This is a phenomenographic study, of which the aim was to explore the variation of experiences, needs, views and understandings through a phenomenographic study of academics who were enrolled in the MEd in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) at Unisa during 2012-2015. The MEd in ODL is a dual university programme between University of South Africa (Unisa) and University of Maryland University College (UMUC). The research question was around issues which Unisa academic staff members experienced during the course of their enrolment for the MEd in ODL. Relevant scholarly literature on online learning, theories for online learning, and previous research on online learning, was surveyed in this regard. Variation theory which framed the study through a phenomenographic research lens was described. Interviews were conducted with seven participants from the students on the MEd in ODL programme. Postings on MyUnisa Discussion Forum which were treated as data were analysed in relation to the aspects raised in the interviews. The findings revealed students’ varied online experiences in the three main aspects namely, experience and understanding, understanding the object of learning and learning objects. Important recommendations made, were based on the findings. In conclusion, the findings exhibited students’ varied experiences about issues which they battle with in the MEd in ODL programme, of which Unisa should take into consideration as they further enrol students in the programme. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Open and Distance Learning)

A partir de 1948 la société palestinienne est déstabilisée suite à la guerre qui voit la perte de la Palestine historique. La grande majorité des Palestiniens se retrouve dispersée dans les pays de la région et au-delà de la Méditerranée. Aussi l'élite ancienne construite à partir de fondements religieux, familiaux ou de richesses foncières se retrouve elle aussi expulsée de ses terres. Elle perd donc ses positions de privilèges, désemparée et désorientée, elle ne reviendra plus jamais au devant de la scène nationale palestinienne. Ce sont les hommes qui dirigeront la lutte pour la récupération de la Palestine de 1948, ensuite et à partir de 1967 contre l'occupation de la Cisjordanie et de la bande de Gaza (partie de la Palestine historique) d'abord sous forme de lutte armée ensuite par la diplomatie et la politique de négociations, qui deviennent les nouvelles figures sur la scène politique palestinienne. Ils sont originaires non de l'ancienne bourgeoisie religieuse et familiale mais de la classe moyenne des villes et des zones rurales qui vont recruter dans les camps de réfugiés les futurs combattants. Ce sont les nouveaux dirigeants. C'est un processus qui a commencé dès la moitié des années 1960 pour se consolider avec la création de partis et mouvements palestiniens opérant dans les divers pays d'accueil de la région. Cette nouvelle élite se conforme aux changements et aléas de la diplomatie internationale et d'un rapport de force inégal face à Israël tout au long du conflit israélo-palestinien. Pour comprendre l'évolution des élites palestiniennes il fallait donc adopter l'approche historique des événements et faits marquants touchant le peuple palestinien depuis 1948 jusqu'à l'après-Oslo (1993) ; vingt ans d'Autorité Nationale Palestinienne caractérisée par une souveraineté limitée aux principales villes de la Cisjordanie et de la bande de Gaza, au contraire de ce qu'avaient stipulé les Accords de 1993 : ceux-ci devaient progresser vers le statut définitif des Territoires occupés en 1967. C'est dans ces territoires occupés depuis 1967, en Cisjordanie et dans la bande de Gaza, que se situe donc notre terrain de recherche. À partir de 1993 les dirigeants rapatriés de l'exil formant les membres dirigeants de l'Autorité nationale, vont favoriser les initiatives de palestiniens, en particulier, les figures proéminentes des villes, dans la création d'établissements universitaires. Ceci est entrepris non seulement pour répondre aux besoins d'éducation d'une population jeune dans un acte de résilience face à l'occupation, mais aussi pour répondre aux exigences du projet de construction des institutions du futur Etat à l'intérieur des Territoires de 1967. De nouvelles compétences, de nouveaux savoir-faire devenaient nécessaires dans cette nouvelle situation du post-Oslo où, en parallèle à la lutte politique, l'enseignement supérieur devenait un enjeu vital pour l'existence de la société palestinienne dont l'ambition est d'avoir une place à part entière parmi les nations modernes du monde. D'autres figures émergeront à partir de ces universités pour former une nouvelle et différente élite qui gouvernera dans un contexte de règles démocratiques où le pouvoir ne sera pas exclusivement dans la main de quelques dirigeants. L'OLP, dès 1990, va créer une Université pour tous, l'Université Ouverte Al-Quds (l'UOQ), se basant sur le mode ouvert et à distance. C'était un choix devenu urgent pour surmonter les difficultés et les entraves qu'imposait l'occupation. L'UOQ connaîtra un grand succès comme en témoigne le nombre grossissant de ses inscrits dans un contexte de tension. Plus tard et malgré son offre limitée dans les disciplines d'études, elle va attirer les jeunes à la recherche d'un métier, les adultes pour poursuivre des études inachevées, les femmes pour la proximité de ses centres d'études. / Starting from 1948 the Palestinian society is destabilized by the war which saw the loss of historic Palestine. The vast majority of Palestinians are scattered in the countries of the region and beyond the Mediterranean. The old elite originating from religious, family or land ownership backgrounds lost also all its possessions and, consequently, all its influential positions. Helpless and disoriented, this elite will never return to the forefront of the Palestinian national scene. It is the men who lead the struggle for the recovery of Palestine of 1948, and then, from 1967 onwards, against the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (part of historic Palestine), first in an armed struggle then through diplomacy and political negotiations, who become the new figures of the Palestinian political scene under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO. They come from outside the well-known religious families and the Palestinian bourgeoisie, but rather from the middle class of towns or from rural areas who will recruit in the refugee camps the future fighters. These are the new leaders. It is a process that began in the mid-1960s and was progressively consolidated through the creation of Palestinian parties and movements operating in various host countries in the region. This new elite adapts itself to the changes and vagaries of international diplomacy and to an imbalance of power against Israel throughout the years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In order to understand the process of the forming of Palestinian elites it was necessary to adopt the approach of historical events and facts related to the Palestinian people since 1948 until the post-Oslo (1993). The last twenty years saw a Palestinian National Authority characterized by sovereignty limited to the main cities of the West Bank and Gaza strip, contrary to what had been stipulated in the Oslo Agreements of 1993 : these were to lead to a final settlement concerning the status of the Territories occupied in 1967. The focus of our research is therefore the society in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Starting from 1993, the leaders returning from exile and who formed the ruling members of the National Authority supported the initiatives of Palestinians, in particular, the prominent figures of the cities, in the creation and development of academic establishments and universities as a way not only to meet with the need of education of the young in a resiliency act to face occupation, but also to respond to the demands of building the future State institutions inside the 1967 lines. New skills, new competences were required in this new phase of the post-Oslo evolution where, along the political struggle, higher education became vital to the existence of the Palestinian society who ambitions to have a full-fledged position among the modern states of the world. Other new figures will arise from these universities to form a new, different elite in a context of democracy rules where power will not be exclusively in the hands of a few rulers. The PLO in 1990, had created a University for all, the al-Quds Open University (QOU), based on the mode of open and distance learning. This was a choice made urgent by the restrictions and the obstacles imposed by the occupying forces. QOU became particularly attractive as evidenced by the large numbers of its registered students and as the situation grew more tense. Later on and despite its limited offer of study disciplines it drew students needing to secure job, adults wanting to pursue unfinished studies, women who found it easy to access the University study centers.

