This study represents a shift in focus with regard to studies related to mentorship. It endeavours to go beyond documenting the prevalence of mentorship to understanding the experiences of mentors and factors that encourage participation in mentorship programmes. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of mentors during the implementation of a mentorship programme at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The purpose of this study, has guided the following two questions for the current study: <ul> <li> How do mentors experience the implementation of a mentorship programme?</li> <li> How can the understanding of such experiences inform theory on mentorship programmes in Higher Education Institutions?</li> </ul> I made use of a case study research design. Four participants were purposively selected for this study based on their potential to provide data relevant for the study as they were part of the recently ended mentorship programme. Data was collected over a period of a week by means of semi-structured interviews and reflections. In this study I made use of qualitative approach, and a thematic method of analysis was used for identifying, analysing and reporting themes. The results of the study indicated the following results: <ul> <li> Mentors had a general definition of their mentorship experiences as personal life event(s).</li> <li> When mentorship was viewed as a personal life event, it was found to have an emotional aspect which creates a platform for learning and development.</li> <li> Positive experiences, as mentioned by participants in this study, included an opportunity for personal growth and development, how mentors and mentees benefited from being part of the mentorship programme, and positive relationships between mentors and their mentees.</li> <li> Negative experiences referred to by participants included difficulties of correspondence between mentors and mentees, lack of mentee attendance at mentorship meetings, gender and racial issues and mentors' uncertainties about what to do in the programme and feeling a lack of guidance.</li> <li> Decisions regarding exclusion and inclusion criteria of mentees into the programme, support from mentorship supervisors and finding mentors who demonstrate good qualities were identified as challenges in mentorship implementation.</li> </ul> / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

This thesis is a study of a phenomenon in Swedish education: the RegionalDevelopment Centre (Regionalt utvecklingscentrum, RUC). Insetting up RUC, the Swedish state’s original intention was to enhancecollaboration between teacher education and training, research andschool development. RUC was specified in the appropriation directionsfor Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs) that trained teachers in1997–2010. The purpose of this thesis is to clarify and analyse differinginterpretations and implications of RUC as a phenomenon and conceptualisethe task of addressing them in a changing education-policy context.Empirical sources for the study are central government publicationsand interviews with RUC representatives at 22 HEIs. This empiricalmaterial has been modified and analysed in four stages: a survey of RUCas a phenomenon, construal of ‘ideal types’ of RUC, testing of the construedideal types as analytical tools, and application of the construedideal types as analytical tools to gain an ‘explanatory understanding’ ofRUC. Through analysis of needs, actors and value, five ideal types empiricallybased on transcribed interviews are construed: the receiveroriented,trust-creating, region-boosting, conceptualising and salesorientedtypes. A model shows how these ideal types can be mutuallyunderstood and conceptualised. Examples are given, based on this model,of specific interpretations and implications that may fit each idealtype. RUC’s legitimacy in 2012 still entails a marked emphasis on RUCas a receiver-oriented associate. Three aspects enhancing the likelihoodof RUC, in 2012, being deemed important to retain at an HEI appear tobe the HEI’s goodwill towards RUC, its dependence on remits from theSwedish National Board of Education and schools’ research needs. Focusingmore on RUC as the region-boosting partner would mean oncemore uniting RUC’s role in teacher education with school developmentand research, but on the basis of ‘common needs’ within the frameworkof a distinct growth policy.

