THESIS submitted in fulfilment of the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The aim of this research is to present recommendations for knowledge and practice relations between Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and Civil Engineering (CE) workplaces, and to present a work-integrated learning (WIL) model that could assist with the preparation of CE students for the workplace. Recently, FET colleges have been under the spotlight in terms of student preparedness for the CE workplace. Many questions have been posed by students studying at FET colleges and by CE workplace supervisors in respect of whether the current CE curriculum adequately prepares students for the workplace, or whether the curriculum has become obsolete in terms of knowledge and practice relations. The CE industry is of the opinion that students are insufficiently prepared in terms of skills and knowledge. In the light of this uncertainty, I researched the learning taking place at FET colleges and CE workplaces. I examined similarities and differences in the learning environment of the students. The research provides a theoretical overview of Activity Theory (AT) and its principle of contradictions. The lens of AT and its contradictions provide a versatile tool to enquire into various aspects of WIL, taking into account individual and institutional perspectives, as well as changes over time. Activity Theory and its principle of contradictions provide insights into how transformation may occur within Activity Systems (ASs) in a CE context. The study was conducted over a number of years with participants from three ASs, namely, the classroom, workshop/college yard and workplace. During the research, this study proposed a conceptual framework, rooted in AT, and substantiated by empirical evidence, for describing and analysing the learning taking place in the FET college sector and within the CE workplace environment. The analysis focuses on the perceptions of learning taking place in the ASs. Results reveal a knowledge and practice divide, mediated by AS elements of mediating artefacts, object, subject, division of labour, community and rules. Through a particular focus on the contradictions of the elements of an AS which occur, the objective for this study was to determine ‘knowledge and practice relations’. The components of knowledge and practice are extremely isolated, and by bringing the argument and the empirical findings together, the findings propose:  Links between knowledge(‘the classroom’) and practice(‘the workplace’) The surfacing of the disconnect between knowledge and practice between the FET college sector and the CE workplace supports the idea of establishing links between these two sectors. This collaboration could be the turning point in better preparing students for the workplace.  Policy formulation and implementation The need for policy review to enhance the integration of knowledge and practice relations in the sector has become apparent. Colleges are expected to undergo a radical transformation and to make major contributions to policy. However, these institutions are new and fragile, and are based on historically weak predecessors. Much of the reform process is oblivious of the connections between college and workplace. The research has established that both CE industries and FET colleges should ensure that they increase their involvement with and participation in the provision of adequately preparing students for the workplace in the Western Cape Province.

