This thesis aims to examine the concept of the university in contemporary South Africa. The aim of this thesis evolves from the question, what is the idea of the university in contemporary South Africa? This question evolves from my current experiences as an academic in a contemporary South African university. My colleagues and I are faced with many epistemological challenges on a daily basis as we try to teach our students, by providing them with both access to higher education as well as epistemological access, as we try and transform our curricula from an Apartheid determined one, to one that is more congruent with the values of our new dispensation, and which at the same time will contribute to the coherent development of both our universities and our country. Central to these issues and practices is a particular understanding of a university in our context. This priority is very challenging in a context such as ours which has a rich history of a politically determined, highly differentiated university sector. A direct consequence of this legacy is an unclear and shared understanding of a university in our country at present. What is currently required in our university and broader context is more determined thinking about a concept of the university in this country. In order to examine the concept of a university in contemporary South Africa, I engaged in a conceptual analysis. In so doing I divided my thesis into two parts, on the basis of the two conceptual analysis techniques which I used. In Part one I constructed a Model Example, and in the second part I applied this Model Example (scope of application) to different contexts. My Model example of a concept of a university is predicated on a Theory of concepts; a Theory of institutions, a Theory of practices, a theory of Inquiry and a Theory of Higher Education. I then examine the concept of a university in South Africa, by focusing on an examination of the concept of a university in different chronological and geographical contexts. In this part of my thesis I engage in examining the scope of applicability of a particular concept of a university. I examine the concept of a university firstly at a more historical level, by going back to Cardinal Newman, Von Humboldt and Jaspers. This examination is important to the contemporary concept of the university in South Africa, as our current concept of a university still attempts to hold onto the components that characterised the concept of the university that these historical figures were instrumental in developing. I then go on to examine a concept of a university in Germany and America, as contemporary South Africa has extended its borders to become part of a more globally competitive context. In so doing the concept of the university in contemporary South Africa is also at the same time, influenced by the kinds of developments in such countries. I then go on to examine a concept of a university during Apartheid South Africa, to provide a context for current change initiatives in this sector. The last two chapters focus on the post Apartheid university context. On the basis of two seminal higher education policy documents, I extrapolate a concept of a university in the contemporary South African policy context. I then go on to examine how this concept of a university is impacting on current transformatory initiatives in contemporary universities. In attempting to examine an idea of a university in a contemporary South African context, I had to grapple with an array of issues. But the most fundamental challenge for me was trying to clarify an essentially contentious concept. What emerges continuously from an examination of a concept of a university is the tension that has existed and which continues to exist, between the social responsibilities of a public institution such as a university; and its traditionally established epistemological functions. Most conflicts and disillusionment regarding this concept and its use, is predicated on the challenge of trying to establish how a university can be both relevant and valuable to society and still maintain its epistemic authority and value. The South African context further complicates this dilemma, because central to our transformatory goals is a particular world view that we as South Africans regard as valuable. Such a world view is based on the social epistemology and ontology of Ubuntu. This world view comes up constantly in policy documents and discourses that underpin the university terrain. I set out to examine the idea of the university in contemporary South Africa within the parameters of such a context and world view. It is against such a backdrop that I construct a Model Example of a concept of a university. My model example acknowledges both the socio-political functions and identity of a university; as well as its constitutive epistemological functions and identity. Central to such an understanding is the imperative to maintain a dialogical balance between these two important functions. Although this thesis goes into deep epistemological regions, it just skims the surface of such an exciting epistemological terrain. What it does do however, is open up an alternate perspective on how to try and understand a concept of a university and extend its scope of applicability in a variety of ways.

There have been calls the world over for academic institutions to adopt corporate forms of management. Unisa Council declared its commitment to corporate governance in the Annual report 2009. This study aims to determine whether Unisa Council activities and decisions comply with corporate governance as per the King III Code and identify any area(s) of improvement. Case study research was undertaken to investigate compliance with the principles of good governance as recommended in the Code. A checklist was used to collect data from university documents and this data was analysed by pattern matching. Unisa performance was then compared with that of University of KwaZulu-Natal. Unisa Council performed 91percent of recommended practices and thereby complied with 87 percent of principles of good governance as per the King III Code on Corporate Governance. Unisa did not comply with three principles and neither complied nor not-complied with five principles as the level of performance of corresponding recommended practices was below the threshold of 75 percent. UKZN achieved 91 percent performance of the recommended practices and thereby obtained 87 percent compliance. The study also showed that practicing corporate forms of management to improve academic governance does not necessarily relegate academic interest to lower levels. This means that these institutions delivered on their mandate from the Higher Education Act, 1997 (as amended). Unisa and UKZN are primarily public institutions of higher education and not profit driven, despite them embracing corporate forms of management.