Students’ performances in mathematics in an Open Distant Learning setting have not always been impressive. An exploratory study into the problem solving skills of the University of South Africa students in the Calculus module MAT112 is being conducted using past examinations scripts between 2006 and 2009. The study re-assesses the work done in the end-of-year Calculus examinations, by both looking at the distribution of marks awarded and assigning new scores based on an assessment rubric adapted for the problem at hand. Further assessment of qualitative dimensions that is important for problem solving in Calculus is developed from the data obtained from the assessment rubric. Using factor analysis, a hesitation factor, transfer-of-knowledge factor as well as ingenuity factor, are identified in successful Calculus problem solving. The study proposes two conceptual models; the first is to guide students in solving Calculus problems while the second one is meant to assist lecturers in the assessment of students of Calculus. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Technology Education)

This thesis reports on the findings of a study to validate an assessment scale for writing in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context by first-year students in their responses to English literary texts. The study involved the interrogation of an existing scale, adapted from Jacobs et al. (1981), which was being used for the Foundations in English Literary Studies (ENG1501) module at the University of South Africa. Despite the credibility of the original scale, the modified version had been used in language- and literature-based courses in the English Studies Department since 1998 and had not been updated or empirically tested in the context of the target group. Thus, the gap that this current study addressed was the need for a valid rating scale that takes into account the complexities of literature teaching and ODL in the current South African university environment. This thesis includes a review of the debate on validity and the validation of rating scales both internationally and in South Africa, the ODL environment, and the assessment of assignments based on literary texts, particularly in the multicultural South African context. The methodology included research of both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. The outcome was an empirically-validated scale that should contribute to the quest for accuracy in assessing academic writing and meet the formative and summative assessment needs of the target group / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

