The BSc4 (Foundation) programme offered at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) caters for students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds, with lower matriculation points, offering them the opportunity to pursue studies in science. The students in the BSc4 (Foundation) programme are registered for foundation modules in science, viz. biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics as well as an academic literacy course. It is in the context of these foundation modules in science within the BSc4 (Foundation) programme that this study is undertaken. This study explores the discipline-specific literacies that the BSc4 (Foundation) students require in order to learn science and to acquire science discourse. The study uses case study as a research design, the interpretive research paradigm and the qualitative research approach to analyse data obtained from multiple research instruments. Research findings reveal that with the change in student profile, module changes within the BSc4 (Foundation) programme were implemented. In light of these, the study explores factors such as the ‘articulation gap’ between school and university; and disadvantaged educational experiences. The findings also suggest that students experience challenges with the use of the language of science and the use of discipline-specific literacies in science in the modules offered in the BSc4 (Foundation) programme. However, there exists the scope for stronger engagement between the academics who teach the foundation modules in science and the academic literacy specialists to assist students in the acquisition of the discipline-specific literacies required to learn science and for science discourse. / Ph.D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

This study examines basic design courses in industrial design programs in Turkey, in terms of origins, aims and methods. The aim of the study is to inquire the differences and similarities, and to understand factors affecting the characteristics of basic design courses. A field study was conducted about the subject, which comprised of interviews with instructors of basic design courses and chairpersons in six departments offering undergraduate program in industrial design in Turkey. The field study indicated that the aims of the course in different institutions were similar, whereas the origins, methods and the content varied. Of the factors affecting basic design education, student admission procedure, background of students and the faculty that the industrial design department belonged to were found to be important. The differences among course instructors were also found to be as much significant as the institutional differences.