The context of this study centres on Higher Education in South Africa, the role that this sector plays in terms of economic development and the implications that face Institutional management in retaining students in the Higher Education system. Central to this study is the notion that student development theory can be used as a basis towards understanding the customers of Higher Education, how to better serve the customers needs and finally, retain students in the system through more effective management practices. The education sector is growing at an increasingly rapid rate as a result of strategic goals of countries and organisations such as the United Nations promoting the notion of education for all people (Altbach, Reisberg & Rumbley, 2009). The aim of the strategic goals adopted by developing countries in particular is to enhance the human capital or skills and knowledge of its people since education is a known contributor towards economic, social and political development. Higher Education in particular is known to contribute towards the human capital and economic development of a country. The Higher Education sector in South Africa for instance contributes approximately 1.5 percent to the country‟s gross domestic product (GDP), significantly higher than other industry sectors (apart from gold and agriculture) in the country (van Heerden, Bohlmann, Giesecke, Makochekanwa, & Roos, 2007). Figure 1.1 provides a context of the relevant importance of the higher education sector towards economic growth.

The objectives of this study were to determine whether job embeddedness and organisational commitment significantly predict voluntary turnover, and whether people from different gender, race and age groups differ significantly in their job embeddedness, organisational commitment and voluntary turnover. The Job Embeddedness Scale (JES), Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS) and Voluntary Turnover Scale (VTS) were used as measuring instruments. A stratified random sample of 102 full-time employed higher education academics participated in the study. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation fit and community links and normative commitment significantly and positively predicted the participants’ intentions to stay at the institution. Significant differences were observed between the job embeddedness and intention to stay of the gender and race groups. The findings of the current study add to the knowledge base on the turnover intentions of academic staff, contributing to the field of career psychology. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations for retention practices and future research. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objectives of this study were to determine whether job embeddedness and organisational commitment significantly predict voluntary turnover, and whether people from different gender, race and age groups differ significantly in their job embeddedness, organisational commitment and voluntary turnover. The Job Embeddedness Scale (JES), Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS) and Voluntary Turnover Scale (VTS) were used as measuring instruments. A stratified random sample of 102 full-time employed higher education academics participated in the study. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation fit and community links and normative commitment significantly and positively predicted the participants’ intentions to stay at the institution. Significant differences were observed between the job embeddedness and intention to stay of the gender and race groups. The findings of the current study add to the knowledge base on the turnover intentions of academic staff, contributing to the field of career psychology. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations for retention practices and future research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The research describes how creativity in higher education can be introduced as a concept that could enhance the creative thinking and application of adult learners enrolled in the Advertising Management Diploma. A number of different routes were attempted in order to answer the research question „can creativity be taught? ‟ Cord and Clement (2010) stated that adult learners should be allowed to practice their skills and prior knowledge, and that the learning material should promote generic workplace skills. The research discovered that the learning material for the Advertising Management diploma does little to enhance or even cater for imagination and creative application. It is vital for accurate application to take place, as this will enhance creativity. The problem formation is centered on the lack of sufficient skills in using one‟s imagination to generate creative ideas. This research study included five research activities that employed a semi-structured interview that involved sessions spanning over a period of six months, aligned to the course material‟s learning outcomes, and creative application of such acquired knowledge. It was established that, in order to further the creative application of young adults, it is important that they are able to link theory to practical and so be able to create concrete examples of what they are capable of doing. / ABET and Youth Development / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Masters of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Poor quality of work life is a challenge in higher education institutions (HEIs) and it impact negatively on performance, attraction and retention of quality staff. The purpose of the research was to report on the factors that impact on the quality of work life of employees at the University “A”. The findings from this investigation will assist employees and management alike to understand factors that can improve performance and assist University “A” to be an employer of choice to attract, develop and retain suitably qualified employees. The rationale for the study was to investigate and obtain a better understanding of the quality of work life status in University “A”. Higher education institutions face a serious challenge of retaining adequately qualified and competent staff due to regular resignation and termination of employment contracts of employees. This has resulted in a steady backlog of vacant positions and which has a detrimental effect on the quality of teaching and learning. The deficit of staff leads to increased teaching workloads and consequently impacts negatively on the quality of service being offered including teaching and learning. This study is grounded in both quantitative and qualitative research traditions whereby a survey was conducted in the form of a structured questionnaire and in depth-interviews to university employees. The structured questionnaire was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Scientists version 12 generating the reliability coefficient Alpha of 0.898 indicating the high degree of acceptance and consistent of the results. This study used the probability stratified random sampling whereby 160 structured questionnaires were distributed to both academic and non-academic employees with 142 returned successfully generating the response percentage of 89%. The findings of this research suggested that career advancement was one of the main reasons that were identified to lead to poor quality of work life. Furthermore, another primary concern was job insecurity, employees felt that their jobs are not reliable and secure. It was also noted in the research outcomes that a high proportion of the respondents were generally not well. The study findings suggest that respondents were not involved in decisions that affect them in their area of work and they feel that they are not given a lot of freedom to decide how to do their jobs. The research results indicated that the increase percentage of the respondents disagreed that their employer provides adequate facilities and flexibility for employees to adjust their work with their family time. It was evident from the responses that even though some policies exist, employees were unaware of their application and also the absence of performance management systems. Another prominent finding from the study was that employee expressed that their health and safety of their working conditions should be improved. The findings and results will assist management and employees alike in the practical implementation of quality of work life programmes with the aim of improving the retention of current employees and attracting potential employees. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge as published studies on the quality of work life is scant in higher education institutions. There is minimal research that has been conducted on the QoWL of employees in higher education institutions, and the results from this research could be utilized by management and supervisors, in order to minimize the potential factors that could negatively impact on the QoWL of employees in HEIs.