Background and Aim The South African higher education sector has undergone numerous changes over the past years due to external factors such as globalisation, managerialism and neo-liberalism (Ntshoe, Higgs, Higgs&Wolhuter, 2008). Furthermore De Villiers and Steyn (2009) add that state funding of higher education in South Africa has been decreased to such an extent that higher education institutions (HEI’s) have been unable to parallel the increase in the number of students enrolled per year. As mentioned by Mouton (2010) universities in sub-Saharan Africa continue to operate under conditions which are seriously under-resourced, which poses significant challenges for the scholars concerned. The changes in the Higher Education Institutional environment have forced HEI’s to increase their level of output in terms of: enrollments, qualifications awarded, research output and institution size and number of disadvantaged students (De Villiers&Steyn, 2009) in order to remain competitive. The number of changes in performance outputs as well as the growing market for competitive higher education (HE) has greatly impacted the job demands of academics in South Africa. The environment in which academics in South Africa function now demands more of them than in previous years. For example the employment relationship has changed (i.e. teacher-driven to student-driven), altering the type of work that people do, when they work and how much they do (Barkhuizen, Rothmann&Van de Vijver, in press). Accordingly, it appears that the job demands of academics have escalated, whilst the levels of support and other resources have declined. The objective of this study was to investigate whether job demands and resources are significant predictors of dispositional employability of academics in South Africa. Method A cross–sectional research design was followed. The Job Characteristics Scale developed by Barkhuizen and Rothman (2005) and the Dispositional Measure of Employability (Fugate&Kinicki, 2008) were used as measures in this study. A total of 360 questionnaires were sent out to the sample, of which 158 completed questionnaires were received, but only 146 of these responses could be used for data analyses. This represents a 40.55% response rate. Results The results showed that there is a significant relationship between job demands and the change identity of the academics and that job demands do act as a predictor of the dispositional employability of academics in terms of their change identity. No significant relationship between the job resources and the dispositional employability of the academics were found, however all of the dimensions of DE had a positive relationship with job resources. A significant relationship between job demands and the ethnicity, home language, age, the respondent’s job level and the number of hours they work was found. However, no statistically significant differences were found within gender, qualifications, job categories, years in service and the number of years in current positions. According to the results the white ethnic group experiences higher job demands than the black ethic group. Furthermore respondents speaking either Afrikaans or English experience higher job demands then respondents speaking indigenous languages. In relation to this, the age group 50 to 59 experience higher job demands compared to that of the age group 20-29. Associate professors experience higher job demands than junior lecturers. No significant relationship between the academics’ perception of their job resources and their demographic characteristics was found. There are significant differences between the DE of the academics and their ethnicity, home language, job category, years in service and hours of work. No statistically significant differences were found within gender, age, qualifications, job level or years in the current position. The Black ethnic group indicates higher levels of resilience and motivation compared to the other ethnic groups, and indigenous languages have higher levels of resilience compared to the other two language groups. Academics that function as both researchers and lecturers have higher levels of career proactivity compared to the academics that function only as a researcher or lecturer. Respondents that have been in the industry for between zero to 10 years have a higher level of resilience compared to the respondents who have served for longer. The working hours of group four (between 31 to 40 hours) show higher levels of resilience compared to the other groups. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Antonio Cannas Neto.pdf: 746599 bytes, checksum: 90355b343064f34bacdec88bbe9fea00 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-11 / The use of technological resources as facilitators of the teaching-learning process, at all levels of education, has been the subject of controversy among researchers of the subject. On the one hand those responsible for education - teachers often resist changes that occur every day in the modern world; on the other hand, the students, who claim for a learning environment with technologic tools they are used to and dominate. Finally, managers of educational institutions, which have a major challenge to provide the resources within the institutions, without allowing, however, that compromise the financial health of the institution. Nevertheless, in Brazil the competition between educational institutions has been fierce, especially in private institutions of higher education. Thus, institutions search a differential to attract your customers, to maintain its financial sustainability. This research sets out to bring the issues of management of higher education with the implementation of technology use represented by the tablet device, showing the results for the management of the institution of higher education before and after their deployment. The methodology of the case study - the institution where he was examined - showed that the implementation of technology has provided competitive advantages for management - through analysis of financial indicators and the development of student base. Technology alone does not prove the advantages desired, however, correlated with a project teaching models used and courseware that addresses the use of technology, logistics costs were reduced and increased the attraction of new students, promoting the competitive advantages of Education Institution. / O uso de recursos tecnológicos como facilitadores do processo ensino-aprendizado em todos os níveis de ensino tem sido objeto de polêmica entre os pesquisadores do tema. Por um lado aqueles responsáveis pelo ensino os professores resistem às mudanças que a cada dia ocorrem no mundo moderno; por outro os estudantes solicitam um ambiente de aprendizagem que utilize as tecnologias as quais estão acostumados e dominam. Por fim, os gestores das instituições de ensino, que possuem um grande desafio de proporcionar os recursos no interior das instituições, sem permitir, contudo, que comprometam a saúde financeira da instituição. Não obstante, no Brasil a concorrência entre as instituições de ensino tem sido acirrada, principalmente nas instituições de ensino superior privadas. Assim, as instituições procuram um diferencial para atrair seus clientes, objetivando manter a sua sustentabilidade financeira. Esta pesquisa se dispõe a aproximar os temas de gestão do ensino superior com a implantação do uso da tecnologia representada pelo equipamento tablet, demonstrando os resultados para a gestão da instituição de ensino superior antes e depois de sua implantação. A metodologia do estudo de caso - na instituição onde foi analisada mostrou que a implantação da tecnologia proporcionou vantagens competitivas para a gestão - por meio da análise dos indicadores financeiros e a evolução da base de alunos. A tecnologia por si só não prova as vantagens desejadas, porém, com um projeto correlacionado ao modelo de ensino utilizado e material didático que contemple o uso da tecnologia, os custos logísticos foram reduzidos e aumentou a atração de novos alunos, promovendo as vantagens competitivas da Instituição de Ensino.