The primary aim of the study was to explore positive experiences of academic employees working in an academic environment with specific reference to an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. The study was further envisaged as serving as the foundation for future studies which aim to develop a measuring tool for understanding positive experiences of working in academia. A qualitative approach was used to answer the research question by adopting a case study method that allowed for an in-depth study of understanding positive behaviour. A total of 12 academics were selected purposively to participate in the study. In-depth face-to-face interviews were used to gather information about the positive experiences of working in academia. In line with Seligman‘s (2000) integrated model of happiness, a happy academic was described through the adoption of (sometimes contradictory) metaphoric themes. The main themes identified were: the mother hen role, creating positive spaces, it is not a bed of roses, the just and unjust world and us versus them.In a meta-reflection on the research, contradictions were revealed in the theoretical approach adopted in this study, the literature reviewed, the empirical research and pragmatic considerations. As a result, a deconstruction of understanding positive experiences of working in academia by applying Lekgotla as an indigenous South African model was conducted. Healey‘s (2011) notion of transformative dialogue and Bujo‘s (1998) model of palaver were used as part of the framework within which Lekgotla was contextualised to understand positive experiences of working in academia. In conclusion, as an alternative, higher learning institutions (HLI) could adopt other ways that are different from Western ways of understanding the authentic experiences of diverse people in an African university. This could be done through a process of what Smith (2012) described as ―considering carefully and critically the methodologies and methods of research, the theories that inform them, the questions which they generate and the writing styles they employ‖ (p. 41). She refers to this process as decolonisation. According to her, decolonisation offers an alternative way out of colonialism since it exists as a different, oppositional way of knowing. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

Although a number of researchers have attempted to identify measures to account for the core elements of effective intercultural/multicultural teams of community of practice (CoP) in open and distance learning (ODL) formal institutions, there is no consensus on those measures. Previous studies also suggest important differences in teamwork across cultures but they do not adequately address the complexity of issues affecting culturally diverse teams and do not identify the specific factors that contribute to these differences (Earley & Gibson 2002). The purpose of the study was to collect views and experiences of multicultural lecturers from the six Unisa colleges and the Directorate for Curriculum and Learning Development (DCLD) personnel on the operationalization of Unisa Framework for the implementation of a team approach to curriculum and learning development. Soon after South Africa’s independence in 1994, Unisa had to respond to a new paradigm shift by re-aligning their curricula to meet the new national and global economic demands and social justice. The process relates to major revisions of programmes and modules, as well as new programmes and modules. The study adopts a qualitative research approach and uses Van Dijk (2009) critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a methodology and data analysis strategy. Sociocognitive Approach (SCA) theory as espoused by Van Dijk (2009) is underpinned by a narrative research design. A purposive sampling method was employed to collect data and critically analysed views and experiences of interracial/multicultural academic lecturers, a Director and DCLD education consultants engaged in collective partnerships in the craft of ODL curriculum and learning development at Unisa in South Africa. I used the Unisa Framework for a team approach to curriculum and learning development at Unisa as a model. Previous discourse studies in this area suggest that differences in communication practices may be attributed to power differentials or language competence. In particular it surfaces key tensions within subject expertise autonomy, such as those between commitments to reform and efficiency that may have a significant impact on the outcomes of subsequent policy compliance. In my analysis of the research participants’ discourses, it emerged that a culture of dichotomy; “us and them” inhibits the operationalization of the Unisa Framework for the implementation of team approach to curriculum and learning development which may be attributed to the failure to manage multicultural identity issues. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Compared to other South African universities, the Department of Social Work at the UNISA has the highest intake of social work students but also the lowest throughput. Through post-graduate research, the Department of Social Work became aware of the often impeding influence of the personal, social and learning contexts of social work students on their performance, and identified a need for social work-specific student support. The following central research question was formulated: What would a life coaching programme to support social work students within an ODL context comprise of? To explore and describe the specific support needs of social work students, the qualitative research approach was used and data was gathered from focus groups of social work students and individual interviews with recently graduated and employed social workers who studied at UNISA. Tesch’s steps (in Creswell, 2009:186) were used to analyse the data systematically and data was verified by integrating Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991:214-222) with Yin’s (2011:19-20) three objectives for building trustworthiness and credibility. The Intervention Design and Development (IDD) model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was adapted and selectively employed, concentrating on Phase 1, 2, 3 (only Step 2) and Phase 4 in order to develop a support programme for this specific context. The goals of the support programme were to enhance student success and throughput, facilitate the personal, academic and professional development of students and to empower students to take ownership of their learning process. An online self-coaching support programme was developed and structured around seven actions towards growth, namely, clarifying my strengths, connecting to my context, clarifying my vision, completing my plan, committing to action and growth, confirming my direction and celebrating completion. The programme is divided into eight coaching conversations, two per level, contains many activities, stories and references to resources. It is designed to be compulsory and integrated into the practical work modules. Although activities are to be completed independently by students, support will be provided by e-tutors, workshop facilitators and supervisors. A programme coordinator will be available online as an e-coach to provide ongoing support to social work students. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