D. Tech. Language Practice / Additional language learning in South Africa is a challenge, partly as a result of the country's past history which promoted certain languages in official domains, while others that were spoken by the majority of the citizens remained underdeveloped, and marginalised. As English is a language of learning and teaching at most universities in South Africa, students with a very poor command of English find it severely challenging when they enroll at university. This study assessed the possible, significant effectiveness of the English Word Power (EWP) program, which is used as a form of intervention on the poor English proficiency skills of ICT Foundation students at a University of Technology in Gauteng.

No abstract. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Much current research and practice in teaching and learning in higher education tends to overfocus on social aspects of education; on how rather than what students are learning. Much of this research and practice is influenced by constructivism, which has a relativist stance on knowledge, generally arguing, contra positivism, that knowledge is constructed in socio-historical contexts and largely inseparable from those who construct it and from issues of power. This leads to a confusion of knowledge with knowing, and knowledge is thus obscured as an object of study because it is only seen or understood as knowing or as a subject of learning and teaching. This ‘knowledge-blindness’ (Maton 2013a: 4) is problematic in higher education because knowledge and knowing are two separate parts of educational fields, and while they need to be brought together to provide a whole account of these fields, they also need to be analysed and understood separately to avoid blurring necessary boundaries and to avoid confusing knowledge itself with how it can be known. Being able to see and analyse knowledge as an object with its own properties and powers is crucial for both epistemological access and social inclusion and justice, because knowledge and knowledge practices are at the heart of academic disciplines in universities. Social realism offers an alternative to the dilemma brought about by constructivism’s tendency towards knowledge-blindness. Social realism argues that it is possible to see and analyse both actors within social fields of practice as well as knowledge as something that is produced by these actors but also about more than just these actors and their practices; thus knowledge can be understood as emergent from these practices and fields but not reducible to them (Maton & Moore 2010). Social realism, drawing from Roy Bhaskar’s critical realist philosophy (1975, 2008), is intent on looking at the real structures and mechanisms that lie beneath appearances and practices in order to understand the ways in which these practices are shaped, and change over time. Legitimation Code Theory is a realist conceptual framework that has, as its central aim, the uncovering and analysis of organising principles that shape and change intellectual and education fields of production and reproduction of knowledge. In other words, the conceptual tools Legitimation Code Theory offers can enable an analysis of both knowledge and knowers within relational social fields of practice by enabling the analysis of the ways in which these fields, such as academic disciplines, are organised and how knowledge and knowing are understood in educational practice. This study draws on social realism more broadly and Legitimation Code Theory specifically to develop a relatively novel conceptual and explanatory framework within which to analyse and answer its central question regarding how to enable cumulative knowledge building through pedagogic practice. Using qualitative data from two academic disciplines, Law and Political Science, which was analysed using a set of conceptual and analytical tools drawn from Legitimation Code Theory, this study shows that the more nuanced and layered accounts of pedagogy that have been generated are able to provide valuable insights into what lecturers are doing as they teach in terms of helping students to acquire, use and produce disciplinary and ‘powerful’ knowledge (Young 2008b). Further, the study demonstrates that the organising principles underlying academic disciplines have a profound effect on how the role of the knower and the place or purpose of knowledge is understood in pedagogy and this affects how the pedagogy is designed and enacted. This study has argued that if we can research pedagogy rigorously using tools that allow us to see the real mechanisms and principles influencing and shaping it, and if we can reclaim the role of disciplinary knowledge as a central part of the pedagogic relationship between lecturer and students, then we can begin to see how teaching both enables and constrains cumulative learning. Further, we can change pedagogy to better enable cumulative learning and greater epistemological access to disciplinary knowledge and related practices for greater numbers of students. The study concludes by suggesting that the conceptual tools offered by Legitimation Code Theory can provide academic lecturers with a set of tools that can begin to enable them to 'see' and understand their own teaching more clearly, as well as the possible gaps between what they are teaching and what their students are learning. This study argues that a social realist approach to the study of pedagogy such as the one used here can begin not only to enable changes in pedagogy aimed at filling these gaps but also begin to provide a more rigorous theoretical and practical approach to analysing, understanding and enacting pedagogic practice. This, in turn, can lead to more socially just and inclusive student learning and epistemic and social access to the powerful knowledge and ways of knowing in their disciplines.