviews. Data were analysed through the use of qualitative content analysis method, and O’Connor and Gibson’s (n.d) design viii    to analyse qualitative data was used. To ensure the credibility and dependability of findings, a triangulated approach to data collection and analysis were used. The study unveiled four major themes on dropout factors, namely: dropout factors associated with students’ personal circumstances, with lecturers’ personal circumstances, with institutional (academic) circumstances and with those factors which are determined by circumstances of other units of analysis (other research contexts). The study has further revealed that while the majority of factors can be controlled, others cannot. Based on the findings and the literature, an integrated honours student-centred support model (IHSCM) was developed to serve as a framework within which to understand dropouts of lower-postgraduate students in an ODL institution. Findings have demonstrated the importance of providing support services in an ODL environment and advocate for a holistic approach towards addressing attrition. The proposed model is envisaged to better expound dropout attributes, which lead students to discontinuing their studies in the ODL environment, and to assist ODL institutions to effectively address the concern. ODL institutions, which want to apply the proposed IHSCM, should do that with caution in mind owing to the fact that the model is not yet tested. Hence, it is inferable to suggest that future research should focus on its impact in the reduction of dropouts of honours students in ODL contexts.   Key words: Student dropout (attrition), dropout student, open and distance learning (ODL) institution, Higher education institution, distance education, student support intervention (services, intervention, mitigation strategy) and student support model (framework).

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

This study argues in favour of the distance education student as being a decision-maker and scrutinised his choice criteria against the `open' education background. In particular, the study investigated the relative contribution of influential decision factors, as identified by previous research, in the choice students made when they chose between print-based and on-line modalities. A quantitative study, drawing data from 233 participants in two modules at the University of South Africa, was employed. The study showed that influential decision factors were transferable to a choice between printed or on-line instructional content, but their effects were less significant. Differences pertaining to previous experience with their delivery mode were apparent between students who selected the print-based option and students who selected the on-line option. The results also confirmed that of other research that a significant relationship exists between self-concept and optimal decision-making and self-concept and social environment. / Education Studies / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)