Este estudo objetivou investigar as contribuiÃÃes das prÃticas de aprendizagem experiencial para o desenvolvimento de competÃncias de gerentes de projetos em empresas cearenses de desenvolvimento de software. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratÃria e descritiva, por meio de uma pesquisa de campo, de base qualitativa, em estudos de casos mÃltiplos em trÃs empresas cearenses de produÃÃo de software afiliadas ao Instituto Titan, com sede em Fortaleza-CE, e que possuem como principal atividade o desenvolvimento de software. A pesquisa bibliogrÃfica e documental, bem como a coleta de dados por meio de questionÃrios semi-estruturados foi orientada pelo estudo das prÃticas formais e informais de aprendizagem individual, em grupo e organizacionais, alÃm dos mecanismos de reconhecimento da capacitaÃÃo profissional dos referidos sujeitos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostraram que, nas organizaÃÃes pesquisadas, a aprendizagem e a capacitaÃÃo profissionais ocorrem preferencialmente pela via experiencial do peer learning e do autodesenvolvimento apoiado na internet. Embora as referidas organizaÃÃes estimulem as prÃticas experienciais identificadas e a troca de conhecimentos no contexto dos grupos de trabalhos, inexistem procedimentos formalizados e estruturados de planejamento, execuÃÃo, avaliaÃÃo de resultados e de legitimaÃÃo das competÃncias desenvolvidas experiencialmente. / This work shows a research about experiential learning on the field of companies that develop softwares in CearÃ-Brazil. The main goal is to investigate the contributions of experiential learning practices for professionals working in this kind of companies, starting with their politics, processes and formal practices of training, besides maping and analyzing the initiatives and strategies that individuals, groups and organizations held for this purpose. A literature review was done about the basis of education and experiential learning, the learning in the knowledge management area and in the total quality management, as well as the formal and informal aspects of learning, and formative experiences. Having the project managers as subjects, three companies were investigated through this study of multiple cases. In methodological terms, this research has a qualitative nature, it is characterized as explorative, descriptive and bibliographic. On the process of data collection, semi-structured interviews were used and, for the data analysis, the content analyses. The results showed that the professional development is helped by the use of experiential learning in these companies, but there is a need to improve the processes of learning evaluation and knowledge management. The employees of these companies prefer the experience-based learning and peer learning, they consider the internet their first source of knowledge; the groups develop their knowledge and learning mostly through the method of âconception proofâ; and the organizations encourage their employees to study and research for new technologies and methodologies at any time of the working shift and use team meetings as a way of transferring of knowledge.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel Gomes dos Reis.pdf: 1201625 bytes, checksum: 59b27231f149c89367060dc63f7fb9df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-09-06 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / In the area of Administration, learning has proven to be a relevant issue and the subject of vast literature. However, considering Kolb s (1976, 1984) model of experiential learning and its stages, it has been observed that most studies focus on the action stage of the learning cycle whilst giving little heed to reflection, leading to an incomplete picture of how learning actually occurs. This dissertation arose from the critical need for a profound understanding on the role reflection plays on learning through experience and seeks to identify, describe and comprehend the process of reflection so as to establish and consolidate the role of reflection in management learning. Research was carried out with managers as they are responsible for tackling complex situations in everyday professional life, sometimes having to solve problems that demand continuous analysis and reflection processes within the experiences they have endured. The adopted method for data collection was the Life Story method. In order to attain the proposed objective, two interviews were conducted with seven managers from different organizations with the requirement that they have been carrying out management functions for no less than two years and are attending or have attended some form of post-graduate programme. In general terms, field research ascertained most of the ideas of Schön (1983, 2000) and Seibert and Daudelin (1999), with the exception of some specificity in the theories of the latter two authors. It was noted that the reflection process of the managers occurred from the moment they encountered unfamiliar experiences, which were unique and uncertain and for which the individual s current knowledge was insufficient to provide a solution. It was possible to understand the way the managers reflected as they described in detail where they tend to seek the tools to carry out analysis and how they experience the theories formulated from their reflection in practice. Moreover, they were able to describe their feelings throughout the reflective process and identify the moments in which reflection occurred in the unfamiliar experience. Material obtained from this research provided the elaboration of the general management reflection process which allows for an understanding of the role reflection plays in management learning as a cognitive inspection of an unfamiliar experience developed through analysis, inquiries, questioning and interpretations on the part of the manager when considering his or her past repertory, aiming at familiarity and an understanding of the endured problematic situation. / Na área de Administração, a aprendizagem é assunto relevante com vasta literatura existente sobre este tema. Entretanto, considerando o modelo de aprendizagem experiencial de Kolb (1976, 1984) e suas fases, constatou-se que a maioria dos estudos existentes tem como foco a etapa de ação do ciclo de aprendizagem, porém com pouca atenção à reflexão, fato que leva à construção de uma fotografia incompleta de como acontece a aprendizagem. A necessidade crítica de se entender profundamente o papel que a reflexão desempenha na aprendizagem pela experiência deu ensejo a esta dissertação que visa, justamente, identificar, descrever e compreender como ocorre o processo de reflexão, para estabelecer e consolidar qual é o papel da reflexão na aprendizagem gerencial. Realizou-se esta pesquisa com gerentes, por serem estes indivíduos responsáveis por lidar com situações complexas no cotidiano profissional, tendo de resolver problemas, que lhes demanda contínuo processo de análise e reflexão sobre as experiências vivenciadas. O método empregado para a coleta dos dados foi o da História de Vida. Para a consecução do objetivo proposto, foram realizadas duas entrevistas com sete gerentes de organizações diferentes. Como requisito, eles deveriam estar exercendo funções gerenciais, no mínimo, há dois anos e estarem cursando ou terem cursado algum tipo de pós-graduação. De maneira geral, constatou-se, na pesquisa de campo, a maioria das idéias de Schön (1983, 2000) e Seibert e Daudelin (1999), com exceção de algumas especificidades da teoria destes últimos. Identificou-se que o processo de reflexão dos gerentes ocorre a partir do momento em que vivenciam experiências não-familiares, ou seja, situações únicas e incertas, cujo conhecimento atual do indivíduo é insuficiente para solucioná-las. Conseguiu-se compreender como os gerentes refletem, já que eles descreveram, detalhadamente, onde buscam subsídios para realizar suas análises e como experimentam as teorias formuladas a partir de sua reflexão na prática. Também foi possível descrever os sentimentos experimentados no transcorrer do processo reflexivo, além de identificar quais os momentos em que se dá a reflexão sobre a experiência não-familiar vivenciada. O material obtido proporcionou a elaboração do processo geral de reflexão gerencial que permite a compreensão do papel da reflexão na aprendizagem gerencial como exame cognitivo da experiência não-familiar, elaborado através de análises, investigações, inquirições e interpretações por parte do gerente, ao considerar seu repertório pregresso, visando à obtenção de familiaridade e compreensão da situação problemática vivenciada.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Management Sciences in Administration and Information Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The secretarial/administrative profession is faced with the challenge of rapid advancement in office technology, organisational restructuring and changes in the global economy. This challenge does not only affect employees who are already working as secretaries/administrative staff in the workplace, it also affects institutions of higher education and students who are studying towards an administrative profession. This requires both the institutions of higher education and industry to better prepare students to meet the requirements of the workplace. Given this background, this study examines the current status of the Office Management and Technology curriculum to discover whether it meets the demands of the workplace. The study also investigates learning opportunities offered to Office Management & Technology (OMT) students during Work-integrated Learning (WIL) and the implications for the curriculum, with the aim of improving both classroom learning and workplace learning, and to suggest improvements in the OMT curriculum in Universities of Technology (UoTs). This study investigates and provides information on the skills, attributes and competencies OMT graduates are required to possess in the 21st century world of work. It therefore provides the departments of office technology in UoT’s with an in-depth study of the strengths and weaknesses of their current curriculum so that improvement can be implemented wherever necessary. This study is a case study that involves Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) and Durban University of Technology (DUT). The method used was very largely a quantitative method because it was based purely on questionnaires, however, there was a small qualitative element which grew up on the open ended questions. The qualitative questions were used to provide participants with an opportunity to express their own opinions and to clarify the quantitative data within the questionnaire. The study utilised two sets of questionnaires which were distributed to two different groups within the targeted population – to industry supervisors who supervise OMT students at DUT and MUT, and to third year OMT students from MUT who underwent work integrated learning in 2015. The study shows that the current OMT curriculum is reasonably well in line with core industry needs. However, there was evidence that improvement is needed in both classroom learning and in workplace learning. The study also revealed new skills and attributes that need to be incorporated in OMT curriculum in order to be more responsive and relevant in the 21st century world of work. The study recommends that the Office Management and Technology curriculum should be reviewed regularly and that both university and industry should play a significant role in better preparing students to meet the requirements of the workplace. / M