The improvement of throughput rates is a crucial factor at higher education institutions; hence, university departments focus on improving pass rates per module. This study investigated how lecturers in the School of Computing (SoC) at the University of South Africa, use technology for improving throughput rates in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context. The study sought answers to the main research question on how lecturers in the SoC use technology for improving throughput rates in an ODL institution. A mixed research methods approach was used, where quantitative data was extracted from the university systems and integrated with the qualitative data collected from interviews. Thirteen lecturers for the thirty modules under investigation were interviewed. A thematic analysis was used on the qualitative data, and quantitative data was analysed using rankings and correlation coefficients, leading to the interpretation that the use of myUnisa technology assisted to improve throughput on the modules. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Computing Education)

Compared to other South African universities, the Department of Social Work at the UNISA has the highest intake of social work students but also the lowest throughput. Through post-graduate research, the Department of Social Work became aware of the often impeding influence of the personal, social and learning contexts of social work students on their performance, and identified a need for social work-specific student support. The following central research question was formulated: What would a life coaching programme to support social work students within an ODL context comprise of? To explore and describe the specific support needs of social work students, the qualitative research approach was used and data was gathered from focus groups of social work students and individual interviews with recently graduated and employed social workers who studied at UNISA. Tesch’s steps (in Creswell, 2009:186) were used to analyse the data systematically and data was verified by integrating Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991:214-222) with Yin’s (2011:19-20) three objectives for building trustworthiness and credibility. The Intervention Design and Development (IDD) model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was adapted and selectively employed, concentrating on Phase 1, 2, 3 (only Step 2) and Phase 4 in order to develop a support programme for this specific context. The goals of the support programme were to enhance student success and throughput, facilitate the personal, academic and professional development of students and to empower students to take ownership of their learning process. An online self-coaching support programme was developed and structured around seven actions towards growth, namely, clarifying my strengths, connecting to my context, clarifying my vision, completing my plan, committing to action and growth, confirming my direction and celebrating completion. The programme is divided into eight coaching conversations, two per level, contains many activities, stories and references to resources. It is designed to be compulsory and integrated into the practical work modules. Although activities are to be completed independently by students, support will be provided by e-tutors, workshop facilitators and supervisors. A programme coordinator will be available online as an e-coach to provide ongoing support to social work students. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

This study aims to explore politeness shown by lecturers during tuition and student support conversations with the objective of promoting polite interactions between IsiZulu mother tongue and non-mother tongue speakers in higher education in South Africa. In particular, the study investigates the way in which politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment, using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, a questionnaire as well as interviews to collect data from a cross-section of students from an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. All the results drawn from the data sources, namely the questionnaires and interviews, were enumerated according to the data collection tools used. Version 12 of SPSS and Nvivo were used to analyse the quantitative data. The analysis is also based on the politeness strategies of Brown and Levinson (1978) as well as a conceptual framework that links all the variables. Based on the results, the research hypotheses are accepted, thus indicating that politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment. In particular, the results show that, overall, lecturers who employ politeness contribute positively to student compliance. Accordingly, the study recommends that ODL should recognise both the role of language in communication as well as the power and influence of politeness in communication. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.