Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Health professionals worldwide are currently inadequately trained to address the health issues of communities, particularly in developing countries where there are major health disparities. This study argues for an alternative and more appropriate education, one which would better prepare future health professionals to address these needs. The study draws attention to how the University of the Western Cape (UWC) responded to preparing its health professional graduates to better meet the needs of South African society. The thesis explores the rationale for a shift in health professions education to one which supports service-learning, locating the study within the broader developments in higher education within South Africa. The specific aim of this thesis was to evaluate a community-based interdisciplinary health promotion course offered to the undergraduate health sciences students from the faculties of Community and Health Sciences and Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). It focused on evaluating the perceived effectiveness and the impact on the stakeholders of the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course, with the aim of developing an appropriate framework to guide the teaching of health promotion at higher education institutions in South Africa. Ten primary schools in three disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape were used as the health promotion settings for the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course. The study design was a programme evaluation that used the explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. An evaluation matrix was developed, consisting of three core concepts (curriculum, community-based learning, and university-school collaboration) against which the course was evaluated. Indicators and criteria were developed for each core concept. Questionnaires were distributed to all the stakeholders, that is, the university students, the lecturers, the supervisors and the school educators, involved in the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion Course during 2006. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders were also conducted at the UWC campus and in the Delft community. There was a good response from all the stakeholders who participated in the study (students (72.4%), lecturers (85%), supervisors (100%) and school educators (71.5%)). A main finding of the study was that the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course was relevant and up-to-date with developments in the field of health promotion. Course topics were dealt with in sufficient depth and the assignments were clear, specific and related to the course outcomes. The interdisciplinary teaching and learning approach allowed the university students to learn and develop a better understanding of the roles and contributions that the various professions played in health promotion in a community. The course was perceived as having been of value to all the stakeholders and having a positive impact on the schools. The findings revealed that the health promotion projects implemented in the schools helped the university students to learn how to plan, implement and evaluate a project in a community setting. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the schools offered an ideal placement for university students to learn about health promotion and its application. In addressing a concern about the course not making any meaningful long-term impact on the schools and the surrounding communities, the study showed that it is important to revisit the current teaching and learning approach of the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course. It revealed that service-learning as an alternative to the field education approach would facilitate a closer relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge, where the practical application was translated into a service that met the needs of a community. The study further revealed that the collaboration model between the university and the school also needed to be reconceptualized, to include all the stakeholders as well as their needs in relation to health promotion in the schools. It was recommended that the Health Promoting School framework should be seen as the overarching framework for the sustainability of school-based health promotion. In conclusion, this study showed that the recognition and establishment of university community partnerships and reliance upon them in the educational process, would provide many new opportunities for relevant and meaningful health professional education and training. These efforts would contribute to improving the quality of higher education delivered to students, thereby ensuring their competency to better meet the needs of the communities they will serve.

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers perceptions of subject-integrated teaching, with a focus on the subject of technology. Subject-integrated teaching, in a school perspective, means that two or more subjects elaborates together to create a holistic understanding within a knowledge area. The study has a qualitative approach. Interviews were used as a data collection method. Five teachers in primary and lower secondary school were interviewed about their perceptions on this issue. The study used a pragmatic approach based on John Dewey's theories. The result shows that the teachers in this study are positive about subject integration. The interviewed teachers perceive that such work provides good conditions for the students to create a holistic view. The result indicates that an interdisciplinary teaching approach, integrating the technology subject with different other subject, have positive effects on students' learning. The technical subject is structured in a way that provides good opportunities for the use of practical elements in teaching. According to both previous research and the result from this study, interdisciplinary teaching with a connection to reality contributes to an increased curiosity and interest in the students' knowledge. This teaching approach develops the students ability to examine the acquired knowledge in relation to the needs of each individual person and the need of the society. This enable knowledgeable citizens. / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka lärares uppfattningar om ämnesintegrerad undervisning med fokus på teknikämnet samt deras tankegångar kring hur elevers lärande påverkas av ett sådant arbete. Ämnesintegrerad undervisning i ett skolperspektiv innebär att två eller flera ämnen samarbetar för att skapa en helhetsförståelse inom ett kunskapsområde. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och utgått ifrån intervjuer som undersökningsmetod för insamling av empiri. Fem verksamma lärare på grundskolans mellan- och högstadiet har intervjuats kring deras uppfattningar på de frågeställningar som studien behandlar. Undersökningen har använt sig av John Deweys teorier om pragmatismen, och resultaten har analyserats mot dessa teorier samt tidigare forskning. Resultaten av undersökningen visar att de medverkande lärarna i studien är genomgående positiva till ämnesintegrering. De intervjuade lärarna uppfattar att ett sådant arbete ger goda förutsättningar för eleverna att skapa helheter av olika kunskapsdelar. Vidare kan konstateras, att ämnesövergripande arbeten tillsammans med teknikämnet upplevs ha positiva effekter på elevernas inlärning, då ämnet är uppbyggt på ett sätt som ger goda möjligheter till användning av praktiska inslag i undervisningen. Ämnesövergripande undervisning med verklighetsanknytning bidrar enligt resultaten till en ökad nyfikenhet och intresse för kunskap hos eleverna. Detta i sin tur utvecklar förmågan att undersöka de inhämtade kunskaperna i relation till individens och samhällets behov, samt utbildar kunniga samhällsmedborgare.

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