Studien handlar om att utifrån ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv studera arbetsplatslärande på en kommunal kostenhet i Sverige. Syfte: Syftet var att utifrån ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv undersöka anställdas upplevelser av arbetsplatslärande på individ- och gruppnivå. Metod: Studien baserades på en kvalitativ ansats och empirin samlades in genom tre fokusgruppsintervjuer. Totalt medverkade nio personer från den kommunala kostenheten. Studiens resultat har analyserats abduktivt genom ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv. Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen grundade sig i pedagogiska och hälsofrämjande områden med fokus på arbetsplatslärande och friskfaktorer. Den pedagogiska ansatsen innefattade erfarenhetsbaserat lärande. Studien berör friskfaktorer som begrepp och tillvägagångssätt, genom till exempel sociala relationer och delaktighet. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar betydelsen av sociala samspel och att ta del av varandras erfarenheter för lärande på arbetsplatsen. Grupperna indikerar på att arbetsplatslärande upplevs ske i det dagliga arbetet på en gruppnivå, dock upplevs ingen större satsning gällande detta. Skapas förutsättningar för detta skulle utveckling på både grupp- och individnivå främjas. Ur ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv kan samtliga ovan nämnda lärande faktorer gynna personalens välmående och kontinuerliga utveckling. / The study is based on a health promotion perspective and involves studying workplace learning on a communal dietary unit in Sweden. The Aim: The aim of this study was from a health promotion perspective examine employees experiences of workplace learning at individual- and group level. Method: The study has been made on a qualitative approach and results have been collected through three focus group interviews. In total, nine people participated from the communal dietary unit. The study's results have been analyzed abductive through a health promotion perspective. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework of this essay had its foundation in educational and health promotion areas with focus on workplace learning and wellness factors. The educational approach is based on experiential learning. The study relates to health factors as concepts and approaches, for example through social relationships and participation. Conclusion: The study shows the importance of social interactions and to share each other's experience for workplace learning. The groups indicate that workplace learning is experienced in daily work situations at a group level, but no major effort and investment is experienced in this regard. Creating conditions for this would promote development at both group- and individual level. From a health promotion perspective, all learning factors mentioned above can benefit the well-being and continuous development of employees.

Universities and their partner organisations are promising that short-term work placements in social entrepreneurial organisations will increase student employability, leadership skills, and knowledge of socially innovative practice, while providing students meaningful opportunities to ‘change the world;’ yet theory and empirical studies are lacking that show what is beneficial and important to students, how students develop, and what influences their development through these cross-cultural and interdisciplinary experiential learning programs. This is the first study to explore the value of UK and US students participating in international internships and fellowships related to social entrepreneurship from a socioeconomic perspective. For this study, a value heuristic was developed from organisational models in the social entrepreneurship and educational philosophy literature followed by a qualitative longitudinal multiple case study. Fifteen individual student cases were chosen from two programmes involving two UK and three US universities, taking place in eleven host countries over five distinct data collection intervals. Findings across cases show a broad range of perceived value to students: from research skills and cross-cultural understanding, to critical thinking and self-confidence. Findings also show how student perspectives changed as a result of the placement experience and what ‘internal’ and ‘context-embedded’ features of the placements influenced students’ personal and professional lives. However, the ambiguity of social impact measures raises ethical questions about engaging students with limited knowledge, skills, and preparation on projects where they are unprepared to create long-term value for beneficiaries. This study contributes to the literature on higher education and international non-profit and business education by: providing an expansive matrix of value to students engaging in international placements; initiating a ‘hybridisation’ theory of personal value; creating a rigorous methodology transferable to similar programmes; outlining embedded features that programme developers can integrate in order to improve their own social and educational impact; raising ethical questions related to theory and practice; and including the researcher’s own multi-continent journey into the substance of the work.

The topic of this master thesis are educational and psychological aspects of experiential learning. This is analysed on the example of high school orientation courses. The teoretical part of this thesis deals - on the background of academic literature - with experiential learning, experential learning, social groups and group atmosphere in school classes. The empirical part analyses the development of group atmosphere and the development of group relationships at four classes which all lunderwent different types of orientation courses. The thesis finds that the orientation courses are advantages for the quality of relations between students and their future development.

Magister Curationis / Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in South Africa. The School of Nursing at the University of Western Cape has responded to the challenge of training sensitive, knowledgeable and skilled health personnel by developing a Management of Gender- Based Violence Module. The purpose of this study is to describe the professional and personal development of nursing students who were placed at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Abused Women and Children for the service-learning trial run of this Gender- Based Violence module in 2003. A qualitative, contextual, and descriptive design was therefore used to provide rich information from in-depth descriptions of students’ perceptions and experiences with regard to the service-learning module. Purposive, convenient sampling was used because the key informants, 27 female students involved in the trial run of the module, were selected to “illuminate" the research question. Content analysis was done and to ensure credibility, data triangulation was done using focus group, project reports and the students’ journals. Informed consent to use data from the previously mentioned sources was obtained from students. The overall findings indicate that the service-learning programme allowed students to achieve the goals defined by the community, services and the university. Students came to understand the supportive roles that health professionals can play and recognised that the development of the attributes of caring, advocacy and civic ngagement is essential to their professional development. Comments in their reflective journals revealed that students valued their service-learning experience, and believed that this experience would expand into future collaborative relationships within civil society. The recommendation is that further in depth research be conducted given the promise shown by this educational approach. / South Africa

Magister Educationis - MEd / The focus of the study is the teacher in the under-resourced schools in the townships of the Western Cape. The purpose is to discover how teachers learn to cope under adverse working conditions. In a systematic way, we try to uncover what workplace stress is, how it is defined and manifests itself. It also deals with the specific reasons why teachers in South Africa, and especially in poorer schools on the Cape Flats, suffer such heavy stress. A convenient way to examine issues of stress was to approach it from different angles or levels: the classroom level, the staff/relationship level, the organizational level and the Departmental (Governmental) level. At these levels the causes, manifestations and solutions to workplace stress were researched. A qualitative study was done to ascertain first hand from the experiences of affected teachers themselves, how they learnt to cope, how this learning came about and what the specific methods or strategies are which they employ to deal effectively with stress. The study concludes with a general summary of the most salient coping strategies that seem to work for most teachers. Recommendations to address stress at the four levels mentioned are finally made. / South Africa

The project describes the action research implementation, and evaluation of learning, of a service-learning component in a second year undergraduate organic chemistry course. The research aims to explore the learning that takes place in a service-learning context while utilizing an action research methodology within the critical theory paradigm. This occurs in response to the world-wide call for Higher Education to produce people with civic competencies and responsiveness to the society in which they live (Boyer 1996). Educating young Chemists to see the importance of their knowledge and their responsibilities in society is an important pedagogical step in the effort to cross boundaries and make connections between people communities (Eyler and Giles 1999). The goal of this project was to explore and categorize the learning that takes place in a service-learning context and discover how these areas of learning impact the awareness of the parties involved with regard to the discipline of chemistry as well as social issues. The project makes use of Kolb‘s (1984) Experiential Learning Theory, and Eyler and Giles‘ (1999) categories of learning in service-learning and results indicate that service-learning can be a powerful pedagogical tool to increase learning in chemistry as well as in the areas of critical thinking, personal and social development, reflection and citizenship. Students‘ perceptions of themselves, their discipline and their responsibility to society were transformed by their experience of service-learning in their undergraduate chemistry course.